......

......

Third

......

Return home from the shrine, tidy up, and set off immediately.

On the way to the old hell, Miss Witch can't help but think about the conversation with Miss Witch at the shrine.

It seems to be conclusive, but in fact, the speculation is based on subjective speculation about Mo Ming's personality, and the core theme is nothing more than - it is basically impossible for this guy to be seriously ill and directly explain it to Lingmeng, since he admits that he is seriously ill, it is likely that something more tricky will happen.

This speculation is not objective...... But that doesn't prevent it from becoming a possibility.

Alice had a slight guess that she didn't tell Reimu - Mo Ming and Kaguyahime, who lived in the Eternal Pavilion, seemed to have an unusual relationship.

When he went to visit Kamibai Ze Huiyin, who was recuperating from his illness, he had asked about the aftermath of the New Year's Eve Festival, and asked why Penglai Mountain Hui Ye acted with Mo Ming, but Bai Ze Youkai didn't answer, but smiled very subtly.

What was the meaning of that smile?

All in all, Miss Reimu shouldn't have an accident when she goes to the Eternal Pavilion, right? Even if Mo Ming really found an excuse to hide in the Eternal Pavilion and Kaguya, it has nothing to do with herself...... No, it involves Yakumo Zi's Shikami, and it's an excessive excuse like being seriously ill, Mo Ming, this guy, is not like this.

Thinking about it this way, the probability of something happening is slightly higher, the probability of hiding in the Eternal Pavilion and Kaguya Ji is slightly lower, and the probability of recuperating from a real serious illness is the lowest, probably ...... Let's open it on 631, Miss Witch herself doesn't know how to get this ratio.

Alice deeply realized that she had been with Mo Ming for a long time, and her thinking mode was a little far away from Mo Ming, so she stopped her soul wandering outside the world and began to discern the direction of the Earth Spirit Temple.

The old hell in front of me is still a dark scene, desolate as far as the eye can see. Passing through the sky above the old capital, after a while, I came to the door of the Western-style hall called the Earth Spirit Hall.

Drop, knock on the door.

The door was opened by a youkai that had never been seen before, with long brown and black hair tied up in a single ponytail, a green and white skirt, and suspicious decorations on the chest and left and right hands.

"Hello, Master Jue said she wasn't there. ”

Before Alice could speak, Miss Youkai seemed to remember something, and suddenly took a step back in surprise, and muttered to herself: "No, this is what I want to say to that human, and this is not what I said to the stranger I don't know, what I should say is ...... What is it? ”

Alice waited quietly for the monster to recall what her master had said.

"There's no interest in the reception. Lingwu said solemnly.

"Drinking party?" Alice tilted her head, "I'm a witch who lives in Gensokyo on Earth, and a friend of Kominji has entrusted me to visit her. ”

Lingwu Lukong suddenly exploded and said vigilantly: "You are lying, how can Lord Jue have friends?"

Youkai, who have always had an empty head, will occasionally say a sentence or two of reliable inferences.

"Ahem, that ......" was about to explain, when Alice saw someone approaching behind the monster girl in the house.

"Bang" underground、The head of the monster girl was knocked hard by someone who came.,And she just shrank her head.、It seems that this kind of corporal punishment is quite common for her.。

"Hello, I'm Flame Mao, this is Lingwu Lukong, and we're both Jue-sama's pets...... Stupid Akong, how many times have I told you, the drinking party was said to the guests with long horns!"

"Woo......" Lingwu Lukong curled up behind the Flame Cat and said no more.

In the past two days, Lord Jue's mood has been very bad, so that the two pets are also in a bad mood - the already small number of servants and pets in the Earth Spirit Hall have all been sent out to look for traces of his sister Gu Ming Dilian within the scope of the old hell, and Ah Yan has just come back to report the results of the search without progress, and he encountered this scene after being driven out of the room by Lord Jue.

Flame Cat Rin rolled his eyes, looked at the blonde witch who was still waiting for him to speak at the door, and asked, "You just said, Lord Jue's friend?"

Alice nodded: "Originally, everyone made an agreement to communicate frequently, but Miss Jue has not appeared for many days, and everyone is a little worried about her." ”

Alice looked at the youkai coming from behind, with long red ponytail hair and shaggy ears, slightly ...... I kind of want to touch it.

Ah Lian still looked skeptical: "Lord Jue has made friends?"

"Bang" underground、It's the back of the head of the flame cat.。

Turning his head, he saw Gu Ming Dijue on the stairs of the main hall, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "Miss Alice is a guest. ”

......

......

Led to the study on the second floor, Alice knocked on the door.

Knock.

"Please come in. ”

Inside, the pink-haired girl sat behind a desk with the familiar pair of headphones.

"Hello, Miss Kommingi. ”

"Hello. ”

"Does this work without wearing it on your head?" Alice looked at the headphones on the table.

"I want it to work, and it works. ”

"Is it working now?"

"Of course, because I predicted that reading what was going on in your head would make me embarrassed. Gu Ming Dijue smiled calmly.

"Ah Qiu, Suzu and Chestnut asked me to bring greetings and ask why there had been no contact for several days. ”

"My call puppet was stolen. ”

Alice nodded, "I see." ”

"I'm doing my best to track down the suspect and I've locked it in. ”

"Is it possible to recover it?"

“...... I'll do my best. ”

Alice, who had long expected this possibility, took out her doll and put it on Gu Ming Dijue's table.

"Because of the production process, I can't make a new doll in its original state for you for the time being, so use mine first. ”

Ah Qiu, Xiao Ling, Chestnut, Alice, Gu Ming Dijue, the five people's call dolls are all cartoon images of their own two-headed bodies, and Gu Ming Jijue lost his own, and the shape of the small puppet on the table is Alice.

Gu Mingdijue thought for a while and shook his head: "I can't accept ......"

"I didn't give it to you, 'If you lose the puppet, make a new one', as a puppeteer, I can't say anything so cruel to a puppet," Alice smiled, "Use mine before you find it, remember to return me." ”

I hesitated for a long time...... Gu Ming Dijue finally nodded.

"Thank you so much. ”

"So...... Say goodbye first, and then use a puppet to get in touch. ”

Alice turned, intending to leave.

"Although this may be redundant, Miss Alice," Gu Ming hesitated, but still called out to the witch who was about to push the door, "I...... I lost the puppet, and I really don't have the face to tell you about it, and I haven't been in touch for a long time, which makes you worried. ”

"It's really redundant, because everyone guessed it," Alice laughed, "Well, my dolls are here for you, and if you want to apologize, you can tell them yourself." ”

"Okay, one more thing. ”

"Huh?"

Gu Ming Dijue stood up from his desk and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on the side.

Under the dim sky, in front of the Earth Spirit Temple, she pointed in a certain direction and said:

"Repay the favor and go see your partner before you go. ”

......

......

Fourth

......

The hut, which is more than two meters long and more than one meter high, is quietly located in a corner of the garden, and it does look like it is just a pet kennel, although it is a little larger, but when you think about the several humanoid pets in Miss Jue's house, you can understand it.

Alice approached slowly, the curtain open.

The inexplicable person in the low room was lying in front of a folding table writing something with a pen, the oil lamp lit on the table was swaying with the cold wind blowing in, Mo Ming turned his head and saw the witch lady half-squatting at the door.

"It looks like our president has a new home. Alice looked at the small room, which was not large enough for a folding table and a bunk on the floor.

"How can the seven-colored puppet make you in the mood to come to the humble house? Mo Ming unhurriedly put away the pen, closed the book, and then pressed the book under the floor.

"Hiding here in broad daylight?"

"Daytime...... Is it daytime now? You can't tell the difference between day and night in hell," Mo Ming smiled bitterly, "just write something, I'm going to die." ”

After some inquiry, Alice leaned into the room, as if intending to squeeze in and sit down, and then froze.

"It stinks. ”

"I haven't showered in days...... I advise you not to come in, there is nothing to entertain you here. ”

"Well, I'm not here to be entertained. Alice eventually got into the kennel, sat down with her legs curled up against the wall, and pressed her skirt.

Looking at Mo Ming through the oil light, her hair was a little disheveled, and she was barefoot in the quilt, but she was in good spirits and her eyes were bright, and she didn't look like she had been abused.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Alice asked in a faint tone.

"I'm probably dying. "Since Alice is here, there's nothing to keep secret.

"What?!"

"I don't know. ”

"No reason?"

"Heaven or something, no one can say for sure. ”

"What is the Heavenly Machine? Would you believe this?"

"He was unbelieving...... Before I entered Gensokyo, I didn't believe in demons and gods and immortals. ”

Alice was silent.

Whether it is the divination of yin and yang sorcerers or the astrology of magic, there is actually a complete system, but this is actually not very useful knowledge, and often thinks that they have insight and do useless work, and eventually gradually cease to circulate.

"Have you ever read a short story written by Sutaro? An immortal, because of his insight into the way of heaven and knowing that he had a catastrophe coming, he did a series of defensive spells, and even severed all relatives and friends who were in contact with her, as a result, the spell she arranged made her powerless to return to the sky, and because she broke off the relationship with her friends, no one rescued her, and the catastrophe did not come after all, but because she was trapped for a hundred years, she died in despair and loneliness in the enchantment she arranged. ”

"Huh...... I've seen it, what's wrong?" I didn't expect Alice to mention this novel, Mo Ming couldn't help laughing - Xiao Ling asked him for inspiration and direction in writing at the beginning, and this book was also among them.

"If the so-called 'fate' is real, what's the use of you hiding here?"

"Well," Mo Ming smiled, "the plot of that book...... Actually, it was changed, and I saw that the original version of the story was that the immortals asked for help from relatives and friends. The immortal's popularity is very good, and relatives and friends help her resist the coming calamity, and finally ...... After the catastrophe, the relatives and friends of the immortals all sacrificed to save her, and she was the only one standing around everyone's corpses and survived. But this lonely world was so boring, and then she realized that this was her own fate, and finally committed suicide. ”

Alice was silent for a moment.

"If there is a version of what you said, it seems to be more exciting than the one I saw. ”

"Definitely. As you said, there is "suspense", "conflict", "despair", "sublimation", and "moving" in the original story...... It's a good story, but it's a pity that it's not a fairy story. ”

"Huh?"

"It's just the story of an 'ordinary person' who can use immortal magic and has the lifespan of an immortal. ”

"You mean ......"

"The original story, although I just said so many advantages, but the only thing missing - the protagonist's "enlightenment" as an immortal. ”

"According to the original storyline, this book may be more sympathetic and resonant, but I personally think that the immortal is not qualified. ”

Alice thought for a moment and nodded: "So Sutaro finally chose to write a new route, and the immortal confessed and said goodbye to his relatives and friends and left, and he was silently preparing alone, although he still died in the end from being cocooned, but when she finally died, the relief she carried was the consciousness of being an immortal...... Is that so?"

It's a pity that because of the change in the plot, the short story that might have been a big hit has become a reading that only a few people can understand and be moved by. Mo Ming sighed.

Suzu is a child after all, and she needs recognition for her work, and how much the novel is sold or widely circulated is the most intuitive manifestation of recognition.

"Suzu didn't write to become a so-called best-selling author. ”

Mo Ming nodded: "This is natural, Xiaoling is ambitious, otherwise her works would not be widely circulated outside the village now." ”

Compared with Ah Qiu's realistic style, Xiao Ling's style is more "fairy", and the works of the two have a group of loyal fans in the monsters outside the village, especially in the monster mountains.

Nothing to say for a while.

Mo Ming looked around, there was only one kettle in this room, which he used to drink water on weekdays, and there were no snacks and the like, and he sniffed and sniffed, but he didn't smell the smell, maybe he had been here for a long time. I couldn't help frowning...... It is a sin to be inconsiderately entertained.

"So, you want to say that you just did something similar to this immortal?"

"If the catastrophe is unavoidable, why don't you run away? I am like a time bomb, and I don't know when I can ...... Boom, of course, you have to stay away from relatives and friends. ”

"Why don't you talk to us?"

"Since you have done it, you have to leave no way back, looking ahead, wouldn't it be meaningless, you're welcome, you are also one of my relatives and friends who I don't want to be involved. ”

"......" Alice was stunned.

"I ......," Alice wanted to say something, but it was stuck in her throat.

"Just kidding, I'm not someone who takes other people's kindness for donkey's liver and lungs. ”

"What do you mean?" the witch didn't even recognize the stalk as much as Suzu and Ah Qiu.

"Yes, I did it wrong, because Miss Alice you are worthy of trust. ”

“...... Hum. ”

"Don't be too pessimistic, there's about a week left, and nothing happens before the end of February, which means it's a false police, and I'm going to spank Yakumo's blue ass when the time comes. ”

"Isn't that sure something will happen if you say that?"

"Who knows. "The flag is repeated over and over again, and between the broken stands, it is useless to say more.

"Natural Disaster?...... Or is it a man-made disaster?" Alice asked.

"It's a little bit.、But it's hard to say.,Yakumo Lan told me that if I say the so-called heavenly machine.,There may be changes.,Maybe there will be some new variables that I don't know at all.、So、For the time being, it's better to know in my own mind.。 ”

"Is the future arranged?" asked the witch who lacked human feelings and sophistication.

Look at what you asked, Mo Ming rolled her eyes.

"I told Little Lingmeng that I went to the Eternal Pavilion...... If the worst happens, at least, Little Reimu will go to the Eternal Pavilion to find me at the time agreed with me. ”

"You made an appointment with Forever Pavilion?"

Mo Ming shook her head slowly: "I believe Kaguya, she knows what to do at that time." ”

"You and Penglai Mountain Kaguya ......"

"The story begins a long, long time ago, about a thousand years ago. ”

"Here we go again......" Alice sighed.

"See, one of the highest levels of lying, you know that you are going to tell the truth, but you let others think that you are telling a lie. ”

Alice thought for a moment, nodded, and didn't continue the topic.

"So, is the Eternal Pavilion more worthy of trust than my side?"

"Ahem, the truth is that I went to the Eternal Pavilion to recuperate for three weeks because I was sick, and this little reimu may be accepted, but I want to say that I will stay with you for three weeks......"

"Okay," although his own western-style building also has a guest room, but after all, he is a lonely man and a widow...... No, it's because I'm not a doctor, "Why did you come to the Earth Spirit Temple?" I thought I knew very well about your relationship, so I was curious why you were still alive, instead of being hung up by Miss Jue and hung on the eaves to dry?"

"Tsk, speaking of this," Mo Ming looked unhappy, "I still looked away, I thought that Jue Youkai was a big man with a big mind, but I didn't expect to end up thinking about it...... Although they did take me in, they only let me live here. ”

"This ...... Not really. Alice said suddenly.

"How?"

"Miss Jue lost something a few days ago, and from her recent mood and the fact that she sent her pet out to look for it for several days, she knew that it must be very valuable to Miss Jue. ”

"Oh...... No wonder I suddenly came to me again a while ago, it turned out that I was suspected of stealing something. ”

"But Miss Satoru herself has not left...... Originally, it would have been possible to go to Gensokyo to find it herself, or go to Gensokyo to explain the situation to us, but she didn't leave. ”

"You mean to ...... Jue Youkai is sitting in the Earth Spirit Temple, and is it taking care of me?"

"After all, no one knows what will happen to you, and the mind-reading monster can't hide anything. ”

Mo Ming fell into thought and was silent.

"When I met Reimu at the shrine today, she wasn't in a good state either. ”

"Reimu is sick?!" Mo Ming couldn't sit still.

"No, it's just that my face isn't good...... After all, my favorite teacher ran away. ”

“...... I'm sorry for her. ”

"Out of respect for you, Miss Shrine Maiden deliberately did not suspect your clumsy lies, but it also made her physically and mentally exhausted. Is this even in your plan?"

"I ...... I'm sorry for her, I owe too much, and I can't help but be a little ...... Dead pigs are not afraid of boiling water. ”

"......" is what this means, Alice does not know how to answer.

Shouldn't you tell this guy that Reimu has gone to the Eternal Pavilion to find him? It seems that this guy thinks he is well prepared, and telling the truth will inevitably hit him.

"I have a question, since you have a relationship with Kaguya-hime, why didn't you hide there in the first place?"

Mo Ming untied the kettle, took a sip, screwed the kettle, and sighed.

"It's a bit complicated...... Overall, because I was embarrassed to go to the Forever Pavilion. ”

"Excuse me?" looked in disbelief...... There would be something he was embarrassed about, could it be that this guy burned a torch forever before?

"There are some things that have to be worked out eventually, but I don't want a change of position until then, especially ...... There is such a thing as owe favors. ”

"Sounds like it could be a long story?"

"Unfortunately, today is not a good time to tell a story. ”

"Tsk, I'm not enough, I want to put your head against the wall. ”

Mo Ming smiled bitterly: "Do we have to discuss this topic? Maybe the head of the Earth Spirit Hall is hiding in a corner to watch a good show right now." ”

"What's so terrible about being open-minded? It's because you have too many flowers and intestines that you ended up where you are today. ”

"Makes sense. ”

"What the hell are you...... For what purpose?" asked Alice.

"What do you mean...... Of course, it's just my personal preference. ”

"For example...... God, apart from external reasons, what are you helping her for? because she is beautiful, or is she virtuous?"

Mo Ming shrugged: "It's not surprising at all, many humans can't help but be attracted to beautiful things, and so am I." ”

"I don't understand what you call beautiful. ”

"Haha, of course, most of the aborigines don't have such a consciousness, and it's a matter of course for you - it's either a beautiful woman at the level of the city, pure, cute, fresh, and refined, etc., etc., please forgive me for living for so long and still not being particularly good at praising women, but that's basically what it means, it's originally a rare enough beautiful girl, and she has both ability and integrity, and this alone is already too rare, so instead of asking me 'why', it's better to ask 'why not'? Most of the people who lived in the same era as me would probably be like me, and if they knew that Gensokyo was in such a difficult situation as a cute girl here, they would probably also lend a hand. ”

Alice thought for a moment.

"Doom God, Miss Shrine Maiden, they have done a lot for human beings, and they are indeed existences worthy of your human respect, but ......"

"But?"

"You...... We weren't familiar with it before the Wisdom Game Festival, let alone being impressed by my morality. ”

"Ha," Mo Ming laughed, "Alice, your understanding of virtue is too narrow. ”

"How so?"

"What kind of place is Gensokyo? isolated, Taoyuan Township?...... Ahem, if it weren't for so many cute girls here, this place would definitely not deserve this name. The realm where demons and monsters are nurtured is definitely not a blessed land for human beings, but the so-called 'poor mountains and bad waters'. ”

"So what?"

"As recorded in "Gensokyo Origin", in the past, this great barrier was not as peaceful as it was in the past two years, and in Gensokyo, where the environment of the jungle has continued to this day, I have kindness to all the ghosts who "can do evil without doing evil...... What's more, living alone in the Forest of Magic never causes trouble to others, and even sends lost villagers back to a certain witch lady in the world, which is a well-deserved virtue. ”

“...... Falsely praised. Alice thought that her face had already learned to be thickened by someone, but today it seems that there is still a lot of practice, "Is this what Miss Aqiu's "Origin" records about me?"

"I'll have to keep this a secret, after all, it's an unpublished book, but then again, the reason why I'm teaming up with you is because ......"

I like to say some bad things when others are immersed in a certain relationship to ruin the atmosphere, which has always been Mo Ming's bad taste. But he was about to say, 'It's because you're beautiful,' but suddenly he began to realize that it wasn't wise to say it and stopped, even though it wasn't true.

"Because of what?" Alice wondered.

"Because ......" Mo Ming was about to say, "Because at that time I thought it didn't matter who I teamed up with", but suddenly realized that this statement was not wise and stopped again, although this was also true.

"What's so hard to say?"

"Ahem, Alice, humans are very complex creatures, and a lot of times, they do things for more than just one reason, and I was just thinking about which one of them would be better to say. ”

"Why don't you say it all?"

"Say it all and say none, I choose the latter, so, end the topic. ”

"Cut. Alice, who seems to realize that the bottom line is not good, says that she doesn't care at all.

"I have something I want to entrust you. ”

"Hmph, you might as well go to the Eternal Pavilion, they are much more reliable than me, and they are more suitable for you to trust Gu and leave your last words. ”

"It's better for you to do this, no, only you can do it. ”

“......”

"Please, Miss Alice. ”

Alice: "How do I feel like I've been being asked to do things all day?"

Mo Ming: "This shows that your growth is already a reliable and mature witch who is reliable enough to entrust important things." ”

"Watch your tone, young man. Alice said old-fashionedly.

"Please forgive me for being abrupt, Your Highness Alice Margotroyd," Mo Ming smiled, "If it was the Alice I knew at the beginning, of course I wouldn't have entrusted you with anything, but if you think about it, this 'if' won't be true at all—you are now in this place because you are recognized and trusted by everyone, aren't you?"

......

......

Ascending from the passage back to Gensokyo from the old hell, Alice recalls the conversation with the right talent.

yes、I'm no longer the ignorant witch I was at the beginning.。

Someone to be trusted...... Is it?

Leaving the old hell and returning to Gensokyo, standing on the earth, Alice looks up at the afterglow of the setting sun and suddenly rises into the air.

Overlooking this land, which had only been in her life for a short time but was already very familiar, Alice Margotroyd, a witch from the demon world, did not know what to think.

Standing like this, staring blankly at the scenery beneath the clouds in the distance.

When the afterglow fell, the slightly serious expression on his face suddenly softened.

With a talent that humans can't fathom, Miss Witch has grown up with an incomparably swift intellect - even so, she fell into hard thinking, perhaps just like humans, encountering some unsolved life problems that she occasionally faces.

But the bright smile on display now seems to indicate that it has its own answer.

Alice turned around and flew towards the old hell.

......

......

The old hell was as good as ever, day and night, and the temple of the earth stood peacefully under the dark red sky.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the study on the second floor, the big monster Gu Ming Dijue stood by the window and faced the direction of the garden quietly distracted.

Ever since Alice left, she had been standing like this, as if thinking about something.

Suddenly, she looked up slightly and saw Alice falling from a distance.

Miss Witch has returned.

The mind-reading monster didn't look puzzled, but it wasn't due to her ability to read minds—sometimes, even mind-reading couldn't figure out people's minds, and sometimes, they couldn't do it without mind-reading.

Miss Alice is back—to confirm this, Gu Mingjue smiled, then sighed, and slowly pulled the curtain in her hand, and half-closed the window.

The light in the study dimmed slightly, and she muttered to herself.

"The big monster of the ego, the impersonal egoist. ”

"It's good to just do what you want to do, but in the end, you're bound by the so-called position. ”

"Love, is the unconscious you are looking for a chaotic thing that contains true meaning?"

No one answered her. My sister isn't here.

The big youkai don't get tired, but even so, they feel a little tired.

It's time to rest for a while, Gu Ming thought to himself, and closed the curtains completely.