The silver vending machine was thrown high into the air. The heavy object hung in the air for a few seconds, causing passers-by to look at it in surprise. Then it fell heavily to the ground, and the loud bang brought everyone back to the reality.
"...Did the vending machine just go up to the sky?" someone murmured unconsciously.
“Yeah, I guess.”
but--
After seeing the blond man in bartender uniform next to him, some people realized what had happened and pulled the person next to him by the clothes and walked away.
"I'm so sorry! These are all I have on me right now—"
The debtor, who had just been begging for a few days' forgiveness, was so frightened that his face turned pale and he searched every corner of his pocket for any cash he could squeeze out.
The dirty man in a suit next to him took the money and counted it, and said speechlessly: "Isn't this just enough?"
"Tsk." The blond man was subconsciously shocked. The man who paid off his debt saw his expression and shuddered with fear.
He asked the dirty man who received the money: "Can I leave now? Since I have paid off the money..."
"Oh, you can go now."
This person got kicked out as fast as he could.
The man with the slit looked at the fallen vending machine - the head was slightly dented and the glass in front was a little broken, but it was not a big deal. It looked like it had only suffered some "minor injuries" (considering the height it was thrown into the air).
After thinking about it, he lifted up the poor vending machine and touched its sunken head with a bit of pity.
After replugging, I heard the prompt tone indicating normal operation.
Jiuyuan: “…”
It's still usable, so strong.
However...
He poked at the side button and it seemed broken.
Just when he was about to give up, a few bottles of drinks suddenly rolled out from inside.
Tanaka Tom put the money away, but heard a muffled sound from behind -
He looked back and found that the vending machine that had just been violently bullied by Jingxiong was straightened by a tall and thin young man. The young man was standing in front and seemed to be carefully choosing some drinks to buy.
"...If I remember correctly, the vending machine fell face down just now, right?"
Did this young man carry the vending machine back with his bare hands?
"Mr. Tom?" Seeing his senior's gaze fixed on the back, Heiwajima Shizuo also looked over.
I happened to see the young man taking out a few cans of drinks from the vending machine, and then...
Walking towards them?
He handed a can of drink to Tom Tanaka, and then placed it in front of Shizuo Heiwajima, but the other party did not take it, as if he was wondering about the reason for the man with the slit mouth's behavior.
"...It fell out." He explained, "So, let's... drink together."
Tanaka Tom understood for a moment, and probably meant that the vending machine was malfunctioning because Shizuo had malfunctioned and was spitting out several cans of drink. After his explanation, Shizuo looked at the young man in front of him with "eyes full of sincerity" and still took the can of drink.
At this moment, a familiar high-pitched sound like a horse's roar echoed through the street.
The black motorcycle passed by like the wind. When it saw the trio in front of the vending machine, it pulled over.
Celty looked at the guy who was talking to one of his few friends and found out that he was a dangerous monster.
Although the other party did not do anything out of line last time, it does not mean that he is completely safe. After thinking about it, Celty still feels that he should tell Jingxiong that the person in front of him is a monster.
"Oh, good afternoon." Heiwajima Shizuo didn't realize what was happening.
He greeted Celti as usual, his hand already on the pull-tab of the drink that the Slit Man had given him.
Celty typed quickly and handed it to Jingxiong to read——
[The guy in front of you is a monster. Be careful. He may be dangerous.]
"danger……"
Simultaneously with Jingxiong's almost silent murmurs, there was a "bang" sound when the drink in his hand was opened.
White foam poured over him like a fountain, and black cola spurted out slowly.
His shirt instantly turned the color of cola, and his hair was also covered with sticky drink.
Fortunately, he was wearing sunglasses at the time, otherwise his face would have been damaged.
Jingxiong recalled that he had taken the carbonated drink from the vending machine that he had violently shaken past: "..."
Tanaka Tom also thought of this: "..."
Celty, who had just put away his phone, said: "..."
Man with slit mouth: “…”
You can't blame me for this, right?
It wasn't me who shook it?!
Tanaka Tom: "...Is this revenge from the vending machine?"
Jingxiong: “…”
Celty was right, it was indeed "dangerous".
…
…
Because of this little episode, the atmosphere became relaxed. The relaxation here mainly refers to Celty's relaxation when facing the man with the slit.
After all, after what just happened, it is difficult to associate the other party with words such as gloomy, weird, bloody and violent.
The man with the slit mouth behaved like an ordinary citizen, no different from the young men she saw on the street.
(Since it can come out during the day, it can't be a ghost...) Thinking of this, Celty actually felt brave enough.
Completely unaware that his image in Celti's mind had undergone a strange change, the man with the slit behaved very politely.
"I will compensate you for the clothes..."
Since he was the one who delivered the drink to the other party, Jiuyuan clearly felt the sincere desire of the "slit-mouthed man" to do something for the other party at this time.
“…Nothing.”
After calming down, Shizuo Heiwajima would not ask others for compensation for such a thing, not to mention that he was the one who threw the vending machine there.
Seeing Celti still beside him, the man with the slit nodded to her.
"...Hello again."
Celty typed on the screen awkwardly: "Hello."
Jingxiong took off his wet vest, twisted it, and then took off his sunglasses. He wiped the drink off his face with a tissue.
Hearing their conversation, he looked at Celti beside him curiously: "Have you met before?" Otherwise, why did Celti say that the other party was dangerous just now?
"We just met once." The man with the slit mouth was suddenly stared at by several people at the same time. He found himself the focus of attention. He shyly covered his mask and spoke in a weaker voice, "...We met a few nights ago."
"...at night?"
"We met by chance because of a human girl, but we didn't talk much at the time... It felt a bit regretful."
Realizing that the conversation between the two would not end for a while, Jingxiong wiped his face with the handkerchief handed to him by Tom, and the two exchanged glances.
"You guys probably still have a lot to talk about, right? It wouldn't be convenient for us to be there," said Tanaka Tom. "Shizuo also needs to change his clothes. We can't just work outside like this..."
He pointed to the 100-yen store next door and told Jingxiong to at least change his clothes.
Celty nodded.
They walked through the glass door across the street, and we could still see them from here.
Maybe it was because he was with people he knew and it was broad daylight, Celty felt confident for some reason.
And without the added bonus of the night, the young man in front of her didn't look so eerie and scary. He just looked a bit gloomy and introverted. Celty recalled what happened that night. Afterwards, she also confirmed with Silla that the other party did not lie. The man with the slit mouth did save a human girl.
(Did I act too cold that day...?) For a moment, Celty thought so.
[Sorry, I was also having a lot of trouble that day...]
"No, it's nothing." The man with the slit mouth said, "You should also be wary of your own kind. This is the law of ecology..."
Realizing that the atmosphere would become tense again if this continued, Celti simply changed the subject.
[Excuse me, what do you need to do in Ikebukuro? ]
Jiuyuan was actually a little hesitant whether to mention in advance that he was looking for Hachisha, but doing so would seem too abrupt, so it would be more appropriate to let Hachisha show up himself.
After calculating the distance and time, it would take several minutes for Bashi to come over, so Jiuyuan simply continued to deal with them.
"I don't have anything important to do." The man with the slit mouth slowly opened the bottle of drink in his hand. His bottle was tea drink, "... just wandering around."
【Wandering around?】
Are you a monster wandering around in broad daylight?
"...Hmm. Is this something strange?" The man with the slit mouth asked calmly.
[No, I just feel... a little emotional.]
Celty thought about how he had recently been offered a huge bounty, chased by traffic police all over the street, and even appeared on TV. In comparison, the person in front of him didn't seem to care at all that he was an "unusual creature".
No...you say you don't care, is it because you are more confident in other aspects?
"Feelings? Um... I don't understand what you mean. Do you think I'm abnormal?"
[That's not what I meant, sorry. It's just that I've lived among humans for too long, so I may have different ideas from you.] Celti's words were very gentle.
"long time……?"
【Um.】
"...Is it okay? Regarding faith and so on..." The man with the slit mouth looked slightly surprised, "You have been in Ikebukuro all this time, but you don't maintain the legend. Don't you feel that your power has weakened...?"
[…Huh?] Celty realized that the other party was talking about something that was closely related to him, [What do you mean?]
Seeing that Celti didn't seem to have thought about this question, and her slightly puzzled look didn't seem fake, Jiuyuan began to think.
Is it because Dularhan is already a very famous legend, so human belief in it won't be short-lived like the belief in the little monster?
As a character in folk mythology that has existed for a long time, although human faith has experienced extreme prosperity and gradual decline, it will not completely disappear - at least not now.
Or is it because Celti has no head and is not a complete Dularhan, which makes her power weaker, so she cannot sense the changes in herself?
Jiuyuan described the incident in a different way. He shifted the focus to himself and used himself as an example.
"...A monster like me is not born from ancient myths and legends, but is just a monster born in modern times. To you... I am probably just a child, right?"
"A monster like me will soon disappear if it is forgotten."
"So... I won't stay away from humans. I will just create nightmares and ghost stories around them."
"...You...are different from me. If you are Dularhan...since you have such a famous legend, you will not disappear, right?"
Will I disappear?
Celti, who lost his head, also knows that he is not a complete self. Does his "head" know the knowledge that the man with the slit mouth said?
If she didn't become a complete Dularhan and didn't do her job as a banshee, would she... disappear?
If she disappears, what about Silla?
She had never thought about this before.
【I--】
Celti tapped the keyboard and just as he typed the first word, he heard a loud noise coming from the street intersection.
The tall "woman" in a white dress leaped in front of the two in an unnatural, twisted posture.
Celty: [! ]
The tall woman gave Celti an unnatural smile:
"Excuse me... I'm looking for a magic sword. Excuse me, have you heard of it, Miss Headless Knight?"