https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Curiosities_of_Lotus_Asia
It's an official Touhou novel
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Gensokyo is fully covered in snow
I don't know how much time has passed since I've come here and starting to work with Rinnosuke
I've met many people who are connected one way or another to Marisa
Especially that shrine maiden who wants to exterminate me at first but Marisa helped me to clear up the misunderstandings
I've met some interesting individuals from a certain mansion too
More importantly, Kasen is kind of my teacher to improve my mentality, and thanks to her I could not get angry easily anymore
*thunk*
Ibaraki: REIIIMUUU!!!
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Gensokyo shines with silver in the early afternoon.
Pristine white snow falls gently and silently to the earth, turning the land into a fantastical dreamscape. All that could be heard were faint cries like the shrieks of youkai. And Ibaraki's loud voice that can be heard from far away
Not a footprint can be found in the fresh powder that covered the road. Humans do not often come this far.
At the end of this unmarked path, there may be found a mysterious shop, whose proprietor may often be found warming himself by a stove from the Outside World, reading some incomprehensible book. He always seems to have plenty of time for this on his hands
Within the shop may be found numerous articles from the Outside World. Although Gensokyo is frozen in what the Outside World would call the Meiji Era, many items from later times may be found here. The purposes of most of these items are unknown.
On the store's sign are the characters kou rin dou. This is the place of the Kourindou Curio Shop.
*knock* *knock* *knock*
Ohh... it's Ibaraki
Rinnosuke: Come in
They say Oni's are hard to deal with but Ibaraki is an exception to that
She is more human than the magician and the shrine maiden he meets
She is polite and does her job properly
Ibaraki: sorry for my late appearance Rinnosuke
Rinnosuke: it's okay... why did you scream?
Ibaraki: a shrine maiden decided to intrude very early in the morning and now she is chasing a yokai
Rinnosuke: Hmm... I hope she won't make a fuss later on
Ibaraki: and that's a jinx
Jinx is one of those sayings that if you though an event that you don't want to happen out loud it will do the opposite
Reimu: Mr. Rinnosuke?
And speaking of the devil... Jinx is a real thing
I see Ibaraki shrugs her shoulder and continue to clean the dust that has been collecting on the shelves
They say Customers are gods but... this particular person doesn't have any godly features in them at all
Reimu: you're in there, aren't you?
The goddess dressed in red did not need to bother preventing my potential ruse as she was already behind me.
Reimu: also where is Ibaraki?
She is standing there she just didn't want you to bother her
Rinnosuke: she is out for an errand
Rinnosuke: Oh, it's just you, Reimu. Don't I always tell you not to just walk into my living room uninvited?
Reimu: Forget that, just listen to me. I ran into a bit of trouble, so...
This is her. The girl in red before my eyes doesn't listen to a word anyone says. Her name is Reimu Hakurei. She's the only shrine maiden in Gensokyo, but from her actions, one would doubt whether she's truly a shrine maiden or not. Pardon the late introduction, but I'm Rinnosuke Morichika. I run this antique store. As Reimu brushed the snow off her shoulders she started chattering away.
Reimu: Well, you see. there's this interesting Yokai that I see after greeting Ibaraki so I chased her but-- Hey, are you listening to me?
You didn't even listen to me so why should I listen to you?! But of course, I will be beaten up by her if I say that
Rinnosuke: yeah, I am listening
Reimu: she is carrying a book, so I
might as well take it because it looks valuable
Ibaraki is in the corner disappointed with the girl in front of me
Reimu: I tried to exterminate it with a surprise attack, but it retaliated! It was pretty cocky and kind of strong. I let my guard down, so I didn't expect shots to come from behind...
One can only think that the youkai was the unfortunate one. But I wonder what happened if she was the one who did the surprise attack yet let her guard down.
Reimu: Mr. Rinnosuke are you listening?
Rinnosuke: Nope...
Reimu: ...Well, anyway, I beat the stuffing out of it and then came here."
Seems that no matter how I replied, I'd get the same response. Reimu turned her back to me and said, "See!" and puffed her cheeks.
Reimu: And I just got this skirt, too...
Rinnosuke: That's quite a tear. I see very well why you want me to fix it.
Sorry Ibaraki but you are a worker here and you're good at handicrafts despite being an Oni
Rinnosuke: Ibaraki, please...
Ibaraki sighs and steps out from the shadows
Reimu: so you are hiding there?!
Ibaraki: not my fault that you have faulty eyes, also change your clothes to my extra clothes there
Ibaraki: I can't stitch properly if you are wearing it
Reimu: okay...
She is seemingly happy after her request is heed
Ibaraki: Seriously what a good boss you are...
Rinnosuke: I know
She is tired to talk back and grabs the clothes to start working on it
Reimu: this seemed comfy enough...
She wears Ibaraki's violet yukata that has floral designs
Ibaraki: of course, I made it with the sewing machine though the quality is quite poor I can't complain because handwoven ones take days to complete...
Reimu walks away before Ibaraki finished her talk
Ibaraki: that girl, she just left without listening to my full explanation
Despite being an Oni she likes creating clothes and making kinds of stuff in general
Though she won't sell the stuff she made she gifts it but if someone requested clothes she could make it
But she refused to endorse herself as she quote "I want to live peacefully and not get drowned by work"
She is quite an attitude like a human, not an Oni
I headed back to my seat and decided to continue reading my book, but I stretched out my hand and grasped nothing but air. The book was floating above.
Marisa: What'cha readin', Kourin?
A black shadow spoke. I've had a bad feeling about her showing up ever since my teacup went missing this morning.
Rinnosuke: Hey, I always say this, but--
Marisa: Don't just waltz in here. Right?
Every single one of them... The girl in black before my eyes is Marisa Kirisame. A magician whose speech is a little unique. She gets along well with Reimu. She's a frequent visitor to the store, but I can never tell if she has any business or not.
Though she had a special relationship with Ibaraki a landlord and tenant kind of relationship
Rinnosuke: What're you here for today, Marisa?
Marisa: Nothin' much, just visitin'
Marisa: Ibaraki!
Marisa started to walk towards Ibaraki who easily finished her work and the clothes looks new because of her
Ibaraki: Marisa... don't expect some free things from me
Marisa: aw... c'mon whaddya think of me?
Ibaraki: a hoarder- borrower
Marisa: you're no fun... but here it is!
Marisa pulls out a bunch of sweets that she probably bought from the village
From my observations, she is treating Ibaraki like a little pet
Ibaraki: I, geez... I told you not to spend your money on sweets, you just wasted it on me
Ibaraki: I'm grateful but please don't do it again
I forgot to mention that Ibaraki is a huge Tsundere like the love interest in the manga that I have read
Marisa: it's fine it's very cheap after all
Since they have a nice chat might as well read some books
Marisa: I don't get this book...
She is reading the book on the shelves and she is using the pot that is for sale as a chair
Rinnosuke: ...That's the 12th volume of a series, the continuation of the books piled up here. You wouldn't be able to understand that book without reading the ones before it.
Marisa: Oh, 'The Future of the Non-Neumann-Type Computer'? Man, I can't even figure out what it's about by the title.
Rinnosuke: It's a spellbook from the outside world. You probably wouldn't be interested at all but I am.
I saw Ibaraki just snorted...
Marisa: Hmm, spells from the outside world... What kinda magic is that, Kourin
Rinnosuke: I'm still in the middle of reading it, but... they use calculation familiars called "computers", and those do exactly as they're ordered. Of course, those are shikigami, but I'm still not quite sure what kind of power they use.
[A/N: and that's how Yukari made Ran]
Ibaraki seemed to hold her laugh and try to continue her cleanup
Marisa: Shikigami, huh? ...Hey, isn't this Reimu's stuff? She here?
Ibaraki: yeah... she just managed to rip her clothes off and I just finished it...
Marisa took the three books to the desk while Ibaraki continued her cleaning
I felt a slight jolt. Those books are part of the same series as these 12 volumes I have here. Why does Reimu have them...?
Marisa: Hm? Interested in these books? Knowin' Reimu, I bet she thought, 'They looked pretty important to the youkai so I'll take them,' or somethin'.
With the 12 volumes I have on hand and the three volumes there, that's a total of 15 volumes combined. I do not doubt that this is a set of 15 volumes. The shikigami of the outside world is the same as the ones in Gensokyo after all. With computers, F represents 15 and F represents a state of maximum capacity. It is written that when everything becomes F, the highest value is held.
I think that it's natural for 15 to have power. Even in ancient times, 15 meant perfection in this country. The same reason the full moon is also known as the fifteenth night. Computers must be familiars that have resulted from the ideas of the East and the beauty of the moon.
Marisa asked me what I was thinking about as she lined up the three books.
Through Marisa's nonchalant actions, I realized something else. When lined up, the numbers on the books, "13", "14", and "15", make 131415. If the 1 in front is removed... it then depicts the number that represents a perfect circle, 3.1415. This also means a full moon, and thus affirms my theory that the familiars of the outside world use its power.
I wanted to research more in regards to the shikigami of the outside world, but to do that I required these books.
Marisa: ..Kourin.Do you plan on makin' a deal with Reimu? Forget it, her idea of value is completely different from everyone else.
Indeed, Reimu is too detached from this world. Normal exchange conditions wouldn't suffice. However, I can still make a deal with Reimu, for I have a general understanding of her values.
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Computers are shikigami's That's probably the right comparison, to be honest...
Though in reality Computers won't obey you and they will rebel if you are in rush and made you lose your save file
Unlike shikigami has 100% loyalty and hardly malfunction
And from Rinnosuke's face, he is thinking too deep
Though I won't say anything because my background story is an Oni from the past so I couldn't just act like I know all the modern tech now
Speaking of Modern tech, Kappa's... aren't they the most advanced race in Gensokyo?
Despite their inventions flopping the majority of the time