Sure enough, just as she had expected, after walking along the beach toward Amakane Island for a short while, she spotted that figure. How should she put it? She really was quite easy to recognize...
Her long golden hair was tied into a somewhat short single ponytail. Beside her head were red floral hairpins and pale-purple sakura ornaments in the color associated with "eternity." Her exquisitely beautiful yet energetic face was adorned with a pair of lively golden eyes, their edges accented by red eyeshadow.
Her short orange-red yukata left one shoulder bare, revealing fair skin and exposing the sakura-and-goldfish tattoo on her arm to the open air. Her visible legs were dressed asymmetrically. Her left leg had no extra adornments aside from a black calf sock wrapped around her foot, while her right leg wore an over-the-knee sock covered by dark-red leg armor. Supporting her delicate feet was a pair of dark wooden geta roughly four centimeters high.
Overall, that fiery appearance was exactly the sort of trait one would expect from someone who possessed a Pyro Vision. Even without looking at her Vision, the Shogun could sense the distinct temperament and vitality unique to the Pyro element.
In any case—she had finally found her.
However, the girl was currently surrounded by the three children from earlier. If the Shogun's guess was correct, they had probably come to complain about her, which made things somewhat awkward just thinking about it.
"That's what happened—Waaah... That bad Big Sis said all those things..."
Iwao tearfully tattled to Yoimiya.
"Mm... She was clearly such a pretty Big Sis, but she said something like that... Maybe... she wasn't lying to us? Maybe the Great Mujina Youkai really doesn't exist?"
Ayane was beginning to doubt herself now. They had searched for a long time earlier but had never found the so-called "Great Mujina Youkai."
"Could we really have misunderstood her? Does the Great Mujina Youkai not exist?"
Matsuzaka had also lost his earlier certainty, asking with tear-filled eyes.
"Don't be sad, don't be so upset~! She was only joking with you. How could the Great Mujina Youkai not exist?"
After hearing the three children's account, Yoimiya more or less understood what had happened. Her tone remained firm as she encouraged the three sniffling children, helping them regain their confidence. Her voice was filled with patience toward them.
"B-But we've never actually seen the Great Mujina Youkai..."
Matsuzaka said dejectedly.
"That's because the Great Mujina Youkai is really formidable. It's precisely because it's so formidable that it needs all of you to step in, right?"
The girl rested both hands on her knees and bent slightly forward as she smiled at him. Her beautiful golden eyes were filled with encouragement.
"Mm..." ×3
However, the children still looked somewhat discouraged.
"There's no need to rush, and no need to lose heart. If you want to become truly amazing heroes, you can't be lacking in patience, wisdom, or even conviction."
The girl patted the heads of all three children, then clenched a fist and struck an encouraging pose.
"Even if you haven't found it yet, it'll definitely appear before the fireworks begin. Until then, remember to come to Big Sis Yoimiya's house to pick up your weapons, okay?"
Yoimiya mimed drawing a bow, then tilted her head and winked at the three of them.
"Got it..." ×3
The three children regained some of their confidence and answered together.
"Hehe, mm~! Light the special fireworks I made, and no matter how powerful the Great Mujina Youkai is, you'll be able to scare it away~!" Whoosh~
She even adorably made a sound effect, imitating a firework bursting into bloom.
"The things at home, the crops in the fields, and your moms and dads—it's your turn to protect them now~!"
Then she folded her arms and spoke to them with spirited enthusiasm before turning sideways, raising a hand, and pointing at them in a cool pose.
"Mm!" ×3
The three children smiled and nodded firmly.
"Got it! Since Big Sis Yoimiya says so, we'll be a little more patient! Then—"
After Matsuzaka answered, he was about to leave.
"Ah—right, right, don't rush off yet. I have a few slips of paper here. Each of you take one home and give it to your mom and dad for safekeeping. Just tell them Big Sis Yoimiya gave it to you, and they'll understand."
Yoimiya took out cards bearing the name of Naganohara Fireworks from her pocket and handed them to the three children to bring home.
"Okay, thank you, Big Sis Yoimiya! We're going now!"
"Thank you, Big Sis Yoimiya. Come play with us when you have time..." ×2
"Okay, okay. Be careful on the way home. We'll see each other again later~!"
Yoimiya gave them a warm smile and gently waved goodbye, watching the three children leave.
The Shogun had stood off to the side throughout the entire conversation. Only after it ended did she prepare to step forward, but—
Tap tap tap! ×3
The children happened to pass right by her as they left.
"Hmph~!" ×3
When they saw her, all three pulled faces at her.
"..."
She paid it no mind, merely narrowing her eyes slightly. Just as she was about to walk toward the girl ahead, however, Yoimiya waved to her first.
"Shogun-sama~! Over here, over here~!"
Yoimiya had actually noticed her long ago and immediately called out a greeting, her smile as bright and warm as the sun.
The Shogun froze for a moment at the sight, then approached the girl with a questioning look.
"Hehe~ From the children's description, I knew it had to be you. It's fine, really. I don't blame you."
Yoimiya shook her head at her to show that it was all right and that she should not take it to heart. That instinctive concern upon their very first meeting gave the Shogun an even clearer impression of the girl's personality. However—
"You... How did you recognize me?"
She asked in confusion. Dressed in ordinary clothes, she should not have been—
"Hm? Is recognizing you supposed to be difficult? You're so beautiful that I think it's actually pretty easy, hehe."
Yoimiya looked over her outfit and smiled.
"..."
Seriously?!
Am I really that easy to recognize?
For a moment, she fell into self-doubt. If that was true, then all those people before—
They weren't just playing along with me, were they? No, no, impossible. Don't scare yourself!
She adorably complained to herself inwardly.
"Pfft~ I'm kidding. Actually, Ayaka once told me what you usually look like when you go out, and she even showed me a photograph of you, you know?"
Yoimiya winked at her.
Since the Yashiro Commission oversaw cultural festivals, the Naganohara family and the Kamisato family had conducted a great deal of business together. Yoimiya had even been fortunate enough to visit the Kamisato Estate while making fireworks. Moreover, she herself was on very good terms with the Shirasagi Himegimi, almost like close girlfriends.
During those interactions, she had also asked about the Shogun, and Ayaka had told her quite a lot. Truthfully, it was the first time Yoimiya had ever seen the Shirasagi Himegimi looking that happy. Seeing Ayaka like that had made Yoimiya curious about the Shogun as well.
"...I see."
She sighed and understood, but then something else occurred to her.
"Haa... Playing a joke on me the moment we meet. You're quite mischievous."
She was not angry, merely teasing her in a mildly reproachful tone.
"Uh, hehe... S-Sorry..."
Yoimiya laughed awkwardly.
In truth, she had thought the woman in front of her looked a little absentminded, so she had instinctively decided to tease her a bit. She had not expected the effect to be so good. Ahem~!
"But putting that aside, let me ask you something just to make sure. Did you come here to see me?"
Yoimiya asked cautiously.
"I did indeed come to see you..."
She nodded.
"Really~?!"
Yoimiya immediately stepped forward and leaned close to her face, her beautiful features glowing with delight.
"Y-Yes..."
The Shogun instinctively took half a step backward. She really had no idea how to deal with such aggressively energetic personalities.
"Wow~ Thank you for actually coming to see me~!"
Yoimiya's eyes lit up as she leaned close to her face again.
"...Your face is too close."
The Shogun looked away and spoke with some embarrassment.
"Eh? Ah... Sorry... I got too excited, hehe."
Realizing what she was doing, Yoimiya immediately pulled back and scratched her head with an awkward smile.
"Haa... It's fine."
The Shogun breathed a sigh of relief. She had discovered that these children were all so forward, and personalities like theirs seemed especially effective against someone like her. It really was strange.