Chapter 169: Wha—? You Want Me to Raise 096?
"She… is certainly something else."
Reimu wrestled with her thoughts for a long moment before finally squeezing out the sentence.
Beyond that, she couldn't conjure any other words to describe the situation. Of all the people in the multiverse to provoke, they just had to pick a fight with Haruto.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you."
Haruto pressed his palms together in a mock prayer. Just as he turned to make his exit, the shoji door slammed heavily against the wall again with a resounding bang.
"Reimu—! Reimu—!"
An energetic voice, full of cheer, drifted in from the courtyard. A moment later, Marisa Kirisame burst in like a whirlwind. Her delicate face was alight with excitement, but before she could even get a word out, she came face-to-face with Reimu, whose expression was so thunderous it looked like a storm was about to break.
"Uhh…"
The excitement on Marisa's face froze solid. She cautiously darted a glance at Haruto, then back at Reimu, who looked seconds away from exploding.
"Did I… come at a bad time, da ze?" she asked weakly.
Thwack!
"Waaaah—!"
From across the room, Haruto flicked a finger, and an invisible force struck Marisa squarely on the forehead. She clutched her head, her eyes instantly welling with tears.
"What are you even imagining?" Haruto chided. "It's the door. If you're going to open it, can't you use a little less force? You're far too clumsy."
Hearing this, Reimu shot Haruto a look, her expression a complex mixture of emotions.
Marisa just scratched her head sheepishly and backed toward the doorway. She reached out to gently close the panel, but before her hand even made contact, the entire door frame gave a final groan and fell forward, crashing onto the floor with a deafening BOOM.
"Wha—?! I didn't touch it! I swear I didn't touch it!" Marisa yelped, leaping back in fright. She held her hands high in the air, turning to show her complete and utter innocence.
"Sigh…" Reimu heaved a long, weary sigh and waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it, just leave it. This door was due for a replacement anyway."
"Phew…"
A wave of relief washed over Marisa's face, but it was quickly replaced by a look of dawning realization. Her expression shifted to one of deep shock, and the hand she pointed at Reimu began to tremble.
"This… this is an Incident! A Great Incident!"
"An Incident my foot! Is it really that strange for me to want to change a door?" Reimu snapped, clenching her fist.
Marisa's eyes, however, were still darting around the room. New tatami mats, a new low table, new teacups and utensils… No. This was all wrong. This was too wrong.
She took two quick steps to the low table, snatched the half-full cup of tea that sat there, and gulped it down in one go. Smacking her lips, her eyes widened even further.
"Even the tea is freshly brewed! You're not Reimu! Quick, tell me who you really are!"
THUMP—
This time, Reimu delivered the punishment personally, rapping her knuckles hard on Marisa's head. "One more word out of you," she growled, "and I'll tie you to a tree tonight and use you as a decoration!"
Marisa zipped behind Haruto with a little "whoosh," poking only half her head out from behind his back. "Reimu," she asked weakly, "where did you get all this money?"
"Labor fees," Reimu answered irritably.
Seeing Marisa's continued confusion, Haruto decided to explain. "Did you forget about the talismans we're selling? I have quite a few clients. A portion of the income goes to Reimu."
"Ugh…" Marisa tried her best to remember; she hadn't paid much attention to the details at the time. "So how much did you actually make, Reimu?"
"For this period…" Reimu began counting on her fingers. "Ten thousand yen per talisman, so fifty of them makes five hundred thousand. Plus some other miscellaneous income… it comes to a total of 899,999 yen."
"H-How much!?" Marisa's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She simply couldn't process the idea that Reimu, the famously poor shrine maiden, had become a tycoon overnight.
Hearing such a precise number, Haruto couldn't help but ask, "I get the 890,000, but where did that last 9,999 come from?"
"I gave a discount on one of the orders," Reimu stated, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"…What's the point of a one-yen discount? If you were buying groceries and they were one yen cheaper, would you feel like you got a huge bargain and get all excited?"
Reimu nodded again, completely serious.
Haruto's lips twitched. Only then did he recall that this was the same Reimu who was once so poor she'd have to split a single yen in half just to spend it.
'Well, whatever,' he thought. At the price he was charging, a one-yen discount was practically meaningless. For the average player, it was already a massive bargain.
As if suddenly remembering something, Haruto turned to Marisa. "So, what had you in such a rush? What's going on?"
"I was passing by Kourindou just now, and I saw a new sign hanging on the door!" Marisa's gaze turned serious. "It said there's a new product called a 'Cute Meatball,' a legendary creature from another world. With diligent training, its strength can supposedly reach the level of a Great Youkai! It's going up for auction in a week with a starting price of 33,333 yen. I wanted to take a look, but I couldn't find where he put it."
'Well now… he's even holding an auction.' Haruto's mouth twitched slightly, while Reimu grumbled beside him.
"Even that guy is making money now. To think someone could get rich by scamming a Shrine Maiden… what has this world come to?"
Marisa looked completely lost. "You guys know about this?"
Haruto nodded. "Of course. I'm the one who brought that thing back and sold it to him. Reimu and I just came from Kourindou."
"Then… are there more of those creatures?" Marisa's eyes instantly lit up with greedy delight.
"Don't even think about it." Haruto saw right through her. "You could never train it into a Great Youkai. Honestly, you'd have a better chance of training one of those little furballs."
A wave of disappointment washed over Marisa. She hadn't expected her newfound hope to be extinguished so quickly.
"Then do you have any powerful creatures here? Can you give me one?" she pressed on, undeterred.
Haruto nodded slowly. "I was actually thinking of asking you to help me raise a little fellow."
Marisa hadn't expected her casual question to yield a genuine prize. Her face immediately lit up with excitement. "I want it, I want it! Quick, bring it out and let me see, da ze!"
Hearing her eagerness, Haruto hesitated for a moment. "It's a little… dangerous. I was going to have Patchouli make a containment helmet for it first, then send it over."
"It's fine, it's fine! Just give it to me now!" Marisa urged impatiently.
"Alright, then."
Haruto raised his hand, and a dark, jagged Gap split open in the air above them. A pair of feet, as pale and thin as withered bone, suddenly slid down from the void.
"Reimu, give me a hand getting it down. This is as wide as I can open the Gap. Don't worry, you won't get hurt."
Reimu focused, circulating her spiritual power.
In the next instant, the legs seemed to be crushed by an immense, invisible gravity. They snapped straight as the rest of the body was slowly, forcefully squeezed downward through the narrow portal.
Crack, crack—
The sickening sound of bones fracturing echoed through the room. The owner of those long, white legs crashed heavily onto the tatami mats, its full form finally exposed to the air.
"…I might have used a little too much force. I don't have to pay for that, do I?" Reimu asked awkwardly.
As she got a clear look at this so-called legendary creature, the excitement on Marisa's small face gradually vanished, replaced by utter confusion.
She saw a thing whose head was tightly sealed within a black plastic bag. It was emaciated to the point of being skeletal, looking as if it might draw its last breath at any second.
Marisa looked at Haruto. Then she looked at the dying creature on the floor. Finally, her gaze returned to Haruto. She struggled for a long moment before finally asking, "Are you… serious?"
"This is 096," Haruto explained. "Don't let its weak appearance fool you; it's known as the Ribcage War God. Not only is its combat power astonishing, but it also possesses an immortal body."
Marisa remained deeply skeptical.
Haruto added with mock solemnity, "Your mission is to help me keep an eye on this guy. And remember, whatever you do, never, ever take off the hood on its head."
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