Aomori Prefecture in December is a land of snow.

The train roared along the tracks, windswept through the snow, and the trunk kept out the cold outside.

Shikanoya sat by the window and watched the quiet silver world flowing through the window.

The train in the countryside is not always full like the train in Tokyo, and there is no one sitting on the opposite side of the fawn or in the seat next to it.

"It's snowing in Tokyo, but it's not as beautiful as it is in Aomori. If you have a chance, you should invite Master and the masters, as well as Sister Hotaru to play together. Kanoya thought.

Then, she took out her phone and reconfirmed the time when the train passed through the station.

There are still ten minutes to go to Hakkoda in 10 minutes.

Switching to the interface of LINE, Xiaolu first sent a few photos of the snow scene and a small video just shot to his only top object, Kamiyagawa, who was remarked as "最強の師craftsman".

Only then did he open the chat box of Autumn Road.

The chat history of the two girls was kept half an hour ago.

Akimichi said that she had arrived at the station in Hakkoda and would wait there for the arrival of Kanoya, and then the two would go to the hot spring town together.

[I'll be there in fifteen minutes or so.] ]

The fawn sent a message, but there was no immediate reply from the Akido side.

So she locked the screen of her phone and continued to look at the scenery speeding by outside the window.

The inside of the carriage was quiet, and there were not many people in itself.

In the back-to-back position behind the seats of the Kanoya sat a young couple.

I think I also traveled to Hakkoda side, so I was in high spirits along the way, and I often talked about something.

But in order not to disturb the others in the carriage, they did not talk loudly. That is, this position of the fawn, I can barely hear a little-

"By the way, Momi, have you ever seen a murder on the other side of Hakkoda?"

"What homicide?"

"I happened to see it when I was looking up this travel guide on the Internet. More than ten years ago, also on a winter evening, a female high school student disappeared in Hakkoda ...... Bizarrely, the police conducted a carpet search at the location of her last disappearance, and finally found only some remnants of brain tissue in the mountains and forests. ”

"And then?"

"After identification, the brain tissue that was found did belong to the missing female high school student, but no other part of her body has been found, and the case seems to have not been solved yet...... So, ah, on Hakkoda side, there is likely to be a perverted murderer who will attack female high school students. I read the speculation on the Internet that the murderer was probably a cannibal......"

"Don't say it, it's terrifying."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I will protect your Momei, remember to stay by my side at night."

"You're really annoying, Yishui."

“……”

Xiaolu didn't pay too much attention to the whispers of the couple behind her, and re-unlocked the phone to check.

We will arrive at Hakkoda Station.

But the messages sent to Kamiya and Akido ten minutes ago have not been answered.

Actually, it's quite normal that Master didn't reply to the message.

He's always been like that.

The fawn is used to it.

But it's a bit strange that Qiu Dao doesn't reply to the message, not to mention that it will be the time when the two agreed to meet soon.

[I'm coming.] ]

[I'm here, where are you?] ]

[Aren't you at the station?] I didn't see you. ]

[Naihiro?]

The message was not read, and the stone sank into the sea.

……

Hakkoda Station.

Kanoya pulled his suitcase and left the platform.

She made a phone call as she walked, but Qiu Dao's phone was always unanswered.

The sudden loss of contact with the friend made Xiaolu feel a little uneasy.

"According to the message Nai Xun sent me before, she should have been at the station a long time ago."

Kanoya stopped and pushed the string of Bodhi rosaries tied around his wrist to the palm of his hand, and the beads rubbed and slid between the palms.

Her heart became a little clearer.

Holding his breath, Shikanoya's small nose twitched slightly.

There is a smell similar to "cold plum" near the station, which is a taste that belongs to winter.

And in the base of this smell, there are many other smells mixed in—

Leather, tobacco, perfume......

In addition to this, there are some "conceptual" smells: soft like satin, hard like rock, and agile like spring water......

There are people coming and going on the platform, and the smell of each person is different, and the smell of people coming and going will be left for a while.

It's complicated, and finding a particular smell in it is as difficult as listening to someone's specific voice in a bustling market.

However, when the deer is in the imperial tea, he is basically with Akimichi, and he goes to the toilet together, so he is very familiar with the smell of his friends.

The smell on Akimichi's body is a softer type, and the smell that can be smelled when you turn on the sense of smell of inspiration is a bit like a red velvet cake mixed with some vanilla flavor.

However, this is just an analogy with the smell that ordinary humans can perceive, and the smell on Qiu Dao's body is far more complex than this.

When a fawn turns on its "sense of smell", it can smell more than a dog......

Many of the flavors are actually difficult to describe intuitively, and only she can experience them.

In short, if Akimichi is really here, Shikanoya is confident that he can find each other through the taste.

"There's a little bit of a faint smell that belongs to Nahiro. So she's been here for a while, but she's not around here anymore...... Where will she go? ”

I said that I would come to the station to pick up Shikanoya, but there was no reason why Akido would leave at this time.

Even if there is something important, I will definitely notify Shikanoya, instead of directly missing contact like now.

The uneasiness in the fawn's heart became more and more intense.

Continuing to maintain her sense of inspiration, she quickly followed the remnants of the autumn road in the air.

……

On the highway outside Hakkoda Station.

In winter, the sky gets darker quickly, and the sunset in the western sky gradually fades, and the dusk quietly descends in the pine waves and mountain winds on both sides of the road.

The first few stars appeared in the vast canopy, and the shadows of crows fluttering among the trees.

Then, the setting sun seemed to break off the horizon abruptly, disappearing silently, leaving only a blood-red trail on the mountain pass at the end of the road, rendering the originally silvery white earth a dull red.

According to the original agreement, at this time, Xiaolu and her good friend should already be in the hot spring town of Hakkoda.

“…… I know, I'll look for Nai Xun again, and hang up my aunt first! ”

The fawn ran briskly along the side of the road, and the call in the Bluetooth headset was hung up by her.

This call was made to Akimichi's mother.

From the Akido family, Kanoya reconfirmed-

Nai Xun did arrive at Hakkoda Station a long time ago.

Akimichi's father, who sent her over, had been home for a long time at this time, and according to the agreement, Akimichi's father would drive to the hot spring street at about 9 o'clock in the evening to pick up his daughter and Kanoya back to the hot spring hotel.

And after receiving a call from Luyeya and the news that Qiu Dao was missing, Qiu Dao's parents also seemed extremely anxious.

Something is definitely wrong.

"W-ha-"

Shikanoya gasped, her chest rising and falling, and the cold wind poured into her lungs, stinging a little.

During the run, she pinched the "outer lion mark" that strengthened her physical fitness.

Even halfway down, he left the suitcase that was in the way on the side of the road, leaving only the satchel that was slung over his shoulder.

The suitcase contained only a change of clothes and daily necessities, while her satchel contained the all-important phantom.

Including that Glock pistol.

In Japan, there is no security check on the train, so the gun will not be detected.

Unobstructed along the way.

Even if the Glock is indeed found, the fawn still has the complete gun handling procedures from the official scriptures.

Out of the way.

"Aba!"

The matter of pathfinding has been handed over to the little old man's body.

The scout clone usually guards the side of the deer, so he is also familiar with the breath of the autumn road and can track it.

Running to the section of the road where there were no street lights, the scout in front of him paused briefly and pointed in the direction of the mountains and forests on the side.

On the hillside, you can see a series of footprints with smaller shoe sizes.

"These are Naihiro's footprints?"

The fawn took two big breaths, calmed down, and the Bodhi rosary in the palm of his hand slid again, glowing slightly.

There is indeed a relatively fresh smell that belongs to the autumn road.

"Nai Xun went up the mountain?"

Shikayeya looked out over the dark mountain forest on the side of the road, and there was only a dim shadow of trees above the hillside.

She didn't think much of it and caught up the hill in one fell swoop.

Another stretch of the road.

"Ugh!"

The wolf whose coat color blends with the white snow appears.

The lantern hanging from its neck swayed, giving off a peaceful light, illuminating its surroundings steadily, and it followed the fawn closely.

In the mountains and forests, the smell of autumn roads is even stronger.

The snow at the foot of Shikanoya is also thicker.

"That ......!"

On a pine tree in front of you, a bright red flutters.

It was a scarf, the same style that the fawn wore today.

This was bought by her and Akimichi when she was in Tokyo before.

And the footprints on the ground, one foot deep and one foot shallow, belonged to the autumn road, and they were replaced by extremely messy beast-like claw marks.

With the help of the light of the wolf's lantern, you can see between the dim woodlands around you, and there are so many such paw prints, and there may have been a large number of strange things here.

In addition to this, there are ...... It looks like the mark of a rut.

It's not a modern car tire, the rut is very narrow, it's the kind of thing that can occasionally be seen in TV dramas, the traces left by the wooden wheels of ox carts.

Also, the fawn smelled a rotten cold smell here, mixed with the smell of sneaky beasts.

"It's weird."

There can be no mistake in the judgment of inspiration and smell.

Normal living creatures don't carry such a smell, which is certainly some kind of weirdness.

"Little grandpa, have you contacted Master?"

Xiaolu opened the satchel, grabbed the copper chain and shook it, and the [Sacred Virtue Imperial Incense Burner] was thrown out by her with a familiar bang.

"Aba!"

Of course, the scout had already reported the matter on Towada's side to the master Kamiyagawa through the original ontology.

"There's no smell of blood here, not even any smell of injury, Nai Xun must have been kidnapped here by some kind of weird talk. Also, the smell here is fresh, which means that it has only happened recently...... So I still have a chance to save Naihiro. ”

The fawn quickly analyzes the situation based on the information available so far.

With the previous experience of Matsuzawa, coupled with the assistance of the effect of [Bodhi Rosary] with a clear mind, she can be called calm when encountering unexpected situations.

"Little grandpa, can you see the details of the strange talk here?" Kanoya continued to ask.

"Abba whoop."

The clone of the little old man flexibly climbed the pine tree with the scarf of Akido Naxun, and after feeling it for a while, he probably had a bottom in his heart.

His body has a D rating.

And as the first to follow the strange talk of Kamiyagawa, and it is very functional, there are usually a lot of candles that the little old man gets, and now there is even a trend towards the C-level promotion.

His perception is naturally very strong.

In addition, he is accustomed to seeing strong winds and waves with his master, and the little old man has rich experience in identifying the strength and weakness of strange conversations.

"Aba!"

He jumped off a branch and quickly wrote [C-grade] in the snow.

The strange atmosphere that remains in this place is weak and numerous, but it vaguely forms a whole.

The little old man could feel that behind those weaker aura, there was a faint connection to a stronger evil aura.

So there may be a big monster behind the mob, but it doesn't appear directly here.

The C grade is a more objective estimate of the group as a whole.

Speculating on the overall strength of the group, the little old man is also more skilled. After all, I usually have a lot of contact with the hearse group and the members of the seven-person imperial front.

If Dashi, Gao Shan and the others appeared alone in front of the little old man, he could also accurately guess that the overall strength of the hearse group was about the upper reaches of the D-rank.

"Class C...... If it weren't for the top C-rank weirdos, I would have a chance to win, right? ”

The fawn estimated this in his heart.

The two Shikigami beside her-

Sending Wolf is an assassin-type output hand, and his strength on paper is in the upper reaches of the D-level, waiting to be broken through.

Red deer is a very good controller, after following the fawn, he was also taken extra care of by Kamigu, and was promoted from the original E-level to the D-level, and the strength on paper was in the lower reaches of the D-level.

And the fawn itself is versatile and has a variety of auxiliary means. At the same time, he is loved by all the bigwigs in the soul removal world, and he carries a variety of spirit removal props.

She can greatly enhance the actual combat level of the gods, and she can also supplement a certain amount of output.

It is not completely impossible for such a combat team to fight a battle that exceeds the rating.

"Although the master is not here, and neither is the eight-foot lord—"

The eight-foot woman is not with the fawn.

Before the return of Shikanoya to her hometown, the eight-foot girl was arranged to enter the statue of the god of the gods, and now she is still supplementing her faith in the shrine of the little tapir.

"But I can't leave Nai Xun alone."

Kanoya regained his strength with his weapon in hand, his gaze was determined, and he quickly chased the strange breath in the air and trekked again.

Her idea is simple and pure, and she has to get her best friend back before it's too late!

Fawn had lost an elder who had treated her very well.

Usually study and train so hard, although I occasionally complain, but in fact, no matter how hard I work, I will grit my teeth and persevere, in order not to happen similar things around me again.

Now is the time to put the results of your daily learning to the test.

"Aba!"

The little old man followed as soon as he could, and he couldn't get too far from the Deer Wild House.

The scouts didn't stop their eldest lady's actions.

In fact, the little old man follows Xiaolu's side, and there is only one most important task-

Keep the fawns safe.

If the Scout was to choose between "putting Miss Kanoya in danger" and "putting Miss Miss's friend in danger", he would not hesitate to choose the latter.

But at the moment, this choice does not hold.

In the event of a conflict with the C-class monster head-on, the eldest lady will not encounter any danger.

The little old man has such confidence.

And this confidence does not come from the trust in the strength of the Shikanoya team, but from the owner's backhand to stay with him.

Xiaolu has had the experience of falling into Matsuzawa once, and with Kamiyagawa's worrying character, how could he really let the apprentice only bring two D-level Shikigami back to Aomori for more than half a month.

What if something happens again?

The eight-foot woman really didn't come with her this time, but arranging a replacement by the apprentice's side is not too difficult for the size of the current Kamiya forces.

It's just that Kamiya arranged for the little old man's clone to be here, and she didn't know about it.

This girl really thought that she was dressed lightly and went back to her hometown for the New Year.

This is how silent fatherly love goes.

"Aba."

The clone of the little old man always followed Shikanoya's side.

He also felt a little urgent at the moment.

It's true that her eldest lady won't be in any danger, but her friend has been kidnapped by unknown strange talks, and if she doesn't rescue her in time, I'm afraid something will really happen. (End of chapter)