The moment Reimu opened her mouth, everyone immediately understood one thing.
She was absolutely from the streets.
Watching her unleash a nonstop verbal barrage at Yukari Yakumo left the entire restaurant stunned speechless.
Even Yukari's expression darkened completely.
"So you dare say that again?" Yukari asked coldly, her smile twitching dangerously.
"Reimu… I leave you alone for a while, and this is how unruly you become?"
She sounded genuinely irritated now.
Clearly, the shrine maiden had crossed a line.
Reimu merely snorted.
"Like I need an old hag telling me what to do."
"I'm not the same person I used to be."
"You think I'm scared of you?"
"Hah. Don't forget—you can't use your powers in this city."
"I've got nothing to fear from you."
At this point, Reimu was only missing a cigarette dangling from her mouth.
Her face was overflowing with disdain toward Yukari.
An eighty-year-old granny acting like a young maiden—who was she trying to fool?
And now she wanted to lecture her?
Please.
After unloading years' worth of resentment in one explosive outburst, Reimu felt unbelievably refreshed.
Meanwhile, Yukari's face had already turned black as charcoal.
If not for the suppressive laws covering Dimensional City, she probably would've exploded on the spot already.
But instead of responding to Reimu directly, Yukari suddenly turned toward Izumi.
Then, with a graceful flick of her fan, she calmly declared:
"I'll let you put me in any pose you want."
"So give me temporary authority."
"Tonight, I am absolutely disciplining this unfilial daughter."
The moment those words left her mouth, Izumi burst out laughing.
Reimu, however, nearly jumped out of her seat.
"You shameless old hag! You're actually selling yourself out?!"
And just as she shouted that—
Izumi snapped his fingers.
"No problem."
"Deal."
The instant his words fell, Yukari felt it.
Her powers had returned.
A terrifying grin slowly spread across her beautiful face.
But now, that smile looked utterly twisted.
"Well then, Reimu…"
"Are you ready?"
"This time, there's no Hakurei Barrier protecting you."
The moment Yukari's voice faded—
A grotesque gap filled with countless staring eyeballs opened behind Reimu.
"WAIT—NOOOOOOO!!!"
Before she could escape, the gap swallowed her whole.
Yukari ignored the scream completely.
Instead, she let out a disturbingly delighted laugh.
"Ufufufufu~"
Then she stepped halfway into the boundary herself.
A second later—
Reimu's miserable screams echoed from inside.
Hearing that horrifying sound, everyone inside the restaurant instinctively trembled.
Even Asuna and the others, who had arrived together with Reimu, were huddled in the corner with pale faces.
At that moment, all friendship had vanished.
Reimu was absolutely doomed.
...
Half an hour later, Yukari finally returned to the table.
Her face now carried an extremely satisfied smile.
As she slowly closed the gap behind her, she nodded contentedly.
"Excellent."
"I'll keep that child locked up for now."
"I still have plenty of time to educate her properly."
Then she turned toward Asuna and the others with narrowed eyes.
"You girls… don't have any objections, do you?"
With her folding fan covering half her face, Yukari smiled elegantly.
Asuna and the others shook their heads so hard it almost looked painful.
How could they possibly object?
That terrifying gap alone had nearly given them psychological trauma.
Anyone with trypophobia would probably faint on the spot after seeing it.
Satisfied with their reaction, Yukari nodded.
Reimu truly needed a lesson.
If she didn't properly discipline that girl this time, Yukari swore she wouldn't let her out anytime soon.
Then suddenly, Yukari turned toward Izumi again.
"Well then, I still have business to attend to."
"So I'll be leaving first."
After saying that, she immediately tried opening another gap.
Unfortunately for her—
Nothing happened.
Her powers vanished again.
Even the gap disappeared.
Izumi smiled leisurely at her.
"No rush."
"Stay a little longer. Let's continue our conversation."
Yukari's face instantly stiffened.
The moment she imagined what was about to happen next, her entire body tensed.
Izumi simply chuckled, completely unconcerned by her reaction.
Instead, he continued feeding Yuyuko as though nothing had happened.
He knew perfectly well what Yukari was thinking.
But since she had already agreed to his conditions—
There was no way he was letting her escape.
After finishing their meal, Izumi finally stood up.
One arm held Yuyuko close.
Behind him, Yukari followed unwillingly, unable to resist.
As for what would happen afterward…
There was no need to explain.
Everyone already understood.
...
Meanwhile, after Izumi's group left—
Asuna and the others exchanged awkward looks.
"So…"
"What do we do now?"
"With Reimu gone, are we still taking that quest?"
Originally, they had accepted a mission to hunt an extremely dangerous beast in Esdeath's world.
Their plan had been to eat first, then head out immediately.
But now…
That seemed impossible.
Maple scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Maybe we should find someone else."
"Kaguya-hime seems pretty free lately."
"She either plays games… or plays more games."
"We could probably ask her to help."
The moment Maple mentioned Kaguya, everyone immediately understood.
They had become very familiar with the residents of Gensokyo already.
Who was busy and who was unemployed was common knowledge by now.
Asuna nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah… we should drag her outside once in a while."
Thinking about Kaguya Houraisan made everyone's expressions turn strange.
After all—
She was the type to casually blow herself up in battle, resurrect instantly, then continue fighting at full health.
With that absurd immortality, she could practically solo raid bosses by herself.
Bringing her along for the hunt against a Super-Class Danger Beast would definitely increase their chances.
After discussing things for a bit longer, the girls finally stood up and left the restaurant together.
Their destination—
Gensokyo.
Although Gensokyo wasn't officially open to outsiders, girls were generally allowed entry without much trouble.
Men, however, were absolutely forbidden.
In many ways, it really was a paradise exclusively for women.
Honestly, even Asuna and the others had considered moving there permanently.
The residents were powerful, entertaining, and surprisingly reliable.
And if trouble ever appeared?
You just called for backup.
The combat power inside Gensokyo was terrifyingly high.
Naturally, many people in Izumi's world had started forming connections there.
For example—
The Mei from the Pokémon world had somehow become best friends with Raiden Mei from the Honkai world.
Situations like that were becoming more and more common.
After all—
Who didn't like finding powerful allies?
The group skillfully made their way into Gensokyo.
Carefully avoiding the vast sea of sunflowers—
They finally arrived at the bamboo forest region hidden deep within the land.