Upon returning home, Shiki looked at the large iron pot used for burning firewood and found herself in a predicament; she had never used such a thing!
Uncle Tejima had gone out for something today and hadn't returned yet. She should have eaten at Uyuu Restaurant before coming back.
"Sigh, how did I forget about this? It must be because the photoshoot was too tiring, that's right!"
Shiki talked to herself, then silently took a lavender melon from the vegetable basket and began to munch on it.
This scene felt somewhat familiar. Just over a week ago, when she first transmigrated to Teyvat, she was also munching on lavender melon.
This thing looked like an eggplant, but tasted like a cantaloupe. Its purple skin was likely due to growing in Inazuma, as there were many purple plants here.
After eating an entire lavender melon, the feeling of hunger in her stomach finally subsided a lot, but eating only lavender melon for dinner was definitely not enough, especially since she also planned to practice the sword art secret manual Tejima had given her.
Looking at the pigeons flying outside the window, Shiki sighed, feeling willing but unable. Although she constantly harassed Timmie in the game, she definitely couldn't bring herself to kill a pigeon.
Not to mention she doesn't have a Vision and can't drive elemental energy to "Judge, Hah!" like Old Man Lu, she doesn't even know how to use a bow and arrow!
"Sigh..."
After sighing helplessly, Shiki could only shamelessly knock on her neighbor's door.
Fortunately, she had already received a Reward of 300,000 Mora today. After paying 200,000 for repair costs, she still had 100,000 left. Taking 5,000 to mooch a meal should be enough.
The one who opened the door was an old woman. In fact, there are barely any young people left in Konda Village now—just children or the elderly. The young people have all run off to Inazuma City to develop their careers.
Speaking of big cities, places like Liyue's Qingce Village are also mostly inhabited by the elderly; the younger generation has all gone to Liyue Harbor to find opportunities.
The old woman agreed after learning the specific reason. It didn't matter much to her; living alone every day was quite lonely, and having someone join her for a meal was nice.
"As for this money, little girl, you should keep it. I'm an old woman who doesn't have many years left to live, so I have no use for it," the old woman said with a smile.
"Then... alright."
Seeing the old woman's firm attitude, Shiki stopped insisting. However, she decided she would visit her more often in the future, considering it a form of compensation.
The old woman made a bowl of miso soup; the main course was properly shaped Onigiri, served with pickled radishes as a side dish.
"I don't have high requirements for food, so it's not very extravagant."
"It's fine, it's fine. Having a main dish is enough, and... things will get more extravagant in the future..." Shiki whispered.
It was fortunate that this was Konda Village. The seclusion decree didn't significantly affect elderly people like them who had few needs.
But if they were in Ritou, given the temperament of the Kanjou Commission, 100,000 Mora would probably be spent in a few days.
Severe taxation and high prices had long made the people of Ritou miserable.
Once the Vision Hunt Decree is announced and the resistance and Shogunate begin fighting, let alone Ritou, the residents of the entire Narukami Island will face an extremely difficult period.
As the saying goes, provisions must precede the deployment of two armies. The food consumption of a war is terrifying, and Inazuma is an island nation, meaning the available farmland is much smaller compared to Liyue.
Therefore, when the war begins, food will become a scarcity in Inazuma.
After finishing the modest dinner, Shiki bid farewell to the old woman, then returned home and picked up the Kujikanesada she had just acquired today.
"Hmm, let me see, Iai Draw Stance."
Shiki placed the Kujikanesada at her waist, bent her knees, lowered her center of gravity, and then used her thumb to push the tsuba, drawing the blade out slightly.
Tejima's notes mentioned that momentum is very important. If the momentum is dispersed, the accuracy and speed of the draw will be significantly reduced.
Simply put, she needed intense concentration, and Shiki thought of a good method for focusing her attention.
She recalled the Hilichurl that had chased her for hundreds of meters—red skin, a strange mask, and a flaming torch.
Suddenly, the Hilichurl in Shiki's mind rushed over, brandishing the torch. She could even feel the smoke billowing toward her.
The actions of the Torch Hilichurl slowed to an extreme degree, and Shiki's mental focus reached a state of intense concentration. Besides this Hilichurl, there was nothing else in her eyes!
If a samurai who had dedicated many years to the Way of the Sword were here, they would certainly be astonished. Some people might never enter this state of self-forgetfulness in their entire lives, yet Shiki achieved it during her first attempt at learning.
The key was that she was self-taught, with only a notebook by her side.
Suddenly, Shiki moved. The Kujikanesada at her waist flashed a white streak, and the Hilichurl was severed, torch and head alike.
Based on the memory in her mind, she had perfectly recreated that original Hilichurl. Although it was just practice, she was confident she could truly cut that Hilichurl in half with one strike.
*Clang!*
A sound in front of her pulled Shiki's thoughts back to reality. Well, now she had a serious problem: what should she do about the fence in the backyard that she had just chopped down?
"It's over, I completely failed to notice the fence just now!"
Shiki picked up the half-section of fence lying on the ground. The cut was smooth and neat; presumably, cutting into a person would be similar.
'Wait! Why am I thinking about cutting people?'
Shiki quickly shook her head, then threw the fence back onto the ground. In a daze, what she had held in her hand seemed not like a fence, but human remains.
Her life on Earth was actually very ordinary. As someone living in a time of peace, the words "killing people" were completely absent from her dictionary.
No matter how dangerous Teyvat was, a mere week was not enough to instill the concept of murder in her!
Furthermore, the Iai Slash just now presented some issues. She had sharp knives (even kitchen knives) on Earth, but she could never achieve this level of skill.
Also, there was that state of self-forgetfulness; nothing could affect her except for the target she was cutting down.
Undoubtedly, her body had undergone some unknown changes, otherwise, she wouldn't have awakened the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
Her Talents had improved, which was a good thing, but it seemed she had also awakened some kind of bad preference.
'Cutting people, huh...'
Shiki looked at the Kujikanesada. The pure white blade reflected her cold face.
Although she was thinking about something terrifying like murder, her expression remained unchanged.
It seemed like a completely normal matter, like contemplating what to eat tomorrow night.