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"This thing...what were the people in the outside world thinking when they made it?"

I still remember feeling chills when I put it away on a shelf deep inside the store.

Let's put it this way: I am Rinnosuke Morichika, a merchant through-and-through. And this is my antique store, Kourindou, where I keep all sorts of items, most of them curiosities. I gather these items from the outside world to sell them, and I always keep my door open to customers.

But then, there are those who are not customers, but still come here and treat me like I am a fake merchant. "It's not like you're really interested in selling any of these things, right?," they say. And I am indeed not interested in selling anything to non-customers.

There are, in fact, a few items kept deep inside the store that I am not interested in selling. Some items are not for sale because I am personally interested in them. It's true that some of these are bothersome things that would only take up space in the shop. However, I consider all of them to have value, but more so than my common wares. It just so happens that no one willing to pay a price corresponding to their worth has appeared.

But, among them, there is an item which lately has been bothering me terribly. And it's worse than usual, because I can't really ask anyone's advice regarding this item. It's a grey box, small enough to be held in the hands, made of..."plastic," I believe it was called? As I was saying, it's a box made from a material that is neither metal nor stone. Items made of this material have been extremely numerous lately. On top of that, this one has several differently-shaped buttons and switches on it. However,even if I push them, nothing happens.

Insofar, there's nothing particularly ominous about it. However, this item's utility is very unsettling. Yes, my ability permits me to determine an item's utility. That's why I am the only one that gets this uneasy feeling. And it's this feeling that prevents me from selling this item.

*Knock-knock.*

"It's freezin' out there Kourin! And it's even worse in the forest."

"Is that you, Marisa? If you are coming in, wipe the snow off yourself before you do."

"Yeah, I'm doin' that now."

I put the ominous little box deep inside a shelf to hide it, and went over to the entrance.

"It's too late to start now...aren't you already inside the store?"

"I'm not even a customer, so it's not that bad, right?"

"No, it's doubly bad. I'd like to know what you are going to do if you get my merchandise wet."

"But ya aren't gonna sell any of it, are ya? The whole shop is full of nothing but stuff that isn't for sale; it doesn't look like ya wanna part with any of it."

"Even if it's not for sale, it'll still be bad if it gets wet. Anyway, hurry up and go wipe yourself off outside."

Marisa reluctantly went outside. There was a lot of snow piled up on her hat. Was it really snowing that much? Since I haven't been outside at all, I didn't even notice that it was snowing. That's fine, though; during the harsh winter, I can wait for it to end, staying close to my heater - a result of human ingenuity.

"I'm back. It's cold outside, but the sun came out, so it's real pretty."

"It stopped snowing, then?"

"Huh? Wasn't even snowin' to begin with."

"What about the snow piled up on your hat?"

"Ah, it landed on me when I went under some tree in the forest. I wonder if it was some fairy's idea of a prank; makin' the tree shake when someone walks under it so the snow falls on 'em. My head did feel a little heavier 'cuz of that, but whatever."

I was curioius as to why she didn't wipe it off at that time. But since she would surely say something like "I was exercisin' my neck," I didn't bother asking.

"Get anything interestin' lately?"

I started saying "Oh, that's right, just a little while ago...", but then I held my tongue. That item I got a while ago would be that creepy box. As to why I had a bad feeling about it, it was because of what it is used for.

What that item does is that it can apparently control just about anything. For example, manipulating people, making them fight, starting wars, and, depending on the circumstances, even destroying the world. It's just as if it were a god's tool. But by looking at it, it doesn't seem like anything that powerful, or at least, that was what my eyes told me.

While it only took me a short while to ascertain that, since I don't know how to use it, I wasn't even able to get it to make an insect move. So I gave up and let it rest deep inside the store, as one of my not-for-sale items.

"A while ago...what?"

"A while ago...I had this strage dream. I could feel an unpleasant air. And there was this ear-splitting noise and an incredibly dazzling light. I had never seen anything like it before, but for some reason, my memories are..." Better to talk nothing more of that small box.

"What does that got to do with anything? Like I care what you dream about."

*Knock-knock.*

"Aah, Rinnosuke! This shop of yours...it's dangerous."

"What do you mean by 'dangerous,' Reimu? You won't find a shop more modest than this one."

It turned out Marisa only came here yesterday because she was free and wanted to kill some time. But maybe she couldn't stand doing nothing for long, because soon she went somewhere else; just like a dog frolicking around in the snow.

Today's visiting customer - wait, she's not actually a customer - is Reimu. Maybe it's because only non-customers ever come here that this shop is so modest.

"It's not a modest shop, it's simply one where there's no intention of selling any of its items, isn't it? But anyway, don't you ever go outside, Rinnosuke? Since you are always using heating, the snow on the roof melts and forms a lot of icicles, you know that? If one of those were to fall on someone, it would hurt a lot."

"It'll be fine. Maybe a prankster fairy will use them to drive away weird people coming to the store."

"A fairy that drops icicles? I don't think that's a fairy from the forest."

"Well, whatever; if they bother you that much, just take them down on your way out. You can do that much, right?"

"Fine by me, but that's not why I came here today. I was asked to give you a message."

"A message?"

"'In a short while, I'll be coming to take the usual.' ...Just what is 'the usual'?"

"...What do you mean by 'the usual'? And just whose message is that?"

"It's from Yukari, of course."

When I imagined Yukari saying this, an unpleasant look appeared on my face. It's true that I am in her debt, but that youkai girl's smile is terribly ominous.

"Wasn't she still hibernating?"

"That's exactly why she sent a message."

That's right, that youkai girl would certainly know something about that small box. However, she is the last person I would want to hand it over to. To date, she has never returned any of the items she has arbitrarily taken from me. And for some reason, she gives me the chills.

"I have no idea what 'the usual' is."

"Anyway, I've delivered the message; now, I have to go out and do some shopping." Having said this, Reimu promptly left.

When you come to my shop, and then leave saying that you "have to do some shopping," what am I supposed to think? It looks like she is suggesting that I have nothing worth buying here. No...it's more like she is saying it out loud.

I once again took out that small grey box; I imagine this is likely the thing Yukari mentioned. I picked it up by coincidence, so maybe it really is Yukari's?

The outside items that fall into Gensokyo include items that came through the Border by accident, items that became "illusionary" because no one used them anymore, items whose users had suddenly disappeared, and so on. So, if this box really is a god's tool, then that means that the gods have, very likely, disappeared from the outside world.

If this item really can control anything, then Gensokyo can easily be put in a dangerous situation. Especially if I had it over to that youkai girl, I can't even imagine what might happen.

No normal person would seriously believe that such a mysterious item like this exists. But in my case, I can't not believe it, given what I know.

Of all the items from the outside world I have gathered until now, there are some that no one in Gensokyo would believe it is possible to create, so it may very well be an item capable of destroying the world; I don't want to loose into Gensokyo such a powerful tool from the outside capable of wreaking such havoc if I can avoid it. For now, the small grey box shows no signs of working, but who knows when it may release its god-like power? If this ability is set into motion, people might start being controlled, be made to fight, might start wars, and the world might very well be destroyed.

I love Gensokyo as it is; that's why I can't possibly give this box away to anyone.

I should break an item as dangerous as this. I should break it with a mallet.

...With slight reluctance towards destroying this little grey box, I hit it with all my might.



The next day, I was preparing to go out for the first time in quite a while; I had business that required me to do so.

I had, in fact, swung a big mallet on that small box yesterday. But it, how can I say it...had a strange outcome. It felt like striking a soft pillow. Surprised, I looked at the end of the mallet; that was a scene I would rather not recall. There, between the mallet and the small box I was supposed to break, was a white hand that had snuck in between them! Yes, a creature made of only one hand had stopped the mallet. I had struck down as hard as I could, but this (slender, female) hand was calmly interposing; the hand brushed the mallet aside, raised its index finger, and, in front of my eyes, waved it left and right. And then, just as if ridiculing me standing there dumbfounded, the hand grabbed the small box and disappeared along with it.

At first, I had no idea of what had just happened, and just stood in blank amazement for a while. But once I could think calmly about it, I realized there wasn't anything mysterious about it. Of everyone that I knew, there was only one who could do this; that's right, it was the girl who took it - the last one I wanted to give it to.

I still don't know where she lives. But for now, I'm just getting some fried tofu ready.

"...Preparin' fried tofu...gonna stand in front of the shop holdin' it again?"

"Marisa? When did you come inside?" Marisa had suddenly appeared behind me.

"Ya seemed to be in a hurry, runnin' all over the place, so I just entered and kept quiet; no particular reason."

That's right - if I can get Marisa to go searching for me instead of going after her myself, it would be many times more effective.

"Marisa, I have a favor to ask..."

"Go look for Yukari, right? Yeah, sure; why not?"

"...How did you know that I wanted you to look for Yukari?"

"The fried tofu."

Marisa gladly accepted, and went out again almost as soon as she had arrived. In this case, since it's so cold, I'd rather not go out myself.

I tried to calm down and think. Just what was that small box? My ability showed me its frightening use, but you wouldn't think an item that small could have that power. But if Yukari took it when I was about to break it, then it couldn't have been just another trinket...

It had black, cheap-looking buttons, and some small openings on its back and sides, but its most characteristic feature was the small window just above some buttons, that would neither open nor shut. If you stared for too long at that window, you would almost feel like you could get sucked into it. It was made of a strange artificial material. However, from its weight, it didn't seem like there was a lot packed inside it.

Rather than danger, what I felt from it was more like an eerie and somewhat lonely feeling. If I had a better sense of intuition like Reimu, maybe I could've sensed something more. Maybe even something like the feelings of the one who used this.

...Why is it, that now that I don't have it anymore, I can remember its details much more clearly? Did my eyes get clouded by all the illusionary visions that my ability showed them? From now on, perhaps I should start looking at things without relying only on my ability....

*Knock-knock.<*

I noticed the sound of the front door opening; I must have fallen asleep while I was thinking.

"Whattaya doin'? Ya send me out lookin' for someone, then go take a trip to dreamland?"

"Ah, Marisa. ...Was I sleeping?"

"She was at the shrine, that Yukari. Drinkin' tea and relaxin'. Guess she forgot about hibernation."

"So...what did she do?"

"Asked me to deliver a message."

"Another message? And what is it?"

"Ah. She said 'Yes, I have received this month's fee.'"

What? So that was for payment? And a monthly one at that? Does she intend to come collecting things every month now? Looks like I walked into a deal with a very troublesome youkai.

"And then she said 'Didn't I inform you before that portable things are popular in the outside world right now? That's why this kind of item is appearing a lot: this one is a handheld game machine; you can use it to fight and destroy imaginary enemies, wherever and whenever you are. But unfortunately, this grey one is a rather old variety. It's only monochromatic...and since it's so old, almost nobody in the outside world has one anymore. You know, the popular one right now is one that has two screens.' ...What's she talkin' about?"

"I see now. That's a relief to hear."

What kind of "handheld game machine" is it that's popular in the outside world right now? When that small box with the two screens that Yukari mentioned goes out of fashion, maybe it'll start appearing in Gensokyo as well.

...And so the icicles hanging from the roof actually fell. Did a strange person come by, such that the prankster fairy drove them away...?

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