NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 44: Cirno’s troubles.
Cirno heard the unusual noise of bullets hitting a wooden object, and her curiosity got the better of her. She flew toward the source of the sound and was surprised to find her house being barraged by bullets.
Cirno exclaimed, "What are you guys doing!!!"
The culprits behind the bullet barrage were none other than the three mischievous fairies: Sunny, Luna, and Star.
Sunny cheerfully explained, "We are doing recruitment!"
Cirno, still puzzled, asked, "Recruitment? For what?"
Luna chimed in with enthusiasm, "We want to terrorize the humans!"
Cirno blinked in disbelief and said, "You three?" The fairies nodded in unison, apparently determined to embark on their mischievous mission.
Cirno demanded an explanation, her frustration apparent. Sunny took the lead in explaining their odd recruitment strategy. She stated, "You see, we're going to force fairies to join us, so we have to show our strength. That's why we have to destroy this house to prove we're the strongest!"
Star enthusiastically added, "It's going to be a great fairy war to prove who's the strongest!"
Cirno was not pleased with their reasoning. Her anger flared as she declared, "Then let me show you who's the strongest fairy!"
But before she could take action, the three fairies mysteriously vanished into thin air, leaving Cirno bewildered and alone.
Deciding to check her house, Cirno found it mostly intact, except for a fallen picture frame on the ground. Curious, she picked up the frame and found a picture of Kusa in her first human form, holding a smiling Cirno in her arms. Cirno couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions as she looked at the photograph.
She placed the picture frame back, a mix of emotions welling up inside her.
With a determined expression, Cirno muttered to herself, "Kusa is surely reliable; she made the house super sturdy, as expected of my greatest rival."
Cirno decided to set out and teach those mischievous fairies who were truly the strongest in Gensokyo. As she flew in the direction they had taken, she encountered Daiyousei.
Cirno asked, "Did you see those three fairies, Dai-chan?"
Daiyousei, with a hint of reluctance, replied, "My apologies, Cirno-sama, but I can't let you pass."
Cirno, now suspecting collusion, exclaimed, "So you're colluding with them! Take this!" She prepared to confront Daiyousei.
Cirno swiftly countered Daiyousei's bullets with her ice needles, overwhelming her opponent. Daiyousei cried out as she fell to the ground, defeated.
Cirno triumphantly declared, "Don't look down on me because I'm the strongest!" With that, she flew away, determined to find the three troublesome fairies.
However, her search was interrupted when a barrage of flower bullets came her way. Cirno deftly evaded the bullets and spotted Lily.
Lily greeted her with a serene, "Spring has arrived~"
Cirno retorted, "It's obvious!!!".
Cirno gathered ice particles into both of her hands, attempting to recall the chant for her technique. She muttered, "Ka... me... Ha... Me..." under her breath.
Lily looked surprised and appeared ready to flee, but Cirno unleashed her attack with a loud shout, "HA!!!!" A thick, freezing blue laser shot from her hands, encasing Letty and the surroundings in ice.
Cirno marveled at the power of the technique and remembered Kusa's advice about channeling anger into the attack to make it stronger. She continued her pursuit of the three troublesome fairies.
As she caught up with them, the fairies were busy observing humans during the flower viewing.
Cirno called out to get their attention, shouting, "Oi!"
The three fairies were taken aback by Cirno's sudden appearance and quickly assumed battle positions.
Cirno declared, "Let me show you why I am the strongest!"
Suddenly, a fierce snowstorm erupted, disorienting the fairies and making it impossible for them to communicate effectively.
The humans in the vicinity noticed the unusual spectacle and watched the battle excitedly, thinking it was part of a show.
The three fairies launched a barrage of bullets, but Cirno froze their projectiles and retaliated.
Luna fired numerous yellow crystal-shaped bullets and yellow star-shaped bullets at Cirno.
Cirno summoned a hailstorm that destroyed Luna's bullets and struck her with her icy projectiles, causing Luna to grit her teeth.
Sunny unleashed an attack, shooting bullets in lines resembling sun rays and releasing yellow bullet orbs.
Cirno taunted, "Your sunray isn't as strong as Kusa!"
Cirno unleashed a torrent of hundreds of blue bullets aimed at the three fairies.
With her control over ice, she manipulated the bullets, freezing them in mid-air before suddenly releasing them, causing the projectiles to scatter in various directions and striking Sunny.
Sunny cried out, feeling the impact of the bullets.
Star retaliated by shooting small blue star-shaped bullets and larger star-shaped bullets, along with tiny meteor-like projectiles.
Cirno scoffed at their efforts, declaring, "It's not enough to defeat me!"
She fired a series of small blue lasers in quick succession, and they found their mark on Star's head.
Star winced, clearly in pain.
Realizing their attacks were futile, the three fairies decided to combine their firepower and aimed it at Cirno simultaneously.
Cirno was unfazed, confidently stating, "I'll end these futile attempts!"
She released a cloud of mist that enveloped her surroundings, causing everything to freeze, including the fairies themselves.
The three fairies fell to the ground, exclaiming in surprise as they landed.
The humans who had been watching the spectacle burst into applause, clearly entertained by the show.
Cirno gracefully touched down in front of the fallen fairies, a triumphant smile on her face.
She proudly declared, "See, I am the strongest fairy!"
Cirno continued, "That means you are my subordinates, and we are friends!"
The three fairies looked somewhat perplexed by this sudden declaration but ultimately agreed to be friends with the self-proclaimed strongest fairy.
Cirno introduced herself, saying, "My name is Cirno!"
Sunny, the leader of the group, chimed in, "I'm Sunny Milk."
Luna introduced herself as Luna Child, and Star as Star Sapphire.
Star then explained their initial plan, confessing, "To be honest, we weren't going to terrorize humans. We wanted to put on a show for them and recruit fairies."
Sunny added, "But because you arrived, the humans are satisfied with the display!"
Cirno couldn't help but feel pleased by this turn of events and asked, "That means... they like me?"
Luna nodded with a smile, confirming, "Yup!"
Cirno turned towards the humans who had been watching the spectacle and raised her voice.
With unwavering confidence, she declared, "I, the greatest and the strongest fairy, will announce that I am the strongest!"
The humans erupted into cheers and applause, clearly impressed by Cirno's display of power and her bold proclamation.
The three fairies, Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire, watched Cirno with amusement, appreciating her enthusiasm and newfound popularity among the humans.
--
Kusa was in the flower fields, tending to the flowers as Yuuka had taken a day off from her duties.
Suddenly, Cirno's voice rang out, calling Kusa's name with excitement.
Kusa looked up to see Cirno approaching, a cheerful expression on her face.
Cirno proudly declared, "Hear me out, I defeated all the fairies, so that means I am the strongest!"
Kusa smiled and patted Cirno's head affectionately. "My, I didn't think you'd become the official strongest fairy now. You've grown too and become much stronger than ever."
Cirno beamed with pride at Kusa's words. "Hehe~! Didn't you say that you'd grant a wish I want if I defeated you?"
Kusa nodded, remembering her promise. "Of course, I did. What's your condition?"
Cirno excitedly outlined her condition, "Don't use your sun sign, let's fight in mid-air, and you are prohibited from using lasers!"
Kusa found Cirno's request quite amusing and readily agreed.
--
Cirno emerged victorious from their friendly battle, but the intense exertion left her utterly drained. She nestled herself into Kusa's warm embrace, her eyes slowly closing as exhaustion took over. Kusa, untouched and brimming with energy, softly hummed a gentle tune, her melodious voice creating a soothing lullaby that eased Cirno into a peaceful slumber.