Now that I had the chance of reading this little story while actually being able to understand what's going on... . . . I am now really curious about the aftermath of Reimu killing her Boyfriend's friend in front of his eyes. We can assume that he still loves her despite being heartbroken, and that Reimu is deeply regretful of ruthlessly killing his friend in front of his eyes, but that whole trauma is probably still going to hurt like a bitch.
Now that I had the chance of reading this little story while actually being able to understand what's going on... . . . I am now really curious about the aftermath of Reimu killing her Boyfriend's friend in front of his eyes. We can assume that he still loves her despite being heartbroken, and that Reimu is deeply regretful of ruthlessly killing his friend in front of his eyes, but that whole trauma is probably still going to hurt like a bitch.
i'm sorry if i have more wild interpretation, pretty much he leaves Reimu and stop visiting the shrine, then at the ending when Reimu goes to the village to meet him, then only to find out that he already have a fine happy familly, then you can interpertate yourself from there...
i guess this is "what if" story what would happen if Reimu breaks one of the hakurei shrine maiden's rule
Well from my understanding, Reimu understood that her task as a shrine maiden is a terrible one. It became evident to her when she realized she wasn't just killing human turned yokai, but yokai that used to be human. The people she murdered had parents, brothers, friends... by all means their life had meaning despite being turned into yokai. Reimu must have finally realized this tragedy after killing his boyfriend's friends and hurting him a ton in the process. After all, she had killed them all so mercilessly too. And for better or for worst, he loved her so much he forgave her and even continued to love her despite hurting him. It must be maddening to realize you just hurt the one you love so much, yet knowing that there is nothing you can do to fix it, worse, nor can you stop it if it were to ever happen again. She's torn between love and duty.
The irony I find here is that she killed the monsters without a shred of mercy or doubt, that is, until she realized (thanks to Yukari) that she was a monster herself for what she had done. Reimu finally realized that her heroic duty was nothing more than a dark farse painted in gold. Your job is to be a machine and kill those who break the rules, that's it.
The end I interpret it like this. Reimu's lover lives in the village. After their daughter is born and grows old enough, Reimu finally pushed the responsibility on to her so she can finally live a normal life as a 'human' with her lover. Reimu really emphasize the word human, almost in sheer madness. It seems that she couldn't see herself as a 'human' as long as she was still a shrine maiden. After all, being a shrine maiden carries a heavy duty and a heavy conscious in its end. Her mother went mad in the end, and so did Reimu. They both probably had a whole life to look forward to with the man they love.
Given how most of Midori works are in continuity with the Yandere Yukari books, this becomes an extra kick in the balls for Reimu, and the book with Yuka is still without translation, but it's kinda interesting how Yukari is fucking around and now she has a big target for someone who would want to hurt her.
Unless she goes into a cycle of failing in love, yandere, gets bored, kill the older model, repeat.
Wonder if the audio dramas there is more info about what happens with the ex-shirine maidens after retiring.
Yama-senseiPrintingMarch 21, 2021Fantastic Marriage Story: Rei [Spirit]ZUN (Team Shanghai Alice)Midorineko18th Hakurei Jinja ReitaisaiPublishing, productionMidoriAcknowledgementsTitle letteringEikou Printing