"Hm? Miss Hina also has a column in Idle Talk Monthly?"
Gorou showed a confused expression and fell into thought...
"Now that I think about it, it's been quite a long time—I don't think I've ever actually read Idle Talk Monthly..."
"I see now! So General Gorou, you've never read Idle Talk Monthly!"
Arataki Itto suddenly looked like he had a great realization, then excitedly pulled out a copy of Idle Talk Monthly from his person and exclaimed:
"This is one of the past issues of Idle Talk Monthly! I sent in a question for Miss Hina, and she answered it with such care—it warmed my heart, guided me forward, and helped me find direction when I was lost!"
"To me, Miss Hina is like a lighthouse on the sea, the brightest star in the night sky!"
Gorou reached out to flip through Idle Talk Monthly, but Su Yuan quickly snatched it away.
"Gorou, how about we just head to the Grand Narukami Shrine now? There's no point in wasting time standing in line here..." Su Yuan said.
"Su Yuan, that's where you're wrong. Waiting in line for Idle Talk Monthly is the same as waiting for Miss Hina herself—how could that ever be considered a waste of time?"
"It's just like when I asked Miss Hina about my oni kabuto beetle taming techniques. I'd already become unbeatable and peerless across all of Inazuma, and I began to feel an unbearable loneliness at the top... It left me in pain and confusion..."
"Guess how Miss Hina replied to me?"
"Wait... why does this sound so familiar..." Gorou's expression grew more and more puzzled.
"There was a fan of oni kabuto beetles who sent a question just like that... to my own column..."
"First, I praised his beetle-taming talents, then suggested that he shouldn't fixate only on Inazuma, but look to the whole world—look across all of Teyvat... Becoming number one in Inazuma isn't the end, it's just the beginning..."
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what Miss Hina said to me! Even though it was just a few words, I could almost feel her gentle voice whispering by my ear, clearing away my confusion and reigniting my fighting spirit!"
Arataki Itto clenched his fists and stomped his foot in excitement.
"Being number one in Inazuma is no big deal—this boss is going to become number one in all of Teyvat!!"
But soon, both Arataki Itto and Gorou seemed to realize something.
They looked at each other—and fell into silence...
Su Yuan placed a hand over his face, speechless.
It's over... Everything is seriously, completely over...
"I mean… General Gorou, why are you so familiar with that answer...?"
Arataki Itto was the first to break the silence, and then looked Gorou up and down with a deeply puzzled expression.
"And also, the way you look… doesn't it kinda resemble Miss Hina's portrait a little bit...?"
"Oh… I get it now…"
"General Gorou, Miss Hina must be a relative of yours!"
"She must've told you all those things in person, so even though you haven't read Idle Talk Monthly, you still know exactly what's in it!"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it! Brother Itto, we'll be heading off now!"
As Su Yuan said that, he tossed the copy of Idle Talk Monthly back to Arataki Itto, and then grabbed the dazed Gorou and quite literally bolted away at light speed.
Arataki Itto took the copy of Idle Talk Monthly, flipped to Miss Hina's column, then glanced in the direction Gorou had gone.
He murmured to himself thoughtfully, "They look alike… really alike…"
..............
Su Yuan pulled the dazed Gorou along as they jogged to a secluded corner within Inazuma City.
Nervously, Su Yuan stared at Gorou's blank expression, wondering if Gorou was about to fall into a state of eerie.
What puzzled Su Yuan even more was that, although he no longer had any stable rewind chances left, instead of fleeing immediately from the potentially eerie Gorou, he chose to pull him away from the crowd to minimize unnecessary casualties...
After observing for a while, Su Yuan noticed that Gorou's expression remained vacant but hadn't twisted, nor did he emit any eerie energy.
Could it be that since Arataki Itto hadn't realized Gorou was actually Miss Hina, Gorou's dignity remained intact, preventing him from slipping into eeriness?
"Gorou? Gorou?" Su Yuan gently patted Gorou's shoulder, trying to snap him out of his stunned daze, but it had no effect…
"Gorou? Gorou!!!" Su Yuan, seeing that Gorou didn't respond, shook his shoulders hard, trying to bring him back to consciousness, but still there was no effect...
Su Yuan suddenly didn't know what to say.
Although Gorou hadn't fallen into eerie after learning the explosive truth that he himself was Miss Hina, his mind had clearly crashed?
So then, how could Su Yuan awaken him without causing any harm?
Su Yuan's eyes glanced down and caught sight of Gorou's fluffy tail...
That tail looked so soft and fluffy, and just by looking at it, you could tell it must feel really nice to touch...
Moreover, Gorou seemed to care a lot about his tail and regularly took special care of it...
Su Yuan suddenly had an idea.
Since Gorou's tail was so important to him, maybe if he gently stroked his tail, it might stimulate him and bring him back to his senses...
Also, Gorou's ears looked fluffy too—probably felt really nice to touch...
So, Su Yuan took a deep breath and reached out to touch Gorou's tail and ears...
Mmm, the texture, the softness of the fur, it really felt nice...
"Su... Su Yuan, what are you doing?!"
The next moment, Su Yuan saw Gorou instantly snap awake, his face flushed red as he spoke to him.
"It finally worked, Gorou! I didn't mean to— I'm just so glad you came back to your senses."
"Phew…" Gorou let out a long sigh and said, "The amount of information I just received was really overwhelming…"
"That woman, Yae Miko, with her anonymous column—so that was her plan all along! I've been outsmarted again!"
"I'm clearly a general of the Watatsumi Army, a real man standing tall and proud, yet she's portrayed me as a caring big sister?!"
"Damn it… absolutely infuriating!!!"
Looking at Gorou—now awake but still clearly troubled and angry—Su Yuan didn't quite know what comforting words to say…
But at least, as long as Gorou hadn't fallen into the eerie state, that was enough…
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