By now, dusk had fully dissolved over Inazuma, and the vault of heaven blazed with stars.
The Milky Way stretched across the sky like a bolt of white silk.
A sea of cold, glittering stars.
Beneath that sky, atop Mt. Yougou — the highest peak in Inazuma — stood the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Yae Miko sat cross-legged on the shrine's veranda, leafing through a light novel manuscript. At her side was a flask of sake, and the little bowl she'd filled to the brim with clear, crystalline liquid now had a few crimson sakura petals drifting lazily across the surface.
"Goodness, how did it come to this."
In the courtyard before her, a slight little girl in a ninja's outfit and hood was sweeping the shrine grounds with a broom, her small face a picture of misery.
"Keep at it. Don't you dare stop," Yae Miko said.
Watching the tiny ninja's utterly defeated expression, Yae Miko couldn't help a small, languid smile. She stretched her arms overhead, then lifted her sake bowl — petals and all, not bothering to fish them out — took a sip, and went back to reading the manuscript.
After a while.
"This is dreadfully dull. Reborn as Lady Guuji Yae, and all the protagonist does is follow the rules and carry out the same dreary shrine maiden duties as anyone else? Where's the appeal in that? Can these authors at least grasp the basic idea of what a novel is supposed to be?"
Yae Miko couldn't help but furrow her brow. She let out a small sigh, set the manuscript to one side, then turned to look at Kano Nana sitting beside her. "How about yours?"
"In reply to Lady Guuji—"
Kano Nana had barely gotten halfway through her sentence when Yae Miko cut her off.
"Call me Editor-in-Chief."
Yae Miko raised the manuscript and covered Kano Nana's mouth with it, smiling pleasantly.
"...Editor-in-Chief," Kano Nana said, after a brief hesitation.
"Go on," said Yae Miko.
"The one I'm reading is called On the Matter of Being Reborn as a Completely Powerless Dragon Whose Retainer Happens to Be the Demon Lord. It's about a protagonist who is reborn as a dragon with zero combat ability, yet whose draconic presence is strangely awe-inspiring. His greatest ambition in life is to eat well, do nothing, and wait to die. One day, however, the villagers offer him a tribute for their safety — a little girl who is actually the Demon Lord in disguise, sent to assess this dragon's combat strength. Unable to see through the protagonist's power level at all, the Demon Lord doesn't dare make a move, and after some careful deliberation, proposes signing a contract with him — which is how their journey to defeat the Demon Lord begins…"
"Oh? That actually sounds rather amusing," Yae Miko said, an eyebrow arching with interest.
"It does have an excellent premise," Kano Nana agreed with a sigh, "but in terms of prose, plot structure, and thematic depth, it falls quite a long way short of Miss Fang Qiu's work."
"That little one, Fang Qiu…"
Yae Miko let her gaze drift toward the direction of Liyue, eyes narrowing slightly, the corners of her mouth curling upward. "I really do want to spirit her away to Inazuma and lock her in a little room somewhere and have her writing books every single day."
Lady Guuji had said this before — it was at least the second time now — and Kano Nana didn't doubt for a moment that she was perfectly capable of following through.
"Speaking of which, it's been ages since I've seen Sister Ganyu. Back before Inazuma's isolationist policy, all the affairs between Liyue and Inazuma were handled between the two of us, and she was an exceptionally reliable person. Now that there's a trade fleet sailing from Inazuma to Liyue — should I make the trip to Liyue myself and bring her some sea lingzhi?"
Yae Miko's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Oh, right — how are things coming along at the Yae Publishing House editorial department? They still haven't sent the list over to the shrine?"
"In reply to Lady Guuji — Editor-in-Chief — there's been no word from the editorial department yet," Kano Nana said, her expression full of worry.
"Tomorrow, take Sayu with you and go give them a nudge. Tell them to hurry up and get that batch of sample books bound for Liyue sent over here. The trade fleet's departure date may still be some time away, but we need to prepare in advance."
Yae Miko smiled serenely.
"Understood."
Kano Nana nodded.
Sayu, who had been sweeping in the courtyard, heard Yae Miko's words. Her expression — which had just begun to recover slightly now that the sweeping was nearly done — immediately crumpled. She very much wanted to protest, but the moment she felt Yae Miko's gaze on her, she swallowed her objections and went quietly and miserably silent.
"Editor-in-Chief, I have a question," said Kano Nana.
"What question?"
"Why has Shogun Almighty, after the Your Lie in April concert, been pushing so hard to expand trade with Liyue?"
"Well, naturally it's to improve the lives of the people of Inazuma. After all, a nation that never changes is a terribly dull thing — change must always come eventually. As for whether that change might be at odds with the concept of eternity… I imagine she's simply arrived at a new understanding of what eternity means."
Yae Miko smiled sweetly. "It couldn't possibly be because she read that little one Fang Qiu's books and now wants to read her new ones — and so she pushed for this trade voyage from Inazuma to Liyue, could it? What kind of god would do something like that?"
"Shogun Almighty has read Fang Qiu's books? I hadn't heard anything about that," Kano Nana said, puzzled.
Naturally, she wasn't about to believe what Lady Guuji had just suggested — that the Shogun had increased trade simply to get her hands on Fang Qiu's novels.
"Who knows," Yae Miko said, narrowing her eyes.
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the direction of Tenshukaku.
Inazuma City glittered with light.
Naganohara Fireworks.
Naganohara Yoimiya was sitting at the shop entrance, minding the store.
"Finally finished before the customer's deadline. Making fireworks is such a joy, but every now and then, you really do need a break."
She picked up a skewer of Tricolor Dango from beside her and popped one piece into her mouth, cheeks puffing out round and full — but she'd barely swallowed it when a group of people walked past.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"Apparently, the outlying island has been putting together a trade fleet to sail to Liyue these past few days. My cousin's with the Kanjou Commission — he told me."
"A trade fleet to Liyue? Hmm, so does that mean we'll be seeing Fang Qiu's new books before long?"
"That's one way to put it — if she has anything new out, that is. And the scale of this operation is huge, apparently. My cousin says quite a few merchants have already registered with the Kanjou Commission; a good number of people will probably be sailing with the fleet. The departure's still some time away. Oh, and this time they're apparently bringing our local Dango Milk as a specialty export — word is the head of the Kamisato Clan is quite fond of Dango Milk as well."
"So when the ships come back, does that mean we might get to try some of Liyue's drinks too?"
"That's the idea."
They talked as they walked, gradually fading into the distance.
"A trade fleet to Liyue?"
Overhearing their conversation, Naganohara Yoimiya blinked in mild surprise.
She'd been so busy making fireworks for her customers these past few days that she really hadn't caught wind of this…
She still had no idea what the details were.
"Pop, I'm going to the Kanjou Commission for a bit — you watch the shop."
She made up her mind to go and see for herself. Naganohara Yoimiya called out toward the back of the house.
"Hah?"
"I said I'm going to the Kanjou Commission!"
"Hah?"
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