"Lady Guuji, we've received a report that an unidentified stowaway from Liyue has appeared in Konda Village. Have you seen him?"
The samurai's respectful voice came through the window.
Miss Lumine's face visibly stiffened. She shook her head frantically at Yae Miko, her golden fringe flying like the feathers of a startled canary.
Her lips moved without a sound, carefully forming each word:
Do. Not. Say. A. Word.
Lumine looked like an underground resistance operative with the Imperial troops right outside. If they caught her, it was all over—she would definitely be expelled from Inazuma!
Paimon, perched on her shoulder, clapped both hands over her mouth and blinked her enormous eyes.
Oh~
A mischievous glint entered the fox lady's eyes.
She crossed her slender white index fingers into an X, lowered her voice, and drawled lazily:
"Nope."
Ugh... that sly pink-haired vixen.
Lumine ground her teeth, a threatening growl rumbling in her throat like a small animal.
"He said 'one person,'" the fox lady whispered. Her voice was quiet, but she placed deliberate emphasis on one, as though pointing something out. "One person."
"He's only looking for one."
Infuriating.
Lumine immediately understood what Yae Miko was implying. Was this woman planning to offer her up to the Imperial troops?
What a devious Inazuman fox!
She could already imagine what would happen. Lumine would be expelled from Inazuma while Kiyo Seigan remained here, and then... then it would be pretty girl, yes!
The more she imagined, the worse it seemed. Her present situation was clearly perilous, yet she could think of no solution. All she could do was glare fiercely at the rotten fox before her.
Paimon copied Lumine, planting her hands on her hips and glaring fiercely at the rotten fox as well.
Of course, clever Paimon was not as useless as Lumine. In her boundless wisdom, she had already devised a counterattack—several nasty new nicknames for the fox were taking shape in her mind.
The thought made her puff out her chest with inexplicable pride.
...Yae Miko found it surprisingly entertaining to bully these two simpletons. It gave her a peculiar sense of accomplishment.
Teasing was one thing, but she would never actually hand them over. She might possess no moral principles whatsoever, but even she would not resort to something as underhanded and pathetic as tattling to eliminate a rival.
Although, to be entirely honest, snitching on Blondie and having her thrown out of Inazuma did hold a certain appeal.
But Miko was considering something else.
Would an ordinary illegal entrant really warrant sending samurai from door to door throughout the village?
Her fox ears were exceptionally sharp. From the street beyond the window, she had already picked out further details.
The summer rain had only just cleared, and puddles still covered the flagstone alleys. She could faintly hear wooden clogs splashing through the water, doors and windows opening and closing, and soldiers questioning the villagers in low voices.
There were many soldiers searching for this supposed stowaway.
This was far too extensive for a routine search. It was more like a manhunt.
Yae Miko reached the obvious conclusion with ease.
Why were they hunting him?
A faint sense of foreboding stirred within her.
Without thinking, she looked toward Kiyo Seigan, who was slicing vegetables beside the stove. The boy worked intently, cold moonlight slipping through the lattice window to brush his fine profile.
"Haven't seen him," she finally answered in her lazy drawl. "Off you go."
"Pardon the disturbance."
Through the crack in the door, they saw the samurai bow respectfully toward the tofu shop. Just as Miko had ordered, he turned and left without hesitation.
He made no request to enter and search the premises.
Kiyono's Tofu Shop held an unshakable, almost sacred place not only in Konda Village, but throughout Inazuma—especially in the hearts of its samurai. No one would dare profane this plain, unassuming little shop.
Of course, even if it had been any other shop, the samurai would hardly have dared search Lady Guuji's quarters. If Lady Guuji said she had seen no one, then she had seen no one.
They waited until his shadow vanished from the gap beneath the door, and until the soft tread of wooden clogs over sakura-strewn ground faded into the distance. Only after confirming that he was truly gone did Lumine breathe a sigh of relief.
"Phew..."
She patted her chest and eyed Miko as warily as a goose hearing a fox preach. "Why did you help me?"
"My, my." The preaching fox rested her cheek in one hand and smiled at Lumine. "I simply thought of something more amusing."
More amusing...
Lumine was certain that this woman's idea of amusement could not possibly be good.
Miko ignored her and waved languidly toward Kiyo Seigan instead. "Little one, come here for a moment~"
Little one...
Kiyo Seigan nearly sliced straight through the cutting board again. He strongly objected to this new nickname.
Still, the Kitsune Udon was ready. He discovered that he had quite a talent for the dish. This was only his second attempt, yet it already looked convincing. For some reason, whenever he gazed at those two steaming bowls of udon, he remembered a cold, silent morning after the snow had cleared.
"What is it?"
Kiyo Seigan gingerly carried the hot udon over, set the bowls on the low desk between them, and wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow. "Miss Yae, what is it this time...?"
He was only pretending not to understand. He was not deaf; with such a commotion outside, of course he had heard everything.
Thank goodness Miss Yae had not sold the two of them out.
"You should call me Kitsune Onee-san," Yae Miko said lazily.
Kiyo Seigan shook his head with absolute resolve.
"Oh..." The fox rose and called toward the street, "Now that I think about it, I may have seen—"
"Kitsune Onee-san." Kiyo Seigan nodded with absolute resolve.
...Lumine's expression was visibly darkening.
"You're wanted." Miko split apart a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish tofu, and slipped it into her mouth. Her eyes narrowed contentedly. "Not merely undocumented—wanted."
"That seems excessive..." Kiyo Seigan said. "They put out a warrant because I didn't pay the toll?"
"It probably has nothing to do with the toll."
The fox lady finally turned serious. "On the contrary, you should be grateful you were too poor to pay and remained undocumented. Otherwise, they would already have all your information."
"All they know about you is that you came from Liyue. They don't even have a portrait."
"Ugh... Could it be because Paimon stole an entire basket of fish from the villagers?" Paimon suddenly cried, realizing the possibility far too late.
This walking punchline really could eat.
Kiyo Seigan was not surprised that Paimon had stolen fish. Long ago, he had formed an accurate understanding of this small creature and her remarkably flexible moral boundaries.
What astonished him was that such a tiny thing could eat an entire basket. Clearly, his understanding of the species known as Paimon remained superficial.
Ignoring the little creature's antics, Kiyo Seigan considered the matter. "Why would they want me?"
He truly could not think of any crime he had committed.
"This Guuji doesn't know either. But perhaps this isn't a manhunt at all. Perhaps it's 'protection.'"
The fox lady continued, "Judging from that samurai's uniform, he belongs to the Yashiro Commission. Tomorrow, this Guuji will write to Ayaka and ask her directly."
"Then are you going to hand us over?" Kiyo Seigan asked tentatively.
His concern was reasonable. He and Lumine were strangers to Inazuma, while the fox lady before him was the nation's Guuji. By both duty and sentiment, she ought to cooperate with the Commission's investigation.
And she had spoken of this person called Ayaka with such familiarity. They were probably friends.
"No."
Yae Miko answered without hesitation. She leaned slightly forward. Her pure white sleeve slipped down, revealing a smooth, pale wrist, while Kiyo Seigan's face was reflected in her violet eyes.
"Kitsune Onee-san wants you to stay here."
"I won't tell anyone."
She would not let go again.
She had already missed too much. She had missed the Lantern Festival. She had missed her chance to give him the scarf she had woven.
Throughout those long years, she had always believed there would be a next time, that time itself was eternal. But time waited for no one. Lightning never lingered. Once Raimei's thunder had faded, nothing remained but an empty sky.
"You won't even tell Ayaka at the Yashiro Commission?"
"Not even Ayaka," Yae Miko replied. "No one will know."
Not even... Ei.
Miss Lumine, caught between the two of them, ground her teeth indignantly.
If this wicked woman had not possessed leverage over them, Lumine would already have erupted.
"Ahem!" She coughed loudly, cutting their conversation short. Watching the fox lady with extreme suspicion, she fired off a string of questions. "What are you after? Why are you helping us? What do you intend to do?"
"This Guuji's goal is very simple."
Miko swept Lumine with a faintly disdainful glance. After a moment, she drawled lazily, "Running this shop is exhausting!"
"What?" Kiyo Seigan was caught off guard.
"Running this shop alone is exhausting." The fox lady collapsed across the low desk, her fluffy ears drooping. "I'm tired. This Guuji can't manage it alone..."
She truly was tired.
She could not do it alone anymore.
She had been tired for a very long time.
"The little one will stay here—as the cook—and run the shop with this Guuji. You can serve as free labor. This Guuji gains a worker, and you gain a place to hide in Inazuma. No one dares search the Pillar General's shop."
"This Guuji can also arrange false papers for you. That will be easy enough. None of them have seen your face."
One by one, she laid out every advantage, every benefit and consequence. She truly wanted Kiyo Seigan to remain.
The fox lady looked utterly serious, like a child displaying her treasures one at a time and asking him, These are all the toys I have. Will you play with me?
"Why me?" Kiyo Seigan asked softly.
Why...
"Ahem."
Cold moonlight pooled in the fox lady's eyes. She lifted her gaze toward the lattice window and, imitating the old man's words, raised her swanlike neck with an air of exaggerated maturity.
"You've already learned eighty percent of my craft. I can safely leave the shop to you. I'm the owner and you're the help, so the help should listen to the owner."
As she delivered the line solemnly to the moon, she secretly watched Kiyo Seigan's expression from the corner of her eye, like a pink-haired cat stalking a dried fish.
"My shop is here. It isn't large: three tables, thirty sets of bowls and plates, and nothing more. We sell only tofu each day, though we can make udon. Twenty or thirty customers come through the door. That is everything."
Her pale pink hair was fastened with an ornament tied at the end with a red cord. The cool night wind slipped through the lattice, scattering cord and hair alike through the moonlight, its silvery glow flowing across the strands like water.
"Little one, would you run this little shop with me?"
...Given the present situation, he could hardly refuse. People outside were searching for him.
And looking at the fox lady's earnest expression... for some reason, he could not bring himself to say no.
"All right..." He nodded. "Until the filth in my body has been cleansed, I'll help at the shop."
"But," Kiyo Seigan added, "if you're taking me in, take Lumine too. Oh, and Paimon. They can both help."
He was telling the truth. They could all contribute to running the shop.
Lumine was a good cook and already knew how to handle seasonings and ingredients. Lia slept within the Salt Ruler and could produce seasoning. As for Paimon... Paimon could be one of the ingredients.
Yes. All of them would be useful.
He sincerely meant it. They were supposed to travel together.
The murderous look Lumine had been directing at Kiyo Seigan softened slightly. She gave a quiet huff and wore an expression that plainly said, At least you know what's good for you.
Tsk.
The fox lady clicked her tongue for reasons known only to herself. "Fine. Miss Blondie can do the odd jobs."
"My name is not Blondie!" Lumine had finally flown into a rage.
"Yay! We're opening a restaurant!"
Paimon stamped her feet in delight, completely unaware that her assigned position in the shop was "backup ingredient." As far as little Paimon was concerned, opening a restaurant together was wonderful—there would be so many delicious things to eat.
The night was noisy, and it seemed very long.
Paimon was still dreaming about food, while Miss Lumine and the fox lady fought a fierce war of words over whether blonde or pink was the superior hair color. Kiyo Seigan leaned against the low desk and quietly watched them.
It truly was a very old shop. Faint moonlight seeped through its weathered, sagging rafters. The red lantern at the door held the moon's glow, while fallen sakura drifted across the courtyard and clung to the sign reading Kiyono's Tofu Shop.
They were going to run a shop together.
Midsummer. Falling sakura. Tofu.
For some reason, he was suddenly filled with nostalgia.
The rain over Konda Village had stopped, but the storm over Inazuma City had not.
Heavy clouds pressed low across the darkened sky. Faint lightning flickered along the horizon, and wind filled the high pavilion.
High above, within the lonely Tenshukaku—
Her Excellency the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, Beelzebul, had just concluded her 67,310,000th duel with the Shogun.
Ei slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the farthest edge of the sky.
She was growing tired.
She had once said that she would wait for the thunder to return. But she knew that thunder was already dead.
Time was meaningless.
And the duel for Eternity had to continue.
Amid the wind and rain engulfing the city, with distant thunder beneath her head like a pillow, she slowly closed her eyes.
None of this has any meaning.