Part 9: Silver Servant - Part 1

This is a pretty important chapter, so there's a huge amount of dialogue.



Come on in! Our chicken's cheap today!

Hey miss, we got some freshly harvested veggies here.

I just love coming to the market.



Meiling can best be described as that one villain who's really terrible at being evil, but is an antagonist anyways because she's friends with the other villains.

Don't you agree, Sakuya?

...

Sakuyaaa?

I hear you. It is just a bother to have to yell in order to respond. It is noisy here. I don't like it. Let's just hurry and finish our errands so we can return.

S-Sure...

I am glad I happened to run into you here, though. Sorry for asking you to help when you're off-duty.

Don't worry about it. Carrying bags is easy-peasy! I'm good at manual labor. I'll help you out anytime!



Huh? You still have MORE you want to buy? Not to mention rice...

Of course. We have to stock up on all the daily necessities and perishables we can.

I guess that's true, but...



Lady A here is arguably the final Sanbondo Original. At the very least she's the last human one.

Oh, it's the old lady from the dry-goods store. Hello!

Out for some shopping, are you? You've got quite a bit, there. You're quite the strong one, aren't you? I'm afraid my back won't let me do that anymore...

You shouldn't let yourself get weak like that. Why don't you try tai chi chuan? It's good for you. Oh, but if you're not feeling well, you shouldn't go outside from tomorrow on...

Meiling.

...Yes?



Understood, ma'am! See you later, granny! Take care!

All right. Good bye.

...

...(This is the second or third time I've gone to the human village with Sakuya, but...)

(A): ...Hey, check it out.



(B) I see her around here every now and then.

(C) I haven't seen her before. Her clothes are weird.

(B) Her outfit's kinda sexy. I like it.

(A) The owner of the secondhand shop said it's called a maid outfit.

(C) A made outfit? No wonder it's rare to see.

I think there's a joke I'm missing here, because I'd have thought handmade outfits would be more common in a rural society. Maybe he means machine-made?

(Sakuya sure stands out, doesn't she... I don't know about her appearance, but she looks so cool from behind. Her back's straight as a board and she walks so elegantly... It's just...)



What?

Um... Why does it have to be tomorrow? It doesn't seem like the humans are paying attention to the mist. A lot of people might take a turn for the worse if we suddenly make it thick.

...Why are you worrying about something like that?



That's true, but...

Besides, it is not our place to care about what happens to the humans.

... But Sakuya, aren't you...?

Hey there, what can I get for you?

Could I get 10 pounds each of carrots, potatoes, and onions?

You must be pretty strong, miss. You sure you can carry it all with those thin arms?

I will not be the one carrying them. Meiling, if you would.

Y-You want me to carry all of it!?

That is why you are here, no? I have a few other things to pick up anyway. I will be right back. We shall meet up after that.



A-Are you serious?



At this point, the game shifts to a different part of the Human Village. The initial part of this scene is actually different for both routes, but I went and merged them together.

Here, I got some obanyaki for ya. Eat it while it's hot.

Thanks, Marisa! Time to dig in! *chomp chomp*

Oh, you didn't get taiyaki?

They were sold out. Sucks, cuz the taiyaki here's amazing.

This is delicious, though! *munch munch*

It's my treat, so have as much as you want.



*sigh*... I shouldn't have tagged along.

Hey, quit moping and have some, Alice! It's gonna get cold if you don't hurry up.

Come to think of it, why are you here? Don't kappa usually live on Youkai Mountain?

Yeah. I had something I needed to take care of so I snuck away for a bit. But then I got lost in the Forest of Magic. That was when Marisa came and helped me out. But my cover got blown and they realized that I snuck out. So it's kinda hard for me to go back now...

If you think you've had it tough, look at how Marisa's been doing.

That's when I let her spend the night at my place.

Huh. I never saw you as the charitable type.



...Oh, I see.

It worked out in the end, though. I ended up being able to come here!

That so? You were looking pretty leery awhile ago.

It's not like I'm scared of humans, if they don't come up and talk to me that is. Otherwise, it's not that different from when I watch them from far away.

Oh really? Yeah, I guess if you look at them from here...



You bought quite a bit there, Reimu.

I don't come to the market very often, so there's a lot of stuff I need to buy.

Didn't you just get a bunch of vegetables?

Heh heh. If this mist gets thicker and the sun gets blocked out...



So before the prices go up, I'm stockpiling as much as I can.

Reimu is very much the ultimate cheapskate. It's a pretty good compromise between her fanon "completely impoverished and will do absolutely anything for money" and her canon "goes shopping once in a while" portrayals.

Hey. It's your job as a shrine maiden to resolve this incident before that happens. You're shrewd about the strangest things...

At least say I'm thrifty or something.



I promised someone I'd eat with them tonight, so I bought enough for two people.

Oh? You're going to be cooking?

Yeah. That person doesn't really take care of their health. I have to make sure there's no starvation or lack of nutrition going on there.

...

I see now.

...? What's with that look you're giving me?



oh god no not shipping

"Special someone"...? Just what are you getting at?

! You nitwit! That's not it at all!

Ooh, you're getting all red! Sure you aren't hiding anything?

Oh, shut up! I'm telling you it's nothing like that...

Ahaha, I'm just kidding. Sorry for making you come shopping with me. It's gotten pretty late, so why don't we call it a day for now?

Whew, dodged a bullet there. If you don't know what I mean by shipping, believe me when I say you're better off that way.

Sure. Thanks for helping me out today. We weren't really able to get any information, but...

Worrying about it won't make it any better.

That's true... We weren't able to find any clues at the Hieda's house. I guess we'll just have to go out and start investigating.

That's how it usually goes.



Hey, you started sounding reliable all of a sudden.

Is that so strange? What, you think I'd lose spirit because of something like this?



This is the point where the routes converge.

Oh?

That voice... Marisa?

Hey, didn't expect to see you here. The tengu are looking for a shrine maiden.

The tengu are looking for me?

No, not you. They're looking for a 'shrine maiden that's not Reimu.'.

A shrine maiden... that's not Reimu?

...Huh? What are you talking about?



I know what you mean, but that's what they're saying. Maybe you've got a rival!

Sounds like an imposter to me. The tengu are the youkai that make those newspapers filled with gossip, right?

Tengu newspapers are notoriously unreliable.

Oh yeah. Wasn't it called the "Bunbummaru Newspaper" or something?

Especially Aya's.

Yeah. How can you take what she says seriously?

You think? It seemed like it was legit for some reason...



Who goes for a walk in the market? Can't you see I'm shopping?

Huh. Never thought I'd see you go shopping in the human village.

Come on, even I have to go shopping every once in a while.

Reimu, do you know her?



It's pretty much SRW tradition to have a bit where all of the route exclusive characters meet up and introduce themselves.

Nice to meet you. My name is Keine Kamishirasawa. I'm a teacher in the human village.

You're a teacher, huh? Nice to meet ya, ma'am

So, what are you doing wandering around here all by yourself?

Oh, I'm not alone. Uh...

Wait up, Marisa!

Hey, you forgot the obanyaki you were eating!



Wah! A-A human!?

We ARE in the human village. Plus, you're hiding behind a human, you know.

Nah, I'm already used to Marisa.

Oh, I haven't seen you in a while. Ever since, what, the time when you moved here?

Maybe. I'm glad to see you're doing well.

You look like you've gotten a bit taller, though. Have you been growing?

...? What are you talking about?

In her original appearance, Alice was just a little kid. The fact she suddenly aged 10 years or so is one of the major mysteries of Touhou, especially since canonically there's only a few months between Touhou 5 and Touhou 6. Sanbondo doesn't try to explain it in this game, but Touhou 5 looks like it'll show up in a future game so maybe they will someday.

I'd say you're their guardian from the looks of it. I'm glad, though. It looks like I finally found someone I can talk to.

That wasn't my intention, but okay. My name's Alice. I'm a magician. This little kappa here is Nitori. She's an escapee from the Youkai Mountain.



Or so she says.

What a strange mix. So, what are you guys up to?

Well, I wasn't gonna tell you, but I guess I've got no choice. Guess what, Reimu? To tell ya the truth...

Why are you making a big deal out of it?



Ouch.

She's sharp.

Too bad. You're not getting the jump on me this time. We started investigating a loooong time ago.

What'd you say? I was sure you'd still be lazing around at the shrine about now...

Of course not. Shrine maidens are specialists when it comes to resolving incidents.



Then Marisa wouldn't have been far off.

Ouch.

Heh. That's what I thought.

...You're mean, Keine.

What? It's true, isn't it?



Yeah. Unfortunately, we weren't able to gather any useful information, though. What about you?

We're following a lead. Looking for a suspicious maid.

A suspicious... maid? What does a maid have to do with this mist?

We dunno yet. All we heard was that some strange maid was around. Supposedly, no one's ever seen her before.



Maybe that master's the boss.

Gensokyo: where even the most random of theories turn out to be true.

What are you gonna do if it's just a stray maid with no master?

I see, that's a possiblity too...

No, it really isn't.

In any case, where did you hear something like that?

I heard it from this one fairy I know. My social network'd as wide as Argo Navis.

Can you really trust something a fairy told you?

I know what you mean, but we didn't have any other clues. Gotta go with what you have, you know?

That's reasonable. However, the village is not a small place. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find her...

Psh, that's easy. You just gotta have some zeal.



Yeah right! There's no way it'll be that easy to...

...

...Uh.

What's up?



She looks just like the ones I've seen in books!

I don't even want to know how Nitori got her hands on a book like that.

What'd you say!? All right, let's get her!



We need to get back to the mansion before Milady wakes up...

Hey you, maid! I'm with the Gensokyo Defense Force. I need to ask you a few questions.

Despite being such an amazing thief, Marisa's really bad at this subtlety thing.

...Huh?

Now, why don't you tell me everything you know about this incident?

...What are you talking about? I am not sure I understand what is going on.

Hey! Don't just start yelling at her out of nowhere!

Don't worry, that's just how she is.

What exactly is it you want with me?

Sorry about all this so suddenly. We're investigating this scarlet mist that's surrounding the human village. To that end, we're trying to gather information from the villagers.



...How do you expect me to respond to such a vague inquiry?

In that case, you haven't seen any suspicious people about have you?

"Suspicious" is a rather arbitrary description. My answer would be "No". Even if I were to venture a guess...



Why you...! If anyone here's suspicious it's you... mmph!

Be quiet. Don't make this conversation harder than it already is.

...I understand. Thank you for your time. We'll continue our investigation.

You sure we shouldn't have pressed her more?

It gets rude if you suspect someone too much. If anything, we should be doubting the credibility of our information. We got it from a fairy after all.

I guess that's true...



...Yes, that's all. Sorry to cause you trouble.

Sakuyaaaa! Sorry to keep you waiting.

You are late, Meiling.

I'm sorry! These bags were heavier than I thought. I bet these weigh as much as five Sakuyas! ...Oh, who are these people?

Members of the Gensokyo Defense Force. It would seem they are investigating the source of the scarlet mist.

Wait, did you say they're looking into the scarlet mist?

Yes, though that conversation is over now...





...Huh?

...Meiling?



Don't worry about me, Sakuya! Hurry up and get back to the mansion!

...Wait, huh?

Heh heh heh... This must be what they mean by 'letting the cat out of the bag'.

I wish it was always this easy to find who's behind an incident.

Yeah, normally you have to fly in a random direction and beat up like three people before you even get a clue.

Uh, Sakuya? Did I say something wrong?

...It does not matter. There is no point in hiding it anymore.



Music: Unknown Song

The song that plays here isn't on the soundtrack or the Sound Room. It's just some generic atmosphere music that doesn't seem to be based on anything though, so I can see why.

W-Wait! Are you serious!?

Yes. Although, you have no way of knowing whether or not I am lying.

...Not so fast. I'm not so sure where this is going. Mind slowing down a bit?

I agree! If you don't stop the mist, the humans will...

I have no interest in what will happen to the humans. In the first place, I am not the one who can decids whether or not to stop the mist.

How can you say that? Aren't you a human too?



I will have to refuse, of course. This conversation is over. We are leaving, Meiling!

Y-Yes ma'am!

They're getting away!

I know! If we let them get away now we're back to square one. Let's follow them!

Man, who woulda thought a maid would be related to the scarlet mist?

This is all happening too fast. I can barely keep up.



------



Music: Greenwich in the Battlefield



Since this is a route crossover, I have access to all five characters. Note that Marisa's entire party is level 7; while the game actually does store any Graze earned by the other team, their level is predetermined. Unless you're crazy enough to powerlevel them beyond the preset levels anyways.



Unfortunately, they also don't have any skills whatsoever. More positively though, the computer Marisa had much better luck than I did and actually reached level 7! That means she learned Accel, which will make this chapter a lot easier.



Nitori is going to be pretty useless this chapter, so I switch her spot with Keine's.

There they are! Over there!

They're coming, Sakuya!

Hm. I thought they would not be able to follow us if we flew.



I thought normal humans couldn't fly. More importantly, hey you! Please tell us what's going on!

You're still hung up on that? I don't think they're in the mood for talking.

You do not understand. I have nothing to say to the likes of you.

Looks like your plea fell on deaf ears.

Then I guess you'll just have to tell us after we beat you out of the air!



Nonsense! I'll fight with you!

Even holding all that baggage? I will be fine. Hurry up and go. Surely you know that stalling for time is one of my specialties.

...Understood. I'll be waiting for you back at the mansion.



Where Meiling decided to leave is actually kind of important! It's not randomly determined or anything, it's just critical to note that the only way out of this map is through the top-right corner.

Looks like I get to play with you for a bit.

You've got guts taking us on all by yourself.

How foolish. Take a better look.



A bunch of enemies spawned in.

Why are there fairies in a place like this!?

Impossible! Did she anticipate being followed?

She lured us to an area filled with fairies. Not bad.

You cannot even touch me. At least you can amuse yourself with the fairies.

She's mocking us! I can cross this distance in a...

Marisa, watch out!

!



What the heck!? You've got some nerve hiding behind a wall of fairies!

These fairies have been strengthened due to the influence of the scarlet mist. One misstep and you could be done for!

Tch. At this rate she might get away from us though.

If you think like that you'll just fall prey to the danmaku...



I see. Working as a team, huh? Are you with us, Nitori? Alice?

You know it! We'll win if we work together!

Yes, though if we're to act as a team then we need to stop acting on our own.

All right, let's break through that wall!



A score run? Don't tell me you think you can win against me.

As the name implies, in a score run you try and get the highest score possible. This is incredibly difficult since it requires outright memorizing the game, and it's pretty much for only the most dedicated of players.

Incidentally, the current world record score in Touhou 6 was done with Reimu, so she's right to be confident!

...Is this going to be okay?

...

Well, when it comes down to it I'm sure they'll work together.

Marisa and Reimu actually do have a Support of their own! It's only 5% though, and Reimu and Marisa will probably never be near each other so it's not nearly as good as Marisa and Alice's.

Do you really think you can defeat me simply by joining forces? If you can break through the fairies...



Touhou dialogue is pretty much characters exchanging one-liners.

We'll see about that. Just you wait. Let's go, everyone!





This chapter is kind of a puzzle, so everyone's going to be acting a little differently from their normal roles.



Sakuya will spend every turn moving to the top-right corner to escape,



and the goal is to get anyone to attack her before she makes it. Marisa is the best choice due to her naturally high mobility, and if she has Accel it's even easier.



All of this danmaku is getting in the way though, so all of the other characters (read: Reimu) will have to clear enemies out of the way.



Things start off poorly with Reimu getting hit by a 19%.



She still did what she was supposed to do and weaken the Kedama enough for Marisa to attack it. This Kedama has a 55% chance of hitting Marisa, but that doesn't matter when Marisa can kill it.



My reward is a Bomb and one less danmaku field.



Meanwhile, Alice and Nitori are going to be heading for the enemies not directly between Sakuya and Marisa.



holy shit marisa actually dodged



Since she's charging straight ahead, Marisa practically has a huge bulleye painted on her. That's why it's so important to destroy the danmaku; not only so Marisa can move farther, but also so she can survive.



Hm? What's up?

What happened to that reactor thing that you're always carrying around?

Oh, you mean the hakkero?



FMW's translation is pretty typo-free, but a few slipped through the cracks.

Yup. It didn't have enough output as it was, though. So I left it at Kourin's so he could do some maintenance. I told him to make sure it's ready by tomorrow.

Rinnosuke's got it pretty rough.



Yeah, yeah, I'm going already.

She's a teacher all right. Feels right at home giving a lecture.

Tell me about it. She's been scolding me all day.

We do need to hurry, though. Let's go!



I start the next turn by having Alice finish off the Kedama Marisa weakened.



This opens up room for Reimu to attack this fairy,



and lets Marisa once again steal the kill without risking a counter-attack.



Almost there!



Keine and Nitori just move forward. By the way, I could have had Keine kill that Kedama instead of Alice, but I wanted Alice to get the Graze.



Ahahahaha what was that fairy even thinking?



Marisa's fairy battle doesn't go nearly as well.



Nitori finally got this Kedama's attention. Once she finishes it, she's pretty much done for the chapter.



I start the next phase by clearing the way to Sakuya. I don't have Marisa attack her just yet though.



I should probably note that I've been having Alice cast Focus every round. Her evasion rates are only barely higher, if not lower than Reimu's, who's just been charging straight into danmaku.



Also I think Alice has had a perfect record with Criticals so far.



Nitori almost kills this Kedama.



I haven't mentioned it yet, but pretty much everything Kedamas say is a reference of some kind.



My last act of the turn is to advance Keine.



Okay Nitori, that's a wrap.



In a stunning display of competence, Marisa takes down two fairies in a row. Notice how low her MP is now though; that's only five more shots of Magic Missile. Sure that's more than enough for this chapter, but it'll be a huge issue in later ones.



Alice is almost ready to join Nitori.



Marisa is going to make it to the exit point before Sakuya, and while she's there Sakuya's can't leave.



This gives Reimu and Keine the time they need to catch up.



Alice is done.





Let's skip ahead a bit.



Okay, here we go.

All right! Gotcha!

...! To think you would be able to dodge all that danmaku and make it this far...

Don't underestimate us. We won't let you escape!

Music: Distortion Dial


Watch Sakuya cheat!

Her movements are totally off the wall.



No. I can't sense any particular sort of magic from her. She's just a normal human.

What!?

Well, she does look like a human.

...Did you say a normal human?



No matter what you say, a human's a human.

You still insist on that? Then allow me to show you the true nature of my ablities!





A spellcard! Looks like that maid isn't normal after all.

There's no time to talk. Be careful!





Misdirection's danmaku effect is the reason I went through so much trouble trying to corner Sakuya. With only three turns and Post Movement attacks disabled, you just do not have the time needed to position Keine and Reimu for maximum damage.



Anyways, let's interrupt Nitori's nap in the river (if you're over a body of water you get the option to dive in instead of landing) and have her Scan Sakuya.



Oh hey, she can't.



Even though Spellcards count as a new life gauge, you don't have to attack or Scan the boss again to see their status screen. This means that you can't find out how much HP they have until you hit them though.



This skill is the reason I don't bother sending Alice (the only one with enough Skill to get a critical) after Sakuya.



Sakuya flees at 30% HP, so getting the Bonus is pretty much a complete crapshoot since I'm not saving. Oh well.

If you were sent out to do the shopping, does that make you an underling?

No, I am the noble head maid. The other maids are unreliable.

In other words, if I beat you then I become the head maid.

This is the exact conclusion Marisa comes to when she encounters Sakuya in EoSD.

The number of people who have said that only to be defeated... They are more numerous than the number of planets in the solar system!



Sakuya has 12,500 HP, but Reimu and Keine can handle that.



Sakuya also hits like a god damn truck, but Keine can heal herself and Reimu shouldn't be getting hit. Marisa's kind of screwed though.



Whoops, I forgot to have Reimu cast Focus. I'll have to have her Evade instead of counter.

Your movements have been strange this whole time. You seem like you are moving slowly, yet you mysteriously close in on your target.

Marisa said the same thing to me at some point. I'm just moving normally.

Of course. You are just an ordinary human after all. You are no match for one who can control space such as me!

We'll see about that!



fffffff



There goes any chance of getting the Bonus. I'll just have Keine whack Sakuya to 30%.

I find it hard to believe you're human too...

I did say not to lump me with them. And anyway, if you care so much about humans... Should you not be worrying about the shrine maiden and the witch?

Don't lump them together! The weaker humans are who I want to protect!



...I guess Marisa getting that double kill earlier drained all of my luck.



Every hit counts I suppose.



Now that's just improbable.



I've got to admit though, I'm not surprised by this turn of events at all.



Anyways, third time's the charm right?





I could have had Keine heal herself before attacking, yes. But I didn't. Why?



BECAUSE NONE OF THE ABOVE EVER HAPPENED.



This time around I fed a couple kills to Keine so I can be assured she'll be at 120 Power.



Marisa also didn't slaughter as many fairies, so Reimu got a level. Now that she's learned Shrine Maiden Lvl 2, Reimu has a permanent +5% to Hit and Evade.

Reimu's Shrine Maiden skill boosts Hit/Evade rates by (Skill Level - 1) * 5%. This means that it's completely useless at the beginning of the game, but quickly ramps up in ridiculousness the more Reimu levels up. By the end of the game Reimu will probably hit level 3, which is the equivalent of Marisa and Alice's Support. She can get all the way up to level 4 though, just because Reimu must one-up Marisa in everything. _{In FMW2 Reimu can get up to level 6.}



I also choose to not just go for the bare minimum and have everyone surround Sakuya.



Nitori is going to be Support Defending everyone. Nobody is going to die this time.

When I heard the word 'maid' I thought it might be her, but... It seems I was just overthinking it.

What are you talking about?

I have an acquaintance who uses knives. She's rather strong.

Actually, Yumeko used swords.

Is that so? I wonder if you would still feel that way after having us cross blades.

Who knows? Just thinking about her takes me back, though.



First battle has Sakuya and Alice exchange blows and Nitori flail ineffectually.



Second battle has a Sensed Reimu laugh at Sakuya,



and Keine finally hitting. Twice, actually!



Sakuya will flee at 3750 HP. Nitori might be weak enough to get her to just above that, but I don't want to risk it.



Instead, I have her move to protect Marisa and Alice.



That turned out to be kind of pointless since Sakuya attacked Nitori.

Wow, this is the first time I've seen a real maid!

I would appreaciate it if you did not stare. Maids are not for show, you know.

But I heard they are in the outside world.

...So you intend to treat me like that as well? How amusing. In my world, you are the one that is just for show.



Let's see here... Guard and Defend both halve damage. Nitori is taking 25% damage here, and she's only taking about 800 less than Keine not even Defending.



Next turn I have Reimu cast Sense,



and have her and Keine Focus.


Here we go.
























Fuck everything she lived.

God this whole Bonus would be so much easier if Reimu had a more powerful attack she could use from, say, two spaces away. But that's just wishful thinking I suppose.

...You are better than I thought.

Did we get her?

Looks like she's not done yet!

I wish I could play with you for a bit longer, but it looks like my time is up.

The maid's trying to escape!

Wait, there are still things we want to ask you!



This is a direct quote from Touhou 6; there, if you played the game on Easy, Sakuya would stop you at the end of Stage 5, berate you for being such a wimp, then say this. The game then hands you a Bad Ending and tells you to at least play on Normal.

Also Sakuya disappears in a flash of light.

She just disappeared all of a sudden... Is that the same technique she used before?

She really gave us the slip. I can't even see her shadow.

How could we let her go?

Well, there's nothing we can do now. For now, let's head back and discuss our options.

If you beat Sakuya, the same thing ends up happening. She'll compliment your abilities though.



Perhaps I should consider virgin sacrifices.

------

I'm not going to be showing a video of Sakuya's attacks since we haven't really fought her yet.

------

Hey y'all, we're really glad that you chose to play Fantasy Maiden Wars E. Hope you had fun, that's the most important thing.

I bet I was the most fun to play as too, right? Right.

Our battle's gonna keep going from here on. If you've got anything you wanna tell us, we'll be happy to hear it.

All right, see ya! Come back soon!

...You're surprisingly good at this sort of thing.

It's all about energy. You're the main character Reimu, you do the next one.

I know. Don't expect too much though.