Chapter 94: What in the World is This Thing?
"You want me to clear a spot for you to build a hut?"
Hearing Haruto's request, the corner of Kazami Yuuka's lips twitched. This had to be the first time in her long life anyone had asked her, the Tyrant of Flowers, to make space for them.
"Did Yakumo Yukari finally kick you out?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Haruto shook his head. "There's always someone looking over my shoulder at home. It's nice to live on my own every once in a while, you know?"
Yuuka sighed, a sound like rustling leaves. "There's no need for all this trouble. You can just come to the Mansion of Dreams. It's not like we're short on spare rooms."
"How can that be the same?" Haruto was firm. "What I want is a secret cabin. Your place is just a safe house."
Unable to win the argument, Kazami Yuuka dropped the subject and cut straight to the point. "Which area do you want?"
Haruto scanned the vibrant, endless sea of sunflowers before pointing toward the path that led from the right of the Mansion of Dreams toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Not too far from your place, but not too close either," he explained. "Otherwise, I'm afraid of being kidnapped in the middle of the night."
Kazami Yuuka shot him a bizarre look. Someone was going to specifically march into the heart of the Sunflower Field to kidnap Yakumo Yukari's younger brother?
Seriously?
As far as she knew, no one in Gensokyo had the strength for such a feat, let alone the sheer, suicidal audacity.
The two walked to a spot near the center of the designated area. With a casual wave of Yuuka's hand, a surge of demonic power flowed out, and a perfectly flat, circular clearing was carved out of the dense field in seconds.
"Will this do?"
"Hmm..." Haruto stroked his chin. "Since you've already gone to the trouble, why not... help me build the hut while you're at it?" he asked, his tone utterly shameless.
Kazami Yuuka stared at him, her expression unchanging, for several long seconds. Finally, she raised her hand again. Before long, an exquisite little log cabin quietly rose from the earth, its wooden walls and shingled roof looking as if they had always been there.
"And the furni—"
Before Haruto could finish, Yuuka waved her hand once more. A complete set of simple, elegant wooden furniture—a bed, a table, a chair—instantly materialized inside the house.
Haruto's eyes lit up. He opened his mouth to say more but was met with a gaze from Kazami Yuuka that clearly screamed, 'say one more word and I'll kill you.' He wisely swallowed his next request.
Instead, he reached into a gap and pulled out a small cloth bag.
"These are flower seeds I brought back from another world. Half are for you, and the other half are for decorating my new place. Please help me plant them, Sister Yuuka."
Haruto pressed his hands together in a gesture of deep gratitude, handed over the bag of what he called 'Ghost Seeds,' then turned and bolted without another word.
Kazami Yuuka was left holding the bag, a flicker of genuine interest crossing her eyes. Plants from another world? Now that was somewhat intriguing.
She tipped a single seed into her palm and injected a trace of her life-infused demonic power into it. The seed rapidly sprouted, its stem shooting upward as leaves unfurled. A bud swelled and bloomed... and then, she froze.
A flower half as tall as a person now stood before her. But in the center of its petals was a uniquely ugly, cartoonish ghost face, which stared right back at her with vacant eyes.
Meanwhile, Haruto had already slipped over to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. He pushed open the heavy door to the basement, revealing the sprawling library within. As usual, Patchouli Knowledge was sitting at the thick wooden table in the center, completely absorbed in a book.
Haruto didn't disturb her, instead wandering through the towering shelves on his own.
One shouldn't be fooled by the library's location in a mere basement; its actual scale was far larger than the mansion above ground. Certain sections were even enchanted with powerful space-expansion magic, creating corridors that stretched into impossible distances.
This was the culmination of Patchouli's collection, spanning over a hundred years. As long as a book was obtainable and wasn't of laughably poor quality, a copy would inevitably find its way here.
As a result, even popular light novels from the outside world could be found nestled among ancient grimoires. This was also why Haruto had become a frequent visitor in his early days. He just had to mention a general genre, and Patchouli could instantly locate the perfect book for him.
Initially, thanks to the track record of a certain black-and-white-clad thief, Patchouli had been quite wary of him. But as Haruto borrowed books more often, a quiet familiarity grew between them, and she gradually relaxed her guard. Eventually, she had told him directly, "Just take whatever books you want yourself. There's no need to ask me every time."
Haruto pulled a fairly decent novel from a shelf and settled into the chair next to Patchouli, beginning to read.
The library was silent, the only sound the soft, rhythmic rustle of turning pages.
After a good while, Patchouli finally closed the tome in her hands. Looking up, she seemed to notice Haruto for the first time and spoke with a slight apology in her voice.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were here."
Hearing her, Haruto put down his own book. He reached into a gap, pulled out the ghost face sticker, and handed it over.
"Mukyuu, could you please take a look at this for me?"
"Didn't we agree you wouldn't call me that?" Patchouli sighed, though there was no real heat behind it. "You can call me Patchouli, or Patchy, or even Sister Patchy."
Despite her words, she took the sticker and examined it closely. The ugly-cute ghost face printed on it seemed to make a face at her, causing her to raise a curious eyebrow.
"Hmm? It's still alive? Did you bring this back from one of your instances, too?" A light of academic interest immediately sparked in her eyes.
Haruto nodded.
"The material is a bit special," she murmured, gently touching it with her finger. "It feels like human skin, but it isn't. Let me test it."
As she spoke, a precise and complex magic circle, glowing with faint violet light, hovered into existence in her palm. It subsequently expanded, enveloping the entire ghost sticker.
The chibi ghost face on the sticker seemed to perceive the arcane energy and instantly twisted into an expression of pure terror. It struggled, squirming as if trying to escape the sticker's surface, but to no avail.
"This indeed isn't human skin," Patchouli concluded after a moment, withdrawing her hand. Her interest only grew. "This is a creature I've never seen before. Perhaps a type of ghost from your instance world, but it's an excellent mimic. It seems to function by devouring a host to achieve a form of genetic replication."
A mimic?
Haruto frowned. "So you're saying this sticker is actually a ghost?"
"Wrong." Patchouli shook her head. "It's not a complete ghost. This sticker was made using the body parts of the creature I mentioned. How should I put it... it possesses no consciousness, only residual, basic instincts. It also has another characteristic: it attracts its own kind."
Hearing this, Haruto understood. The ghost sticker really did have the ability to attract ghosts. No wonder that fool Huang Dao had specifically stuck it on their door. One could only say he got what he deserved.
"Can you leave the sticker with me to study for a while?" Patchouli asked.
"I brought it here for you to study in the first place," Haruto shrugged.
At that, Patchouli carefully put away the ghost sticker. She then walked into a side room, returning a moment later with a small, handheld recorder.
"This is the finished product I researched based on that mermaid pill you sent me."
"..."
Haruto fell silent. A giant, blinking question mark appeared in his head.
A pill had turned into a recorder?
If the pill's properties had been altered—for example, changing from a transformation elixir to a level-up potion—he could have understood that. But a pill turning into a recorder... the entire category had changed. No matter how he looked at it, this made no sense.
Seemingly seeing his utter confusion, Patchouli explained with a helpless air, "It's not what you think. This is a magic item I created based on the mermaid pill's characteristics. Playing it can hypnotize mermaids and make them follow your orders."
"Does it work on Meiling?" Haruto asked without thinking.
"You... you like Hong Meiling?" Patchouli stared, taking a long moment before she managed to squeeze out the sentence.
"Stop right there! Don't look at me with those weird eyes. I was just asking casually!" Haruto instantly realized how badly his words could be misinterpreted.
"Yeah, I know," Patchouli said, though her expression suggested otherwise. "But actually, Meiling still has a pretty good impression of you. There's no need to take such a crooked path. If you just ask her out directly, maybe—"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Haruto shouted, holding up his hands. "I told you I was just asking casually! Mukyuu, didn't I tell you a long time ago to read fewer of those hypnosis novels?"
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