Chapter 9

"Um... I don't have that much money on me right now..."

A large bead of cold sweat rolled down Yagumo Sumi's forehead.

"Hmm? No money?"

Reimu's expression suddenly turned even more unfriendly.

"You dare to play with me?!"

Feeling the spiritual pressure emanating from Reimu again, Yagumo Sumi sighed and said, "I'll donate 100,000 to the shrine as soon as I have the money, okay?"

Reimu felt very conflicted after hearing Yagumo Sumi's words.

On one hand, Yuka always teased her, and it was a rare opportunity to take out her frustrations on her brother. Reimu really didn't want to miss this chance. But if she hit him too hard, wouldn't the 100,000 be lost?

That's 100,000!

After much internal struggle, Reimu finally asked, "How long will it take?"

"Probably... about a week?"

Yagumo Sumi said tentatively.

Actually, with his abilities as a boundary youkai, it would be extremely easy to get human currency by leaving Gensokyo and going to the human world.

A day would be enough.

Human currency was also accepted in Gensokyo.

He just subconsciously gave himself a bit more time for safety.

But Reimu's eyebrows furrowed, and she huffed, "A week? Fine, but with interest. 100,000 per day, so it will be 700,000 after a week!"

Yagumo Sumi almost spat out blood.

That interest is too scary!!

But in this situation, he had no choice but to agree.

After being beaten by Reimu, his sister didn't even come out, clearly enjoying the show...

His sister is really a devil...

"Alright, I agree..."

Yagumo Sumi propped himself up and sat, feeling his body recover slightly. He then looked up at Reimu.

"Is that better?"

"That's more like it!"

Reimu huffed and then flew up into the sky, turning into a red light and disappearing.

Seeing Reimu fly away, Yagumo Sumi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and frowned at his dusty clothes.

Just now, because of the immense pressure from Reimu, he hadn't noticed. Now that Reimu was gone, Yagumo Sumi felt extremely uncomfortable looking at his dirty state.

His youkai power flowed, cleaning the dirt from his body, and he returned to his usual elegant appearance.

"Oh, poor little Yagumo..."

Marisa, who had been hiding far away, bounced back, hands behind her back, and looked at Yagumo Sumi with a mischievous smile.

"You got extorted by Reimu!"

"It's all because of you!" Yagumo Sumi said irritably, "If it weren't for you pestering me, how would I have provoked Reimu..."

"That's not my fault..."

Marisa waved her hands, her face full of schadenfreude.

"It's your sister who made Reimu angry, and she took it out on you!"

Yagumo Sumi was speechless.

It all started because of Reimu's comment, "moldy old hag."

Because of that, his "eternally seventeen" sister had lashed out at Reimu. Reimu couldn't find Yuka, so she took it out on him...

Yagumo Sumi felt extremely innocent.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. I still need to get 700,000 outside Gensokyo..."

After all these events, Yagumo Sumi felt a bit tired and missed Aya's black tea.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Marisa suddenly grabbed Yagumo Sumi's sleeve and said with shining eyes, "You're going outside the barrier? Can you bring me something nice?"

People and youkai living inside the Great Barrier of Gensokyo generally don't go outside unless necessary.

Or rather, most of them can't leave Gensokyo at all.

Of course, there are exceptions.

Like the Yagumo siblings, who are boundary youkai.

Marisa can leave the barrier, but as a magician, crossing the barrier is troublesome. She spends almost all her energy practicing magic (or stealing), so she doesn't leave Gensokyo unless necessary.

"Oh? What do you want?"

Yagumo Sumi raised an eyebrow at Marisa, not minding the request.

Marisa pointed her right index finger to her lips, tilted her head, and thought for a long time before saying, "Anything new and interesting will do."

"Alright..."

Looking at the cute Marisa, Yagumo Sumi nodded.

================= I am the line dividing the need to bring souvenirs on a trip =================

Lost House.

As soon as he returned, Yagumo Sumi said to Aya, who greeted him, "Aya, where is the lady?"

"Welcome back, Master Sumi."

Aya bowed gracefully.

"Milady is waiting for you in the courtyard."

Yagumo Sumi nodded and walked straight to the courtyard.

After passing through a long corridor, Yagumo Sumi arrived at the courtyard.

Yuka was sitting under a cherry tree, sipping Aya's black tea. Seeing Yagumo Sumi, she looked up and smiled, "How was it? What do you think of Reimu?"

"This is only the second time I've met her..." Yagumo Sumi sat opposite Yuka and thanked Aya for the tea, "Lady, you've really put me through a lot..."

"Ara..."

Yuka opened her fan, covering half her face, her purple eyes full of teasing.

"Is Sumi blaming me? That's so sad, so sad..."

Although he knew his sister was joking, Yagumo Sumi still smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Lady, you misunderstand. I could never be angry with you."

Seeing Yuka still smiling at him, Yagumo Sumi sighed.

"I guess you know I'm going outside the barrier."

"700,000! I understand!"

Yuka's words made Yagumo Sumi's face turn into a "囧" (awkward) expression.

"Can we not mention 700,000? Just thinking about it makes me want to cry..." Yagumo Sumi drank a sip of tea with a bitter face.

Yuka put away her fan and said, "It's fine for Sumi to go out. You've been in Lost House for three years without leaving, which isn't good in the long run."

Yagumo Sumi nodded in agreement, but he didn't notice the strange smile on his sister's face.

"This time, you can stay out longer. I can adjust the barrier so that no matter how long you stay outside, you'll only be gone for seven days when you return. So 700,000 will be enough..."

Yagumo Sumi was surprised and, ignoring the 700,000, asked, "Lady, you want me to stay out longer?"

During the three years in Lost House, Yagumo Sumi had observed the outside world through the gaps. It was just an ordinary human world, not much different from the Earth he was reborn from.

It had no mystique.

What's so interesting about such an ordinary world?

"Speaking of which, I have some ideas about that light orb in your mental sea," Yuka changed the subject, not directly answering Yagumo Sumi.

Yagumo Sumi immediately became interested.

"I guess you've figured out that the magic book is related to Chang'e."

"That light orb is actually a 'Fantasy Seed.'"

Fantasy Seed?

What is that?

Yagumo Sumi looked at Yuka, waiting for her explanation.

"All sentient beings in the world, their inner thoughts have some influence on the world."

"Although the influence of a single individual is weak, if countless individuals share the same thought, the impact can be significant."

"For example, many of the youkai in Gensokyo derive their power from human fear of youkai."

"That Fantasy Seed can absorb fantasy power, amplify the thoughts of living beings, and ultimately create new entities... or even new worlds!"

"Create new worlds!?" Yagumo Sumi was shocked. Creating a world isn't as simple as his sister setting up a barrier to create Gensokyo.

According to legend, those who can create worlds are powerful deities standing at the pinnacle of all beings!

Like Pangu.

"I don't believe Chang'e could create such a sophisticated Fantasy Seed."

"Considering Chang'e's background in the Chinese divine system, the true author of the book is likely an ancient deity from the Chinese pantheon."

"Of course, that's not important. What's important is that as a boundary youkai, you can naturally control the boundary, and your soul comes from a human in the Chinese divine system. This unique combination makes you perfectly suited for this Fantasy Seed."

"Through it, you can travel to many worlds of fantasy that don't exist."

Travel to worlds of fantasy that don't exist!

Yagumo Sumi stared at Yuka, stunned, unable to recover for a long time.