Gensokyo Detective, but surrounded by Shura Field

The blonde girl apologized again.

Seeing her sincere demeanor, Chu Bai didn't pursue the matter further.

After all, his motives weren't entirely pure; the main reason he approached her was to gain some points.

"It's okay, just be more careful next time."

"I'm Chu Bai, a newcomer to Gensokyo today, and I'll be staying in the Human Village for a while."

The blonde girl nodded slightly:

"My name is Alice Margatroid, and I currently live in the Forest of Magic."

Chu Bai nodded confidently:

"I've got it, Miss Maserati Levante..."

"It's Margatroid!"

Alice almost choked:

"Did you only remember one syllable? If you can't remember it, you can just call me Alice!"

"Oh, okay, Miss Alice."

Chu Bai cleared his throat twice:

"I noticed you seemed troubled earlier, did you run into some tricky problem?"

Speaking of this, Alice's expression stiffened slightly again.

She looked away with a complicated expression:

"I did encounter something quite troublesome."

"Would you like to confide in a kind passerby?" Chu Bai pointed at himself.

"Um..."

Alice was silent for a long while, and finally spoke softly:

"Actually, I'm a little insecure about interpersonal interactions."

"Interpersonal interactions?"

"Yes."

She didn't know why, but after getting close to Chu Bai, Alice could always feel a strange sense of familiarity.

Although it was their first meeting, she already had the urge to confide in Chu Bai.

And before this, not to mention men.

She hadn't been this close even to female peers she had good relationships with.

"I need to buy some materials for weaving dolls at the village's craft store."

"But that new shopkeeper doesn't seem very approachable..."

Following the direction Alice pointed, Chu Bai immediately saw the new shopkeeper with a leopard's head and ringed eyes, a bear-like waist, a three-foot-long beard, and arms that hung past his knees.

To be fair, he did look quite frightening, and there was a sense of bizarre confusion about him.

"It's not that bad."

Chu Bai smiled faintly:

"At most, his appearance might scare someone into wetting their pants..."

"That's already quite serious!"

Alice rarely made a comment that didn't fit her persona.

Chu Bai continued his rational analysis:

"But after all, this boss is a businessman, he's here to do business, not to fight."

"Even if he looks fierce, he definitely wouldn't make things difficult for his customers."

"Really?"

"Really. Let's go over together, I'll cheer you on."

As he said that, he grabbed Alice's arm and led her to the front of the tool shop.

Alice was startled and instinctively wanted to run away.

She had always been a solitary and aloof person, mainly because she wasn't good at socializing.

Although she occasionally performed puppet shows at banquets, it was only because she didn't know what else to do, so she tried to attract attention.

The result was that she did attract attention, but her aloof image became even more deeply rooted, and others were even more afraid to talk to her.

She didn't expect to meet the enthusiastic Chu Bai today, and for some reason, she didn't feel any aversion to Chu Bai's overly close behavior.

Could it be that this newcomer was very compatible with her?

According to the vampire loli, was this an intersection of fate lines?

Alice was lost in thought, and when she came back to her senses, she had already been led to the front of the shopkeeper.

"Welcome, Miss."

The muscular shopkeeper crossed his arms, and although he was an ordinary person, he exuded the aura of a strongman:

"What would you like to buy? By the way, the old shopkeeper is away recently, and we're not taking on any black market business."

Whoa, what's black market business, that's scary.

Not only Alice, but even Chu Bai felt a little creeped out.

But perhaps because of Chu Bai's company, Alice had a little more courage.

Her expression was as aloof as ever, and her tone was quite calm:

"I need to buy some materials, here's the list."

"Wait a moment."

The muscular shopkeeper took the list and went to the back room.

Then there was a sound of sharpening knives, a sound of chopping things, and a sound of something falling to the ground with a thud, splashing an unknown liquid.

Chu Bai couldn't help but swallow:

"Little Alice, don't be afraid, I'll definitely protect you..."

"Then don't hide behind me!"

Alice looked at Chu Bai, who was hiding behind her, with a face full of sweat:

"And what's with 'Little Alice'? I don't remember having a name like that?"

"Isn't that what friends call each other, like 'hey' or 'that guy,' a more casual nickname..."

"It's not casual at all! And it doesn't sound like a name for ordinary friends, does it?"

Alice subconsciously retorted, and her nervousness gradually disappeared.

By the time she had taken the materials and paid the money, she realized that the transaction she had been somewhat afraid of had already ended.

"How was it, simple, right?"

Chu Bai smiled slightly:

"Interpersonal relationships are like that. The more you care, the more nervous you'll be."

"As long as you relax, the interaction will be much easier."

"...I'm enlightened."

Alice sincerely thanked him while holding the materials:

"Anyway, thank you very much today."

"You're welcome, we're all villagers, we'll see each other often."

Chu Bai looked at the sky, it was already late.

If he didn't find a house, he might have to sleep on the street tonight.

So he planned to wave goodbye:

"Then I'll go take care of my business, let's chat when we have time."

"Please wait."

Alice suddenly quickened her pace and came in front of him.

She took out her wallet and directly pulled out a wad of banknotes from it, offering them to Chu Bai with both hands.

Roughly counting, there was at least 100,000 yen.

"...This is?"

"Friend fee."

Alice said with a serious expression:

"If it's not enough, I have more at home."

"Can you become my friend and teach me more about interpersonal relationships?"

Chu Bai looked at the serious-looking girl with a wry smile:

"Little Alice, interpersonal relationships can't be measured with money."

"Friends made with money are meaningless, only those you make with your heart are true friends."

He smiled and held Alice's hand:

"Besides, don't you think we're already friends?"

"You're the first friend I've actively made in Gensokyo besides Reimu."

Hearing Chu Bai say this, Alice's heart stirred slightly:

"A-Actually, you're also my first male friend..."

Chu Bai replied with a smile:

"That's quite a coincidence."

"I'll be living in the Human Village from now on, let's hang out more often when we have time, and feel free to come to me if you have any problems."

"Okay."

Alice said, gradually realizing something was wrong:

"...So, can you let go of my hand? Or rather, let go of the money in my hand?"

Chu Bai lowered his head and suddenly realized that his hand had somehow grabbed the money and was stuffing it into his pocket.

He was shocked and took a cold breath:

"You locked my hand without me even noticing? Is this Alice's magic! How terrifying..."

"There's no magic! You're just greedy!"

Alice couldn't help but retort, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Lively, joyful, being able to chat freely.

This is the feeling of being with a friend.

But just as the two were talking, a dissatisfied voice suddenly sounded nearby.

"That's quite impressive, Chu Bai."

"You, who can't even recognize all the roads, have already made a new friend..."