By the by, the inventory/skills list will not be posted during the interludes.

[+] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem.

Let's not potentially provoke the being that has proven she can reach where she shouldn't just yet.

>your on thin ice

[x] Mention the Canthomite gem

Yukari did warn us, yes, but finding out who stole this thing is kinda a big deal. Big enough to risk her anger. This thing is a huge, gaping threat to national security.

[+] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem.

I prefer not pissing off Yukari right now. However, she's going to have to work with us if she want us to return for future visits. It seems the situation is that if we keep finding nothing of interest for them, it's over.

[x] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem

How damn stupid would Lawrence look if he admitted he lost something that fantastic? We need to investigate this mystery ourselves. Only after safely relocating the shard can we unveil it in its full magnificence.

[x] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem

you're back!

[x] Mention the Canthomite gem
Fucking contraband.

[+] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem.
Its probably Yukari who stole it anyway.

>Yukari pondered this new dilemma as she watched Jean-Luc being placed onto his bed on the mansion, slowly rotating the red Canthomite shard in her hand as she did so.

[x] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem

Well this is a choice... either
A) don't mention the choice find and possibly risk having things cut short
or
B)Mention it and risk Yukari's wrath.

[x] Don’t mention the Canthomite gem

“…so nothing on here impressed you at all?” Lawrence asked. Telling them about the gem didn’t seem like the best idea (to say the least) so he quickly began racking his brain for a good bluff.

“I can’t say that there is, Mr. Lawrence. Some of the items are interesting, but there is nothing that would either impress the higher ups, nor is there anything that the bureau would find useful.”

“Damn,” Lawrence let out as he sorted through his mind for the item on the list that was worth the most. “I thought for sure that at least the arrow would grab your attention.”

“The arrow? Pardon me Lawrence, but do you honestly think that any arrow, no matter how powerful, could ever compare to some of the weaponry that we have available?”

“Well I-”

“Even if the arrow’s quality and purification abilities are high (which, Lawrence thought, they are) it still can’t compare to a gun that can pump out the same amount of energy in 5 seconds flat!”

“But you know that such weaponry isn’t very efficient!” Jean-Luc shouted out. “We can’t even take them off-world for the sheer amount of power they require. I’m just trying to branch out into other options, and-”

“That isn’t what you are supposed to be doing!” Director Edarnis shouted as he leaped up out of his chair. Taking a second to compose himself, he continued, “You know that the only things that we are really interested in is technology more advanced than our current state, or else energy that could power said technology.” Letting out a sigh, the Director sat back down. “Look, I’m not saying that you can’t go around doing your little merchant thing. But you have to start bringing back items with more political weight to them if you want to stay where you are now.”

Lawrence stared at the director in the eyes for a moment before letting out a similar sigh and bowing his head down. “Yes sir, I understand.”

“Good.” The director turns back to his deskwork. “Submit the proper paperwork after this and you are free to go.”

“Yes sir.”

---

Lawrence and Ailira walked down one of the many halls of the bureau. Lawrence was trying to keep to himself, but Ailira’s concern told her to ignore the fact that he was in a bad mood.

“He’s right, you know. You really should focus more on the bureau tasks before taking care of your hobby.”

“It’s not a hobby!” Jean-Luc shouted out, “It’s my job!”

“No, your job is to find things that can support or enhance life for the people the bureau provides for. Selling knick-knacks to random inhabitants of random dimensions isn’t really in the job description.” Ailira could tell that this wasn’t improving Jean-Luc’s mood, so she tried a different angle. “Look, you don’t want to go back to the suppression squad, right?”

“Yeah, more than anything else in the multiverse. I couldn’t stand to go back there.”

Ailira’s was a little saddened to hear that, but she continued for Jean’s sake. “Then you have to make sure that you get your results in first, alright? You’re not in hot water yet, but you’re much more of a rare commodity then you know. Those seals of yours are really popular with some of the other departments, and Director Edarnis is having a hard time beating them away.”

Jean-Luc mulled this over. He knew his seals were a rare ability, but he had no idea that they were that desirable. Still, he was happy with where he was now, so maybe it couldn’t hurt to keep an eye open in the future.

“…so what was this item that you were so exited about?”

Jean-Luc jumped out of his thoughts as he quickly turned to Ailira, who had an eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, Jean. Something like an arrow wouldn’t get you that exited. There must have been something more.”

‘Damn’, Lawrence thought to himself. At first he considered telling her outright, but the same pressure that kept him from telling the Director cautioned him against mentioning it to Ailira as well.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what it was,” Lawrence said with a sigh, “The fact of the matter is that it somehow got lost in transit, and I don’t really remember where I picked it up in the first place. If it was only the former it probably wouldn’t have been an issue, but both of those facts together means that I would have only looked like an idiot if I had brought it up.”

‘He’s lying,’ Ailira thought, but she felt that pushing any further wouldn’t reveal anything, so she kept quiet. As the pair walked down the hall, Jean considered the best way to leave Gensokyo out of his paperwork, as well as what he should do after he had submitted everything per the director’s request.

[ ] Take a small walk around the city to see if anything has changed
[ ] Get the seals checked out
[ ] Sort the inventory, find the ring of flight, and start the next merchant run

---

I’m moving starting tomorrow, and my new job starts on Monday, so I am officially labeling this story’s update schedule as sporadic until further notice, just to be on the safe side.

[x] Get the seals checked out
if there's time after that
[x] Take a small walk around the city to see if anything has changed

Tell me more about your strange and interesting setting.

[x] Sort the inventory, find the ring of flight, and start the next merchant run

>It's my job!

So we should get back to it, yes?

[x] Get the seals checked out
[x] Sort the inventory, find the ring of flight, and start the next merchant run

[X] Get the seals checked out

If he's going to have to break seals anytime he's in a fight in Gensokyo, then he should have them checked out. Especially since he learned about that surge of latent magic afterwards.

>“You know that the only things that we are really interested in is technology more advanced than our current state, or else energy that could power said technology.”
You've got technology capable of moving between dimensions, and you think you can find an even more advanced society and take some of their tech scott-free? They'd probably detect the rift you use, and either arrest the agent or put sanctions on what he could take away.

[x] Get the seals checked out
[x] Sort the inventory, find the ring of flight, and start the next merchant run

I must say, I wasn't quite expecting a Sci-fi bureaucracy of technological scavengers backing our Merchant. I do approve, though.

[x] Get the seals checked out
[x] Sort the inventory, find the ring of flight, and start the next merchant run

[x] See if we can fill any of those Gensokyo orders, too.

>>34579
Same here. Since he slain what I assumed to be a demon lord I thought it would be a fantasy like setting. Maybe his society pulled a gurren lagann and pulled of rapid industrialization.

[X] Get the seals checked out.
[X] Take a small walk around the city to see if anything has changed.

>>34582
>slain
It's slew.
>Maybe his society pulled a gurren lagann and pulled of rapid industrialization.
Judging by the bit about the city from the first update in this thread this isn't his original dimension.

>>34582
>>34584
Forgive me for the comparison, but maybe its sort of like a Star-Trek-ish thing, where this multiversal bureaucracy tries to remain incognito with regards to planes that have yet to discover interplanar travel?

It makes me wonder if he might decide to quit this dimensional travel thing and instead prefer to do things on his own. The chief doesn't seem too concerned with anything other than the bottom line... a disastrous mindset as we all know.

>>34587
Doubtful. From what was said, the seals alone mean they'll never leave him alone.

>>34584

Ding Ding Ding!!!

>>34589
Best that Gensokyo is kept under wraps then, if he ever needs to go on the lam it'll be the place to be.

>>34597
Yukari would turn him in the instant she realizes he's a problem.

>>34598
Besides, running away isn't what a hero would do. Lawrence wouldn't put up with that shit, and he'd find some way of overcoming all odds and forcing a satisfactory end for all.

>>34599
He's running away with his merchant job. And I don't think he was ever a hero, if being a "hero" is the same as being part of a suppression squad, whatever the fuck that is. According to that first dream flashback, it's extremely boring??" I'm getting mixed signals here.

>>34600
Nah, if I'm remembering correctly way back when, he proclaimed his job profession to be a merchant, but in the past, he was a hero. Though I suppose he could be lying about that, trying to give an approximation of his job to lesser realms, ones that aren't as technologically advanced so as to prevent any knowledge of his origins...

Whatever, fuck that. I maintain he is a hero. A hero would never allow an interstellar war to erupt over something so trivial, and even if it did, he'd end that shit single-handedly. That's just the sort of guy he is.

>>34601
You know some might call him a hero, but this doesn't exclude the fact that some dirty business was involved. After all people are praised as heroes upon achieving a goal... not so much HOW they reach it.

From what I've read so far it seems that:
>Hero
This is what he was in his original dimension.
>Suppression Squad
What he wound up doing for a while once he got over to this dimension-hopping civilization. Probably involved beating the shit out of people who broke the Bureau's rules.
>Merchant
His current cover for the Bureau & a hobby he enjoys.

From what's been said the Bureau's main interest in him are those fancy seals of his. Said seals were, undoubtedly, tied to his work as a hero in his home dimension and the chance to study them are probably what led them to allow him this merchant schtick.

I'm looking forward to more of the background being filled in. I'm enjoying it probably as much as the story itself.

I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that the word "hero" can be very subjective, depending on who is talking. It'll make more sense as we go along.

In other news, I'm currently in the process of unpacking, and I can only access the internet through my phone until Monday when my internet is hooked up. Of course, that's when my job starts, so we'll just have to wait to see how things go.

The good news is that my internet is hooked up now. The bad news is that my work keeps me pretty busy. But the other good news is that my weekends are mostly free, so I'll try posting again starting then.

[x] Get the seals checked out

“Hey, would you mind doing me a favor and see if the guys in the lab have some spare time this afternoon?”

“Hm?” Ailira comes out of her train of thought as Lawrence addresses her. “Why do you ask?”

“Something seems to be a bit off with my seals, and I want to make sure that whatever it is won’t accidently blow my head off.”

“Com now Jean, you know that’s highly unlikely.”

“Even if it is unlikely, this last trip has shown that something about them might be off.”

Ailira raises an eyebrow, but shrugs in acceptance a moment later. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be safe rather than sorry. I’ll see if I can’t pull a few strings.”

“Thanks Ai, I owe you one.” Lawrence begins to walk off, but just before he can get away Ailira puts a hand on his shoulder.

“In the meantime,” Ailira says with a broad smile, “You can get that paperwork done, alright?”

Jean-Luc’s face cringes as Ailira leads him away.

---
“Alright Mr. Lawrence, you’re all hooked up. Now show us what the problem is.”

The field testing facility is a room of pure white, with the only distinguishable characteristic being a large window up near the ceiling of the room. Even the door that Jean came in has seamlessly disappeared into the wall, which always gave Jean the shivers. He didn’t appreciate the feeling of being completely trapped. The various wires and suction cups that were attached all over his body didn’t help subdue this feeling, either. Still, he did his best to keep that feeling under control as long as he was being tested.

“Alright, well the first thing that I want examined is the seal’s danger response. On my last trip they didn’t activate during certain times that I was clearly in danger, and I want to make sure that the system still works.

“Hm. Alright Jean, we’re letting out the test, so show us what seems to be the problem.”

“Alright…wait, letting out?”

The wall on the opposite end of the room seems to open up, revealing what looks to be a troll. The beast lets out a wail as it charges at you, during which a good number of your seals light up.

“Alright, the danger detection system seems to be working. As long as we’re at it, why don’t we make sure that the rest of the system is working as well?”

“You guys know that you are dicks, right?” Jean says with a growl as he throws himself into combat.

---

“Alright, the system seems to be operating normally. No major bugs detected.” As the test results are relayed, Jean sits on the floor recovering amid the smoke from the troll’s summon spell being undone.

“That’s great,” Jean says through heavy breathing, “but that doesn’t invalidate the fact that you guys are all still dicks.”

“Come on, Jean,” the voice says, “you know that the seals only work when there is intent to harm you. If we had put you through the spinning blade course you would have been sliced into mincemeat, and a troll was the smallest thing we could get on such short notice.”

Jean considers for a moment the amusement in his observer’s voice as he said that last part before getting his mind back on track. “Right, fine, whatever, there is still one other thing I want you guys to look at.”

“Oh? Should we get another troll ready?”

“Ha ha no. The seals seem to be reacting whenever I try to channel energy naturally. I want to see if you guys can’t fix that.”

“Alright, give us a show then.”

Jean-Luc concentrates as he gathers the latent energy around him. Again, the seals light up and begin causing unduly amounts of pain, growing with each passing second.

“That’s enough, Jean.” The voice says with a much more serious tone. “It looks like the seals are interfering with your channeling somehow. Come on out and we’ll get this sorted out.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jean allows his channeling to peter off. Look like the reason that he fainted last time was due to the spell card not allowing him to stop channeling after he started. (Good thing that there was a time limit, no telling what might have happened if there wasn’t) Hopefully the techs can get this sorted out soon, and then he can head back out on the road once more!

---

“Having fun?” Ailira says with a grin.

“Ha, ha.” Jean says with a scowl on his face. Strapped to a lab table, various magic circles and patterns were floating and circling around Jean, with the most apparent ones located on his arms. Various lab technicians were mulling around, checking over charts, graphs and computer screens showing the results of their testing. “I looks like they found a bug of some sort, so I’m probably going to be in here until at least dinnertime.”

“Aw, poor baby.” Ailira says as she continues grinning. “Well, at least you got your paperwork out of the way. What do you say to catching some dinner after you get out of here?”

[ ] Sure.
[ ] Alright, but only after getting things ready for departure tomorrow morning.
[ ] No, after the tests it’s time to head out once more.

[x] No, after the tests it’s time to head out once more.

Can't stop here, it's adventure time.

[x] Sure.

Nothing wrong with some relaxation, a relaxed Merchant is a successful one.

[x] Alright, but only after getting things ready for departure tomorrow morning.

We can relax after making sure everything is ready.

[X] Sure.

A guy can't be the job 24/7. He needs some downtime.

[x] Sure.

Dinner first, work later.

[X] Sure.

A little time with a friend is fine too.

[x] Sure.
Why not?

[x] Alright, but only after getting things ready for departure tomorrow morning.

[X] Alright, but only after getting things ready for departure tomorrow morning.

[ ] Alright, but only after getting things ready for departure tomorrow morning.

Make sure to pick up that ring of flight.

[ ] Sure.

lets relax like a pro.

[x] Sure.

“Still trying to convince me of the wonders of this place, huh?”

“Come on Jean, you’ve been out and about in the dimensional wilds for months. It wouldn’t hurt to get a few days of relaxation under your belt.”

“Heh. Alright Ailira, you win. Where should I meet you?”

“Gleee!” Ailira squeals as she jumps up and down. “I’ll meet you at Brignam’s, then.”

“What?!? Brignam’s? But that place is-“

“Oh enough of your money concerns for one night, Jean. I haven’t seen you in forever, and it’s been at least that long since I’ve gotten a change to go out. I’ll meet you there at nine, alright? Oh, and make sure that you’re dressed up nicely, I don’t want you to make me the embarrassment of the whole town again.” She runs out of the room with a smile before you get a chance to talk back. Since you are still strapped to the examination table, all you can do is sputter while the lab technicians around you laugh.

“Oh man, she got you good, Lawrence.” One of the techs says. Jean humphs as he lies back down subdued to his fate. “Don’t know what you’re complaining about, though. If I had a girlfriend that cute my wallet would be the least of my concerns.

“First off, she isn’t my girlfriend. And second, you aren’t the one who has to pay for dinner at Brignam’s.”

“Heh, got me there. I’m amazed that she was able to get reservations on such short notice, though.”

“If there is one thing that I’ve learned about that girl,” Lawrence says with a sigh, “It’s that she’s very resourceful when she wants to be.”

---

After the technicians let Jean go with an all clear, he heads back to his room feeling much more refreshed. The techs said that they opened up a few channels that the seals were blocking, so now a small influx of energy is naturally flowing through him. They said that it will wear off in a few hours, but the only effects they can estimate are a slight increase in positive emotions. Considering the date this evening, that’s probably a good thing.

The techs also mentioned that the seals will probably end up covering his natural energy channels again sometime in the future, so they recommended coming back in a few months just to make sure things are going smoothly. Still, they were amazed at how smoothly the seals had integrated with him, saying that no person had ever done so well with them before. All in all, a feeling of coming out on top permeates the merchant. This feeling persists until he reaches his room, when the remembrance of the date comes to mind. Even a surge of positive emotion brought on by pure energy can’t fully hold up against a date at Brignam’s

---

“Well, it looks like you can clean up when you want to, Jean.”

Standing at the front of Brignam’s is Ailira, wearing a light blue, low cut satin dress that you think clashes horribly with her hair. Jean himself is dressed up in a well-made suit in traditional black and white.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“C’mon Jean, cheer up! We’re at Brignam’s! This is the place to be for food and entertainment!”

“Oh really? And who will be paying for all of this, may I ask?”

“Come on, Jean. I’ll pay for half if it makes you feel better.”

Jean lets out a sigh. “No, you’re right Ailira. I do need some time off, and I shouldn’t let monetary concerns hold me back.”

“Exactly!” Ailira says as she grabs your arm. “For one night let’s just forget everything and enjoy ourselves, alright?”

“Heh. Alright Ailira, you win again. Just let me ask this, how did you get reservations for this place on such short notice?”

“You don’t want to know.” Ailira says with a smile. Jean rolls his eyes as they enter the restaurant. Chances are that he really doesn’t.

---
Aside from the 60,000 yen bill from Brignam’s (why does quality food and entertainment cost so much?), the next few days are spent in idle relaxation. Inventory is sorted, sleep is caught up on, and all in all a nice break is taken on Jean’s part. But it isn’t too long before Jean gets bored with his surroundings and his wanderlust takes him once more.

“Are you sure you need to leave so soon?” Ailira says outside of the dimensional gate.

“Need? No. But you know me, Ailira. It’s just not in my nature to sit around in a place like this for too long. Besides, I can’t go too far on this thing,” Jean says while brandishing Blade, “so I’ll probably be back again within the month.”

“…Yeah, I know. Still, be careful out there, alright.”

“Hey, with these guns everyone out there should be careful of me!” Jean points to his arms with a grin, which makes Ailira laugh again. After a few moments of silence, however, Ailira surprises Jean by hugging him.

“I had fun this time. Come back soon, alright?”

“…no promises, little lady, but I’ll do my best.”

After parting, Jean checks to make sure his pack is in order, that he has all his merchandise, and that the ring of flight is secure on his finger. With a wave to Ailira, he heads for the Outbound control room.

---

Next time, on Merchant in Gensokyo…
How to slay a fire demon

And afterwards… (Select 2-3)
[ ] The Cursed Needle
[ ] A merchant for a merchant
[ ] Why merchants and volcanoes don’t mix
[ ] The jungle’s arrow
[ ] The sound of music
[ ] A better Blade
[ ] The one thing a merchant will not sell

Each episode will prepare the merchant better for his next sojourn into Gensokyo, but you can only choose a few. Some have better outcomes than others, so choose wisely.

What's Ailira's hair like again? Just asking for easy reference.

[x] The Cursed Needle
[x] The sound of music

You really like giving lots of mutually exclusive choices... it's kinda mean.

>>34930

I described it as peach colored. And in case it turns out that the dress-hair combination actually does work together, I apologize for my complete lack of fashion sense.

>>34931

MWAHAHA! Yeah, I do, don't I? But on the other hand I want to move things along here quickly, and I want to gauge where your priorities lie. Note that a few of the choices here tie back to earlier parts of the story, so make sure to choose wisely.

[x] The Cursed Needle
[x] A merchant for a merchant
[x] The sound of music

We got orders, we gotta fulfill them.

But I have to ask, our guy will go sell the items he had on order first before going to Gensokyo regardless of choices, right? (arrow and fireproof clothes)

[X] A merchant for a merchant
[X] The sound of music
[X] The one thing a merchant will not sell

I like sound of all of them.

[x] A merchant for a merchant
[x] The jungle’s arrow
[x] A better Blade

Going with my gut. Jean should have enjoyed the 'date' more, nice food, cute/nice girl. (Sure she's energetic, but not terribly so)

Though I do have to wonder about Jean's home society as it seems terribly greed/militilistic in places. I can't help but to wonder if there's some corruption somewhere.

[x] A merchant for a merchant
[x] Why merchants and volcanoes don’t mix
[x] The jungle’s arrow

[x] A better Blade
[x] The one thing a merchant will not sell

I may be speaking entirely out of my ass on these ones, as I'm in no way qualified to judge, but these last few updates have seem a little lackluster, technically. Nothing to worry about though, as I assume the lengths between them is getting to ya.

[x] A merchant for a merchant
[x] The jungle’s arrow
[x] A better Blade

These sound cooler to me.

Ailira's character and the interlude dimension were handled pretty well to me.

>>34950

The interlude bogged me down a bit. I ran out of inspiration for this first part of it, but still had to slog through it to move the plot along. Hopefully the next post will end up nicer, since I've been looking forward to writing it for a while.

That said, I think I've found a pretty good niche here in terms of story scheduling. I'll maintain this weekly update schedule for a while and we'll see what happens.

>>34960
Indeed, I'm curious about the details of the homeworld, and She is pretty likable, not sure how she'd do against various Touhous in a competition.

[x] The sound of music
[x] A better Blade
[x] The one thing a merchant will not sell

Going with my gut feeling

[x] A better Blade
[x] The jungle’s arrow
[x] The one thing a merchant will not sell

Excellent!

[x] The Cursed Needle
[x] A merchant for a merchant
[x] The sound of music

[x] A better Blade
[x] The jungle’s arrow
[x] The one thing a merchant will not sell

Anyone remember what we should be looking for?
All I can remember is a sewing machine for Alice and a Sealing Arrow for Eirin.

>>35067
Non-electrical music player for Kaguya. Magazines too. Game console for Rinnosuke.

>>35069
Also the latest fashions for the SDM I think....at least I think it was some sort of clothing.

The temple was, as always, somewhat of an deserted place. Despite its large size and stark red appearance, there were as few people around as always. Considering that it was at least a half day’s walk from the nearby city, though, it probably isn’t that much of a surprise.

As you approach the temple, you mind begins to wander on multidimensional parallels. Funny how even between dimensions, you can find two places that are so much alike. Well ok, the Hakurei shrine is much smaller than this. And more run down. And…now that you think about it, the shrine isn’t even red in its coloring, is it? You mind probably linked the red of the shrine maiden to the red of this temple. Forget parallels of dimensions, parallels of the mind are much weirder.

“Ah, you’ve returned!”

You are broken out of your crazy thinking by a running temple priestess. Dressed in the temple’s modest uniform of a white top and a red pleated skirt (hmm, maybe that’s where the parallel came from) and having her black hair tied back into a ponytail, she makes a beeline towards you.

“Hey Kira, how go the preparations.”

“They…go.” Kira says as she catches her breath. “Honestly, we are still somewhat in the dark on how to best prepare for this kind of thing. We are doing all we can, but never before has something like this happened.”

“I hear you,” you reply, “a prophecy of the coming of a fire demon isn’t something that happens every day. Are you sure that the source is reliable.”

“Positive. The old seer may not be able to control when he gets his visions, but they have never been off before.”

“Well alright then. Glad to hear that everything is going smoothly.”

“Yes, smoothly…” Kira says with trepidation. “If I may ask, were you able to find anything? I know it’s prudish to ask, but the one thing we still aren’t sure about is what kind of weaponry will be effective against-“

“Ah-ah-ah!” you say with a wag of your finger. “Say no more missy, I’m not one to leave someone hanging.” Digging into your pack, you bring out the first of your items. “First up, we have a set of fireproof clothes to help ward of the demon’s attacks.”

“Wonderful!” Kira says with a clap of her hands. As you pull the garment out, however, her enthusiasm decreases somewhat. “Er, was that the only style they had?”

The clothes themselves are a one piece jumpsuit made of a course beige material. “Yeah, sorry,” you reply, “this is the best material they provided, but unfortunately if any dye were to be used on it, the fireproofing would be rendered ineffective.”

“Ah well,” Kira says, “I suppose that so long as they provide protection, they will suffice. Though I do wish you could have gotten more than one.”

“I’m only one merchant, ma’am.”

“I’ve seen how many items you can fit in that pack of yours, Mr. Lawrence. In any case, this is fine for armor, but we still don’t have any means of defeating the beast.”

“I never said I was done, did I now?” You say as you pull the arrow out with a flourish. Kira’s eyes widen as you hold the arrow out to her. “The best exorcism arrow I could find, crafted by a crafty old man out in the middle of a rampaging jungle.”

“Rampaging jungle?” Kira asks with raised eyebrows.
“Never mind that. Just know that this thing will pack a punch against any demon it may hit.”

“Excellent!” Kira says with glee, “This might just work after all. Thank you Mr. Lawrence!”

“Not at all my good woman.” You say with a smile. “Now, as for the matter of payment…”

Kira’s face falters for a moment, causing you to sigh internally. This is always the hardest part of the sale; getting paid.

“Er, would you mind waiting until after the fire demon attacks before we pay you? We are somewhat strapped for cash with all the preparations, after all.”

“No can do, Ms. Kira. I have a staunch policy that all items must be paid for within 24 hours of the goods being delivered.” In truth, you don’t actually have such a policy, but at the same time you know that despite its desolation the temple has a lot of funding to it. You aren’t going to let them off that easy.

“Oh, well that’s not a problem then!” Kira says with a smile as she heads back towards the temple. “The fire demon will be attacking first thing in the morning, so you only have to wait until then!”

“…say what?”

---

How do you get into these messes?

Wasn’t this kind of thing supposed to stop after you quit the suppression squad? Weren’t you supposed to take it easy, and not live the life of a hero? Why did you come here in the first place? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to just stay back at the temple and not place yourself right where the action was?

These are the things running through your mind as you run through the burning field, strength and magic seals blazing, as the fire demon chases you. For the most part it’s your run-of-the-mill demon, neither major nor minor in its strength. Dog-like head, baboon-like body, every part of it on fire, same old same old. That being said, it could still rip your head off in a mere second if you let it catch up to you. For some reason the moment that the demon appeared, it decided that you were the ideal target, and began rampaging in your general direction.

“That’s great, Lawrence!” Kira yells out, “Now keep it from moving so that I can shoot it!”

“Easy for you to say!” you shout back. Seriously, she’s the one wearing the fireproofed clothes, why doesn’t she] try stopping it? Letting out another stream of water behind you, you continue to run in circles, the demon ever at you heels.

Kira is right, though. As you start running back to where Kira and her people are standing, you realized that if you can’t immobilize this thing, the chase will only end when the beast catches up to you. You need to slow it down, somehow. Don’t you have anything that could work?

…wait, you still have those seals that Hakurei gave you, don’t you? You pull one of them out of your pack and give it a quick look over. It looks as unimpressive as always, but at this point even the smallest of effects would help. You throw it over your shoulder in the general direction of the beast and hope for the best.

Naturally, your aim was way off. The good news is that the seal didn’t seem to notice. After a second of being airborne it immediately changed its trajectory and smacked itself against the demon’s forehead.

What happened next shocked everyone there, even you. The beast tripped over its feet and hit the ground hard. It struggled to move, but the seal had locked up its limbs completely. The effect only lasted for a few moments, though, as the seal quickly burned up and the demon was able to regain its footing.

Those few moments were enough to get a simple plan in your mind, however. You quickly threw a second seal at the demon while shouting, “Shoot it now!” to Kira. Not the most elegant of plans, sure, but you were hoping it would prove effective.

As it turns out, you hoped right. Kira came out of her shock the moment you yelled out, and quickly took aim. After a few seconds she let the arrow fly, scoring right in the demon’s forehead.

The beast let out a curdling scream as a flash of light engulfed it. When you could see again, all that was left was a stone statue of the demon, with the arrow embedded in its forehead. Letting out a breath of relief, you sit yourself down on the ground to gather your thoughts.

Kira will have none of that, though. “That was incredible!” she yells as she runs towards you.

“Oh, thanks. Hey, if you don’t mind, could you not tell anybody about my contribution here? I don’t want to get the reputation of a fighter, after all.”

“Hmm? Oh sure, sure. But tell me, Mr. Lawrence, where did you get such powerful seals?”

“Huh? Oh you mean these?” you say as you pull another seal out of your pack. “I met a shrine maiden who let me have a few of these in thanks for a donation.”

“A shrine maiden? Is she associated with the temple in any way?”

“Not hardly. She’s in charge of a shrine in a far off land, and-“

“It’s always far off lands with you, isn’t it Mr. Lawrence,” Kira says with a smile. Looking at the now stone demon, she says, “But I think today we have much to thank those far off lands for. Come, let’s return to the temple and get the payment for the arrow.”

“What about the clothes?”

“I’m returning them to you. After all, I didn’t need to use them, now did I?”

“…fine, but I’m billing you for services rendered, alright?”

“We’ll talk about it at the temple, Mr. Lawrence.” Kira says as she avoids looking you in the eye. “And maybe once we’re there, we can also discuss just how much those seals of yours are worth.”

You roll your eyes as you head back with the temple crew. Let it never be said that temples and shrines aren’t frugal.

NEXT TIME, ON MERCHANT IN GENSOKYO
A MERCHANT FOR A MERCHANT

---

Yes, I know Mokou isn’t a demon. I just wanted to start posting touhou-relevant pics again.

Yeesh, this one turned out much longer than I was planning. Anyways, I think that after one or two more posts we’ll be done with the interlude proper and get back to the Gensokyo goodness, so just hang tight.

Also, I need to do a tiebreaker. Take your pick:

[ ] The Jungle’s Arrow
[ ] The One thing a Merchant will not sell

[x] The One thing a Merchant will not sell
Both options are really good to be fair.

[ ] The Jungle’s Arrow

I don't know, feels right.

[x] The One thing a Merchant will not sell

>>35170
No it doesn't.

[X] The Jungle’s Arrow

He got the last arrow from an old man in a Jungle, and Eirin REALLY seemed to like it. Lets get another.

[x] The Jungle’s Arrow

Might be useful. Definitely profitable.

[X] The One thing a Jungle Arrow will not sell.

>>35180

A bow of the plains

[x] The sound of music

It tied too. Why wasn't it listed?

>>35182

I didn't find the idea too interesting in retrospect. You can vote for it if you like, but don't expect anything grand out of it.

[X] The Jungle’s Arrow

[x] The Jungle’s Arrow

[x] The One thing a Merchant will not sell

Even the greatest of merchants must get their wares from somewhere. A good number of them set up deals far in advance to make sure regular merchandise gets shipped in on time. Others might manufacture their own, or else pick items up regularly from a trusted source. And some are like you, picking up items of interest as they go along.

Sometimes, however, one might get a request for an item that one has no idea how to fulfill. Either its rarity is beyond comprehension, or else no one has ever heard of the item in question before. In times like these most merchants will simply ignore the order and move on to more practical orders. (Or in one case go insane, but we don’t like to talk about that guy if we can help it.) Considering the nature of your wares and exploration, however, you find it very difficult to turn down an order, and make every effort to make sure each one is fulfilled, no matter how impossible it might seem. And more often than not, you manage to fulfill each and every one.

One might ask, “How is this possible, to constantly fulfill such impossible orders?” In truth, it probably shouldn’t be. But a while back, you came upon a city that seemed to thrive on the sale of rare and unique items. A place that seemed to almost magically attract every sort of merchandise known to man.

A city by the name of Pensee.

A large city with a small town feel, Pensee is a city that is operated around the ideals of its merchants’ guild. Merchants of any type are always welcome, and there are no restrictions on what can be sold within its walls. One might think that this might be a huge incentive for crooks and criminals to move in, but a large adventurer presence within the city keep such rates low. (With the exception of extremely large tabs and frequently unpaid meals, for some reason) All in all, you consider it to be a merchant’s paradise, and always try to visit as often as you can.

Walking through the town square, you consider where you should stop by next. On one hand, the merchant’s guild does sell items pretty cheaply, but their variety is somewhat lax. On the other, the marketplace does often have a lot of stuff, but one really has to put in some effort in order to find what one wants, and often the price is well above what you would consider paying for. There are also some corporate stores in the area, such as “Big Bash”, but you tend to find the quality at such places lacking.

As luck would have it, though, there is a store that opened up a few months back. While it might be a bit pricy at times, they are very good at providing you with the stuff you need. Shifting your pack, you make your way to the top of the town’s only hill.

---

“Welcome!” A voice from the back of the store calls out as you enter. A quick glance shows that the store is in a simple fashion today, with a simple wooden floor, white walls and a few red rugs here and there. (The owner is kind of whimsical in terms of decoration, often changing the look of the store based solely on how she is feeling.) People are mulling about looking at the various pieces of merchandise, which range from the simplest of clothing to the most extravagant of treasures. A vending machine can be seen along the far wall, dispensing various foodstuffs at base price. Making sure not to run into anyone, you make your way to the back of the store, where the counter sits.

“Ah, it’s you Jean-Luc!” The girl behind the counter gives you a warm smile as you approach.

“Indeed it is!” you reply, “It’s good to see you again, Recette. How’s business?”

“I…think it’s alright?” Recette says as the smile on her face turns into one of embarrassment. “I know I’ve been selling a lot lately, but Tear is the one who keeps track of the finances and…”

“That’s because the last time I left the books alone in your hands, the paperwork ended up a month back.” A voice from behind you says. “And in any case, you shouldn’t give out the state of our business to our competitors so easily.”

“It’s good to see you again too, Tear.” You say as you turn around. Floating behind you is a silver-haired fairy around a foot in height, dressed in a business uniform of various greys and blacks. She is giving you a stern look, as if to say that no funny business will be tolerated in her presence.

“Merde,” Tear lets out with a sigh, before softening her expression with a small smile. “It is also good to see you to, Mr. Lawrence. I hope that you are here to purchase something?”

“That is my intent, although what I want might be a little hard to find.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Tear says, “Your requests are often difficult to the point of frustration. Half the time we have to craft the items ourselves in order to meet your specifications.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t keep on coming here if I didn’t think you could do it.” You reply. “And you guys are my most reliable supplier, so it’s no wonder I keep coming back.”

“Hmph. Well as long as you are here with the intent to buy, I suppose that you are welcome here. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.” With that, Tear flies off to assist another customer.

“So, how may I help you today, Mr. Lawrence?” Recette says with a grin.

“Well, Ms. Lemongrass,” you say, turning back to the counter, “I have a few things that I’d like to see if you could procure for me…” With that you take out a small list you wrote up on the way to the store and hand it to Recette. A look of concentration comes across her face as she scans the list.

“Various fashions? I don’t think we have much in terms of clothing right now. The only stuff I can guarantee having is the stuff that’s out on display.”

“Yeah, don’t worry too much about that one.” You say with a wave of your hand. “The client was a bit too vague there, I only wanted to see if you had anything above average.”

“Can’t say that we do.” Recette says with a small smile as she continues down the list. “A manual sewing machine? Sorry, but you’d probably have better luck with someone from the craftsman’s guild there.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for the advice.” As you say that you can see that Recette has fallen deeper into sadness once more. “Hey come on now, there’s no reason to get down now is there?”

“But I can’t help you fulfill your order, and that means slightly less business for me.” The young merchant says with a pout.

“Hey, hey. One time isn’t going to drive me away as a customer forever. Come on now, there must be something on here you have.

“Hmm…ah, hold on!” She exclaims, her smile returning in full once more. “I think I might have a phonograph in stock today!”

“A phonograph? You mean like a manual record player?”

“Yeah! I picked it up at the market a few weeks ago. Tear said I would never sell it, but it looked so sad and alone that I just couldn’t just let it stand there.”

“Um…alright?” Seriously, this girl has the strangest thoughts sometimes. “In any case, would I be able to have a look?”

---

“Thank you very much!” Recette says with a smile as she hands you the record player. Geez, that girl can haggle like nothing else, and you aren’t even sure if this will work in the way that Kaguya wants. Still, at least you managed to find what you were looking for, so hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

“Do you want me to see if I can find the sewing machine around town for you as well, Jean-Luc?” Recette asks with an eager look.”

“No thanks, Recette, I think I’ll be ok on my own for that. Besides, you’ve already saved me a lot of trouble with this right here.” You say as you pat the phonograph on the side. As you open your pack, Recette stares at it with undisguised jealousy.

“Oooh, if only I had a pack like yours, I would be able to make a killing on the dungeons.”

“Hey, your packs are fairly good at pocket storage as well, Recette.”

“Yeah, but yours is like on a different level entirely! Are you sure that I can’t buy it off of you?”

“Sorry,” you say with a laugh, “But considering how hard it was to get it in the first place, I don’t think I’ll be willing to let it off my hands for a good long while.”

“Aww.” Recette says with a bowed head. Looking up, she gives the store a good look around. “Hey, I think that’s about it for this shift. Wanna get some lunch and show me some of the stuff you’ve picked up, Jean-Luc?”

“Honestly, this is why the store isn’t doing as well as it could.” Tear says as she floats near. “We can’t expect to make a profit if the store is never open.”

“Aw come on, Tear.” Recette says with a pout. “Jean-Luc only comes into town every few months! And you know the stuff he has is always good.”

“Merde.” Tear lets out once more. “Alright, I suppose that going out to lunch every once in a while couldn’t hurt.”

“Alright!” Recette yells as she jumps out from behind the counter. “I’m going to get some cake today!”

“You will not!” Tear retorts as the two head for the door. “A balanced diet is crucial for a merchant’s lifestyle!”

“Oh come on, Tear. One time won’t hurt!”

“That’s what you say every time!”

You let out a chuckle as you follow the two out the door. Merchandise aside, the one thing you can always count on these two for is a good laugh.

NEXT TIME, ON MERCHANT IN GENSOKYO
A BETTER BLADE
AND
THE JUNGLE’S ARROW

---

Hmm? What’s that you say?

“What? Still no touhous? How long is this guy planning on making us wait?”

Well don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten what this board is all about. One more post and the interlude should be over, so just hold tight.

Nice update. Waiting warmly.

...Recette? I approve.

Recettear was pretty enjoyable.

>>35367

> That pic

Everything you own for a single [Insert Monetary Credit Here]? SURE!

I hope we got that ring of flight...

>>35382
He did. It's stated at the end of >>34927 .

Alright, you know this guy makes the greatest arrows you know of, but every time you find yourself trudging through the jungle you are forced to wonder if finding this guy again is worth it.

Not that you are lost, mind you. That only happened the first time you wandered in here. But although you can now recognize certain landmarks to help you find your way, that doesn’t mean that you don’t hate this place with every fiber of your being. The air is sticky, there is a horrible stench in the air, and most of all everything in this place seems to have an innate desire to kill you.

After three additional giant plant attacks, four rabid beast stampedes, and an endless amount of blood sucking insects (ranging in size from insignificant to suck your head off) you finally arrive. A large tree stands before you, in which a sloppily constructed treehouse stands. Boards have been nailed together in a haphazard fashion, and as one of the boards comes undone and lands near you it hits home that this guy will never master the art of shelter building.

“Oy, Tiv, you around?”

“Hm?” A voice from inside the “domicile” says. “Is that you, Lawrence? Give me a moment, I’ll be right out.”

A few moments and a good number of falling boards later and a figure emerges from the shack. Dressed in what appears to be rags constructed of various pieces of softened tree bark hastily stitched together, and despite looking like he hasn’t had a shower in a few weeks, Tiv the elf nonetheless seems quite happy as he descends from his place of residence. Slightly bulky in his build from living in the jungle for a bit too long, he nonetheless possessed the great dexterity common to his species, jumping down the tree with ease.

“Ah, it is you, Lawrence!” He says as he hits the ground next to you. “Good to see you again! I assume you’ve brought the usual?”

“Yeah, a couple sets of clothes and some of Grether’s famous spiced bread, coming right up.” You say as you start digging around in your pack.

“Wonderful! Would you care to step inside for a short while to discuss recent current events?”

“You know I’m not getting within a five foot radius of that deathtrap, Tiv.”

“Ah, right. Well I suppose we can chat out here then, though we should probably make it quick, since we don’t want to attract the attention of the various jungle denizens.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” You say as you hand Tiv his supplies. “I still have no idea why you live here in any case.”

“Oh it’s a bit rough, sure,” Tiv says with a wave of his hands, “but this jungle has the greatest arrow-making materials known to elven-kind! I still wonder why no one else ever thought of coming out here before.”

“It probably takes a certain kind of mind, Tiv.” For the sake of being polite, you leave out what kind of mind that would probably be.

“Perhaps.” Tiv says with a shrug. “Speaking of arrows, how did the one I give you turn out?”

“Worked like a charm.” You say with a smile. “It took a bit of effort to slow the demon down, but the moment your arrow hit it, BAM, right to stone!”

“YES!” Tiv says with glee, dancing around a bit. “I knew the theory was sound! Should I assume that there have been multiple orders placed for the arrow in question?”

“Actually, the temple residents seemed more interested in another piece of inventory that I had at the time, so additional orders from them didn’t come up in conversation.”

“Oh.” Tiv says, deflating a bit.

“Hang on a second, I’m not done yet. Before I delivered the arrow to the temple, I was able to show it to another client, and she has expressed immense interest in your work.”

“Really?” Tiv says, immediately inflating back up. “Oh well that’s wonderful! And you say that she was interested the moment she laid eyes on it?”

“Er, I didn’t say that, but yes.”

“Hmm, then she must have quite the eye if she noticed the intricacies of the arrow straight out. I wonder… yes, I think that I might have just the thing! Stay there, Lawrence, I’ll go and get another one of those arrows, as well as some others that she may be interested in!” With that, Tiv jumps back up to his hut to find said arrows in question. As he does approximately 4 different species of wolf seem to lurk out of the nearby growth, all of their eyes naturally trained on you.

“Do you think you could hurry that along?”

“You can’t hurry PROGRESS, Lawrence!”

…HATE this jungle.

<Tiv’s Arrow Set received!>

---

Hang on, guys. One more post incoming.

“Well now, that’s quite an interesting piece of metalwork you’ve got there, son.”

Ah crap. You really need to pay more attention when you are moving things around in your pack. As you were placing some of your metal-based purchases inside, it looks like Blade fell out. Well it shouldn’t matter too much, this guy may be somewhat obsessed about swords and the like, but that shouldn’t mean-

“Land sakes, boy, what in the world have you been doing with this? I mean the blade is tattered. Tattered! How in the world to you get a piece of metal exhibit a property like that!”

“Er…” Tattered? What the hell is the blacksmith talking about? It might be rough around the edges, but it looks fine to you?

“I didn’t per say. It’s…something of an heirloom. It was basically in this condition when I received it.”

“And let me guess, you’ve been fighting off hoodlums with it since the moment you received it.”

“It isn’t designed for fighting.” You say as you reach for Blade. “May I have it back now?”

“Hmm…” the blacksmith says, pulling away from you. “You’re right, it isn’t meant for fighting people, now is it? Then what does it…” The old man trails off into silence for a bit as he stares intensely at the sword.”

“Look, I understand that you’re interested in that, but it’s one of my personal effects and isn’t for sale, now could I please have it back!”

To be fair, you should have expected that a man who refers to himself as the “Ultimate Blacksmith” would probably be unsettled enough to literally throw you out the front door, shouting “Come back in three days!” without even waiting for a reply before slamming it shut. It still takes you a moment for you to come to your senses about what happened though.

“Aw geez, there he goes again.” The blacksmith’s apprentice says as he approaches you, lending you a hand to lift you up. “Now he’s going to be obsessed over whatever it was that you gave him for the next few days, meaning even less time for personal instruction.

“What? But I didn’t give him anything! He just took-“

“In his case, it’s the same difference.” The apprentice says with a shrug. “Look, suggest that you just hang around here for a few days until he is done. Chances are that you won’t regret it.”

---

It’s not like you could go anywhere in any case. Sure, the pack does have the emergency retrieval system installed, but since utilizing that would essentially mean abandoning all of your merchandise you are more inclined to get your usual means of inter-dimensional travel back in your hands. That coupled with the fact that you have no idea what that crazy blacksmith is doing to Blade means that you’ve been pounding on his door like crazy for the past few days. Every time, he just shouts that he’s busy and refuses to unlock the door for you, causing you no undue amounts of distress.

Well no more of that. If he doesn’t open that door for you today, then you are BREAKING that door down. No more Mr. Nice Merchant.

As you make to slam you fist against the door once more, however, you notice that today it’s already slightly open. Making your way inside, you see the blacksmith and his apprentice staring at a certain item lying on the counter. As you place your eyes on it, all of your anger leaves you at once. “Is that…”

“Stayed up three nights in a row to get the work on it done, but it was worth it.” The old man says, both weariness and eagerness in his voice. “Didn’t seem to know what I was working with half the time, but I think it turned out pretty well, no?”

An understatement. Blade has been completely reforged to the point where you can’t even recognize it. What was once a ragged piece of metal is now a fine edged blade, smooth as silk on both sides, and having a seemingly visual sharpness to it. The hilt has been completely replaced with a wooden grip that has a twisting wrist guard jutting out near where it meets the blade. And for some reason, it seems to be emitting a purple sheen of sorts that gives the impression of not seeing the sword for what it truly is.

“It’s…incredible.”

“Ain’t it just? By the way, you never told me the name of this fine piece of work, now did you?”

“I’ve just been calling it Blade ever since I’ve gotten it, but…”

“Seems a bit more important now, doesn’t it?” The blacksmith says as he hands it to you with a smile.

“Yeah. So what do I owe-“

“Ah ah ah!” The blacksmith says, waving his hands. “This one’s on the house. I never get a chance to work with weapons like this, so let’s just call this a learning experience, alright?”

“If you say so.” You bid the blacksmith and his apprentice farewell as you make your way to a deserted spot you found during your interim here. Well it looks good, but let’s see how it works. You slash blade down across the air, and a first nothing seems to happen. But a second later the air seems to convulse upon itself as a portal through the dimensions is opened once more.

Incredible. It used to take you forever to get this thing to cut through dimensions. You stare at Blade once more as you begin to consider what else it might be able to do now.

<Blade has been upgraded!>

Give a new name to Blade?

[ ] <Enter Name>
[ ] Hmmm, maybe another time

---

And that marks the end of the interlude. Come next post we’ll be moseying our way back into Gensokyo. Thanks for sticking through this, guys.

I’m probably going to take next week off so that I can roll up a decent inventory for the next visit. Some items have already been determined through the interlude, but a good merchant always tries his best to be prepared. If you have any suggestions of what you might like to see, go ahead and post them, but I give no guarantees as to what items will or will not make the final cut.

[X]Rip Van Winkle

[LOL]Snikt-bub

yeah no

[X]La Souris

What better than to think of the second best escape artist next to Houdini?

So now, rather than being inconspicuous, we have a glowing purple superblade? This does not bode well.

We need to stock light bulbs. Preferably an obsolete kind.

[X]La Souris

I like the cut of your jib, Anon.

No idea for names but as for inventory: Another lava lamp perhaps? And batteries too. Unless the kappas can make them, Okuu must already have exhausted the batteries on her lamp.

At any rate, Eirin is probably going to be very happy for this next visit.

[X]La Souris

I like it.

If we name it La Souris, we must never mention this fact to Nazrin. Ever.

>>35481

Why would she know French? Even if she found out the name I doubt she'd know French unless Remilia[ by some coincidence decided to explain that tid-bit; Besides...

image related

From that beginning I was certain that he was in diablo 2 Act 3

[x] Viator (Traveler)

What? I like Latin.

>>35486
[x] Viator

I like this.

>>35475

Clarification: It doesn't glow, it lets off a purple sheen. Most people who see blade will catch a glimpse of purple, but will most likely attribute it to something akin to a trick of the light.

[x]The Subtle Knife

Teehee.

[x] Viator

[x] Viator

[X]La Souris

Works for me~!

[x] Viator

For the record, Viator is probably the ugliest name conceived for such a blade; nor does it roll off the tongue all that pleasantly.

Should it be used, at least one anon will forever refer to it as La Souris.

At least the other one's actually funny in context of the story!

That is all.

[x] Viator
Yeah, sounds better.

[X]La Souris

[x] Viator

[X] La Souris

Sounds fancy.

[X]La Souris

I like Viator, Buuuut I like French even more.

[X]La Souris

[x] Viator
Dead language is best language.

>>35565

Not quite true as it's still used in the Christian faith, otherwise yes it's pretty much dead.

Assyrian, now THAT is a dead language and the only thing that keeps it at all relevant today is the project of Uni of Chicago making something of a dictionary that took nearly a hundred years.

That said, Latin is boring.

It's a tie between the two, so I'll make an executive decision here.

Blade is now know as Viator!

As for why, it just felt more appropriate.

Like I said last week, I took this week off in order to prepare for the next segment of the story. (Coming up with random items to sell is HARD!) Tune in next week for the start of the second visit.

>>35646
>executive decision
Not my president!

Er. Hooray! I'm looking forward to seeing the changes this minor time-lapse caused.

“Thank you very much!”

The store clerk bows to you as you exit the shop, merchandise in hand. Apparently the promotion you saw in the catalogue back in Rinnosuke’s shop ended around a month and a half ago, just as you left this dimension for the first time. In the end, you were able to haggle enough to get the item down to the price it was in the promotion, but the shopkeeper insisted you make up the difference in other items. In the end, you purchased a few old games for the Superboy, as well as a large pack of batteries so that powering it would not be a concern.

‘At least he won’t have to worry about it running out of power any time soon.’ You think to yourself as you place the items in your pack. Looking around, you take in the bustle of the city moving around you. Nothing seems to have changed since you were here last, but then again it’s hard to tell when a change has occurred in a place such as this.

That does it for the shopping, so you decide that this would probably be as good of a time as any to head towards the shrine. You’re fairly pleased with yourself as well, since you managed to procure all of the orders you got in Gensokyo. Well, almost all of them. No matter how hard you looked, you just couldn’t find a sewing machine that ran on manual power. And since you don’t trust your sense of fashion in the least, you chose not to pick up some clothes for the vampire, choosing to snag a few extra magazines of the local fashions instead.

As you walk along the streets, you can’t help but smile as you pass various newsstands handing out papers. You still can’t read them, of course, but listening in on the gossip of people who can leads you to believe that your little escapade with the local authorities is still hot news, despite the fact that it occurred a month and a half ago. It turns out that the city has a system of cameras that assist the authorities in their work, and that most of your chase was caught on tape. Since you disappeared without a trace, the authorities released the footage, hoping that somebody would be able to ID you and report you in. All in all, it seems as though you’ve become something of a local celebrity.

Not that you are concerned, though. As you pass by a patrolling policeman you give him a small wave. You can see him raise one of his eyebrows in confusion, but he waves back before turning away. Man, this shawl works great! You have no idea what other people are seeing you as, of course, but that’s of little concern to you so long as you are able to move around without getting arrested on sight.

You make your way through the city, asking people for the location of the shrine as you go. Soon enough you find yourself in front of a wooded hill, and a path of steps leading up to where the shrine waits.

As you make your way up, you consider how to get back into Gensokyo. You could wait in the donation box again, but you aren’t sure if that would work twice, not to mention the fact that Reimu probably wouldn’t be amused to find you in there a second time. It’s probably best to just try walking past the shrine and hope that will get you through the border. It worked on the way out, so why shouldn’t it work on the way in?

“I’m telling you Mary, I can’t understand why this isn’t working!”

Hm? As you reach the top of the stairs, you see two women, a blonde and a brunette mulling about the shrine. The blonde one is wearing a blue dress with a white hat, with the brunette wearing a white shirt, black skirt and black hat of similar fashion. They look familiar, but you can’t really put your finger on where you saw them before. As it stands, it looks like the blonde is trying to get her friend to calm down.

“Calm down, Renko. The woods out there are very dense, and you can’t see the stars when we are in there. We probably just got lost again last night…”

“Come on, Mary, even I know you don’t believe that!” The brunette is in a very agitated state, furiously pacing around the shrine’s grounds. “We even used a compass this time! Even when we tried simply going in one direction, we just ended up on the other side of the forest in half the time it should have taken. It’s driving me nuts!”

“Yes, well, maybe it’s a sign that we shouldn’t be doing this? I don’t know about you, Renko, but every time we come here something feels…off. Almost as if I’m seeing double, if that makes sense.”

“If what we’ve researched about this lost land is true, then it makes total sense! But I just don’t get what we are missing here!” With that, the girl called Renko begins pacing once more.

Hmm. Seems like these girls are trying to get into Gensokyo. It really isn’t any of your business, though, and you get the feeling that it might be easier to just try and bypass them for now. And even though Yukari’s warning was only directed towards people from dimensions other than this one, you don’t think that letting in random people from this one would win you any points either.

What to do…

[ ] Approach them, disguise on
[ ] Approach them, disguise off
[ ] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying
[ ] Just sneak past them; it’s probably more trouble to interact with them than it’s worth

And here is the refreshed inventory!

NOTE: The ring of flight has replaced the grappling hook in your personal inventory.

---

Merchandise in dimensional bag:
Various catalogues of the outside world
Nice hat x1
Tiv’s Arrow Set x1 (RESERVED)
Fireproof Clothes x1
Blank Spell Cards x1
Doohickey x1
Phonograph x1
A single stick of dynamite
Superboy XL x1
Herbs and Leaves Tea Set x5
Shawl of Disguise x1
Butterfly Knife x1
Lamp x1
Strange Gem x1
Beginner’s Potion set x1
Tome of Advanced Practical Magic x1
Scotch Tape x1
Wand of Fireball x1
Batteries
Lava Lamp x1
Wrench Set x1

Orders and requests:
Superboy XL (Rinnosuke) <In trade for mirror of dreams>
Keep an eye out for a manual sewing machine (Alice)
Exorcism Arrow (Eirin)
Keep an eye out for medicinal herbs and leaves (Eirin)
Various Publications from outside the Border (Kaguya)
Manual-powered record player (Kaguya)
“Something of elegance, fashion-wise” (Remilia)


Personal items on hand:
Ring of Flight
Toolkit (Screwdriver, flashlight, bottle opener, simple knife (non-combat), campfire starter)
Food Rations
60,000 yen
Viator
Map of Gensokyo

Seals:
[Seal 1P] Arm Strength
[Seal 2P] Leg Strength
[Seal 3P] Stamina
[Seal 4P] Defense
<Seal 1M> Fire
<Seal 2M> Water
<Seal 3M> Lightning
<Seal 4M> Light

Abilities Unlocked:
LUCK x3 (Put in front of a choice to make our hero more fortunate for the next turn. At least 4 people have to select this for it to activate, but the options selected do not have to be the same)

You can once again gather the latent energy around you and channel it to suit your purposes. Larger endeavors require larger amounts of energy, and the energy you collect must be applied towards a person, object or the environment around you.

Spell Cards:
Spiritual Strike Talisman (System)
Magic Potion (System)
Practice Sign: Simple Laser
Surge Sign – Geyser of the Heavens <Requires Leg, Water and Light Seals Activated>

Known Merchants:
House of Kirisame (General goods)
Kourindou (Antiques, Variety, Basic Identification)
Kappa’s Bazaar (Various goods, mainly technological and literary in nature, food court)
Made by Nitori (Technological goods, technological repairs, located in Kappa’s Bazaar)
Fall’s Bounty (Seasonal Food – Autumn, located in Kappa’s Bazaar)
Kirisame Magic Shop (Junk shop, Marisa-for-hire?)
Fukuda Groceries (Food, produce)
Yagokoro Clinic (Medicine, health services)
Temple of Myoren (Dowsing)

Errr... Isn't that list missing some RESERVED mentions? Like the phonograph and the Superboy XL?

[X] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying

My thinking without meta-knowledge: If they already know about Gensokyo, then surely Yukari knows about them. We can ask her later why she doesn't let them in.

[X] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.

>>35807

Oh yeah, nice catch. I don't think it calls for re-posting the whole list, though, so long as your warning is right under it.

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying

If they want our help, they'll have to make the Spot check.

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.

While this isn't exactly Chado-verse Gensokyo, we shouldn't just help two unprepared girls wander in.

>>35818
Right, we sell them the supplies first. Good thinking.

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.
We can always approach them later.

[X] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.

Works for me~!

[x] Approach them, disguise off
-[x] Tell them about the tapes, and how this is where you went to Gensokyo
--[x] Rape them.

okay yeah all /th/ faggotry aside

[X] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.

[x] Approach them, disguise on

[x] Don’t approach them, but keep listening to what they are saying.

Yeah, better to play it safe in this case. It seems like few (if any) people tend to visit this place, so somebody just showing up out of nowhere to strike up a conversation would probably be viewed with suspicion. Best case is that they would just wave it off as someone creepy trying to hit on them, but considering how engrossed this Renko girl is in finding Gensokyo it seems much more likely that they would probably end up following you if you forced an encounter. It all boils down to a nothing-lose situation, and it’s probably in your best interests to just sneak around them through the forest.

…of course, that doesn’t mean you have to stop listening, now does it.

---

Renko would never admit this to Mary, but she was stumped. No matter what leads popped up on finding this fantasy land, they always ended up being dead ends. And more often than not, the end always seemed to be at this accursed shrine.

What was she missing?!? There had to be some sort of clue around here, but no matter how much they investigated the place the only thing that seemed to be of any note was that empty donation box inside the shrine itself, and that didn’t end up going anywhere either. Heck, one time she was daring enough to convince Mary to sit in that box for an entire night, and still nothing came out of it!

And that wasn’t even the worst of it! All the rumors and information she gathered suggested that others had little to no trouble getting in! The mansion in Europe that seemed to disappear into thin air a few decades ago, the night when the moon’s numbers were off, heck even that merchant that was in the paper a month or so back all suggested that people could easily go in and out when it was their wish to do so. So what was keeping her and Mary out?

“I just don’t get it, Mary. Everything leads to here, but it’s like every lead and clue that comes here just disappears into nothing!”

“Maybe they’re getting sucked into the fantasy land?” Mary still seemed somewhat apprehensive about this place, glancing around as if to make sure of what she was seeing. From what Mary told Renko, her eyes tended to go nuts around this shrine. She called it seeing double, but Renko would probably describe it more as something akin to seeing something that wasn’t’ supposed to be there.

“Maybe.” Renko replied as she stopped and looked at the shrine once more. Mary herself always admitted to never seeing more than one of anything at the shrine, but it always felt like there was something in the air that she wasn’t seeing. Naturally, Renko wanted to see where this could lead, but at the same time she knew well enough not to make her friend more uncomfortable then she had to be. (The night in the donation box notwithstanding) “Can information even do that?”

“Maybe if it’s been forgotten by society, then it could go somewhere else? I’m not sure…”

“But if information like that is forgotten, how can we keep running into it?”

“One or two people remembering do not consist of an entire society on their own, Renko.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Hey Renko, can we go? I don’t think we’re going to find anything else here today.”

Renko let out a sigh. Yeah, there weren’t going to uncover anything today. Probably best to head on home before this turned into the night of the donation box all over again.

“I guess you’re right. Come on, let’s go get something to eat and-“

“Wait.” Mary had turned her head in the direction of the forest near the shrine. “Is there something over there?”

Renko turned to where Mary was looking and strained her eyes. “I don’t see anything Mary, just a bunch of trees.”

“Yes, but one of those trees looks a bit off. Kind of looks like a person carrying a strange pack of sorts.”

Renko was a person who was very dependent on physical numbers, charts and most importantly evidence. If it wasn’t in front of her eyes she had a hard time believing it. The only exception to this that she had ever come to accept was when Mary saw something that she couldn’t.

“After that tree!” Renko shouted, and with that the two girls were off.

---

Darn it, why did you have to try and keep on listening until the end? You could have just kept on moving, but nooooo, you just had to eavesdrop on a philosophical conversation between two college age girls which, in retrospect, is kind of creepy now that you think about it. Curse you philosophy and your impossible-to-not-listen-to nature! And how did that girl see through your disguise, anyways? Shouldn’t wearing the shawl have hid you against the background of the forest? Darn it, you knew there had to be a catch when that merchant refused to give you an instruction manual for this thing!

The good news is that while you have found yourself running through forests and jungles more than you would like, the girls are obviously city bred. It only takes you about five minutes to lose them, although you get the feeling that the Hakurei border might have assisted you in that part. Still, you hope the two of them are back in the shrine, and not wandering the wilds of Gensokyo. You get the feeling that the former is more likely, but you might want to ask Reimu or even Yukari if holy cow that is a big tree.

The tree before you, while not monstrous in its size, was still one of the larger ones you have seen. Numerous branches spread out above your head through which the wind blows through, creating a nice visual effect. (Strange that you can’t hear much of it, though) Even more curious, the trunk has a noticeable split, almost as if something tried to chop it in half but failed, and the tree simply grew around that injury.

All in all, it seems like a nice spot to take a break.

[ ] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance
[ ] This is no time for taking breaks; there is capitalism to be done! You can catch your breath on the way to the shrine, anyways.

[x] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance

Vaginatree.

[x] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance

[x] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

That tree might have been affected by the border being formed.

>>35945
Nah, I believe we'll meet 3 mischievous fairies if we stay around. It's gotta be THAT tree near the shrine...

[x] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance

[x] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

>>35946

Reference link for those who are interested.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/touhou_sangatsusei/v03/c021/1.html

Hmm, in retrospect it would seem that I described the tree incorrectly. Of course, since the description of any given tree should have absolutely no impact on the story itself, this isn't a huge loss.

[X] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

Hnmm...

[X] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

[X] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

Let's educate the fairies on capitalism.

No update this week, guys. A combination of sunburn, fatigue and a cold have essentially shut down my brain, and I need to focus on getting better for work tomorrow.

>>36088
Hope you feel better.

Thanks for the patience guys, I really needed last week off. Now then…
---
[X] Running for five minutes straight will knock the breath out of you. Best to catch your breath while you have the chance.

You sit down next to the tree and calm yourself and begin to cool down from your unanticipated running spree. Five minutes of rest for five minutes of sprinting doesn’t seem like a bad deal. Besides, it’s still early on in the day, so a few minutes of contemplation won’t hurt anyone.

From underneath the tree, you have to admit that it has quite a unique look to it. Its trunk is massive, covering most of the clearing in which it sits. Additionally, it seems to be growing in something of an odd fashion, almost as if a multitude of branches were coming together to form a single tree.

Still, you never were one to criticize a tree for how it should grow, so you decide to put it out of your mind. Feeling somewhat rested, you decide to move on your way. Seeing a path that leads out from the clearing, you head out on your way.

As you head along the path, you get a sense that something isn’t quite right. You can’t put your finger on it, but despite the fact that you are using the sun’s position for guidance, you don’t feel like you’re going the right way. Almost as if the sun itself was in the wrong place, somehow. Such an event would normally be impossible, right? Still, you can’t help but stare at the sun while you walk, attempting to figure this puzzle out.

As it stands, you really should have remembered that staring at celestial bodies for long periods of time can be detrimental to your health, as it quickly comes to your attention that while you have been staring at the sun, you have somehow fallen off a cliff. Strange, you would have thought that your sense of hearing would have noticed the shift in environmental noise as you approached. Why in the world didn’t…

Oh right, probably should focus on not dying here, shouldn’t you?

[ ] Activate your seals! This is no hole in the ground; you need every bit of strength you can muster!
[ ] Activate nothing and take it like a man! The ground is no match for you!
[ ] Flap your arms in the hope that you will learn to fly in the next-

…you are such an idiot sometimes.

The ring of flight glows slightly as you slow your descent, and soon enough you find yourself hovering in mid-air. Man, you had forgotten that you had the ring on this whole time. Then again, considering that most of the inhabitants of the other worlds you have visited tend to freak out at the sight of a flying man it might be somewhat understandable. Well either way, no point in walking now.

As you rise up above the cliff that you fell off of, you hear what sounds like the laughter of children. Getting curious, you make your way back into the woods a bit until you find three young girls laughing their heads off. No, scratch that, their wings show that they are actually fairies. Like Cirno, they are much bigger in size than the average fairy, though they somehow come off as much weaker than the ice fairy. The trio consists of a pigtailed redhead wearing a white-and-red dress, a blond with a black and white dress whose hair seems to spiral as it falls, and a brunette wearing blue and white who for some reason reminds you of Kaguya.

“Man, that was awesome!” you can hear the redhead say as you approach, “I can’t believe he didn’t suspect anything when I moved the sun’s rays around!”

“He did though, remember?” the blond says, “He was staring where you were making the light appear the whole time, Sunny. If it weren’t for the fact that I made it so he couldn’t hear the sounds from the cliff-“

“Oh come off it Luna!” Sunny retorts, “You know that it was my ability that got him to fall! If it was just you there was no way we could have pulled that off!”

“Now, now,” the brunette interrupts, “As usual it was all three of us who came together and pulled off that prank.” (Sending a person to fall to their death is a prank?) “Sunny moved the sun’s light, Luna blocked the sound near the cliff, and I tracked the man so that we wouldn’t have to get close.”

“When you put it that way, Star,” the blond says, “it sounds like you weren’t needed at all there.”

“What MATTERS,” Star says with a humph, “Is that we pulled the prank off.”

“Yeah!” Sunny says as she jumps up, “That guy never caught on! Remember the look on his face when he fell off the cliff?”

“Yeah! But it wasn’t nearly as good as the look on his face when he found out why he fell off of the cliff in the first place.”

The three fairies freeze, and then turn around to see you squatting about a foot behind them with a cold smile on your face. Giving them a little wave, you make your intentions known.

“Hi.”

The three fairies scream in terror as they take off towards the sky. You stand up as you watch them go. Should you go after them?

…nah, probably more trouble than it are worth. Besides, you get the feeling that any lessons that you give them would soon be forgotten. Better to just report this incident to Reimu so that she can take care of it.

…Ah, right. Reimu. You had nearly forgotten that bit of business that you need to take care of. Putting thoughts of fairies behind you, you take off from the ground and head towards the Hakurei shrine.

---

“Oh, it’s you.”

The Hakurei shrine maiden is outside, sweeping the grounds of her shrine. As you came floating down she spares you a glance as if seeing flying merchants is an everyday occurrence here in Gensokyo. “I thought you couldn’t fly.”

“Yeah, well, it’s amazing what one can do with the power of merchandise.” You say as you brandish the ring.

Reimu gives a shrug. “I don’t usually have the money for merchandise, so I really wouldn’t know. Make yourself comfortable if you want, though.” With that she turns back to her sweeping.

You give a laugh, and then set your eyes on the real reason you made sure that the shrine was your first stop. As you approach the donation box, you feel a pair of eyes bore into you. As you turn around, though, the only thing you can see is Reimu sweeping. Turning around, you can feel the intense pressure build once again.

Soon enough you are in front of the donation box, and you realize that you really haven’t come to a decision on what to do about the dilemma you’re in. The dilemma in question revolves around the charms that Reimu gave to you the last time you were here. Or, more to the point, the amount of money that you were able to earn from said charms.

See, the charms in question sold well. Very well. Despite the fact that Kira’s temple tried to keep people quiet about them, word soon got out that you were selling charms of immense power. Soon enough people were clamoring to buy your remaining stock, and the fact that you only had five left after your business with the temple forced you to drive up the price on the remaining ones. After selling the last of your stock, you ended up with 30,000 yen in total simple from the sale of a few of Reimu’s charms.

Which leaves you in a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, Reimu technically gave you those charms as a gift, so you don’t really have any obligation to give her anything other than your thanks. (Which in her mind probably boils down to a small donation.) On the other hand, it was her merchandise that brought in the money, so she would normally be entitled to a merchant’s fee for the items she provided. On the other, other hand, none of this money would have made it here if it weren’t for you, so you probably deserve more of it in any case. And to top it all off, you get the feeling that putting a huge amount of money into the donation bin all at once is just inviting shenanigans to happen, but that really doesn’t have much to do with anything now that you think about it.

All of this would probably be much easier to decide if you couldn’t feel the intense pressure of a money-driven miko behind you. Way to make things easier on you, Reimu…

[ ] The charms were a gift, so you don’t really owe her anything from your sales. A small donation of 2,000 yen should suffice.
[ ] You did all of the work, so you should get most of the reward. 5,000 yen should do it.
[ ] You did most of the work, but you wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without her merchandise. 9,000 yen is probably alright.
[ ] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.
[ ] You don’t need the money, so why not just let her have it all? 30,000 yen.

[X] You did most of the work, but you wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without her merchandise. 9,000 yen is probably alright.

Enough to be fair, but still maintain a healthy profit.

[x] You don’t need the money, so why not just let her have it all? 30,000 yen.

Sorry, I'm unable to care about profit when there's a miko to be pleased.

[x] You don’t need the money, so why not just let her have it all? 30,000 yen.

This is an investment in her goodwill! I'm not swayed one bit by the thought of her smiling face, not one little bit!

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

Given Reimu's statement, she obviously doesn't get that much spending money but simply giving her everything means that we'll have less money to use ourselves to get things might catch our interest. Perhaps we should see if she might be interested in making a business proposition with us when it comes to those Charms of hers?

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

[x] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

We do need to think about ourselves too.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

Let's not over-think this.

Call me stingy, but I'm not exactly willing to give up half of our money.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

A fourth should be alright though.

[x] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

We have to talk to her about getting more of those charms.

[x] You don’t need the money, so why not just let her have it all? 30,000 yen.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

[X] Ask her if she wouldn't mind making more charms so they can share the wealth in the future.

The Merchant is going to wind up becoming Reimu's favorite person if this keeps up.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

It's an investment.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.
-[x] Let her know what happened and ask if she's up for supplier work

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.
-[x] Let her know what happened and ask if she's up for supplier work
Reimu could use the money.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.
-[x] Tell her she could sell the charms to hold herself over

Hey, Just because we're a merchant doesnt mean we cant tell people things like this. Also, She's Reimu, she'll find out eventually.

[x] You did most of the work, but you wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without her merchandise. 9,000 yen is probably alright.
-[x] Tell her she could sell the charms to hold herself over.

Honestly I would give more but I'm worried that we might run ourselves short for other prospects.

>>No. 36159 here, adding to my vote.

-[x] Let her know what happened and ask if she's up for supplier work as well as the fact that she could also probably make money selling the Charms in the Human Village.

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

Wouldn't telling Reimu about our dear Realm Hopper selling the charms be a bad thing? Hell Yukari already makes sure she at least would give them in assistance those who have little in a way of defending themselves from feral youkai for the most part.

Why not keep it as simply a "donation" and consider requesting for more charms out of gratitude for said charms' usefulness?

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

>>36194
Depends on the limitations as the Merchant isn't exactly a typical guy.

(Honestly, I think the picture from >>30727 would go better here, but since I already used it…)

[X] Fair is fair, and anything other than 50-50 wouldn’t be just. 15,000 yen.

Are you sure you should be doing this? You can’t help but feel that this act will somehow upset a status quo here in Gensokyo. And while you usually aren’t concerned about such things (despite the fact that your job states that you should be) you somehow feel an immense pressure to not do this act.

…but fair is fair, and it was her merchandise that brought the money in. Reaching into your pack, you count out 15,000 yen and deposit it into the donation box. Please don’t make a fuss, please don’t-

You hear a broom clatter on the ground behind you. Sighing, you step to the side as Reimu comes trembling up the shrine’s steps and leans over the box. She stares at the contents for a full minute before speaking.

“I’m not going to become your girlfriend.”

“I never asked you to.”

“I won’t sleep with you either.”

“It’d be pretty low for me to treat a shrine maiden as if she were a prostitute.”

“The shrine isn’t for sale.”

“I’m not interested in real estate.”

“Then…then can I assume that this is a donation out of good will?” Reimu asks as she turns towards you, tears of happiness flowing down her face. She looks as though she has never been this happy in her life, a fact which is honestly kind of scaring you.

“Good will? No, it’s OH COME ON!” The moment you said no, her face immediately went into sad puppy dog mode, eyes and all. You didn’t even do anything wrong! “Look, remember when I was here last time? I made a donation, and-“

“I never forget a donation.” Reimu says as the puppy dog look cuts off. “Let’s see, it was 2,000 yen, which was the largest donation of the week I believe.”

“Scary.” You aren’t sure if you are referring to that being the largest donation, or the fact that she remembers it is such detail.

“Shush. In any case, I thought that it might be good to help you out a bit more, since you wouldn’t be able to donate again if some Youkai ate you.”

“Gee, good to know you had my welfare in mind the whole time.”

“I said shush! In the end I gave you some blank spell cards and some amulets, right?”

“Wait, amulets? You mean those weren’t charms?”

“Of course not. You mean to tell me you couldn’t tell the difference?”

“I’m a merchant lady, not an identifier. Unless you tell me specifically what an item is, I’ll have to rely on my own assumptions.”

“Whatever. So what in the world does that last donation of yours have to do with this one?”

“Alright, well those charms you gave me? They ended up selling like wildfire.”

“What? But I only gave you 12 or so!”

“Yeah, well, I ended up using one against a demon and-“

“Demon?”

“Long story, doesn’t matter. I used it against him and the locals were amazed at how effective it was at sealing his movements.”

“Of course it’s good at sealing the movement of unholy beings. I created them for people to use against Youkai after all.”

“Really? If they are that effective, I wonder why you don’t have more people at your shrine trying to buy them.”

“Hmph.” Reimu says as she crosses her arms. “For some reason the locals have gotten it in their heads that this is a cursed Youkai shrine or something. Almost none of them will come near anymore, and it isn’t like I can sell these things Youkai, since they are the intended targets.”

“…whatever, look, the short story is that the few amulets you gave me were incredible popular, so I had to boost the price significantly in order to not be mobbed.”

“So you’re saying that eleven or so amulets made this much money in such a short amount of time?”

“Well, I actually had to use two against the demon, but yeah.”

Reimu spends another half minute in silent contemplation before grabbing the money in the donation box and stuffing it in her sleeves. “How long do you think you’ll be around this time?”

“Me? I’m guessing 2 or 3 days at the minimum, but it could honestly be anywhere up to a week.”

“Alright, in that case I suppose that there is no time to lose.” Reimu says as she opens up the shrine and heads in. You can hear her scuffling around inside, as if she was rummaging around. Soon enough you see her come back out with a few stacks of paper in her arms, one stack you recognize as the same type of amulets she gave them before.

“Here.” She says as she shoves two stacks of paper in your arms, one being the stack of amulets. “This should be a good start, but I honestly wasn’t expecting this so it’s all I have right now.”

“Um…”

“If I hurry to the village with the money you gave me, I should be able to buy some more crafting materials, and maybe some good food as well. Oh it has been so long since I’ve eaten meat, and now I finally can again!”

“Uh-”

“Ooooh, I can even buy some better tea this time around as well! Although if I buy the cheap brand I could buy a lot more of it and-“

“Excuse me?”

“Yes?” Reimu says with an annoyed look on her face.

“What am I exactly supposed to do with these?” You say, indicating the piles of paper that she shoved in your arms.”

“Sell them, of course!” Reimu exclaims. “I even gave you some actual charms this time around, so make sure to get as much as you can for them as well, alright?”

Ah. Well that makes sense, but shouldn’t you be paying for these right now if that’s the case? Rules of wholesale, and all that…

But you can tell that Reimu isn’t thinking nearly that far ahead, and you also get the feeling that the fewer decisions Reimu makes about the money you earn the better. “Alright,” you sigh as you open up your pouch and deposit the shrines and amulets inside, deciding you’ll talk money on the way out of Gensokyo. As you are about to close your pack, a thought pops into your head. “While we’re at it, could I have some more of those blank spellcards as well?”

“Why? You aren’t going to be able to sell them outside of Gensokyo.”

“Yes.” You say with an air of patience, “But I can use them inside of Gensokyo.

Reimu stares at you for a moment, then shrugs and reaches into her sleeves, pulling out a few more spellcards. As you put them away, she closes up the shrine and takes to the air.

“I’m off to get some things, so I’ll see you around, alright? Oh, and make sure you come and find me before you leave Gensokyo, alright? I’ll have some more stuff ready by the time you’re ready to go.”

“Sure, see you later.” You wave as the red-and-white shrine maiden drifts away from the shrine. When she’s out of sight you take a seat on the ground. Geez, that was exhausting. Still, it turned out alright in the end, so no complaints from your end.

After gathering your thoughts, you decide that it’s time to move on. You pull out your map and give it a good look over. Now that you have the capability of flight, there are a few additional places that you can make your way to.

…speaking of flight, since when can shrine maidens fly, anyways?

CHOOSE A LOCATION:

Forest of Magic:
[ ] Kirisame Shop of Magic
[ ] Forest of Dolls

Human Village:
[ ] Kirisame Magic Shop
[ ] Fukuda Groceries
[ ] Dragon Statue
[ ] Keine’s School

Youkai Mountain:
[ ] Kappa’s Bazaar
[ ] Moriya Shrine

Non-Grouped Locations:
[ ] Kourindou
[ ] Temple of Myoren
[ ] Eientei
[ ] Scarlet Devil Mansion
[ ] Hakugyokurou (Hmm, the map isn’t clear on the exact location of this place. You’re probably going to have to ask someone about how to get there.)

---

Before you ask, the map doesn’t list the underground as a location, so Lawrence doesn’t know that it exists. And no, Okuu didn’t mention it in their last encounter either, I checked.

That reaction. How could the 30k improve on that?

[x] Eientei
So many choices. We've got some transactions to complete at Eientei. and I want to see Tewi again

[x] Eientei

Let's go brighten up another brunette's day.

[X] Eientei

>you open up your pouch and deposit the shrines and amulets inside,
Wow, he can fit several buildings inside that bag.

>Human Village:
>[ ] Kirisame Magic Shop
Shouldn't that be Kirisame General Store?

>>36302
But Eirin has silver hair.

An item listing and orders attached would be nice to help decide on where we ought to go.

>>36304
See >>35806 . Some reserved notices are missing, but you should recognize them if you have a good memory.

Also, [X] Eientei

[x] Moriya Shrine
I couldn't choose.

[X] Kourindou

It's a good a start as any!

[x] Eientei

[X] Eientei
They're the ones we currently have the most business with.

[x] Kappa’s Bazaar

CHECKLIST:
( )Flirt with Minoriko
( )Tease Nazrin
( )Buy and sell shit (duh)
Am I missing anything?

>>36303

>Shouldn't that be Kirisame General Store?

Yes. Yes it should.

[x] Eientei

>>36303
Depends on which shop he's talking about: Mr. Kirisame's normal item shop or Marisa's place of business (That she's rarely at)

[x] Eientei

We have some clear business there so let's get it out of the way first.

>>36303

Kaguya.

>>36320

'Kaguya has black hair' Is what you meant to say.

[x] Eientei

[x] Eientei

Best to go where the business is when you are a merchant, and right now the majority of your business is at Eientei. Packing up your map, you make to take off.

“Hold a moment.”

Turning around, you see a woman dressed in white and blue. She’s wearing a hat that seems to be hiding a pair of ears along with some of her blond hair, has a number of tails poking out from behind her back, and for some reason seems very familiar.

“Can I help you?”

“I am here under the instruction of my master to inspect your wares.” She approaches you as she speaks, and by the time she has finished

“Your master?” Why does that sound so familiar? Ah, wait! “I remember now, you’re Yukari’s servant, right?”

“Shikigami.” She says bluntly. “And while I do appreciate the fact that you remembered me from so little interaction, I do have other chores that need to be done before my master returns, so if you would kindly hand over your pack so that I may inspect it we can both be on our way.”

“Ah, I see.” What the hell is a shikigami? It’s probably synonymous with the term servant, but you get the feeling that there is a lot more to it than that.

Well, you suppose that can wait for another time. As the woman said, you do have other business to attend to, so you should get this whole customs thing out of the way. Of course, having your items go through customs might mean that some of your merchandise might be destroyed or worse, confiscated. There is no telling what she might conclude is dangerous, and any item taken is one less item that you could potentially sell. There is clearly only one course of action to take here!

“Here you go.” You say as you hand your pack over. If one thing has been made clear to you, it is that you do not cross Yukari, even if you are only interacting with her servant.

Speaking of, “I never did get your name, did I?” You say.

“Ran.”

“I see. Well, my name is-“

“Lawrence, I remember. Now please be quiet as I work.”

Deciding not to be rude, you take a seat by the shrine as Ran begins digging through your pack. As she pulls items out, she seems to sniff them over before either putting them back in the pack or giving said item a more thorough look. (Why she is sniffing them is something you decided not to ask in fear of seeming rude.) You can’t really tell what determines whether or not something get her attention, though. Most customs you have been through seem to take things based on how dangerous they could be, but either that’s not the case here, or else Ran has a different definition of dangerous than you do. The stick of dynamite, for example, doesn’t get past a single whiff before it is tossed back into the bag, while the tea sets get a much more thorough overview. At one point you were convinced that she was going to take the arrow sets, but she ended up putting them back in at the end. She also gave a confused look over the nice hat which, much to your disappointment, she did not take.

About ten minutes later, Ran tosses your pack back to you, looking satisfied. “Nothing seems to be out of the parameters that my master has set, so you are free to go.”

“Thanks.” You say dryly. “Any chance that I might be able to talk to your master so that I can know in advance what might get taken in the future.”

“My master is out on business today, but since winter is drawing ever closer she will most likely return by early afternoon. If she is willing to listen before she heads off to bed, I will pass on your request to talk. Good day, merchant.”

And off she goes. All in all, that was fairly painless. You wish that more of your encounters could go as smoothly as that. After making sure that all is in order with your pack, you attempt to take off once more, managing to do so without interruption this time around.

---

The thing about the ring of flight is that its power isn’t limitless. Although it’s one of the most powerful models you could get, it will only sustain a person’s flight for around half an hour, after which you have to let it gather ambient magical energy to recharge. The exact amount of time it takes to recharge varies on the amount of ambient magical energy that currently surrounds you. In fact, the reason you usually left your ring back at HQ was because most worlds that you frequent usually have a fairly low concentration of environmental energy, meaning that the ring would often take days to get back to full capacity.

The good news is that Gensokyo seems to be the opposite, in that magical energy flows here in abundance. You’re guessing that the ring would only need half an hour to fully charge, and perhaps only 10 minutes if you were to actively channel magic into it. As such, so long as you keep a small, steady flow of energy flowing into the ring while you take flight, you figure that you shouldn’t run into many problems in terms of suddenly dropping out of the sky.

All of this passes through your head as you soar over the bamboo forest. Aside from being impaled by the sharp bamboo as you fall, if you were to suddenly drop down you would probably be lost for day. It’s pretty easy to see your way from up here, but your last few jaunts through there have shown just what a bad idea it would be to make your way through there on foot without a guide.

Speaking of guides, you catch sight of Mokou as you approach the large mansion that is Eientei. She seems to be skulking around the property, keeping an ever watchful eye on the complex while making sure not to actually set foot inside.

What in the world could she be up to?

[ ] Let’s go and see what she’s doing
[ ] We should probably take care of business first

[x] Let’s go and see what she’s doing.

[x] Let’s go and see what she’s doing

[X] Let’s go and see what she’s doing

[x] We should probably take care of business first.

Slipping past undetected and telling Eientei's residents about Mokou sounds more fun.

[X] Let’s go and see what she’s doing.

[x] Let’s go and see what she’s doing

[x] We should probably take care of business first.

I'd rather not see the biggest group of customers thus far go up in flame

[x] If she wants to set our customer ablaze, she should just wait until we finish our business with them. It's not like they die when they're killed anyway.

>>36455
I don't think Jean knows they're immortal. He does see Mokou get spike'd, but he writes that off as a hallucination, and there's no reason for him to assume Kaguya's unkillable.

>>36460

Yup.

[x] Let’s go and see what she’s doing.

As you descend down towards the guide of the bamboo forest she catches sight of you and rushes over to your general direction. As soon as your feet hit the ground Mokou grabs you by the clothes and throws you to the ground.

“Gah! What was that-”

“SHHHHHH!” Mokou says as she puts her finger to her lips. Holding you down, she looks around the immediate area as if checking for something before allowing you to get up. “You idiot, you nearly blew my cover!”

“Cover? But you were plainly visible from the air. And why are you hiding, anyways.”

“I’m trying to scope out this place’s defenses to see if that little rabbit slipped up. It’s unlikely, but every advantage that I can get will help come the next fight.” She peers through a nearby patch of bamboo in an attempt to spy further on the complex.

“Fight? Did something happen between you and the residents of Eientei?”

“Yeah, a long time ago.”

“…and?”

“And the rest really isn’t any of your business.”

“Fair enough,” you say as you stand up. “I suppose that it’s really none of my business in any case, but I would appreciate it if you refrained from throwing me to the ground in the future. Just ask next time.”

Mokou shrugs in response. She really isn’t the most talkative of women, is she? Ah well, you suppose that you have no reason to pry into her business so long as it doesn’t get in the way of your business. You might want to tell the residents that she is spying on them, though. Thinking on what to do, you start making your way towards the mansion.

“Wait!” Mokou whispers as she grabs you once more. “Didn’t I just say not to blow my cover? And that this area is trapped? Who knows what that bunny has set up in an attempt to slow me down?”

“Be that as it may, I have business to attend to in the mansion, so if you’ll excuse me…”

“Wait. What business?” Mokou lets go of you and gives you a quizzical look.

“I have some orders from the last time that I was here that I was able to fulfill, so I’m here to deliver the goods.”

“Huh. Did Kaguya order anything?”

“A few things, yes. Now if you’ll please excuse me…”

“Not so fast.” Suddenly a ball of flame appears in one of Mokou’s hands. “If it’s something that Kaguya wanted, then it would probably be best for me to take that off of your hands, don’t you think?” She begins advancing on you, and you find that you are quickly taking steps back in order to preserve the distance.

“What? Where did this come from?”

“Like I said, it really isn’t any of your business for you to know why I do what I do.”

“It is when I’m being robbed.”

“Look, I don’t care about the rest of your wares. I just want the stuff that Kaguya ordered, that’s all.”

Suddenly your backwards advance is halted by what feels like a large rock. But even with your back a wall you aren’t about to give up your merchandise just like that.

“Do you know what it would do to my integrity as a merchant if I-”

“Enough talk.” Mokou raises the flame above her head. “I can see that you’re not going to do this willingly, which is reasonable enough. But anything that can get to that spoiled princess is well worth taking. Now either hand it over, or I’ll go into that pack of yours and get it myself.”

Oh geez, you have no idea what set her off like this, but you need to act! What are you going to do?





…

Apparently, you’re going to watch Mokou get clonked over the head by an iron ball. For a few seconds afterward the entire bamboo forest seems to fall into silence, before the flame in Mokou’s hand goes out and she falls to the ground. Looking up, you see a familiar looking bunny girl.

“Missed me?” Tewi says as she lands next to you.

“You have no idea.” You say as you try and get your heart rate to drop. “Let me guess, you’ve been watching us-”

“The entire time, yeah. Word to the wise, this girl really doesn’t like the princess, so mentioning Kaguya in her presence probably isn’t the best of ideas.”

“Gee, thanks for the advanced warning.” Having calmed down enough, you go over to examine the fallen girl. She doesn’t seem to be that badly injured, but a concussion really isn’t something one can ignore.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Tewi asks. “C’mon, forget about her, she’ll be fine. Let’s get you into the mansion so that we can talk about how you’ll reward me for all my brave and noble deeds.”

“Hey, I know she just tried to rob me, but leaving someone out here like this just wouldn’t feel right.”

“…well alright, I won’t stop you if you want to bring her in. But just know that I can guarantee that she will be fine out here, and if you bring her inside she’ll be your responsibility if anything goes wrong.”

Your responsibility? How in the world would that work? But knowing that this girl hates Kaguya to the point of robbing an innocent merchant like you, are you really willing to take that risk?

[ ] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.
[ ] Can we really trust Tewi that she’ll be alright? At the very least let’s make sure that the rabbit sticks to her end of the deal. [Select incentive to offer]
[ ] No, you can’t take the chance that she isn’t injured, even if she attacked you. Bring her into the mansion with you so Eirin can check her out.

---

Vote quickly enough and I may decide to throw in a bonus update tomorrow in celebration of Labor day.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.
Tewi! My favorite character in this story is back!

[X] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

Works for me~!

[X] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

>Bring her into the mansion
Pfft. Mokou's my favorite character and I still know this is the worst idea ever.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

I'd like to offer an incentive as a gift to Tewi, but there will probably be better chances to get scammed shortly.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

Trust the white rabbit and just prop her ass up against a tree or something.

Sorry guys, something has come up so no bonus update today.

[x] No, you can’t take the chance that she isn’t injured, even if she attacked you. Bring her into the mansion with you so Eirin can check her out.

It will lead to shit, but in the long run Mokou wont hate us for, you know, leaving her out there to die. Except she cant die. You get the point.

[X] No, you can’t take the chance that she isn’t injured, even if she attacked you. Bring her into the mansion with you so Eirin can check her out.

Why not? I don't believe we know she's immortal IC yet, so just leaving her like that would be kind of a cruel move (her attempted robbery/vandalism notwithstanding)

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

I've started the next part, but I couldn't get it finished today. I'm going to try my best to get it done as soon as I can, though, so expect the next update to come within the next few days.

Let's turn a few days into a week. Work is really going to be rearing it's head during the weekdays for the next week or so, so don't be shocked if updates are sparse(r than usual).

>>36703
Generic show of support.

[x] She does look like she’s doing alright. Let’s just set Mokou somewhere safe and head inside.

It really isn’t your style to leave someone who has just been knocked unconscious all on their own in the middle of the forest. That being said, this girl did just try to rob you, so the pangs of guilt that would normally drag you to take Mokou inside are pretty much subdued at the moment. Still, you decide that just leaving her sprawled on the ground is bad taste, so you carry her over to the rock she cornered you against and sit her against it. As you carry her, you try and figure out where the weight hit her head so you can perform some basic first aid before you leave, but strangely you can’t seem to find any injuries at all. Weird, a concussive hit enough to make anyone fall unconscious should at least leave some sort of injury, so why in the world isn’t-

“You done yet?” Tewi says as she pops up next to you, interrupting her train of thought. “Like I said, you really don’t need to worry about her, she’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I know.” You say as you stand up and begin walking towards the mansion. “Just wanted to double check whether she was bleeding or not. Let’s go.”

“Yaaaaaay!” The small rabbit girl cheers out as she leaps off the ground and lands in a sitting position on your shoulders. “C’mon, let’s go and see what you brought me this time!”

“Hey, next time you want me to bring you something, place an order, alright? And why are you so happy to see me, anyways?” It isn’t like she’s heavy, but carrying both the rabbit girl and the pack at the same time is somewhat cumbersome.

“You make things all exiting! And the more people around the mansion, the better! Rabbits will die if they are too lonely, you know.”

“Somehow I doubt that you have much trouble finding others to keep you from getting lonely.” As you set out from the brush the memory of falling down a long hole and breaking your leg comes back to you. Electing to avoid that happening again, you hover slightly above the ground as you make your way towards the mansion.

“Aww, you’re no fun anymore!” Tewi says in a slightly whiney manner. If you could see her face you would suspect that she is currently pouting.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but breaking my leg is something that I generally try to avoid.”

“Hmph! Well in that case don’t come crying to me when the anti-air defenses activate!” With that the rabbit girl floats off your shoulders and towards the mansion.

“Anti-air defenses? What are you-”

“Ah, Mr. Lawrence!”

Your conversation is interrupted as Reisen comes running out of the mansion, reaching you in a matter of second. “We didn’t think you would be returning, it’s been so long!”

“Yeah, sorry about that, but you’ll be glad to know that I was able to fulfill most of the mansions orders.”

“Wonderful!” Reisen says with a smile, “The princess has been getting a bit bored lately, so I’m sure that the items you brought will-”

-CLICK-

As the loud click dissipates in the air, both you and Reisen turn your heads towards the mansion’s porch. Tewi is there waving her hand with a smile, a pulled rope resting in her hand. She then points up, causing both you and Reisen to look up and see a multitude of sharpened bamboo sticks raining from the sky.

Oh dear.

---

“How many times do I have to tell you that you do NOT attack guests!”

You are currently catching your breath inside the mansion’s foyer, watching as Reisen berates her small counterpart. Turning your head, you watch as the rabbits outside begin pulling out the bamboo spears from the ground, no doubt in an attempt to reload the trap that Tewi set. Thankfully, you were able to make it inside the mansion before you were hit, but you have to wonder why the pranks in Gensokyo have a tendency to be more on the lethal side.

“Aww, but neither of you got hurt!”

“That makes no difference and you know it!” Reisen yells. Turning your attention back to the larger of the rabbit girls, you have to admit that you are somewhat impressed. When the two of you noticed the bamboo rain, Reisen was the first to react, shoving you towards the safety of the mansion. It was almost as if she had been in this sort of situation before, and it might have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for her quick reflexes. You should probably make a note to thank her later.

“What is all this commotion?” A commanding voice rings out, and both rabbits flinch at the sound of it. Coming down the hallway, Eirin stops in front of the two rabbits with her arms folded. She first glances outside, before her eyes land upon you. “Ah, I see. Welcome back, Mr. Lawrence.” A small smile comes upon her lips as she says this, and the two rabbit girls seem to visibly relax upon seeing this. “I see that you managed to avoid severely injuring yourself before coming here this time around.”

“Ah, yeah, though I will admit that your…security system did try to amend that.” You stand up and brush yourself off as you speak to the doctor.

“Oh? Well I suppose that I’ll have to have a small talk to the creator of that system, won’t I?” Eirin pointedly stares at Tewi, who looks away as if to say that she had nothing to do with the bamboo attack. Shaking her head, Eirin turns back to you. “But that’s for later. Were you successful in getting our orders, then?”

“You could say that, yes, though I suppose that will depend on what you and the princess think in the end.”

“I see.” Eirin says as she returns your smile. “Very well then. Udonge,” Eirin says as she turns to Reisen, “escort our guest to the living room. I will go and retrieve the princess.”

“Yes, master.” Reisen says with a small bow as she walks down the opposite hallway that Eirin came from, gesturing for you to follow. As you leave you notice that Eirin seems to be having some sort of discussion with Tewi, but you can’t seem to tell what they are talking about before they are out of sight.

Once again, you find yourself alone with the purple-haired rabbit girl. She seems to be somewhat lost in thought, and you wonder if you should try and strike up a conversation with her.

[ ] Ask her how things have been around the mansion
[ ] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last
[ ] Ask her what’s up with Tewi
[ ] Thank her for her help earlier
[ ] Just enjoy the silence
[ ] Write-in

[x] Ask her what she's thinking about.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

Order intentional.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

I've been wanting to ask this for a while: what are the policies of the group Jean-Luc is working for regarding places like Gensokyo or people with abilities over dimensions like Yukari? Yukari asked not to reveal Gensokyo and Jean-Luc so far said nothing, but is there a need for this in the first place? I can see that the group will take threats seriously, that is clear. But from what I've seen too, I don't see them attacking peaceful places either that threatens no one.

>>36756

You'll see. In the meantime, feel free to speculate like crazy.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

Sure, why not.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
-[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
-[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

Works for me~!

[x] Ask her what’s up with Tewi
[x] Thank her for her help earlier

Tewi!

[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
-[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.
-[x] Offer her a discount for any particular items she can usually find/buy but never had the time or said cash for.

Perhaps la souris didn't appreciate gifts from humans but perhaps Reisen would be more open towards such a friendly gesture. She did prevent him having to be hospitalized again.

I'm sure Tewi may catch wind of the offer but that doesn't mean we can't make her earn it. Busting his legs then saving him from being mugged/burnt only to be nearly impaled by bamboo spears don't make things even.

>>36756

Considering how often they search for resources I'd say as soon as they catch wind of Gensokyo, mass army will be called upon to invade. Of course there is the possibility of a small colony entering and staking claim to land regardless of its current inhabitants.

>>36756

Even if that dimensional military doesn't mean harm.

Since Gensokyo is meant as a kind of youkai reserve. It would be akin to people going in and building a mall in a wildlife and nature reserve.

In no particular order…
[X] Ask her what she's thinking about.
[X] Thank her for her help earlier.
[X] Ask her if anything significant happened in Gensokyo since you were here last.

“A yen for your thoughts?”

Reisen pauses in her walking and looks at you. “Excuse me?”

“C’mon, I know something’s on your mind. Want to talk about it?”

Reisen stares at you for a little bit before her face kneads into that pout you saw the last time you were here. “So my thoughts are only worth one yen, huh?”

Seriously? What kind of esteem issues does this bunny have? “Aw jeez, It’s just an expression! You really have to stop taking everything I say at face value!”

“Oh.” Once again Reisen drifts into thought as she starts moving down the hall again. “I’m just trying to figure out why the rest of the rabbits here don’t listen to me. It’s been a long time since I first came here, and even though Master says that I’m in charge, they just don’t…” she trails off into silence.

“Ah. Well that would probably be because of Tewi, isn’t it?”

“Tewi? …you’re probably right, but I don’t think there is anything that I can do about that. She’s been here even longer than I have, and the rabbits all seem to agree more with her way of thinking than with mine.” She lets out a small sigh, and then turns to you with a small smile. “I suppose that I can only keep on trying, though. Thanks for listening to me.”

“Hey, I should be the one thanking you for saving my hide from that bamboo trap. Actually, no, that’s not good enough. Thank you very much for the help back there.”

“Oh, ah, it was only part of my job and-”

“Be that as it may, you still saved me, and giving my thanks is the least that I can do.”

“…I-I see.” Reisen quickly walks in front of you and opens the door to the meeting room, checking to make sure that nobody is inside. She soon gestures you in, and as you pass you can see that she has a happy smile on her face. Man, this girl’s emotions are really easily malleable, aren’t they?

“Wait here for a bit, and I’ll go and get something to snack on, alright?” With that she closes the door, and as she walks off you can hear her humming a small tune. Geez, you should thank people more often.

About ten minutes later, Reisen returns with a tray of snacks and tea. “It would seem that the princess was taking a nap when you arrived, and is currently getting ready to meet you. I hope you don’t mind a short wait.”

“Not at all, and in the meantime you can tell me what I’ve missed in the interval I’ve been gone.”

“Huh? Oh, current events? Um, I don’t think anything too big has happened since you’ve been gone. At least, nothing on the level of an incident.”

“Incident?”

“That’s what we call major events that have a large impact on Gensokyo. They usually happen every few months when somebody powerful around here gets bored, but surprisingly everyone in the land seems to be somewhat complacent right now.”

“I see. So nothing major happened here at all?”

“Not that I know of, but truth be told I’m probably not the best rabbit to ask about current events. I only know what I hear from the villagers when I’m off selling medicine.”

“Oh, you sell medicine? I didn’t know that. What do you normally sell?”

“Well, normally I only carry the medicines that Master makes, but on occasion I have a chance to sell some of my own. It’s really good stuff, too. For instance on time I managed to mix up…” With this Reisen goes into a tirade of medical technology that in all honesty blows your socks off. It only takes a second for all the terminology to pass clear over your head, and soon you find yourself simply nodding along with what she says.

“…not that such a mixture would work of course. What do you think?”

“I think that you really know your stuff, or at least seem like you do. I couldn’t understand a word you said, though.”

“Ah!” Reisen says as she puts a hand over her mouth, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“No, it’s alright. It just goes to show that you really enjoy what you do.”

“I suppose, though I still have a very long way to go if I ever want to be as good as Master is.”

“She’s really that good, huh?”

“Oh she’s the greatest! There is nothing that she can’t do in the field of medicine!”

“Considering how she healed my leg, I can believe that.”

“Oh a broken leg is the least of it! She has found methods of regeneration that are beyond compare! And her study on the physiology of the soul is-”

“That’s enough, Udonge.” Eirin walks into the room, with an exited looking Kaguya and a sulky looking Tewi following close behind. “One shouldn’t brag too much, lest one should give expectations one can’t meet.”

“Ah…of course, Master.” Reisen looks somewhat dejected until Eirin sits down next to her and begins petting her on the head, at which point Reisen starts preening. You get the impression that even someone as composed as Eirin doesn’t mind being spoken of so highly.

You turn to the princess and give a small nod. “It is good to see you again, Princess.”

“As it is to you, Jean-Luc. Did you managed to get what I asked for?”

“Straight to the point, huh? But yes, I did manage to fulfill all of the orders I received, one way or another.”

“Yay!” Kaguya says while clapping her hands. “Show me, show me!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll show you what I was able to procure.” Looks like it’s time to deliver the merch. Who’s merchandise should you start with?

[ ] Kaguya
[ ] Eirin

[x] Kaguya

Eirin's mature and can wait a bit.

[x] Kaguya

Poor Tewi. She just wanted to injure him and force him to spend more time here, is that so wrong?

[x] Kaguya.

>>36897
Yes.

Still, I agree, poor Tewi.

[x] Kaguya

[X] Kaguya

[x] Kaguya.

Royalty first.

[X]Eirin

Save Kaguya's for last to keep things interesting.

not as if Kaguya would suddenly decide to dive into the bag before being presented her requested item right? Right?

>>36912
Dude, Kaguya' the princess here. Royalty first. Beside, I'm not entirely sure how she'll react to the phonograph (it may not be what she expected) and Eirin might be affected by her mood, so might as well save the arrows for after.

[x] Kaguya.

We should use our luck more often now that we have access to it.

remember its one luck point per tewi visit so we shouldn't just spam it.
[x] Kaguya

>>36938
So, They ORDER SPECIFIC things. Wouldn't that mean, by default, they want them? Why would we use luck for something where luck wont help us at all? I would understand if we were showing them items completely different from what they wanted, and needed a lot of convincing to buy them, but now?

The bad news is that a combined cold and upcoming trip mean that there probably won't be an update tomorrow. I'll see if I can't make it up with updates during the week.

>>36965
I wasn't expecting an update within the next week. Hooray for lowered expectations!

Question, we can use our luck again right? Or should we drop the mechanic?

>>36974
It was available again since the bit with Renko & Maribel.

We should try and use it on the next option. Isn't like we've been using them.

>>36977
We haven't really been in many situations that really warranted using it.

Of course, when we do enter a situation that would warrant it, it might not get used anyway because "what if we need it more later?" and then it ends up never getting used, but that's a somewhat different situation.

Yes, LUCK is active again, sorry for any confusion. Feel free to use it as you like, but remember, no takebacks.

[x] Kaguya

“Well then,” you say, “Princesses first.”

“Of course,” Eirin says as you pull out the record player and lay it on the table. Kaguya just stares at it for a few seconds before bursting into a wide grin and clapping her hands in joy. “Oh my, this is even better than what I asked for!”

“Yes, well I had to reach out to some of my furthest contacts to find this and … wait, what do you mean ‘what you asked for’?

“Don’t you remember? The item that I pointed out from the catalogue was a compact disk player.”

“A … compact disk player?”

“Yes! I suppose that in retrospect that it did look like a record player, but it said right on the page that it was a CD player, right?”

“I couldn’t read what it said.”

“Wait, you can’t-”

“I’m not literate in your native language.” You say as you cut Reisen off. Let’s stop that line of conversation off at the start shall we?

“Regardless, this is a much better prize!” Kaguya says with a grin. “I wasn’t even aware that they even made these anymore! Where did you find it?”

“Like I said, Kaguya, I had to reach fairly far out to one of my more distant contacts in order to pick this up, and even then she only had it by pure chance.”

“Even so, I must commend you for your efforts! I never thought I would be able to play those old records anymore, considering what happened to the last one I had.” At this you instinctively turn your head towards Tewi, who catches your eye and gives you a wave with an innocent looking smile. You immediately turn your head back once you see that. Probably better not to ask.

“In any case,” the Princess continues, “I’m sure that something like this cost quite a pretty penny, so let’s see if we can even purchase this.” Closing her eyes, she puts an innocent looking smile on her face as well, turning up her charm factor by a factor of 1000. “What is the asking price for this item, oh sir merchant?”

“10,000 yen.”

Everyone in the room is shocked when you let that price out, to the point that the charm the Princess is sending out cuts off immediately. “W-what?” Kaguya says as her eyes widen, “But something like that must have cost you a fortune!”

“Yes, it did.” You say with a sigh. “But in the end, no matter how good of an item it might be, this isn’t what you asked for. I might be a completely unscrupulous merchant when conducting business normally, but when I make a mistake like this I own up to it, even if it ends up costing me.”

Suddenly, Kaguya seems somewhat mollified in her behavior. “But…but surely the money you invested into this…will there be no trouble with your financial situation?”

Wait, is she worried about you having to live on the streets because of this? You can only stare blankly at her for a moment before laughing out loud, causing everyone else in the room to flinch? “Oh, is that what you’re worried about, Kaguya? Trust me; this is only something of a minor setback. I’m not going to starve because of something like this. Take it easy, alright? I made a mistake, and you get to reap the benefits. It’s nothing to get all dramatic over.”

“Oh…well if you say so, Mr. Lawrence, then I suppose that it’s fine.” A smile quickly returns to her face. “In that case, let’s pay you for this, shall we?”

“Actually, I tend to save the payment for the very end when delivering merchandise, just in case hiccups like these occur.” You slide the record player from the center of the table, and dig into your pack once more. “We’ll just total everything up at the end and pay for it then, alright?”

“Of course, that sounds Oh my, you were able to get them!” Kaguya interrupts her train of thought as you drop a stack of newspapers, catalogues and magazines on the table.

“Of course. I always deliver, after-” the record player catches your eye once more, causing you to end the sentence in a sigh. “Well, I almost always deliver, in any case. Speaking of, would you like me to pick up a compact disk player for you? It should be relatively easy, since they aren’t nearly as rare as this piece of work.” You say as you knock on the record player.

“Sure, sure.” Kaguya says as she dives into the first magazine in the pile. “I hope that you didn’t go too far out of your way for these.”

“Nah, I just went through a local newspaper stand. In all, I’d say 2,500 yen should cover this.”

“Very well, that sounds nice.” Kaguya says. She’s clearly engrossed in the magazines at this point, which you suppose is fine, as that was the last of the merchandise for her in any case.

“Alright then, shall we move on to Eirin, then?”

“I would appreciate it.” The Doctor says, “I have to say I’ve been looking forward to whether you can deliver on what you said you would bring.”

“Ha ha. Well in your case, I don’t think you will be too disappointed. But before that, would you be interested in another one of these?” You pull out one of the tea sets and display it to Eirin.”

“Oh, that would be nice, yes. One should suffice.”

“Just one?” you say as you lay the tea set on the table, a note of disappointment in your voice. “I thought you were interested in the medical properties these leaves might have.”

“After further examination, I determined that while these leaves and herbs do have something of a calming effect, they really aren’t suitable for medicinal purposes.”

“Oh. But in that case, why do you want another...case?”

“Why, just because they don’t have any medicinal value, doesn’t mean that it isn’t excellent tea. I must say that it’s got quite a refreshing taste.”

“Ah. Well as long as you enjoy it, I suppose. I’ll just throw 3,000 yen on your bill then.”

“Of course. But by your logic, wouldn’t this mean that you should pay me for the services I performed last time? After all, these herbs weren’t what I expected them to be.”

“Sorry, that only applies when I get an order wrong.” You say. “In our deal last time, I assumed that you knew something about the herbs that I didn’t, so I thought it was a fair trade.”

“Ah well, I suppose that I had to try. But herbs aren’t what I am looking for today. Did you have any success in finding another one of those arrows?”

“Well…sort of.” You can see Eirin’s eyes light up at this, and you get the feeling that while the Princess might feel bad about causing you distress from a misorder, Eirin wouldn’t be so sympathetic as to not take full advantage of it. “I was able to get the arrow, of course (Eirin seems to deflate somewhat as you say this) but the guy I got it from wouldn’t let me take it on its own.”

“On its own?” Eirin says quizzically, before realization comes over her face. Eyes widening, she says, “You mean?”

Taking out a cloth bundle from your pack, you unroll it out on the table, revealing four distinct arrows. Kaguya only gives them a small glance before returning to her periodicals, and the bunnies only give them quizzical looks, but Eirin seems to become entranced by them.

“See, the guy who makes these is what I would call…eccentric.” You say.

“A genius, is what you mean.” Eirin says as she picks up one of the arrows and turns it over in her hands.

“Whatever. The point is that when he heard you were able to discern the nature of the light arrow I brought last time at a single glance, he insisted that I bring you a full set. Let’s see, if I remember correctly, the different kinds are-”

“Light.” Eirin interrupts as she passes a hand over one of the arrows. “Heat.” She continues as her hand moves on. “Cold, and Nature.”

“I think those were the kinds, yes. You’re pretty good for being able to identify them, I can’t really tell them apart.”

“It’s a knack, I suppose.” Eirin says as she turns to you with a mysterious smile. “If I may ask, what are you charging for these?”

Now THAT’S the question of the hour. See, when Tiv gave you these arrows, he was going on about how priceless knowledge is, and how an item that is made from nature and magic shouldn’t have a price put on it. For the most part you didn’t really listen too well to what he was saying (half the stuff went over your head in any case) but the bottom line is that he wouldn’t accept payment for these. This makes putting a price on them all the much more difficult for you.
[ ] Let’s just charge a fee for having to go through that accursed jungle. (2,500 yen)
[ ] You know, some medical items could be useful in the future. (Request medical supplies)
[ ] You never know when you might need sudden, emergency, small-bunny-girl-related treatment. (Request medical insurance)
[ ] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)
[ ] Let’s see, a good price would be… <Write in your price in yen, items or services>

---

Sorry for the delay, guys. There was a long business trip, followed by a death in the family, so I was a bit preoccupied. Hopefully we're back on track now, though.

[X] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

We really do need a place to stay for now. We can't always infringe upon the school teacher's hospitality.

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

Just lodging? That's it? She'll probably let him stay whenever he likes.

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

They seem to be pretty awesome in this story, so let's stay with them.

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

Would be a great place to stay.

[X] You never know when you might need sudden, emergency, small-bunny-girl-related treatment. (Request medical insurance)

It'll be nice having it in case we get hit by unexpected circumstances that are bound to crop up in Gensokyo.

[x] Let’s just charge a fee for having to go through that accursed jungle. (5,000 yen)

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)
If we live there anyway, they would probably help us in case of emergencies.

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

I'm assuming insurance comes with the lodging.

[X] You never know when you might need sudden, emergency, small-bunny-girl-related treatment. (Request medical insurance)

My only weakness!

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

[x] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

[X] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

[ ] You never know when you might need sudden, emergency, small-bunny-girl-related treatment. (Request medical insurance)

bunny medic oh my heart.

>>37230
But if you live there, you get to see them everyday!

>>37231

Thought it was a one night deal.

>>37232

From my understanding, it would be more of a place for him to stay at for the duration of his visit in Gensokyou.

>>37232
>>37245

It's a secret to everyone.

At least until I finish the next segment. Happy guessing!

>>37305

Looks like we're auto-saging here, so here's the next thread.

[X] You still haven’t found a place to sleep this time around, have you? (Request lodging)

Because this gives us a chance to get some more time with Reisen, which is definitely what I want.