"You're right, I'm really old-fashioned, and my thoughts are imprisoned. But what about ......"

Naturally, it was impossible for the other party to hear such a subtle mutter.

So, it sounds like self-deprecation.

"Aren't you too?"

At this time, the sun gradually sets in the west.

The surroundings of the hospital were eerily silent, and there was a chill.

Even so, she didn't shiver once, just patiently waited for her sister to come out of the hospital.

……

"So, I'm sorry for you tomorrow."

“…… What nonsense are you talking about. I'm not going. ”

Anno, who was talking to Xia Jing through his mobile phone, sighed softly.

It was eight o'clock in the evening on the weekend, and Yasuno was talking on his mobile phone while blowing the wind with his hands.

Of course, Xia Jing didn't know that Anye was very sloppy now and only wore pajamas.

Anno's opinion is: Although the other party doesn't treat himself as a girl at all, and he never treats the other party as a boy, there is no need to deliberately tell him what he is doing now, so that the last fortress of being a girl will fall.

Oh, but who knows if it will happen.

"Are you kidding, Natsujing?"

The boy on the other end of the phone was coming to the door and making a very unmanly discussion.

"Do you want me to be cheeky enough to go on a date with you now?"

"So it's not a dating ......"

"You're really useless......"

Anno's jaw-dropping mouth couldn't close at all.

Xia Jingda's discussion was that he wanted to comfort Ye Ya and help her get out of the slump, so he planned to take her to the street tomorrow to shop or something. It's just that the timing is sensitive now, and it feels dangerous to wander around unguarded. So you can come along—like that.

As soon as he heard this, Anno scolded him for being a "useless man".

At times like this, it must be a two-person relationship, and there is no other choice. How can you be stupid?

But Xia Jingzhi clinged to the reason of "danger" and strongly insisted that Anno must at least be on standby nearby.

"You heard me clearly, anyway."

Anye reluctantly lowered his voice and turned on the preaching mode.

"I also know that Ye Ya is in a very low mood now, and I hope to help her get out of the low ebb."

"In that case......

"There's nothing good about that. Isn't it your responsibility to cheer Ya up?"

Yasuno told the truth.

"Xia Jing, how are you different from me before? Don't you care if we do what you have to do for you? Can you really accept it?"

This is the revenge of the last week, and it is also a return for gratitude.

Anye, who was stuck in the past because of the entanglement with Ah Ye, was reprimanded by Xia Jing like this at that time.

"Of course I'm worried about Ye Ya, Lin Yu and Lan Yang should be the same. The problem is that even if our encouragement helps, it doesn't make sense for her to really cheer up. If it weren't for you, the person who cheered her up would be meaningless."

Xia Jing listened attentively, and Anye's tone slowly became serious.

As she sat on the edge of the bed, she switched legs and crossed her feet.

"Don't you like Yaya? Then please......

When I was about to say the words "cheer up".

「…… Huh?"

Before she knew it, a figure was standing in front of her.

"Wait, wait, Mom!"

Anno reflexively slammed his hand into the phone's call and shouted.

I was so caught up on the phone that I didn't notice my mother entering the room.

After An Li, who was a mother, entered the room, she kept looking down at An Ye with a dumbfounded expression.

"I said you......"

The mother said, "What does it mean to be a boyfriend's love advisor just in pajamas?"

"Ahhh......h

Yasuno was so embarrassed that he couldn't even speak.

"Really, how could the daughter I gave birth to be completely incompatible with femininity?"

"I—How can I ...... By the way, why did you enter someone's room without permission?"

"It's dinner. Do you know how many times I've shouted?"

This is a common reason for mothers in general.

『…… Anno?'

Xia Jing on the other end of the phone called out his name in surprise. Anno suddenly felt embarrassed that he was only wearing pajamas. Isn't that why he heard the conversation with his mother just now?

「…… Anyway, that's the conclusion! Tomorrow you can do it yourself!"

"Huh? Hey, wait a minute, I haven't ...... yet."

As soon as he hung up the phone, even Yasuno himself could feel that his face was red and hot with shame.

"Hey, that's it?"

"It's noisy! You're out! People need to get dressed!"

Yasuno yelled angrily.

An Li shrugged her shoulders, left only a sentence of "hurry up for dinner" and turned to leave.

Yasuno held his forehead and let out a long sigh.

So after Anno changed into his pajamas, he went to the living room downstairs and began to eat with a stinky face as a wordless resistance.

However, Anno is not the kind of personality that loves to hold grudges, let alone that the other party is a person who is related to him. After finishing the meal, she had already put down the unhappiness that had happened before, and spoke to the back of her mother washing dishes: "Did you hear my conversation just now?"

"I didn't mean to hear it, it was the sound that came to my ears on its own."

"It's not all the same...... Oh, Mom, what do you think?"

Anno generously asked his mother for advice.

"What do I think?"

An Li turned off the faucet tightly, wiping her hands with her apron while turning back to face Anye.

"What you say about Ya makes sense, but you can't deny that it's dangerous."

"Is that really the case?"

"After all, these are extraordinary times."

An Li pulled a chair and sat down, facing An Ye face to face, with a somewhat serious expression on her face.

"Now that the sword is in the hands of the enemy, careful precautions are the first priority."

The Sword - the sword of the Shoke clan.

An Li continued? "Your dad told me...... As long as the sword is heated, melted, and reforged into a needle, it is easy to carry out an assassination in the crowd."

"How could it ......?"

Yasuno was stunned. I never thought the sword could be used like this.

"Ordinary deer wouldn't be able to do this. Still, your dad said, it's quite possible that humans would do it. Besides, that girl is different from us, she is the one who will use this kind of scheming with a very human style, right?"

「…… Hmm."

"Although her identity has been exposed, and it is not so simple to commit murder in front of everyone...... But I think it's important to be careful."

"Really? That's right......

Anno pondered his mother's opinion for a while, and it didn't take long—

「…… Ahh

As if on a flash of inspiration, a wonderful plan came to her mind.

"Well, that's it."

Yasuno nodded and stood up from his chair.

It's a brilliant idea, and it's not wrong to say it's flawless.

「…… Just use this method? What are you going to do?"

Anno smiled ghostly at his surprised mother.

"It's dangerous to leave the two of you alone, but I don't want to disturb people's dates, so there's only one way left."

This solution solves two contradictory problems at the same time. The point is – it must feel like it's fun.

Now that we've decided, it's time to start making preparations.

"I'm full!"

Yasuno ran back to his room on the second floor.

All the way, I was ashamed of my inexplicable rash appearance.

In the early hours of the next morning, before dawn.

In a stone basement -

Half of this space, which is about five pings in size, is divided into a cage made of white wood. In other words, it's a dungeon built underground. Although the candles on the wall are lit, the candlelight that blooms not only fails to illuminate the interior, but also adds an eerie and bleak feeling.

Even though it's a dungeon, you can't see a building when you climb the stairs to the ground.

Outside the staircase were charred, blackened debris and a large amount of charcoal.

Until seventeen years ago, the old Japanese-style mansion was known as the House of the Lost, before it was abandoned and burned beyond recognition five days ago—and now Akiyin is present in the burnt dungeon.

「…… It's finally time to say goodbye here."

Qiu Yin was followed by another girl.

Shoulder-length hair and a slender figure give people a bit of a childish feeling. However, the ugly kimono pattern made of skulls and a large swarm of bats, and the fox mask hanging from the side of the head are creepy.

The girl's eyes were dull. There was no expression on the face either. Only the corners of his mouth were slightly stiffly raised.

"Huh, Li Qi."

Autumn chanted the girl's name.

"You know what? Some people say that the cause that distorts the world is love."

The girl - Li Qi did not respond.

He just turned his gaze slightly to Qiu Yin and blinked his eyes twice.

"That man probably has a point. for I hate no man, neither do I hate anyone."

But Qiu Yin didn't mind, as if she was talking to herself.

"So do you. You've long since given up that feeling."

Qiu Yin faced Li Qi and stretched out her finger.

Gently stroked Li Qi's cheek.

Is the reason why the skin, which is finer than pottery, is waxy yellow because it is exposed to candlelight?

"Senior Sister Nangong's words are really excessive."

Qiu Yin cupped Li Qidi's cheeks with both hands, and giggled as if she thought it was ridiculous.

"According to what she said, if love distorts the world, then all the actions come from my love for Xia Jing...... Isn't it distorted? It's ironic, isn't it?"

Qiu Yin looked away from his indifferent steps and turned to the right.

"But call him love, hate, or resent...... It's stupid to talk about these feelings even though he's a monster."

The corners of his mouth were raised, revealing a smile that was somewhere between a sneer and a sneer.

"Love, love, hatred, and resentment are all things that belong to human beings, and only human beings have them, how can monsters understand? Nangong Senior Sister She ...... No, it's not just Nangong Senpai. Including Ye Ya, Anye, you, Lin Yu, Lan Yang, Senior Sister Adai, Ah Ye, and the twins, Ah Le is the same, the inhuman monster is full of love or hate, I just think it's funny...... Because, no matter how pleasantly you laugh or feel miserable, in the end you're just imitating humans, aren't you?"

Like a cunning woman.

Qiu Yin smiled with a complicated expression.

"I don't understand. I don't understand why monsters should imitate human behavior. If there really are monsters that yearn for humans, then what am I? What am I when I am treated as a monster by humans, and I have no choice but to be a monster? It's just stupid."

Qiu Yin smiled-

"I'm human, unlike you, so I'm not interested in your intentions. I don't know what Ah Le is thinking, and I don't know what Nangong Senior Sister has planned, but ...... I'm going to use it all. If I'm twisted, I'm going to drag everyone into this twist."

Qiu Yin turned her head and glanced at Li Qi.

I saw Li Qi expressionless, standing in place like a monster.

"It's time for us to go, Li Qi."

So Qiu Yin urged the monster to move.

Holding her hand, he took a step towards the stairs.

"In order to fulfill my love affair, let's destroy the monster heroically."

At the same time, he has a happy smile on his face and tells himself, "I'm having fun."

- But there is one thing that Qiu Yin does not know.

Since she was a child, she has always regarded other people's joys, sorrows and sorrows as fun, but she has not discovered it.

That's when humans laugh even when they feel resentful.

......

Saturday was a sunny day. The weather was infuriatingly cool.

Xia Jing went to the station where he agreed to meet with half melancholy and half nervousness.

As a result, last night, when both sides insisted on their own words, Anno forcibly made a decision without saying anything.

Anyway, you must go to Yoyaya and go out with the two of her. Or I want your life.

After the phone hung up, Anno sent such an extremely brutal and intimidating text message, and there was no follow-up since.

Xia Jing had no choice but to contact Lan Yang and the Lost House and make an invitation to Ye Ya. Ye Ya didn't show any excitement because of this, but felt more like she was in a haunt...... Was that reaction because she hadn't been able to lift her spirits from Sunday's blow, or was there something else?

Having said that, the thought of the word "dating" makes me nervous.

Although Xia Jing had already had the experience of going out on the street alone with Ye Ya in the past, the purpose at that time was to buy Lin Yu's birthday gift, and Xia Jing didn't realize it so much.

But the current situation can't be compared, Xia Jing has clearly sensed his mood.

That is, he seems to like Li Yeya, a girl.

can only blame the memories of childhood being evoked, and she is her first love, there is nothing happier in the world.

It may also be a good idea to simply assume that this is fate and fall into self-absorption.

If you don't convince yourself that way - it's too difficult to get along with her normally

After getting off the bus and heading towards the agreed meeting place, Xia Jing sighed after recognizing Ye Ya's figure from a distance. As expected, she was completely out of the pack.

Xia Jing thought to himself - if there is a country place where a beautiful girl in a bright red hanfu is not eye-catching at all, please tell me, and I will move there immediately.

"That guy is really ...... Forget it."

I don't want to think about the last time I wore Hanfu on the street and became the focus of attention, haven't you learned a lesson? No, it's strictly normal that she didn't learn her lesson. Because Ye Ya didn't notice the reactions of the passers-by around her at all, and Xia Jing, who was scared silly by her, didn't even bother to complain.

"Summer view."

Spotting Xia Jing's figure, Ye Ya rushed forward. Pedestrians on the road saluted with stunned expressions on their faces, and some even prepared to pull out their digital cameras - what is there to shoot!

Xia Jing raised her hand in greeting, and at the same time re-examined her whole body.