Gensokyo Population Revitalization Plan

"But I don't want to work, I just want to eat..."

"Cirno!" The Great Fairy frowned, put her hands on her hips, and scolded, "Brother Mu Huai said that we can't be lazy and gluttonous. Come on, let's go help Sister Xingcai!"

Cirno, unable to resist the great fairy, had no choice but to ask for help: "Rumia, you probably don't want to work either, do you?"

"Ah... um... I... I also want to see my big brother... so... let's go to Pelican Town together."

"Hmm... For the sake of my kind older brother, I'll accompany you two idiots to work!"

The effects of the sustained high temperatures in summer go far beyond this. Many naturally active monsters are also unable to withstand the abnormal heat and have begun to hide during the day and come out at night.

Aya Shameimaru, who spends all day collecting gossip in Gensokyo, reluctantly announced that her ever-present "Aya News Express" would be temporarily suspended after her camera exploded from the heat, and would resume publication after the heatwave subsided.

Soon after, news of Pelican Town's cool autumn weather spread quickly among the monsters, attracting them to flock there and causing the only tavern open to the public to be overcrowded with monsters.

Banami Anzu urgently summoned other girls, along with the nature fairies who came to help, which barely allowed the tavern to maintain normal operations.

However, given the current influx of customers, she couldn't sustain this indefinitely and had to announce that the tavern would only be open three days a week.

Although the monsters were somewhat dissatisfied with the decision, they did not cause any trouble.

They all knew that Pelican Town was backed by three terrifying entities: Scarlet Devil Mansion, Eientei, and Yakumo Mansion. Moreover, Mu Huai himself was on good terms with powerful figures such as Kazami Yuuka, Ibuki Suika, Hakurei Reimu, and Kochiya Sanae.

Making trouble with his girlfriend on his own turf, isn't that like eating too much red bean and wanting to die?

......

"Nana, why haven't you been going to Gensokyo to make youkai friends lately?"

Lala asked Nana, who was doing stretching in the living room, curiously. Nana had been very interested in the youkai living in Gensokyo recently, and would go out to make friends every day after finishing breakfast early.

But she hasn't left Pelican Town in the past two days, and yesterday she even went to the tavern to help out with Anzu Hachimi.

"Sister, you hardly ever leave Pelican Town, so you probably don't know that it's summer outside and it's unbearably hot. Many monsters come to Pelican Town to escape the heat. I can make a lot of monster friends without leaving Pelican Town."

On the sofa, Momo, wearing a face mask, complained, "Isn't she afraid to go out because she's worried about getting a tan from the Gensokyo sun?"

"So what if you get a tan? That's completely different from making friends."

"Hmph~~ Someone secretly used my skincare cream yesterday because she was worried that her brother-in-law wouldn't like tanned skin, am I right?"

"Enough with the nagging! I'm just curious whether your skincare creams are actually effective or not."

After retorting to Mengmeng, Nana inadvertently admitted her mistake and stood up to Lala: "Sister, look at this part of my arm, is there any difference compared to the other side?"

"Hmm... there's no difference to the naked eye. Do you need me to use a scanner for comparison?"

“No need for that.” Nana smiled smugly and turned back to taunt, “Mengmeng, I told you those skincare products of yours are just a waste of money!”

"Ha..." Mengmeng was speechless. She took out a sunscreen from the phone and threw it to her: "Skin cream is skin cream, and sunscreen is sunscreen. These two have different names and effects."

"And are you sure the skin color of your left and right hands is the same, and that it's not just because they've gotten tanned that they look completely identical?"

Lala nodded under her sister's trembling gaze: "Now that Mengmeng mentions it, I've noticed that Nana, you seem to have gotten a little darker."

"No, no way!?"

Nana frantically touched her face, then turned and rushed into the bedroom.

A moment later, her agonizing cry came from inside: "It really turned black!!! No!!!"

......

As a traditional mage, Marisa believes that flying around on a magic broom is the most classic mage look, while other things like flying on a blanket, flying on your own, or piloting a Gundam are all heretical.

But when she rode her magic broom to visit Reimu and Muhuai today, the broom caught fire due to the high temperature and crashed.

Watching her mount being slowly consumed by flames, a thought popped into her mind: This is no ordinary summer; it's definitely a high-temperature mutation, and we must strike hard!

Volume 4, "Anything Can Happen in Gensokyo": Chapter 30, Marisa's Helpless Tears

Marisa, whose magical broom had been destroyed, stood at the foot of the mountain, looking at the winding stone steps leading upwards, feeling a chill run down her spine.

She always flew directly up to the Hakurei Shrine, but this was the first time she had directly experienced how difficult it was to walk up there on foot.

Even though the stone path was lined with quiet, lush trees, it couldn't stop the scorching sun. The burning air distorted the view, making it terrifying to even look at.

If she hadn't known that this road led directly to the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa probably would have turned around and left.

"Even with this heat, Reimu hasn't messaged me to complain. It must be so cool inside the shrine!"

After much thought, she could only think of this one possibility, so she gritted her teeth and decided to endure the scorching heat as she climbed the stone steps to reach the Hakurei Shrine.

Marisa had only reached about a third of the way up the mountain path when the heat surging from all directions forced her to take off her magic hat, which looked like an oven.

"Wow... my hair is all wet... but the wind actually makes it feel cooler."

Taking advantage of the coolness, she pressed on forward with all her might, leaving a trail of footprints behind her as she stepped onto the last step, gradually evaporating.

To Marisa's despair, the shrine was not as cool as she had imagined; in fact, because there were only one or two large trees in the front courtyard, it was even hotter than the mountain path.

"Aaaaaah!! Reimu! Come out here!! It's so hot!!"

She originally planned to roll on the ground to gain sympathy, but looking at the stone slabs that had turned white from the sun, she worried that her delicate skin would turn into roasted meat on the stone slabs if she lay down. So she stood in the front yard and screamed pitifully twice.

Reimu quickly arrived at the front courtyard. Looking at Marisa, who looked like she had just been pulled out of the water, she pulled the popsicle out of her mouth and retorted, "How can you die of heat when you're soaking wet?"

"This is sweat! You understand? Sweat!!"

"Hey~ stay away from me, don't smear your sweat on my popsicle."

"It's so hot inside the shrine, how can you still sit there?"

"It's alright. Anyway, there's a natural waterfall on the back mountain, and Mu Huai and I built a small pavilion nearby to escape the summer heat."

Marisa's eyes turned red with jealousy: "Damn it, the whole Gensokyo is unbearably hot, and you can still hog the waterfall to cool off!"

"Huh, is it like this in other places too? I thought it was only here at the shrine that it was hot every summer."

"what!?"

"Ok?"

The two stared at each other for a long time, until the popsicle in Reimu's hand melted and the sugar water dripped onto her hand, which brought her back to her senses.

She waved to Marisa, then turned and walked towards the back of the mountain: "Let's go cool off by the waterfall, it's too hot here."

"Uh-huh!"

Although Marisa often visits the shrine, she has never been to the waterfall behind the mountain, because there are many waterfalls in Gensokyo, and they all look pretty much the same to her.

Arriving here today in the sweltering heat, she instantly felt that the seemingly ordinary waterfall before her was the most beautiful scenery in Gensokyo, and she wished she could open her arms and embrace it.

"Ah! Waterfall! You're all water!"

"Ah! Waterfall! You feel so cool here!"

"what!"

"Stop going back and forth like that. If you want to enjoy the cool air, then enjoy it properly. What you're saying is awful."

"Oh dear, I just wanted to be a little more elegant..." Marisa scratched her hair and chuckled twice. When she turned around and saw Reimu's outfit, her pupils dilated in shock. "You... what's with that swimsuit you're wearing?"

Is that strange?

"It feels like a swimsuit made from a shrine maiden's outfit. It's not that it's strange, but... it just makes me feel like you're a shrine maiden who's not doing her job properly."

Reimu was speechless, unable to say anything because Marisa had guessed the origin of her swimsuit. Then she glared at Mu Huai, who was sitting in the pavilion.

He came up with the idea for this swimsuit and made it himself; even after it was finished, she thought it looked alright.

To her surprise, Marisa's evaluation was "a shrine maiden who doesn't do her job properly," which made her wonder if Mu Huai had deliberately made a swimsuit that suited her taste but seemed strange to others.

As the saying goes, "It's better for a fellow Daoist to die than for a poor Daoist to die; if a poor Daoist dies, a fellow Daoist won't escape either."

Reimu's dark eyes darted around, a slight smile playing on her lips. She waved to Mu Huai and called out, "Hey~ Mu Huai, Marisa said she wants a swimsuit similar to mine too!"

"Wait! When did I say that!" Marisa was shocked and realized that the shameless Kouhaku was trying to trick her. She immediately slammed the magic hat she was holding onto Kouhaku's head to stop her from continuing to spout nonsense.

Unfortunately, her attack was easily seen through by her opponent, who inserted his index and middle fingers into the side of her chest, which was inexplicably strengthened, and pulled out a talisman from her swimsuit and casually slapped it out.

"bundle!"

The talisman transformed into a pink ribbon, binding Marisa tightly. Reimu raised her hand and pressed on her shoulder, while Mu Huai slowly walked over.

He saw Marisa staring at him with terrified eyes, and the sadistic soul that had been dormant within him instantly awoke. He grinned and pulled out a pair of scissors and a box of needles and thread out of thin air.

"It won't hurt, you can rest assured about my technique."

"You two evil spirits, what are you going to do to me, the kindest magician in Gensokyo!?"

Reimu scoffed: "If you're so kind, how did you come to be known as the Black and White Thieves?"

"I'm just robbing the rich to help the poor. Everyone here is so rich, what's wrong with helping a poor magician like me!"

"Isn't this stealing?"

"How can you call it stealing when it comes to a mage's affairs! I'm just borrowing it temporarily!"

"Why all the nonsense, Reimu? Add a few more talismans and tie her up properly."

"Hehe...of course!"

"Aaaaaa!!!!"

Marisa's mournful cries were shattered by the roar of the water, and no one knew that the Black and White Thieves had once again fallen into Mu Huai's hands.

He used scissors to cut her gorgeous dress to shreds, revealing her fair and delicate skin underneath. His slightly rough fingertips accidentally touched her skin, and she immediately burst into tears along with sobs.

About half an hour later, Marisa's magical costume was cut by Mu Huai into a black and white bikini similar to Reimu's.

He patted her delicate shoulder with a mischievous grin and comforted her, "It's always like this the first time, you'll get used to it."

"Do you want to ruin any of my other clothes? This is my most important piece of clothing, made by my grandma herself..."

"You sewed it for me by hand, didn't you?"

Mu Huai's sudden answer left Marisa stunned. She opened her mouth in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock: "How did you know?"

“Reimu told me that when you first came to Gensokyo, you often used this trick to scam people.”

"Gah..."

"Besides, you must have seven or eight similar outfits in your closet, right?"

Marisa knew perfectly well that Reimu must have told Mu Huai, and she decided that once she was untied, she would definitely find a chance to get revenge.

Volume 4, "Anything Can Happen in Gensokyo": Chapter 31 Little Five: Burn Gensokyo to Ashes!

Marisa talked about revenge, but soon she was captivated by the cool lake water. She lay on her back and soaked in it, completely oblivious to the meaning of revenge.

The cool lake water seemed to penetrate her body through every pore, continuously delivering coolness and achieving a delicate balance with the heat radiating from the sun overhead.

If I had to describe it, it's like being under a blanket with the air conditioning on, or eating an ice pop in a heated room—it's irresistible.

"Want some popsicles?"

"Yes, yes, yes!!"

"Here."

"Thank you!"

Reimu sat in the shallow water, hugging her knees and blowing bubbles. When she saw Marisa facing Mu Huai, who was wearing swim trunks, with a normal expression, a hint of doubt arose in her heart.

"Even I'm a little tempted by Mu Huai's outfit, so why isn't Marisa reacting at all? Could it be... that she likes women!?"

The ridiculous conjecture in her mind was immediately rejected. Reimu decided to observe for a while longer before making a judgment. So she submerged half of her head in the lake water, cutely blowing bubbles, and silently monitoring the two of them.

Marisa took a bite of the strawberry ice cream, and the sweet and sour cream and strawberry pieces burst on her tongue. She squinted her eyes happily, and her mouth turned into a cat's mouth shape.

"Summer is definitely the time to eat ice cream!"

"If I remember correctly, you'd never even tried ice cream before I came to Gensokyo, right?"

"Oh, don't worry about such small details." She waved her hand casually, swam a couple of times in the water with her toes, and swam to the shore with one hand, planning to finish her ice cream before going diving.

Don't be fooled by the small size of the lake behind the shrine; she just dipped her head into the water to check the depth, and it's probably more than ten meters deep in the very center. Diving would be no problem at all, but she doesn't know if there are any fish in it.

Just as she was wondering if there were any fish in the lake, Mu Huai clenched his hands together and squeezed them hard between his thumbs, causing lake water to immediately spurt out from between his fingers, turning into a jet of water that hit Marisa on the head.

"Whoa!!"

Caught off guard, she was startled. After realizing that Mu Huai had splashed water on her, she quickly ate the strawberry ice cream, casually tossed the wooden stick onto the shore, and used her arms to turn into waterwheels, swirling up large swaths of lake water and flinging them at him.

"Watch my Super Water Windmill move!!"