Kuki Shinobu stared at Shao Yun, who remained silent the whole time, and an odd feeling welled up in her heart.
She began to realize that her earlier behavior might have truly seemed incomprehensible, and a faint look of embarrassment flickered in her eyes.
Then, with a trace of unease, she opened her mouth to apologize. "Sorry about that! Just pretend you didn't hear what I said earlier. I hope you enjoy yourself during the Irodori Festival."
As soon as she finished speaking, Kuki Shinobu turned around, ready to leave.
At that moment, Shao Yun coughed lightly twice and said slowly, "Cough, cough, don't mind it. By the way, how much money do you actually need?"
Hearing this, Kuki Shinobu lowered her head, started counting with her fingers, muttering under her breath as she quickly calculated the required sum.
"Let me think… once the Arataki Gang finishes today's day job and we get the payment, then deducting the food expenses for everyone…"
After a round of mental math, Kuki Shinobu finally arrived at a precise number.
"Hmm… if you lend me 173,200 Mora, that should be enough."
Shao Yun didn't hesitate. He immediately reached into his Legend of the East backpack filled with mysterious items and pulled out a bulging pouch of Mora.
He handed it to Kuki Shinobu and said with a blank expression, "Take it. To keep it simple, I'll round it up. That's a full 200,000 Mora in there."
Receiving the heavy pouch, Kuki Shinobu's heart brimmed with joy, her eyes shining with gratitude. She quickly responded, "Thank you so much! I'll write you a promissory note right away."
As she spoke, she eagerly went to find paper and pen.
Shao Yun waved his hand dismissively and said, "Forget it, forget it. Just take it as a gift!"
Kuki Shinobu was stunned. She quickly protested, "No, absolutely not! According to the law, for loans like this, a written note is required."
Shao Yun muttered to himself, Hah, you, Kuki Shinobu, talking about laws with me, a so-called 'outlaw'? How laughable.
Yet he remained as nonchalant as ever and casually said, "I told you it's a gift, so it's a gift. I won't repeat myself. Just use the money to buy that nearly out-of-stock figurine. It's not a big deal."
After hesitating for a moment, Kuki Shinobu finally tucked the pouch away and solemnly said,
"Alright then, but I'll tell the boss about this. I think this might be a rare opportunity. Maybe, with this as a pretext, the boss might…"
What she truly wanted was to use this chance to encourage Arataki Itto to let go of what she believed was a meaningless grudge.
Shao Yun naturally understood her intent, though in some ways, he knew Arataki Itto's nature even better than she did.
"Don't think a small favor like this can dissolve the hatred in Itto's heart. How do you know he'd let go because of something this trivial? What if it causes conflict between you two?"
"You wouldn't want your idea of 'good' to leave a thorn in his heart, right?"
Finally, Shao Yun offered her a piece of advice.
"Sometimes, the best thing to do is not to tell the person involved at all."
Kuki Shinobu scratched her head awkwardly, clearly confused by Shao Yun's words.
"You do make some sense, but…"
The words trailed off, unsaid.
By then, Shao Yun had already picked up a light novel from the table, eyes focused on the pages as he said, "Enough with the pointless talk. I've got free novels to read."
Seeing him like this, Kuki Shinobu realized that insisting further would lead nowhere. Her eyes rolled as she quickly thought of a compromise.
"How about this? Later, I'll pass the money I owe you to Lumine through the Adventurers' Guild. Would that be alright?"
She looked at Shao Yun expectantly, hoping for a positive answer.
Shao Yun had intended to refuse, but since Kuki Shinobu brought Lumine into the matter, he had no choice.
Thinking that, he replied casually, "Do as you like…"
Relieved, Kuki Shinobu let out a sigh and bowed deeply, sincerely thanking him.
"Thank you so, so much!"
Then she hurried off to buy the nearly out-of-stock "Statue of Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder."
Watching her leave, Shao Yun muttered, "That Itto guy… truly blessed by his own foolishness."
…
Later, Shao Yun remained in the Outlander Affairs Agency's Office, reading. The story continued to unfold.
Kuki Shinobu bought the figurine for Arataki Itto but lied, saying she had bought it on credit from the shop.
…
The story of the Five Kasen stirred Kaedehara Kazuha's memories of his family.
At dusk, the glow of the setting sun bathed the wide plaza of Ritou.
With his masterful painting skills, Albedo completed in one stroke the depictions of "Akahito" and "Sumizome," modeled after Kaedehara Kazuha and Kamisato Ayaka, in the tale of the Five Kasen.
…
At the story's end, Kaedehara Kazuha said to everyone, "There are still details about that matter I need to confirm. Let's meet here again at noon tomorrow."
"By then, I'll tell you everything I know in full."
With that, the scene ended, and everyone went off to their own business.
The once-bustling art board was left with only Lumine and Paimon.
Paimon blinked her bright eyes, glanced at Lumine, and asked curiously, "So, Lumine, what should we do next?"
Lumine crossed her arms, frowning slightly as she fell into thought.
After a moment, she answered, "Let's go find Shao Yun. I have some important matters to take care of."
…
At the Outlander Affairs Agency's Office, Shao Yun had spent the whole day buried in light novels.
The long hours left his neck stiff and sore.
When he finally decided to put the book down and massage his neck, through the warm, soft glow of the evening sun, he spotted two very familiar figures.
Rubbing his eyes to make sure, Shao Yun saw Lumine and Paimon approaching, and he jumped up in excitement, arms wide open, shouting,
"Look who it is! The most beautiful girl in the world and the most adorable Paimon are back! Did you two have fun today?"
Though the phrase "most adorable" might have sounded cheesy, to Paimon, it was the highest praise imaginable.
Floating in the air, her little feet kicked happily as a blissful smile spread across her face.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm! We had so much fun!"
Seeing Paimon's delight, Shao Yun said warmly, "That's wonderful! Now then, how about we take advantage of Yaedo Publishing together?"
He pointed at the shelves of novels. After all, whether one person read or three, the books were still the same.
And so, another world where only Yae Miko suffered was born.
Lumine folded her arms, raised her brow slightly, and smiled faintly.
"Instead of taking advantage of Yae Miko, didn't you say the other day that I still owe you a date?"
At the word "date", Shao Yun instantly became flustered with excitement, stammering, "I… I was just… won't this mess up your original plans?"
Lumine tilted her chin upward with a smile. "I should get a mirror and show you your face right now. This is my plan. Let's go."
Shao Yun rushed forward eagerly, grinning ear to ear. "Oh~ then let's head out and enjoy a romantic date!"
On the side, Paimon could only watch as the couple walked off together, a wave of frustration and loss rising in her chest.
Just moments ago, Shao Yun had called her the most adorable in the world, and now he had abandoned her for Lumine's sweet company!
Stomping her feet angrily in the air, Paimon shouted, "Hey! You two planned everything perfectly for yourselves, but what about me?!"
Realizing his slip, Shao Yun hurried back to Paimon, smiling sheepishly to appease her.
"Ah, my bad! I nearly forgot about the adorable Paimon."
He set Paimon down on the chair he had been sitting in, shoved a light novel into her hands, and coaxed her like he would Klee.
"Here you go, little Paimon. Sit nicely on my special seat, enjoy these exciting light novels from Yae Publishing House, and snack on the treats they prepared just for me. Doesn't that sound great?"
He pointed to a table loaded with delicate desserts and non-alcoholic drinks.
These were the evening snacks he had asked Yae Publishing House's editors to prepare.
As for why they obeyed his every word… well, no need to explain.
Paimon's eyes lit up at the delicious snacks and shiny light novels. "Hehehe, now that's more like it!"
With Paimon settled, Shao Yun and Lumine looked forward to their sweet time together.
Suddenly, Shao Yun turned back, half-joking, half-serious.
"Hey, Paimon, if anyone gives you trouble, don't hold back. Just whip out that revolver I gave you and blow their brains out!"
At this, Paimon twitched, her face showing pure embarrassment.
"Hey! Don't make it sound so scary!"
Amused, Shao Yun chuckled at her expression.
"Hehe, just wait here for us, alright? Don't come looking—we'll be back soon!"
Smiling, he turned to Lumine, who gently linked her arm through his, and together they walked off.
Left behind, Paimon stared blankly at their affectionate retreating figures, then pouted.
But soon enough, she focused on her light novel, reading eagerly.
…
Once outside the Outlander Affairs Agency's Office, Shao Yun stopped, gazing softly at the beautiful Lumine beside him.
"So, now that we've successfully left Paimon behind, it's just us. How should we spend this rare time together?"
At his question, Lumine's bright eyes sparkled with mischief.
"How about fishing?"
Shao Yun blinked in surprise. "What? Fishing? Are you serious?"
Lumine nodded firmly. "I heard from Klee that your fishing skills are amazing."
Shao Yun realized Klee must have told her about the time he cooked fish for her by Cider Lake.
With a modest smile, he replied, "Ah, that was just luck. The fish at Cider Lake were being nice to me. Didn't she tell you that when I fished at Falcon Coast, I couldn't catch a single one?"
…
"But wait, do you even have a fishing rod?"
Lumine let go of his arm, and out of nowhere produced a plain wooden fishing rod, showing it off. "Of course I do."
Shao Yun eyed the simple rod and nodded.
After all, as the saying goes: fancy gear means nothing if you're still going home empty-handed.
…
With Lumine holding onto his arm again, Shao Yun led her to Ritou's harbor.
They found a small boat and climbed aboard.
As for whose boat it was, or whether the owner knew Shao Yun borrowed it—such details didn't matter.
After all, as Jim Milton once said "What matters isn't who the boat belongs to, but that he'll eventually return it."
With practiced ease, Shao Yun rowed them slowly away from the harbor, out onto the vast, quiet sea.
Here, the world was utterly still, leaving only the two of them alone to enjoy their private paradise.
Shao Yun gazed around leisurely and said with awe, "Look at that sky above us, so wide! And the sunset, so red! And this sea… so, so blue."
Lumine burst into laughter at his plain descriptions.
"Haha, your choice of words is really… simple."
Shao Yun smiled faintly, set down the oars, and pulled out his own fishing rod from his backpack.
Standing steadily, he replied softly, "Forgive me for being an uneducated fool."
Then, inhaling deeply as he looked out at the grand sea, he lowered his voice so as not to scare the fish.
"Now… let's fish."