Mei Miroku

"The Miroku shop's lady was famous for being a hard worker."

- Oyuka

Mei Miroku was the a draper of Enbizaka, Jakoku and the proprietress of the Miroku Shop. Marrying Kai Miroku at a young age, Mei helped her husband manage their dry goods business, becoming well acquainted with their business rival, Kayo Sudou. Following the great fire that struck the town, she helped her father treat the survivors.

Early Life
"Oh goodness, it's embarrassing... I always leave going outside to my wife while I just confine myself to our home working."

- Kai Miroku

Mei was born in Enbizaka, Jakoku sometime during the EC 800s, the daughter of a doctor and a Lucifenian woman. As she grew up, Mei became knowledgeable in medicine under the tutelage of her father. At some point, her mother passed away. At the age of sixteen, she married Kai Miroku and began aiding her husband in his dry goods business, running errands while he worked at the store. At some point, Kai gave Mei a red kimono he tailored as a gift and she often wore it. The two also sired two children, naming them Miku and Rin. Learning about the amazing skill of the local tailor Kayo Sudou in EC 838, Mei began secretly requesting their business rival tailor the more difficult orders for them.

Neighborhood Tragedy
"Fortunately, our home wasn't affected by the fire since we're across the street from the river but my husband was slightly burned."

- Mei

When a huge fire struck Enbizaka at the end of that year, Mei and her daughters remained at home while the fire ravaged the town on the other side of the river. Kai later came home, revealing he was burned on the back of his left hand. When her father began treating the injured at his clinic, Mei joined to help the victims there. After Kayo was found badly burned around her entire body and rushed over to the clinic, Mei began treating the comatose woman, learning neither her husband nor her son seemed to survive.

While tending to Kayo, Mei noticed she awoke and expressed her joy before explaining her survival itself was miraculous. With a warm smile, she related how her family was safe due to the river save for husband before sorrowfully admitting the tailor was suffering far worse injuries. When Kayo asked about her son, Mei momentarily panicked; afterward, she shook her head and regretfully told her that the only survivor of the house that burned down on top of them was her. As Mei tried to comfort her, the tailor wailed.

After the Freezis Foundation helped rebuild the entire town, Mei arranged for the foreign firm to have Kayo's home outfitted with tailoring supplies and furniture, attempting to reconstruct the interior as close to its original appearance as she could remember. At some point, Mei began dealing directly with Perrié Cutie Marlon of the Freezis Trading House, receiving numerous orders for kimono from the foreign businesswoman.

Return of the Tailor
"Her father's a doctor and gave the diagnosis; it's just a cold. She should be well by tomorrow."

- Kai regarding Mei

Once she learned Kayo was finally returning to Enbizaka in early EC 842, Mei instructed Miku to welcome the woman at her rebuilt tailor shop since the draper was unavailable. Several weeks later, Mei and Kai went out while Miku went on a date with Kiji Yarera, leaving Rin to watch the house while they were gone.

Later that year, Mei fell ill and became bed-ridden; after her father diagnosed her with a cold and would be well by the next morning, she rested at home while Rin watched over her for the rest of the day. Once Mei recovered and the warm, springtime weather arrived, she returned to work; as she continued dealing with Perrié at the Freezis Trading House, the small businesswoman often told her about her plan to capture the mermaid said to live in the area.

Stroll Down Memory Lane
"Why did you walk outside only on that night...? Even though you were someone who always locked himself up in his shop doing work—"

- Mei to her husband

One day, Mei walked down the main street with her husband. After crossing the bridge into the main town, Mei looked at her husband's burns and noted they were still there. Kai questioned why she mentioned it, citing it was far too late to bring it up, and Mei insisted it could heal if he'd allow her father to treat it. Her husband then argued they shouldn't bother the doctor; noting he could even move his fingers without issue, Mei saw him repeatedly clench his fingers painlessly as a demonstration.

As the draper tried to protest, Kai interrupted, citing a lot of people died in the fire and that they should be grateful to God that he was relatively unharmed. Recalling the fire of four years ago, Mei became slightly frightened and asked why he was out on the night of the fire when he was usually locked away at home doing work. Kai explained that he just wanted to admire the scenery when few people were around and got burned when he went up the hill.

She then listened while he related that her, Miku, and Rin being unharmed across the river was enough reason to be happy. She immediately reminded him that a lot of people died and Kai noted her complexion was looking poor in the chilly evening weather. After he suggested they return home and began heading back, the draper stated she had somewhere to be. When her husband inferred she was heading for the usual trading house and inquired whether Perrié was still shouting about mermaids, the surprised Mei questioned how he knew about the businesswoman's plight.

Once he explained he went to the trading house in her place while she had been sick and heard it from Perrié then, Kai expressed doubt even she would help the businesswoman find her supposed mermaid. The amused woman claimed she was simply taking another order for the day. When her husband apologized for making her deal with a foreigner, the young wife insisted it didn't bother her at all. After returning to the bridge together, the two bid each other farewell and Mei headed up the hill toward the trading house.

First Blood
"What are you doing in a place like this on such a night?"

- Mei to Kayo shortly before her murder

Around midnight, Mei began heading back home. As she approached the soba shop down the hill, Kayo Sudou suddenly appeared before her. Unsettled, Mei greeted the tailor and questioned what she was doing out so late. Seeing Kayo silently approach her while taking out a pair of scissor blades, the draper realized the woman's intent to kill her and immediately turned to flee before the tailor pinned her down in the shoulder. As Mei tried to call for help, Kayo stabbed her in the throat, silencing her. When Kayo continued stabbing her in the throat with each blade repeatedly, Mei tried resisting but failed, growing weaker with each stab. Barely breathing and unable to put up further resistance, Mei was finally killed with a stab through the chest.

Legacy
Immediately after her death, Mei was stripped of her torn kimono by Kayo, retailoring the red dress for herself; her naked corpse was later discovered in the main street the morning after her death and rumors quickly spread throughout Enbizaka. Detective Eikichi and Constable Soibee began investigating the case, inferring her murder was done with some sort of blade.

Kayo later murdered Mei's daughters, wearing all three women's articles of clothing while confronting Kai before murdering him as well shortly before her arrest. When asked why she had murdered the women while on trial, Kayo claimed it was because they were in an affair with her husband. She was soon after convicted and executed for her crimes. When Gakusha asked about Kayo's gibbeted head, the monk was told about her ghastly murder of Mei and the other Mirokus.

Personality and Traits
"Well, you, Miku, and Rin were safe due to staying at home. Fortunately, the fire didn't cross the river. That in itself was a good thing." "... But, a lot of people died."

- Kai and Mei

Mei was a kind and compassionate woman, dedicated to helping others over herself. Having been born to an interracial couple, Mei made no distinction between the native Jakokuese and foreigners from Maistia and Evillious, treating everyone with a charitable demeanor. This openness and generosity extended to business as well, readily requesting the help of Kayo Sudou despite theoretically being the Mirokus' business rival. She continued to maintain a friendship with the tailor even after the great fire, helping comfort and rehabilitate the woman as best she could.

Mei also loved her husband deeply, always wearing the red kimono he tailored for her for their wedding. Despite this, Mei demonstrated a mild fear regarding the fire, devastated by the amount of death it incurred and the fact her anti-social husband had gone out on such a night. She was similarly not above deceiving her husband, having dealt with Kayo while keeping their relationship a secret from Kai. However, Mei ultimately fled in terror from Kayo's apparent murderous intent up until her death.

Skills and Abilities
"I actually grew up in a family of doctors. It had an influence..." "Ah, so you're like Mei?"

- Bufuko and Mei's father

Due to her being the daughter of a doctor, Mei was knowledgeable about medicine, allowing her to assist her father in treating patients. As the madam of the Miroku family, Mei was proficient at business, running errands and the day-to-day public interactions with their customers with a dedicated fervor. Because of these skills and her likeable personality, the young woman demonstrated some adequate social skills and bedside manner.

Character Connections
Kai Miroku: Mei's husband. Mei loved Kai deeply and the two shared an affectionate relationship, the woman constantly wearing the red kimono he made her for their wedding. Despite this, she began to grow concerned over her husband's suspicious role in the Great Fire and his hatred of foreigners.

Miku Miroku: Mei's daughter. Mei loved Miku deeply.

Rin Miroku: Mei's daughter. Mei loved Rin deeply, and was watched over by the latter when she became sick.

Kayo Sudou: Mei's acquaintance and later killer. Mei maintained a cordial relationship with the tailor, impressed with her skill enough to occasionally request her to do work for them despite their rivaling businesses. After the fire, the woman tried her best to comfort Kayo and help her heal from her family's death before being murdered.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Mei's name is written as 冥 in Japanese kanji, using the kanji for "dark".
 * Her surname is written as 三六 in Japanese kanji, literally meaning "36".
 * The name Miroku is taken from the atomic number of Krypton; this is a reference to Crypton Future Media Inc., the company that produced Mei's representative Vocaloid.
 * Mei's name is partially inspired by the name of her representative Vocaloid, MEIKO, with both names sharing the first three letters.

Gallery
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