It is a Japanese-style classical room. Elegant and sophisticated décor, with an air of elegance throughout.

The light that poured into the room from the window was facing a clean and tidy desk, and in front of the desk was a girl who was well-dressed and sitting well, even at home.

The light shone on her fair face, on both sides of her cheeks, and a few strands of hair floated gently from her forehead on the desk, brushing the white pages that exuded the fragrance of ink.

Shiori Shinohara swept the pages with her white fingers, swept her hair out of the book, and then gently turned another page. In the quiet Japanese-style room, there is the sound of a girl flipping through a book.

The silence lasted for a long time, until it was interrupted by a few small knocks on the door.

"Tuk-tuk."

The knock was soft, but the room was quiet enough that the sound could be easily heard.

"Please come in."

Shiori Shinohara said softly.

Then there was a slight sound of the door opening.

However, Shiori Shinohara did not look at it, but continued to look at her book. It wasn't until a few seconds had passed, when she had finished reading this part of the book, that she looked away from the pages and looked at the door.

The maid of the house was standing by the door, her eyebrows slightly lowered.

"Miss, it's almost time."

"Okay."

Shiori Shinohara nodded lightly and glanced at the time on the wall, two fifty-five, close to three o'clock in the afternoon.

She picked up the bookmark she had prepared on the side of her desk, tucked it into the open book, closed it, and laid it on the desk.

And because of this, the soft sunlight that spills into this room gives a glimpse of the book's cover—

The whole is a bright yellow color, and the title of the book is printed on it: "Lolita".

After closing the book, Shiori Shinohara left the desk and walked out of the room.

The sloping sky light shines through the side of the Japanese verandah and shines on Shiori Shinohara. She looked at the courtyard of the atrium as she walked alone to her mother's tearoom.

Every Sunday at three o'clock in the afternoon, it was tea time for the two of them, as set by her mother.

It lasts for half an hour and is a small talk. As for the significance of the existence of this tea time......

Maybe it's "to enhance the relationship between mother and daughter", which is enough to make Shiori Shinohara can't help but smile beautifully, maybe who knows.

Anyway, her mother was always happy to observe such etiquette on the surface.

In short, this weekly tea time has existed since a very young age, and today is no exception.

Because the family is large, Shiori Shinohara spends a lot of time on the road.

Finally, when the minute hand of the clock stopped three blocks behind the number 11, Shiori Shinohara, who was walking slowly, reached the door of the tea room.

She knocked on the door.

When her mother's "please come in" came from the room, she slowly opened the door and walked inside.

After entering the room, he did not look at the familiar room, but turned around and closed the door unhurriedly.

After that, look at the tea table in the center of the room.

Her mother, dressed in yellow, sat quietly at the table.

Shiori Shinohara walked to the tea table and sat down.

Her mother only then moved, pulling the sleeves of her kimono and pouring tea unhurriedly.

At the moment when the minute hand of the clock happened to stop at the number 12, the bottom of the teapot touched the tabletop.

"Shiori." Her mother spoke.

"Yes." Shiori Shinohara lowered her head slightly, her gaze slanted downward, facing the teacup in front of her that emitted a faint white mist.

She picked up the teacup in both hands, took a sip, and put it down.

In this way, the afternoon tea time of their mother and daughter officially began.

"How's your studies going?" Her mother's tone was plain, very gentle, as gentle as the ordinary wives of ordinary families.

"I never relaxed." Shiori Shinohara replied.

"Did you eat well?"

"Good."

"How are you getting along with the children of the Amamiya family?"

"Pretty good."

"You guys went to play together last week. Where did it go? ”

"Went to ......"

“……”

“……”

Between mother and daughter, one question and one answer.

The questions are simple and multifaceted, as is the case with mother-daughter conversations in ordinary families.

It contains the mother's care for her daughter's life -

Scold.

I'm afraid her mother herself would believe it.

Shiori Shinohara, a long time ago, thought that this so-called tea time was weird, but she couldn't tell where the weirdness was.

It wasn't until one time, when she really got in touch with how those "real mothers and daughters" got along, that she finally realized what was strange about this "tea time".

Between a normal mother and daughter, the care from the mother is intermittent, from time to time, and permeates daily life.

And her mother......

There is no such care in daily life.

Of course, she may have realized this herself, so she had this "tea time".

As if to make up for the lack of care in the daily life, in this tea room, the care from the mother can fill the empty tea room.

But that's the weirdness.

This kind of care only exists in this tea room. When half an hour passed, everything returned to its original state.

So it's not caring, it's still the superficial etiquette that her mother is keen to observe.

It's like a play that plays for herself, immerses herself in the identity of "mother".

When the play ends, her role as "mother" is complete.

And Shiori Shinohara, she is another actor who accompanies her in acting.

"How's the Wind Club?"

"There are some problems."

"Well, what about Mr. Hirakawa? He's not only Shiori's homeroom teacher, but also the instructor of the wind club, right? But I think I've heard that he doesn't manage the orchestra very much. ”

“…… Be. Recently, the midterm exam is approaching, and Mr. Hirakawa is busy with other affairs. ”

"Hmm...... If Mr. Hirakawa is so busy, do you need to change the instructor for the wind club? After all, I'd love to see Shiori stand on the stage of the national competition. It's also good to change to a professional music teacher. ”

“…… Shiori thinks that Hirakawa-sensei's job is doing a good job and does not need to be replaced. ”

"It's all right, Shiori can be satisfied."

“……”

“……”

The faint voice of speech was like a mist ethereal on hot tea, floating a few times in this simply furnished tea room, and slowly dissipated.

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

Shen Changqing walked on the road, and when he met someone he knew well, he would say hello to each other or nod his head.

But it doesn't matter who it is.

There was no superfluous expression on everyone's face, as if they were very indifferent to everything.

on this.

Shen Changqing is used to it.

Because this is the Demon Suppression Division, it is an institution that maintains the stability of Great Qin, and its main responsibility is to kill demons and monsters, and of course there are some other side jobs.

Arguably.

In the Demon Suppression Division, everyone has a lot of blood on their hands.

When a person is accustomed to seeing life and death, then he will become indifferent to many things.

When he first came to this world, Shen Changqing was a little uncomfortable, but over time he got used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division is huge.

The people who can stay in the Demon Suppression Division are all powerful masters, or people who have the potential to become masters.

Shen Changqing belongs to the latter.

Among them, the Demon Suppression Division is divided into two professions, one is the town guard and the other is the demon exterminator.

Anyone who enters the Demon Suppression Division starts with the lowest level of demon slayer.

Then step by step, he is expected to become a town guard.

Shen Changqing's predecessor was a trainee demon slayer in the Demon Suppression Division, and he was also the lowest level of the demon slayer envoys.

Have memories of the predecessor.

He is also very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

It didn't take long for Shen Changqing to stop in front of an attic.

Unlike other places full of slaughter, the attic here seems to stand out from the crowd, and in the bloody Demon Suppression Division, it presents a different tranquility.

At this time, the attic door is open, and there are occasional people entering and exiting.

Shen Changqing only hesitated for a moment, and then stepped in.

Access to the attic.

The environment has changed in vain.

A burst of ink fragrance mixed with the faint smell of blood came to his face, making his brow furrow instinctively, but quickly stretched.

The smell of blood on everyone's body in the Demon Suppression Division is almost impossible to clean.