It was getting dark, and the drinkers at Hakurei Shrine had dispersed.

According to Yakumoshi, another one-man god was staying in a Western-style mansion on the Lake of Mist, and the young dragon god set off to visit his seniors.

The Sage Lady, who is now teaching the practice of the Hakurei shrine maiden at the shrine, seems to be deliberately hiding from Ibuki Suika, another great yokai among the drinkers, and seeing that the dragon god has left the table, Ibaraki Kafan is no longer polite, and cleanly withdraws the banquet, expelling the ghost who opened his mouth to drink on the grounds of the cultivation environment of the little reimu.

However, it didn't take long for a young man outside the shrine to peek inside.

And then it became the scene it is now.

……

……

Mo Ming, who had returned from the Forest of Magic, was kneeling at the tea table with her head down, while the Witch of the Hirori opposite was cross-legged, holding her chin with one hand, and gently tapping her other hand on the table.

Ibaraki Hua Fan on the side leaned against the wall, his hands around his chest, trying to understand the scene in front of him.

I did hear of a human male who had a master-apprentice relationship with Miss Reimu...... Could it be that I misunderstood each other's identities?

Although the human in front of him was already an adult man, he didn't feel the slightest 'power' from him, just like a mortal.

In this way, as the head of Hakurei Shrine, Miss Reimu is very young, but she does have considerable talent and strength in magic and cultivation - each generation of Hakurei shrine maidens will be personally taught by the yokai sage Yakumo Murasaki, so the accumulated knowledge may not be an experience that can be used for teaching.

Ridiculously, when he first learned that this little witch who was destined to become his disciple might have another teacher, there was a moment of a sense of competition that had not been seen for a long time, and Ibaraki couldn't help but shake his head...... It seems that it is just one more cheap apprentice.

It's just that there are still a lot of doubts, most of which are also because I have lived in seclusion in Youkai Mountain for too long, and I can only speculate on what I have seen and heard in the past.

Hakurei shrine maidens have always had a short lifespan, and since the first generation of Gensokyo, there has been almost no precedent for marrying and having children - although powerful, beautiful, and fleeting beauty, there is never a shortage of suitors, but in the past, whether it was the previous generations of Hakurei shrine maidens or Yakumo Murasaki, they were deliberately avoiding similar things from happening, and once someone could win the hearts of Hakurei shrine maidens, there was no doubt that it would be another tragedy.

Why does Hakurei Shrine live far away from the human village? In addition to taking a stand, it may not be without Yakumo's metaphor for the fate of Hakurei Shrine Maiden herself.

But now, a young man lives in Hakurei Shrine, and even if the current shrine maiden herself is not as aware as she should be, it is hard to imagine that Yakumo Murasaki would acquiesce in such a thing—sure enough, instead of teaching Reimu Miss to practice, you should first find time to talk to a colleague you haven't seen for a long time.

In a daze, the Hirori shrine maiden on the side somehow pulled out a booklet from under the table, which seemed to have been prepared in advance.

Once opened, flip and push under the opposite eyelid.

"Read. There was a powerful majesty in his cold words, and Ibaraki couldn't help but nod secretly.

Although he will become Miss Reimu's teacher, he will only be one yard to the next...... Reimu is teaching students as a teacher, and it is wise for him to keep his mouth shut and listen from afar at this moment.

"But, Reimu ......" The man glanced up at this side, then at the little witch.

"Why, I know I'm sorry? Why didn't you ...... in the first place?"

"I read, I read. ”

“…… First, don't put yourself at risk......"

“…… Second, you can't judge ...... without permission."

“…… Thirdly, one cannot leave the ...... for any reason and excuse"

It sounds like you're reading some of the terms of an agreement you've signed, but it's not hard to hear the kindness and concern therein.

It seems that even the Hakurei shrine maiden was a little embarrassed about the next content, and slapped the table before the other party finished reading.

"Know where you went wrong?"

"Got it. The man hurriedly got off the donkey, stopped his embarrassing reading, looked at his nose and his nose, looked at his heart, and made a gesture of admitting his mistake.

Ibaraki Hua Fan nodded again, it seemed that this apprentice of Reimu, although he had done something wrong, had a correct attitude of admitting his mistakes, and did not rely on his age or machismo attitude to contradict the master as expected.

"Ten pages of review book, small font. ”

“…… Ten pages, wouldn't it be a little ......"

The Hirori shrine maiden slapped the table again.

"It's too little, and I'm afraid it's not enough to write about compared to the countless sins I've committed. ”

"Don't play tricks, remember to write in detail the beginning and end related to Penglai Mountain Huiye in the content of the review. ”

"Hey, this ......"

"Huh, is there any story you can't tell?"

"No, no, ah, it's this time by accident," Mo Ming turned around and looked at the sky outside with an extremely awkward attitude, and suddenly said, "It's time to cook, there are guests in the shrine, so you can't lose your manners." ”

Lingmeng stared at Mo Ming for a long time and sighed.

Smile again.

"It's time for the newcomers to see the teacher's cooking skills. ”

Mo Ming was about to reply, when the Ibaraki fan on the side suddenly interjected with a surprised expression:

"Miss Lingmeng, as a cultivator, I have been in the valley for a long time, if I want to talk about cooking skills or something, I may not be able to do it......" After saying that, he glanced at Mo Ming, "but...... It's okay, so far, I can only sacrifice a unique life, two of you wait!"

The sound of clogs on the ground was far away, and Ibaraki Kafan left the main hall full of energy.

Mo Ming scratched his head and cast a questioning glance at Lingmeng, but the other party's expression was equally inexplicable.

"This is ......"

Reimu's eyes rolled, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Didn't you just say that, newcomer. ”

"What newcomer, who is coming to take over from the Witch of the Poryee?"

Lingmeng stood on tiptoe and knocked on Mo Ming's head.

"What are you thinking? It's a new handyman. ”

"It's not big or small," Mo Ming lifted Reimeng's sleeve and knocked her head with her backhand, "Miscellaneous servant, does she have a salary?"

"No, what?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing, it's not a widow but an uneven one, everyone is a handyman, if she has a salary, then I have to apply for a raise. ”

In fact, the shrine's finances have always been managed by Mo Ming, and if Reimu answers "I need a salary", maybe Mo Ming will have the idea of laying off employees in the next second.

However, handymen who don't need a salary、That's another story。

"Speaking of which, this young lady seems to be quite cute, and there are people in our hometown who make this kind of bun hairstyle......"

"Her name is Ibaraki Kafan," Reimu added, narrowing her eyes, "The immortal who calls herself Cihua Immortal is not a human. ”

"It's not human, but I guessed it," Mo Ming didn't bother to make a fuss about the so-called immortal and other titles after staying in Gensook for a long time, "I seem to see her right hand with a bandage, is it injured?

"Don't bother with Teacher Lao," Reimu pouted, "She was introduced by Zi, and she will probably teach me how to control the realm so that what happened that day will not happen again." ”

Speaking of this, Mo Ming became serious.

"Is the self-proclaimed 'mourning god' still alive?"

"Well, but now she's completely lost her control, and she's even given up struggling, and I'm holding her down, and she can't even speak. ”

"I still don't fully understand what happened, but I roughly understand it as a situation similar to the demons in the chivalrous novels......"

Reimu shook her head.

“…… Listening to Lan tell me, it was probably because I was not enough to practice the "realm", and although I had the qualifications for the god position, I had been safe until that day, when I was inspired by the power of the gods due to an accident, which induced me to undergo the test of becoming a god in advance. Then, because I voluntarily gave up this test and the killing intent I had towards my teacher, the god of calamity completely awakened, and dominated and suppressed my consciousness...... I thought that giving up the dominance of the body would make the killing intent disappear, but in the end, it still evolved into the most undesirable scenario......"

"Don't have a mustard, it's all gone. Speaking of which, so this bun ...... Ibaraki Kafan, is she here to teach you how to practice the 'realm'?"

"Well, Purple has the talent to be good at manipulating the 'realm', but because of this, he can't sum up any tricks, but this Ibaraki Hua fan, in terms of identity, is the same as Purple is a monster sage in Gensokyo, and when it comes to understanding the methods of cultivating the 'realm', no one in Gensokyo can match. ”

"It turns out that there are other sages in Gensokyo?" Mo Ming thought for a moment and decided to give up thinking, "Forget it, I'm not interested in their origins, but Reimu ......"

Mo Ming paused and said.

"If this bullshit god has to kill his loved ones to survive the so-called catastrophe, it's not appropriate, what do you say?"

"I never said I wanted to be a god in the first place," Reimu cast a skeptical look at Mo Ming, "Teacher, I don't know why I became like that, right?"

Mo Ming scratched her head in embarrassment, glanced at the bookcase on the side, got up and walked over, and sat back with a pair of shabby poker cards that had been circulated into Gensokyo from the outside world - the two-person poker has a limited way to play, but now it seems that the shrine has another person, and the new rules can be developed a little.

"I did such an excessive thing to other people's bodies without authorization, but I didn't even intend to take any responsibility, woo-"

"Ah, I remember, the so-called 'Kazu' seems to be able to communicate with words. Mo Ming shuffled the cards while changing the topic casually.

"Why, does the teacher have any special interest in that form of me? I can also call it or something, ...... mourning family."

"Stop," Mo Ming said, "I want to say that any rational existence can communicate through interests, and if you have time, you can try to talk to her." ”

"Hey, is there any need? She was going to kill the teacher, huh—" Reimu picked up her poker and looked at it, frowning.

Mo Ming shook his head.

"This god did want to kill me, but it was to make you despair, so that he completely dominated your body, and ultimately failed. If she had sense, she should have understood that it was too late and would not be in the shadows anymore. ”

"Of course, there should be no less vigilance, but it is not to the extent of seeking the skin of the tiger, and you take the initiative to extend an olive branch, maybe you will reap unexpected kindness from this god of calamity who has just been born with consciousness?"

"I understand what the teacher means, but I don't want to. ”

"Since neither of you can completely erase the existence of the other, shouldn't reaching a consensus be a win-win situation?"

"I don't. ”

"Sticking to past grievances will make it impossible for you to move forward," he said, with a flick of his index finger, another poker slid into the deck of cards in front of Reimu's table, "The existence of the god of calamity is a long-term threat to you, and if you can get her kindness, the threat will turn into a help, and it will be of great benefit to you." ”

"It doesn't matter what the benefits are," Reimu tilted her head, "she did something to the teacher, and she can't forgive." ”

Mo Ming thought for a while and nodded: "I'm just making a suggestion, it's up to you." ”

Thinking about it from another perspective, if it was Reimu who was hurt, Mo Ming would not choose to try to reconcile, so he was relieved.

"Before I left, Purple asked me to give a message to the teacher - 'The Hades of the Right and Wrong Hall and the Grim Reaper of the Santuchuan have already been settled, so if there is another physical death in the short term, don't worry too much about it. 』”

"Hmm......" Mo Ming picked up his cards and fell into deep thought.

It's like applying for a VIP membership for yourself in a place where you don't want to go a second time.

Reimu tilted his head: "The teacher doesn't seem to be very happy...... I've already confirmed with Purple that this is not a sign that the teacher will die unexpectedly again, but just a simple insurance measure. ”

Mo Ming fell on the tatami mat and sorted out his hand.

"Reimu, since I came to Gensokyo and saw all kinds of strange races, I often thought about a question - what is the fundamental difference between these immortals and short-lived races like us humans?"

Ling dreamed for a moment and replied, "Mastery of power?"

"Gensokyo is a place where youkai who have been forced into desperation by humans and have to live here, and the decisive difference is the disparity in strength between humans and youkai here, I'm afraid it's not right. ”

Reimu pouted.

Mo Ming stopped selling Guan Zi and sighed: "I have been dealing with the immortals many times tentatively, and I have found that they are not as incommunicable as the book says, and even most of them have quite clear minds and complete three views, I began to think about what is the difference between them and us...... This doubt was answered in an association with Kaguyahime of the Eternal Pavilion. ”

That is, the reverence for 'life'. ”

"Reimu you just asked me why I'm unhappy, of course, I don't think it's a hint that I might have been stabbed somewhere, but I think about it...... Is it really okay to go on like this? ”

"As you know, I am a very pragmatic and realistic person, and many times, if I know that I will not die, I am likely to behave completely differently than before—but whether it is indifferent to the lives of others or my own, if this attitude is carried out, it will gradually deviate from human nature, and in the long run, my personality may deviate from the direction of those 'inhuman'. ”

"I don't really understand, what is the teacher struggling with?"

"Huh, I thought I made it clear......"

"No, of course I understand what the teacher means," Reimu also began to sort out the cards in his hand, while also trying to sort out the language, "Isn't it nice that you know what is happening in you, and not that you are being imperceptibly unknowing? ”

Mo Ming thought about it and began to do sit-ups on the tatami mat.

"What you say makes sense, as long as I make a change of my own will, it is my own choice of path, but ...... I still feel uneasy," Mo Ming paused for a moment, as if reminiscing, and then sat up, "As a human being, I have seen too many cases of losing my humanity, even in the outside world. ”

"According to the teacher, I've lived alone in the shrine since I was a child.,I've long been an inhuman character!"

"No, whether it's Reimu's existence, or your personality and growth, it's more of a miracle to me, but I'm just a mortal in comparison. Mortals should look up to miracles, but they should not expect miracles to happen to them. ”

"So, don't you feel proud to be a miracle teacher?"

"Well, that's pretty proud. ”

Reimu also fell on his back at the other end of the tatami.

"Hmph, count yourself self-aware. ”

Mo Ming secretly reached into the discarded pile of cards allocated before the cards were dealt on the side, rummaging for the cards he wanted.

"Speaking of which, I have something to go out tomorrow, and I don't know how many days it will take to come back, I ......"

Reimu sat up straight again and looked at Mo Ming with an expressionless face. Mo Ming's outstretched hand to the deck froze in place.

"Reimu, don't do this, I'm a little scared. ”

"Ah, I see, it's the same this time, because 'Hakurei Shrine Maiden has her own position', so you don't want me to help you, so you can only sit in the hallway, thinking, 'It's a good day today', or 'Will it rain tomorrow'...... After all, it's always been like that. ”

"Reimu, I'll play my cards first. ”

Inexplicably threw a lot of cards in one round, and Reimeng's eyes widened, not because the opponent's cards were too good, but because his own cards were just able to slightly suppress Mo Ming.

"Looks like I'm going to win this time. ”

Because after playing the cards inexplicably, there are only three cards left in the hand...... After a lore stud was overshadowed by Reimu, Reimu, who also had only three cards left in his hand, two of which were the highest pairs, was already on the verge of victory.

"Reimu, do you remember when I was a kid and I asked you to carry a bucket?"

"Wasn't that a few years ago? Lingmeng pursed her lips, and then thought that it was a few years ago for herself, but for Mo Ming, it may have been a long, long time.

The sharp face couldn't help but become a little gentle.

"I said at the time that you had the ability to fill buckets of water into the kitchen, but in the end you were only trying on your own, and never counted the strength of me, as your teacher, who stood on the sidelines, as your help. ”

"At that time, people were still children, who would have thought of such a method of laipi!"

That's why there is such a lesson, so that you, who have been isolated since childhood, can understand that the connections you gain from interacting with people and youkai can become your own strength. ”

"Reimu, do you think that I, the teacher who will give you such a lesson, will not ignore the existence of the 'strongest' Hakurei shrine maiden by my side?"

Reimu's eyes widened: "Teacher means ......"

"Good steel is used on the blade, I have never neglected the power of Reimu, on the contrary, you exist as my last hole card, the so-called 'trump card', if you don't leave it to the most opportune time to play, isn't it meaningless?"

King fried.

The game is over.

Reimu was dumbfounded, then reacted.

"Teacher Raippi, our rules are that the big and small kings are to be put in the discard pile. ”

"Who knows, it's probably the wrong pile of cards, so it's a win-no-or. Mo Ming fooled around.

"So which of your confidantes got into trouble this time?"

"Be careful when you speak, it won't have a good impact when you pass it out. ”

"And who is it?"

"Alice. ”

……

……

"Alice is missing, and it is speculated that she may have left Gensokyo, and the reason for her departure may be directly related to me. ”

"What do you mean?" Lingmeng looked at Mo Ming suspiciously, "Teacher, you have abandoned the chaos from the beginning?"

"How do you speak?" inexplicably dissatisfied, "I don't think of a plausible reason yet, but if the reasoning is correct, it's likely that she's not going to the world I was born into, but to that ...... Svetness, in this case, my side must act quickly. ”

After all, Gensokyo has been in the past month, and nearly six years will pass over there.

Mo Ming had planned to start investigating immediately after leaving the Forest of Magic, but after thinking about it, the shrine still had to go back, so there was a conversation now.

"Who is the teacher going to ask for help?" After learning that she was an ace, Reimu seemed to have regained some fighting spirit and began to take the initiative to analyze it for Mo Ming, "In terms of ability and position, Marisa seems to be very reliable. ”

"Marisa is reliable, but this time I'm going to investigate in a place where it's inconvenient for humans to appear, so compared to Marisa, I'm going to go to the Earth Spirit Temple first and seek the help of the great youkai Gu Ming Jiju. ”

"......" stared suspiciously, staring—

"In terms of ability and reliability, Gu Ming Dijue is also the best choice. ”

"Why do I have the impression that the relationship between the teacher and this monster is not very good?"

Earlier, when the lie detector appeared at the shrine, and later at the New Year's Eve Festival, Mo Ming was avoiding this mind-reading monster that no one would like.

"It's true that I'm not good at getting along with a youkai who can always know what I'm thinking, not to mention that we had a lot of grudges at the festival of the game of wisdom before, but one yard to another, although it is ridiculous to use the psychology of human beings to profile the character of a monster who was born from extraordinary knowledge, it is necessary to investigate every possible potential enemy, and in fact, after I have gathered information about her from various aspects, I have found several surprising places-"

"Koaki Jijue is a very open-minded and unruly youkai, although she has a grudge against her in the game of wisdom, but she does not come to seek revenge in the traditional sense, and although she still has a grudge against the things in the festival, she seems to be more concerned about 'I defeated her' than 'I killed her' - in short, a youkai who can easily face it if you are open-minded...... Of course, since I'm not such a person, it's natural to avoid her. ”

"But that doesn't stop me from admiring her, I'm a youkai who likes this kind of character from the bottom of my heart. ”

"Strong and persistent, independent and actionable, well versed in the world but naïve, rare...... Although I always see in the inhuman that there is no human sparkle, it is not necessarily a bad thing. ”

"So I'm going to get acquainted with her, with genuine good intentions...... It's just a pity, although I ask myself some experience in character profile, but occasionally there will be a little mistake. ”

"A while ago, I went to the Earth Spirit Temple to ask for help, I really thought she would lend a helping hand to me, but in fact I was refused...... I was a little surprised. ”

"Gu Ming Jiju, who can read minds, should be able to easily know that I am neither condescending sympathy nor admiration from the mountains, but a direct appreciation—not a hasty understanding when I don't know enough about her, but a conclusion drawn through the synthesis of information gathered from various aspects such as dependent origins, and Gu Ming Jijue is the great monster I admire. I thought she could understand the feelings. ”

"And then?" said Reimu, with a solemn expression.

"Then I ate behind closed doors. ”

"Poof, hahahaha, ahem," Reimu coughed with a fist, "I mean, it's a pity." ”

"Indeed, in addition to being surprised, I also feel a little regretful, I thought that in the face of the mind-reading monster, unfalse sincerity should be the magic weapon for victory, but I didn't expect the other party to refuse my request for help on the grounds that there was no room for negotiation. ”

"So why is the teacher still looking for her?"

"Teacher, I've never taken face seriously...... For the most part. On the contrary, I got used to eating and eating, and in my reasoning, Gu Mingdi might have been depressed by that rejection of my request, which could be roughly understood as a feeling of guilt, even though she hadn't actually done anything to be sorry for me. ”

"Teacher, you should know that these thoughts you are thinking about now will be exposed without exception when the time comes, right?"

"Reimu, do you think that A said bad things about B to his face, or A said bad things about B behind his back, which one can ruin the relationship between the two more?"

Ling dreamed for a moment and replied, "Do you speak ill of people behind your back?"

"The reality is, not necessarily. When A says something bad about B behind his back and B hears it, the bad feeling he feels is limited to how much B himself cares about the bad word. ”

"If A accidentally says something bad about B in front of him, then in addition to B's affection for the bad word itself, A will think, 'It's over, B will hate me if he knows that I said bad things about him,' so A's opinion of B drops even more...... At the same time, B will think, "When A says this to my face, I must know that I will have a bad feeling for him", and he will also feel bad for A because of this mentality...... This seemingly ridiculous chain of suspicion comes from the filthy heart of human beings. ”

Seeing that Lingmeng seemed to be in deep thought, Mo Ming suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, I never mind owing favors to others by your teacher," he thought for a moment and added, "Most of the time I don't mind, after all, if you accept the help of the other person, the other party will think that you have a crush on her, and the benefactor will also have a crush on you because of the idea itself...... The reason why I say these digressions, is to hope that Reimu you pay more attention to yourself, if a boy asks you for help in turn, and you help him, it seems that the other party owes a favor in vain, but this kind of psychology is likely to act on you, and when the relationship is fermented, it will be troublesome, don't be recruited The Tao of these young people in the village is ...... After all, as the old saying goes, suffering is a blessing, and that's why. ”

"No wonder the teacher always seems to be everywhere, it turns out that he doesn't always offer help, and occasionally asking for help can also make the benefactor feel good," Reimu thought thoughtfully, "Could it be that the teacher used this trick to win the hearts of many girls?"

"Your teacher and I are very bitter in love, and it's better to talk less about this kind of topic," Mo Ming changed the topic, "The chain reaction caused by the suspicion just now is based on the premise that human hearts cannot communicate with ......each other."

"Gu Ming Dijue has the ability to read minds, so it is most convenient in this regard...... Sometimes it's too hard for humans to prove their sincerity, but here, it's so easy that you don't even have to do anything but appear in front of the mind-reading monster. ”

"But that doesn't hide the fact that the teacher is planning to use her guilt for you to blackmail you into helping, right?"

"What do you say, am I the kind of person who thinks that the other party is guilty and will go to threaten me? No! Even if I feel worthy of me, I will still ask her for help, haha, the stinky shame is just below. ”

Lingmeng didn't smile like Mo Ming, but had a meaningful expression.

In her heart, she thought about Mo Ming's unexpected conclusion, but in the end she didn't put it into words.

"Gu Ming Dijue will also refuse the teacher this time, and the reason for refusal is not even different from the first time...... Teacher, you don't understand anything. 』

……

……

Seeing the twilight deepen, the two of them remembered that the newcomer who cooked seemed to be gone.

Just as he was about to ask a question, there was a sudden explosion sound in the direction of the kitchen...... Mo Ming and Lingmeng glanced at each other, got up together and ran towards the precious kitchen holy land.