Chapter 108: Yuuka: Then Let Him Be Flower Fertilizer
Golden sunflowers stretched to the horizon in the Garden of the Sun, their faces shining brilliantly under the midday light. The air was beautiful and tranquil, filled only with the distant calls of birds; not a single insect dared to chirp in this domain.
As Haruto approached the Dream Mansion, he saw Kazami Yuuka standing among the flowers. She held a new parasol, its elegant form a stark contrast to the endless sea of gold as she quietly watched over her sunflowers.
As if sensing his approach, she turned her head slightly, the corners of her lips lifting into a faint, serene smile. But with Haruto's very next words, her expression instantly darkened.
"What are you doing spacing out in front of your house in broad daylight?"
Suppressing the sudden, violent urge to smack him with her parasol, Kazami Yuuka explained with strained calm, "I'm admiring the flowers."
"Oh, oh, my bad." Haruto scratched his head, looking entirely unapologetic. "It's just that back when I was in school, I used to do that a lot too, especially during the day."
Kazami Yuuka sighed softly, a flicker of helplessness crossing her crimson eyes. "Why did you suddenly come over?"
"Waaah! Yuuka, you've changed!" The moment she asked, Haruto's face contorted into a mask of deep sorrow. He began to dramatically wipe away nonexistent tears. "Y-you don't actually welcome me anymore! What about our promise to be best friends forever?!"
The corner of Kazami Yuuka's mouth twitched. "Can you stop imitating Yukari? If you don't, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist the urge to smack you to death."
"Oh, okay." Haruto instantly straightened up, his theatrics vanishing without a trace.
His dear sister Yukari could probably withstand a few hits from Yuuka, but he certainly couldn't. One light tap and he'd be taking a trip down the Sanzu River, looking for Komachi to hitch a ride, play some cards, and have a nice chat with the dead.
"Why are you up so early, anyway?" Yuuka asked, changing the subject. "Don't you usually sleep until the afternoon?"
"That's slander! Be careful, or I'll sue you for slander!"
"A week and a half ago, at noon, I went to the Yakumo Residence to look for you."
"...Huh?" A massive question mark materialized over Haruto's head. Yuuka personally came to the Yakumo Residence to find me?
No way. What had he possibly done to deserve that honor?
"What did you come for?" he asked, a sudden, dreadful thought occurring to him. "You weren't just standing by my bedside, staring at me the whole time, were you?" Haruto hugged his shoulders, a theatrical shudder running through him as he pictured the terrifying scene.
Kazami Yuuka's face darkened another shade. "I drank two sips of tea and left."
"Oh, that's good, I—"
His words caught in his throat. Seeing that Yuuka had already raised her parasol threateningly, Haruto scrambled to answer her original question.
"I came to pick up a delivery! And, uh, I just wanted to come see you. Drink some of your tea, eat some of your snacks," Haruto said, putting on his most honest and sincere expression.
"A delivery?" Kazami Yuuka frowned. "Gensokyo has delivery services?" She wasn't one of the reclusive old-timers; she would occasionally read books brought by Alice or Haruto to keep up with the outside world.
"It's a Death Game delivery." Haruto's tone soured with resentment. "It's bad enough that it arrived in broad daylight, but it also required a personal signature, and there was no door-to-door service."
Though he grumbled, he had a rough idea of the reasons. The time of day was a matter of luck, the personal signature was a hard rule, and as for the lack of door-to-door service… it was clear the Ghost Phone's tracking ability could, at best, pinpoint locations on the very outer edges of Gensokyo.
A glint of interest appeared in Kazami Yuuka's eyes. "What kind of delivery? Let me see."
The question only made Haruto's expression turn even fouler. "It's a ghost artifact that lets you bind one more person to bring into an instance with you. A gift from a friend."
Seeing him only explain without producing the item, combined with the look on his face, Kazami Yuuka had already pieced together the gist of what had happened.
Sure enough, Haruto continued, his voice dripping with annoyance, "That guy never actually intended to give me the delivery. Not only did he try to forcibly collect a 'tip,' but he didn't even bring the package. He was planning to take my money and keep the goods."
"Then let him be flower fertilizer," Kazami Yuuka stated, her tone as flat and final as a death sentence.
Haruto shot her a gloomy look. "Do you really think that with my strength, after only two years of training, I can just do that?"
"You can," Kazami Yuuka nodded, her gaze sharp. "I can sense a trace of his residual aura on you. Even without using your Talisman Cards or other external powers, your own strength surpasses his."
Hearing this, Haruto didn't deny it. The delivery ghost was just a minor specter, not even as strong as the Butler from the third instance. His main concern had been whether the ghost had some hidden trump card.
Kazami Yuuka added, "Besides, you wouldn't have gone out alone. You most likely brought someone with you."
Haruto nodded. "I brought Reimu. After we beat him into submission, I made him go back and get my delivery. Not only did he not get a tip, but he ended up handing over all the tips he had on him."
"You let him go back?" Kazami Yuuka raised an eyebrow. "What about next time?"
"Don't worry," Haruto said, understanding her meaning perfectly. "How could I be that soft-hearted? The next time that guy shows up, I'll pin him with one hand and send him straight to the Underworld."
Only then did a satisfied expression grace Kazami Yuuka's features. While it wasn't exactly the same as her original idea of turning him into flower fertilizer, it was still a dead end.
Even without seeing the ghost firsthand, the wisp of aura clinging to Haruto was enough for her to judge that the entity was heavily burdened with sin. If he fell into the hands of the Underworld, he would probably be thrown into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and it was highly unlikely his soul would last until the end before dispersing completely.
Deciding not to continue standing foolishly outside, the two returned to the Dream Mansion. Inside, Kazami Yuuka prepared two servings of tea and snacks.
It had to be said, her craftsmanship was truly exquisite, befitting someone who had lived for millennia. Although the refreshments were simple—just a pot of tea paired with two plates of pastries—the taste was impeccable. The floral tea, in particular, carried a unique, delicate fragrance that bloomed in the mouth the moment you drank it. Only the tea from her home had this specific, unforgettable flavor.
After consuming nearly half of the refreshments, Haruto suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his Ghost Phone, snapped a photo of the stack of ghost coins he'd acquired, and sent it to the group chat.
"Let me ask, how do you use this?"
Almost immediately, a group member replied.
"Replying to the big shot! Those are ghost coins, but they're different from the kind in the Ghost Phone. These are more practical."
Haruto raised an eyebrow. "Is the exchange rate higher? More valuable?"
The person replied again: "Not exactly, but if you want to put it that way, you're not wrong either."
"These ghost coins aren't the same as the digital ones. Once you enter an instance, the Ghost Phone becomes useless—adding friends, chatting, transferring money, all of it fails. It's basically a brick..."
Before he could finish, another person jumped in.
"Why so much nonsense? @The Most Handsome Realm Demon, big shot, let me tell you. Basically, you can use them to bribe some ghosts inside instances. If there happens to be a ghost shop or something similar in the instance, you can also use them to buy temporary supplies."
"+1, but ghost coins are really rare. Us ordinary players can almost never get our hands on them."
"True, this is the first time I've even seen physical ghost coins. You can't find a trace of them on the forums anymore. There used to be some talk, but now it's completely extinct."
"Nonsense, who would talk about good stuff like that online? That would be stupid."
A player named 'Username: Shrimp Head is Not Dull' said this, but then seemed to realize he had misspoken and quickly added:
"Except for the big shot! What kind of person is the big shot? Someone who can face a False God head-on! Who would dare try to rob him? They'd have their hands chopped off!"
"Big shot, please teach us, how do you get ghost coins? Please, please!"
"+1"
"+2"
"+3"
More and more people began to form a line, all but begging Haruto to share a tutorial. In the end, it was Xie Lin who sent a message, cutting through the noise and putting an end to the clamor.
"Don't even think about it. You can't learn his method, let alone master it."
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