Maribel Quest Perpetuation: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Actually, I think I'll go for seconds."
>"You want another, too, Renko?"
>Order and pay for a second for ourselves, and a second for Renko as well, if she chooses to

[Hello Purvis]

>"Actually, I think I'll go for seconds."
>"You want another, too, Renko?"
>Order and pay for a second for ourselves, and a second for Renko as well, if she chooses to

>You decide more is in order.
>"Please," says Renko.
>This time, you get a round of smalls, costing 10☼
>Mystia tosses the meat on the grill. "So, how've things been today?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Unbelievably hectic in ways you'd probably never guess. We'll be the headline in today's paper, once it comes out. Well, Renko more than myself, probably. It's kinda why we're a bit antsy to see it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Unbelievably hectic in ways you'd probably never guess. We'll be the headline in today's paper, once it comes out. Well, Renko more than myself, probably. It's kinda why we're a bit antsy to see it."

>"Oho," says Mystia. "I'll look forward to it. It's been quiet here. Faeries don't seem to have been very active, though, thank heaven."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Glance at Renko.
>Grin.
>If Renko doesn't quip or explain, "They've been busy elsewhere."

[Hello Purvis]

>Glance at Renko.
>Grin.
>If Renko doesn't quip or explain, "They've been busy elsewhere."

>You glance at Renko. She grins back at you.
>"They've been up to something," she says.
>"Nothing I need to worry about, I hope," Mystia says with a frown, as she starts flipping the lamprey bits.
>"I don't think so," she says. "Maybe a few faeries trying to trade you a bag of flour or something for a meal."
>"Oy..."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, at least that's probably of more use to you than what they were trying to pawn off on you yesterday morning."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, at least that's probably of more use to you than what they were trying to pawn off on you yesterday morning."

>She nods. "I suppose so. Just i prefer to have proper money. None of that haggling stuff Rinnosuke likes so much."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, I understand that."
>Wait for food to be ready

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, I understand that."
>Wait for food to be ready

>She nods, and silence falls for a mintue or so, until Mystia skewers the meat and hands it to you with a smile.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Thank you."
>Accept the skewer
>Dig in

[Hello Purvis]

>"Thank you."
>Accept the skewer
>Dig in

>"You're very welcome," says Mystia.
>You dig into the skewer, not quite so ravenously as before, but still with more than enough gusto. It's still quite tasty, and you feel properly sated by the time you're done with it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I think we probably ought to go see what state the inside of our house is in now, don't you think, Renko?"
>"Thanks again, Mystia. You have a nice day!"
>Head back to our house

[Kilgamayan]

>"Well, I think we probably ought to go see what state the inside of our house is in now, don't you think, Renko?"
>"Thanks again, Mystia. You have a nice day!"

> "Oh yeah, if Hatate comes by, tell her we went back to our place."

>Head back to our house

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I think we probably ought to go see what state the inside of our house is in now, don't you think, Renko?"
>"Thanks again, Mystia. You have a nice day!"
>Head back to our house

> "Oh yeah, if Hatate comes by, tell her we went back to our place."

>Renko nods. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
>"You too, kids!" says Mystia, as you depart. "And I'll tell her!"
>Mystia's stand is fairly close to your home, it only takes a few minutes to walk there. Taking a closer look at it, you can see a lot of the yard is scorched, with most of the scorching radiating out from the former bonfire site. You notice there a fair amount of ash there, as well as a a significant amount of loose dirt poured over it. You get the feeling that it is likely dust swept up from inside the house. You also notice there is a folded newspaper on the front step.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Go pick up and examine the newspaper

[Kilgamayan]

> Finally!

[Hello Purvis]

>Go pick up and examine the newspaper

>You pick up the newspaper and examine it.
>It is significantly thicker than the paper you got yesterday, you're pretty sure this one has more pages. The headline reads "Faeries Invade Scarlet Devil Mansion, Led by Mysterious Human!" The front bears a sizable picture of the earlier parts of the fight with Sakuya; Renko is plainly visible in mid gesture. In the lower corner, you notice another picture of you and she exchanging that victory kiss.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I suppose the headline's not too inflammatory."
>Peruse the substance of the article

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep an eye out for mentions of the golem

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Allow Renko to see it as well if she wants.
> Give Renko a kiss on the cheek once she is close enough.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I suppose the headline's not too inflammatory."
>Peruse the substance of the article

> Keep an eye out for mentions of the golem

>"Could be a lot worse," says Renko. "She gave the faeries first mention, I like that."
>You start to read the article. In it, Hatate gives a rather dramatic account of the invasion, starting with you tipping her off and her experiences at the faeries' field. It is a bit dramatized, you think, but overall accurate. You notice, as she details the fight with Meiling, she does her best to paint Meiling and others from the mansion in brave and heroic lights. You suspect this is to avoid the ill will of the mansion.
>Turning the page, you notice there are a couple other articles and quite a few more pictures of the invasion. One of the articles is "Betrayal! Alice Margatroid Foiled in Attempt to Rob Undefended Scarlet Devil Mansion!" and "Heroic Human Stops Rampaging Monster!" The latter, you note, has pictures of the Construct.

> Allow Renko to see it as well if she wants.
> Give Renko a kiss on the cheek once she is close enough.

>Renko is most definitely reading over your shoulder, and most definitely in kissing range, which you take advantage of, and she is quick to return.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see any mention of our time stop ability in the article? Even in vague or suggestive terms?

[Kilgamayan]

> "Wow, look at us, huh? Not even two days here and already we're newsworthy."
> "At least Hatate was nice enough to shine a good light on all parties involved. Well, except for the obvious one."

[E-Nazrin]

>Schadenfreude.
>Briefly wonder whether that's a good thing.

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we see any mention of our time stop ability in the article? Even in vague or suggestive terms?

>You read on, and find something worryingly close; there is a mention of you teleporting against Alice; and against the Construct. However, Hatate seems to suggest you have more in common with Yukari than any mention of Sakuya.

> "Wow, look at us, huh? Not even two days here and already we're newsworthy."
> "At least Hatate was nice enough to shine a good light on all parties involved. Well, except for the obvious one."

>Renko grins. "Just as sweet as I imagined it..."
>"Yeah. I think that's covering just herself. I can't imagine the vampire would take being slandered well."

>Schadenfreude.
>Briefly wonder whether that's a good thing.

>Haha, Alice got labeled a traitor. Serves her right.
>...Depends on whether there's any intention to make peace with her, it seems. She does live just down the road some distance...

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well! We've told plenty of people to keep their eye on the newspaper, and I'm sure there are plenty more that are going to read it and be curious. Anyone whose reaction you want to see in particular?"

[DracoOmega]

>Hmmm.... perhaps our resemblance to Yukari comes in handy in other ways
>"Well, this was a lot better than I was worried it would be, after hearing other people talk about the paper."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well! We've told plenty of people to keep their eye on the newspaper, and I'm sure there are plenty more that are going to read it and be curious. Anyone whose reaction you want to see in particular?"

>She nods. "Yeah, I can't wait to hear what people are going to be saying! ...Though now that I think on it, I don't know who in particular I want to hear be all impressed by this."

>Hmmm.... perhaps our resemblance to Yukari comes in handy in other ways
>"Well, this was a lot better than I was worried it would be, after hearing other people talk about the paper."

>There may be an upside to it. Despite the obvious downsides of Yukari herself.
>"Yeah, Reimu got me a little worried..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Reimu will probably want an explanation. Possibly Marisa too, since we beat up two of her closest friends, one with her bracelet. We promised Kogasa a look. We could talk to Mystia and Tokiko again, but I guess they're not particularly necessary. Utsuho might be interested, too."
> "And then...I don't know how widespread this newspaper is, but if Reisen reads this, I'm sure she's going to want to know what's going on, and why the construct was still around, fighting people."