Naturally, Izumi had no intention of refusing Yuuka Kazami's request.
With a casual snap of his fingers, he replied:
"No problem."
"I can grant that."
"From now on, if anyone enters your territory without permission, you may kill them whenever you wish."
The moment those words left his mouth, Yuuka immediately felt the restrictions that had long bound her disappear.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
At the same time, a dangerous glint flashed through her eyes.
She was clearly thinking about someone.
Seeing that expression, Izumi could only sigh inwardly.
Someone was about to have a very bad day.
And honestly?
He already knew exactly who that unfortunate person would be.
It was definitely Aya Shameimaru.
Ever since the worlds had merged, Aya's newspaper business had expanded dramatically.
It had even become one of the major media organizations in the dimensional world.
And as always, the tengu reporter was obsessed with digging up scandalous stories from Gensokyo.
Considering how often she sneaked around gathering gossip, it would have been strange if Yuuka hadn't already wanted to bury her alive.
Previously, Yuuka had been restricted from taking things too far.
But now?
Those restraints were gone.
If Aya ever wandered into the sunflower fields again, there was a very real chance she would be planted in the ground and used as fertilizer.
The two soon arrived at Mugenkan.
Yuuka invited Izumi inside before disappearing into the house.
A short while later, she returned carrying a tea set.
Along with it came a plate piled high with roasted sunflower seeds.
Seeing this, Izumi raised an eyebrow.
He genuinely hadn't expected her to actually serve sunflower seeds.
Apparently she had taken his joke seriously.
After sitting down, Yuuka poured a cup of black tea for him.
Then she suddenly asked:
"Were you planning to visit Yakumo Yukari again?"
"I never imagined that woman would actually fall for someone."
A trace of contempt flashed across her face.
It was obvious she wasn't particularly fond of Yukari.
In Yuuka's eyes, Yukari had practically sold herself for power.
How disgraceful.
Izumi looked speechless.
"You really don't get along with her, do you?"
"Haven't the two of you known each other since ancient times?"
"It's been that long, yet you're still like this."
He genuinely found it strange.
Yuuka and Yukari had been acquainted for centuries.
By all logic, they should have become close friends.
Yet they behaved more like eternal rivals.
Yuuka merely shrugged.
"I never claimed otherwise."
Then she suddenly leaned forward slightly.
"Speaking of which..."
"How was Yukari?"
"You've already had a taste, haven't you?"
"Considering how long that old woman has been suppressing herself, she must've been starving."
"I imagine she's quite passionate."
Izumi froze.
For a moment, he simply stared at her.
He hadn't expected Yuuka of all people to say something like that.
The elegant flower master in his memories had always seemed cold and dignified.
Yet here she was casually discussing Yukari's love life.
Noticing his expression, Yuuka calmly sipped her tea.
"No need to look so shocked."
"This is perfectly normal."
"When we lived in Gensokyo, contact with the outside world was limited."
"We didn't think much about these things."
"But after joining your world, we gained access to the internet."
"We've seen all sorts of interesting content."
"And after living for so many years..."
"People get lonely."
"So naturally, certain interests develop."
She placed her teacup down.
"It's not just me."
"A lot of the women in Gensokyo are like that."
"So don't act so surprised."
Hearing that explanation, Izumi was momentarily speechless.
After a pause, he asked:
"Are you sure it's okay to tell me that?"
"It feels like you're exposing everyone's secrets."
Yuuka simply laughed.
"What's wrong with that?"
"Even though your world has merged countless worlds together, there still aren't many men that catch my interest."
She glanced at him meaningfully.
"If you spent more time walking around Gensokyo, you'd probably receive quite a few confessions."
"The problem is that you're never there."
Izumi finally understood.
Long-lived beings really did become frighteningly honest after enough years passed.
Or perhaps...
They simply stopped caring.
Thinking about it that way, her behavior suddenly made a lot more sense.
Maybe he really should spend more time wandering around Gensokyo.
It sounded surprisingly interesting.
The conversation continued.
At first they were merely sharing tea and sunflower seeds.
But as the hours passed, they moved on to wine.
Then more wine.
Then even more wine.
Before long, the two were talking freely about almost anything.
Just as Izumi had suspected, once Yuuka opened up, she became impossible to stop.
Years upon years of thoughts poured out like a flood breaking through a dam.
...
Naturally, the moment Izumi entered Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo had already noticed him.
At first, she expected him to come directly to her.
Instead, he spent day after day drinking and chatting with Yuuka.
Worse yet, he even helped maintain the sunflower fields.
The sight left Yukari utterly dumbfounded.
Thanks to her current mastery over boundaries, Yuuka never noticed the gap youkai watching from afar.
Only Izumi was aware of her presence.
But he deliberately chose not to say anything.
Watching Yukari quietly suffer was surprisingly entertaining.
...
After spending several days with Yuuka, Izumi finally left.
He then went to visit both Yukari and Yuyuko Saigyouji as originally planned.
However, before departing, he fulfilled his usual responsibility.
As always, after spending time with one of the girls, he offered a gift.
This time, he bestowed upon Yuuka a powerful Nature Spirit.
The instant the spirit fused with her body—
Yuuka turned around and fired a massive Master Spark-like blast toward a distant corner of the sunflower field.
BOOM!!
The attack tore through the landscape.
She didn't even need to think to know who had been spying on her.
Fortunately, Yukari reacted quickly.
A gap opened instantly beneath her feet, allowing her to escape before the blast reached her position.
Otherwise...
The two ancient monsters of Gensokyo would have ended up fighting on the spot.
And if that happened—
The sunflower fields probably wouldn't have survived the aftermath.