Crown Master

Beautiful valleys, blue sky, gorgeous mountains, green forests...

Yayuan is a town close to nature. After the hustle and bustle of the big city came here, it returned to calm.

Both humans and monsters thrive here. From the initial fear to the present habit, Natsume Takashi feels an indescribable sense of peace and belonging here.

"Hi! Hi!"

On the way home from school, Mr. Cat jumped into the stream under the bridge and caught a small finger-long fish in his mouth. This is an extremely unusual scene, because a figure suddenly appeared in the field of vision was a little more strange look and feel.

Natsume Takashi clenched his schoolbag tightly in an instant, his heart seemed to be tightly grasped by a big hand, his eyes blurred, as if he had witnessed some indescribable existence, but this strong feeling only lasted for a few seconds, It seems that the illusion caused by the water light has disappeared into the lush and beautiful scenery.

The clear creek flows through the extra round pebbles washed by the water, the waterway is winding, and several flat stones are piled up in the riverway, which is convenient for pedestrians to step on to the opposite bank.

Tenacious weeds grow on the brown land, white, yellow and lavender flowers bloom in the grass, and the birds sing lightly on the surrounding tall trees, and the sunlight falls through the thick canopy to all the above. On the scenery...

A small rainbow is built over the water, the flowers are covered with a faint golden light, and the figures in the scenery are like angels spreading their wings.

Approaching the past, Natsume finally saw her specific appearance.

The white knee-length skirt and white T-shirt with letters, the girl's too small figure and the brilliant half-length short hair that seemed to be given the color by the sun god all left a deep impression on Natsume.

At first glance, he thought that the child was lost. After all, this path is quite remote, and this child looks so small.

But the thought ends when the child opens his eyes.

……

A pair of vertical pupils that definitely do not belong to human beings seem to be some kind of large-scale dangerous creatures, with traces of cold cruelty infiltrated in the strangeness, which is more terrifying than all the monsters that Natsume has ever met.

It's just that before the fear arose, the girl looked away as if she was bored, and her eyes fell on the cat teacher who was bouncing and running over like a dumpling.

Natsume Takashi shouted in panic: "Teacher!" He wanted to prevent it from approaching, because just at that moment, the child was far more dangerous than imagined!

However, when the little girl saw Mr. Cat approaching, she didn't choose to walk over straightforwardly even though she looked eager.

She stared at them quietly, watching Natsume pick up Teacher Kitty, backed away cautiously, and then ran away quickly after getting away from her.

The little girl watched like this the whole time, making Natsume flustered!

After running for a long distance, Natsume dropped the plump cat teacher, gasping for breath.

Mr. Cat was so slow this time, he used his small paws to pull Natsume's trousers.

"Natsume, why are you running all of a sudden?"

"Old, teacher, didn't you see it just now?"

"See what?"

See the little girl is actually a big devil!

Natsume couldn't describe the "scene" he just saw very well. It was just a short period of trance. Although he witnessed something invisible, he was neither crazy nor exhausted. He even vaguely felt that he had So lucky.

Maybe it was all these things on the way to school that stimulated him so much that he didn't take that shortcut again in the next few days.

But when he had almost forgotten about the "little girl," two of his school friends asked him to hang out.

It's a holiday, and boys will not always be bored at home.

Natsume usually supports this kind of activity, but Nishimura's destination must pass through that path.

"..." Natsume hesitated for a while, but still did not choose to refuse.

After all, it has been so long, "that" should have left, right?

When he was trembling with Xi Cun and the others and came near the stream, he didn't see anyone as he wished.

Natsume couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief, and maybe it was a good sign that his wish came true this time, he had a good time all day.

The three young men came back from the mountain, and when they passed the stream, Natsume was no longer as vigilant as when he first came. While chatting and laughing with Nishimura, his eyes inadvertently caught a figure behind the big tree.

The little girl in the white skirt was staring at them with half of her face peeking out from behind the tree.

This time it was no longer the cute appearance that seemed to have been kissed by the sun god during the day. The cold moonlight sprinkled the water, and the deep and dark jungle was like the mouth of a giant beast. The girl stood in the mouth of the giant beast and threw herself at them. cold gaze...

Natsume's cold sweat flowed down uncontrollably on the spot, and hurriedly buried his head and pretended not to notice.

The three of them carefully crossed the slippery banks of the stream, and when they reached the fork in the road, they waved to each other.

Nishimura: "Let's go back first, pay attention to safety on Natsume Road!"

Natsume also waved his hand.

"Well, I know!"

Turning around, I could still hear the noise of the two little friends walking farther and farther away. Natsume breathed a sigh of relief, but just as he was about to lift his foot, he was startled by a "girl" who suddenly appeared in front of him.

Natsume's face was sullen, and he thought to himself: "Are you coming?" Holding his palm tightly, he tried to walk past her without looking sideways.

This time, the other party still did not respond.

"Hey."

Natsume Takashi suddenly stopped.

The little girl said behind him: "Where did you go?"

Natsume Takashi swallowed his saliva, and said as calmly as possible: "Does it have anything to do with you?"

"You and your two friends are cursed."

Natsume was startled, before he could think about it, he heard the sound of footsteps walking away.

"Hurry up and think of a way, before it's too late."

"Wait, the curse you're talking about is—!" Natsume turned her head hastily, but saw that no one was standing where the little girl was originally standing. Only then did Natsume remember the rustling movement just now.

……

"Hmm, are you leaving just like that?" After returning home, Mr. Cat was brushed by Natsume on his lap, and while combing, he told about the strange things he had encountered not long ago.

Speaking of the girl's first impression on him, Natsume recalled that the girl came here to remind him. He couldn't help hesitating: "Teacher, do you think the curse is possible?"

Teacher Cat jumped off him upon hearing this, and sniffed around him.

"Hmmm, I don't smell the genie, nor the stench of the curse."

Natsume Takashi said thoughtfully: "Then she is lying to me? But, it doesn't feel like that."

Teacher Cat stared at him fixedly, and after a few seconds, it kicked and jumped on Natsume.

"Just go to an expert and ask if it's okay. I haven't seen the little girl you mentioned."

Natsume Takashi was stunned, and said in disbelief: "Teacher, you didn't see it?" No, he remembered that when the teacher ran over, the girl was still staring at it for a long time!

Teacher Cat took a breath and said calmly, "Not at all."

Natsume Takashi: "..."

"It does look like someone should take a look."

Teacher Cat stretched out his little paw and instructed, "Go to C."

……

"So it's the same pig that's of no use."

"What did you say!"

The next day, Natsume, who was looking for the monster C who was good at cursing, stood powerlessly by the side, watching the female monster and her bodyguard tear the sky and the earth pale.

Natsume Takashi covered his forehead and sighed, "C, can you see the curse on me?"

"This is..."

The cat and the female monster who were tugging at each other's ears and hair stopped together, Bing blinked her charming eyes, dropped the fat cat and walked towards Natsume, and after approaching, looked at it very carefully.

Bing said: "There is indeed a breath of curse, but the evil spirit is very shallow."

"What!" Teacher Cat rolled up from the ground like a carp, and exclaimed in surprise, "Natsume, you cause trouble when I'm not around, you bastard...!"

Natsume was used to catching Mr. Cat's head hammer, and hugged it into his arms and rubbed his chin. The struggling Mr. Cat immediately calmed down. He took the opportunity to ask C, "Is it a very troublesome curse?"

C nodded: "The most troublesome thing about this kind of curse is that the purpose is unclear. Generally, the curse of monsters always devours the cursed person in the end, and uses their flesh and blood to support themselves. For example, the five-day seal you met before belongs to this The other is the curse created by human beings, because of various desires, there are various effects, such as Inugami, which blesses the house and curses others, and Zashiki Doji, which prospers the house. , the curse of going bankrupt after leaving, and the effect on lifespan, but without exception, it is all at the expense of others."

When talking about the topic of his job, C, who was acting frivolously, became a lot more solemn, holding a cigarette stick in his mouth, and narrating in an unhurried manner.

"And you have such a faint evil spirit that almost doesn't exist, and Madara's nose can't even smell it, but the curse is actually left on you. To be honest, things will become very difficult if you don't solve it quickly."

Natsume, who had no idea how troublesome the curse was, suddenly became anxious when he heard it.

It's okay to just be yourself, but there are Nishimura and the others!

Thinking of those two friends, Takashi Natsume couldn't help asking for a solution.

Unexpectedly, even C has no direction, so he gives him a suggestion in distress.

"You might as well ask that little girl, even though you think she is dangerous, didn't she do anything to you? Besides, once you form a relationship with such a dangerous 'thing', running away will only deepen the bond..."

On the way back, Teacher Cat looked at him sideways from time to time, and Natsume Takashi's worried expression caused him to yell dissatisfiedly, "Didn't that woman give you advice? Why don't you just do what she said?"

Natsume Takashi frowned: "But teacher, I'm worried about Nishimura and the others."

Teacher Cat: "Then you should solve it as soon as possible."

Natsume Takashi thought for a while, felt that Mr. Cat was right, and couldn't help thinking about his next actions, but at this moment, the sight that passed by inadvertently across the surroundings suddenly seemed to be captured by a certain scenery, for a long time Can't move away from that figure.

Behind the towering old tree, the corner of the girl's mouth with half of her face raised a strange arc, the corner of her mouth stretched almost to the bottom of her ears, her voice was faint, like the night wind blowing through the depths of the forest, arousing a chill all over her body.

"you're back?"