"Bang Bang"

Listening to this sound, it is probably the door of the small shop that the wind has opened again. Even in the back room, I could feel the cold air outside sweeping through my façade.

"It's on again. It's like a wandering ghost can't stand the weather and squeeze in to keep warm. Grumbling, I tightened my clothes and walked towards the antechamber that had been mentally equated with the ice cellar.

I run an antique prop house called "Korindo". In a sense, the business is not bad, and if you keep a record of all the accounts that I have on credit, I can probably accumulate a book - that is, there are sales but no income. Because of this, I was able to make the decision to close the store and study with peace of mind. But now, because of this decision, I have to take a break from my stove and books. Even though the store is usually open, it's just reading.

As a result, the effort to save more time was a waste of time. So is it to save trouble to cancel the earliest plan at this point? But now that my legs were moving, it was more troublesome to stop and go back. It can't be helped, people are such a passable creature. Well, although humans generally have this nature, I am so calculating because I am a businessman. At least I imagined it in my head, didn't I.

I opened the door to the back room, but two unexpected people appeared in my shop.

"Hey, it's you? I'm still thinking about a frozen ghost to warm ......."

"What a faux pas, ghost or something. I'm alive and well. ”

Oops, if you don't pay attention, you will expose the stupid words in your head. But the two didn't seem to react aggressively.

"Sorry, it's nice to just think it wasn't. It's going to make it colder, and I can't handle it......"

“…… Therefore, ghosts will not be frozen. ”

This young girl who understands other people's words on her own is called Hakurei Reimu, and as this red and white outfit indicates, she is generally an unconventional shrine maiden, and one of the main forces that destroy my goods. Now she's rubbing her shoulders and upper arms with her hands to keep warm. Speaking of which, Reimu wears such an armpit witch costume all year round, and it is hot in summer and cold in winter, but she has never been seen unhealthy. By the way, it's snowing heavily outside and the wind is bitterly cold, so it's time to sleep by the fireplace reading a book.

"Really, it's already May. In previous years, you could be prepared to catch a ghost and hang it in the shrine to cool off. ”

It turns out that the shrine also uses such a Gensokyo-style method to spend the hot summer. Isn't that a bit of a violation of the ghost's rights? But Reimu was right. It's been a week of continuous snowfall, and I've been to Reimu's shrine, which is a place that is as windy as it sounds. It's called a shrine, but if you're alone inside, it's like a haunted house. How exactly does Reimu take care of herself...... That's okay too. Most of the girls in Gensokyo live alone. Speaking of ghosts, though......

Ghosts are something colder than ice. In a contest of courage held on a summer night, it is the work of a wandering ghost to hear some mysterious movement and then shiver at the same time. If it's winter, the temperature of the ghost is enough to frostbite. As it passed through its body, it was like being unsuspectingly drenched in a bucket of ice water - no, it felt like it was cold from the inside to the outside. There is no physical ...... It's really weird, too.

Whether it's hot-blooded, cold-blooded, iron-blooded—hey, why is it so smooth—the living, but every living person has its own temperature as the living. At the same time, objects that exist as props tend to be assimilated into the environment. The ghost is different from both because it is neither living nor an object. It is important to confirm that ghosts are not the same thing as the spirits of the dead, the subjects of the souls of the deceased. Cold, it can be regarded as a means for it to express its unique way of being.

“…… Reimu, why do you say ghosts are so cold? ”

"It's just cold."

Reimu sipped hot tea over and over again while casually responding. You see, under such conditions, even I have developed the habit of asking questions if I don't understand and then thinking independently.

・・・・・・ cold is not the same as making people feel cold. The reason why winter is cold is not only because the surrounding temperature is low, but also because it constantly robs people of heat. -- Heat is a thing that always tends to balance between the two that come into contact -- and ghosts should not have the concept of "temperature". There is no substance, not a living being, not an object. By analogy, what is it that the ghost takes away from people?

"Rin no Suke! Want to know the truth about this shocking secret! A one-way ticket to the underworld! It's still the perspective of the undead~~"

"Don't!"

"Cut."

Giving up the strange sales pitch, it's Yuu Ning who is serving crepes and hot tea to Reimu, ah, it seems that the store was swept away before It doesn't feel like an illusion.

Thinking of Yuning's usual care for Reimu, I put a little snag at that. Youning came to Xianglin Hall for the first time in March, and to be honest, I was really taken aback at the time. In the days that followed, I consulted him a lot in the area of interest, but how did I feel that what he poured into me was a bit of a brainwashing attempt...... Until now, I have no way to digest the common sense he brought from the outside world. But thanks to him, the store also has contacts with the Red Devil Pavilion and the world. No matter how dangerous the character is, he dares to go up and tease, which really makes me envious. Then again, this is the strange way of making friends in Gensokyo, which is especially exaggerated. I don't trust his self-proclaimed excuse of "being cute", although he can easily make the usually majestic girls show a cute posture that is not easy to see...... What really cares about me is the fact that Youning "has the ability" itself. In Gensokyo, the girls who seem harmless to humans and animals actually have a terrifying body, even if I have never taken this to heart・・・・・・

"I'm going to sell it next! Please refer to Xianglin! ”

“・・・・・・”

Don't speak. I have a good memory of the danger of this guy in front of me. Once you can't help it—yes, once you can't help complaining, you'll fall into a state of being controlled by him. But...... It's not very annoying either. Speaking of which, what kind of way did he think about it in his heart? I've always felt as if it could be summed up in color, such as Reimu's red and white・・・・・

Wait a minute. I seem to have caught something. Because Youning has more common sense, the color of her heart is richer, and the temperature of her existence as a living person is also extremely strong. In the same way, what you get in nature in winter is the color you have accumulated for the splendor of spring.

・・・・・・ then it makes sense. Ghosts have no temperature and no color. When they pass through the body, they correspond to the heat taken away by the cold wind, and what they take away is probably the color of the heart. The cold feeling is indeed from the inside out. But why does it cause the coldness of reality? ・・・・・・

"What is the color of ・・・・・・ spring, and the color of the heart・・・・・・ "unconsciously, I muttered.

"That's called 'Spring'."

"Huh? What the? ”

Before I could react, Youning had already walked over with the stove and put it on the side of Reimu. I'm still reminiscing about the meaning of "spring......

"Xiang-lin!!"

"Wow! Devil, Marisa? ”

"Xianglin! You've been standing here stupidly for a long time! ”

"Is there one? I just thought about it a little bit...... You're too impatient, Marisa. Hey, don't shake the snow all over the place! ”

In the face of my accusation, the black and white girl just took off her hat lightly, and did not stop shaking the snow while spinning. ――In other words, I just just came in.

"You can't let the snow melt on your body. I chased out the door because I saw the cherry petals. Also, drop by and get some fuel from the Magic Warm House...... Eh, don't you have a reserve this year? ”

"I bought it from the Red Devil Pavilion not long ago. I'm running out of my own keeps. "Really, in my place, only the maid of the Red Devil Pavilion will pay seriously. After thinking about it, I added, "Also, don't talk as if you took something in the store for nothing." ”

"Borrowed, borrowed, borrowed, DA☆ZE~" Sure enough, it didn't work at all.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter if you go out and pick up these rags casually."

Youning debunked my old bottom in a timely manner and without giving any face. At the same time, Reimu and Marisa, who had come up with it, had already set up a snack platter in front of her. Ahh......h My dream of being a big Xianglin Hall.

However, I was given a little more time to recover. I remembered what I had been thinking about before. In Gensokyo, it seems to be a very common thing to have abilities, and that's also because the prototypes of the girls I come into contact with every day are all kinds of monsters with great legends and dangers to death. Ordinary human beings, after paying the price of hard work, may also get a little bit of strength in return, however, that can only be called power.

So, what kind of price did you pay in order to have such a strong ability?

No, that's not the right thing to say. "Possession" is already a concept beyond the scope of human beings......

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't understand it. At the same time, there is a faint uneasiness. Although I think about something that is boundless, it doesn't mean that I'm a big man. Let's follow my own principles and don't delve any further.