Dizziness.
Countless white lights appeared before her eyes.
Unknown where, unknown when.
Darkness strikes from the bottom of the heart, and memories of the space outside are stripped away bit by bit, only to return upon leaving.
The sound of gurgling water flowed gently to the ears; the side of the face felt warm, caressed by soft sunlight.
Yunduo opened her weary eyelids, and the first thing she saw was a pink-haired shrine maiden with a worried expression.
Her clear, clean eyes seemed never to have been tainted by darkness, as pure as an infant's.
She wore a pure white dress, with a shimenawa rope and an Inari mask tied at her waist.
She was a slightly immature girl of fifteen or sixteen, yet her temperament possessed a somewhat contradictory maturity.
Yunduo didn't know who she was; she only knew her own name and her identity.
—A traveler.
Feeling the warm floor against her back, Yunduo realized she was in a tidy little room.
There was no extra furniture around her, only a black pot bubbling away.
An unpleasant, bitter smell drifted through the air, causing Yunduo's dry, thin lips to part slightly.
"You're awake?"
The shrine maiden before her spoke gently, placing a grass pillow behind Yunduo's head.
"The medicine brewed from Gohyaku-so is almost ready. You and Rin will each drink half, three times a day. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet; you need quiet rest."
"By the way, you're a traveler who accidentally wandered in from the outside world, right?"
"Forgive my presumption, but may I ask your name?"
Medicine... was it for her to drink?
Hearing this, Yunduo frowned; she didn't want to drink something bitter.
Looking up, the pink-haired shrine maiden was gazing at her with concern, seemingly very worried about Yunduo's health.
"Yunduo... from the outside?"
Yunduo stated her name, but when it came to her origins, she couldn't help but hesitate.
Because she didn't remember either. It seemed she indeed came from the outside, but those memories were a blurred mess; as soon as she tried to think deeply, her head would throb unnaturally.
Why had she ended up here? Who exactly was she?
She didn't know, but it didn't feel like it was very important.
"Your head might be injured; it's better to rest more."
"Right~ I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Yae Sakura, the shrine maiden of this Yae Shrine. When I went to the river today, I saw you collapsed there, so I took the liberty of bringing you back to the shrine."
As Yae Sakura spoke, she reached out and tucked a lock of long hair from the dazed Yunduo's forehead behind her ear.
The warm hand touching the tip of her ear made the lost traveler involuntarily shiver, and her ears turned slightly red.
"You look very much like Rin, just with a different hair color."
Seeing this, Yae Sakura smiled slightly, her tone peaceful.
"Rin..."
Yunduo didn't know who that was, until a weak, childish voice sounded from not far away.
"Sister, I've finished the medicine."
Looking toward the source of the voice, she saw a little girl who looked ninety percent like Yae Sakura.
She was only six or seven years old, with the same pale pink hair and innocent blue eyes.
However, this little girl's face was pale, and she looked extremely weak—the kind that a gust of wind could blow away.
At this moment, she was lying on a small bed, and noticing Yunduo's gaze, she also gave a tiny smile.
But that one smile seemed to drain her strength, and in the next second, she began to cough violently.
"Cough, cough!"
Hearing her sister Yae Rin's coughing, Yae Sakura's gentle expression vanished, replaced by an unshakable worry and heartache.
"Rin, rest a bit more. When you're asleep, your body won't hurt."
"Sister, I've already slept all day, I don't want to keep sleeping," the little girl named Rin shook her head gently. "If I sleep any more, I won't be able to see next year's cherry blossoms."
"Rin, don't say such things," Yae Sakura said softly.
"I know, Sister. I just want to spend more time with you while I'm awake, just in case—oops~ I won't say it."
Rin stopped mid-sentence, then with a slight effort, turned her head to look at Yunduo sitting on the floor.
"You're a traveler from the outside world, right? I hope you can spend more time with my sister while I'm asleep. She's so lonely by herself."
"Rin, don't cause trouble for the guest."
"I understand."
Even as Yae Sakura spoke, Yunduo nodded, agreeing to Rin's small request.
"Alright, drink your medicine first."
Yae Sakura brought over a bowl of thick, dark green liquid, the bitter scent permeating from the bowl.
Yunduo was a bit afraid, but under Rin's curious gaze, she took the bowl containing the medicine brewed from Gohyaku-so.
With just one sip, an extremely bitter taste rushed into her nose, causing Yunduo to puff out her cheeks, unable to swallow.
In the end, it was only under Rin's encouraging eyes that she managed to finish the bowl of medicine with great difficulty.
"There's more tonight. Good medicine tastes bitter; your body is weak, Yunduo, so you need to drink more."
Yae Sakura put away the bowl and gently advised.
"...I don't want to drink it anymore, it's so bitter."
Yunduo stuck out her tongue, the bitterness lingering on the tip for a long time.
"Big Sister, I drink this kind of medicine every day. Girls have to be a bit stronger."
A smiling, low feminine voice spoke from the bedside, and Yunduo unconsciously walked over.
"What's wrong with your sister?"
Looking at Rin, whose face was as pale as paper, Yunduo asked.
"She's been weak and sickly since she was a child, and we don't know the cause."
Yae Sakura shook her head, sighing helplessly.
"Then why not go outside for an exam? Maybe doctors in the outside world can diagnose the illness."
Hearing her question, Yae Sakura was also somewhat hesitant: "We have never been to the outside world, and there are no roads in the village."
"Just for that reason?"
Yunduo was astonished. Would they really not go just because there was no established path?
As they spoke, an exclamation from Rin interrupted them: "Big Sister, what is the outside world like? If possible, I want to go see the outside world with my sister too."
Yunduo fell silent, searching her mind for memories, only to find them blank.
She didn't know what the outside world was like either.
However, seeing Rin's pure, curious gaze, Yunduo couldn't bear to destroy her hope. So after a moment of silence, she said: "The outside world has a very, very blue ocean, and at the edge of the ocean, there are many trees. The cherry blossom trees in the outside world are all covered in beautiful blossoms."
"Those cherry blossoms stretch out in vast patches; in some places, for a hundred miles around, there's nothing but cherry blossoms. Every spring, they form an ocean of cherry blossoms. The scent of that floral sea makes anyone who smells it squint their eyes in intoxication, as if they've entered a pink dream."
"Really? Are there really that many cherry blossoms in the outside world?"
After hearing her words, Rin's azure eyes suddenly lit up, as if a glimmer of light had appeared.
That was the light of hope—the desire to go see the cherry blossoms with her sister.
Yunduo nodded without any hesitation.
After resting for a while, the warmth of the medicine seeped into her body, and she felt much better. Inside the shrine, she could see the scenery outside from the small window at the head of Rin's bed.
The sunlight, filled with soft radiance, shone on a withered cherry blossom tree, adding a touch of bright color to its branches as if it were in bloom.
But that was impossible; there were no cherry blossoms.
The flowering season had long passed. To see cherry blossoms again, one would likely have to survive the cold winter and wait for the cycle of the four seasons for that chance.
After a while, Rin suddenly looked down and found that the mysterious big sister was winking at her, looking like a weasel that had just swiped a chick.
Before long, Rin felt a movement under the covers, and then a warm hand, bypassing Yae Sakura's line of sight, grasped her palm.
Rin's eyes widened slightly in surprise and confusion.
What was this big sister doing?
She only felt a tickle in her palm, and then something hard was placed into it by the big sister, settling in her hand.
Having done all this, Yunduo secretly withdrew her hand; the entire movement took less than half a minute.
Taking advantage of the time Yae Sakura spent tidying clothes, she stuffed a milk candy into Rin's hand.
That candy was something Yunduo had found while searching her clothes earlier; she might have gotten it from the outside world.
Yunduo guessed that she must usually like eating candy.
"...Eh?"
Yae Rin took the milk candy wrapped in paper out from under the small quilt, her expression somewhat dazed.
She had never seen such a strange thing. She could smell a faint sweetness; what was it?
"Shh~ this is our little secret," Yunduo said, leaning over to whisper in Rin's ear while Yae Sakura was busy pouring tea. "Because those medicines are very bitter~ I don't like taking them either, so I'm giving you this milk candy. But I searched my whole body and only found this one, so consider it a gift for our first meeting."
"Um~ I, I understand."
Rin said weakly, a faint smile appearing on her pale little face, looking very happy.
Because it was the first time she had received a gift from a friend, her palms were sweating a lot, and she was a bit nervous.
To be precise, Yunduo was the first person she had ever met besides her sister and father.
If she received a gift, shouldn't she give one in return?
But she had nothing.
Thinking of this, Rin felt a bit worried, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.
But suddenly, she felt a warmth on her brow and caught a whiff of a fragrant breeze, like the scent of flowers. She saw Yunduo leaning over, reaching out to touch her cheek and smoothing out all the wrinkles on her forehead.
"There~ a child shouldn't be frowning, it doesn't look good."
"E-Eeeek?!!"
As one could see, Rin had never been in such close contact with anyone, let alone a girl like Yunduo.
She couldn't help but let out a soft cry, a suspicious blush creeping onto her face, her jade-white cheeks stained with a touch of red cloud.
It wasn't until Yae Sakura returned and found her sister playing dead under the covers that Yunduo slowly stood up and moved away from Rin's bedside.
"Rin, what's wrong?"
Yae Sakura asked, puzzled.
"Maybe she's just shy meeting a stranger; I was like that when I was little too." Yunduo rubbed her nose.
"Is that so? I'm truly sorry, this child has never seen a stranger since she was small."
Yae Sakura apologized.
The two of them began to chat again.
Talking about the world outside the village, or topics like future ideals... Meanwhile.
While the two were in the middle of their lively chat.
The expressions of everyone outside the space were peculiar.
Kiana's expression was silent, and Mei didn't want to speak either.
Bronya sat atop Project Bunny, expressionlessly and gently wiping her giant cannon.
From beginning to end, they only saw Yunduo tricking the little girl and actively flirting with the innocent girl who had little experience with the world.
If they hadn't known that Yunduo wasn't actually a lolicon, they probably would have called the police to lock her up in a dark room!
After a long while, it was Fu Hua, adjusting her glasses, who first broke the silence: "Did you notice?"
"After Yunduo and Yae Sakura entered the space, Yae Sakura replaced her original self, while Yunduo was automatically assigned a corresponding identity. This is different from how it was before."
"I noticed. It is indeed as you say. Yunduo only knows herself as a traveler from the outside world now, while Yae Sakura has forgotten those tragic memories of the past. Everything has started anew," Theresa nodded.
"But the key is, in this case, how will Sister Yunduo complete the mission?"
Bronya asked slowly.
"Unlike before, when we entered the space, those objectives absolutely had to be completed; we had no choice, and we would subconsciously move toward the goal. But Yunduo is different. This time, she doesn't know her goal, so she has to make all the decisions herself."
"Saving Rin, redeeming Yae Sakura..."
"What if she wants to flee the shrine? That would be a normal person's thought process. No one would give their all and risk their life to save someone they just met," Fu Hua sighed and shook her head.
After hearing Fu Hua's words, everyone fell silent for a while.
However, Kiana's strange remark soon liberated them.
"Do you think—given Yunduo's lolicon behavior—she would see Rin in trouble and not go to save her?"
"Lolicon... Bronya thinks Sister Yunduo is not a lolicon."
Bronya added a sentence.
Looking at Bronya, who was trying her best to defend Yunduo, everyone tacitly refrained from refuting her.
Some things are better kept in one's heart; there's no need to say them out loud.
"Is that Rin? She really looks like Sister Yae Sakura," Theresa lamented.
"But according to what Yae Sakura said, Rin was—at the start of the ritual—the cherry blossoms were falling then, too. It shouldn't be more than a few days away, right?" Fu Hua added.
She didn't wait until the day the cherry blossoms bloomed again.
Under the torrential rain of that day, Rin's life was destroyed when her own father severed the tendons in her wrists and ankles.
Her voice ended along with the ignorant ritual.
That day, amidst thunder and rain, the villagers cheered loudly, paying no mind to the innocent girl who lost her most precious life because of it.
They also didn't know that this event would plant the seeds of hatred in Yae Sakura, which would eventually consume them all.
Everyone focused their attention and continued to watch the events in the space.
The two were seen conversing.
"By the way, when you were by the river, I picked up a black box and placed it under the deity statue."
"What is that? You must have seen wrong; I have no recollection of it. Let's ignore that for now."
Yunduo's eyes gradually turned serious.
She seemed to feel just now, a subconscious thought in her heart, that as long as she obtained enough of the girl's body fluids, she could gain great power.
That kind of thing... must be fake, right?
Yunduo put the matter out of her mind and looked at Yae Sakura, who tilted her head slightly.
"You said just now that the village needs to use living people as sacrifices to the gods?"
"Such a god is clearly an evil god. Why not abandon it?"
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