“…… Are these two people the ones who are the ones who have done this time? I glanced at Sister Lan beside me and couldn't help but say with some curiosity.

"Yes, that's them."

As I spoke, I saw Sister Lan responding to me, but her eyes were fixed on the person standing not far away. So I looked over curiously and observed.

The beautiful young woman wore a thin black mesh shirt over a loose white sweater and a fluffy white dress underneath.

This dress looks very homely, with a calm feeling of the hostess of a rich family. But I think this person feels very comfortable, and I have a good impression of her anyway.

However, although this woman is very beautiful, it can be seen from her expression that this time it is estimated that she will be tortured a lot.

On that magnificent face, there was no trace of blood on the pale cheeks, and the eyelids were a little drooping. At the slightly sunken eye sockets, a faint blue-black shadow covered it, revealing a deep sense of powerlessness.

I really feel sorry for me, I thought silently.

And the little girl, who was obediently standing in front of the woman like a doll, I saw her sneaking a glance this way. Occasionally, I looked at her as well, but she immediately lowered her head the next moment.

"Hey, this girl ......"

I was stunned at first, and felt an inexplicable abnormality from her body, and I couldn't help frowning slightly and observing carefully.

This girl is dressed very cutely. I remember that there was no popular lolita among the girls of the post-00s recently? That's probably what this girl was wearing.

Dressed in a gothic pale pink princess dress, the pleats that form a beautiful pattern reveal the beauty of a handicraft. Anyway, I think this kid is too suitable for this kind of clothing.

However, the sense of disobedience I felt from her came from precisely this place.

She was holding a small doll on her body, which looked very delicate. And this kind of doll ...... I remember where I had seen it before.

I remember when I was very young, a noble lady in our family once came to visit. I remember when my grandfather was alive.

And at that time, in the hand of that noble lady, I remember holding a doll that was about the same as the little girl's hand.

The reason why I still remember this childhood memory is because the doll is so delicate that it can be stolen.

There is a theory called the Uncanny Valley Theory, to the effect that when a human-made thing such as a puppet or a robot resembles a human, it causes a strong sense of discomfort.

This doll probably gives people this feeling, so I remember it very clearly, and the feeling of fear can still be vaguely recalled.

And the lady said that this kind of doll was specially purchased from the puppet craftsmen on the Russian side.

Originally, she chose to buy it at a high price because she had a hobby of collecting dolls, but when she bought that expensive, overly delicate doll, strange things began to happen around her.

What's even more terrifying is that she doesn't know when she found that she couldn't abandon the doll. No matter where she throws it, she always comes back to herself.

Moreover, after every abandonment, something dangerous will happen to you. And the severity is worse than the last.

After this kind of thing happened several times, even this noble lady who did not believe in ghosts and gods faced strong mental pressure, and even had a precursor to depression.

So she asked around for an expert in the field, and finally found my grandfather's head.

I don't remember exactly how Grandpa disposed of the doll, because Grandpa deliberately asked me to avoid that scene.

But I remember that in the room where my grandfather was at that time, there was a particularly terrible scream that scared me all night.

Until the other day I saw my grandfather come out of the house in a haggard state, carrying a bag of garbage with the remains of a doll. It was a burned body.

Now, the little girl in front of me, who looks as delicate as a doll, is holding this more delicate doll in her hand, and I feel a sense of incongruity.

It's as if, the one in her arms is the person, and she is the doll. Of course, this is nothing more than my own delusion.

And I sincerely hope that this is my own delusion. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile bitterly in my heart.

"Both, this is the mistress of my house, Mrs. Ann."

The housekeeper sat at the front, and very gentlemanly stretched out his hand and invited Sister Lan and me to walk to Mrs. An and the little girl beside her.

When I followed, Sister Lan suddenly whispered into my ear: "The doll in that child's hand is weird. ”

I couldn't help but smile wryly, and said as quietly as possible, "I feel that way too." ”

After that, Sister Lan nodded silently and said softly: "But it's also an ordinary routine, and at this time, there is a chance that the problem will be in that kind of evil thing." ”

Hearing Sister Lan say this, I couldn't help but smile a little dumbly and looked at her.

"She's an experienced witch, and she can get to the point."

"Hmph, I underestimate that I have your good fruit to eat, follow my sister, and let you go home alive."

I looked at Sister Lan's smug appearance, shook my head helplessly, and followed the housekeeper up.

Seeing me and Sister Lan sitting in front of us, the sad-faced Mrs. An also reluctantly squeezed out a smile and said, "Are you two the demon slayers who accepted the commission this time?" ”

Sister Lan smiled slightly, stretched out a hand, and said, "Hello, my name is Jin Lan and I am a witch. ”

Mrs. An gently shook Sister Lan's hand, and when she heard Sister Lan introduce herself as a witch, I could clearly see a look of relief on her face.

"I've admired the name for a long time...... I've heard that witches are the best at purifying unclean things, right? ”

Looking at her inquiry with a hint of anticipation, Sister Lan smiled lightly and said, "Of course, although there are also specific types, but ......"

Sister Lan glanced down at the puppet in the little girl's hand, and at this time, the little girl seemed to notice something, and hugged the puppet in her hand tighter with some fear.

Sister Lan and I looked at each other silently, and then Sister Lan said, "Leave the matter to me this time, and I will definitely be responsible for it to the end." ”

Mrs. An seemed to be relieved, and then bowed deeply to Sister Lan and said, "Everything will be handed over to Miss Jin...... I'm afraid that if it drags on any longer, I don't know what will happen......"

After that, Mrs. An looked at me with a hint of inquiry in her eyes, and said, "This is ......?"

I was struggling with how to introduce myself, but Sister Lan glanced at me and said quickly: "It's my assistant, with him cooperating with my actions, I will be able to do things more smoothly." ”

Aides? I glanced at Sister Lan suspiciously—I hadn't heard her say that to me beforehand. But Sister Lan glared at me and motioned not to speak.

Mrs. An nodded in understanding, then looked down at the little girl, squatted beside her and said, "Yoyo, say hello to my brother and sister." ”

The little girl trembled slightly when she heard this, and looked up at me and Sister Lan in fear, and then, I saw a deep gloom flash in her eyes, so I bit my lip and suddenly turned around and ran away.

"Yoyo! Where are you going! ”

Seeing that the little girl had run away at once, Mrs. An immediately called out in a hurry. Without waiting for Mrs. Ann to say anything, several maids immediately chased after the little girl.

"Miss, wait a minute!"

"Bring Yoyo back, don't leave her alone!" Mrs. An originally wanted to catch up with herself, but she seemed to realize that Sister Lan and I were still here, so she was stunned for a moment, looked at us with a tired look, and sighed deeply.

"This kid ...... Now don't say that you see strangers, even in the face of me, you don't even want to say a word......"

Sister Lan remained silent, as if she was thoughtful. And now it seems that I want to play Sister Lan's assistant, so I also chose to shut up.

"So...... Come with me to the house first. ”

When Sister Lan and I followed Mrs. An into the house, we found that it was quite lively.

This excitement does not mean that there are many family members of Mrs. An—there are at least a dozen people wearing strange costumes or straight suits, and they are looking around with various equipment.

“…… Mrs. Ann, who are these people? ”

Don't wait for me to ask, Sister Lan seems to be with me after seeing these guys, and her face suddenly becomes a lot uglier.

These people are also clearly demon slayers—monks wearing Buddhist beads, Taoist priests with cloud temples, and foreigners with advanced equipment......

Anyway, if I didn't know that Sister Lan and I were here to get rid of demons, otherwise, I would have thought we were here for a drag party.

Mrs. An saw that Sister Lan was not in a good mood, so she immediately explained in a panic: "That, that...... Miss Jin, don't get me wrong, the reason why I found so many demon slayers here is not that I don't believe you, Miss Jin, it's just that ......"

Speaking of this, Mrs. An also paused, her face full of sorrow.

"It's just that I'm stupid for this matter, I don't believe in evil all along, it's been too long, I'm afraid...... If it drags on for a long time, what will happen to you, and I don't know how to explain it to my husband at that time...... Woohoo......"

Mrs. An also seems to have a relatively weak character, and tears are dripping out as she speaks, covering her little face and crying.

Seeing Mrs. An like this, Sister Lan was also stunned, and then sighed lightly and didn't say anything more.

However, I can clearly see that Sister Lan is not looking at these peers with a kind of hostility—and these people, looking at Sister Lan and me, are also looking at each other with a hint of hostility.

"Everyone, please take a break, at noon, Mrs. An will be there to explain the incident to everyone, and you can ask questions about what you are curious about."

The butler arranged all of us demon slayers at the long scary table, and after letting us sit down, he also gave us a kind explanation.

And these demon slayers are all very good-looking, looking at their expressions seem to be quite happy? Anyway, I can't figure out why they seem so happy.

On the contrary, it was Sister Lan - she had been with a strained face since she arrived here in the morning, and she had not smiled once.

When the butler had finished explaining the matter, everyone followed the maid to the room prepared for them. And only Sister Lan didn't do that.

I waited in the corridor with Sister Lan, and after watching the housekeeper walk towards him, Sister Lan stopped him.

"Oh, Miss Kim, do you need anything?"

"When is lunch?"