The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

If she didn't look at the outside world, she would think that her body shape had completely returned to normal.

"How is it? Are you satisfied? Your room is across from mine. There are blankets in the closet inside. If you want a bed, I'll go and prepare one for you now."

To guide Kaguya Houraisan by inserting a chopstick into the bamboo house model, Shi Bai's expression was concise and to the point.

To be honest, he found this version of Kaguya Houraisan quite amusing, much like a certain Myōshō-maru. One is the princess of the Moon Capital, and the other is the princess of the Tonkin. Perhaps he could make a similar model for Xiaowan in the future...

"Uh...no need, this is fine."

Looking at the thick, long chopstick that almost spanned the entire hall, Kaguya Houraisan's eyes twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

"I suddenly feel that it's not me who has shrunk, but you all who have grown bigger. There's even tea in this teapot... wait, why is this tea black?"

"I usually don't take out things like 'fat otaku's happy water' (a type of soda).

He pulled out the chopsticks, lifted the bamboo house model onto the table, and placed it down. Facing the gaze of a certain princess from the Moon Capital who was sitting at the table inside the model and looking at him curiously, Shi Bai nodded very seriously.

"You can try a little bit. Life without soda is incomplete. I drink it every day now. After drinking it, I'm faster than Liu Xiang and taller than Yao Ming. One bottle refreshes you, two bottles keep you from getting tired, and three bottles grant you immortality. Coke, it tastes great."

Kaguya Houraisan: "..."

..................................................................

Although he was a little delayed at home because of a certain NEET princess, Shi Bai still arrived at Fujiwara Kyo's usual stall location on time, as he had always done.

When he arrived, he immediately saw Hieda Rei, who seemed to have been waiting under the tree for a long time.

"Remember this: as a condition for me taking you out to play, you can't reveal yourself on your own, and you can't run too far away from me, understand?"

Forcibly suppressing the faint "appetite" that inexplicably welled up in his heart when he saw Hieda Arie, Shi Bai turned his head slightly to the side and whispered to the Moon Capital Princess, who was sitting on his shoulder, grabbing his hair and looking around curiously.

Originally, he didn't plan to bring her along, since her current state was inexplicable and he didn't want to ruin his image as an ordinary person. However, she kept complaining that she was bored at home and that if a rat came out and ate her, she would be buried. She insisted on coming with him... so he couldn't do anything about it.

He had originally intended to give the twelve zodiac talismans to Yakumo Yukari to spread throughout the world, but because he hadn't been able to find the recipient, he had been carrying them with him all along. So he simply lent the snake talisman to a certain NEET princess, and after agreeing on three conditions, he took her out with him.

"I understand, I understand, I will comply, please don't worry!"

While curiously observing the crowds coming and going around her, Kaguya Houraisan casually waved her hand.

She had lived and grown up in the Moon Capital since she was a child, and because of her status as the Moon Princess, she had never seen such a lively scene before.

The only time the Moon Capital is truly bustling is during its grand celebrations, which happen only a handful of times a year. She now resembles a young lady from a prominent family traveling far from home for the first time, filled with intense curiosity about everything around her.

Seeing the other person's expression, Shi Bai didn't say anything more. After all, in other people's eyes, Kaguya Houraisan sitting on his shoulder was invisible, and his rambling to himself could easily be mistaken for a lunatic by others...

Upon seeing his arrival, Hieda Rei's eyes lit up immediately.

Yesterday, it wasn't just Shibai who felt a strange and terrifying "appetite" that suddenly appeared in his heart. In fact, after returning home, Hieda Arie also became quite curious about the strange sense of familiarity that had appeared in her heart.

She was born with the ability to remember everything she saw. She could memorize a thick book after just one glance. It was because of this unique ability that she was entrusted by the Emperor to compile the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters).

It was because of this incident that she had been busy researching various materials and borrowing rare books from prominent families these days. Yesterday, she thought it was just a routine exploration of that lost history, but she did not expect to encounter someone who made her feel extremely confused and shocked.

She was absolutely certain that she had never seen the other person before, and that her memory was absolutely correct. From childhood to the present, all her memories were vivid in her mind, but she never expected that a bug would occur.

Since she had never met the other person before, why did she feel that inexplicable sense of familiarity? Hieda Arie thought about it all night but couldn't figure it out, and in the end, she could only give up in despair.

However, as the saying goes, "the one who tied the knot must untie it," and Hieda Rei felt that he might be able to find the answer in that painter.

However, what Hieda Rei didn't expect was that the other party's behavior was quite unexpected. After nodding slightly at her as a greeting, he quickly turned his head away as if there was something dirty on her face and set up his stall. During this process, he didn't even look at her once, as if she were invisible.

"........."

Reaching up and touching her face, Hieda Rei suddenly wondered if there was really something dirty on her face.

But at that moment, a large bag was held horizontally in front of her, still facing her sideways, and the other person's calm voice rang in her ears.

"A small gift, would you like some sunflower seeds?"

"……Thank you."

After a moment of surprise, Hieda Arie accepted the bag of sunflower seeds with some hesitation, but seeing that the other person was about to start drawing, she finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Sir, I wonder about what I said yesterday..."

"Ask me anything you want, and I'll answer to the best of my knowledge."

As if they had already guessed what she was going to say, the other person spoke first before she could finish her sentence.

"I know a little about the deeds of Qin Hesheng, the number one master of Shinto Kagura."

After a slight pause, the other person pulled over a chair from somewhere and stretched out their arms to place it beside them.

"Just ask."

"...Then I'll leave it to you."

After thinking for a moment, Hieda Rei sat down in the chair with a pen and paper in hand.

Although she didn't know why the other party had never given her a second glance since the very beginning, these little things were undoubtedly insignificant compared to what she had to do now.

She had too many questions about the past, especially about the period in which Qin Hesheng lived. It was a pity that such a brilliant person died young, otherwise he wouldn't have left so many mysteries in history.

There is also the legend of Prince Shotoku Toyotomi Miko, who followed Qin Hesheng. The legendary Prince Shotoku left behind many deeds in history, many of which were beyond human capability and have now become anecdotes.

To be honest, she didn't really believe that the legends about the God Child were fabricated rumors, nor did she think that the great achievements created by the God Child were fictitious. However, under the premise of the mainstream ideology, she couldn't do anything without evidence.

She enjoys exploring history, wanting to uncover the truth, and then using her pen to record everything she sees and hears.

Hieda Rei felt that this was a responsibility she should have given herself, given her photographic memory.

Early Meow.jpg

P.S.: Princess Connect is so addictive! I did 100 pulls and still didn't get anything. Without the triple drop rate, I used up all my stamina in a day just to farm for equipment, and I still hadn't gotten any... I'm so disappointed.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, Who is the fairest of them all?

Perhaps it was because the painting he drew for Fujiwara no Mokou yesterday really worked, because Fujiwara no Mokou didn't come to him all day today. On the contrary, Hieda no Rei surrounded him and asked a lot of questions.

Although Hieda Arie kept asking questions, she also shared some of her own historical deductions during the process, which gave Shi Bai a little understanding of what happened after Qin Hesheng's death.

Although Shi Bai didn't know much about Toyosato Miko's later deeds because Qin Hesheng died so young, he naturally knew everything about what happened before Qin Hesheng.

Hieda Are was asking about this historically legendary figure who died young.

In that religious war, Buddhism was the ultimate victor, and it will firmly dominate the country now and for the next thousand years.

In fact, Toyosatomimi no Miko, who had transformed into a corpse-dissolving immortal, could have been resurrected long ago, but neither Buddhism nor the nobles and high-ranking officials wanted another saint to appear in the country, as this was not in their interest.

Therefore, with the combined efforts of the monks of the entire country, Huo Qing'e, who had already cultivated into an immortal, was also driven out. The temple that the divine child had built for himself was also sealed and sunk underground. The nobles who controlled public opinion began to spread rumors that the legends about the divine child were all fabricated. Even if the divine child had done many things after achieving success in his cultivation, they all disappeared into the sands of history due to the deliberate concealment by those nobles.

This was the final outcome of that religious war.

In fact, compared to what the Divine Child did afterward, Qin Hesheng's deeds became somewhat unimportant... if he hadn't died so young.

However, none of these things mattered to Shi Bai. He just wanted to end this Q&A session as soon as possible because his deepest desires were constantly driving him to devour Hieda Rei.

Although that desire is still very weak so far, Shi Bai feels that he still has to be on guard early, because the feeling he has when he sees Hieda Rei now is probably like a person who has been starving all day having a bowl of delicious fried rice in front of him.

"That's strange. I get the feeling you're a little afraid of the other person. You didn't even glance at them once all afternoon?"

After returning to the bamboo house, Kaguya Houraisan, who had been holding back her words for the entire afternoon, finally couldn't help but ask Tokihaku after jumping off his shoulder.

In order to be able to go out again in the future, the certain NEET princess strictly abided by the three rules she had made with someone, and only spoke after returning home. What she asked was naturally about Hieda Rei.

After all, no matter how you look at it, Shi Bai's behavior this afternoon seemed too strange. From beginning to end, except at the very beginning, he didn't even glance at Hieda Ari.

So much so that when Hieda Rei finally realized this, the smile on her face became quite forced.

After all, you've talked for a whole afternoon, and the other person hasn't even given you a second glance. Anyone would find that unbearable.

"Because I was so hungry."

While rummaging through the box without looking up, Shi Bai gave a nonsensical reply.

"I don't plan to go out for the next few days. If you need anything, just let me know as soon as possible, and I'll find it for you now."

"What does being too hungry have to do with your previous unreasonable behavior?"

Sitting on the edge of the table, swinging her legs, Kaguya Houraisan's words carried a hint of unwavering determination.

"You didn't see how reluctant she looked when she left. Did she offend you before? But she's just an ordinary human being, it's impossible..."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Shi Bai placed a desk lamp he had just found on the table and turned it on. The room, which had been rather dark, was instantly filled with light.

"Do me a favor. This lamp's power will only last for about two hours at most. What about your eternal power?"

“My abilities are not meant for such trivial matters.”

Seeing that her curiosity had not been satisfied, Kaguya Houraisan couldn't help but pout.

"You haven't answered my question yet. Do you have a grudge against her?"

"To put it simply, she once cut off my 19th coin three times."

Shi Bai glanced at the Moon Princess in front of him, sighed, and looked on with a sigh of regret.

"Do you know what it feels like for a 'one-and-nine maniac' to have his one-and-nine stolen by someone else? It's like having your most precious and proudest possession trampled on by someone else, and not just once or twice, but three times. I think you can hardly understand that feeling, right?"

"No, I have deeply understood that feeling, and I completely comprehend how you feel!"

As if his words had stirred up some unpleasant memories, Kaguya Houraisan's face darkened slightly, and she clenched her small hand into a fist, speaking fiercely.

"One day, I will find that audacious thief who stole my treasured game, then broke all the game records and returned it, and I will tie him up with a rope, hang him from a tree, and whip him mercilessly for ten days to half a month!!!"

Shi Bai: "..."

...So you still remember such a small thing?

"Ahem... Tell me, what else do you need? I'll find it all for you now."

After coughing a few times, Shi Bai, feeling somewhat guilty, took the initiative to change the subject.

"You'll be living here for at least a few years, so it's always good to prepare whatever you need in advance."

"What I truly desire is something you would never give me... These technological artifacts from the Moon Capital were given to you by Eirin, weren't they?"

Kaguya Houraisan casually added an eternal power buff to the desk lamp, and as if she had suddenly thought of something, she turned her head and looked at Shi Bai with a hint of suspicion.

"By the way, have you been to the Moon Capital before?"

"No, although I know that Lunar Capital exists, I have never been there."

Shi Bai shook his head with unusual firmness.

"If Yonglin hadn't suddenly written to me asking for help, I wouldn't have made the special trip here to take care of you. Is there a problem?"

"Um...no."

After looking him up and down a few times, Kaguya Houraisan shook her head.

"As for what I want... wait a moment, let me go and take a look first."

After saying that, she turned and ran into the life-size model of the bamboo house that was placed on the table, seemingly to inspect her room.

About a few dozen seconds later, she poked her head out of the model.

"I need a mirror, do you have one here?"

"A mirror..."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai began searching through the storage ring he named the "Multiple Matryoshka Ring." About fifteen minutes later, he found an ornately decorated mirror.

"【Magic Mirror】Do you want one? Not only can it be used as a mirror, but you can also ask it that silly question: who is the most beautiful person in the world?"

"Magic Mirror?"

Looking at the mirror that Shi Bai had placed on the table, Kaguya Houraisan couldn't help but feel quite curious.

The person in front of her, who claims to be Teacher Yonglin (unconfirmed) and is currently her actual guardian on the ground, always seems to be able to produce some rather strange and unusual items.

"That's right. Although I don't know what this mirror is for, it can still be used as a regular mirror."

As he spoke, Shi Bai tapped the mirror with his finger, giving Kaguya Houraisan a demonstration.

"Magic mirror, magic mirror, who is the fairest of them all?"

After he asked that question, faint ripples appeared on the surface of the Magic Mirror, and a figure appeared on the mirror a moment later.

Upon seeing that figure, Shi Bai's expression immediately became extremely strange.

The Magic Mirror, which originated from the world of Snow White, was something he summoned a long time ago. However, after being summoned, it has always been destined to be a storage item.