[X]Suggest something else, maybe? (A portable music player, maybe?)

[x]Stay silent, wait until he reaches his own conclusion.

[x] Stay silent, wait until he reaches his own conclusion.

Seems the most in-character.

[X] Stay silent.

An update! Huzzah!

[X]Stay silent, wait until he reaches his own conclusion.

[x]Ask if he has any weapons in store. Nothing ventured, right?

Fuck subtlety

[x] Stay silent, wait until he reaches his own conclusion.

Sorry this took so long, school is a bitch.

[x] Stay silent, wait until he reaches his own conclusion.

On second thought, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to ask the stranger if he sells highly dangerous weapons. Even if he did have any for sale, why would he be willing to give any to you?

You kinda forgot how hard it is to go about buying guns when there aren't bloodthirsty monsters beating down the door.

After some more rummaging around, the man finally comes back to you, carrying a box with him. He sets it down in front of you, and after just a bit more effort he pulls the top off.

You're not entirely sure what you were expecting to be inside, but the contents still manage to surprise you a little.

Combat vests, of varying types and appearances. Just from the top of the pile, you spot kevlar vests like your own, vests with built in holsters, and even a few military grade plate carriers.

Not exactly weapons, but still pretty good.

The man notices your intensive gaze, and waves a hand over the box. "If you spot something you want, we can discuss pricing."

That brings another thought to your attention. "Say, I mostly have British pounds, will those work?"

He puts a hand to his chin in thought. After a moment, he takes out a small notebook and flips to a certain page, before following down said page with his finger.

Soon, he finds what he's looking for. "I believe one... British pound, yes?"

"Yeah, that's right, mate."

"One British pound comes to about... 130 yen. Does that sound correct?"

That actually sounds a bit low, but you don't really feel like arguing the point. Maybe he's using old data or something. "Sounds fine to me."

That does greatly expand your wallet, though. Now to decide what you're getting, if anything...


You have: 31,450 yen
[ ]Kevlar vest (3,500 yen): Exactly the same police-grade model as the one you currently have, but this one might as well be brand new. Can also be worn under clothes to make it almost invisible.
[ ]Chest rig (2,500 yen): Nothing more than a few straps attached to a bunch of pockets, for storing extra mags. Can be combined with kevlar, but is very difficult to conceal, with or without it.
[ ]Chest rig w/ holster (3,000 yen): Same as a normal chest rig, but with an extra pistol holster built in, for easier reach. (doesn't replace your current holster)
[ ]Plate carrier (5,500 yen): Basically a combination of a kevlar vest and a chest rig, except this stuff is used by militaries the world over and is much tougher as a result. Can technically be doubled up with kevlar, but at the cost of bulkiness and potential overheating. Also no hope of concealment for this one.

[X]Plate carrier (5,500 yen)

I want armour. Not sure how useful it'd be, but I want one nonetheless

[x] Kevlar vest (3,500 yen)

Free weekend and 50% discount for KF2. If you haven't tried it, do it.

[x]Plate carrier (5,500 yen)
-[x] Try to sell your own vest.

You know we'll need the best.

[X]Plate carrier (5,500 yen)

[x] Kevlar vest (3,500 yen)

Tempted to go for the plate upgrade, but I think obvious armor might just make him more of a target. Better to be underestimated than overestimated.

[x] Kevlar vest (3,500 yen)

[X]Plate carrier (5,500 yen)

[x] Kevlar vest (3,500 yen)

[x] Kevlar vest (3,500 yen)

[X]Chest rig w/ holster (3,000 yen)

Great to see you again!

[x] Kevlar vest

After some thinking, you decided to simply replace your current vest. You doubted that going around in obvious armor would help you make friends.

After swapping out the old vest for the new one (the shopkeep seemed concerned with the state of the old one, but added it to his stock without comment), you paid him the agreed-upon price, leaving you with 27,950 yen.

"If you ever wish to return, you know where I am," he told you. You didn't really feel like telling him that his shop was in the middle of a dangerous forest and would most likely be very hard to track down again, as a result. Judging by the look on his face, he already knew that, anyway.

"Cheers, mate."

With that business done, you start heading the way you were originally going. The trees start to thin out, and it isn't long before you can once again see the human village. You don't even wait for the guards to prompt you before you unload your guns, and they don't even stop you as you pass by them. Looks like you're already starting to be at least a little well known.

Hopefully that won't come to bite you in the ass.

There were slightly less people bustling around than usual, and most of the ones that were there had bundled up a bit more. The weather did feel like it was just a touch cooler, you suppose.

While you were passing through to make your way back to Eientei, you spot a familiar face in the crowd. Once you closed some of the distance between the two of you, you called out. "Oi, Reisen!"

You catch the rabbit girl jumping ever so slightly at your voice, before whirling around. "Oh, good, I was looking for you."

"You were?"

She nods and hands you a bag. "Got a delivery to the Hakurei Shrine here."

You accept the bag, but look at her in confusion. "Isn't that like right next to the village?"

Reisen laughs sheepishly. "Today's actually my day off. Eirin just told me to give this to you in the village, to save time."

You shrug. "Alright then."

After that, the two of you go your separate ways. Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find where exactly the shrine was, and you were able to easily retrace your steps from your first day in Gensokyo.

Just before you reach the village gate, though, you notice a commotion going on a couple streets over. You couldn't make out much from this distance, but you could at least see that there was a small crowd gathered around whatever was happening. They were a rather loud group, but of course they were speaking Japanese, so you couldn't figure out what was going on that way.

You glance back and forth between the gate and the crowd. Sure, it could delay you by a lot, but something that causes a crowd like that to form is worth checking out, right?

[ ]Head over, see what's up.
[ ]It's probably nothing. Focus on your job.

[x] It's probably nothing. Focus on your job.

Miko bothering > village disturbance.

What the?!
Don't keep playing my heart like that!

[ ]It's probably nothing. Focus on your job.

Thanks for continuing this story!

[x]Head over, see what's up.

We can inform Reimu if it is serious.

[X]Head over, see what's up.

[x]Head over, see what's up.

After we've checked it out we can decide whether or not it's important enough to warrant further attention. If it isn't, we just go on our way.

[X]Head over, see what's up.

Side Ops Ahoy

[x] It's probably nothing. Focus on your job.
do your job moron

[X]It's probably nothing. Focus on your job.

Gotta work for our dosh

[X]Head over, see what's up.

No shut up you're late to update

[X]Head over, see what's up.

In your experience, crowds of people converging on something always leads to something interesting. Of course, it doesn't always lead to something necessarily good, but such is life.

As you close the distance towards the crowd, you're distinctly aware of a few faces turning to look at you, before murmuring back to those near them. If anything, your presence seemed to distress the crowd just a bit more.

This also means that, once you properly reach the crowd, they part for you, no questions asked.

That's a bit concerning.

In the middle of the group, two men were arguing back and forth in Japanese. One seemed to be a bit on the older side, while the other almost looked to be about your age.

The two seemed to notice that the crowd was now oddly quiet, and they both turned to face you. You could tell they recognized you immediately, and the younger man quickly stepped towards you, before barking out something in Japanese, pointing at you.

You just stare back. "In English, please."

Your correction doesn't make him falter at all, and he switches languages instantly. "The Outside is in trouble, right?!"

A rush of emotions fly through you all at once, most notably confusion and a touch of fear. "What?"

"Look, I'm an Outsider too," he says, showing you a smartphone that he had in his pocket. "I got here last year, but it's gone too long without any more Outsiders coming in, until you. So what's going on?"

The other man stepped forward now, and thankfully he seemed equally as fluent in English. "I still say you're crazy. There's nothing out there to worry about, right, Mister?"

Before you can agree with him, the young man gets into his face. "Bullshit! Where are all the other Outsiders then? I know someone else would've stumbled on Gensokyo by now!"

This is getting out of hand. "Look, there's not-"

"Explain the gas mask then!" he cuts you off. "Why would anyone be wearing that when they got here unless something was horribly wrong out there?"

Shit, he's got a point. The crowd seems to agree, if their muttering is anything to go by. You can feel countless pairs of eyes fixating on you. More than usual, in any case.

Actually, is it just you, or is the crowd bigger now?

"He was probably one of them mercenary types," the older man suggested, although his tone and his following glare gave you the impression that it was far from a compliment.

The crowd seemed to echo his sentiments, so you held your tongue.

"Then he'd be wearing full body armor and stuff!" the young man countered. "Not... a messy suit!"

Dammit, this is becoming a problem. The crowd around you was just barely too thick to slip through, now. And you had the feeling that running away right now would only make things worse. "I'm telling you, there's a good explanation for this."

This seemed to calm the young man down, but only slightly. "Alright, then, let's hear it."

Bollocks, you were sorta hoping something else would happen before you actually had to answer. Come on, Fosty, think, what could you say that would keep the crowd and the man pacified without having Yukari throw you out?

[ ]Assassins technically count as mercenaries, right? The suit was clean before you got here, and the gas mask was a personal choice after you arrived. The village might end up hating you, but at least the apocalypse would still be hidden.
[ ]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.
[ ]Yukari wanted you to keep the end of the world a secret, but she didn't say anything about, hypothetically, making up a story about how Japan got nuked. Again.
[ ]There's no satisfactory answers you could give here, so just do your best to stall for time until either something else happens or you have an opening to dismiss them and leave.
[ ]Oh whoops looks like you "forgot" about your "heart condition" and require "immediate medical attention". Shame you won't be able to answer any questions because of a purely coincidental sudden heart attack.

[x]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.

This is the story we used before (plus riots) so we should keep using it.

That said, we should have bought the body armor last year back at Kourin's. Would have made for a better cover story.

[x] Make as many people as you can really mad without giving a clear answer.

Piss off, ya wankers.

[x] Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.

[X]Yukari wanted you to keep the end of the world a secret, but she didn't say anything about, hypothetically, making up a story about how Japan got nuked. Again.
[X]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.
[X] Fukushima turned into a hell of a place now.
Radiation and mutants everywhere.

[x] Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.

The best lies stick close to the truth.

[x]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.

Halftruths

>>199144
I like >>199148 's idea so I'm going with that as well.
[X]Yukari wanted you to keep the end of the world a secret, but she didn't say anything about, hypothetically, making up a story about how Japan got nuked. Again.
[X]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.
[X] Fukushima turned into a hell of a place now.

[x]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.

Lie by telling the truth.

[x]Tell the truth, or at least some of it.

I mean, we've already told people Britain's fucked by D̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶M̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶s̶ anarchist rioters/war, so we should just keep on trucking there. Oh look another big European war is it that time of year already? As for Japan, well, we don't know anything there.

[x]Tell the truth, or at least some of it. You were a stock trader with a hobby in guns and old gas masks, and you stumbled into Gensokyo while on vacation. It doesn't answer any of the man's questions about the rest of the Outside, but it's something.