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Gathering spring, you say?
Yeah, that's what she said.
There's an unending winter going on, and in the middle of it, a human shows up saying that? My reporter's instincts find that pretty hard to write off as unrelated.
An unending winter caused by someone gathering spring? That sounds like something out of a fairy tale.
Sounds crazy to me too, but if that's what's happening then that's what's happening.
What does it mean to gather spring, anyway? From what I could tell, it was just Youmu randomly attacking people.
That swordswoman was stealing the spring that the fairies found.
Wait, stealing?
The four seasons are in a constant state of flux. When winter gives way to spring, heaven and earth overflow with vital energy. I'm sure that energy what she's been calling "spring" and gathering.
But, to what end?
She was saying something about her duties. That probably means she's acting on someone else's orders.
I can still hardly believe Youmu of all people would be an accomplice to an incident.
This must've been a hard blow for you, Keine. I know you liked Youmu.
But now that we've got a solid lead, we can't let it go.
Yeah, and we know what direction she went. Let's head after her, quick.
Why?
What do you mean, why?
Who cares about Youmu? I think that direction over there is more suspicious.
Are you sure? It doesn't look very promising.
But, that's definitely the direction the cherry blossom petals were coming from.
I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be chasing the bad guy in times like these.
Elly always says it's best to search the scene of the crime first though.
I don't like going where I don't feel like going.
Well, neither do I! Would you rather just let Youmu go entirely?
Marisa makes a good point. But Reimu's intuition is pointing her in a different direction... Hmm. Maybe it would be best for us to split into two groups.
Very well. What will you do, Lady Kochiya?
Hmm. I do owe Reimu for helping me out all the time... I'd like to go with her group, if I may. What do you think?
That's no problem. We'll accompany you.
That means I get to carry out my guard duty and get firsthand coverage of Reimu. Two birds with one stone!
That's kind of dark for a bird to say.
I'll join her. I'm curious about where the cherry blossoms are coming from.
Alice and I are going with Marisa, obviously!
I'm not sure I care for the way you phrased that, but I'm fine with that.
That swordswoman. You were saying she was from the netherworld?
That's right. What about it?
If a human of the netherworld is involved with this incident, I've got to get more details out of her.
Certainly. I'll come up with some rosters, if you'll give me a moment.
They do.
Okay, here's the list.
Reimu's group will have myself, Mokou, Sanae, Aya, Momiji, Letty, Rumia, Cirno, Daiyousei, and the Aki sisters.
Marisa's group will have Alice, Nitori, Hina, the Scarlet Devil Mansion staff, Elly, Kurumi, the prankster fairy trio, and Komachi.
Is that satisfactory to everyone?
I'm good.
No problem here.
The real problem is, how do we meet up again once we separate? If only we had communicators like we did in the fall...
Those things were never useful.
Oh yeah, Nitori. I asked you to fix those up a while back. How'd that turn out?
I can repair them, and I was thinking of throwing in some upgrades. I got some parts from Korindo, so I should be able to get them in working shape by summer.
But that doesn't help us now.
Let's only worry about meeting up if it becomes a problem. Hopefully, one of our groups will resolve this incident and make the whole thing moot.
Good point. I'll try to get this incident resolved before Reimu ends up stranded in the woods.
You'd better watch out for that, yourself.
*sigh* You two never change.
Let's set out before this conversation gets derailed any further.
Right. Take care of yourselves, everybody!