Sendai listened to the soldier as he spoke, her neutral gaze never wavering as he gave his explanation. Ā It was certainly quite the fuckton of information to have suddenly dropped on her, but it wasnāt anything she couldnāt handle. Ā Once again, her lack of doubt allowed her to sort through the veritable mounds of info given to her in less then ten seconds. Ā After that time had passed, she saw what was going on here, and she knew what she had to say.
She brought her hands up to her mouth and clasped them in front of it, tapping them against her chin for a moment before she began speaking. Ā āIām sorry, but Iām going to need to turn this around on you a bit. Ā You donāt have the context to properly understand what Iām about to say, and because you wonāt understand it, you wonāt accept it. Ā That said, I still need to try and get this across, because I like you and I want your decisions to be as informed as possible, and I donāt think they are right now. Ā See, hereās the thing:
You, sir, are completely full of shit. Ā The real problem here is that you donāt knowĀ that youāre full of shit.ā
She began to pace back and forth in front of him as she began her explanation in earnest. Ā āYukari didnāt tell me anything about these Covenant creatures; what she did tell me about is Reimu. Ā Everything sheād done, everywhere sheād gone, all the friends and allies and enemies and rivals that sheād made, all of the adventures sheād gone on and all the ones she had tried to avoid, and everything else about my daughter that occurred throughout the years that I couldnāt spend with her. Ā She explained a lot, and Iām sure that-combined with just not wanting me to barge in and go on a rampage-is ultimately why Yukari didnāt tell me about the Covenant on top of everything else.
That long, longĀ explanation she gave me is why Iām so baffled by you right now. Ā You said youāve been living here for three years, but you talk like you donāt know who created the spell card rules. Ā You speak like you donāt know why she created them or for whose sake they were made. Ā You speak as if you donāt know why the Hakurei are still around, why we have not once lost in all of our time in Gensokyo. Ā You speak as if the Hakurei havenāt alwaysĀ been unarmored, and as if you donāt realize how very littleĀ that has ever mattered.Ā You speak as if you donāt know what Gensokyo was like before the spell card rules were created, though that at least is understandable, all things considered. Ā If you knew any of that, really knew it, then youād know how wrong you are.
You also call these Covenant things warriors, as if Reimu isnāt. Ā You imply that you either think that Reimu hasnāt killed before, or that it is somehow different from what they-and by extension as their enemy, you-have been doing for 21 years, and so doesnāt count. Ā Thatās naive, at best. Ā There are always idiots who step beyond their station, who believe that the rules donāt apply to them, especiallyĀ among the youkai. Ā When they do, we kill them. Ā No questions, no explanations, no excuses, no second chances. Ā They die. Ā Thatās how itās always been, and thatās how itāll always be. Ā Iād go so far as to say that Reimu will have to kill far more of them than I ever did as time goes on; from everything Yukari told me, the youkai of my day feared me farĀ more than the youkai of today fear my daughter. Ā Granted, you wonāt hear about 99% of them; not because of any need for secrecy, but purely because they just donāt matter enough to talk about. Ā It happens too often to be worth mentioning.
Now, to go even further with this, letās start talking about these Covenant creatures in earnest. Ā I donāt know a Covenant from a crustacean; all I have to go on is what youāve told me and what that information implies. Ā From the perspective of the Outside World, I can certainly see how they would be such a terrifying threat. Ā I can see, very easily, where youāre coming from with this train of thought.
But everything youāve told me so far tells me that they are very much enemies born of the Outside World, and as thus just as limited as any other civilization born and raised under only the Outside Worldās laws must be. Ā All of their technology must be scientifically sound. Ā Most, if not all, of their weapons must fire forwards; the barrels may move however they please, but the actual attacks will only ever manifest in one direction from that barrel. Ā Some of their projectiles will be visible to the naked eye. Ā Either oneĀ of these aspects would make it all but impossible for them to ever be even the smallest of threats to Reimu, but if any of their weapons have both, they may as will shoot themselves and spare themselves some pain. Ā Iāll take your word for it and believe that if a shot ever hit her, she would die, but thatās the thing; it has to hit her. Ā If Reimu is even half the miko Yukari has informed me she is, they would never be able to unless she allowed them to; she could handle this by herself even if she were comatose.
Even putting Reimu aside, what of the general population of Gensokyo? Ā How much danger would theyĀ be in if they were to get on this? Ā Nothing youāve said implies that their weapons or abilities are spiritual or mystical in origin in the slightest, so theyād be able to accomplish approximately fuck all against the youkai population here. Ā The fairiesĀ could handle this without issue, and fairies have always been the premier fodder of Gensokyo.
I only know as much about the Covenant as what youāve told me, but I know Gensokyo like the back of my hand, so let me explain how thingās wouldĀ go down if everyone knew. Ā The villagers would be frightened, absolutely, but they wouldnāt devolve into a panic unless these things appear in the middle of the village and we Hakurei just sat back and allowed the villagers to be slaughtered. Ā Since we wouldnāt, theyād still be frightened, but would also have the security of knowing that we will protect them from this new threat just as we always have. Ā And to the youkai? Ā They would be free, rare, and exotic snacks. Ā After all, they canāt actually kill any of the youkai, so there is no actual risk for them; just an all you can eat, walking talking candy buffet until the very last of these Covenant things finally showed up.
All of this is, of course, not even getting into the fact that itās only those Covenant forces that were present at that final moment of your own personal Incident that were brought into these shenanigans as well; thatās, what, 1000 soldiers and their equipment? Ā 2000? Ā Itās not even all of them at once; if youāve managed to hide it from Reimu thus far, then itās only been small groups at most. Ā You canāt even call that Incident, despite everything it seems to be; the scale of it is just too pitifully small to be anywhere near that important.
Of course, none of what Iāve said so far touches on the massive flaw in your logic even if you were right. Ā Letās assume, for the sake of your argument, that the Covenant are just as dangerous as Gensokyoās deadliest residents. Ā Letās assume that their weapons have some inherent property that allows them to actually kill youkai. Ā Letās assume that Reimu is more incompetent than any other Hakurei Miko in recorded history. Ā Nothing youāve said so far tells me that these things are restricted in where they appear; they just show up, and Gensokyo has to deal with it. Ā With that in mind, thereās nothing stopping a group of, say, four of them from just appearing at the Hakurei Shrine. Ā Were they as dangerous as you believe they are to her, then she would be outnumbered, caught by surprise, with no knowledge of what these things are or what they intend for Gensokyo. Ā She wouldnāt just be caught unawares; she would be completely and utterly off-guard, because she wouldnāt even know she needed to be on guard in the first place. Ā Based on what you believe, she would then be shot and killed. Ā I donāt see how keeping her ignorant of any of this is supposed to keep her safe in such a scenario. Ā It just leaves a bigger hole in her defenses than there needs to be.
Ultimately, the crux of the matter, the thing from which every other misconception you have is born, and the reason you wonāt be able to truly understand or accept anything Iām saying right now, is because the way youāre thinking is inherently wrong. Ā Youāre still thinking about this as if youāre still in the Outside World. Ā Youāre still thinking about this by the standard of a soldier in the Human-Covenant War, as if youāre still a part of it, as if itās still your war. Ā Itās not. Ā Your part in that conflict ended the moment you arrived here, and whether you belong here or not, Gensokyo is your home now.
Now, I wonāt deny that you are the most experienced when it comes to dealing with the Covenant; Iād be a completely idiot if I didnāt at least acknowledge that. Ā But everything you know about them is not merely the facts youāve learned over the decades; it is all colored and twisted through the lens of your trauma. Ā Everything you and those you care for have suffered at their hands-and all of the pain, hatred, and fear that followed-warps your perspective of them. Ā You have this perception of them, cultivated by 21 years of warfare, and in the Outside World that perception wasnāt necessarily wrong in the slightest. Ā In Gensokyo, however, itād be hard to make it less accurate. Ā To put this into perspective, to you, they destroyed nearly 800 worlds in 21 years. Ā To us, itās that they couldnāt even destroy 800 worlds in 21 years. Ā Honestly, the only reason I can see for Yukari to go along with any of what youāve told so far isnāt to keep Reimu safe, but to give youĀ a bit more peace of mind.ā
It was either a minor miracle that Sendai had managed to talk that much and that long without annihilating her throat or an example of how stupidly durable the woman was. Ā Either way, she sounded no worse than she had when she started her ālittleā spiel. Ā She let out a small sigh before speaking again. Ā āIām sorry for giving you a speech there, but all of it needed to be said. Ā I canāt exactly blame you if you donāt believe a single word of it; youāve only just met me, after all. Ā I just want to help you in my own way, and I donāt believe enabling your current way of thinking is the way to do that.ā Ā She paused for a moment before shrugging and continuing. Ā āI also took a bit of offense at the implication that you didnāt think Reimu could handle this just fine herself. Ā As both her mother and a Hakurei Miko myself, itās not really a view of her that I can allow to pass unchallenged.ā
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