Chapter 805: Chapter 5: Pop Culture, Interview, and Hiring
"No need for that."
Alice declined lightly, then glanced again in the direction of the high-altitude cableway leading to Yokai Mountain above.
"You... you went to Yokai Mountain?"
"Yes, I just visited Shimotsuki Shrine once..." The young man said with a smile, his tone casual and natural, as if he didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he just did, as if it were simply visiting a neighbor’s house next door.
Perhaps because his tone was too natural, the blond maiden didn’t know what to say for a moment. Wasn’t this guy simply stepping out of the village, seeing the existence of the high-altitude cableway, and just sitting on it without thinking? Darn, doesn’t he even consider if such a thing could be dangerous?
"..."
"..."
A moment of silence.
Alice wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say, looking like she wanted to speak but hesitated.
Although she felt inexplicably annoyed, she didn’t want to express it, and she wouldn’t admit it herself, so after a brief silence, she just nodded noncommittally: "Yokai Mountain is the territory of the Tengu, they’re rather exclusive to outsiders, but taking the cableway directly up, it’s Shimotsuki Shrine, so nothing to worry about..."
To say this guy was taking a risk, it doesn’t seem like the case—
At least this high-altitude cableway is much safer than the Monster Beast Dao leading to the Boli Shrine.
Moreover, this person already knows of Shimotsuki Shrine’s existence, which means his trip was indeed successful; perhaps the new shrine happened to need faith, so they warmly hosted this brave first human who went up the mountain to worship, being the first potential believer.
"Yes, I think so too." Gu Mo said with a bright laugh.
Hmph, just having gone up for a glance, what could you have thought?
"Now, are you going to the Boli Shrine?" The blond maiden glanced at him faintly, then moved her gaze away, looking towards the direction of the Monster Beast Dao.
"Um... not for now." Gu Mo blinked, seemingly changing his mind.
It’s not sudden, mainly because he initially wanted to see his own shrine, but he already saw it last night. Plus, it’s likely that Reimu Witch has either long forgotten or didn’t know from the start which gods are worshipped in her shrine.
"Not going?"
Alice raised an eyebrow, and then her expression became a bit strange: "Have you changed your mind and decided to stay in Fantasy Land?"
"You could say that..." Gu Mo pondered for a bit and nodded, having never intended to leave anyway.
Alice opened her mouth, feeling even more conflicted.
She hugged the books in her arms, tightened her grip, took a deep breath, and said coldly: "In that case, I’ll take you to Hieda’s place, to find Miss Akyu and formally register as an outsider wanting to stay, you know that, don’t you?"
"Well..."
The young man pondered for a moment. He didn’t have only the Boli Shrine as a resting place. Although the Boli Shrine was the most legitimate choice, a god returning to their shrine leaves no room for criticism.
So even if he doesn’t go to the Boli Shrine, he doesn’t necessarily have to live in the Human World... Not to mention places like Shimotsuki Shrine or the Eternal Pavilion, even going to the Sunflower Field is possible; for the sake of long-lasting friendship, Miss Flower Demon wouldn’t chase him away.
But, it could cause some minor issues.
So residing in the village is a wise decision; he quickly nodded, earnestly saying to the blond maiden: "Thank you, Miss Alice, but I can go by myself, I already know the exact location of the Baitian Mansion."
Though the blond maiden was genuinely enthusiastic, a good kid.
Just as he returned to the village, she was about to leave, and they coincidentally met, with her wanting to help... Gu Mo felt a bit embarrassed, you can’t keep troubling others repeatedly.
Yet despite his refusal, Miss Alice seemed a bit insistent: "Come with me, let’s go find Miss Akyu now."
"Wait, I can go by myself..."
"If possible, could you help my puppets carry those two books? Thank you." The blond maiden turned away, walking towards the Human World, casually tossing such a line.
—Wasn’t this person just offering to help me carry books?
—Let him help now, as long as he carries the books, he must follow me...
Indeed, Alice decided to swiftly resolve the matter, taking this guy to Hieda Akyu for registration, so he could quickly settle in the Human World, avoiding any future problems. This person is indeed a bit too thick-skinned, without any awareness of entering a strange environment.
"...Thank you, Miss Alice."
Gu Mo shook his head with a hint of helplessness, but his lips curled slightly.
He then looked at the two small puppets, which had flown over to him under their master’s will.
Gu Mo gently extended his hand, taking the two books, a massive stack to the small puppets, and simultaneously patted the heads of the two small puppets. The latter weren’t scared, circling around him a few times before quickly flying back to their master’s side.
He quickly caught up with Alice ahead, then glanced down at the books in his hands, one of which seemed to be a demon-written Demon Book, titled Hell Plant Guidebook.
He remembered this book as one of the earliest publications within hell.
As for the other one, it seemed to be a detective novel popular in the Human World, with its cover title boldly displaying — Is this all the work of demons? — in large print.
The author’s pen name was inscribed in the lower left corner, reading "Agatha Christie Q," oddly giving off a cute vibe.
Gu Mo was a bit amused by this, and glanced again at the blond maiden walking ahead, not realizing she had such an interest; but that’s good. If she only knew magic and puppet techniques, that would be rather dull.
Holding this thought, he activated the Thought Touch, directly reading the content of this detective novel through contact.
"Eh?"
Following this, his expression became somewhat peculiar, an involuntary look stemming from seeing something puzzling.
Gu Mo found this somewhat difficult to understand.
After all, the content of this detective novel... really seemed a bit too miraculous.
Although the cases inside seemed conventional, with crime scenes also set up with deliberate suspense, boasting quite a flair—such as locked-room murders or blizzard mountain villa incidents—which were all set up very formally... if not for occurring on an extraordinary stage where demons and gods were active.
The suspects were often individuals with a giant nine-tailed fox demon sealed within them...
Or strange apprentice death gods who could shout "Bankai" and release a Soul Cutting Blade...
Methods like curse technique killings were extremely common...
Plots of dead resurrecting also occasionally appeared...
In such a mythical world, is murder really necessary? Is it really necessary to handle murder methods intricately? Is it really necessary to carefully disguise the crime scene?
Gu Mo felt somewhat puzzled, considering that Chinese people aren’t even supposed to appear in detective novels, yet this Fantasy Land style of detective fiction seemed a bit too forward-thinking.
Hmm, could it be that he had been away too long and could no longer understand the popular culture of Fantasy Land?
A thought sprang in his mind, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
"By the way..."
A soft voice came from the front, as Miss Alice walking in front stopped and slightly turned her head to look back at him:
"Once you’ve settled down, just live here comfortably. Don’t run around like today; not all places in Fantasy Land are safe. Even if the masters of those places bear you no ill will, the environment alone might be fatal."
Just like the Magic Forest, even without mentioning the demon beasts inside, it remains extremely dangerous.
The powerful illusions released by the magic mushrooms, the miasma pervading the entire forest, are particularly dangerous things; in such an environment, a human could indeed lose their life.
"Okay, I understand." Gu Mo nodded compliantly.
"That’s good."
The blond maiden turned her head back and continued walking forward, gently exhaling a breath.
Originally, she didn’t want to meddle with this fellow, but couldn’t help reminding him, fearing he’d run around like today again.
......
Baitian Mansion.
As a rich family in the Human World, it’s actually not that magnificent, but the current patriarch didn’t care much and was very happy to help Gu Mo complete his registration and inquire if he could handle the teaching profession. If so, she would issue a letter of appointment on behalf of the Temple School.
Although Temple School was initially established by Kamishirasawa Keine, it’s now mainly funded by the Hieda family.
That’s why Teacher Kamishirasawa also felt that matters like hiring new teachers should be left to Miss Akyu to handle; whether suitable or not, it should be Miss Akyu to decide. She couldn’t just use Hieda Akyu’s money and recklessly assign salaries to others...
"Teaching? That could work..." Gu Mo pondered for a moment and nodded.
After all, he had nothing else to do on normal days, so finding a job wasn’t a bad idea, and he loved teaching and nurturing talents. Plus, he could rightfully interact with Teacher Keine; upon discovering that this Kamishirasawa had the ability to "devour historical extent and create historical extent," he keenly sensed the key.
The plan to cultivate the Holy Spear-type Fantasy Tree had reached a bottleneck...
He had already insightfully mastered the laws of fixing history and humanity, yet the law of recreating history and outputting information was still far from reach...
Now discovering talent like Teacher Keine, he suddenly felt that perhaps Fantasy Land was a great treasure vault.
Since he had agreed, naturally a preliminary interview was necessary next.
Gu Mo passed as expected, showing quite a good reserve of knowledge.
"Since that’s the case, then I’ll leave the Temple School to you..." Miss Hieda Akyu nodded satisfactorily, expressing content with a ladylike demeanor. Sitting across, composed and dignified like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, yet her mode of conduct was flawless.
"It’s my pleasure, my pleasure, as expected..." Gu Mo replied courteously. "Then, Miss Akyu, did I pass the interview?"
"Yes, Mr. Gu Mo, you may go back first, afterward we’ll arrange your entry as soon as possible..."
Hieda Akyu smiled faintly, speaking softly.
Her gaze also lingered on the youth briefly before sweeping over the blond maiden behind him, her eyes appearing slightly curious.
What’s the relationship between these two?
Why would Miss Alice accompany him, even saying it’s "not very reassuring," or "just on the way," yet doesn’t this seem even stranger? Besides, didn’t Kamishirasawa mention that this outsider was only spirited away into Fantasy Land just yesterday evening?
If they had just met less than two days ago, and yet could make this cold-hearted Puppet Master Miss care so much...
Isn’t this person’s rank a bit too high?
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