[X] Give Satsuki a tour of the mansion.
- [X] Get Deis, too.
"Well, thank you, Patchouli. We'll leave you to … what were you doing, anyway?" You slip behind Satsuki and pull her up and against you as Patchouli returns to her book. She can be irritating, but Headless has a point and you should probably not aggravate her too much when she's trying to help.
"Work. Remilia is worried about certain entities finding their way into the library through a portal and wants more precautions in place." You raise your eyebrows and nod. Is she worried about those particular entities because she knows they're going to be coming, or is she just worried because those particular entities - if they find their way here - could be a problem even for her and Patchouli? Either way, why not warn you about them, too …? You bury the worry for the moment and bow your head to Patchouli.
"Good luck." She nods distractedly as you float over the railing, carrying Satsuki down to the ground floor. She relaxes once you let her stand on her own feet and takes calming breaths. "… Well, Satsuki, I think it's time you got a tour of the mansion. I'm going to go get Deis first, though, so just wait here, okay?" You pat her head and wait for her to nod before darting away through the rows of shelves back to the music room. Fortunately, Ershin is still waiting there. "Ershin! Deis~! Are you ready for a tour?"
"Ooh! A tour? Of your house?" Deis appears leaning over Ershin. "Are you going to be our guide?" You grin and bow as Ershin stands and walks over to you.
"I am. And Satsuki is coming with us." You pick up Ershin and fly back toward Satsuki. "So this is the library, as you all know. It takes up the majority of the basement, except my rooms and Patchouli and Koakuma's." The basement used to be just yours, but you didn't use most of it anyway, and Patchouli is much more comfortable underground, too. "It's books, and the portal system, I guess. It gets rearranged every so often or if Patchouli is trying something new."
"And it's variably-sized, right?" You stick out your tongue at Deis and she smiles sweetly. You toss your head and your clones pick up Satsuki and Ershin.
"Something like that, yes. And you know where my rooms are, so that's all the important stuff down here. Now, we move up!" Your clones carry your friends - Ershin is typically stoic, but Satsuki hugs the clone that's carrying her worriedly. She's so adorable. Once you're out of the basement you set them down and take your clones back. "Now, just to clarify, I'm only going to show you the important parts, and mainly the ones on the first and second floors. Actually giving you a tour of the whole mansion would probably take a lot longer than any of us want to spend. But for now, let us begin the tour of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." You lead them off toward the front hall, explaining that you've only had this particular mansion for a bit over two hundred years. Your fourth major residence, and the one you brought into Gensokyo with you when you came here. Having seen the entry hall already, Satsuki isn't too surprised, but Deis whistles appreciatively when you stop. "So, straight out the doors you'll be on the road to the gate, and you can go around to the left to get to one of the garden areas. There are balconies upstairs I can show you the outside from, so we aren't actually going to go outside." You point out the sitting rooms that are off the entry hall and lead them into the ballroom that will be the primary interior room for the party. Tables are already set up - long galley tables for food, some round and rectangular tables for sitting with a group, and some single-person square tables. Deis looks around the room suspiciously.
"Wait … this room is way too big. Is that 'variable-size' thing something that's everywhere in this place?" You giggle.
"Yep! Space isn't such a big deal here. Anyway, come on, come on!" You lead them out through another door and toward the north wing, explaining that while the fairy maids have a good amount of freedom, most of their rooms are in the interior side of the eastern wing. The north wing has your sister's collection of art and interesting items. You guide them through gallery after gallery, some pieces by humans and others by youkai - paintings, sculptures, jewelry. Another gallery features various armors on mannequins and weapons, some 'merely' perfect examples of their craft, while others are exquisitely-made pieces of artwork fully capable of killing or protecting the wearer from death. Two more galleries are devoted to items of Japanese culture: clothing, knick-knacks, colored and black-and-white paintings, and more. A lot seems to have been gotten with Aya's assistance, and some of it is definitely tengu work. Once you're finished showing them the galleries, you take them up several levels to get a good look at the northern.
"And at the top of this wing is the clock tower. There are stairs near the galleries that go up, but you shouldn't ever have to go up there." Deis waves her hand and frowns in thought.
"Okay, so plants and such go outside, right? And this whole wing is is collections?" You nod.
"Pretty much. Books all go in the library, and some collections - silverware and eating sets, things like that - are in other places, but the open areas of this wing are all given over to being like a museum." She frowns and tilts her head.
"Is there a collection of magic items? I know Patchouli has some, and she mentioned having some enchanted books, but is there some kind of - I don't know, armory or treasury?" You tap your lips as you think of where those might be.
"Hmm … probably down in the library somewhere. Patchouli is the magician, after all, so unless Remilia wanted to keep something near her, any sort of vault would probably be down there, especially since it's the most heavily fortified location with the fewest means of entrance and egress." You shrug and Deis nods; she'll probably figure out where it is while working for Patchouli, anyway. "Anyway, moving on!" You take them back inside and then down to the interior courtyard. You look around - it's been a long time since you've been here - and make your way to the long-unused tennis courts.
"Why do you have a building in the courtyard of another building?"
"Haa~ They're tennis courts, Deis. We hardly ever use them now, though. Oh, you know about tennis, Satsuki?" She nods and walks toward the nearer court.
"It's kind of popular. I've never played … it …?" You tilt your head and wait for Satsuki to continue, but she simply stands in the doorway for a while. "Um, what is this?" You frown and push your way past her.
"It's a tennis court. I'm not that good at it - my sister and Meiling are a lot better - but …." You peer into the nearest gallery to make sure it still has the racquets and balls before sending your clones to give a demonstration. "This is the newer-style court, the other one is the older style." The serving clone hits the ball, but it doesn't land on the correct penthouse before hitting the floor. "Stupid spin. The balls spin so weirdly, especially if you're not used to it." The hazard-side clone tosses the ball back and the server makes a few more shots, more successfully, before you shrug and have them retire. "It's a bit complicated, and making sure you're hitting the ball just right is a big part of playing. What sort of court were you expecting, Satsuki?" She shakes herself and stops gawking at the court.
"Oh, um, they're just a flat area with the fence in the middle. They're usually outside, so I was just looking to see how it was set up inside, but this is …." You nod and shrug.
"Well, maybe there's enough space that we can set one up outside, or we can put one in the back if you want. It's easier to block the weather here in the courtyard if it's uncooperative, though. Anyway~" You drag your friend and servant back into the mansion proper and show them to the kitchen. Sakuya isn't there at the moment - maybe she's asleep, maybe she's just off doing something else - but after learning that she's a better cook than you Deis declares it to be her favorite room in the mansion. You swing back around to the library side and show them where Ilya's apartments are going to be, and the gardens visible from her balcony. There isn't much in the back of the mansion, at least not right now; most of the guest suites and the associated trappings are in that wing, and a lot of offices and studies for private work. Satsuki stretches and yawns.
"So that was the short tour, huh?" You nod and take a seat on the railing.
"Yup! There isn't much else to show, I think; there are paintings scattered throughout the halls, and you haven't seen my sister's suite or been to the clock tower, but the tower isn't anything special and even if I could show you Remilia's suite without her permission I wouldn't. I think only Meiling knows the gardens well enough to actually say anything about them besides there are pretty flowers and other plants, and I don't think there's anything interesting in the forest. Not to mention that a thorough tour, as I said, would take a lot more time than just the few hours we've spent walking around." You look up at the twinkling stars.
What do you do?
[ ] Skip to seeing Ilya.
[ ] Other?
