"Finally, finally on solid ground! I am alive again! Where is that emergency food? I am going to devour her whole!"
"Hey, Zhongtuo, why are you holding such a grudge? Lumine, help me~"
Watching Azhdaha and Paimon playfully bicker, everyone present relaxed and smiled. Although many of them were used to the drifting life at sea, the sense of security from having their feet on solid ground was something a ship could never provide.
In the crowd, Kazuha's expression was complicated. Stepping back onto Inazuma's soil brought him no joy of returning home, only hatred for the Vision Hunt Decree and the pain of his friend's death.
"Kazuha, you should probably stay on the ship. Do not force yourself."
Su Bai patted Kazuha on the shoulder. He had noticed Kazuha's mood was a bit off when he told the story of his friend on the ship. Now that they had disembarked, Kazuha could no longer hide that deep sorrow.
"I am sorry, but I probably cannot accompany you on this trip. I am already one of Inazuma's wanted criminals. If anyone sees me with you, it will only bring you trouble."
"It is alright, Kazuha. Try to look on the bright side. Once the Vision Hunt Decree is abolished, I, the Director, will personally hold a funeral for your friend."
"Then I thank you, Director Hu. I will head back to the ship first."
Kazuha thanked Hu Tao gratefully and returned to the ship. Influenced by Kazuha's mood, Azhdaha also stopped chasing Paimon. Watching Kazuha's retreating back, Azhdaha let out a cold snort.
"How does that Raiden Shogun even manage to be the Electro Archon? Being the only one in the world who can govern a country into progressively worse conditions is quite the achievement, if you ask me..."
"Ahem, little Zhongtuo, watch your words. The person I am supposed to meet is coming."
Beidou interrupted Azhdaha in time. Badmouthing the Raiden Shogun on Inazuma's territory would definitely attract a lot of trouble if the wrong people heard it.
"Captain Beidou, it has been a long time. Come on, let us go grab a drink?"
"Haha, Thoma, long time no see. I will pass on the drink. I have a ship full of crew members to feed, and we need to head somewhere else as soon as the cargo is unloaded."
"By the way, let me introduce you. This is my friend, Lumine. She is the famous Traveler in both Liyue and Mondstadt."
Thoma's eyes lit up. He had seen the Traveler's name plenty of times on the Kamisato Clan's intelligence network. If it was this Traveler, the Young Lady would definitely gain a capable ally.
"Ahem, Thoma, why are you only staring at Lumine? Has our friendship of several years faded just because we have not seen each other for two years?"
"That voice... Su Bai, you bastard, you are finally back!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Thoma turned his head. The bastard he had been itching to punch had finally appeared before him.
Watching Thoma step closer and closer, Su Bai silently took a few steps back. Before leaving Inazuma, he did seem to have pulled a fast one on Thoma.
"Su Bai, you finally showed up. Please settle the food expenses for Kageroumaru over the past two years. That will be one million Mora in total."
"Thoma, are you trying to extort me? One million Mora? Even if Kageroumaru ate nothing but premium meat and fish every day for two years, he could not possibly spend one million Mora!"
"True, he could not finish it. But that detestable mutt Kageroumaru actually gathered a gang and went to the Kamisato Estate to mooch food and drinks! A whole pack of dogs eating at the Kamisato Estate for two years. Do you think one million Mora is too much?"
Thoma glared at Su Bai through gritted teeth. Heaven knows how he had survived these past two years. Originally, as the housekeeper, he only had to deal with trivial matters. But ever since that detestable mutt Kageroumaru brought his little gang to the Kamisato Estate, Thoma's leisurely life was gone forever.
Now, the moment Thoma opened his eyes, he had to prepare food for this pack of mutts. After preparing the food, he had to administer medicine to the ones who were feeling unwell or injured. Only after all that could he get to his actual work.
Thoma had certainly considered subduing Kageroumaru by force. However, after a fierce battle with him, he lost. That is right, he, a dignified holder of a Pyro Vision, actually lost to a mutt.
He could never figure out why a seemingly ordinary mutt could manipulate Electro energy, and even wield martial arts with absolute mastery. This made Thoma feel more than once that he had been living like a dog all these years.
"Well, Thoma, do not get so worked up."
"I remember that before I left Inazuma, Kujou Sara came to see me. She said she might need Kageroumaru's help. Logically speaking, even if Kageroumaru latched onto someone, it should have been the Kujou Clan. How did he end up latching onto your Kamisato Clan?"
Su Bai was a bit puzzled by Thoma's description of Kageroumaru's behavior. Logically, Kageroumaru should not have latched onto the Kamisato Clan. Moreover, ever since he signed a contract with Kageroumaru, the mutt had not returned to the Kamisato Estate. Could it be that someone deliberately lured Kageroumaru there?
By now, Thoma had calmed down. They had been friends for so many years, and he would not get truly angry with Su Bai over something like this. He had only been upset earlier because he felt Su Bai had set him up. Hearing Su Bai's words now, Thoma realized that Su Bai seemed completely unaware of all this.
"I apologize, Su Bai. I got a bit too excited just now."
"It is no big deal. I just cannot figure out who on earth could have tricked a smart mutt like Kageroumaru."
Thoma scratched his head. He had thought about this question before, but Kageroumaru could only bark and could not speak. Among Thoma's friends, the only one who could understand dog barks was too busy fighting the Shogun's Army all day because of the Vision Hunt Decree, leaving absolutely no time to help Thoma translate.
"Forget it, let us not talk about this for now. You all must be visiting Inazuma for the first time. Come with me to register first. As for you, Su Bai, you can do as you please."
"Forget it, I will go with you to take a look. That bunch of bloodsucking parasites from the Hiiragi Clan, you better not get scammed by them."
"Of course, I am even more worried that you might get angry and wipe out the Hiiragi Clan. If that happens, we will have to run for our lives."
Although Su Bai did not know that Zhongtuo was the Dragon of Earth, Azhdaha, he still had a lot of confidence in this little girl named Zhongtuo. After all, with the bloodline of the Dragon of Earth, even at a young age, turning the entire Hiiragi Clan upside down should not be a problem.
"Haha, it will not come to that. I brought plenty of island entry procedure documents. Everyone, take one. With this, Commissioner Hiiragi should not make things difficult for you."
"Ugh, this feels so troublesome. It is even more troublesome than me going to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to pay a fine. Good thing we do not have this much red tape in Liyue."
After taking a rough look at the island entry documents Thoma handed out, Hu Tao could not help but complain a bit. She was hoping to head to Inazuma City early to promote the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.