Youkai sage Yakumo Murasaki.

His appearance is beautiful, his moral character is noble, and his wisdom is extraordinary, and the word sage is well-deserved.

-- Of course, how much credibility is there in the previous sentence other than the first one...... Let's see for yourselves.

But what the temperament of the monster sage is, it should be irrelevant. Today is an inopportune beginning here, and it is only because the gap monster is an inevitable role in this story, so it has to be mentioned.

So, here we go.

It's neither heavy nor sad, neither emotional nor lamental, and the only thing that fills it is the author's own strange sense of humor, which may not match the style, but it's good for it occasionally.

The time was in early summer when the hot winds began to blow gradually, and the location was ...... It is again in the Hakurei Shrine, which is favored by the gods.

"Anyway...... I've always felt that something was abnormal."

With her hands clasped around her chest, Marisa said this, with an incomprehensible look on her brow. She looked directly at the girl in front of her with eyes full of strong emotion.

"Why are you so strong?"

That gaze was too intense. Even Reimu, who was looking at him, felt a little hot on his face.

In normal times, in the face of such a troublesome problem, she would definitely have rolled her eyes and dealt with it. But at this moment, Marisa's gaze almost blinded her, and Reimu couldn't have any perfunctory thoughts.

Because, Marisa was asking her very seriously.

「……」

But this earnestness was exchanged for a silence.

This silence contains not unanswerable embarrassment, but the same confusion as Marisa.

It's ridiculous to say that Reimu Hakurei doesn't know how to answer Marisa's question at all.

"Uh-huh......

Reimu almost opened her mouth, but the answer she had to say didn't exist in her consciousness.

But it was obviously not appropriate to keep an answer, and even if there was no answer, Reimu had a similar feeling. She replied with that feeling.

「…… Powerful, you don't need a reason, do you?"

With hesitant words. Needless to say, even Reimu herself couldn't convince herself with such words.

There must be a reason to be strong.

Maybe it's because of a natural talent, maybe it's because of a strong heart, or maybe it's because of a heavy responsibility. There may be a variety of reasons, but there is no such thing as needless power.

But as far as Reimu herself was concerned, she had never done anything. The power has unconsciously reached the current level.

If power is simply compared to strength, she can't agree with it.

Unfortunately, the "strong" that Marisa asks about now is simply the strength of the power. Then Reimu's answer can't be said to be completely wrong.

"Hmm......"

A stunned moan leaked from Marisa's throat. There was also an expression on her face that Reimu had never seen before--no, I guess I had seen it before.

Whenever she received a shocking answer, the girl would show such a stunned look.

Although Marisa seems to be happy at first glance, she has a very hard time practicing in private. Because she's also a guy who doesn't look like she looks. There is a meticulousness and strong self-esteem that does not match the appearance.

But her self-esteem is no match for Reimu, which she has never cultivated.

-- The scene fell silent for a moment.

It's hard to say it's a pleasant atmosphere, but it's not awkward either.

At this time,

"I said......

As if pouring out of the ground, a voice full of resentment suddenly sounded.

「…… You've been ignoring me ever since."

The quiet atmosphere was broken.

I don't know if it's something to be happy about. But from the expressions on their faces, it can be seen that they will never have any sense of gratitude to the person who spoke.

On the tatami mat inside the shrine, a slender figure is lying on the ground without any image to speak of.

The long golden hair was scattered on the ground, and although the face could not be seen clearly, the woman in the long white dress should be a beauty.

…… But why do you have to lie on the ground so lazily? It's so aesthetically destructive.

But whether it's Marisa or Reimu, they don't have any hope for the beauty of women.

"I always think you've been a little bit out of your eyes on me lately......

As she spoke, the woman finally lifted her face. looked at the two with a look full of resentment.

In keeping with the first impression, the woman has a striking beauty, and although it looks like a mature and bewitching beauty at first glance, it is difficult to judge her age when you look closely at it and feel young.

It's a pity that she is obviously a rare beauty, but her words and deeds are very weird. It should be said that there is a subtle sense of disobedience that makes people feel regretful.

「…………」

「…………」

Neither Marisa nor Reimu answered her, but their wordless gazes were the best answer.

"Hey! What's going on with your "that's so right, we didn't even take you seriously" look!"

In the face of the woman who couldn't help but roar, both of them seemed to be thieves, and they avoided their eyes in unison. Their actions are tantamount to telling women, "You're absolutely right." ”

The woman who had been lying on the ground finally stood up unbearably.

Unlike Reimu and Marisa, who belong to the category of girls, her body is undoubtedly that only women have. Tall and attractive limbs, which are completely incomparable to young girls.

"I mean, you guys—I'm a monster sage. You have to respect me!"

She made such a declaration with a little anger and a little pride.

Yes, the woman is the youkai sage, the realm monster named Yakumo Purple.

Her words were like a show of authority. Yes, as the founder of this Gensokyo, she has unparalleled authority -- and that's how it should be.

"Yes, we know......

However, look at the perfunctory appearance of the Hakuri witch...... It's really worrying about how weak the Sage's position is.

The great youkai who was named after the sage...... It must have been beautiful, powerful, majestic, and wise beyond the reach of any other thing. It's a pity that when you see Yakumo's appearance, you can understand the gap between ideals and reality, and how much is there.

All in all, although it can't be called disillusionment. But Hakuri Reimu's mood can also be understood to some extent.

"Are you really apologizing? Reimu."

Yakumo asked with a pursed pout.

She always felt despised in terms of personality...... The previous Reimu was obviously not like this.

The bigger people are, the less cute they are--she couldn't help but come up with this somewhat old-fashioned idea.

By the way, Yakumoshi's "before" refers to ten years ago...... It's not a long time for youkai. At that time, Reimu was still a little girl with a gentle temperament.

"That's a must."

With a lack of undulating tones, the shrine maiden's words are truly unashamed.

But Yakumo Zi just believed it.

Thinking that her authority had been reasserted, she fell to the ground satisfied...... Completely ignoring Marisa and Reimu's indescribable expressions.

"I say...... Marisa, it's summer, isn't it?"

"Well, it's been two or three weeks into the summer. That's weird......

"It's strange indeed--it's not the time of spring anymore."

The extremely rude conversation between the two was not noticed by the monster sage. Because now Yakumo Murasaki is in deep trouble.

"It's boring......

As he spoke, he rolled back and forth on the tatami mats. It's not so much beautiful as it is reminiscent of some kind of house pet that likes to be close to people.

And listening to Zi's incessant voice of resentment, Hakuri Reimu finally began to act.

"Purple, if you're bored...... You can go to the Eternal Pavilion."

The shrine maiden said something that had nothing to do with the youkai sage.

Marisa on the side threw a surprised look at Reimu, but how could Reimu, who was bold and dark-hearted, care. She continued to instill her mischievous thoughts into Purple, who had already been noticed.

"I've heard that Bayi Yonglin also has the name of a sage...... How about looking for her? Maybe she'll figure out a solution to your boredom."

In the literal sense of the word, there is no problem with a sentence, but in fact, this is just a rhetoric that Lingmeng wants to send Yakumo Purple away.

"Hmm...... Kind of makes sense."

However, after pondering for a while, Purple agreed with Reimu's statement.

"Good...... I'm bored anyway, so let's leave now."

With a crisp snap of his fingers, the dark rift that emerged from the void swallowed Yakumo Purple whole.

This is undoubtedly a terrifying scene that will make ordinary people's blood flow backwards, but Reimu and Marisa have long been surprised.

After confirming that the youkai sage was gone, Marisa asked Reimu.

"Hey! Reimu, are you really planning to ask Zi to find Yonglin for help?"

"Not really."

Glancing at Marisa with extremely calm eyes, Reimu's answer was simply jaw-dropping.

"I just wish that doctor could prescribe some medicine for Zi -- I guess as a doctor, she should be able to see a severely ill patient."

-- This is Reimu's heartfelt expectation.