"Meow! Shogun!"
Neko was shocked and immediately bowed to Shiki, though it looked a bit strange for a cat.
"Alright, no need to be so formal."
Shiki waved her hand, then turned to Hana Sanri: "By the way, what's going on with this Akane?"
She naturally knew who Akane was, Asase Hibiki, who had opened the Great Barrier, but why did Neko call Hana Sanri Akane?
"Heh heh, this child likes to call me that, and I can't correct him, so I just let him be."
Hana Sanri was also a bit helpless; she was too lazy to correct him anymore.
"Akane is a friendly Miko, meow! So a friendly Miko is Akane, meow!" Neko said from the side.
Shiki understood immediately. It was clear that this cat named Neko had mistaken her identity.
As for this strange logic... you can't expect a cat to have a very high IQ.
"Alright, I think I understand what's going on. Also, Hana Sanri, wait for me here."
Shiki finished speaking and walked towards a nearby Waypoint. After activating it, she disappeared from the sight of the spirit and the cat.
"Eh??? The Shogun disappeared, meow!"
"The Shogun will be back soon, you just heard her ask me to wait for her here, didn't you?"
Hana Sanri said as she ruffled Neko's fluffy little head, and the latter rubbed against her, clearly enjoying it.
Well, actually, there was another reason why Hana Sanri no longer corrected Neko's address: there weren't many people left from their era...
Counting them one by one, they could be counted on one hand.
Raiden Ei, Yae Miko, Ioroi, Neko, and finally, herself, a revenant born from defilement—a total of five.
Since Neko had already decided she was Akane, she might as well let him be. She hoped it would make him happier.
Thinking this, Hana Sanri rubbed Neko's head again, and at that moment, the disappeared Shiki returned.
However, this time, she held a book carved from marble in her hand.
"Hana Sanri, I hope your craftsmanship hasn't gotten rusty."
"Catalyst billet? You found it?"
"I just found it today. I was going to leave it at home and tell you when you got back, but I didn't expect to see you right after I put it away." Shiki said.
"Hakuchen Ring, I still remember that."
"Yes... you still remember, I almost forgot..."
Hana Sanri looked at the Catalyst billet in front of her and couldn't help but sigh. She knew how difficult it was to find this item. After such a long time, she had even thought her future body would be Wavebreaker's Fin.
But it was a good thing after all. Although the Hakuchen Ring was only four-star, it was a Catalyst used by the Kitsune Saiguu, highly compatible with the Kitsune clan. To some extent, its power was no less than a five-star.
"But why must it be me? Didn't I already give you the method for making the Hakuchen Ring?"
"...Do I look like someone who can craft a Catalyst?" Shiki rolled her eyes.
But to her surprise, Hana Sanri looked her up and down, then nodded seriously and said, "You do!"
From the girl's wide furisode, it was clear that it was not suitable for wielding a katana, as the sleeves could easily get tangled in the blade.
If she hadn't seen the girl's graceful yet deadly sword-wielding, a Catalyst user would have been more fitting for this attire.
And Catalyst users generally craft Catalysts, so it looked very similar.
But the girl was exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship, and in combat, her sleeves never tangled in her blade, a situation that once reminded Hana Sanri of that moon-faced Oni girl.
Mikoshi Chiyo was also like this; despite wearing extremely inconvenient and elaborate twelve-layered kimonos, she could still wreak havoc among thousands of soldiers.
It was a pity she hadn't seen Shiki wield the Kuji Narukami and perform a sword dance, otherwise it would have been a dream collaboration with Mikoshi Chiyo.
Shiki was speechless: "So it only looks like it. I don't know how to carve Catalysts. If it were swords, spears, or halberds, I could try."
Catalysts and swords are different. Whether it's a katana, katana, or naginata, generally speaking, they are all repeatedly hammered, with only slight differences in technique and clay tempering, but they all lead to the same result.
But Catalysts are different. Making them is like creating a work of art. You can't ask a blacksmith to do stone carving, can you?
"Besides, this is your new body. You should at least put some effort into it, right?"
"That's true. It seems my journey will have to come to a temporary end."
Hana Sanri nodded at her words, and then the two returned to Neko's side.
"Akane is leaving again?" Neko asked.
Although Neko's intelligence wasn't high, his intuition, or so-called sixth sense, was very strong. He could, to some extent, foresee future events.
But it was only for things a few minutes ahead, for example, waking up suddenly from a bad premonition while sleeping under a tree, simply because a branch or fruit would soon fall on his head.
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