Chapter 59 – Touhou Gensokyo V0.2

Content Warning

This chapter deals with sensitive topics including sexual harassment and abuse of power in a professional environment. While the narrative does not contain explicit descriptions, we advise sensitive readers or minors to proceed with caution.

If you or someone you know has been affected by such issues, please seek professional help and appropriate support.

— — —

Neither of them spoke on the way. Jinguu Akira focused intently on driving. His skills weren't yet good enough to handle the car casually, so safety came first.

Jinguu Kanade had no desire to talk either. She simply sat quietly in the passenger seat, hugging her small bag.

While waiting at a red light, a taxi pulled up next to them. The driver and passenger, both middle-aged men, instinctively turned their eyes toward the luxurious sports car.

As soon as the light turned green and the Ferrari roared forward, the driver couldn't help but comment,

"These kids nowadays… Out messing around at such a young age."

Hearing this, the passenger nodded in agreement.

"Relying on their parents' money to fool around. Did you see the young girl in the passenger seat? Absolutely beautiful. But just by looking, you can tell she's not even of age yet. That young and already dragged into this kind of life… Sigh. Back when we were young—our generation banded together and pushed postwar Japan into rapid growth. And now? These kids are just wasting it all away."

He shook his head and let out a sigh.

"You're absolutely right. The economy's not great, the population is aging, and jobs are getting harder to come by."

They exchanged a glance, and something unspoken passed between them—two men who might've had nothing to say to each other, suddenly finding common ground.

— — —

The Japanese Imperial Palace sits at the heart of Chiyoda ward, surrounded by a moat.

It's a stately collection of traditional palaces, completely out of place amidst the towering modern skyline of Tokyo. The Imperial grounds still retain the high walls and deep moats from the Shogunate era. In a city of skyscrapers, the palace complex seems like it belongs to another world altogether—sprawling, yet low in height, a reflection of Japan's many earthquakes.

Only the East Garden of the Imperial Palace is open to the public, and visitors can merely view it from a distance as they pass by old parliamentary halls and the eastern court.

During WWII, Tokyo and the palace were nearly flattened by American air raids, so the modern palace and city are postwar reconstructions.

The royal family resides in the central palace area, which is strictly off-limits to tourists. Of course, if Jinguu Akira wanted to enter, no one would stop him—but he didn't care much for the Emperor of Japan. Especially after forcing himself onto the Emperor's daughter, the thought of meeting the man only made him uneasy.

He parked the car at the outer gardens without crossing the stone bridge.

"…Hey."

Kanade, who had been about to open the door and get out, paused when she heard Akira's voice.

She froze mid-motion, quietly listening.

"I know this so-called marriage wasn't your choice. It was something our fathers arranged behind closed doors for their own reasons."

Kanade stayed silent for a moment before replying in a soft voice,

"You don't need to overthink it. In the end, I'll still marry you."

Her voice was elegant and crisp, like a gentle breeze brushing through spring air.

"Hah… It's good to hear you speak."

Akira gave a small shake of the head. After a pause, he added,

"…Being born into families like ours, you know it and I know it—so let's skip all the talk about 'rebelling against our fate' or 'pursuing freedom.' You don't like me—maybe you even hate me. As for me, I do like you. But it's just 'like,' nothing close to 'love.' After all, we barely know each other."

Kanade bit her lip. Her pale, slender hands clutched her small bag tightly, fingers drained of all color.

"Yeah, I know that sounded pretty heartless. If I don't love you, why did I do those things… I'm sorry. Whether you accept it or not, I still have to say it—even if it's too late now. You're beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. And guys, well, we have this twisted sense of possessiveness. So I did some things I shouldn't have."

"There's a long road ahead. We're bound to keep running into each other. I hope you'll be able to face things calmly, but… forget it. Coming from me, that just sounds fake and pretentious. We're here. Be safe."

Akira leaned back in the soft car seat, eyes on the ceiling, letting out a faint sigh. He looked visibly drained.

Kanade gave him a long, deep look. Her lips parted slightly, and finally, in a barely audible whisper, she said,

"…I'll try."

Then she opened the car door.

"Wait… did you take the pill?"

Akira asked cautiously. He hadn't used protection that night, and he definitely didn't want to knock someone up from one reckless encounter.

"I did!"

She glared at him fiercely. Dressed in her sailor uniform, wearing polished leather boots and carrying her bag over one shoulder, she crossed the stone bridge spanning the moat and walked toward the palace.

Man… just imagining a princess walking into an adult store to buy emergency contraception—it really puts things in perspective.

Akira remained seated, watching her figure retreat until it vanished completely. Only then did he start the engine and drive off.

— — —

Back home, Akira shoved all those emotional entanglements out of his mind. Sitting at his desk, he turned to his real work.

He opened a folder on his computer. One of the files bore a clear title: Touhou Gensokyo.

The full title of the Touhou series is Touhou Project. Although fans usually just call it "Touhou" or "Gensokyo," the actual title Touhou Gensokyo belonged to the fourth game in the old series. The much more widely known Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was the sixth game—and the first of the new generation.

The old games were long considered "black history" by Chinese fans. And in order to unify the Touhou legacy in this new world, Akira had deliberately created a new game.

He titled it Touhou Gensokyo—a blend of all five old games reimagined into a single, original creation.

In the other world, the old and new Touhou games had vastly different worldbuilding, characters, and systems. But with all his memories intact, Akira had unified both generations into a seamless whole. This game would serve as Gensokyo's origin story—a true prequel.

Unlike later games where incidents all occur within Gensokyo, this game takes place in Makai. The protagonists were still Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, but the central characters were Shinki, Yumemi, Mugetsu, Gengetsu, Yumeji, and even Alice.

It was a bold reimagining. Akira had thought long and hard before starting this project. In the end, he went all in.

He didn't just copy the old scripts. He broke them apart, restructured everything, and poured tremendous effort into fleshing out the story. From a narrative perspective, it was far from a mere port.

Of course, he didn't lay out the relationships between characters too clearly—he only hinted at them. The goal was to inspire doujinshi creators to unleash their imaginations and fill in the "black history" gaps. Only then could the Touhou series truly explode in popularity.

Take, for example, the implied connection between Alice and Shinki… or the mysterious link between the Makai demons and the Hakurei Shrine. He never stated anything outright.

"This demo… I'll call it Touhou Gensokyo V0.2."