A month later, Konda Village...
"Speaking of which, the festival is in a few days. I ordered a batch of special fireworks from Yoimiya's place. How about we go set them off together then?" Fujiwara said.
Kazuha looked at his best friend as if facing a formidable enemy, "Fireworks... you're not making anything weird, are you? If so, I think I'll pass."
"How could that be? I just provided Yoimiya with some inspiration, and she said she'd give us the first batch to play with once they're made."
"..."
Kazuha was speechless. Are you sure this isn't some new contraption Yoimiya made and is just using you as a test subject?
"Fine, I'll accompany you to set them off at the festival."
After some thought, Kazuha decided to stay with his best friend, because he always felt that if he left her alone, something bad would happen.
"Yay! As expected of my best friend, I knew you'd be interested in this!"
Fujiwara excitedly hooked her arm around Kazuha's neck, her large justice pressing against the girl's shoulder.
"What about Ryougi? What are your plans?"
"Me? I think I'll pass. I'm not very interested in fireworks."
Shiki shook her head. There are so many types of fireworks on Earth. No matter how beautiful Yoimiya's fireworks are, could they be more beautiful than those on Earth?
Besides, she had long grown tired of such things.
"That's truly a shame."
Fujiwara looked a bit regretful. The more people who watched fireworks, the better!
"Speaking of this festival, I wonder what eye-catching events the Kamisaoto Family will prepare?"
"We'll know on the day of the festival, why rush now?"
Shiki's tone was calm. Speaking of the Kamisaoto Family, she had paid them a visit two weeks ago, but unfortunately, she didn't meet the Shiratsuyu Princess; instead, she ran into Thoma.
At that time, Thoma was preparing the list of items needed for the festival. With a desire to express gratitude, Shiki helped him organize everything, as she had previously stayed at their place.
As for why Kazuha and Fujiwara were in Konda Village, it was entirely because a certain "surging" person wanted to spar in swordsmanship.
The result was naturally a draw. In terms of swordsmanship, Shiki was slightly inferior to Fujiwara, as it was just a spar and she didn't use her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception; it was purely a competition of skill.
However, in terms of elemental power, Shiki was stronger than Fujiwara. Even if a Archon's power was weak, its essence was fundamentally different from that of mortals.
As for the topic of the festival, it began after their spar.
Shiki had never participated in an Inazuma festival, so she still planned to go and enjoy it, but she would pass on setting off fireworks.
"However, if you're going to the festival, shouldn't you two change your clothes?"
Kazuha and Fujiwara both wore distinctive samurai attire, especially Fujiwara, who wore shorts for convenience. It would certainly be inappropriate to go to the festival dressed like that.
"You mean yukata?"
Shiki was slightly surprised to hear that. "Yes, don't people wear yukata for summer festivals? Or is this your first time too?"
"It's not our first time, but we're both wanderers who sleep with the ground as our mat and the sky as our blanket. We live simply, so where would we keep yukata?"
Kazuha was a bit helpless. He thought about how many clothes his family used to have, and now all he had left was the sword in his hand and this samurai attire.
"Yes, yes, it's good enough that we have a place to stay." Fujiwara chimed in.
Unlike Kazuha, whose family fortune was squandered, her family members died in an accident, and she was the survivor of that accident.
After a month of understanding, Shiki discovered that the time of the accident involving Fujiwara's family somewhat overlapped with the time the Kamisaoto Family suffered misfortune.
The parents of the Kamisaoto siblings died at the hands of the Fatui, while Fujiwara's parents died in an accident. This couldn't help but make Shiki connect the two.
Perhaps Fujiwara's parents died at the hands of the Fatui.
As for why the Fatui would kill the Fujiwara couple, who were unrelated to the Kamisaoto Family, it was very likely because they saw something they shouldn't have.
For example, evidence of the Fatui assassinating the Kamisaoto family head?
That's a bit of a digression, but the Fatui's reputation in Teyvat can be said to be notorious. Shiki, at least, had no good feelings towards them.
They're either mentally ill or have psychological problems. One Harbinger can throw an entire region into chaos, and the Cryo Archon has eleven such individuals under her command.
It's simply outrageous. Cryo Archon, do you specifically recruit people who cause trouble?
"Although traveling around is good, are you two really okay like this? Your sleeping places every night are either Hilichurl camps or trees." Shiki sighed.
Through the Waypoints, which are constantly covered in moss, it can be seen that almost no one can use teleportation.
In other words, if Kazuha and the other person were to continue wandering, even if they had a house, they wouldn't be able to stay in it, because a house is in a fixed location, and their location is not fixed!
"We've pretty much gotten used to it. The internal space of a Vision allows us to carry some daily necessities, so it doesn't really matter where we are." Kazuha said with a smile.
"Yes, a Vision is indeed very convenient in that regard, and you can also do some fun things with it, like this."
As Fujiwara spoke, she placed her hands at her waist, assuming a drawing-the-sword stance, and then a katana was slowly drawn out.
After a flourish, Fujiwara tossed the katana into the air, and it immediately disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already on Fujiwara's back.
"But the unfortunate thing is that the Vision's space isn't very large, and it can only hold inanimate objects."
"It should be said that they are things without consciousness. In my opinion, all things are alive; the difference lies in whether they have consciousness."
Shiki corrected Fujiwara on one point. When it comes to whether something is dead, probably no one has more authority than her.
For example, a freshly made Tianshu Meat. For the chicken, it's definitely dead, but as a dish, it has just been born into this world.
And it also has Lines of Death on it. If cut, the entire dish will rot.
A rotten dish is no longer a dish. One could say she killed the Tianshu Meat.
However, even a rotten Tianshu Meat will still have Lines of Death; this is its living as a decayed object. If cut again, it will turn into dust and completely disappear from this world.
Therefore, Shiki believes that living is divided into stages, and she can quickly move an object to the next stage.
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