Facing Sa's expectant gaze, I was embarrassed to say "I'm sorry, I forgot" such a sentence, my eyes turned around, and I subconsciously pointed to a store in front of me: "Sa, how about I send you a mask?" ”

I regretted it as soon as I said this, not only because there was a corresponding story in the past, but also because the owner of that shop was the same mana master named Hino Mitsukaze, and I heard that he had a high status in the town, was the leader of the functional council, and held the position of protector of Buddhism. But to tell the truth, he is really not a person who seems to make people feel close, not only does he not have the posture of Buddhist peace and compassion, but he looks upside down, which makes it difficult for people to feel good.

What's more, because of Miss Rokuchi, Saya also seems to have a bad impression of this Mr. Hino Mitsukaze, and every time he passes by the door of his store, he has to walk briskly, but sometimes he still says a few inexplicable strange things.

"Huh...... Fold, you really like masks. ”

Mika tilted her head like a falcon staring at her prey, with a malicious expression on her face: "The same quirks as Mamura." ”

"I just love what the mask represents."

I don't think there's anything wrong with comparing it to Mamura, it's actually just a hobby. The meaning of the mask is varied, sacrifice, camouflage, protection, art...... It itself has been born since the very primitive tribal era, and the shape of a mask is either from reality, or from mythology and fantasy, or from practical reasons, so that the mask can almost be regarded as a symbol of the history of the development of human culture.

Of course, it is undeniable that all kinds of strange masks do look terrifying at times, and their overly impactful plastic art will cause extremely strong visual stimulation and make people feel intimidated by it - the beauty and artistic value contained in them are indeed not appreciated by ordinary people who pursue "softness".

"So you want to use a mask to scare people? I threw away that scary-looking mountain demon mask last time. ”

"It's not a mountain demon, it's a dragon, although it doesn't have a very fixed form, but most of them are red and black and the face of a three-year-old child, and the long pointed ears and sharp horns are chiseled. There is a theory that the son of a god who died became a youkai, which represents the 'plague'. It is said that it was worshiped as a god a long time ago, and although it is believed that it is a god of 祟 (作祟), it is undeniable that it has a divine aspect in itself. ”

I was about to defend the poor mask, who didn't know where it had been thrown, but Sha calmly described for me what it meant: "And it is said that there are two brothers who died together, and they have descriptions of living in the river and in the corners of the house (corridors and corners), and they like to scare children. Because there is no too specific title, the three brothers are generally counted as a dragon. Therefore, the dragon can be regarded as both a god in the water and a god hidden in a house, and will seek out a house with children to bring them fright and 'plague', so as to fulfill their duties as a god. ”

"In other words, did you deliberately choose such a mask with a legend of scaring children to scare us?"

As soon as she said this, Meijia's expression became even more unkind, and she glared at me several times. The yarn pursed her mouth, and the corners of her curved eyes revealed a smile, but there was a worry in her eyebrows that could not be erased.

"Actually, I didn't think about it that much at the time, but I just happened to have that mask on hand, so I put it on."

I could only smile apologetically, and my eyes turned around the yarn's face a few times, but I didn't find anything too unusual—these allusions to the dragon would not have been known if I hadn't read the book carefully. And the fact that Yarn was able to say these words was a bit unexpected to be honest.

Either way, she probably wouldn't want a mask as a gift – so what should I give her?

As I pondered this, Yarn stretched out her hand and beckoned to me, "Fold, let's go see the mask." ”

"But ......"

I hesitated, and I still remember very clearly the situation when Sha was "scared" and cried - she said that she was crying in fear, but in fact she neither screamed in fear nor reacted much at that time, but just looked at me in a daze with tears and retreated in small steps. It's not so much that I'm frightened, but because I see something sad and afraid, and it's full of great longing, which is an incomparably complex expression.

Generally speaking, this is a sign of touching some kind of psychological shadow, so I try to avoid talking about things related to it in front of her.

"It's okay, I'm not afraid of masks."

The gauze seemed to see through my thoughts and waved her hand slightly. Meijia wanted to say something, but was stopped by Rinai: "Then you two go to the folding and yarn, let's go to other stores." ”

After Meijia left a sentence of "help me bring one too", she was pulled by Rinera to the jewelry store on the side.

"Is my sister going?"

I looked at the person who was holding the pen in my hand and looked at it, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"I'll wait for you here."

She glanced at the mask shop and shook her head.

……

After Jing refused, Saya and I walked a few steps forward to the mask shop, and after a closer look, we found that the faces of the two welcome lamps in front of the store had melted at some point, but apparently they had not melted naturally, but had been ironed directly into a flat and smooth surface by magic power, like a mirror—that way, and that we didn't have to endure the strange appearance that tickled people's teeth.

"Probably some adult couldn't see it, and smoothed it out with mana."

The tone of the yarn seemed somewhat pleasant.

"Hey, isn't this a fold?"

Just as we were observing the two welcome lights, a slightly surprised voice came into our ears, and when we turned our heads, we realized that it was Miss Tomiko. She still wears a standout kimono, but last time it was a silver-white kimono, and this time it is a light blue kimono with a plum blossom pattern (kimono type) - she also wears a kimono when she watches the game, and she wears it as if it were a regular dress.

But is it really convenient to do so? Why not change into something more convenient?

"Hello, Miss Tomiko."

I bent down to her and casually asked the question in my mind, "Wouldn't it be inconvenient for you to wear a kimono every time I see you?" ”

Perhaps this question is really a bit abrupt, Miss Tomiko was stunned for a moment, and then covered her mouth and chuckled: "If it is inconvenient, it is definitely impossible to say that there is none, but after so many years of dressing like this, I will definitely feel more inconvenient if I change into other clothes—psychological inconvenience is far more difficult to overcome than physical inconvenience." ”

"Actually, you don't have any other clothes to change."

I casually made an innocuous joke, and she nodded disappreciatively: "For this reason, I don't know when the clothes sent to me began to become kimono styles, and I don't plan to do it myself, so I will wait until the old clothes are all thrown away, and slowly only kimonos will be left in the closet." ”

"Maybe your job is more suitable for a kimono that is a little more formal."

Every year, the town office collects data from each household and distributes daily necessities such as clothes and bedding to each household upon request. However, in general, the style of clothing is mostly regular clothes, and we do not provide rare or special clothes on our own - of course, you can make your own, but you have to apply to the town office for a quota of cloth and materials.

It can be seen that Miss Tomiko's identity must be very special, and even the clothes delivered have been taken care of.

Miss Tomiko obviously didn't intend to talk about her work, so she smiled, then looked at the somewhat restrained yarn and pretended to be dissatisfied: "Fold, you patronize and talk, and you don't introduce your friends to me, this is not good." ”

Her diversion of the subject had left my tentative thoughts in the air and a lack of words, and it would have been too deliberate to continue to ask questions on this issue.

When I was about to introduce the yarn, Miss Tomiko's gaze lingered on the conspicuous red hair of the yarn for a moment, and then nodded to herself: "But it doesn't seem that there is any need to introduce it, this is the child of the Six Senses, right?" ”

"Well, my name is Liuzhisha."

Sata raised her head solemnly, bent down ceremoniously, and made a flat voice that was not close to her.

"It's just the same character as your mother, shaped by the same mold."

Miss Tomiko smiled, not caring about Sha's attitude: "Your mother gave birth to her second daughter yesterday, you should be congratulated." ”

"Thank you for the compliments. As for my sister's affairs, I already know. ”

The smile of the yarn is still not warm, but makes people feel a little cold. I noticed that the atmosphere was a little gloomy, but I didn't know why, so I had to interject and play a round: "By the way, we are here to choose masks, Miss Tomiko, are you also here to choose masks?" ”

"No, I was just passing by while wandering, and it happened that the owner of the shop had something to leave, and he knew me well, so he entrusted me to take care of the store."

She made an inviting gesture: "If you want to choose a mask, please come in and look at it at will." ”

"Thank you."

Sala and I walked into the store, and there were masks on all sides, metal, wood, stone, leather...... Animals, ghosts, and people...... Almost all common materials and types are included, and each one is unique. Too many masks covered every inch of the store, including masks on the walls, ice shelves, counters, and even the roof.

Due to the dense density of the masks, the various expressions and strange shapes on the masks inevitably make people feel creepy, which is probably the reason why this store is rarely frequented.

"If you have to choose, I recommend these more modest masks here, at least they won't look so 'conspicuous'."

Miss Tomiko pointed to a shelf on the right, on which hung some masks of softer colors and not exaggerated and strange shapes, probably some animal masks and masks of gods and Buddhas, which looked quite flattering, and would not be frightening to see at night.

I took a look at it, and I also thought that these types were just right for a girl like Sasa, and I was about to go up and choose one, but the sleeves were pulled by Sa. She stood still in front of a shelf on the left, her eyes staring straight at a mask that was identical to the one Mika had previously discarded—the same red color, with a pointed forehead, long pointed ears that extended backwards, and an expressionless face, except for a slight mysterious smile in the corners of her eyes that were slanted upward.

If there is any difference, it is nothing more than that the material has changed from gum to delicate leather, which appears thicker, but other than that, it is almost identical.

She picked up the mask, rubbed it a few times, and handed it over, staring at me with black and white eyes, as if silently conveying the phrase "I want this".

"Then let's have this."

I understood her thoughts, sighed inwardly, took the mask, and motioned to Miss Tomiko, "Can I ask for this?" ”

"Please. As long as there are no more than two per person, they can be taken away. ”

She stood at the counter and made a gesture that did not match her identity like a real shopkeeper.

"I'm going to help Mika pick one too."

Yarn reminded me loudly, for fear that I would forget what Mika had left behind. I nodded, and chose four more masks on the shelf recommended by Miss Tomiko, which were foxes, pandas, butterfly wings, and tanuki styles. However, counting my share with Yarn, I can only choose four, and needless to say, the three people left will inevitably suffer from widowhood, so I asked Miss Tomiko for advice: "Miss Tomiko, we plan to bring a few for our friends, but the quota is not enough, can we choose one more?" ”

"Is this going to count as a reward last time?"

She lazily clenched her left hand into a fist to support her cheek, and she was writing something on the counter with a pen in a leisurely and relaxed manner, and when she heard my words, she stopped the pen and turned her head, with a smile on the corner of her lips: "If it is counted as the reward last time, you can also choose a few more." ”

"Forget it, I think your reward must be worth more than a few masks."

I made a gesture to put down the mask, but she pretended to groan: "Originally, it didn't work, but there happened to be something I wanted you to help with, and if you agreed, you could pick one more." ”

"What is it?"

"Do you know about the memorial ceremony?"

"Yes."

I nodded, and the festival is a ritual festival that has been passed down for thousands of years, and this festival is held every year in the town, on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, and is held in the town office in Maolun Township. The ritual is roughly about Fang Xiangshi exorcising ghosts, with an adult playing the role of Fang Xiangshi and a group of children playing the role of Zhenzi, and two of the children are responsible for playing the role of ghosts and being expelled - this is about the procedure.

(The previous snow festival time is the Gregorian calendar, so this time period is actually not the Spring Festival yet.) Since the original book is the world after a thousand years, I don't know how many years it is, so I won't calculate the specific time, this is a headache calculation, and there is no reliable one after turning the 10,000-year calendar. ）

"There are still some children missing from this year's vibrator, if you go to help, let you pick one more."

She looked at me with a smile and added, "Of course, there is also the possibility of playing the ghost in it." Although only two ghosts are needed, in previous years, there were no children who volunteered to sign up, so they had to use a lottery to decide, and if they were unlucky, they might be drawn. ”

"There's nothing wrong with my own words."

I thought about it for a moment, and nodded in agreement for reasons of interest: "My parents don't necessarily agree, though." ”

"That's not a bad thing, they'll agree."

Miss Tomiko smiled meaningfully.

……

I'm sorry, I've been busy with work lately, so I've been delayed until now.