The only sound in the courtyard was the chirping of summer cicadas, and the rustling of weeds that were blown in one direction by the wind. However, the two of them stared at each other, unaffected by the temperature and climate.

——If a third person were to observe from outside, this would be the scene they would see.

But the reality is that the system is quietly masking its excitement.

[System: Is it about to start? Is it about to start? What will the Snow Man do! ]

Jiuyuan forced a "forced" smile, "...What are you doing here?"

"Don't you welcome me? I'm a customer after all." Xue Nan tapped his fingers on the table. "Come to think of it, you didn't even offer me a glass of water. Your hospitality is really disappointing."

Hanako emerged from the dark corner and said with a fake smile, "You are an uninvited guest. Why do you ask us to treat you like a normal guest?"

"I thought I had shown my sincerity by not even entering the room and taking action."

His words were considered arrogant, and Hanako, who already disliked him, succeeded in becoming even more dissatisfied with him.

A few minutes before Yukio entered the room, Hanako had shown her "perception" in front of everyone.

He said to Oda Saku, who was still at the bookshelf on the first floor, "Mr. Oda, please take the children upstairs and hide them in the 'shop'."

Odasaku immediately calmed down and asked the children to gather upstairs. He stayed behind and asked, "What happened? Do you need my help?"

Hanako rubbed her brows in embarrassment. This old and serious behavior looked quite dramatic on a child.

"The space inside the 'store' is relatively safe. The souls of children are relatively fragile and need to be protected."

(The fact that the word "protection" is needed proves that there will be corresponding dangers, right? Did they foresee something?)

Hanako continued, "That guy isn't the type who likes to get physical. I'm just worried that his demonic power will reach those vulnerable children. Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Oh, by the way, it's better to keep Mr. Morobuchi away... And Getu-kun is back..."

Before he finished speaking, the doorbell rang.

Odasaku looked in the direction he was looking and saw a young man with snowy hair and an outstanding appearance. However, in this extremely hot summer, there was icy snow on his body - this was too abnormal.

No, he immediately realized, this person should also be a monster.

Hanako's brows, which had not been relaxed just now, became even more furrowed. Yukio put his hands in the sleeves of his kimono, nodded at Hanako with a gentle but polite smile, and before Hanako could respond, he walked to the table and sat down.

"Hey——" Before Hanako could finish her words, the door was opened again.

This time, Jiuyuan, who was standing at the door, looked at the snow man facing him and also showed a subtle expression.

At the same time, Morofushi Kagemitsu and Kasugano Takeshi, who were at the corner of the second-floor stairs, also heard the noise.

Especially the latter, who had dealt with Xuenan personally. When he saw Xuenan coming to visit alone, his expression became complicated.

…

…

Back to the present, Odasaku saw that Hisaen's expression was still calm and composed.

The young man walked over to the snow boy and sat down. His expression became relaxed. He leaned back in his chair and asked, "So, what's the matter? Why are you bothering to come here in person?"

The snow man folded his hands on the table, staring at the boy with his icy blue eyes.

He said straight to the point: "I understand."

His words sounded confusing, without even a reason. While listening, Oda Sakunosuke was always observing whether Yukio would do anything dangerous to Hisaen.

The snowman smiled and put his hand on his chin——

"You and Yasha seem to have had some unpleasantness. Ah, of course, this is not the topic today. I just learned some interesting things, such as..."

"Your current state." Snowman said, "As expected, normally, even if I use my mind control ability on you, it will trigger the 'safety device' on your body... I have always thought that even if it is that adult, it would be too wasteful to separate a part of his soul and put it on you as a protective umbrella. Wouldn't it be enough to just set up a barrier or a talisman for you?"

"—Isn't that unreasonable?"

"But if my guess is correct, then this makes sense." Xue Nan smiled, "It seems that we have all been deceived by that adult."

Jiuyuan listened quietly.

After understanding the whole story, the other people also fell into deep thought.

"Why didn't anyone suspect it? No, maybe they were given some psychological hints." Xue Nan sighed, "Or maybe they trusted him too much..."

"Just say whatever you want to say." Jiuyuan twitched his eyebrows, unable to bear the sight of Xuenan wasting time by being so mysterious and beating around the bush.

"As expected, you and that adult are 'one body'. You have been sharing the same body from the beginning to the end..."

To complete this setting today, Yukio continued, "So there is no safety device at all. It's just him. Although I don't understand why your personality is dominant in this body."

"If you think about it, apart from feeling the pressure from that adult, no one has ever seen him take action. Or maybe Gin did it for him. Of course, being able to control a big monster like Gin is already very convincing. In addition, he is indeed mysterious, but he often commands and dispatches from behind the scenes... Sorry, I got off topic."

Axue looked a little confused for a rare moment, and he was obviously also a little confused by his own guesses and conclusions.

Or rather, I'm not sure.

"He seems to be able to show up on his own initiative only in very rare cases. Come to think of it, if he has the ability to monopolize this body, why hasn't he done it yet? I used to think it was unnecessary, after all, he doesn't need to walk in the world. Now I think it's not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't."

The snowman smiled easily.

Jiuyuan looked at him: "So, why are you saying this in front of me? Don't forget, we share the same body, and he may be able to hear what you say."

"No, I just think - 'No difference'."

"Or, 'It doesn't make sense.'"

"In this case, the competitive relationship between us seems a bit ridiculous. After all, serving you and serving that adult seem to be equal in the future. Ah... I think this will make you uncomfortable. After all, it's like saying, 'Your body will become his property sooner or later, so just serve this body and ignore the unnecessary personality.'"

"But, that gentleman agreed to our competition. What does this mean to him?"

"If it was him, he could just order me to assist you, right?"

"So, my request, or rather my wish, is——"

"Let's call a truce for now."

"I don't want to waste time without knowing what's going on. At least wait until I figure this out."

Yukio's truce declaration was totally unworthy of what he had said so proudly before, and Jiuyuan held his chin in thought.

"I see. I agree with your proposal."

…

…

After Xue Nan left, the living room returned to silence, and the rest of the people also returned to this space.

In their view, Jiuyuan compromised because it did not want to cause any more trouble when opening a new store.

Morobushi Kagemitsu asked, "Can Xue Nan's oath be trusted?"

Jiuyuan shook his head. "That's not what he meant."

"Everyone, relax a little." Kuen explained, "Snowman should have noticed the signs. Why is this secret exposed now? If you just think about what happened a little bit before, you can guess the reason."

"And he probably guessed that the reason he agreed to compete with me on two fronts was because the master needed to use the external factor of Snowman to put pressure on me. Once my heart had a loophole and went astray, it would be an opportunity for him to occupy my body. Snowman probably guessed this and came to visit me."

"He doesn't have good intentions... otherwise he wouldn't have said these things to my face. He's not being honest with me, but he thinks the other soul in my body will definitely hear what he's saying, and he's just saying it to show his loyalty to the other soul."

"And the other purpose of showing loyalty is to tell his master that my mental control ability can help you complete the task faster. So please allow me to use my ability to mentally suggest to Jiuyuan."

"His attitude today was ambiguous, even a little soft. A truce is only the first step. Once we get used to this rhythm, he might ask for reconciliation next."

"Once I let him down, he'll have the chance to take advantage."

Hanako frowned: "Then why did you agree..."

After saying that, the boy smiled soothingly.

"Because, I also hope to use him to pry the secret out of someone's mouth."

"Someone?"

"Don't forget, the only one who truly serves the master and knows his background is Gin. But it's not easy to get Gin to show up, or to interfere in our affairs... Unless we kill each other."

Jiuyuan complained in his heart, no, it’s actually very simple, all I have to do is control the character myself.

But he continued, "It's impossible for Xue Nan and his gang to confront us head-on. Only when we become closer will we have a chance to attack them and lure Yin out."

Odasaku: “…”

Morobushi Kagemitsu, who always felt that the other party was deliberately summoning law enforcement officers: "..."

Xia Yujie, who was inexplicably familiar with this routine, said: "..."

So, the previous words were just precautions to prevent them from being ruthless when they find opportunities to persecute the Snow Man in the future, right?