Part 27: Scarlet Boundary - Part 1a

Thanks to another route-specific cutscene, this .1 update will also have to be split into two posts.



*yaaaaawn* Uhh...



From now on I'll be doing this with most of the dialogue images. For gameplay ones, I'll show the rest of the screen if it's something new. Hopefully this will reduce update loading times.

But the sun's falling already. I can't see the sun well through this mist.

...(The mist really thickened overnight.)



Meiling is kind of the conscience of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I think you can figure out the implications of her usually being outside of it.

(...I wonder if that elderly lady is okay. I hope she didn't breathe in too much of this mist...)

Geez, your chest really is huge.

That's... one way to change the subject.

....Hyah!?? W-W-W-What are you doing!? Attacking me from behind like this... T-There's an order to go about things you...

Hello Meiling, you look bored.

...Oh, it's you , Elly. Yeesh, don't scare me like that.

Ahaha, you looked so defenseless. Not exactly befitting of a gatekeeper.

I was just relaxing a bit. Doing nothing but standing weakens the body. ...Anyway, what's the matter? I don't think it's time to switch yet.



...! Which means those humans are finally coming to attack us. huh?

Yeah. The shrine maiden and the magician, and the mish-mash of youkai and ghosts. Now that you mention it, didn't you meet them before?

I met them yesterday when I went out shopping with Sakuya. Sakuya just about dealt with them then, but they were a pretty capable gang.

You weren't even there during the fight!

After all, they figured out that we were connected to the mist and...



...And?

Umm, never mind.

I fought them earlier too, they were pretty strong. They used all kinds of strange techniques too.

Says the person who fights with floor tiles.

Yeah, they fought Sakuya before, yet they're still heading this way. We can't take them lightly. But in the end, they are still humans. So...

...That's right, the sun will be setting soon.



And I'll be fighting with you on top of that. With our powers combined, we definitely won't lose! We'll show those humans the meaning of pain!

Oh there'll be a lesson in pain alright.

The next cutscene changes depending on whose route you're on. I'll show Reimu's first.



One, two, and... It is hopeless, I cannot reach it at all.



But I do not see anything but tea cakes.

That's probably because that's all there is.

If it is so deep inside, then even Reimu would not be ablt to reach it herself... Did Reimu use her ability to float in the air for that?

No, it cannot be. Reimu surely would not use her power for such frivolous purposes...

(...)

Remember how the three fairies were running to the shrine? Well it took them quite a while, but they made it.

(...)



Don't ask me, it's not like I would know.

It's different from what we heard. I thought there'd be no one at the shrine since the shrine maiden's away.

It seems that human is the caretaker. I don't know what she's doing here though.

...Now what? We could just keep hiding, but that kinda lacks excitement.



You know, that human may be the shrine maiden's friend, but she seems kinda weak. She's been jumping on that footstool for ages now. She seems even weaker than a normal human...

...Hey, you two. Why don't we change our goal? Doesn't playing pranks on that human sound fun to you?

hey let's go make fun of a totally defenseless child with a crippling physical condition

It'll be boring if we just keep hiding here. And we don't have to be worried about being punished by that human.

Hmm, that does sound nice. You're always full of good ideas, Star!

Seriously the three fairies are jerks.



Hmm, I can not reach up there... Not even with this back-scratcher.

...*sigh* I am not trying to complain about this body that the Yama gave me... But if only I was a little taller... It is during times like these that I yearn for an adult-like body like Keine's.

...Yes, in height, of course.



(See? She's defenseless with her arms raised on that footstool like that.)

(Hehehe, this is a great chance for a prank.)



(Now! *poke poke poke*...)

Ehh!? ...W-Wait, wha!? ...Kyaah!

Akyu falls off the chair.

Ooh, oww... W-Who was that? Who came up behind me and...

!

(...)



What is going on? This must be some youkai tri...

(It ain't over yet. You're up, Star!)

(Got it!)

Eek! The seaweed is coming off!? W-What is going on!? The rice cracker is moving!? It could not have been treated so well that it became an artifact spirit, could it...?

Artifact spirits are objects that gain conscious either due to be treated very well or very badly. Spirits of the latter variety are very vengeful towards their users!

...I know! It was jealous because I was rummaging around for other kinds of snacks... Which means that this is...

Yes, the curse of the shrine maiden!!

Wha...!? E-EEEEEEEEEEK!!

Akyu flees.

(...)

(...)

...Ha...



I did, that human's shocked face was hilarious. Her hair was even standing on its end!

Your timing in removing your power was perfect too, Luna.

I wanted to be the one to peel off the seaweed. You should thank me for letting Star do it.

Oh man, that was great. Now that we've had a lot of fun, let's go back home.

Yes,

Yeah, we'll have a drink when we get back.

Ah-ah, if we really started an incident, they'd all come to us to play too~. Hey everyone, let's discuss tonight on how we can start an incident!

Didn't we already talk about that three days ago...?



Ahh, that was shocking. What on earth happened? First, I felt something touching my back... then I saw floating rice crackers, with the seaweed being torn off...

Yes, the curse of the shrine maiden...

Cannot explain this!



Ooh, I have to conclude that it was a fairy's prank. My condition must have weakened to have fallen for such a simple prank. Yes, that must be why.

...Reimu, Keine, Youmu! Please resolve the incident quickly and come back~! Then beat up those fairies for meee~!

Well that was thoroughly silly. Let's move on to Marisa's now.



Who's up for another Rinnosuke monologue?

...As the night approaches, the mist grows more and more dense.

It's good to see that Marisa all fired up upon receiving her hakkero... But I hope she isn't being too reckless. Well, it wouldn't be Marisa to be cowed by a little bit of adversity either.

...What exactly is this mist though? With the way it completely hides the sun, it's as if the world is ruled by the night. If this is one of those youkai ploys again...



Perhaps the culprit hates the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, thus wants to hide the sun? But that doesn't explain the scarlet color of this mist.

In other words, the key to solving the mystery is perhaps not the sun... But rather the vivid scarlet hues everywhere. But if it's about the color... crimson, scarlet, red, red-and-white...

...! I see, I've got it now!



Let me remind you at this point that in his book, Rinnosuke's main gimmick was observing all sorts of details and...

In my view, the culprit's aim is to get rid of the boundary between red and white. As red and white are Reimu's colors, if that boundary is lost... It is the same as her disappearing altogether.

In summary, the culprit is one who holds a grudge against Reimu. And the culprit doubtlessly started this incident as retribution.

coming to a completely wrong conclusion.

At the same time, though, you can understand his reasoning. A lot of the fun in Curiosities of Lotus Asia is watching Rinnosuke be very rational in his reasoning yet end up totally wrong!



Reimu treats everyone completely equally. That doesn't lend itself well to inviting hatred...

It'd be much more understandable if it was Marisa. She loves making relationships like that.

That's pretty much how Marisa and Alice's friendship started, yeah.



The one who resolves it would always return full of pride. And the one who didn't will come back all sulky. Until that day comes, I should enjoy my time to myself fully.



...Achoo!

What's wrong, Marisa? Did you catch a cold?

...Nah, it ain't a cold. Someone must've been talking about me. Being a hero's tough. All the people's expectations are real heavy.

People have expectations of you...? Like for reforming all of mushroomkind?



This is probably a reference to Super Marisa Land/World, which are exactly what you think they are.

You probably sneezed because of this ice fairy here. Chills come naturally with her around. If you're cold, you should just be honest and say so. Right, Shanghai?

Shang-hai.

Pah. This would actually feel pretty good if the coldness were a li'l milder. Hey Cirno, can't you turn down your coldness a bit?

Hm? Yea I can.

You can!? Then do it!

This is comfortable for me. I dunno what kind of temperature you like.

Stop the mindless chatter, you two.



Yes. The sun has set, so it will get more unpleasant from here on.

It's kind of hard to tell that it's night due to all the mist though. In-game it actually looks like it's still afternoon.

Unpleasant...?

The night is the playtime of the youkai. They'll be in top condition at night.

Yep yep!

It is easier to understand if you look at how Rumia is feeling. She is much more lively now compared to in the morning.

Yeah, I feel more comfortable when it's dark and cooling.

Not everyone feels better at night though. For me, I spend most of my nights progressing in my research, so I'm okay then.



And as such most have an A rank in Night.

Cirno also seems to be full of energy at night, but...

...*yawn*

You okay, Dai? Are you sleepy?

I'm okay. We just started out after all.

Avoid combat if it's dangerous. It's best not to push yourself.

You should follow your own advice, Reimu.



I'm a night-owl type, so night or day's all the same to me.

You should still be careful. Your sight is affected, and the mood of the night saps the strength of humans. As us humans and our capabilities will fall, the youkai may have to make up for it.

In other words Youmu and Alice, because like hell am I trusting Nitori, Cirno, Rumia, and Dai to do anything by themselves.

I don't have a problem with that. But are we actually getting closer to where we want to be?

Yeah, is this the right direction?



Ahh, I did? It's hard to see in the dark, so I just flew where it felt right.

So yeah, Cirno's presence is completely pointless.

Well, you're more or less in the right direction. It's all thanks to my guidance!

Liar, you've been chattering with us the whole time.

Ah, I can see it. The red house is there!

------

Elly brought 'long her special weapons and ended up capturin' Nitori and Alice.

She had that oh-so-smug look on her face. But Kourin ain't just for show.

He throws himself into a danmaku battle screaming "Gwaaaaaaah!". Good job, man!

But finally, finally, finally! The little boiler's here!

Next time on Fantasy Maiden Wars: "Master Spark, Starting Up!"

...Did ya see that? Danmaku's all 'bout power!

You're kind of late Marisa. Also I am almost certain that episode title is a reference to something.