Tricking an Innocent Kitty
"Just like that?"
Paimon looked at the ground of Narukami Island beneath them, then at Ritou in the distance, before happily floating circles around Xia Yu. "Big Sis Mei, how did you do that?"
"We just closed our eyes, opened them again, and whoosh—we were out of Ritou?"
"That really was impressive," Lumine couldn't help exclaiming. "If we could use it to escap—Ahem."
"Well, although it broke the rules somewhat, at least we didn't have to endure any more aggravation from the Kanjou Commission." Thoma's eyes darted as he looked at Xia Yu. "Now it seems my intervention earlier was rather unnecessary. Even if milady and I hadn't been there, those Nobushi wouldn't have posed any threat to you, would they?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Thoma?" Paimon asked curiously.
"Miss Raiden Mei and I actually only met today as well." Thoma smiled. "In Chinju Forest, milady saw Miss Raiden Mei being accosted by a group of Nobushi while she was alone, so she ordered me to help."
"So that's how you met?" Paimon nodded. "But Big Sis Mei is so powerful that she definitely wouldn't be afraid of some Nobushi!"
"Putting everything else aside..." Xia Yu's expression beneath her veil became somewhat peculiar as she looked at Paimon. "Why are you calling me Big Sis Mei?"
"Uh, it just rolls off the tongue," Paimon said somewhat timidly. "Is that not allowed?"
"It's not that you can't." The corner of Xia Yu's mouth twitched. "Just... Mm, remember not to lie in my arms when you're about to die and tell me, 'Big Sis Mei, I don't want to die.'"
"Wow, do you even know how to talk to people?" Paimon's entire expression collapsed. "Why are you suddenly talking about dying..."
"Paimon, stop." Unlike Paimon, Lumine caught the implication behind Xia Yu's words and hurriedly stopped her from continuing.
Seeing this, Xia Yu asked, "By the way, where are you planning to go next?"
"Originally, we planned to enter Inazuma City and find a well-informed local." Lumine stared intently at Xia Yu. "Then we'd ask about my brother and find a way to meet the Raiden Shogun."
But that was no longer necessary. The information she wanted was standing right in front of her.
"Now I only need to follow Miss Mei!"
"Wherever you go, we'll go too!"
"Mm, the situation on Yashiori Island will still take some time." Xia Yu rubbed her chin. "As it happens, I currently have nowhere to go either."
"In that case, might everyone hear me out?" Thoma's eyes lit up. "Milady has long admired Mondstadt's renowned Honorary Knight, so she specifically sent me to invite you all to Komore Teahouse as her guests."
"What about Big Sis Mei..." Lumine looked toward Xia Yu.
"Yes, Miss Mei should come as well," Thoma said even more enthusiastically. "You're hardly an outsider, and milady is also interested in becoming acquainted with you."
"Speaking of which, I actually still have something to take care of." Xia Yu suddenly spoke. "You should head to Komore Teahouse first. I'll meet you there after I'm finished."
"Here, take this." Smiling, she hung the eye-shaped ornament from her waist onto Lumine's. "I'm only lending it to you for now. As long as you have it, I'll be able to find you anytime and anywhere."
Lumine was clearly reluctant. The clue to her brother was right before her eyes, so how could she bear to leave? However, she also understood that pushing too far could backfire. If she insisted on clinging to Xia Yu, she might only provoke the other woman's dislike.
And so, the group parted ways.
After leaving Lumine and Paimon, Xia Yu made her way to a secluded corner of Inazuma City.
She looked at the three large characters reading Komaniya on the shop sign above her, then gently pushed open the door.
"Welcome!" A cat-eared girl immediately sprang to her feet upon hearing the door open. "Komaniya's gold-level courier is at your service!"
Kirara had finally received a job after waiting for so long. "Where would you like your package delivered?"
She wasn't normally in charge of the front desk. She had merely just returned from a delivery and, having nothing else to do, had been asked to fill in temporarily.
"Fontaine. Can you go there?" Xia Yu asked with a smile.
"Uh, customer, you must be joking." Kirara immediately wilted again. "The nation is currently closed. Even a gold-level courier can't obtain permission to leave the country."
"You won't need permission." Xia Yu gently tapped the tabletop. "I can directly arrange a way to send you to Liyue. You can travel to Fontaine from there. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the payment."
"...I'm sorry, customer." After thinking for two seconds, Kirara still rejected the commission. "We're a legitimate company. We don't break the law."
Kirara deeply yearned for the lively and warm lives of humans. Yae Miko had told—deceived—her that if she wanted to remain in human society for a long time, she needed a proper job.
Through Yae Miko's recommendation, she applied to Komaniya and successfully became a courier. Kirara was terrified of losing this job. If she became unemployed, she would have no choice but to return to the deep mountains and become a youkai feared by everyone.
That was why Kirara had always devoted herself completely to her work. Cliffs, heavy rain, lightning, and dense forests could all delay her deliveries, but she would still grit her teeth and climb or force her way through. She was personally terrified whenever thunder struck, yet she continued hurrying onward.
After the Sakoku Decree was enacted, public security throughout Inazuma rapidly deteriorated. Many people coveted the packages and attempted to rob her on the road. Kirara never seriously injured them, worried that the company would hold her responsible and fire her. Instead, she usually wrapped the criminals up, packed them into boxes, and delivered them to the entrance of the Tenryou Commission.
Kirara now genuinely loved this profession. Every delivery allowed her to see different scenery, and watching people's happy expressions when they received their packages was her greatest joy.
According to reliable information, customers leaving five-star reviews or giving her dried fish and snacks would make her so happy that her two tails wagged nonstop.
Seeing her resolute refusal, Xia Yu thought for two seconds before reaching up and removing her hat.
"R-R-Rai..." The instant Kirara saw her face, all her fur stood on end. "Her Excellency the Raiden Shogun?!"
Her mind was currently in complete chaos.
'Wait, I'm just a little courier. Why would Her Excellency the Shogun come looking for me?'
"Kirara." Xia Yu lowered her voice and turned to look through the window at Inazuma City. "As a youkai, what do you think of the Inazuma of today?"
"Uh, well... Your Excellency..." Kirara instantly broke out in a cold sweat. How could she not know what Inazuma was like? She was a courier who traveled through wind and rain every day, running across all of Inazuma's islands.
Watatsumi Island had already formed a Resistance. The fighting on Yashiori Island had left the people unable to make a living. The furnace on Kannazuka was becoming increasingly unstable and looked as though it were announcing that it would explode sooner or later...
Only Narukami Island remained relatively peaceful.
'Should I tell the truth, or should I make it sound a little better?'
Telling the truth would be somewhat disrespectful toward the Shogun. After all, everything had been caused by the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree. A youkai like her would be relatively fine—even if her Vision were confiscated, she wouldn't completely lose herself—but humans suffered terribly.
Yet if she made things sound a little better, deceiving the Shogun wasn't a minor crime either.
'It's over. I've spent my entire life walking on thin ice, and now I'm finally going to fall through?'
'No, Kirara! Pull yourself together! There must still be a way out!'
'Stupid brain, start working! How am I supposed to answer?'
Watching her expression continually change, Xia Yu stopped teasing her. "Do you know? Sometimes silence is also an answer. If Inazuma were truly peaceful and prosperous, you wouldn't have needed to think for so long."
Kirara was about to cry.
'I didn't! I would never! I wasn't criticizing you, Your Excellency!'
"I remember it was Miko who gave you the idea, correct?" Xia Yu said. "If you wanted to interact with human society, you needed a proper job."
"You've worked diligently all these years and traveled through nearly every corner of Inazuma. But precisely because of that, you should have seen more than most people."
"The Inazuma of today... Its people can barely survive, and war rages throughout the land. It can no longer be considered a normal country."
Kirara was about to cry.
'No, Your Excellency, you should say these things to the leaders of the Tri-Commission or Lady Yae Miko! What use is there in saying them to an innocent little kitty like me?'
"Do you like an Inazuma like this? A corrupt Shogunate and a displaced, suffering people—do you like it?" Xia Yu's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Kirara's heart. "Look into my eyes and answer me."
"I... I..." Kirara raised her head, met Xia Yu's gaze for only a second, then timidly lowered it again. "Your Excellency... I..."
'I don't dare say it!'
"It seems you don't like it." Xia Yu smiled and extended a hand toward her. "Then will you help me?"
"Help me turn this country into the place we hope it can become!"
Kirara stood on the soil of Watatsumi Island, holding a large package in both hands with a dried fish clenched between her teeth. She appeared utterly lost and bewildered.
'What did I just do again?'
'Oh, right. Her Excellency the Shogun extended her hand to me and invited me to help change the Inazuma of today.'
'And then?'
'Oh, yes. Somehow, I ended up taking Her Excellency the Shogun's hand.'
'And then I was entrusted with an important mission.'
She looked at the package in her hands.
'Yes, an important mission. I have to deliver this package to Fontaine's Hydro Archon.'
Considering Komaniya's usual range of operations, accepting a commission of this caliber was completely unprecedented.
After all, gifts from one of the Seven to another were normally transported by an official diplomatic delegation. Who would entrust something like that to a courier?
Yet she was now holding a delivery sent from one god to another.
Oh, right. There was also a token that would supposedly allow her to board a ship traveling from Watatsumi Island to Liyue.
'Huh? Why does Her Excellency the Shogun possess a token from Watatsumi Island? Will the people of Watatsumi Island really listen... Uh, they probably will. After all, she's the Shogun.'
'Watatsumi Island can't defeat her anyway.'
'But since Her Excellency knows about everything, why doesn't she stop the war? And why does she need to go to Fontaine... Wait, Fontaine? The God of Justice?'
'Her Excellency also seemed to mention something about a corrupt Shogunate earlier...'
'Oh.'
Kirara suddenly felt as though the package in her arms weighed more than a mountain.
'Why does Her Excellency the Shogun know everything happening in Inazuma yet refuse to intervene... Why does she know that the Shogunate is corrupt, yet can only act in secret...'
'Could it be... Could it be...'
As soon as this thought occurred to her, Kirara's expression became resolute. She occasionally read novels published by Yae Publishing House as well.
'The future of all Inazuma now rests upon my shoulders!'
With that thought in mind, Kirara hugged the package tightly and boarded the Alcor with the determination of someone marching toward death.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Xia Yu was currently repenting for deceiving an innocent little kitty.
Mm. Her method of repentance was to drink another bottle of dango milk.
Hey, it really did taste quite good.
She casually bought a bottle each for Paimon and Lumine, then leisurely headed toward Komore Teahouse.
"What a coincidence, Big Sis Mei!" Paimon's eyes lit up when she spotted Xia Yu from afar. "Over here! We're over here!"
"Why do you look so exhausted?" Xia Yu walked over and stuffed a bottle of dango milk into each of their hands.
"The Vision Hunt Decree... Sigh..." Lumine looked as though it was difficult to explain.
Even Paimon had unusually lost interest in food. It seemed that what they had experienced earlier hadn't been pleasant.
"Let's go inside the teahouse and talk." Lumine forced herself to perk up and looked at Xia Yu. "Have you finished your business, Big Sis Mei?"
"More or less." Xia Yu followed them into Komore Teahouse.
"Have you two finished witnessing those three stories?" Kamisato Ayaka lowered the folding screen and appeared before Lumine and Paimon. "Ah, and Miss Mei as well."
"Hm? What is that..." She curiously looked at the bottles of dango milk in each of their hands.
"It's a delicacy I discovered on the street." Xia Yu smiled faintly. "The packaging may look rather plain, but even the Raiden Shogun herself loves drinking it."
"Ah, well..." Kamisato Ayaka was somewhat at a loss. With the education she had received, how could she possibly discuss the Shogun so casually?
She first glanced at Lumine and Paimon, looking somewhat troubled.
She had originally planned to lay her cards on the table with the two of them here, but now an unidentified person had joined them—one who even claimed to bear the surname Raiden.
Although Thoma had said that the woman openly disdained the Kanjou Commission, that didn't rule out the possibility that she belonged to the Tenryou Commission.
'I'll test her position first.'
"Then, you two." She looked at Lumine and Paimon. "Could you tell me the stories of those three people?"
"They really weren't pleasant stories." Lumine sighed. "Uncle Tejima from Konda Village had remained there for thirty years because of a promise."
"But after his Vision was confiscated, he even forgot why he had stayed in Konda Village. In the end, we found a letter left behind by the person he had been waiting for."
"'If we're separated during these troubled times, let us reunite in Konda Village and build a peaceful home there...' Uncle Tejima never managed to meet the woman who made that promise with him. Now that his Vision has been taken away, he's even forgotten who he was waiting for and what she looked like..."
Paimon also said sadly, "After losing his Vision, even the reason for his sorrow was forgotten along with it... Just thinking about it feels awful."
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