The man with the slit mouth blocked the attack from Ba Chi, but the latter was not angry even though it was blocked. He seemed to be much more rational than before. He even took a half step back on his own initiative and waved his hand to show that he had no hostile intentions.

Celty and Jingxiong moved a little slower. They first saw the man with the slit quickly cut into the battlefield and then blocked the opponent's attack.

Immediately afterwards, Anri Sonohara was told by the man with the slit mouth to stay away.

She wanted to run away, but the black circle had not yet disappeared. She did not dare to move rashly at the edge. Noticing the girl's movements, the man with the slit took apart the scissors and found that the two blades were used like a two-sword style. He swung the blade with his left hand and cut through the boundary.

When Anri Sonohara heard the thread being cut, she actually made a mournful sound like a human.

[Don’t listen! ] Zui Ge immediately reminded.

The girl covered her ears and stumbled out.

"Thank you--"

The man with the slit put away his weapon and looked at Hachishaku.

Seeing that Hachiya really had no intention of attacking, he put his weapon away and asked, "...Have you changed your mind? I thought you..."

"hehe……"

Ba Chi adjusted the hem of her skirt and held her hat with one hand.

"I have indeed changed my mind. The child has a special physique. If I want to get the magic sword from her, I have to use some violent means... This is such a pity." He said regretfully, "Kyuen-kun will not allow me to hurt this child."

"That's his style." The man with the slit nodded.

"Two souls living in one body... She is a rare and precious research subject." Hachisha looked at Anri Sonohara not far away again, and his eyes seemed to want to eat the girl alive, "... What a pity, I really want to study this girl carefully."

The man with the slit mouth didn't understand what he was saying and just frowned.

He felt Bashi's desire rising, but then he suppressed it again.

(…Is he really that interested in this child?)

(Maybe at first I was just looking for the demon sword, but I unexpectedly discovered something interesting about the other party...)

"It's really unfortunate for that child to be noticed by you."

Hachisha laughed instead: "...Haha, such an emotional statement."

In Kuen's setting, Hachishaku and Slit-mouthed Man have the least interactions, but there is no insurmountable contradiction or conflict of choice between them. It's just that Hachishaku seems indifferent to things other than his master, while Slit-mouthed Man doesn't care much about most things.

These two people would never choose to be ruthless to each other unless the fight lasts to the death.

Because it's troublesome and meaningless.

So, when Celti thought they would start a war with a single shot, the smoke was extinguished before it even rose.

The man with the slit mouth looked at the calm Hachishaku and asked, "What happened?"

"……Um?"

"You and Kuen-kun...did you really have a quarrel?" The man with the slit mouth pretended to be thinking hard, and then said: "...because you attacked humans so recklessly?" The information in his hand could only be inferred to this extent.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Hachisha's expression became a little stiff. He clearly did not like the conclusion of the slit-mouthed man.

Slit-Mouth Man: “…Is it really because of this?”

Bashi gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Of course... not..."

Afterwards, he glared at the man with the slit mouth.

"If you want to know that much, go check it out yourself..."

After saying this, he laughed out loud as if he had thought of something interesting.

"Yes...if you want to know, just go look it up yourself...I guarantee the results will be very interesting..."

After saying this, he didn't even look at the man with the slit mouth. He turned around with confidence, leaving his back to him, and left.

Because of the protection of the barrier, the people around paid little attention to what was happening here. Except for a few people involved and Celti who already knew what had happened, no one knew what had just happened here.

It was several minutes later that someone noticed a large hole in the ground.

"Hey, was there this hole here before?"

“…Who knows?”

The instigator has long since left.

The man with the slit returned to the team, and the other three were waiting for him under the shade of a tree at the corner of the street.

They just saw from a distance that the Slit-Mouth Man and Yasha said something, and then the latter left. This also made Celti re-evaluate the Slit-Mouth Man.

The man with the slit mouth glanced at Anri Sonohara who was holding her arm. There was some cold sweat on her forehead.

Slit-Mouth Man: "...Are you okay?"

The girl nodded.

The man with the slit mouth noticed something was wrong and continued, "If you have any problems, just speak up. Don't hold it in." After saying that, he felt that his way of speaking was a bit inhumane. After pausing for two seconds, he added, "The methods of the monsters...are many, and there may be sequelae...If you feel uncomfortable, you must pay attention to it."

Jingxiong, who was standing next to him, felt as if it was a teacher in the health center scolding students.

He had also come into contact with "unnatural" and "unscientific" people or creatures, but the feeling that the slit-mouthed man gave him was completely different from that of Hachishaku. The moment he saw Hachishaku, he understood why Celti was so wary. He could feel the cold and unknown aura coming from Hachishaku from a long distance away.

In contrast, the Slit-Mouth Man is more similar to Celty.

As long as they don't deliberately reveal those inhuman features, they can almost perfectly hide themselves in the crowd.

(…Come to think of it, the Slit-Mouthed Man was born from a human’s mouth, and was a human youkai in his previous life.)

(Is that why they are closer to humans?)

The slit-mouthed man's attitude, which was not very aggressive and was quite similar to that of humans, made Anri Sonohara think for a few seconds. She hesitated whether to try to trust him.

(Since it was brought by Miss Celty, then... should we try to believe it?)

The girl looked a little tired. She rolled up her sleeves, and the man with the slit saw that her right hand was still shaking uncontrollably.

Knowing what the girl wanted to show him, he considerately stepped forward and blocked her with his body. Then, a sharp blade suddenly emerged from the girl's arm.

Man with Slit Mouth: “…I see.”

Hachisha just said that there are two souls in one body, and he was referring to this matter.

However, Anri Sonohara was gritting her teeth, and it was obvious that something was wrong.

The blade was actually shaking, obviously affected by some force. His first reaction was to wonder if the chaotic attribute of the man with the slit mouth had affected the other party, so he asked: "...When did it start?"

"The first moment that monster appeared..." the girl's voice was weak.

Kuen: ...No way? Are you really affected? Is it because of Hachishaku?

This was totally unexpected.

He didn't intend to ask a stupid question like "Can you still control yourself?" Looking at Anri Sonohara's struggling expression, it was obvious that this was a problem she couldn't solve at the moment.

The man with the slit thought for two seconds, then looked at Celti next to him and told him about this.

Unfortunately, the other party also has no solution.

The man with the slit mouth said to the girl: "...if you believe me...I know a place where there are people who can heal you."

For Anri Sonohara, making this choice required a lot of courage.

Because trying to trust a stranger, not even a human, was too risky for her.

But she knew that once Sin Song went out of control, her current life would come to nothing.

Celty saw her hesitation and asked the man with the slit mouth: [Can we go together?]

The man with the slit mouth nodded calmly: "...Okay. The gentleman next to you can also come along. It's not a secret."

Seeing that he was not hiding anything, Celti naturally felt a lot more relieved.

But the next second the young man looked at them and asked, "Do you have money?"

Anri Sonohara: "...I have some. But if it's a lot, I might not have enough on me right now..."

"Just buy an apple," said the man with the slit mouth. "One apple is enough."

Anri Sonohara: ...?

Celty, Shizuo:?

…

…

After buying the apples, the man with the slit took them to a nearby school.

Celti walked behind and looked around the school. It was just an ordinary elementary school. Could there be some powerful person here who could solve their problems?

(Could it be a powerful monster? But would a monster live in a school?)

(Or maybe a land god, guardian deity, or something like that… When I first met Mr. Slit-Mouthed Man, there was a land god beside him.)

Celty tried to rationalize the Slit Man's behavior, thinking as she walked.

However, Jingxiong, who was standing next to him, seemed to have some guesses after discovering that he was being led into the school by the other party, until -

They were led into a toilet on a certain floor.

Looking at the empty bathroom, the three people except the man with the slit mouth looked at each other in confusion.

Only the man with the slit mouth calmly took out an apple from the bag, muttering: "...I don't know if the ritual has changed, but let's try it first..."

...wait, wait, so you’re not sure either?

Also, what kind of ceremony has to be performed in the toilet? !

Ignoring their thoughts, the man with the slit mouth entered the ceremony directly and began to shout based on his memory: "Hanako-kun, Hanako-kun..."

He tossed the apple in his hand and muttered the other person's name.

He spoke the words of the ceremony in a jumbled manner - after all, how could the man with the slit mouth remember something that had nothing to do with him?

"I have an apple... Oh, no, do I need to knock on the door first?"

So he knocked on the door as if to save the situation, saying, "It should be okay to knock on any cubicle..."

Celti, who had just thought that the slit-mouthed man might be reliable, now wanted to take back his thoughts.

This, this is not reliable at all?

"…An apple for you."

This summoning ceremony was so trifling that no one had any expectations.

Unexpectedly, the surroundings suddenly became dark and then bright again. The tightly closed compartment was actually pushed open from the inside, and a boy with a pale face walked out.

After seeing the person in front of him clearly, the boy was slightly stunned and thought he was seeing things.

"Why did you come to see me...did you have a fight with Xue Nan? No, why did you bring someone else with you..."

The man with the slit mouth said confidently: "I came here secretly, he doesn't know."