"So I understand that this is a treasure that is too precious to be valued by all three of you...... And then?"

Marisa raised an eyebrow and said with interest.

"Why don't we open it up and take a look?"

Hearing Marisa's words, Inugotsu just shook his head indifferently and slowly pushed the box in front of Marisa. The red eyes like maple leaves reveal a sense of helplessness. With that look in her eyes, Inugotsu looked at Marisa and said.

"You can give it a try, but don't expect too much. 」

"Don't underestimate me, anyway, I'm also a famous thief in Gensokyo, and I don't know how many treasure chests are in front of me...... What the hell is this?"

Without hesitation, he took the box handed over, and after a period of groping with his hands, the self-proclaimed famous thief let out such a puzzled exclamation.

"Not even a single seam...... Is this a piece of iron?"

"Yes, and it doesn't stop there. 」

The nails of the dog walking are gently rubbing on the appearance of the box, and the nails of the white wolf tengu are no different from ordinary daggers in terms of sharpness after a long period of exercise, and even surpass them.

However, even so, there was still no trace left on the exterior of the box, not even the slightest sound of rubbing.

Inugotsu explained.

"As you can see, there are no gaps in the surface of this box, and ordinary tools can't do anything with it. There are no enchantments or powers on the surface of the crate, but even so...... Demonic power, magic power, spiritual power, and even magical power can't penetrate the inside to detect, and then no matter what kind of ability you can't see, what's going on inside the box. I'm afraid that this box was originally something that only celestials knew how to open. 」

Actually, it's more than that.

There are also some cases that Inugotsu did not say.

The Great Sage of Yakumo has not appeared in Gensokyo for several years, and even if there is occasional news, it is through Hakurei's shrine maiden to convey his words. However, this time, he actually sent his own cronies-style gods to send this box to Youkai Mountain, and this act alone was enough for Youkai Mountain to understand the difference in this box.

Not to mention, this box was finally delivered to the messenger who only existed in the legendary Dragon Palace Castle.

Naturally, Yokai Mountain had a strong curiosity about the box as soon as he accepted the commission, but after a series of temptations, he got an even stronger and unparalleled sense of frustration.

Whether it's exploring with strength, or fiddling with the technology of the outside world that Kappa is proud of, it makes no sense in front of this long, narrow box with no other special features.

It was as if I could see the woman's expression of anticipating everything and laughing at their ugliness with a fan over her face.

"Then, as if to get angry, the kappa made a larger and heavier box to hold the box, and filled it with a lot of gunpowder. By the time we could react, the box had already been stuffed into the box. 」

Speaking of this, the tone of the dog walking was a little helpless.

"If you don't force it open it in the right way, the box will explode along with the person who opened it...... Of course, the method of opening it was also asked by me later. 」

Kenya, who broke the stereotype of kappa in his mind, said in amazement.

"It's really a messy character who doesn't admit defeat......

"Yes. 」

Inugo nodded and said with a sigh.

"They often do this kind of thing that causes us trouble, but this time I survived because of their angry behavior...... It can only be said that it is providential. 」

Inugotsu glanced at Marisa, who had no expression on her face, and said in a deep voice towards Kenya.

"Later, while I was leading my subordinates to transport this box to the Xuanyun Sea, I was attacked by a powerful enemy. The other party came suddenly, but the preparation was sufficient. There were no superfluous movements, everything seemed to have been expected for a long time, and all the attacks were just enough to suppress the deployment on our side...... And the route and time to the Sea of Clouds this time are known only to me, the Great Tengu, and a few others. So ......."

She didn't go on.

But Kenya understood what she meant, and he looked at Inugo and whispered.

"So, you suspected that there were ghosts in Yokai Mountain, so you didn't immediately return to Yokai Mountain, let alone inform them of your location. 」

Inugotsu nodded, not answering the question, but the corners of his mouth were a little bitter.

Born and raised in Youkai Mountain since she was a child, she has always had a special affection for this mountain. Although she also knows that this demon mountain does not look so beautiful in the eyes of ordinary people, and even a little dark, it is a place where she has a group of like-minded partners who grew up together since childhood, and a lifetime of faith and sustenance.

She had promised to the waterfall, to the clouds, to the autumn leaves of the mountain, that she would spend her life, even her life, to protect it and fight for it.

However, she never imagined, even slightly, a 1 in 10,000 chance that she would be betrayed or hurt by the mountain.

For such a simple dog walker, this is a very difficult thing to talk about.

"Then I lit the explosives in the box and jumped off the cliff with the box, trying to float down the river before I could do anything. As a result, she underestimated her injuries, and by the time she woke up, she had already been carried by Marisa to her room to recuperate. 」

"That's right!"

Marisa patted her thigh and said with an expression of amazement.

"It really scared me to death at that time, I barely breathed and was covered in blood. I wanted to inform the people on Tengu's side immediately. As a result, she grabbed me, glared at me fiercely, and refused to let me go to their rescue, and for the next few days she was not allowed to reveal her information, and used me everywhere like a tool...... It's true、Tengu is a bunch of unreasonable people.。 」

"It's not my ...... right."

In the face of Marisa's complaints, Inugotsu can only admit it with a wry smile, and most of what the other party says is the truth. At that time, her body was very weak, and her consciousness was blurred, and she was hanging there with all her breath, and if it weren't for the fact that she had experienced a level of cultivation far beyond that of ordinary tengu, I am afraid that she would not have been able to make it to Marisa's rescue.

There's also a lot of luck in this matter.

While recuperating from her injuries and asking Marisa to carefully pick herbs, she also asked Marisa to find the owner of Xianglintang, a half-demon with a unique vision and ability to identify objects, hoping to learn the true nature of the things in the box through his hands.

However, the half-demon who basically stayed at home in her impression went out at this time and did not return for a long time, which was indeed unexpected by her.

…… The fate of the world is so wonderful.

Jian Ya, who knew this well and also had a similar experience, nodded slightly and said.

"I roughly understand what happened. So, Miss Tsubaki, what do you need me to do......?"

"It's a very dangerous thing. 」

Inugotsu removes his hair ornament from his head and hands it into Kenya's hand.

"I would like to ask Mr. Kenya to go to Hakurei Shrine and find the shrine maiden, Miss Hakurei Reimu. 」

"Hakurei...... Reimu. 」

It's a good name, and the pronunciation is also catchy, just after reading it once, Kenya remembers the name deeply.

Inugo said with his head bowed.

"Things have gone beyond my power, and now the only person to trust is the shrine maiden of Hakurei. As soon as she saw this hair ornament, she knew that I had asked Mr. Kenya to ask for help. It's just ......."

She paused.

"It's just that the leylines of the forest are very unstable now, and the beasts in the depths are running around, and there may be a lot of powerful youkai on the way to the shrine, and Mr. Kenya is only afraid that it will be ...... alone."

"I'll go. 」

Without any hesitation, Kenya took Inu's hair ornament and said.

"I've already said that I'll do whatever I can. Once I say it, I won't take it back. 」

He calmly looked at Inu's eyes, looked at the eyes with the color of maple leaves, and said.

"I'll go. 」

Seeing Kenya's resolute answer, Inugotsu breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, it is not impossible to let Marisa go, and now that she can't find the owner of Xianglintang and her injuries are enough to reluctantly act on her own, it is a better choice to let Marisa, who is more familiar with this forest, go to find Hakuri Reimu.

However, the thought that his disappearance might lead to a search by Yokai Mountain, and if a monster thief like Marisa went directly to the shrine at such a sensitive time, I am afraid that the person would be reminded of his true location. At that time, I am afraid that I will not be able to protect this box by myself.

Although it is also the same danger to let Kenya go, compared to the powerful enemy that may attack at any time, the demon beasts in the forest are relatively safe.

If Kenya can finally arrive at Hakurei Shrine, in fact, this is not what Inugotsu wants?—— it is a selfish intention to let a person with an upright personality like Kenya avoid this incident.

Even if they only knew each other for a long time, Inugotsu had already developed a little appreciation for this human.

Because of this, she doesn't want the other party to be buried in this matter in vain.

"The ......"

At this point, Marisa, who was puzzled, interrupted the conversation between the two.

"Although I know that I can't speak well at this time, this box has been shining since just now. 」

"...... box?"

Inugo looked at the box, and then remembered that this scene had also occurred on the mountain road, and she intuitively felt that the danger was coming, and she instantly exploded.

At that moment, she suddenly heard the sound of an object tearing through the air and whistling, and her eyes, which had always been as calm as the sea, instantly contracted, and she threw Kenya to the ground with a sudden lunge, and then shouted at Marisa at the same time.

"Get down!"

'Boom!'.

As if hit by a meteor, one side of the wall of the house was torn apart and all collapsed.

Marisa, who didn't have time to lie down, had already grasped the strange octagonal object on the table in her hand at the same time that Inugo called out 'Get down', and unfolded some kind of power that Kenya didn't understand, forming a wall to alleviate most of the impact.

However, even so, Marisa's entire body was knocked out by the powerful impact just now, and she fell straight behind her more than ten steps away. The pain in her chest made her feel a little uncomfortable breathing.

It was as if it had been directly hit by that vampire's spear.

No, I'm afraid the destructive power is still there!

"Let's go, go to the second floor!"

Without the slightest hesitation, she shouted, clutched her chest, and got up first, walking up the stairs.

Without the slightest hesitation, Inugotsu grabbed the box that had fallen to the ground and followed Marisa up to the second floor with Kenya.

Jian Ya coughed softly, and coughed up blood again, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and dripping on the box that was held in the arms of the dog walking away from him.

As if receiving something, the box stopped shining and became silent.

However, at this moment, none of the three of them had time to notice this strange thing.

……

……

Hundreds of meters away, a figure took a deep breath. Then he stretched out his hands and wrapped his arms around the tree, and just like that, he uprooted the tree of the Magic Forest with brute force.

After pulling it up、With an unbelievable and amazing force, he threw himself in the direction of Marisa's house。

The huge tree, which had been untouched since it had grown on the land, slammed into Marisa's home with a piercing eardrum-like whistling sound like a shooting star.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the whole house is shaking and shaking, the bricks and tiles are falling on the earth, and the whole front of the building has suffered a devastating blow, if it were not for the support of the solid suspended independent column-shaped foundation, I am afraid that the whole body of the house would have collapsed.

Yet in the eyes of that figure......

"It's too shallow. 」

In her opinion, she just didn't do her best.