Kamisato Ayaka
Yae Miko looked at the smiling Sangonomiya Kokomi before her and nearly ground her teeth to pieces.
"I'm here to deliver the criminals."
Sangonomiya Kokomi looked at Kujou Sara, who was glaring fixedly at her from across the room, and the resentful Yae Miko, then sighed. "Although they were misled by someone, the wards on Yashiori Island were indeed destroyed by people from Watatsumi Island."
More precisely, it had been done by a radical squad from the Sangonomiya Resistance. Disguised as Shogunate soldiers on a rainy night, they launched surprise attacks and destroyed all four Narukami Pillar wards that suppressed the Tatarigami.
They had even left a note at the scene that read: Following the method described by Mr. Nathan, we have struck down the Shogunate's instruments of suppression and restored the dignity of our Great God.
"And this man." She waved a hand, and a man bound tightly from head to toe was brought forward. "His name is Nathan. He claims to be from Mondstadt, and he was the one who incited the soldiers to commit such an atrocity."
Kokomi truly hadn't known that her own subordinates were responsible. Until now, she had always thought the Shogunate Army had destroyed them. After all, the enormous burden of Watatsumi Island rested on her shoulders. How could she possibly have the time to pay attention to every detail?
However, seeing how much that esteemed person cared about the situation on Yashiori Island, Sangonomiya Kokomi had cautiously investigated the Resistance and uncovered the truth immediately.
The main reason was that these people believed they had performed a deed of supreme glory for Watatsumi Island and had barely tried to conceal it. The moment they were questioned, everything came out.
There was no way Sangonomiya Kokomi could shield them. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she couldn't. The war between the Shogunate and Watatsumi Island would end one day, and these matters would eventually be settled.
Watatsumi Island did not possess the power to protect everyone. No one could oppose the Raiden Shogun's authority.
Rather than being humiliatingly held accountable later, it was better to surrender them now and present themselves as people who did not shelter criminals either.
At the very least, it would sound better for their reputation.
"Hmph. Rebels will always be rebels." Kujou Sara crossed her arms and said coldly, "All you know how to do is scheme from the shadows."
"Actually, I also despise filthy rats who only know how to hide in the shadows and plot." Sangonomiya Kokomi seemed to think of something upon hearing this and unexpectedly nodded in agreement. Then she looked at Kujou Sara with an inscrutable gaze. "Take this Nathan back and interrogate him thoroughly. I guarantee you'll receive a pleasant surprise."
"Naturally." Kujou Sara refused to give an inch. "The Tenryou Commission will undoubtedly expose Watatsumi Island's conspiracy to the entire world!"
"No, General Kujou." At that moment, Yae Miko suddenly spoke. "I'm taking this man. The others are more than enough for you to report back with."
"That violates procedure." Kujou Sara frowned. "Interrogating prisoners of war falls under the Tenryou Commission's jurisdiction."
"Interrogate yourselves?" Yae Miko gave a mocking laugh. "I never knew the little tengu could be so humorous. Everyone has always said you're inflexible and painfully straightforward."
"Lady Guuji!" Kujou Sara could no longer remain seated. "Are you suggesting that the Tenryou Commission orchestrated this entire affair?"
"Who knows?" Yae Miko said carelessly. "We'll only understand after questioning him. Besides, compared to our Onmyoujutsu, your methods of interrogating prisoners are far too crude. I'm terribly worried he won't endure your questioning and will end up dying in the Tenryou Commission's dungeon."
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Kujou Sara rose furiously. "That is slander against the Tenryou Commission!"
"Is it?" Yae Miko smiled. "I hope you'll still be able to speak to me with such confidence once the truth is revealed, little tengu."
"Even though you are the Electro Archon's Retainer, you cannot baselessly slander the Tri-Commission." Kujou Sara said angrily, "Also, who exactly is that Raiden Mei?!"
"She is clearly colluding with Watatsumi Island. I previously asked you, Lady Guuji, to verify her identity, yet I still haven't received an answer."
"And what authority does she have to order us to halt our campaign against the Watatsumi rebels?"
"Because if she becomes unhappy, Yashiori Island will gain another Musoujin Gorge," Yae Miko said darkly. "Is that answer sufficient?"
"...Yae Guuji." At this point, Kujou Sara even omitted the honorific. "Do you understand what you're saying?"
"Of course." Yae Miko's expression also turned cold. "You weren't the one who had a blade held against your neck yesterday, so naturally you can sit here today and question me as though you're completely in the right."
"Little tengu, when a blade capable of cleaving open an entirely new Musoujin Gorge is pressed against your neck, I wonder whether you'll still be able to act so tough?"
Kujou Sara and Sangonomiya Kokomi both froze.
So she had suffered such terrible misfortune yesterday?
That explained why she was acting so unusually today.
"You want to keep fighting? Fine." Yae Miko smiled. "Just don't complain when that blade comes down on your own head."
"So what exactly is her relationship with Her Excellency the Shogun?" Kujou Sara demanded with a tense expression. "I'm asking this as... Wait, move away!"
Halfway through speaking, she finally noticed Sangonomiya Kokomi listening intently in hopes of obtaining free intelligence.
"I believe I must remain here." Sangonomiya Kokomi smiled faintly. "After all, a ceasefire isn't something one side can achieve through wishful thinking alone, correct?"
"I must at least know why we're ceasing hostilities. Otherwise, if you stop fighting while we continue advancing... Oh my, wouldn't that be terribly unfair to you? After all, because of your orders, you would be forced to remain inside your camps and unable to come out."
"Meanwhile, we would be free to go wherever we pleased."
"You're not someone who would act irrationally." Kujou Sara was completely unfazed by the threat. "When it comes to judging the situation, you're the true expert."
"After all, even now, you still call yourselves the Resistance rather than the Watatsumi Army. Therefore, I trust that you won't commit such an irrational act."
"Enough, enough." Yae Miko could no longer be bothered arguing with them. "Regarding her identity, I can't tell you anything."
"All I can tell you is that if she truly loses her temper, even Her Excellency the Shogun might not be able to restrain her. If the two of them fought, the whole of Yashiori Island would suffer."
Yae Miko said irritably, "Right now, I have only one demand. Do your respective jobs, withdraw your armies, and don't interfere with the Grand Narukami Shrine's efforts to seal the Tatarigami again."
"If anyone disobeys and tries any underhanded tricks, I really will report you," she threatened. "When someone's military camp is annihilated in her thunderstorm, don't blame me for failing to warn you."
"As for her... Report this to the Shogun and let her decide. Kujou Sara, this matter is beyond your authority."
"But..." Kujou Sara still wanted to say something, but Yae Miko interrupted her with a single sentence.
Yae Miko looked at her with a beaming smile. "Do you wish to pass judgment on Her Excellency the Shogun's family affairs, General Kujou?"
Cold sweat immediately broke out across Kujou Sara's body.
'I can't possibly bear such an accusation!'
"Family affairs..." Sangonomiya Kokomi narrowed her eyes.
"Remember this." Yae Miko looked at her. "Treat Miss Raiden Mei well. You must not show her the slightest neglect."
"The little tengu was right about at least one thing. You're very skilled at judging the situation. The fact that Watatsumi Island still calls itself the Resistance rather than the Watatsumi Army is largely thanks to you."
"Since you've already shown such good judgment, don't discard that precious virtue."
Although the two had secretly exchanged letters for some time and were pen pals, their relationship could only be described as average.
Their connection stemmed solely from their shared understanding. Both hoped to end the Vision Hunt Decree and overthrow the Commissions' corrupt rule. Both had seen through the Fatui's attempts to sow discord throughout Inazuma. Both believed Inazuma should move toward peace and did not wish to see the entire nation descend into endless slaughter.
"What do you mean by that, Yae Guuji?" Sangonomiya Kokomi asked in confusion. "Miss Raiden Mei is naturally an honored guest of Watatsumi Island. Whenever she visits, we will certainly receive her with the utmost hospitality."
"But she isn't on Watatsumi Island right now."
"What?!" Yae Miko abruptly raised her head. "What did you say? She isn't on Watatsumi Island? She didn't return yesterday?"
"I have no reason to lie to you." Kokomi spread her hands. "Miss Raiden Mei truly isn't on Watatsumi Island."
"Kujou Sara?" Yae Miko turned toward the other woman.
"She hasn't visited Kujou Encampment either." Sara shook her head.
"This is bad. She left Higi Village yesterday." Yae Miko looked utterly distraught. "Now her whereabouts are unknown..."
Who knew where she might appear next? Aaaaaah!
She had spent the entire night planning how to investigate Mei's identity and then use her to provoke Ei.
After thinking all night and arranging the entire plan, the person herself had disappeared.
Yet Yae Miko could not leave at the moment. She had to personally oversee the sealing ritual on Yashiori Island. She truly couldn't rest easy entrusting it to the other shrine maidens.
After all, this wasn't some insignificant little monster. It was the lingering resentment of an Archon.
"I hope nothing happens during this time..." she murmured.
Meanwhile, Xia Yu, whom she was worrying about, was currently walking along a road in Chinju Forest, gazing through her veil at the Nobushi blocking her path.
They were wandering samurai who had fallen into banditry.
The term wandering samurai referred to samurai without a fixed residence. Some did good, while others committed evil, making it difficult to define the entire group. Wandering samurai was still a relatively neutral term, while Nobushi specifically referred to those who had become bandits.
After experiencing betrayal and death, the Balladeer had once wandered Inazuma under the title of a wandering samurai as well.
"You're carrying a sword. Are you a samurai too?" The Kairagi warrior in crimson armor pressed a talisman against his blade, then stared fixedly at the long sword in Xia Yu's hand. "Such a magnificent blade. Even before it's drawn, anyone can sense how extraordinary it is."
The talisman in his hand was derived from the Kamuna Onmyoujutsu passed down by Kamuna Harunosuke. It could temporarily imbue blades with Pyro or Electro.
Kamuna Harunosuke had once crossed the sea to Liyue to study the adepti's mystical arts, then integrated them into Inazuma's native Onmyoujutsu. These talismans were the culmination of his work.
The Kairagi's eyes were filled with greed. "In the hands of wealthy people like you, such a blade is nothing more than an ostentatious ornament. You're only allowing its glory to gather dust!"
"Now, it belongs to me! Hahaha!" The Kairagi raised his flaming blade high. "Let me test its edge!" With that, he prepared to slash at Xia Yu.
However, she remained completely unruffled. After all...
"Thoma!"
Following a clear shout, a red figure wielding a lance charged forward. It was Thoma, the Kamisato Clan's housekeeper and Inazuma City's famous fixer. He took the lead, knocking the Kairagi's blade away and subduing the small group of Nobushi in the blink of an eye.
Although many characters had rather awkward combat capabilities in the game, with their shields breaking after only a few enemy strikes, in reality, a mature Vision bearer was simply not someone an ordinary person could oppose.
Even these Nobushi, who specialized in highway robbery, could only hold out for a few additional moves.
"Robbing travelers in Chinju Forest..." Thoma held his lance toward them and ordered them to stand obediently. "You people really are bold."
Inazuma was becoming increasingly chaotic. Sigh. Before the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree, what bandit would have dared operate here?
After all, this was the territory of the Kamisato Clan, one of the Tri-Commission. To dare cause trouble here...
"Miss." A snow-white figure walked out from behind Xia Yu. Kamisato Ayaka said apologetically, "I hope you weren't frightened. These bandits have recently been active near Chinju Forest and have already robbed many people."
"You are... the Kamisato Clan's Shirasagi Princess?" Xia Yu looked through her veil at Kamisato Ayaka. This was someone she had only managed to obtain after losing the fifty-fifty and hitting hard pity several times... Ahem.
"It's merely an undeserved reputation, hardly worth mentioning." Kamisato Ayaka smiled modestly, then curiously examined the person before her.
She wore strange clothing made from unusual material, carried a blade that was clearly extraordinary, and had a wide-brimmed hat and white veil concealing her face. Yet two stubborn crimson oni horns still pierced through the hat, looking exceptionally conspicuous against the white veil.
'What a strange person,' Kamisato Ayaka thought. Perhaps even without her and Thoma's assistance, this woman could have escaped unharmed.
After all, strange people usually possessed a few strange abilities.
"May I ask, miss," Kamisato Ayaka said, "are you heading to Inazuma City?"
For some reason, looking at the masked woman before her caused a trace of reverence to arise involuntarily in Ayaka's heart.
"No." Xia Yu shook her head. "I'm going to Ritou. I have some business there."
"Ritou..." Kamisato Ayaka frowned slightly. It wasn't directed at Xia Yu. Rather, the recent reports coming from Ritou had all been rather... Sigh.
"As it happens, my housekeeper Thoma is also going to Ritou." Kamisato Ayaka smiled gently at Xia Yu. "Provided you don't mind, allow him to escort you. After all, the road ahead... can hardly be considered peaceful."
"Also, may I be so bold as to ask your purpose in traveling to Ritou..."
"Even the Kamisato Clan's Princess says the road isn't peaceful." Xia Yu teased, "It seems Inazuma really has become unsafe. As for my purpose, I'm merely a traveler hoping to continue her journey."
"However, since you've asked me a question, it wouldn't be unreasonable for me to ask one in return, would it?"
"Of course not." Kamisato Ayaka nodded.
"Then, Shirasagi Princess of the Kamisato Clan, are you satisfied with the Inazuma of today?"
"...It isn't my place to comment," Kamisato Ayaka replied diplomatically.
Yet refusing to answer was an answer in itself.
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