Touhou - Impure Dreams about a Strange Land

The Household of Eternal Bickering

It was just another dreamless night for me. I'm glad I didn't have to stay still on that hill again. I ended waking up after some time. Furthermore, I get up from the bed, stretching my aching limbs before moving towards the window. It is still dark outside. Is it night? Is dawn near? Did I oversleep? Am I jet lagging? Well, at least I can pretend I'm on a trip of sorts.

I sigh as I step away from the window. Really don't feel like going back to sleep, but there's not much I can do. I shouldn't waste my battery either, who knows when I'm going to be able to charge it again. I lay on the bed, pondering about what I know and what I did so far.

What am I supposed to do exactly? My first day had a terrible start, but at least I'm sleeping on a fancy bed in a fancy place, and maybe this job won't kill my back. Then again, I realized that Yukari's words were too broad. Befriend youkai? Fall in love with one? Befriending them seems doable enough, at least between youkai there's a sense of camaraderie and fondness. Meiling and Sakuya are proof of that, and from what I can tell, maybe Meiling cares enough to get upset at the maid for trying to throw me out? And that's not the only thing, I can't expect every youkai to be as nice as the gatekeeper, there might be a few Yukaris here and there, and I'm already annoyed by thinking about it.

Now, falling in love with a youkai? I had a few girlfriends before, I'm not a ladykiller, far from it, but I'm far from inexperienced. Still, how the hell does she expect me to fall for a youkai? Worse yet, how can I make a youkai fall for me? Are they even capable of feeling love? For a human of all things? I'd rather stick to what I know and work on my love life once I get back home. Still... I have to be honest, I am curious about how mom and dad would react if I present them a youkai as my girlfriend.

I couldn't help but start laughing at the idea, alone in my room. Maybe I'm losing it, but all those idle thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a knocking on my door. I stand up again and move towards the sound. As I open the door, I see the maid once again. I don't know how this woman is already up and running.

"Good morning, Nobuyuki. Glad to see you're up already. Did you sleep well?"

I take a look at her face and uniform. I was expecting to see her with a sleepy face, a few strands of hair out of place, maybe a crumple on her uniform, but nope. She was as spotless and perfect as yesterday. I'm not sure if she's even a youkai... is she a robot?

She tilts her head, and then I realize I've been staring for a little too long. "S-sorry, I'm still half-asleep. And yeah, the beds are really comfy here! I wouldn't mind sleeping a few more hours."

Sakuya smiles slightly. "You'll have to wait. Breakfast is ready, and today you'll handle chores around the library as we discussed yesterday." Then, she hands me a black vest, black pants, a white dress shirt and a red tie. "Since you're the first male to work here, we didn't have a uniform at hand, but I made something custom for you. Please, try it, I'll be waiting here until you're done dressing."

I close the door and try the new clothes made by the maid. I don't really know much about clothes making, but the quality of the fabric is great, and it is a nice fit, really comfortable and almost made me feel like I was going to the office today. Once I'm done putting on the uniform, I return to her. "These clothes fit me like a glove, how did you know my measurements?"

She just looks at me without an answer. I can already hear her saying 'None of your business.' in my head as she simply ignores my question. "Follow me." I comply with her order, and we walk through the waking mansion. Unlike Sakuya, the fairy maids have bags under their eyes, grumpy faces and their uniforms are in rough condition.

Once we reach the dining hall, there's a long table with several empty seats. On top of the table, I can see some teacups already served and some western-styled pastries.