When the two stepped back inside the house, they found the living room completely empty and silent.
Flandre trotted over to the display cabinet, fetched the handheld game console Beatrice had put away, and turned to Hong Meiling with bright, expectant eyes. "Sister Meiling, want to play together?"
"Uh... could you let me catch a little sleep first?" Meiling asked cautiously, rubbing her eyes with a sheepish laugh.
Flandre tilted her head. Recalling how Meiling had indeed yawned several times during their stroll back through the commercial district, she nodded with a hint of quiet regret. "Alright then, you go rest. I'll just play by myself."
Meiling instantly pressed her palms together in deep gratitude. "Thanks a bunch~"
Without wasting a single second, she collapsed onto the plush sofa and sank into a deep, peaceful sleep in less than ten seconds.
Flandre scratched her head in genuine awe. How could anyone fall asleep that fast? Still, it confirmed that Meiling was truly under the spell of the Sleep Immortal today, rather than simply brushing her off. Leaving her gatekeeper to snooze in peace, Flandre settled down and immersed herself in the game console.
Meanwhile, back in the Scarlet Devil Mansion within Gensokyo, a crisp, metallic sound of tightly clenching fists echoed through the quiet parlor.
The surrounding resident youkai glanced over, only to find Sakuya standing perfectly posture-upright beside the tea cart, her posture flawless and her expression serenely composed, as if the ominous sound of cracking knuckles had merely been a collective hallucination.
Remilia turned her head toward Yukari Yakumo, who was leaning lazily against her parasol. "When are we setting off to cross over to the other side?"
Yukari smiled, her eyes crinkling behind her folding fan. "What's the matter, Remilia? You've only been back for a few days and you're missing your little sister already?"
Remilia didn't deign to answer, her crimson eyes drifting back toward the gap reflection on the viewing screen. On the screen, Flandre was currently mashing buttons on her handheld console with intense, laser-focused concentration.
"Don't be in such a rush," Yukari remarked smoothly. "The factions at Youkai Mountain are still in mid-deliberation, and quite a few big names down in Former Hell have expressed a sudden interest in that world as well."
Yukari paused, adjusting her parasol. "Besides, the new dimensional anchor device we're refining will be completed soon. Once it's operational, everyone will be able to come and go as they please. Just wait a little longer."
Remilia offered a quiet nod. The device Yukari mentioned was a stabilized, two-way spatial gateway. The Gensokyo side of the portal was designated to be anchored right at the scenic entrance of Misty Lake. Once its construction was finished, Remilia would personally carry the paired anchor across to set up the corresponding gateway in Lungmen.
By then, the residents of Gensokyo would be able to traverse freely between both realms.
Regarding the grand opening of the boundary, Remilia, Yukari, and the major faction leaders were currently hammering out strict protocols. Remilia's core demand was absolute and unyielding: once the youkai crossed over to Terra, they were strictly forbidden from engaging in unprovoked, mass slaughter against the local populace.
Naturally, her demand didn't stem from sheer altruistic benevolence toward humanity. Her reasoning was far simpler.
In Remilia's view, that distant world had been discovered by Flandre first—which meant everything within it was functionally Flandre's playground. If reckless youkai ran wild and caused massive collateral destruction, they would be directly damaging Flandre's interests, reputation and peace of mind. As an older sister, she would absolutely never tolerate anyone encroaching upon Flandre's domain.
That single mandate was the entire reason for the high-level summit.
Faced with this restriction, the Great Youkai didn't find Remilia's terms overly harsh at all. What youkai fundamentally required for spiritual survival was "Fear"; for powerful entities, consuming human flesh was merely a crude, low-class way of satisfying simple gluttony.
Those reckless, bloodthirsty beasts either lacked the refined spiritual capacity to reside in Gensokyo in the first place, or they had already been rounded up and disposed of by Yukari during the historic Lunar War. The entities currently inhabiting Gensokyo were, to varying degrees, "civilized youkai" who adhered to the established order. If they weren't, given the sheer concentration of terrifying entities living in Gensokyo and Former Hell, they would have slaughtered each other into extinction centuries ago.
Even without Remilia's mandate, the Great Youkai had zero desire for aimless bloodshed. At most, they would cross over, claim a peaceful mountain range or scenic valley as their private sanctuary, and continue enjoying their long lives in quiet comfort. So long as local mortals didn't march up their steps to cause trouble, they couldn't be bothered to lift a finger.
Of course, while the Great Youkai possessed self-restraint and strategic foresight, the same couldn't always be said for the lesser, low-tier youkai.
Remilia's decree was specifically targeted at those mindless minor spirits. Great Youkai valued their status and reputation; once they pledged to abide by the pact, they would strictly discipline the lesser creatures under their command. This system guaranteed that Terra's fragile societal balance wouldn't instantly collapse under a wave of unchecked supernatural incursions.
Flandre, of course, remained blissfully unaware of all the complex political maneuvering her older sister was orchestrating on her behalf back in Gensokyo.
Yet she didn't feel the slightest bit sad or abandoned simply because Remilia hadn't visited for a few days. Her calm came not from being too distracted by games, but from an absolute, instinctual trust in her sister. If Remilia hadn't crossed over yet, it simply meant she was tied down by important matters on the other side. It could never be because her sister didn't want to see her.
Since that was the case, she could afford to wait with complete peace of mind.
By the time Hong Meiling finally rubbed her eyes and woke up from her long nap, the golden hues of evening were already washing over the living room.
She was awakened by a crisp, rhythmic knock at the front door.
Opening the door, they found Shirayuki standing on the threshold, her expression calm and disciplined. She held an elegant, multi-tiered lacquer food container in her hands, offering a respectful nod upon seeing Flandre.
"These are fresh pastries Lady Fumizuki instructed the mansion's master pastry chefs to prepare," Shirayuki reported softly. "She mentioned you took a particular liking to them."
Taking the heavy container, Flandre offered a bright word of thanks before looking up curiously. "How come I haven't seen you around the past few days?"
Shirayuki blinked, slightly surprised that the little girl had noticed her absence. She bowed her head slightly. "I was away executing a covert assignment outside the city."
"Oh! Then please stay safe on your missions!"
"Thank you, Miss Flandre," Shirayuki replied, bowing deeply before turning and vanishing silently into the dusk.
"Do you know her well?" Meiling asked, stretching her arms as she walked over. In her memory, Flandre hadn't interacted with Fumizuki's elite shadow guards all that often.
"Kind of!" Flandre explained, carrying the box over to the table. "She's Auntie Fumizuki's shadow guard. I see her around the Governor's estate all the time."
Shirayuki wasn't just a standard guard; she served as Fumizuki's personal close-quarters bodyguard, sticking to her like a shadow whenever the Governor's wife traveled through high-risk sectors. Having met Fumizuki several times since returning to Lungmen without seeing Shirayuki present, Flandre had naturally felt a spark of surprise upon seeing her today.
"I see... She's a shadow ninja, right?" Meiling noted thoughtfully, recalling the faint traces of specialized Arts she had sensed earlier. "She seems remarkably skilled."
Though Shirayuki's raw combat power couldn't hold a candle to Meiling's martial mastery, her stealth techniques and lethal execution were exceptional among mortals. Even within the elite ranks of Rhodes Island's operational staff, her specialized skill set would rank her comfortably alongside senior field operatives.
"Mhm!" Flandre popped open the lacquer lid, pointing at the neatly arranged treats inside. "Sister Meiling, the red bean filling ones are mine! I want the salted egg yolk one too, and this shiso leaf one!"
"You want the shiso leaf filling too?" Meiling looked at her in mild shock. "What, are you suddenly eating vegetarian snacks?"
"No silly!" Flandre giggled, carefully setting the delicate pastry aside. "I'm saving this shiso leaf one for Sister Beatrice! And the salted egg yolk one is reserved for Patchy..."