Surely Gensokyo could not be made up entirely of girls, right?
That was what Yuto thought at first.
He had been certain of that thought. But now... He started to waver.
The empty hall became crowded, not with people, but with youkai.
Little girls with wings growing from their backs arrived.
They shouted about trivial things no one understood. Girls wearing all kinds of hats sat together, chatting.
Chen had run off to play with the other children.
Suika and Yuugi sat together and began drinking. The banquet had not started yet, but for two oni kings who loved alcohol more than life itself, that did not matter.
They could drink and be done with it, they would not get drunk anyway.
Marisa arrived as well. However, she ran around the hall in a panic, while a beautiful girl chased her.
In terms of appearance, that girl was among the finest Yuto had seen.
She looked as though the best qualities of East and West had been gathered and shaped into a single person.
Right now, the girl's face filled with anger.
"Marisa! Give me back my things!" Her voice was frantic.
But Marisa only laughed. "Then catch me! If you catch me, I'll let you hehehe~"
The black-and-white magician's words made the girl flush red.
She became angrier!
The two chased each other, but fortunately, neither used magic.
Yuto asked while watching them, "Is that Alice?" His tone carried uncertainty.
He had heard from Reimu that Marisa provoked Alice, so he made a guess based on the scene.
"Yes." Yukari smiled and nodded.
Yuto found it difficult to connect Alice with the things Reimu mentioned.
Tying Marisa up and hanging her... It was hard to believe a girl this beautiful would do something like that.
Yuto and the others sat in front of the long table. Remi had prepared a large round table, but at Reimu's suggestion, it was changed.
This was advice born from the experience of someone whose home served as a constant banquet venue.
Nine out of ten banquets in Gensokyo took place at Hakurei Shrine.
The "devout" shrine maiden had accumulated plenty of banquet experience. Round tables would not work. If these rowdy people sat around a round table, they would flip it over.
It had to be a long table, the kind that could seat ten or more people.
That way, if someone caused trouble, people nearby could stop them from overturning it.
Although Remi had just argued with Reimu, she accepted the suggestion.
Sakuya arranged for the fairy maids to carry in two long tables while the round tables were removed.
Yuto intended to sit wherever, but Yukari pulled him toward the front.
Yuuka sat beside him. Reimu likewise took a seat near the front.
After sitting there, Yuto understood why Yukari pulled him to this spot. The middle and rear sections of the table were too chaotic.
Girls and young women quarreled. Youkai chased one another. Some threw things. The scene was messier than a human gathering.
By now, there were more than a dozen girls in the hall.
As for men, Yuto was the only one.
Even though Yuto was calm, he felt awkward!
Yukari noticed his discomfort as the youkai sage smiled, her eyes filled with amusement.
When Yuto saw her smile, he responded with a helpless expression.
Duang!
A little girl jumped onto the table in front of Yuto.
The action surprised him.
However, Yukari and the others remained calm. The girl had a strange pair of wings behind her: six diamond-shaped crystals of ice, arranged in two sets of three, floating in midair.
Her innocent face carried a hint of provocation.
Looking at her made Yuto sense a strong aura of "idiot."
His intuition was strong.
This child was an idiot!
"Reimu! Duel me! I'll prove to everyone that I, Cirno, am the strongest!" Cirno looked down at Reimu as she pointed a finger at the shrine maiden.
"Not interested." Reimu glanced at Cirno and rejected her.
That made the girl furious. "Damn it! You dare refuse the great Cirno's duel invitation! I'm mad!"
Cirno stomped her foot, the table thumped along with it.
Reimu sighed, as though facing an enormous problem. "How about this? If you answer one question correctly, I'll agree to your duel."
Cirno became overjoyed. "Gahahaha! Everyone knows I, Cirno, am smart! A few days ago, the kappa said that out of my seven openings, six are clear, and only one is blocked!"
Yuto broke a sweat.
That was basically calling her stupid!
'She was an idiot~' Yuto no longer doubted his intuition.
"All right. What is four plus seven?" Reimu asked the question.
The simplicity left Yuto feeling incredulous.
A question like this should be answerable by a kindergartener.
"Eh... eh... four plus seven... Damn it! Why don't I have enough fingers?!" Cirno wiggled her fingers.
The sight made Yuto freeze.
Even an idiot should not be this bad... This child... He felt that if someone kidnapped her and sold her off, she might accept it as normal.
"I know! It's 9! That's right! It's 9!" Cirno clapped her hands and gave her answer with excitement.
"Wrong." Reimu's blunt response made Cirno freeze.
The little idiot became angry. "Cirno isn't wrong! Cirno is the smartest!"
As Cirno spoke, a layer of frost appeared over her body.
Yuuka frowned, she gave Cirno a sidelong glance and Cirno shrank back.
"Uwaaah! Who?! Who was that?! So scary!" The little girl crouched down with her arms over her head.
That change happened faster than a Sichuan opera face-change performance, making Reimu sigh.
At that moment, a green-haired girl flew over. Behind her was a pair of wings that looked like transparent insect wings.
Her face filled with timidity and fear.
"Daiyousei, hurry up and take this idiot away," Reimu called out.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Please forgive Cirno!" Daiyousei bowed several times toward them, then dragged Cirno away.
She sneaked a look back in their direction.
Daiyousei's body trembled.
'Uwaaah! Kazami-sama was scary!'
"Dai-chan! That was so scary!" Cirno hugged Daiyousei in midair and cried out.
Daiyousei wanted to cry too!
'Idiot Cirno! Why did you have to go over there?! I'm scared too!'
"She's a fairy born from the Misty Lake. Something went wrong when she was born, so her brain doesn't work well." Yukari smiled as she explained Cirno's identity.
Yuto understood.
But he complained in his heart. 'That was not just her brain doesn't work well.'
That was "intellectual disaster" level!
As the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remi was not here.
She had to greet guests out front and continue showing off.
Naturally, Sakuya went with her.
...
More people arrived in the hall as Yuto saw Mokou, Keine, and Akyuu.
They greeted Yuto from a distance before finding their seats. Akyuu smiled knowingly at him.
Yuto understood what the girl meant.
"Has Kamisaka-kun met Akyuu as well?" Yukari saw this and asked.
Yuto told her about what happened at the school.
"It seems Kamisaka's appearance made Akyuu curious." Yukari smiled.
A trace of confusion appeared on Yuto's face.
"Akyuu is responsible for recording the history of Gensokyo. She keeps records of people and events here. If she wants to speak with you, it is related to that."
Yukari's explanation surprised Yuto. He had not expected something as heavy as "history" to be recorded by a young girl.
It overturned his understanding.
But after thinking about the abnormalities in Gensokyo, he accepted it.
"I see." Yuto nodded.
He looked around and felt curious. "Why don't I see Aya Shameimaru? I thought she would be taking pictures here."
In Yuto's impression, Aya was a girl passionate about news.
She should be here.
Yet there was no sign of her. When Yuto mentioned Aya, the expressions of Yukari and the others changed.
The youkai sage showed a trace of helplessness, while Reimu smiled with schadenfreude.
Yuuka answered. "She fell and got injured."
Hearing this, Yuto believed her words since he had never doubted anything she said.
"That's right. She fell." Reimu emphasized it. A smile lingered at the corner of her mouth.
Yuuka glanced at her.
Yukari waved her hand with helplessness. Only the fox girl behind Yukari looked stiff.
'Where did she fall...? 'The fox girl sighed inwardly.
...
Youkai Mountain.
A girl lying on a sickbed cried in grief and anger.
What was going on! Why was she the one getting beaten again?! It hurt!
Aya did not know how she offended Yuuka.
She thought back to that night... she had interviewed her with a few questions!
After returning, she published the newspaper.
She let Yuuka take a look before she got beaten... Just where had she offended that tyrant?
Was she going through menopause?!