"Girl, you seem to be very happy these days?"

Uncle Shimura unloaded the bucket on his shoulder, wiped the sweat from his face, and looked at the girl who poured the water into the tank. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The girl didn't look back, but mumbled in reply.

"Made new friends? Even if that's the case, you can't run out all day long. The girl's attitude gave Uncle Shimura a headache: "I can't see people all day, I don't look like a girl, and I can't be too lively......"

After pouring the last wooden bucket of water into the water tank, the excited girl jumped out without looking back, and did not forget to say goodbye to Uncle Shimura: "Uncle, I'll go out first!" I'll be back before dinner! ”

"You kid! Ay...... I can't listen to anything.,It's even more naughty than a boy.。 Uncle Shimura wanted to say something, but in a blink of an eye, he found that the girl had already slipped away without a trace, so he could only sigh to himself.

The day before yesterday and the day before yesterday were the same. It seems that in the past few days or so, this child has been running out more and more times, although it used to be so wild, but recently it has become more and more invisible.

Since the last time she snuck out of the village at night and was almost eaten by a wolf, the adults in the village have become more and more strict with the children. Now even adults don't leave the village at night.

Even if she returned to the village on time before dark, Uncle Shimura was not very reassured. What if you are attacked by a wandering bandit or a wild beast?

I'm going to have to find a time to talk to her. Uncle Shimura thought so.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

The girl walked to the ruined temple with a bucket and a red cloth, looking around from time to time to prevent anyone from following, like a thief.

Even the closest people in the village to the girl didn't know that a few days ago, she rescued an amazing figure. And this remarkable figure now dwells in this small, ruined temple.

For the girl, this ruined temple is not a place where the clay puppets live, but the real Enma does exist.

This is her own secret.

"Hmph, the other kids in the village must think I'm bragging." Thinking of the envious look of those children, the girl couldn't help but feel a sense of pride: "I saw the real Enma-sama!" ”

After a little smugness, the girl stood in front of the broken temple door and straightened her attitude, and gently pushed open the wooden door of the broken temple with reverence.

The rotten door creaked with a tooth-aching sound.

The girl walked into the ruined temple, put the bucket firmly on the ground, and folded her hands in front of her, and said, "Lord Enma, I'm here." ”

“…… I've said it many times, you don't need to call me that. ”

A calm, piercing voice came from the darkness, and it was impossible to imagine how hostile [it was] a few days ago.

It leaned against the dark corner, sitting still like a majestic and inoffensive King Fudo, even if it was wrapped in linen bandages, it did not have the slightest steadiness like that of a seriously injured person.

Every time the girl looked at those bright golden eyes, the sharpness of seeing through everything made her tremble.

Who would have thought that just a few days ago, the body of such an awe-inspiring being had been cut in half, and he was in a half-dead bringing?

At least, it still listens to the girl and doesn't forcefully refuse all help.

Knowing this, the girl's heart calmed down slightly.

"But it's a matter of principle!"

"Strange Principle ......"

After saying this, it stopped making a sound. It seems that it has always been troubled by the name of Enma, and such a stubborn attitude reminds the girl of the stubborn old man in the village.

Whether it is Lord Enma or not, it needs my help now.

Thinking of this, the girl picked up the bucket and walked over to Lord Enma and began to undo the blackened linen bandage on its upper body.

As the girl expected, as soon as she untied her bandage, a large amount of blood immediately oozed from the huge wound on the Enma-sama's body.

The girl was frightened when she first changed the bandage, but after Yama-sama's explanation, she learned that it was inevitable.

In the words of Lord Enma, its wounds healed every moment, and then cracked open again. With the consent of Lord Enma, the girl also made a special observation of its wounds, and found that there were indeed many new flesh buds moving, but they quickly cracked again.

Soon, the girl gradually changed from being a little scared at the beginning to becoming accustomed to it, but today she was surprised to find that the blood oozing from the wound of Lord Enma today was not as high as it had been a few days ago.

"Lord Enma, your injuries are much better than the other day."

"Reluctantly, I've only cut as much as I can compared to this unusually large amount of [karma]. It will probably take a while to get back to the level where you can move around. ”

As soon as Enma-sama came out of her mouth, she scratched her head to understand the meaning, and finally only understood the statement that "it takes a long time to recover".

"Hmm...... I don't understand. ”

It should be a category that humans can't touch, and it's normal to not understand. It seems that Yama-sama thinks the same way: "It's good if you don't understand, it's not a good thing if you know too much." ”

Write it down, it's called "the wisdom of the elderly".

After that, the girl dipped the red cloth hanging from the barrel in water, then wiped the blood off the Enma-sama's body and put on a new linen strap.

Because of Enma's size, this job is not very simple. Even now, if it is more proficient, it will take a girl an hour or two to complete.

After finishing her regular work, the girl sat on the dirty ground without any image and stared at Lord Enma with an excited face: "Lord Enma, what happened to the boy I mentioned yesterday after he entered Kyoto and was accepted as an apprentice by the old man?" ”

I don't know when, at that time, Lord Enma told some stories on a whim, and it was an unheard legend for the girl. Soon the girl pestered Lord Enma to tell him the rest of the story, albeit with a somewhat disrespectful look. But it can't be helped, the story of Lord Enma is so interesting.

Enma-sama seems to know a lot, and the stories he tells are vivid, as if he had experienced it himself.

"It's like having a kid...... Forget it, let's move on from there. I don't remember the process very well, so it's time to recall. There seemed to be a wry smile on the face of Lord Enma, whose expression was hard to read, followed by words that the girl didn't understand.

But it's good to have a story to listen to, and you don't have to worry about it so much.

"After that, the boy was taken in by the old man and began a difficult but interesting special training ......"

Enma-sama's voice was not loud, but it was clear. The girl could hear every word clearly, and what attracted the girl even more was that there seemed to be an inexplicable emotion in the words of Lord Enma, but the girl didn't know what this feeling was called.

It was much later that the girl got the answer.

That is, the feeling called "nostalgia".