Twisted ancient trees obscured the sky, twisted rhizomes burst out of the ground, and deformed monsters whispered in the shadows with cannibal plants. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Brightly colored poisonous mushrooms thrive on this magical soil, releasing spores and miasma that tune the air to be warm, moist, and deadly.

This natural labyrinth that rises from the ground is what Gensokyo residents call the "Enchanted Forest". The harsh environment and poisonous air make this place sparsely populated all year round, and the only people who dare to settle here are probably those evil and mysterious witches in fairy tales.

Coincidentally, there are just two of those "witches" here.

"Knock Knock Knock ......"

Marisa Kiriyu stood in front of a small two-story western-style building with a broom, knocking the door. This small building has a blue roof and white walls, and it is spotless, which seems to be incompatible with this dark and muddy primeval forest.

"Alice, are you at home?"

Perhaps tired of knocking on the door, Marisa found a different way to make noise.

"If you're there, open the door!"

She yelled through the wooden door into the room.

After a while, no one answered, and Marisa decided not to wait any longer. She walked over to the glass window next to the door, picked up the broom, and smashed it to pieces with a stick.

"Sorry, sorry, this is an emergency daze!"

She apologized to the air as she poked off the glass ballast that had remained on the window frame with a broom stick. After clearing the obstacles, Marisa spends and jumps into the house.

"Shhh...... Ha...... Landing safely!"

She stepped on a glass shard and took a deep breath. The air in the room was unexpectedly dry and clean, not only was it not polluted by pungent spores, but there was a faint fragrance. After only standing there for a short time, she already felt that her entire nasal cavity had been healed.

"There's really no one at home!"

After adjusting his breathing, the black-and-white magician stretched out his head and looked around a few times, muttering to himself.

The house was cleaned up by its owner, and the interior was not luxurious, but it was warm enough. A pot of golden evening primrose sits on a red-brick fireplace, a few books and a steaming cup of black tea sit on a wooden coffee table, and there's even a pot of hawthorn jam simmering on the kitchen stove.

It can be seen that she lives here as a person who can live, and she hasn't been away for long.

"Forget it, people can't find it anyway, so just go back with some gadgets, and it's not in vain. ”

Rather, that's what she's really about.

Marisa wears her mud-stained leather shoes, leaving a line of foul-smelling mud footprints on the carpet. She walked around the small house, and whenever she saw what she wanted, she stuffed it into the satchel she carried with her.

She's a veritable thief.

"Alice, this guy really likes dolls!"

She closed another cabinet door and muttered under her breath.

If there's anything unusual in this house other than the ancient books full of strange symbols, it's dolls. As far as the eye can see, there are large and small dolls everywhere in the closet, in the bookshelves, on the table, and on the sofa. The dolls had beautiful faces, dressed in miniature dresses of different styles, and were finely crafted, like living people, but their eyes were hollow, staring straight ahead, and they looked a little oozing.

Even Marisa, under the gaze of hundreds of lifeless eyes, would be a little uncomfortable. For some reason, she always felt like she was being watched, as if the stained glass beads in the eye sockets of these dolls really had vision.

"Alright, the last one. ”

Marisa stuffs a large book with a blue cover into her bag and prepares to call it a day and head home. It's not to avoid the little eyes of those dolls, but I'm worried that if I spend too much time here, I might bump into the owner when I go back.

"What's the last one?"

A cold voice came from behind her, making her shiver and almost unable to stand still.

"You...... Are you back? Alice......"

Marisa turned slowly, but instead saw the figure she expected, replaced by six bright knight's spears that almost landed in her face.

Strictly speaking, they are miniature versions of the Knight's Spear, as they are used by delicate figures that are more than a foot tall. Unlike their sisters in the display case, these dolls exude life all over their bodies, glaring at Marisa at the moment, looking both cute and a little dangerous.

"Don't, don't do that, Alice......" Marisa raised her hands and trembled in defense, "I'm just, come to see you twice, and read two more books by the way...... That's it......"

"Oh, so you read my book and go to your house?"

Under the instructions of their masters, the puppet girls retreated one after another and made way for them. Their manipulator, Alice Margot Royd, stepped forward and stood in front of Marisa.

This blonde girl is a few years older than Marisa in appearance. Her clothes were only blue, white, and red: a blue dress, a white lace shawl, a red ribbon, and a red hairband. Her facial features are exquisite, her skin is white, and her appearance is no less than that of the dolls she made herself.

"Borrow a little, borrow ......"

Marisa tugged at her collar so that sweat ran down her neck. Her face was hot, but her body was chilling.

"Hey," Alice sighed, "I went out to throw out the trash, and my house could be stolen three times." ”

"Let's count," the blonde puppeteer took another step forward, an invisible oppressive force exuding from all over his body, "since the end of the summer, you've broken three glass windows, picked two locks, broken five dolls, stolen seventeen books, and one of my favorite teacups. ”

"That's all in the past, how can people hold on to the past, right?"

Marisa could see that Alice's cold blue eyes were on fire at the moment, and she knew what that meant.

"If I really want to settle accounts with you, Marisa, you've been buried under a tree outside as fertilizer. ”

The words were harsh, but after Alice had finished speaking, her dolls all gathered their weapons and scattered, returning to their rightful place somewhere in the house - which meant that the crisis was over, at least for the time being.

"Hoo ......"

Marisa let out a long sigh of relief.

"Don't put on a face that has managed to find the toilet and stare there," Alice commanded, with one hand on her hips and the other hand stretched forward, "hand over everything in the bag." ”

"Okay, okay, got it!"

Marisa waved her hand impatiently, and began to spit out the spoils she had eaten one by one.

"That's all?" Alice asked, counting the amount of stolen goods.

"That's all, nothing else!"

Marisa shook the deflated satchel with only two layers of cloth open and downward, proving that it was empty.

"Hey, I didn't come here to steal anything from you this time, I just saw that you weren't there, so I just grabbed a few pieces. Why do you think I can't control my hands?"

The blade around her neck is gone, and Marisa turns back into her usual heartless, faceless, skinless Marisa, and begins to make some strange excuses for her behavior.

"Oh, is it?" Alice said with a sneer, pulling out a utility knife from a drawer on the side, "If you can't help it, I can cut it off for you?"

"Oops, forget it then!"

When Marisa heard this, she quickly took a few steps back, and almost ran away from the door.

Alice, when she laughs and says that she is going to stab you to death with a knife, she always gives people a feeling of "she really will do this", which is probably the unique deterrent power of real magic!

It would be a little scary if it had nothing to do with her status as a magician......

"Tell me, what are you here for?"

Putting away the goosebump-inducing smile and the knife, Alice asked.

"Ah, yes, I'm here to hire you as my assistant......" Marisa said, rubbing her hands.

"I refuse. ”

Alice didn't even think about it, so she directly rejected her invitation. Experience had taught her that if Marisa came running for help with a grin, it would be fine.

"Hey, I'm not done yet! I'm going to ...... this time."

"Stop, stop!" Alice said, holding her forehead, "Let's make a long story short, first of all, what do you want me to do?"

"Of course, I'm going to be the chief assistant to Detective Marisa!"

"And then?"

"Then, let's go and solve the recent 'Monster Mountain Murder Incident' together. ”

"Will I get any benefit from that?"

"Of course you can! After the incident is resolved, my reputation as a detective will spread throughout Gensokyo, and you, as my assistant, will be remembered by everyone, probably ......"

"What else?"

"In addition, I can give you a taste of the 'Magic Mushroom Pot' that I recently developed, which is mixed with more than 30 kinds of ......."

"Alright, that's it!" Alice said with a frown, a little impatient, "and after much deliberation, my reply is, certainly, definitely, definitely, absolutely, completely, 100 percent, no!"

"Oh, Alice!"

"Don't post it, stupid!"

"For the sake of our many years of friendship, you will promise me!"

"Face, face is too close, bastard! Besides, who has been friends with you for many years!"

"It's really not good, I'll give you a little 'Magic Saudi-made insomnia pill'! It's very helpful for an old menopausal woman like Alice!"

"Who's menopause, you dead black and white!"

"I'll lend you my books too!"

"It was supposed to be my book and Pache Li's!"

"Just promise me, Alice......"

"Oh, if you have something to say, can you not hold my thighs? Damn, I have so much strength......"

"Alice ......"

"Marisa!"