At nightfall, in the town's inn. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Because it was not a familiar place for herself, Alice just rinsed her body casually, and then changed into pajamas, planning to read a book before going to bed.

The current situation, whether it is a game or a dangerous situation, or whatever, cannot affect the girl's habits.

You can't sleep quietly without reading a book before going to bed.,In this respect, it's quite similar to the witch in the big library.。

Could it be that witches are all the type who like to read?

Of course, Alice didn't bother with this, she put the oil lamp in her hand, spread out the book, and put the Shanghai doll she brought next to the bed, and the whole person calmed down.

Pitfall...... Or is it a conspiracy?

It is now certain who has done something in this game, unable to quit or throw in the towel, unable to contact the outside world, and besides, the in-game injuries seem to be real injuries......

It can be inferred from this that there is a certain possibility of death, and it will be a real death.

According to the contents of the game's manual, the person who did the trick is likely to be the organizer behind the scenes.

However, it is completely unclear what the other party's purpose is, and what is the attitude towards the humans, youkai, witches, etc. who participate in the game.

Alice twirled a page in her fingers, staring blankly into the thick void of the table.

Thinking.

If it were that person, what would they think?

I couldn't help but think of this.

Recently, there is always a person in my mind, and whenever I think about it, I feel like I want to beat him up.

This guy appears like a witch in his own life.,It seems a bit too much to make a mess of your peaceful life.,But it's really a person who has caused a lot of trouble for himself.。

Of course, I also caused trouble to the other party, and I was conscious of this.

It's just that this guy seems to understand that Alice, out of the self-esteem of a witch, will not easily use magic to negotiate with humans, and always involuntarily begins to be arrogant in front of her, which makes people hate itchy.

But Alice is not the character who will step forward and beat the other party fat when she is angry, of course, at least she thinks so.

The other side also has its own arguments about this.

"I don't know how long you've lived, Alice, but it's clear that you're very young among witches. As for me, don't look at me like this, I can be regarded as the oldest of the human race. So, I'm an elder, you're a young person, and in that sense, we're really old friends. ”

It's a bit of a joke in it, but Alice can hear it.

It's nothing more than that the other party relies on his own life experience and experience to treat himself as a child. Only this Alice couldn't stand it.

As for Mo Ming's appearance, she looks like she is just an ordinary young man, so naturally she will not be bothered by Alice, a witch who lives in Gensokyo and is not bound by common sense.

The soul of the man showed a weariness like that of a centenarian...... No, it's better to say that the centenarian who was hanged and saved the ground in his dying life is.

If someone wants to use dark magic and needs a soul as a sacrifice, I am afraid that the soul of that level will not even be looked at.

I can't imagine what it would be like to wear a soul out like that, but Alice understands that living in Gensokyo is a very good choice.

Gensokyo is a place that has clearly been carefully considered when choosing a location for the Sage Yokai and the First Shrine Maiden.

This piece of water and soil has the effect of "nourishing the soul".

It is not a problem to stay here for a longer period of time, and the soul will be restored to the degree of vitality it deserves.

Alice frowned slightly.

Why did you suddenly think about this guy's problem?

But what that guy has been through before is not something he should pay attention to.

Rather, it's time to think about how you can teach this guy a lesson (in a non-violent sense).

Let him understand that witches can't be underestimated.

Speaking of which, this guy seems to be very good at magic in his speech. Could it be that because I care so much, I used to secretly study magic?

Listening to this guy, it seems like he has had a very miserable experience, because he wants to become strong and learn magic?

Speaking of which, Gensokyo has a more systematic understanding of magic, and the one in the big library counts one, and I count one, Marisa's words...... Count half.

Could it be that this guy approached me and wanted to practice magic?

Alice shook her head, and the hairball tied to her nightcap swayed.

According to this guy's character, if he really has this intention, there is no need to hide it for so long and not say it.

But also if you really want to learn magic, the elemental magic of the one in the big library is easier to get started than the one on your side.

Damn, I'm obviously confident in my magic...... Although in terms of genre, it belongs to the side branches.

Speaking of which, that guy seems to be the enlightenment teacher of the 'Hirori Shrine Maiden'.

It was the first Hakurei shrine maiden and the youkai sage who started the Gensokyo Great Enchantment, and almost everyone knew that there was some ambiguous relationship between the Hakurei witch and the youkai sage.

If that guy was the teacher that the monster sage specially chose for the Hirori witch, then why was he chosen?

Ability, or character?

No...... It's too bad to think about the personality, so it shouldn't be because of the personality.

Whether it's the deliberate display of IQ or the occasional arrogance, no matter how you think about it......

But to talk about ability...... He can only be regarded as a smart person among ordinary people, right?

“…… Wait......"

Since then, when have you been thinking about that guy again?

Alice, who had given up on herself, lay on the table.

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, followed by a knock on the door.

——————————

——————————

"Who?"

"Mo Ming. ”

"Do what?"

"Something to discuss. ”

"Tomorrow?"

"It's better as soon as possible. ”

"Oh. ”

Alice got up and looked at her with a little headache.

Loose pink pajamas, and no skin is exposed. But all in all, wear pajamas to entertain guests......

Forget it, etiquette or something, how could that guy care.

The knock continued: "Alice?"

I tried to find slippers under the table that I didn't know where I was kicked, and while putting them on, I responded weakly: "It's coming, it's coming." ”

When she opened the door, Mo Ming, who was holding a few books and dressed in formal clothes, exclaimed: "Oh, it's rude for Ellie to see a guest in her pajamas." ”

Alice's face darkened, intending to close the door.

"Hey, just kidding~" Mo Ming squeezed in.

"What are you doing?" Alice took a step back and looked at Mo Ming a little warily.

Something that I had never considered because I was a witch came to mind.

Is this guy trying to see it? At a time when he can't use his abilities now?

Thinking of this, Alice took another step back, and then her face gradually changed from pink to crimson, and finally even the roots of her ears and neck turned red.

As if discovering the awkward atmosphere in the room, Mo Ming shuddered, quickly straightened her face, and regardless of Alice's reaction, she sat on the other side of the table unceremoniously, put the book next to her, took out a few pieces of paper and a pen from her pocket and wrote and scratched.

Experience told Mo Ming that he couldn't look at the other party's face at this time.

This girl is embarrassed to put play on it.

But she couldn't talk seriously, because the girl's brain was in a state of panic when she was embarrassed.

I don't know how long it took. Alice sat back in her seat, directly across the table, looking at Mo Ming with an unkind face.

"Hey, I'm just kidding, besides, there's something serious, don't you have to do that?"

"Whose fault do you think it is?"

"My fault, I shouldn't have come so late, and I shouldn't have made an inappropriate joke," Mo Ming admitted her mistake very gentlemanly, pushing the piece of paper she had just written to Alice on the other side of the table, "These are what I want to talk about." ”

……

……

Although she didn't think she was inferior, Alice did admit that the guy sitting across from her was a bit powerful.

Whether it is his insight or reasoning ability, he is outstanding.

However, this does not excuse the other side from despising their own intelligence.

It's true that I've never used the power of a witch in front of this guy, but it's also because of the ability of ordinary people to bear it.

After all, after seeing the magic of witches, it is normal for ordinary people to become cowardly and weak, and even unable to communicate normally.

So, maybe it was subconsciously on my own and I didn't use any ability in front of the other party.

However, even if it is regarded as cherishing this 'less than friends' relationship, the concession on his side seems to make the other party a little too proud.

You have to show some strength, at least you can't fall into the name of a witch.

Alice took the piece of paper and nodded solemnly.

It's not just Mo Ming who is collecting and reasoning about intelligence, Alice herself is also doing it.

Then, the next conversation is the time to revive the name of the witch.

Looking at the piece of paper, Mo Ming spoke.

"Let me start with a few of my inferences. ”

"First, the world may not be made up out of thin air, it may be a real place. In other words, the people we deal with, they are likely to be living human beings. ”

"There are two reasons for this: although they also speak Japanese, they also use another local script and language. The Japanese language is only being spread as a fad, and although there are several countries where Japanese is the official language, I have not been able to find out the country of origin of the Japanese language, but rather the introduction of the Japanese language is related to a god called 'Eight Meanings' in a neighboring country. ”

"Obviously, if this is something like a completely immersive digital game, it's hard to imagine such a subtle cultural context, and I think this god called 'Eight Meanings' might be a breakthrough to investigate in a church in a small town. ”

Moreover, the hostess's mechanical answer is too deliberate, as if it is leading us to think that the world is fictional, as if we are deliberately leading us to preconceived artificial intelligence from the stereotypical answer mode of the hostess that the outside world is all fictional. ”

"The second point, about the rules of the game and the conditions for winning," Mo Ming took out a booklet from a pair of books next to the table, which was a rule manual that everyone had at the beginning of the game, "The reason why I didn't notice the use of the captain's badge written at the end of the page at first was because there were many empty pages on this booklet. ”

"However, I just went to Yume's room and asked her, and Yumu's booklet had the same number of pages empty. Now think about it, why are there so many of the same blank pages?" Mo Ming handed the booklet over, "Alice, look at the paper of this book. ”

Alice took it, her fingers gently rubbing the page.

"Kraft paper?" handed the rulebook booklet back to Mo Ming.

"Well," Mo Ming nodded, "this place needs your expertise. ”

"You mean ......"

"Can vellum be used as a medium for magic?"

Alice frowned in thought, then nodded.

"Compared to ordinary paper, kraft paper has a much stronger magical affinity. ”

"Sure enough," Mo Ming snapped his fingers, "I thought before, as a game, there are too few terms written in this rulebook, so if you guess it......"

"It's likely that these blank sections were reserved for the rules that were coming up. ”

What Mo Ming said seemed to make a lot of sense, and Alice was speechless.

Immediately, as if realizing something, Alice suddenly spoke: "You seem to have a lot of knowledge about magic?"

"Hey, yes?"

Alice nodded: "You can guess the term magical affinity by the blank pages on the brown paper, which shows that you are very sensitive to this kind of problem. ”

"Well...... Actually, I was studying the theory of magic for a long time. ”

"Oh? I really can't see it. "Ordinary people who want to practice magic can always have some high or low magical attainments if they can systematically get in touch with magical knowledge, coupled with years of practice and magic accumulation.

However, Mo Ming doesn't see any fluctuations in magic in this guy, even ordinary people have to study magic? purely out of interest? There are many things in this guy that even Alice can't understand.

Of course, now is not the time to think about these things.

"To sum up, as the game progresses, it is likely that new rules will appear here, and we will be the first to find out. The initial speculation is that the progress must be related to the assassination in the Viscount's Mansion tomorrow, and that we will have to be there to gather information, even if we don't help. ”

Based on the first two speculations, the following is the third speculation. ”

Mo Ming rummaged through the middle of a pair of books again, took out a piece of paper from the inside of the books and slid it towards Alice.

"This is ......" Alice took it, and then was shocked, "Magic Array?"

"Hmm. Mo Ming nodded.

"It's ...... Found out of the books of this world?"

"No, I drew this myself," Mo Ming shook his head, "Space Magic Array." ”

"Space magic?" Alice was shocked again.

The magic array belongs to the higher level of magic cultivation, but even so, if Mo Ming has studied it for three or five years, he may really be able to draw it.

But...... Space magic?

Alice believed that even the sick and weak witch who sat in the large library and was good at various magic theories could not easily complete the portrayal of the spatial magic array.

"What you just painted?"

"Well, I drew it after lunch. This brings me to the third corollary. ”

Alice was stunned.

Mo Ming continued to talk to herself.

"If the first point is true, then it's hard to imagine that the enchantment seal supported by Reimu is on such a large continent. In other words, I think it's more likely that this so-called seal was placed on us. ”

"Witches can't use magic, and monsters can't use demonic power, not because the rules are forbidden, but because their abilities are sealed. ”

"In other words, if we reunite the power of rules in this world, we may be able to use this ...... as well."

The eyes of the two of them fell to the magic array on the table.

"However, there is no suitable medium of magic. ”

Alice saw Mo Ming's gaze on the doll she had placed at the head of the bed - Shanghai.

"What are you going to do—" Alice stood up vigilantly, hiding the Shanghai doll under the pillow, revealing her head.

The doll's big eyes were teary and she looked at Mo Ming tremblingly.

"She's not a self-discipline doll, is she?"

"No, what's the matter, don't hit Shanghai's attention!"

"It's not for you to dismantle her, anyway, you don't have magic power now, you just use it with a magic core. ”

"Not allowed!"

"An, just install a new one after the core of Shanghai goes out! Which of our lives is more important than a magic core?" Mo Mingci eyebrows and kind eyes, and he was kind and seductive.

There was a long silence.

"You...... This demon!" Alice was about to cry.

……

……

The crushed magic core shone slightly, and Mo Ming glanced up at Alice, as if to say, "Look, glowing means that the rules of magic have not expired." ”

Alice didn't respond, puffing out her cheeks slightly.

Mo Ming fixed the paper on the table with nails, and used a knife to dig a small hole at the joint point of the circle.

Then, carefully fill it with tweezers to fill it with the magic powder.

The end of the circle was extended by five centimeters, connected to a red and white sphere fixed to the table.

That's right, it's the Yin Yang Jade of Reimeng.

This thing was brought in at the request of Reimu, but as soon as she entered the game, Mo Ming found that it had lost its effect.

It seems that the connection with the yin-yang jade that was built on himself has been severed.

However, if he can get in touch with Gensokyo again through the Space Magic Array at this moment, Reimu should be able to hear the news through the Yin-Yang Jade.

It's a matter of success or failure.

As the last pinch of powder was placed into the last joint point, the magic array suddenly reflected a silvery-white shimmer as a whole.

It is more dazzling than the oil lamp placed on the table.

Mo Ming quickly walked to the Yin Yang Jade, bent down, and said in a deep voice.

"Reimu, I'm Mo Ming, if you can hear it, immediately ask the village chief to stop the festival game and pick us up, this is very dangerous, we may lose our lives. ”

"Reimu, do you hear me?"

No response.

Mo Ming straightened up, frowned, and glanced at Alice.

“…… The teacher ...... "A voice suddenly sounded in the yin and yang jade.

It was Reimu's voice, anxious and hurried. However, there was no follow-up.

Mo Ming hurriedly bent down: "Reimeng, Reimeng, can you hear it?"

No response.

The light of the magic array also dimmed at this time.

Mo Ming looked a little depressed and sat back in her chair.

Looking at Alice, who was also sitting back in the chair, Mo Ming asked, "Are there any more dolls?"

Alice shook her head: "Considering the situation of 'not being able to use the ability' you said, I only brought Shanghai in. ”

Used as a pillow. Of course, there is no need to explain this to Mo Ming.

Not immersed in frustration for too long, Mo Ming quickly adjusted his mood.

"Obviously, the third point is that we have proved that the 'rules' are not forbidden, but that we are the ones who are sealed. ”

Extrapolating from this, the first point - the possibility of the real existence of this world has increased dramatically. ”

But maybe it's not good news. Mo Ming sighed.

Certainly not good news. Because this leads to the next very likely inference that death in the real world will really return to dust.

"The risk has increased," Mo Ming sighed again, "I hope Lingmeng heard the news from me just now, we can't sit still, the analysis still has to continue." ”

Alice was silent and nodded.

Mo Ming continued.

"The fourth point is an analysis of the actions we are going to take. ”

"The only thing we can take advantage of in a strange world is the Japanese language that we are familiar with. First of all, I had to investigate the people and customs here, and although the library was the first place to go, I inquired in the afternoon, and there was no library in this town, and it was only available in Daniel City, a one-day horse-drawn carriage ride from this town. ”

"But...... There is a church in this town, and I was puzzled by the Japanese language taught by the Yachiyi gods by the townspeople, so I wanted to inquire as soon as possible. ”

"If the assassination happens tomorrow during the day, we're scheduled to visit the church in the evening. ”

"In addition to this, the fifth point is that we need to inquire about the economic and political background of the country in which we live, which is very important, because we and our potential competitors are present in this world at the same time, and if we can get the 'momentum' first, we can be invincible. ”

"Potential?"

"Well," Mo Ming nodded, "economic advantages, social advantages, and political advantages can all be used." ”

"Don't forget, we're normal people now. It's not clear what this game is going to be, but if we can take advantage of the 'momentum' and put all the contestants except us in jail until the end of the game, who will be the winner?"

Alice was speechless.

"Sixth, about our allies. The Red Devil Pavilion is very clever in this regard, the two teams of Remilia and Red Misuzu will have two badges if they are one, and the chances of survival and victory will be greatly increased, and it is necessary for us to initially identify our allies. ”

Mo Ming picked up the list of participants and spread it on the table.

"First of all, I would recommend not teaming up with the two teams led by Yuka Kazami and Remilia. ”

"Kazami Yuuka is a loner youkai, but there is an unknown youkai in her team called 'Medixin', and I don't recommend contacting it. ”

"Remilia has merged with Hong Meiling, and at the moment when she has the powerful combat power of Hong Meiling, a boxing master, she must be on the strong side, we are attached to the past, and we may not necessarily be shared with intelligence, and we may even become victims at a dangerous moment. ”

"Hey, don't look at me like that, okay, it's my villain's heart, but if this game doesn't work well, you have to play with your life, and you have to defend against people. ”

"Gu Ming Dijue is also a big monster, and the only useful information I got from my previous investigation is - she is very unfriendly to humans, so it is recommended not to contact her. ”

"Marisa ...... Misty Rain" Mo Ming looked up and looked at Alice tentatively.

Alice high-fives with a fist.

"Sure enough," Mo Ming propped her forehead, "yes, I also think Marisa can be trusted, she's human, but ...... There are also three youkai in her team that I am not familiar with - Shotmei Marufumi, Kawatori Kawatori, and Inugotsu, and they ...... Are you familiar with it?"

Alice shook her head: "I've been in contact with these monsters, but I'm not very familiar with them. ”

Then he added, "But I can guarantee that Marisa can be trusted!"

Then he showed a worried look, as if he was worried about whether Marisa would be betrayed by the remaining three youkai.

After all, if it is not my race, its heart will be different, and it will be the same wherever it goes.

"Anyway...... Marisa plans to be among the alternate allies first, and it will be interesting to see if they will form an alliance. But you don't have to worry too much, Marisa is the captain of that team, and she must be the core figure, so there won't be internal problems so soon. ”

"Then, the ally I recommend is ......"

"This team of Kami-Shirasawa Keine and Fujiwara Meihong. ”

Mo Ming handed the list to Alice at the other end of the table: "Let's see if there are any well-behaved monsters in the remaining seven teams." ”

Alice took it, just looked around it roughly, and handed it back to Mo Ming.

"I don't know any of these monsters. ”

"Then naturally excluded, we are currently allied with the soul demon dream, this is a big battle force, the next step is to find Kamihiro Ze Huiyin and Fujiwara Meihong first. ”

"Unfortunately, after I inquired today, there are only three hostels in this town, and based on the situation between us and Youmeng, there are two teams in each inn, so Kamishirasawa-sensei may not be in the town, so it's best to buy a nearby map tomorrow if possible. ”

"If it's the Middle Ages like the world I know, there are many places where it is forbidden to draw private maps, so hopefully we don't have that bad luck. ”

……

……

After saying such a lot of words in one breath, Mo Ming cleared his throat.

"Well, is there any water?"

Mo Ming and Alice's eyes fell on the only cup on the round table at the same time, and there was half a glass of water in the cup.

That's the cup Alice had drunk before.

Alice looked at Mo Ming.

Mo Ming looked at the cup.

"Nope. ”

"Okay, then go ahead ......" Mo Ming shrugged his shoulders and sorted out the messy papers placed on the table.

Suddenly, Mo Ming stopped her movements and looked at Alice.

His expression was slightly serious.

"Alice, if you had the choice to save my life, how far would you go?"

Alice tilted her head.

"To what extent?...... What do you mean?"

"For example, would you save my life at the expense of a stranger?"

"No, it won't. Alice replied decisively.

Mo Ming nodded, and then said, "Don't get me wrong, I don't want to say anything, I just want to confirm each other's three views." ”

"If we are separated, it is necessary to anticipate each other's behavior, and to understand each other's three views. ”

"For example, if I'm in prison, I want to know if you're willing to kill the jailer to get me out, and if your character is going to do that, then I'm going to wait, and if I judge that you're not going to do it, then I'm going to risk enough to break from prison. As teammates, it is necessary for us to have a good understanding of our three views. ”

"Well, tell me about me, if I had the option to save you, I would try to save your life without sacrificing the child. ”

Alice looked at Mo Ming expressionlessly.

Mo Ming's eyes widened and he glared back.

"Hey, you don't think I'm a good person......"

Alice was silent.

That's right, Mo Ming, who risked her time to participate in the festival game to earn food because the goblins were starving, was indeed a good person in Alice's eyes before.

Mo Ming shook his head.

"There is no love for no reason, Miss Alice," Mo Ming smiled bitterly, "We are a team, so I can only give priority to ensuring the safety of you, the Great Goblin, and Qi Luno in the team." ”

"If necessary, even if it kills hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...... What does it have to do with me?"

I've never been a good person...... Never......

Mo Ming muttered to herself in her heart.

"Looks like I'm going to reposition your danger. There was no emotion in Alice's voice.

"I don't have any malice, Captain Alice~" Mo Ming dragged out the last note......

Then both men got goosebumps.

"Ahem, then, that's all I have to say, by the way, all the information I analyzed just now hasn't been told to the soul demon dream. It's hard for me to decide on this, so I'll leave it to you. ”

"Oh?" said Alice, curious, "and what else you can't decide?"

"Well, intellectually speaking, the information our team has should not be disclosed to any team, because no matter how we form an alliance, there is a great possibility of conflict as the game progresses, and if we don't reach each other's lives, then the information we analyze may cause us to suffer from it...... However, even so, I know the integrity of the child Soul Demon Dream. ”

"Since you've made me decide, you should know my answer, right?"

"So...... Tell her?"

"Heh......" Alice sighed, "you just can't defy reason, so you just want to answer my mouth." ”

"Maybe...... But taking a step back, I don't think even if life and death are at stake, the soul demon dream will not necessarily draw a sword against us. Fifty out of ...... Well...... Sixty percent of the time......"

"Mo Ming, not everything can be explained by chance. ”

"That's right. Mo Ming thought so.

"Especially human nature. ”

"Especially human nature. ”

The two looked at each other for a long time, and both sighed.

It seems that this night, the two of them have sighed all the sighs they should have sighed in their lives.

……

……

Before I knew it, it was late at night, and the conversation was almost over.

"Although the road ahead is bleak, we can't give up...... Let's hope we make it to the end of the game. Mo Ming made a concluding statement.

"I think we've won. Alice smiled instead.

On the first night of participating in the game, he obtained a lot of information through analysis and forensics, and then made the most appropriate measures based on his rational judgment that was almost cold-blooded.

With a demon like you, it's no wonder that those monsters who are used to competing by 'strength' can win.

Alice said secretly.

Although I am still very dissatisfied, I feel a little relieved when I think about it.

But if it's this guy...... You might even win.

Even the first place is ......

"It's not good to be too optimistic, I also have something I can't calculate," Mo Ming smiled and cleaned up the papers and books on the table, "So we need to gather the wisdom of the two of us, don't forget, weareateam!"

For a moment, Alice seemed to feel that this guy's smug face was not so hateful.

"Mo Ming. ”

"Huh?"

"You said before that you used to be in the intelligence industry in the outside world?"

"yes, what's wrong?"

"I didn't ...... Is this line of work hard?" this line of work is also quite handsome, Alice thought to herself, go back to the library and borrow a book on information analysis and calculation.

"If you want to say hard things...... Of course, it's hard, but if you have fun like me, it's not too ......."

In fact, Mo Ming has systematically studied with many retired top intelligence analysts in the four intelligence agencies of the US CIA, British MI6, Russian KGB, and Israeli Mossad.

I have to say that Mo Ming was carefully cultivated by his own department as an ace analyst, but unfortunately the world is unpredictable, and he finally cultivated a white-eyed wolf who jumped out of the plane and disappeared.

"Why do you suddenly ask this?" Mo Ming wondered.

"Nothing. ”

Mo Ming put away the documents and books spread out on the table, and said, "So, do you have anything else to add? ”

"Well, I'm almost going to rest. Alice nodded and got up.

Send Mo Ming out of the room and plug in the door.

In a trance, Alice suddenly remembered the information she was about to analyze with Mo Minglu just now, in order to combat Mo Ming's arrogance, and the result was ......

Whether I thought of it or didn't expect it, I was sorted out by this guy in one go.

Looking at the neatly arranged one-two-three-four-five question plan on the table, Alice collapsed on the bed in self-defeat.

Hey, leave it to that guy anyway......

At this moment, Alice the witch gave up thinking.