When Marisa was ten years old, she encountered the biggest crisis of her life. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

It's spring again, and it's another oily drizzle, and the dark gray sky is so low that it's breathless. A cloudy mist surrounded the surroundings, and the shadows of the trees in the distance were hazy, like the dry claws of the Sandman, which made people fearful.

At this time, Marisa was running wildly on the muddy and rugged beast path of the Enchanted Forest. Her clothes were soaked with rain, her calves were covered with mud, and her little black leather shoes were filled with mud and sand, and every step was heavy, but she had no time to care about it, and she just ran for her life.

"Whew...... Ha...... Ha ......"

Marisa's breathing became more and more rapid, and it became more and more difficult to sustain. Her physical strength seemed to be drained by the monster-like twisted old trees around her, and she usually longed to run around Gensokyo without panting, but at this critical juncture, she was almost unable to run.

At the same time, the footsteps chasing behind her all the way were getting closer and closer.

Now, if she stopped, she would be killed, and if she turned back, she would be scared to death. She only ran, straight forward, until she was exhausted.

However, this escape journey ended a little faster than she expected.

Perhaps because the light in the forest was so dim, the puddle at her feet was mistaken for a flat ground where she could safely tread on it—in fact, it was only a few shallow centimeters from "safety".

It was these small pits a few centimeters deep that tripped her up. Marisa, who was running at full speed, lost her balance and leaned over, falling to the mud with a "snap".

His feet twisted, his lips slammed against the small, protruding stones with sharp corners, and blood came out, and his whole body was covered in wet, cold and stinky mud...... Marisa didn't even care about all the pain and discomfort.

Because she knew that she was going to die.

The sound of heavy elephant-like footsteps stopped very close behind Marisa, and she felt the ground shake and struggled to get up from the dirt, but before she could really exert her strength, her body slowly "floated".

Actually, she didn't really float, she was lifted up by a strange force.

Two fingers, as thick as her arm, grabbed her clothes and lifted her more than three meters high to the monster that had been chasing her. Now, she finally saw the monster clearly.

Anyway, it was a guy who looked exactly like the legendary "ogre": more than three meters tall, with red skin, a bloated body, and a hunched back. Its bare head had only two horns, one long and one short, its hideous ugly face was full of folds and pimples, its mouth was full of large yellow teeth that were neither sharp nor neat, and its body hair and nails on its hands and feet grew wantonly as if they had never been trimmed. The dirt and mud all over her body told Marisa that the last time this guy took a bath was in her mother's womb.

It was naked, with only a single animal skin around its lower body, and a large wooden stick in its hand, exuding an unpleasant body odor like a salted fish. Thankfully, its crotch cloth is pretty tightly covered, thank goodness.

It's such a filthy youkai that it's so obscene, so ugly that I can't find the right adjective to describe it in the dictionary, is about to open its huge mouth and swallow Marisa alive.

Thinking about it, Marisa began to regret it.

She really shouldn't have run into the Enchanted Forest. "There are two worlds in the village and outside the village", the adults had told her, but she never took it to heart. Now, she knew she was wrong.

And the guy Kazuhiko Fujii, who said "I found a mushroom the size of a building", phew!

"If only I made it back alive," Marisa thought to herself, "look how I clean up that kid." ”

It's a pity that she won't go back alive.

"Whew...... Whew......"

Filthy gasps, mixed with a thick smell of bad breath, hit her face, and Marisa couldn't open her eyes. The monster gasped like a wild dog for a while, then opened its mouth and said:

"You baby can run, I'm so tired that I can't breathe, let me catch it now, see if I don't eat you alive!"

It spoke in a rough, loud voice, so close to Marisa that her ears were ringing. When it closed its mouth, Marisa felt like she was going to be deaf, and there was nothing left in her ears except a shrill ring.

Because of this, she failed to perceive the change in events.

It wasn't until the youkai yelled, let go, and threw her to the ground that she realized that maybe she didn't have to die this time.

"Whew!"

The youkai roared and writhed. When it turned around and turned its back to Marisa, Marisa saw that there was a wooden arrow stuck in its back.

Not far ahead, among the dark green trees, there was a weak man, holding a crossbow and stepping on the raised roots, proudly facing this monster that was a hundred times stronger than him.

The guy was full of white hair, glasses, tall, thin, and scholarly, but he glared at the monster angrily, like a leopard ready to attack.

"Xianglin!"

Marisa calls out the name of her savior.

Rinnosuke glanced at her, but didn't say anything, just silently, put another arrow on his crossbow.

"You stray hair, dare to plot against me!"

The monster pulled out the arrow stuck in its back, pinched it in two, threw it on the ground in anger, and scolded:

"I'm going to smash you into a pulp!"

Rinnosuke remained silent, just raised his crossbow and aimed the tip of the arrow at the youkai's eye.

"Die. ”

He said coldly, and at the same time, pulled the trigger.

"Uhhhh

The wooden arrow pierced the monster's eye socket with unmistakable precision, mashing the red eyeball into a paste. Against ordinary people, this arrow alone is enough to kill, but this guy in front of him is far more solid than ordinary people, or even ordinary monsters.

This time, it didn't even bother to pull out the arrow, so it kept an arrow stuck in its eye, lifted the stick, and rushed up with a roar. Seeing it like this, Rinnosuke did not panic, and quickly set up a third arrow and aimed it at the guy's chest.

With a "whoosh", the third arrow also hit the target. But instead of stopping, the youkai rushed faster due to its unusual rage. By the time Rinnosuke remembered to retreat, the distance between the two was too close.

The youkai picked up its stick, which was a few inches longer than Rinnosuke's height, and swept it onto Rinnosuke's waist. Hearing only a dull sound that made the scalp tingle, Rinnosuke's body flew up softly like a ridiculous rag doll, and finally crashed into a large tree, and slowly slid to the ground.

He kept his head down, motionless, blood seeping from under his clothes and dripping from his mouth and nose. His glasses fell several meters away, shattering to the point that there was no glass shards left.

"Xianglin!"

Marisa's cry was heartbreaking. Looking at the dying Rinnosuke, there was only cold despair left in her heart.

"Whew...... Whew......"

The youkai gasped twice, and pulled out the two arrows that had been stuck in his body. It shook off the blood stains on the front end of the stick, slammed it to the ground, and said:

"This miscellaneous hair, I thought he had some ability, it turned out to be a bad seed who can only put dark arrows!"

Then, it picked up the stick and walked towards Rinnosuke, saying as it went:

"If you waste my eyes, I'm going to pull out all your bones and make a chair!"

However, after taking two steps, it stopped. It's not that it's going to stop on its own, it's that something is stumbling on its feet and preventing it from taking a step.

The monster looked down and was immediately happy:

"Ahh

I saw that Marisa was opening her arms, clenching her teeth, and clutching the monster's ankles. She plunged her feet deep into the mud as a fulcrum in an attempt to thwart the youkai's progress.

She knew it was pointless, but she had to do something. Let her watch Rinnosuke being killed by youkai, she can't do it.

"I'm going to die anyway," Marisa said in her heart, "I don't want to die behind Xianglin!"

"Heaven has a road for you not to take, well, I'll send you on the road!"

The monster lifted its leg and kicked Marisa several meters away. When Marisa rolled around the dirt a few times, stopped, and fell to the ground, she looked up and saw the large wooden stick held high.

At this point, not only was she no longer afraid, but she also wanted to laugh a little. His own weakness and ignorance, Rinnosuke's meaningless sacrifice, and his life like garbage in front of youkai, everything became so ridiculous.

"If there is an afterlife," she thought to herself, "I'm going to practice martial arts." ”

"Smack!"

In the next moment, Marisa heard not the sound of a stick smashing a head, but a sharp sound of electricity.

The monster's body stiffened, and the hand holding the stick was raised, and it didn't fall for a long time. Its facial muscles twitched a few times, and before it could say a word, its mountain-like body collapsed and fell to the ground, no longer moving.

After it fell, Marisa saw Rinnosuke Mori standing behind it. He clutched a pitch-black, sparkling stick in both hands, and his clothes were covered in blood and mud, and he couldn't stand still.

"It says it's used for 'self-defense'......" A bloodstained, miserable smile appeared on the corner of Rinnosuke's mouth, "I think it looks like it's used to kill people." ”

With that, he fell to his knees, clutching the wound on his waist and abdomen, and gasped for breath - like Marisa, he was almost at his limit.

But in the end, it was the weaker duo who won, not the mighty monster.

"Xianglin!"

Marisa stood up, stood up, and limped over to Rinnosuke's side. She looked at Rinnosuke's pale face and his bloodless lips, feeling distressed and extremely remorseful.

"Not yet...... Take it lightly!" Rinnosuke said with some difficulty, covering the affected area, "It's just been coronaized, and after a while, it will naturally wake up and kill it completely...... That's it!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a short knife from the small waist bag he was carrying. He removed the scabbard and threw it on the dirt floor, then pinched the back of the knife and handed the handle to Marisa, saying:

"This knife is used to eliminate demons, and if it hits the vital point, one knife is enough. I'm out of strength, you go...... Drop it for me. ”

Marisa took the knife, she looked at the silver-white blade, looked at the delicate carving on the blade, first stunned for a moment, and then nodded heavily.

She turned, still limping, dragging her sprained ankle as she slowly walked over to the youkai. She stared at the unconscious ghost, crouched down, took a deep breath, and raised her knife aloft.

"Poof!"

The hand rises, and the knife falls.

The sharp knife stabbed into the monster's throat without hindrance, and when it was pulled out again, the stench of demon blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing Marisa's face all over her face.

Even though it was her first time fighting a youkai, even though she was only a ten-year-old little girl, even though she was still hovering on the brink of life and death just now, she was not as calm as herself in the face of blood.

Marisa shook off the blood from the blade with a wave of her arm, then reached out and pressed her hand against the yokai's neck to determine if it was really dead.

"The heartbeat, the breathing, it's gone. Marisa let out a long breath, "It's over......"

The nightmare is over.

She stood up and stepped on the muddy water mixed with demon blood. When this monster dies, its blood will turn into streams, its flesh will return to dust, its bones will become the branches of trees, and flowers will bloom on its corpse - Mother Earth will receive everything it has and it will be with this forest...... It's not about Marisa, though.

"Uh-huh...... Drink, cough, cough!"

Rinnosuke coughed a few times, spit out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, then clutched his stomach and stood up. He took the knife from Marisa, picked it up from the ground, and put it away—it was his precious commodity, and he had to clean it up when he got back.

"Let's go, I'll carry you back. "But my glasses are broken, and I can't even see the way without them, so you'll have to show me the way." ”

"Your body...... Can you still carry me?"

"I'm a half-demon anyway, not as fragile as you think. After Lin Zhisuke said, he whispered again:

"Of course, it's not as strong as you think......"

(b)

When she was about to get home, Marisa, who had been listless all the way, suddenly said:

"Xianglin, have you ever seen a magician?"

"Magician?"

Rinnosuke didn't know why she suddenly asked this, but he answered truthfully:

"I've seen it, but I'm not very familiar with it. ”

"Magician...... What kind of people are they?" Marisa asked again.

"The blonde lady who lives in the forest often comes over to buy some handmade props, such as folding knives, turpentine, super glue, small pliers and tweezers, etc., she should be a clever person, right?" Rinnosuke carried her on his back and said as he hurried, "The pajama lady who lives across the lake, I also had a relationship, she came to buy bookmarks, and there are dozens of them when I buy them...... Maybe it's a bookworm?"

"Is the magician strong?"

"Whether they are strong or not varies from person to person, but no matter what, they are definitely stronger than your useless Uncle Xianglin. ”

"That's ......"

Marisa was silent for a moment, then suddenly said:

"Incense...... Rinnosuke!"

"Huh?"

Rinnosuke noticed that this time, she uncharacteristically did not call him "Xianglin".

"I'm going to be a magician!" Marisa's voice was full of determination, "I'm going to get stronger, and then I'm going to protect you." Something like this today will never happen again!"

"Hehe......" Rinnosuke smiled, "You, it's better to protect yourself first! I'm a big man, I have to rely on the little girl I raised to protect me, and I'm not ashamed!"

"I don't care, I'm just going to protect Korin!" Marisa shouted, throwing her arms around Rinnosuke's neck like a tantrum. Her mud-stained, dirty arms rubbed against Rinnosuke's collar...... Well, he's covered in mud anyway.

"Okay, well, then you can protect me!" Rinnosuke couldn't resist her, so he coaxed a child to compromise, "I'll wait for you to become a magician, don't let me down!"

"I'll be a magician, absolutely!"

While laughing, Rinnosuke raised his head, only to find that the wind and rain had passed, the sky was clear, and a ray of sunlight pierced the clouds, just shining on them.

Look at it like this, tomorrow has to be a sunny day!

(c)

Rinnosuke never took what Marisa said that day seriously.

So a few years later, when Marisa fell out with her family because of the use of magic, she ran away from home and started her own business.

He hastily resigned from his position in the Misty Rain family, found an old house on the edge of the Enchanted Forest, and opened a shop there.

On the day of the store's opening, Marisa was the only one who came to celebrate.

Of course, the main reason is that her new home is close to Xianglin Hall, and it is more convenient to come over.

"Didn't you run away too, so I said it, my father's personality just doesn't get along with anyone!" Marisa propped up on the counter with one hand and talked to Rinnosuke, "In the beginning, I was already tired of instilling in me some ladylike manners and virtues all day long. Later, he secretly threw away my magic book while I wasn't looking. I'm on fire, you throw my magic book, why don't you throw me away?

"I guess he just did something wrong with good intentions, right?" Rinnosuke said with a smile as he defended his former employer.

"Well-intentioned...... If he's really good for me, he should fully support my magical research, or at least leave me alone. Forcing his daughter to give up her career and dreams and become a good girl in his family, what kind of 'kindness' is that? It's just selfishness, right?"

"No mercy to your own father, Marisa. ”

"Hmph, I hate iron but not steel. If he weren't my father, I'd shake my face and leave, and I still care who is right and who is wrong!"

"So......" Marisa asked, changing her words.

"What do you want to sell in this shop?"

"Probably...... Second-hand props?" Rinnosuke said, "To be honest, I haven't figured out what kind of store I'm going to open yet. After all, my original intention was to give life to those props that were overlooked by ordinary people. What I sell depends on what I can get. ”

"So, what's the name of the shop?"

"Store Name ......"

Rin Nosuke tapped his chin with one finger, squinted his eyes out the window, thought for a while, and suddenly had an idea, and said with a smile:

"It's called Xianglin Hall!"

"Haha!" Marisa slapped the table and smiled, "Good, I like the name! Oh yes!"

She leaned her face closer and said to Rinnosuke mysteriously:

"There's a secret that I don't tell him ...... most people."

"Say it. ”

"Now join the Fog Rain Magic Shop, not only free of charge, but also ......"

"Get out!"

(iv)

After Marisa left, Rinnosuke was lying alone in the hospital bed, bored.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew in through the open window, bringing with it a rather nostalgic smell. He looked at the source of the wind, but on the small table by the window, he saw a crystal vase. Inside the vase, there were a few sprigs of green grass.

He knew what those little grasses were.

"Rosemary ......" Rin Nosuke whispered, "The flower language is 'memory'......"

He raised his head, looked up at the snow-white ceiling, and said to himself:

"I don't think I told Marisa about this, so do I have to tell her another day?"

After all, thanks to this fragrance, Rinnosuke had a dream about the past.