>"That's good to hear."
>Let's mingle and make goodnice with the crowd, and see if we can help Crowdia socialize, since she's always off with Orin.
> You take Okuu with you as you mingle with the crowd, making sure to give her lots of opportunities to talk to people.
> And opportunities she has: you suspect almost everyone in Gensokyo has gathered at the Scarlet Devil Mansion to celebrate the creation of the new Boundary. A long, difficult week ends with one of the biggest parties in the history of Gensokyo. It takes place outside the mansion and inside at some parts, lasting well into the night as youkai and humans alike sing their praises for this newfound peace. As a bonfire lights up the night sky, Orin returns with a familiar and welcome face. Only when you throw yourself into Satori's arms do you feel like the incident is truly over.
> The next evening, you finally get to have your dinner date with Satori. Had she not reminded you during the party last night, you would have forgotten about it completely. Everyone else in the mansion graciously leaves the two of you alone, and you are able to enjoy a peaceful night in.
> In the following week, things slowly go back to normal. For a time, you return to your usual life of tending to the shrine, sweeping, and making tea. However, things aren't completely settled yet--you make frequent trips to the Human Village, making sure they're getting back on their feet. You also check up on Patchouli as she continues working on her desalination spell and record of the incident at the same time. You inevitably get closer to her with these visits, combined with all the time you spent with her during the incident, and inevitably make an unlikely friend in the little librarian. This comes with its perks, including being allowed into the mansion and library without permission, and access to the snacks Patchouli keeps around.
> During your many visits to the Scarlet Devil Mansion,
you participate in one of Meiling's calisthenic exercises like you promised her. It wasn't terrible, but you felt a little silly doing all those stretches around other people. Meiling doesn't mind that you're not interested in doing it again, but seems overjoyed that you agreed to do it at least once.
> Speaking of favors, you notice that whenever you see Seiga, she acts more polite and skittish than you'd expect from her. Given that you saved Yoshika, who is basically her pride and joy, and gave you an IOU for it, she probably wants to stay on your good side. You figure you'll find a use for that IOU eventually. Having her owe you is a rare opportunity that you'd rather not waste.
> Kanako eventually returns to the mountain. The first time you see her after the incident, you think she's either completely unfazed by what happened to her, or very good at masking her confusion. The Moriya Shrine experiences a surge in faith caused by the mountain youkai who regretted blaming her for the incident, but to no one's surprise, the Kochiya Shrine maintains its usual amount of worshippers. The Aki sisters also make a comeback as they temporarily leave the mountain to aid the humans in rebuilding the village.
> Sanae continues to act meek and withdrawn around Kanako--and around you, most of the time--even after things have long been smoothed over. However, she no longer spends days or weeks at a time sleeping, something you owe to Suwako's round-the-clock intervention to make sure the Kochiya Shrine is running smoothly. You can tell that Sanae hasn't fully accepted her role as a goddess of the mountain, but she shows improvement in her emotional well-being day after day. When you can, you visit her just to hang out.
> Rika and Meira ultimately stay at Youkai Mountain, both claiming that there isn't much waiting for them at their old home anyway. Well, nothing but material possessions they bring home with them. Kanako welcomes Rika as the new shrine maiden with open arms. As for Meira, you hear that she went to live at Sanae's shrine, but visits Rika frequently. Why she hasn't decided to live her, you'll never know, but you doubt it's anything Rika did.
> Ever since the incident ended, visits to the Dream World have been rare. As close as you get to Sanae, you feel like she has closed off a part of her heart to you, which you regret deeply. With any luck, you'll one day gain regular access to the Dream World.
> On the rare occasion you are lucid, you make the most of it by checking up on Sariel, who you have decided to leave the headband seal on until further notice. Fish don't leap into your net, and you can tell that Sariel is having a hard time getting used to other people. Sanae and Kikuri have expressed a desire to eventually bring Sariel to Gensokyo. You're not opposed to the idea, but you think it should wait until Sariel has had more time to adjust and you've found a way to actually bring her here. It's less of a question of where she'll stay--Kikuri often mentions that one empty room in her shrine in the waking world that has never been used and would be perfect for Sariel.
> As for Sariel herself, she's incredibly clingy towards you whenever you're around her, something you don't think is ever going to go away. However, it looks like she has made friends with the Dream World version of Konngara. Konngara is never aware that she's dreaming--if she even is dreaming--so you sometimes wonder how well their friendship is going to transfer over into the waking world.
> Yukari never comes back to the Hakurei Shrine. You never figure out what happened to the bronze orb filled with sea water, either. You don't even care, and in fact are a little glad for it: she has done too much, hurt you too much and too deeply. You eventually hear from Ran that she has gone into hibernation early, and you both suspect she won't be awake for a while. Yukari's true feelings and motives, whether she'll ever apologize for what she has done...you won't be finding out any time soon. There are times that the shrine feels emptier without her hanging out of a gap or stealing the snacks you have with your tea, a feeling you often berate yourself for having. You were angry because she hurt you, and what she did hurt you because she was your friend and you liked her.
> Once things have truly settled down, especially in the Human Village, you take it upon yourself to start searching for a successor. You aren't going anywhere any time soon, but as you told Yukari multiple times, this is something you'd do on your own accord. You're doing this now because no incidents are happening and things have returned to a relative calm. With the help of Ran and Keine, you eventually pick a young girl from the Human Village who moves into the shrine to begin her training. Having had no formal training in shrine maiden duties yourself, and not being the most motivated to train in the first place, it takes a while to get used to this new role of mentor and guardian of sorts. Genji even returns from wherever the heck he was, having heard about the new shrine maiden.
> Eventually, Patchouli, Marisa, Alice, and Byakuren finish the desalination spell. It's no small affair, but much less chaotic than when you cast the Boundary spell. With that out of the way and the humans taking up to the fields again, Patchouli can finally dedicate all of her time to recording the incident. Akyuu helps, but Keine has dedicated most of her time to helping out around the village. Still, progress is coming along nicely.
> You send a thank you letter to the Lunar Capitol, and get a reply in the form of a small rabbit figurine carved of pure white marble and a short, curt letter from Yorihime. You consider making her your penpal, much to the amusement of the Eientei rabbits.
> Koishi continues to visit Flandre at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, with the two of them becoming better friends every day. Satori, with the help of her pets, makes a formal pool for Mako the dolphin, who is miraculously thriving in the Underground. Okuu remains friends with Mokou, and is elated at Kanako's return. Even with how busy you've been,
> Perhaps to make up for lost time, you start spending more time with Konngara. Although you've recovered your memories, you have to be around her more for it to sink in that you're related to her by blood. At first, it's very difficult to get her to talk about your family, but eventually she does open up to you. She's still as shy as always, but at the same time she becomes as talkative around you as she was when you were a child. It's not a huge leap, but it's definitely something, and you feel a lot closer to her for it. You learn that she lived at the shrine for a short time over a hundred years ago, shortly before the Boundary was first created. She lost contact with the surface after going Underground.
> Neither of you know what happened between then and Tamiko's life. Even now, your brief conversation with Tamiko remains an enigma. Komachi is shocked to hear you talked to her at all, claiming you must have had a near-death experience to have been able to contact her. Even so, you want to learn more about her.
> But for now, you want to be with the family you have.
True Ending
Credits:
> Story and Art: Himiko
> Special thanks to the players, their dedication, and patience.
> See you next Phantasm!
> _
