"Eh?"
∑(△｀)?!
Just as expected!
It wasn't long after Annie came stumbling out with her "monkey" Tibbers and ordered him to pretend to be badly wounded and at death's door that the fellow who'd been secretly "spying" on them took the bait.
Ding-ding, dang-ding, ding—
As lively music started up, the other party strolled toward Annie and Tibbers, plucking a large three-stringed fiddle and singing as he went:
"Yellow Wind Ridge, eight hundred li, once rich lands beyond the pass..."
"Then rats appeared from nowhere, and foul air choked the land."
"No father, no king, no laws to bind them; they did evil beneath Heaven's protection..."
"Lucky the Great Sage borrowed Buddha's power; for a time, the wicked wind fell."
"Who knew disaster would strike so soon? The yellow-haired fiend came back again; the villain lived and strutted about, while the lucky star's corpse remained a mystery."
The timing was impeccable, too. Just as he reached her, he finished the song.
"Ah?"
(' ')
Well, she had to admit!
Setting aside his hideous appearance, Annie thought his playing and singing had a pretty good rhythm. It was actually quite nice to listen to!
Only after she'd heard the whole song and watched him stop right in front of her did she ask in a crisp, curious voice:
"Hey, mister!"
"What kind of demon are you?"
(`)~
Annie asked because of what he looked like.
Of course, it wasn't that he was especially hideous. It was that, although he had a human body, he had no head. And his neck had a ghastly stump, with the severed muscles, bones, and blood vessels still visible.
That was why Annie had asked what kind of demon he was. Everyone knew that normal people had heads. This strange man had no head, yet he