The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

This is completely illogical, you bastard!!!

Others reap what they sow, but he dug his own grave and jumped into it...

"Okay, okay, I apologize... I swear I'll correct all my bad habits from now on, or may I be struck dead by lightning..."

As if he had lost all his strength, Shi Bai slumped onto the table, looking utterly listless.

"Hmph... Who told you not to come see me for so long, and besides, your sins are already piling up..."

With a soft snort, Shiki Eiki, dressed in a formal robe, spoke with considerable dissatisfaction.

"And what you just said, brother, was just a perfunctory remark. Didn't you say that no one can lie to me?"

"Cough cough... I'll definitely do it next time."

Shi Bai climbed up from the table, clenched his fist, and coughed a few times.

He was currently in the luxurious office of the King of Hell, but unfortunately, due to the King's personality, most of the useless decorations in the office had been removed.

Forget about treadmills or anything else you could use for exercise, you couldn't even find a reclining chair...

If it weren't for the fact that this office was specially designed for her, she probably wouldn't have wanted such a large office. After all, her office alone is ten times larger than the average office of other Enma... It can be described as extremely extravagant and wasteful.

Although we haven't seen each other for so long, the other person has matured considerably compared to when we first met, and now exudes an indescribable air of authority.

...Of course, it would be even better if they could get rid of that bad habit of lecturing without stopping.

"How are things? Are you getting used to your job here? If you don't like it, I'll ask Heca to help you find another place."

To prevent the other party from continuing to harp on certain issues about him, Shi Bai quickly and decisively chose to change the subject.

“This kind of thing is not important. I am still very happy working here. The problem is what you are going through, brother.”

Shiki Eiki began to speak very seriously.

"Even if you, brother, are immortal, if those sins continue to accumulate, it could very well lead to..."

"I will deal with those things later, but not now."

Seemingly having a headache, Shi Bai pressed his forehead with his hand and waved his hand.

"You can see how much stuff I'm entangled in, right? It's impossible to deal with it now. I finally got back... Let's not talk about these things now. Let's talk about something else. Have you seen your sister?"

"……No."

After a moment's hesitation, Shiki Eiki shook her head.

"I tried to look for it, but I couldn't find it at all."

"Hmm... The succubus and Shenqi are together, so we don't need to worry about them. I'll help you find them."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai stood up from the table.

"When do you usually rest during work hours? I'll come to see you often in the future."

"Uh...the rest time is uncertain...sometimes when I'm busy, I can be busy for several months in a row..."

Subconsciously, Shiki Eiki also stood up and replied.

"But under normal circumstances..."

"If anything happens, just tell me."

He had intended to reach out and pat the other person's head as usual, but upon seeing the crown on the other person's head, Shi Bai smiled and withdrew his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm here. No problem is a problem for me."

"……Um."

After a moment of silence, Shiki Eiki nodded gently.

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"This thing doesn't seem very useful... It's a spear that's guaranteed to hit the target as long as it's thrown?"

Shi Bai casually brandished the golden spear in his hand, looking thoughtful.

After leaving Shiki Eiki's place, he also made a "friendly" visit to Hades, who was also a god of the underworld. Then, at Hades's "friendly invitation," he went through the passage on their side to visit the divine realm of the Western pantheon.

During his "visit," the Western gods were quite "hospitable," not only "gifting" him many treasures and artifacts, but also granting him the divine spear [Gungnir] and the sword of victory [Leivadin] that he had always wanted.

When he left, all the Western deities were moved to tears, a testament to the profound friendship he had forged with them in just a few days.

"...It's alright, but once the divine imprint on it is removed, it can be given away as a gift."

Nodding, Shi Bai casually put away the spear in his hand.

Settling scores with the Western gods is secondary; he's determined to get his hands on those two weapons. However, the time before he can present them as gifts is probably still a long way off…

"Hmm? Someone has indeed been here before..."

After getting back to solid ground, Shi Bai raised an eyebrow as he looked at the bamboo forest in front of him.

Even though he had only been gone for a few days, the recliner he had left in the courtyard had somehow disappeared.

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai turned around and went to his room, where he found that the recliner that was originally in the courtyard had been moved into the room, just as he had expected.

After thoroughly examining the entire bamboo forest, Shi Bai discovered even more traces of people having once lived there.

For example, the newly felled timber piled up in the kitchen, the wooden ladle by the pond behind the house where water is drawn daily, and the plates piled high with fresh fruit on the stone table in the gazebo...

"...Was it some ordinary human who stumbled upon this lucky place by chance?"

Without any hesitation, Shi Bai picked up a fruit that looked like an apple from the plate, took a bite, and began to ponder in his mind.

To be honest, there are still many dangerous items stored in this bamboo forest. Although Yagokoro Eirin clearly came back once after leaving with Kasen, as evidenced by the disappearance of the small item he left on his table, that does not mean that the danger of this bamboo forest has been reduced.

However, the outsider was quite clever and didn't disturb too much of the bamboo forest; otherwise, he would probably be dead by now.

"...Hmm? They're here?"

While eating the fruit in his mouth, Shi Bai's expression suddenly changed.

After glancing at the remaining fruit on the table, he decisively put the half-eaten fruit back in his hand... and then shamelessly hid away.

Before long, a girl appeared on the bluestone path that he and Eirin Yagokoro had cleared in the bamboo forest.

The girl first looked at the entire bamboo forest with anticipation, but after finding nothing unusual, a look of disappointment clearly appeared on her face.

"Hmm...this looks familiar..."

Watching the girl walk into the courtyard, the person hiding in the shadows looked thoughtful.

P.S.: I'll update twice today if I have enough votes.

Chapter Three: Gods and Maidens

As someone determined to collect a complete encyclopedia of Gensokyo, Shi Bai naturally knows all the characters in Gensokyo like the back of his hand.

But looking at the girl in front of him, dressed in coarse linen clothes and with shoulder-length blue-purple hair, Shi Bai racked his brains for a long time but couldn't connect her with anyone.

It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it... Maybe it's because it's missing a certain decoration?

However, to be fair, based on his observation, the other party was clearly just an ordinary human being.

"If it's a human... who is it?"

Just as someone was pondering the true identity of this uninvited guest, the girl in the courtyard quite naturally picked up a broom and began to sweep diligently.

His previous guess was correct; the reason this place had been kept so clean before was mainly because someone came and cleaned it regularly.

"Hmm? This fruit..."

While cleaning the pavilion as usual, the girl quickly noticed the half-eaten fruit and was momentarily stunned.

She stumbled into this bamboo forest a few months ago during a desperate escape, trying to avoid attacks from monsters.

At that time, the buildings here were in a state of utter disrepair, covered in dust, and looked as if no one had lived here for thousands of years.

She was quite brave; after mustering her courage, she carefully explored the bamboo forest that hadn't been visited for a long time and found some herbs that could heal her injuries, as well as some strange pills.

So, before her injuries were fully healed, she stayed in this bamboo forest and spent her free time cleaning and tidying it up.

After that, she made this place her secret base, and would come here to stay for a few days every now and then.

Although she couldn't understand the words on the books in the rooms where she didn't know who had lived, that didn't stop her from making guesses based on her own understanding... although in the end she didn't come up with anything.

However, a few days ago, she discovered that there were signs of other beings visiting this secret base that she usually only had alone. Based on the changes in the furnishings inside the house, she deduced that the true owner of this bamboo forest had returned.

...But why didn't the other person appear in front of me?

This is what confuses the girl the most.

After spending a day there, only to find that the other party had no intention of showing themselves, the girl began to make her own assumptions.

When I first discovered this place, it was clearly a forgotten spot. But after I cleaned it up completely, the once deserted bamboo forest suddenly became filled with signs of other people.

And now I've discovered this fruit that was clearly half-eaten, and then hastily put back when I arrived... So, there must have been other things here all along, right?

If it were a monster, I would already be dead, so the other beings here couldn't be monsters. Besides, practically no monster would dare to come here... After eliminating all the impossible options, the remaining option must be the correct answer.

—In this ancient bamboo forest, there exists a deity forgotten by the world!

When the girl came to this conclusion in her mind, her breathing became a little rapid.

Having been chased and wounded by monsters, I should have been unable to escape here, but the monsters dared not enter this bamboo forest...

In a room that had been uninhabited for who knows how many years, he was able to find medicine to heal his injuries...

The deck chair that had suddenly appeared in the courtyard, clearly where someone had been lying not long ago, and the half-eaten fruit that had been hastily put back in front of them...

By combining these clues and connections, the girl herself sketched out an epic story in her mind.

Long, long ago, there was a village in this bamboo forest, where a deity protected the entire village. However, for some reason, as all the villagers left, the deity protecting the village fell into a deep sleep.

One day, my unintentional arrival broke the tranquility of this place, and the gods who were in a deep slumber awoke and granted me their protection, which is why no monsters dare to come here.

However, because the dignity of the gods needs to be protected, the gods will never easily reveal themselves to their followers, let alone to someone who is not a follower of the other party.

...If only I could get this unknown god to protect my village...

"Strange, what's that guy doing?"

A certain mischievous guy hiding to the side, naturally unaware that in the mind of a certain girl, a novel of 300 million words had already been sketched out.

In someone's eyes, the girl first stared blankly at the half-eaten fruit for a while, and then suddenly became very excited and started searching for something in the bamboo forest.

In his view, this behavior was completely inexplicable.

"Uh... what's going on now?"

Watching the other person solemnly throw all the fruit on the plate in the pavilion into the pond, and then kneel down respectfully by the pond, Shi Bai felt even more confused.

"...So what are you doing? Don't throw away those fruits if you're not going to eat them, I thought they were pretty good..."

Looking at the fruit that had sunk to the bottom of the pond, Shi Bai muttered to himself with a heavy heart.

After thinking for a moment, looking at the girl kneeling in front of the pond with an expectant look on her face, Shi Bai decided to respond to her expectations in a small way.

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

"Young maiden, did you lose the golden apple, the silver apple, or the half-eaten apple?"

Just as the girl realized she had misjudged the situation, a voice drifted over from in front of her.

When she looked up with delight, she saw a black-haired man dressed in white standing leisurely on the water, holding an apple in one hand and smiling as he asked her a question.

Is this what a god looks like...? Even more beautiful than I imagined...

As this thought suddenly flashed through her mind, the girl, seeing a god for the first time, quickly nodded.

"My Lord, what I just threw away was the half-eaten apple!!"

"Very good. To praise your honesty, I'm giving you all three apples."

The deity in front of her smiled slightly, and then the three apples of different colors and textures flew to her.

This is... a gift from the gods!!

The girl's eyes lit up as she looked at the three apples that had landed in front of her.

Although her village was not blessed by any deity, she had some understanding of deities from the stories told by the village elders since she was a child.

Such gifts from the gods are generally only received by priestesses who serve the gods, or by those who act as their representatives. It is said that in powerful villages or cities, there are even shrines specifically built for those powerful gods.