1 Book of Demons (1)
Since ancient times, autumn has been sad and lonely.
Walking on a path of human reason, watching the leaves rendered red by autumn fall, Barnyard Aqiu remembered such a poem for no reason.
The verses from the Tang Dynasty poet, Liu Yuxi's "Autumn Words", the artistic conception is indeed excellent, but is it biased?
The warm-colored fallen leaves do not have any sense of loneliness and decay, but give people the impression of being full of vitality - like a flame flying in the air, with infinite light and warmth.
Isn't this the poet's fault?
Of course not.
Because there is another sentence -- I say that autumn is better than spring.
This ingenious combination cannot but make people applaud it, and only a talented poet can write such a poem.
Barnyard Aqiu thought so.
A girl whose thoughts are full of literary colors, her appearance is also quite quiet.
Although her facial features are delicate, they are not particularly gorgeous, as tranquil as a camellia blooming quietly, but this does not mean that Barnyard Aqiu is a mediocre woman.
The girl's figure strikes a delicate balance between endearing weakness and arrogant coldness, making her look like a reserved lady, and the elegant and playful dress adds to this impression.
――No, that's a fact. Barnyard Aqiu is the real lady...... The first wealthy family in the world, the current head of the barnyard family.
Being able to become the leader of the commander clan at such a young age is enough to prove that Barnyard Aqiu is indeed extraordinary...... However, there is no doubt that she herself is a helpless girl.
Now, being able to be knocked down by anxiously walking passers-by and making a "babbling" sound doesn't look like a person with extraordinary powers in any way.
"Ouch, I'm sorry. I didn't pay attention to the road just now."
The person who knocked down the barnyard Aqiu looked condescendingly at the girl who fell to the ground, and apologized in a cheerful voice that sounded insincere at all.
The owner of this voice...... Barnyard field asks for acquaintance.
An extremely ordinary magician -- Marisa Misty Rain.
"What...... It turned out to be Aqiu."
Not only is it insincere, but it is getting worse and worse...... That attitude, as if he had seen something boring, made Barnyard Aqiu a little angry.
However, her cultivation will not allow her to show her resentment.
Marisa's nerves weren't so thick that they couldn't bear it, so she bent down and grinned to help Aqiu pick up the book that had slipped from her arms due to the impact.
"I said ......."
Looking closely at the book in his hand, it was a rather old book, it seemed to be a bit old, the paper had become quite fragile due to the erosion of time, but most importantly, Marisa found that he could not read the words on the cover - or was it really words?
It is not a symbol that has already been defined as words, and it is more appropriate to describe it as graffiti, but as long as the person who sees it does not regard it as a mere scribble.
Because there is a strong sense of thought in the indescribable pattern, any intelligent creature can feel it, and even if it is impossible to know its actual meaning, it can perceive the fact that the seemingly illogical pattern is telling a message.
With a girl's instincts and a sense of magician, Marisa is convinced that this book is anything but as simple as it seems.
So, she said so.
"What are you going to do with that book?" If you don't want it, I'm willing to take it."
She expressed her thoughts very bluntly, as if she wanted to get the book into her hands through negotiations...... and her usual way of "borrowing" things, this is undoubtedly very disciplined.
…… However, it is the level of 50 steps and 100 steps, and it is absolutely impossible to make normal people accept it.
"That's not going to work, I'm about to return it now."
Standing up from the ground, gently patting her long skirt, and answering in a gentle voice in order to drive the dust away.
"I just finished writing a new book, and this is borrowed material."
She added after retrieving the book from Marisa's hand.
"Really? ...... information."
With her hand on her chin, Marisa made a rare gesture of bowing her head in contemplation, and if she saw it, she would be quite happy.
-- He always thought that Marisa would be much better off if she thought about it before she made a move.
When she came back to her senses, Marisa noticed that Aqiu was no longer in front of her, but continued to walk forward a few dozen meters away.
She couldn't help but shout.
"Hey! Ah Qiu, if you meet Ah Fei, don't tell him that you have seen me."
Hearing Marisa's shout, Barnyard Aqiu turned around and nodded at her - even this action was full of girlish reserve, which was completely different from the grinning Marisa.
Marisa was quite satisfied with this silent answer, and her slender girlish heart, who didn't know whether to say it or not, calmed down because of it.
"But...... It's a monster book, right?"
There was one more thing that made her care, and only she could hear this muttering.
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Marisa ...... Misty Rain This girl herself is also a wealthy family in the world, the daughter of the head of the Wuyu family, and strictly speaking, she is also an eldest lady.
However, looking at her current appearance, who would have thought of this?
Thinking of the girl's strange taste, Barnyard Aqiu couldn't help but smile.
In addition to the factor of dumb laughter, the smile was mixed with other emotions.
That's an emotion called envy.
The barnyard Aqiu immediately realized this.
Marisa Miriyu, a girl who left the Kiriyu clan at a young age, is working hard to become a magician...... In other words, she intends to break away from the human identity and become a member of the transcendent species.
Marisa's reputation in the world is not good. She is known for the rebellion of the Misty Rain family.
However, Barnyard Aqiu felt that she must not care at all, and every time she saw the girl's hearty smile that did not see the slightest shadow, Aqiu thought more and more.
This is probably because she has no complaints. She made a choice of her own volition, and even if the road ahead was full of thorns, the girl would definitely walk through it with a smile.
For the sake of illusory wishes, he dares to leave everything behind (Marisa has cut off contact with the Misty Rain Clan, and the financial resources are all figured out by themselves.) She was impressed by her determination to bet on the future.
Like a gambler who hasn't thought about losing, maybe it's recklessness, but Aqiu knows that what supports Marisa's "reckless" move is not the little girl's rebellious mentality, but some more important belief.
Aqiu didn't know what it was, but that didn't stop her admiration for Marisa's determination.
She can't be like Marisa, even if she has something she has to do, because she's the head of the Barnyard family, and she has the responsibilities that come with her identity.
Originally, Marisa should have taken responsibility, but she didn't hesitate to abandon it. Some people may say that this is an escape, but Barnyard Aqiu thinks that this is not breaking the shackles on his back?
And she herself could not shake off this shackle -- not in the past, not now, and perhaps not in the future. I am afraid that even if her life ends, this shackle will stay with her until her soul is too weak to be reborn.
Thinking of this, Barnyard Aqiu's heart was filled with dark emotions that did not match his appearance.
Perhaps the founder of the barnyard family, and even the next few generations of family heads, willingly fulfilled their obligations and made an agreement with the monster sage, but this does not include Aqiu.
Although she never showed it, she no longer wanted to live as the reincarnation of the first generation, Arnyard Ayi.
Indulgence has the memories of previous generations, but does this mean that she is the subsequent reincarnation of Barnyard Ayi, or Barnyard Al, etc.?
No.
She, Barnyard Aqiu, is a whole new life, not a continuation of a person. At least, that's what she thought.
It's a pity that no one seems to think that way except for her...... In the eyes of everyone, she Barnyard Aqiu is not a person with an independent personality, but the reincarnation of the former head of the Barnyard Tian family, such as Barnyard Tian Ayi, Barnyard Field Al, Barnyard Field Awei, Barnyard Field Ayu, etc., is an old monster with nearly a thousand years of experience.
Aqiu didn't inherit anything other than her memories, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl with hundreds of years of memories...... Unfortunately, no one ever believed it.
"Hoo ......"
Exhaled softly, it seemed that all the unhappiness had disappeared with the turbidity that had been excluded from the body, and after giving herself such a hint, the boiling negative emotions returned to the depths of her heart.
On her own, she could not escape from this fate, which had been decided before she was born. Since you can't find a way to get out, thinking too much will only make you unhappy, and if you are discovered by the youkai sage, it will only bring great trouble. So she decided to change her mood...... For Aqiu, this is not a difficult task.
What's more, now she has no room for cranky thoughts.
Because, the destination has arrived.
The houses that can be found everywhere in the world, and judging from the clean but old-colored walls, this building is a few years old, and if you look up at the plaque, you will see that it has three names written on it, "Suzuna-an", which makes it difficult to know what it does.
With a steady pace, she stepped inside.
The door was open, but the curtain was lowered, and if you wanted to enter, you had to open it, and although she was not known for her physical strength, she was not so delicate that she couldn't even pull open a layer of cloth.
"Jingle bells--"
The crisp bell rings in the ears, representing the visitation of the guests.
"Welcome Light---"
The female voice that was not yet childish greeted warmly, but it stopped abruptly in the middle of the way, and was replaced by a soft and weak greeting that made people unable to lift their spirits.
"What. It turned out to be Aqiu."
Hearing this phrase that he had just heard from Marisa not long ago, Aqiu was not at all angry at the other party's rude attitude.
A refreshing and non-pungent aroma floated in the room, and judging from the smoke that swirled, I guess I had ordered something like incense.
And through the faint smoke, Aqiu could see that his friend, Suzu Motoju, who was sitting behind his desk, was smiling.
It's not a particularly hearty smile, but a smile where you can feel the joy just right.
Especially when this kind of smile appears on the face of a very cute girl, there is nothing to say about that rude word.
Suzuna-an is a bookstore.
And the girl who is in front of Barnyard Aqiu at this moment is the owner of this bookstore.
It's a bit unbelievable that such a young girl should be the owner of the shop. Especially when I saw the two orange braids tied by the bell of Honju Kosuzu, I couldn't help but think, is it really okay to let such a lively child run a store?
The answer is no problem, because this is a very familiar Gensokyo.
"The person who said 'what' to me after we met, today you are the second."
Said something that seemed to be complaining, but Barnyard Aqiu didn't really want to get a reply, it was just a subconscious behavior.
So, when she really got a serious reply, and the person who gave the reply was not her friend Xiaoling, she was a little surprised, and she was understandable.