Gensokyo's Dimensional Black Shop

Page 19

"Look, this is exactly where you had those two fight last time. That flower still has some of Yuuka-chan's demonic power left." Yakumo Yukari pointed to a seemingly inconspicuous flower by the lake.

Just then, a frog hopped past the flower.

The flower, which looked like it could be blown over by a gust of wind, suddenly swelled up. Its petals, which had been curled up, opened up, revealing dense teeth inside. After swallowing the frog whole, it returned to its harmless appearance.

white night:"……"

Although it was the first time he had seen this kind of malicious hunting style, the image of Kazami Yuuka's indifferent face immediately came to Bai Ye's mind.

"...I can guarantee with my integrity that the mansion really has nothing to do with me."

"Integrity?" Yakumo Yukari's gaze towards Byakuya deepened with even more suspicion.

As for moral integrity... she'd almost forgotten what that once morally upright sage demon looked like, and by that logic... tsk!

"That's really how it is. There's nothing I can do if you don't admit it." Bai Ye shrugged.

"Oh my~ Manager, what are you saying?" Yukari Yakumo suddenly smiled. "We may not trust others, but we do trust your character, Manager. However, since you say they have nothing to do with you, does that mean we won't take you into consideration when we deal with them?"

"Whatever." Bai Ye waved his hand.

"Okay, then we'll be going now. If only they could be like you, the manager, always making a big fuss and forcing us to resort to underhanded tactics... cough."

Realizing she might have let something slip, Yakumo Yukari deliberately acted cute and walked directly into the gap in the doorway.

"A newcomer?"

After Yakumo Yukari left, Byakuya stood behind the counter, lost in thought.

The last newcomer to have Yakumo Yukari appear as a youkai sage seems to be herself, right?

……

That afternoon, Bai Ye, who was resting in a recliner as usual, was suddenly awakened by a shaking.

"Xiao Zhen, is something the matter?"

"Master, is your shop still open?"

"Nonsense, what would we eat if we didn't open the shop? Clay figurines or the northwest wind?"

"So we have a guest." Black Jeanne pointed to the counter and then handed a towel that was already soaked in warm water to White Night.

Looking sideways, Bai Ye noticed a tall, silver-haired woman dressed in a blue and white maid outfit standing in front of the counter.

"I didn't expect to have a guest here." Black Jeanne handed her a towel and wiped her face, instantly dispelling the drowsiness caused by the sweltering afternoon weather. White Night stood up, stretched, and put on her standard smile as she looked at the newcomer: "Guest, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Is this a general store?" Seeing that Bai Ye had woken up, the silver-haired woman turned her head to look at the empty shelves in the store.

"Um... Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I haven't had many customers here, so I've already put away all the merchandise. If you need anything, just let me know."

The newcomer looked at Bai Ye suspiciously, but couldn't discern anything from his demeanor, and gently shook his head.

"I need a batch of small iron knives, forks, and spoons, as well as plates about this size. If possible, some teacups would also be nice..."

"So, you need some Western-style tableware, right?" Based on what the other person said, Bai Ye imagined what she needed, took out a card, broke it into pieces, and placed a set of tableware on the counter.

"..."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No."

Just thinking about my performance just now makes me feel so ashamed... It's all the fault of this place that supposedly hasn't been in contact with the outside world for thousands of years!

and many more.

"Manager, how do you know about Western tableware? I visited four or five general stores before coming here, and none of them could provide what I need."

"What are you saying... If I don't even have this much knowledge, then what am I doing running a shop?" Bai Ye shook his head and took out a few cards containing sealed Western-style tableware: "Besides these, is there anything else you need?"

After staring at the words on the back of the card for a long time, the silver-haired woman silently took out a list that hung all the way to the ground from the basket she was carrying.

“I was originally just planning to buy some tableware to make do, but since you said so, manager…” She placed the list on the counter: “Please give me one of each item as indicated on the list. By the way, can these items also be placed on cards like this? Otherwise, it’s not very convenient for me to carry them around.”

Chapter 044: Can you still use magic properly when you have an asthma attack...?

On the shore of Lake Mist, in front of the newly built Western-style mansion, a silver-haired maid-dressed woman who had just spent a large sum of money at the White Night Café pushed open the door.

"Sakuya-san, you're back?"

"Hmm." The girl, whose real name was Izayoi Sakuya, nodded and looked around. "How was it? Nothing unexpected happened while I was away, right?"

"No, except for those silly fairies." The gatekeeper, dressed in a cheongsam, waved his hand childishly: "But it doesn't matter. Whoever dares to come and cause trouble, I'll definitely punch them away!"

“…Let’s be careful. According to what Miss Patchouli said, the sage who created this great barrier was already a renowned powerhouse a thousand years ago, and it’s said that he even organized a war that affected half of the great demons of Japan.” Thinking of the magical little shop she encountered in the human village, Sakuya added, “And even if the young lady can reach some kind of agreement with the sage, there are still many powerful beings inside the great barrier.”

"Hey, Sakuya-san, that's not what you said when you left?"

"Oh, so what did I say?" A cold glint flashed in the head maid's eyes, and a small silver knife appeared silently in her hand.

"Miss Sakuya, you mean I should be careful and not provoke strong people when the situation is still unclear!" Thinking of the fear that those flying knives had brought him in the past, the gatekeeper chose to follow his heart.

"Since you still remember, then be careful and don't cause trouble for the young lady."

Hong Meiling is as sensible as ever, even though she knows she's no match for her when it comes to a serious argument...

With a sigh to herself, the head maid sheathed her weapon, turned and walked into the Scarlet Devil Mansion, leaving the gatekeeper with a dashing back view.

……

If someone who has ever been to the Scarlet Devil Mansion were to define this ancestral mansion of the Scarlet family, then no matter how it is described, it would probably inevitably come down to the word "big".

The Scarlet Devil Mansion looks extravagant from the outside, but once you actually go inside, you'll find that the exterior is pitifully small compared to the interior.

With her familiarity with the Scarlet Devil Mansion's interior, even without any signs, the head maid quickly made her way to the kitchen, took out a few cards, broke them into pieces, washed the sealed tableware inside, and arranged them neatly.

After doing all this, she took out a pocket watch to check the time, and then headed towards the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion is an enormous library. Once you push open the door, you'll see books of all shapes and sizes, many of which are securely locked with chains.

"Oh, it's Sakuya. Is there something you need?"

“There’s something I need to ask of Miss Patchouli.” Sakuya took out a few cards from her pocket and placed them in the hands of the girl who emerged from the pile of books: “This is a rather interesting shop I came across in the Human Village. The shopkeeper there doesn’t seem to be an ordinary person either. These are some of his products.”

"card?"

“Yes, he can seal items in small cards like these, and the back of the card will show the specific information of the item inside.” Sakuya nodded.

"That's it..."

The bookish-looking girl nodded, took the card, and examined it.

How do we get the contents out of there?

"Just break it into pieces."

Upon hearing Sakuya's answer, the girl took out a card, held one end in each hand, gritted her teeth, and strained...

Not moving.

"..." x2

“Um, why don’t you try using even more force, Patchouli?” Sakuya suggested.

"It didn't work. I just used all the strength I could muster. I think it's probably related to some rule issue. Should we ask someone else to try?"

"Eh, the others... the young lady?"

"Don't bother Remy with such a small matter. I just discovered an interesting spell when I was organizing my summoning spellbooks a few days ago. Let's try it out today." With that, the girl floated up and took a spellbook with bat wings drawn on the cover from a bookshelf.

Watching the girl confidently draw the magic circle, Izayoi Sakuya, observing from the sidelines, felt as if she had overlooked something...

"%&*%##￥￥#..."

"……￥%￥*&*&"

"%￥%*&&……%"

As Patchouli chanted the long and complicated incantation, the head maid inexplicably began to miss the feeling of being in the shop.

Even though she couldn't understand a single word the shop manager was saying, she was miraculously able to grasp the meaning behind his words. In fact, this was the fundamental reason why she decided to stay there and see if Bai Ye could produce what she wanted, instead of leaving immediately after hearing Bai Ye's words.

Unlike the spells Patchouli is chanting now...

The essence of summoning is to communicate with beings from other planes and summon them to serve one's own purposes based on incantations and pre-arranged conditions. Therefore, when reciting incantations, one should naturally use a language that the other party can understand.

From this perspective, summoning mages are actually hidden masters of cross-world languages.

Just as the spell was about to be completed, Sakuya suddenly noticed that Patchouli's face turned pale, and she clutched her chest, breathing heavily for a short while. Sakuya slapped her forehead.

Finally, she remembered what she had forgotten: Miss Patchouli's asthma made it difficult for her to finish reciting such a long incantation.

"It's not asthma, I'm just coughing, coughing!" Patchouli rolled her eyes at Sakuya after recovering. "Besides, look, even if the spell wasn't completed, I still managed to summon the demon, didn't I?"

"Emmmmmm..."

Looking at the bewildered bat-winged girl in the center of the magic circle, Sakuya decided it was best not to make any comments.

Chapter 045 I'm planning something big!

"Hmm~ Sakuya, Patchouli, what are you two doing?" A soft, cute voice rang out, and a petite figure in pajamas appeared at the library entrance: "Who is this? I don't think I've seen her before."

"Hey, Remi, you're up so early today?" Patchouli looked up and asked.

"Morning?"

Then the group looked together at the wall clock.

Patchouli and Sakuya then realized that, without their noticing, the clock had quietly passed ten and was heading towards the number eleven.

For Remilia Scarlet, the owner of this mansion and a member of the vampire clan, this was the time to end her day's sleep and begin her formal activities.

"I can't believe I failed to be by your side the moment you woke up. As a mere maid, I've really neglected my duty." Suddenly, Sakuya's entire demeanor turned black and white, as if she had thought of something.

Patchouli, who roughly understood what Sakuya was thinking, twitched at the corner of her mouth.

Fortunately, Sakuya and Remi are both women.

“It doesn’t matter what happens.” Remilia waved her hand, looking curiously at the red-haired girl standing next to Patchouli: “So… who exactly is she?”

The head maid looked at Patchouli.

"Um... when I was organizing the books in the library, I found a magic book that summons demons. Sakuya happened to bring back something interesting from outside. I couldn't open it myself, so I summoned a little demon."

"Why just a little devil?" Remy tilted her head slightly, looking at the little devil with displeasure. "With Patchouli's abilities, summoning a complete demon shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Damn it, it's just a little devil, why is it so tall!

“Uh…” Patchouli was speechless.

If Remy were to reveal that she had suffered an asthma attack halfway through her spell, she would definitely be used as a joke by Remy to appease Flandre, right?

"Never mind, what did you say Sakuya brought back from outside?"

"Hmm... a very magical card, or rather a batch of cards. Miss, please take a look as well."

……

Since discovering that Byakuya's goods far surpassed the average level of other shops in the Human Village in terms of variety, quantity, and quality, Sakuya now goes straight to him with a basket in hand whenever she goes out to buy things.

So much so that now, apart from Mokou who occasionally stops by to sit and chat when she passes by, the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion has become the most frequent visitor to the Dimensional Shop in Gensokyo.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to use all the stuff I buy.

Watching Sakuya leave with another handful of cards, Byakuya clicked his tongue softly behind her and looked at the black-haired girl who walked out of the portal.

"Why is it a woman again?"

"Do you have some dissatisfaction with my female body?" The girl raised her eyebrows, and an aura of authority that had long been in a superior position emanated from her.

Bai Ye yawned boredly: "Save it. I haven't actually seen anything that can break my defenses yet. Let alone me, if you can break a cup on the table right now, I'll admit defeat."

"What a bold statement!" The girl's next actions made Bai Ye think that he might have encountered someone who hadn't graduated from chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)...

"You brought me to this place without my knowledge, using unknown methods. I admit your magic is amazing, but that's not a reason for you to be arrogant and unrestrained in front of me!" The girl flicked her long sleeves.

white night:"……"

"So, who exactly are you?"

"You brought me to this place without my permission, and you don't even know my name?" The girl's displeasure deepened. "Remember this: my surname is Luo, my given name is Cuilian, and my courtesy name is Hao. I am the leader of the Holy Sect, the king who reigns supreme at the pinnacle of martial arts!"

"Pfft-"