This is the translation for the prologue of this Light Novel, which can be bought here.

Note: I don’t own this Light Novel, but the translation is my own and helped by my friend.

As I recalled the vague memories of my childhood, the bathwater had become lukewarm. I went up in a hurry and accidentally bumped heads with Reimu, who had a concerned expression on her face. With the way she looked at me, it seemed like she was wondering if something bad had happened to me.

“I’m alright. I was just in the mood to take a longer bath today.”

“Is it because you are more tired than usual?”

I shook my head in response to Reimu, who seemed to be implying that it was her fault. “I was just thinking a little about the past.”

To reassure her, I purposely began to walk with a huge stride. It was something I had stopped doing since I became a shrine maiden, but seeing that figure reassured Reimu, and she did not ask any more questions.

—

Once I had confirmed that Reimu had fallen asleep once more, I returned to my own room. When she first arrived here, Reimu always came over and slept together with me, but in 3 months I had managed to persuade her to sleep separately. It was not like I could remain by her side forever, and a shrine maiden needed to be dignified even when alone – after all, this was a profession where one would not be able to perform their duties if they were scared of being alone.

Of course, there was a fear of changing her feelings. Although she was unmistakably a troublesome kid, Reimu was good-natured. The memories she had before arriving here had almost all vanished, but still seemed to resurface unconsciously. Though, that good nature did not seem to have been properly beaten into her. The only reason why I could not be sure was because the only person who knew about Reimu refused to talk about it. From the fact that there was no need to teach her anything other than what was neccessary, and given how she came here at a mere age of seven, I could see that she had gone through some terrible abuse. I was curious, but I could not bring myself to learn any more than that. Despite possessing an attractive and delicate appearance that seemed like it would break apart if pressed upon, she exuded power and integrity, to the point where I would feel pressured just by being in her presence. Now that I think back on it, it was quite cowardly of me.

To think that I would have no choice but to confront someone like that, I was honestly reluctant, but if she had come here and threatened Reimu, I would not turn a blind eye to it no matter what kind of great Youkai she was. I placed a candle in the room, slid open the door slightly and stared at it. Shortly after, numerous eyes seemed to manifest and stare back at me, and I could feel the heavy pressure of a Youkai’s power filling the room. Even so, I did not look away, and after a while, the figure of a person appeared through the gap that was clearly impossible for a human to pass through. Golden hair and purple eyes, wearing clothes that reminded one of a taoist priest straight out of a picture scroll; the pressure and majesty she displayed was enough to blow away my resolution. Her glare lasted but a short moment, and with just a slight loosening of her lips, the pressure emanating from her was confined within, to the point where she could interact with the average human.

She was the Great Youkai Sage who possessed authority over the village, Yakumo Yukari. Manager of the world’s boundary, Reimu’s guardian in the shadows, as well as the person who brought her into this world. To have finally shown herself at this time, halfway into spring and long after the cherry blossoms had scattered, it could only have meant that there were more places for the girl who had just woken up from hibernation to deal with compared to last year.

“Indeed, you no longer have much time left.” Yukari raised her index finger after saying that, as if to confirm my suspicions. “Roughly one more year remains.”

I wanted to say that it was a little too early, but there was no doubt that I was a Hakurei who possessed no power. Nevertheless, I felt ashamed of myself that I did not even manage to hold onto that power for five years.

“Work is slow on my end too. It should be possible for her to inherit it within one year, right?”

To inherit the knowledge and power of the Hakurei, and to acquire proof of that inheritance. I had been forced to go through the entire process within about half a year, but with the world in its present state it posed no problem. However, that was because I had already learnt how to read and write, and encountered no issues during the transference of knowledge. Reimu required time to learn those things from scratch, and she had only managed to form the most basic of foundations. She should have clearly known that two years were not going to be sufficient. Yet, she still said only one more year.

“I believe that you are doing well. At the very least, I heard that you are like your predecessor, who was far more flexible than her seniors who held little power and only had immense egos to show for it, and was much more tenacious in her efforts to produce results. I do not think that I am as qualified as you are to raise Reimu. It is why I am willing to spend extra time like this.”

If the shrine maiden supplied enough spiritual power, the spiritual barrier around the village would not break. Conversely, once the barrier starts to falter, a substitution would quickly occur. Youkai that possessed enough power, and even humans who were skilled enough at sorcery or possessed enough spiritual power would be capable of seeing such gaps. One of the reasons why I was currently working as a shrine maiden is due to the fact that I had enough power to be able to see the gaps.

A long time ago in Gensokyo, peeking into the gaps was a very popular activity as part of a test of courage, but that eventually led to them becoming aware of the youkai lurking in the gaps and the boundary of the world. Because of that, I suspected that this was a game designed by Yukari in order to find someone who could become a Hakurei shrine maiden. Though because it would be dangerous to follow my curiosity as to whether she did such a thing, I had yet to ask her.

“Still, you’re progressing too slowly. She can learn classroom lectures later, so please place more emphasis on practical training from now on. I do not mind if you have to hurt her, so long as she does not die.”

I did not want to even consider hurting Reimu. I had intended to train her as if she was a child, but I was still soft towards her, and the fact that I knew nothing about what happened in her past meant that I should proceed even more carefully. However, Yukari would not permit such leniency, and might move her to an even harsher environment. If that was going to be the case, I – as the person who knew Reimu the most – would have to be the one to do it.

“Understood, Yukari.” I dropped the tone that I had used until now, addressing her without honorifics. This was to show my resolution to not resign as a Hakurei shrine maiden in a time of need. “When the cherry blossoms bloom again, know that she will have become a fine shrine maiden.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Yukari covered her mouth with a fan she pulled out of thin air. I could not see the lower half of her face, but I could clearly understand just from the upper half that she was laughing as if I were a fool. After all, I was an insignificant being in her eyes. “Well then, I’ve finished my business here, so I shall take my leave. Please do take good care of her.”

And just like that, Yukari suddenly vanished right before my eyes. I could no longer feel her presence, her youkai power or anything else from her. I unintentionally let out a big sigh, and as I got up, I realized that my entire body was trembling slightly. I understood that if a human were to possess such power, they would be truly unstoppable. Even so, when it came to her, I would be brushed aside like a willow no matter how strong I was. According to what I heard, while Yakumo Yukari had a calm and collected disposition, there was unexpectedly a passionate side to her as well, though I have never seen that side of her before. Perhaps if it were not a useless twig like me, but the first shrine maiden who laid the foundations of the Hakurei, she would have been provoked or even enraged.

The trembling soon ceased; I closed the slight gap in the door, laid out the futon and went to bed after extinguishing the candle. After closing my eyes, I could see numerous eyes floating about in the darkness, but I convinced myself that they were merely an afterimage. Still, I found myself unable to fall asleep for a while.

—

The next day, Reimu had completely regained her energy, managed to complete her morning chores without any trouble and was no longer distracted by the different types of fallen leaves. She also concentrated as much as she could during classroom lectures she was weak at in order to make up for yesterday’s lost time. Looking at the figure of Reimu, who was delighted at the mere fact that her mind and heart was in a state of unity, made me hesitate on imposing harsh training on her. However, I did not have much time left. The remaining time of one year was the result of that great youkai’s maximum compromise, and it could very well be overturned on a whim.

At noon, we decided to enter the forest that surrounded the shrine. There were many cases of youkai making their homes deep within nature, so if one wished to exterminate them, learning how to traverse such areas would be necessary. The less intelligent youkai did not care about keeping themselves hidden, but they were still more clever than mere beasts or fairies. They knew to hide upon realizing they were outnumbered, and wounds that would take a human many months to heal could be cured within a few days if they were lucky. If such a thing were to happen, all of your preparations would go to waste, and the youkai might begin to act with greater caution. Furthermore, the wild is filled with various presences. I had to undergo exploration training, sometimes throughout the night, in order to be able to find the subtle landmarks set up by my predecessor.

Needless to say, I had never given Reimu exploration training with such an indefinite time limit. I thought that it would be cruel for such a small body, and I was not sure if it was because of her lack of memories, but she lacked caution and was too ignorant of nature. Even I, when I was the same age as Reimu, somehow pulled through by roughly figuring out which animals and plants I could touch or eat. There was a wide variety of mushrooms, but it was hard to tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous ones – I had been strictly told to not touch them. I also handed out edible nuts and berries I occasionally gathered to my brothers and sisters, and even sucked out nectar from flowers as a substitute for snacks.

On top of that, I thought that it was essential to first get used to the environment of the area. As a result of that, I had finally become capable of running about the outer areas of the forest without any issues, but that was pretty much it. I understood that what I would be doing to Reimu from now on was cruel, but I could no longer delay it or find any other options.

“Um, we’re heading deeper than usual today, aren’t we? Are we perhaps doing something new?” Reimu, upon seeing my behavior, remained relaxed but steeled herself for what was to come. “I figured it was the case after seeing that scary look on your face. Am I wrong?”

“No… No, you’re right. From now on, I will be giving you a new challenge.” After explaining the details of the challenge to Reimu, she simply nodded her head without hesitation. She seemed to think that running around in the forest was no big deal, despite her naturally weak physique. “I’ll say it again, but I cannot reduce the duration any further, and the exploration route will not only be used once, but many times at different times of the day. It could be early in the morning, or even late at night. Naturally, I will also not be able to assist you should you run into any evil fairies or youkai.”

The forest around the Hakurei Shrine warded away evil, but also made a great home for fairies who lacked an element or stray spirits. The latter were pulled towards the riverbanks and washed away on a regular basis, but the former was much freer. The risks were low, but it was hard to track down anything. Because of that, it was a great training ground for inexperienced students. The Hakurei of the past sure made a great place, I thought.

“Now then, I’ll be going to hide the mark so wait here, alright?” I took a few deep breaths, and gradually pulled out the things that tied my body to the ground. I infused my body with spiritual power while I was at it, and recalled the me who was not tied to the earth. In my case, I thought of myself swimming in the river and unleashed my power, allowing me to float in the sky. “I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”

Upon looking at me floating in the sky, Reimu could not conceal her envious gaze. It was her first time seeing this technique, and she also seemed to have an intense longing for the ability to fly. It would be fine if it was just the result of a child-like innocence, but I felt that Reimu’s obsession towards flying went beyond that. Perhaps it was related to the memories that she had lost.

I wordlessly turned my back to her and flew out of the forest, soaring into the sky. It had been a long time, but my body felt heavier than it used to, and it was difficult for me to maintain the form of my spiritual power. In my current state, it would be painful for me to fight using even basic extermination techniques. I now understood why Yukari decided to personally appear and inform me about the deadline.

I flew through the air, unable to shake off my discomfort, found a tree that stood out to some extent and pasted a youkai power-sealing o-fuda in an inconspicuous place. It would be impossible to improve one’s ability to search for ominous presences without using the real thing, so I had taken to making use of a product from the past. Although confirmation through actual practice was actually the best method, but in the village nowadays – with the large and powerful youkai having completely gone into hiding – exterminating the small-fry youkai that occasionally pop up was all we could do. Even then, there were few opportunities to do so, so I prepared some items containing youkai power that had yet to be purified. I was worried about leaving the negative energies contained within, but it had been like this for many generations, so there should be no real harm in using it.

I quickly left the area, landing almost directly above Reimu so that she could not figure out which direction I came from, and thus my preparations were complete. I then continued to explain to Reimu the details of the training.

There is a fragment of a youkai’s power within the forest. It’s in the form of an o-fuda, so please retrieve it for me. I said that there was no time limit, but you have to return to the shrine once the sun sets. I’ll be returning to the shrine to do some work.”

One could still consider this as lenient, but it was not good to overdo things, and as a result that great youkai would most likely not help Reimu should she encounter any trouble.

“Don’t worry, I’ll surely be able to retrieve it quickly.”

Reimu said to me, as if she was trying to cheer me up – I must have been showing a very sullen face.

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