"It is a shame that my brother is still busy with his work. Otherwise, I would definitely introduce you to him, Lumine."
"Hehe, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I will probably be staying in Inazuma for a while. Well then, Ayaka, we will be on our way."
"Be safe on the road. Thoma, go with Su Bai and help him pay the Mora."
Watching Su Bai walk away, Ayaka felt a reluctant pang in her heart, but she could not muster the courage to ask him to stay. On top of that, she kept feeling like she had forgotten something important.
Meanwhile, a certain man who had been forgotten at the Kamisato Estate stared at the table of cold food, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Just because Su Bai came back, is it really necessary to leave his own brother here to eat a cold meal?
Inside the commercial district of Inazuma City, Su Bai bought some of Inazuma's specialty snacks to bring back as dinner for Hu Tao and the others. Thoma, who was in charge of paying for Su Bai, was busy using his phone to ask Ayaka what she wanted to eat and whether she needed any digestive medicine.
"Wow, I did not expect these little street vendors to have so many delicious things. If I had known, I would have eaten less hot pot earlier."
Paimon, who had already devoured three full plates of meat, was now drooling just looking at the food on the street. Although Lumine jokingly said she had a dimensional stomach, even she needed time to digest.
"Thoma, I am done with my shopping. Hurry up and go buy your medicine. Looking at you, there is no way you can tough this out."
"Then I will head off first. Be safe on the road, you two. Ouch, my stomach."
Watching Thoma clutch his stomach and walk away, Lumine rubbed her own belly with lingering fear. It was a good thing she had only eaten normal food. Otherwise, her image as a beautiful young lady would have completely collapsed.
...
In a quiet corner of Inazuma City, far from the commercial district, a two-story building with a style completely different from Inazuman architecture stood silently in the dark night.
"Wow, Su Bai, I did not expect you to have a house like this in Inazuma. It looks like Lumine and I will not need to stay at an inn after all."
"There is no problem with the two of you staying here. It is just that no one has cleaned it in over two years, so it is probably covered in dust."
Su Bai unlocked the door with his key. He had been holding his breath, expecting a dusty mess, but he suddenly noticed that the inside did not seem nearly as dirty as he had imagined. In fact, it was quite clean.
Paimon flew up and did a quick circle around the room. She was surprised to find that the house was not dirty at all.
Looks like I can slack off and not have to clean. Great.
"Su Bai, it looks like someone has been living here. Did you give your key to anyone before?"
"I think I already know who has been cleaning. Lumine, Paimon, just pick a room, get the bedding set up, and settle in. It seems that little one is not here today."
Remembering how he had given the key to Sayu before leaving Inazuma so she would not have to sleep outside when she slacked off and took naps, Su Bai suddenly felt that this little kid was actually quite reliable. She had even helped tidy up the house for him.
"By the way, Lumine, where did you find the chests at the Komore Teahouse? Ayaka said you could take any chests you found there, but would chests really show up in a place like that?"
"I do not know why chests would appear there, but right in the storage room behind the counter, there were two Luxurious Chests. One had two hundred thousand Mora inside, and the other had a pile of money bags with the Tenryou Commission's crest drawn on them."
Su Bai rubbed his chin. In his eighteen years of life, he had never seen such strange chests.
Well, this is the magical continent of Teyvat, I suppose. Never mind. Maybe it is just a gift from nature.
Su Bai placed the takeout food he had bought on the street in a conspicuous spot on the dining table so Hu Tao and the others would see it as soon as they got back. Having been busy all day, Su Bai was a bit tired. After a quick shower, he pushed open the door to the room he remembered.
Just as he expected, his room had a small bed that was overflowing with Tanuki energy. It was obvious that Sayu had set it up there deliberately so she could hug his tail while sleeping.
Thinking back to how Sayu always hugged his fox tail every time she took a nap, Su Bai could not help but smile. Even though there was a room for Sayu in the house, this little one had still gone out of her way to set up a special napping bed right next to his. He really had no idea how someone as tiny as Sayu managed to carry this bed up to the second floor.
Exhausted from the long day, Su Bai flopped onto the bed. The soft blanket and the pillow filled with a floral scent were unmistakable signs of Sayu's cuteness. As a wave of drowsiness washed over him, Su Bai drifted off into a sweet dream.
...
Just as Su Bai was fast asleep, the group chat exploded. Kujou Sara, who had been busy all day, saw the messages Hu Tao had posted and immediately forbade her from going to Tsurumi Island.
[Hu Tao: This Director is a professional. General Kujou, please cut me some slack~]
[Kujou Sara: Impossible. A place like Tsurumi Island is far too dangerous. Moreover, Miss Hu, you are an official representative of Liyue. If anything were to happen to you, Inazuma would be in a very difficult position.]
[Hu Tao: General Kujou, do not worry. This Director has already thrown the official permit Ningguang gave me into the sea. That means I am no longer an official representative, right? Hehe.]
[Kujou Sara: ... Even so, that is not acceptable. Inazuman law clearly states that the Shogun's Army must ensure the safety of civilians to the best of their ability.]
[Lumine: General Kujou Sara, I have a question. If I am in an emergency survival situation, am I allowed to eat Paimon?]
[Paimon: Lumine, Paimon is not food! Also, I only accidentally spilled water on the blanket. You are already talking about eating me? Lumine, you are so stingy.]
[Lumine: You damn well know we only brought one blanket, right???]
[Paimon: It is fine. We can just go squeeze in with Su Bai. I am sure he will agree.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: No!]
[Kujou Sara: Absolutely not!]
[Lumine: Oh my, I did not expect the great Kamisato Ayaka to be lurking in the chat!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: I, I just happened to pick up my phone. I was not lurking.]
[Kujou Sara: A lone man and a lone woman sharing the same room can easily lead to trouble. I will send someone over to deliver an extra blanket for you.]
[Yae Miko, Embodiment of Wisdom and Beauty: Oh my, let me see who is suddenly getting so flustered. It is little Ayaka and little Sara.]
[Kujou Sara: Guuji Yae, although I respect you greatly, you cannot tease me like this. Besides, I have received reports that you are sheltering a young girl who possesses a Vision.]
[Yae Miko, Embodiment of Wisdom and Beauty: Little Sara, do not be so serious. When you were little, you and little Su Bai used to sneak my Fried Tofu together. You were much cuter back then.]
[Yae Miko, Embodiment of Wisdom and Beauty: As for that girl you mentioned, she is the sister of one of my most capable subordinates. She came to me and begged for help. If I did not offer her some protection, that would be far too heartless.]
[Yae Miko, Embodiment of Wisdom and Beauty: Besides, that girl used to work as a shrine maiden here. You could say she is still under my care. Little Sara, you are not planning to come to the Grand Narukami Shrine to arrest someone, are you? Little Su Bai might get upset.]
[Kujou Sara: ... Until I have sufficient evidence, I will not make any arrests.]