Chapter Text
Yumemi was overjoyed to be back in Gensokyo, but she did not waste her energy on celebration. That could be done later, when truly irrefutable proof of magic’s existence was brought back to Earth. Instead, Yumemi began testing the area for anything particularly magical.
After some time had passed, her assistant, Chiyuri, asked, “So, find anything yet boss?”
“Not yet,” replied Yumemi. “The plants here seem perfectly normal. We’ll find something, though. I know we will.” She was confident in her ability to find magic, as she knew it was real. She had learned from her previous mistakes, and this time would not compromise on getting a live example of a magically capable lifeform.
“Yeah, we’ll definitely find something this time!” Chiyuri said with confidence. “Also, side note, you wonder if this shrine we ended up next to is inhabited?”
“Hm…” Yumemi wandered around the shrine for a bit, checking for signs of life. She looked inside the donations box. It was empty, save a single coin. “Well, if it is inhabited, I’d say it doesn’t get good business. Probably some shrine to an obscure god.”
From inside, they heard an angry voice. “HEY! You say that to my face once I get out there!”
“Seems like it is inhabited after all,” Yumemi mused.
“Hey boss, you think we should leave before we have to deal with some angry shrine maiden?”
“Good plan.” With that, Yumemi and Chiyuri hotfooted it away from the shrine, planning to continue their search elsewhere.
Reimu exited her shrine to give a piece of her mind to the people who would dare call her god obscure, but she found them already leaving. She shouted, “Get back here!” Of course, there was no response.
“That’s annoying,” Reimu thought to herself. “Hm… they do seem familiar somehow, though…” Her mind helpfully drifted towards a discussion she had previously had with Nitori and her strange partner. “Wait, was that Yumemi? That weird ‘scientific magic’ girl from forever ago? She could be problematic.” Now knowing who the mystery shrine hecklers were, Reimu flew and gave chase after the duo.
Yumemi and Chiyuri had just sat down to rest when they saw a red-and-white streak in the sky approaching them. Anticipating a fight, Chiyuri pulled out a handgun, ready to shoot. Yumemi gestured to Chiyuri to put down the gun.
“You two!” Reimu shouted while flying towards them, “While I may be pissed at you, I’d like to avoid a fight and just talk if possible!”
Upon hearing this, Chiyuri put away the gun. Reimu landed near them shortly afterwards.
“I believe I recognize you,” Yumemi stated. “Were you one of the two people I fought during my first trip here?”
“That’s right,” replied Reimu. “By the way, your ‘robot maid’ sucks. It can’t even do basic household chores!”
Yumemi chuckled. “I suppose it may have been damaged in our rough landing.”
Reimu brushed past this point of conversation. “Well, anyways, you being back raises several questions.”
“I can assure you that my motives have not changed.”
“Well, that’s at least one question answered.” Reimu paused for a moment. “Heh, good luck trying to get a youkai to agree to go with you.”
Yumemi scowled.
Reimu once again changed the topic. “Oh, by the way, I recently talked to someone who knows about you.”
This caught the attention of both Yumemi and Chiyuri. Curious, they simultaneously asked, “Who?”
Reimu was a little stunned by the duo speaking at the exact same time, but she responded soon enough. “Someone named Neolect. Dropped by to set up his Spell Cards. I think he said he’s an ‘artificial intelligence,’ or something? Whatever that means.”
Yumemi quietly asked herself, “How the hell did an AI that knows about me end up here?”
Reimu just shrugged. “I dunno, but I hope you can use that info. I really think you should leave Gensokyo as soon as possible, though. Don’t throw away your life out there for your, if I’m being honest, kind of silly goal.”
Yumemi smiled grimly. “I don’t have much of one left TO throw away.”
Chiyuri cut in. “WELL, it’s been a great talk, guys, but Reimu, if you don’t mind, we’ll just be leaving now!” She grabbed Yumemi’s arm and began dragging her away. “Sorry about calling your god obscure!”
Reimu considered following them, but she decided not to. “There’s no way I could convince them to leave, even though I really want to. They won’t last long, though. It’s unfortunate that they’re willing to risk their lives for this. This is the second time this has happened lately…” Reimu sadly mused. “Well hey, at least ONE OF THEM apologized for their rudeness.”
Once they were a decent distance away, Chiyuri lightly slapped Yumemi. “Boss, we talked about this! Don’t be so grim!”
Yumemi looked at the ground. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I should focus on the positives. We’ll get some real magic, go back home, and finally prove my theory!”
“That’s the spirit!” replied Chiyuri. “Let’s find a place to stay, set up our stuff, and get to work!”
Meanwhile, in the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Neolect and Satori were chatting about no topic in particular.
“…So, my creator was originally planning on naming me Adam, after the first man of a well-known western religion, but he decided on a name that more accurately describes what I am: a new form of intellect.”
“That is interesting,” replied Satori. “The significance of the name would apply to you, but it is a little uninspired.”
“Indeed,” responded Neolect. “I’ve met exactly two technologically-gifted people, and both of them seem to struggle with names at times.”
Nitori, who was also present, responded, “My names are great! You just don’t appreciate them…”
“Ah, that reminds me,” said Neolect. “Satori, have you had any contact with someone by the name of Yumemi? Apparently, she had previously entered Gensokyo, and I’d like to know more about that if possible.”
Satori pondered the question for a moment. “Personally, I’ve never met her, but I do recognize the name.”
“How so?”
“Let me think…” Satori was lost in thought for a moment. “Oh, I remember! That was the name of someone Reimu fought in the past. I remember seeing the fight while I was digging through Reimu’s memories. She and Marisa fought Yumemi and someone else inside some sort of strange building. That, alongside the fact that the building was called the Probability Space Hypervessel, is all I remember about that from reading Reimu’s mind.”
The last part stood out to Neolect. “The Probability Space Hypervessel, you say?”
“If I remember correctly.”
“That does explain a lot, actually.” Neolect now had a much greater understanding of Yumemi’s history. “The PSH was apparently a prototype spacecraft that would utilize holes in spacetime, also known as wormholes, to teleport to its desired location. The first test was a resounding failure, as it went far off course. Later, it returned with Yumemi and her assistant Chiyuri, but they were laughed out of the scientific community for believing in magic.”
“A tragedy, being rejected by society simply for presenting the truth,” Satori replied.
“That it is. Anyways, thank you for presenting what you know about the topic,” Neolect said with gratitude.
“Of course.”
Nitori then spoke up. “Wait, I just realized something. Neolect, did you say that the Outside World made a device that can teleport anywhere?”
“That is correct. However, as far as I am aware, the project is back in development until the previous issue can be identified and resolved, and its design schematics are top secret.”
“Man, what a shame!” Nitori exclaimed disappointedly. “I would’ve loved to see what makes it tick, maybe modify it some…”
“The way you described the PSH’s method of travel sounds rather familiar,” Satori noted. “It seems to work in a similar way to Yukari’s preferred method of travel.”
“And of course there’s someone who can do that with magic,” Neolect said exasperatedly. “This has happened with both fusion power and wormholes.”
“Nah, Yukari’s power isn’t really wormholes,” replied Nitori. “It’s some semantic power over ‘boundaries’. For example, she helped make the border between Gensokyo and the Outside World. The distance between places happens to be a boundary that she can manipulate.”
“The more knowledge I gain about Gensokyo, the more my understanding of it seems incomplete.”
“Yep, that’s Gensokyo for you!” Nitori exclaimed.
Satori chuckled lightly. “Indeed, this place seems to evade understanding.”
“This is… frustrating.”
The group continued to talk amongst themselves for most of the day, until the living members grew tired.
“Thank you for coming,” Satori said. “It was good to talk to you… This is probably the first time I’ve been able to talk with someone and not know what they’re about to say.”
“No problem,” replied Neolect. “I also enjoyed our discussions. This will not be the last time we visit, but until then, farewell.”
“See ya!” Nitori shouted as she and Neolect left the Palace. Satori waved back.
Yumemi found a small cave that would serve well as a temporary place of residence during the research trip. She and Chiyuri unloaded their travel backpacks, which held basic life necessities, research equipment, sleeping equipment, and some light weaponry.
“Hey boss, I think I just realized why an AI might be in Gensokyo.”
Yumemi was curious. “Go on.”
“Well, you know how forgotten objects can end up in Gensokyo?”
“Yes, I believe Anthony figured that out.”
“Well, what if an AI was entirely forgotten about? I mean, the device it’s stored on is TECHNICALLY a non-living object, so it’s possible for it to end up here.”
“Ah, that does make a lot of sense,” replied Yumemi. “Still, that leaves an important question unanswered. Why does our mystery AI know about me?”
Chiyuri thought about it for a moment, before suggesting, “I dunno, maybe it learned about you online? We, uh, aren’t exactly unknown people.”
“Yeah, that’s fair. Still unusual it would bring us up in conversation, though.”
“It is kinda strange.”
“Well, anyways,” said Yumemi, “we did learn a lot today. It seems that all the plants we’ve found so far are perfectly normal, we’ve re-met one magically gifted individual, and we’ve learned about a mystery AI that knows about us. That seems like enough progress for today.”
“Nice! In that case, I’ma browse social media.” Chiyuri pulled out her phone, before being hit by a painful realization. “Ah… right, no service in fantasy land.”
“Man, I can’t believe that shrine maiden had the AUDACITY to say it’d be better for me back home than here! I mean, I FINALLY escaped my shitty life back home and made it into an isekai world! I’m not giving that up, you know?” a human dressed in a black hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants ranted.
“Of course, master,” replied the blond-haired youkai with a red hair ribbon and a black dress.
“I mean, I know it’s dangerous! Hell, you tried to eat me! Good thing I was able to awaken this power. It’s a bit villainous as far as isekai hero powers go, but I know I can put it to righteous use!” the human continued.
“Of course, master.”
“Like, I can tell you were one of those loli demon people that think murder is a game, so I’d say that gaining control over your mind will be better for everyone involved. Think about it! The murderous demon Rumia is gone. Now, we’re ‘Suguro and Rumia, Heroic Duo of Human and Demon’!” Suguro said in a very campy way.
“Of course, master. Being an evil youkai is bad,” Rumia said with remorse forced upon her through magic.
“I’m glad you understand. Now, let’s find some people to save! Ooo, I wonder if I’ll get a harem?”