"What're you looking for?" Raiden Ei asked, watching Reisen Riou scan the festival. "Not grabbing a snack?"
"I caught Goryou Goma's youkai aura but can't spot that tanuki," Reisen Riou chuckled. "Hunting him sounds like fun."
"You need the Chinju Guardian for something?" Ei frowned, puzzled.
"Nah, just feel like tracking him," he said.
"Alright, let's hunt," Ei grinned, warming to the game.
"No need to go all out," he laughed. "We'll enjoy the festival and find him on the side." He bought a tin of "tengu secret" Sunset Fruit and Sweet Flower candies from a tengu vendor. The recipe, clearly fine-tuned, tasted surprisingly good.
They strolled to a stall selling tengu feather fans, run by a middle-aged tengu woman. Yae Saiguu was there, agonizing over her choice. Spotting them through their Cognitive Distortion Spell, she bowed slightly. "Didn't expect you two."
"Thought you'd left," she added.
"Hidden identities make festivals more fun," Reisen Riou quipped, echoing Makoto. "What's up?"
"These fans are top-notch," Saiguu said, sheepish. "Wanted a couple for my collection, but I blew my Mora on flair recently."
Tengu adored fan-shaped artifacts, crafted from their molted feathers, ensuring quality but low supply. Ei passed, but Reisen Riou bought one for himself, one for her, and one for Saiguu, bailing her out. Grateful, Saiguu tipped them off to fun stalls.
"There's Goryou's scent again," Reisen Riou noted at a fruit wine stall. The oni vendor was fuming—Goryou had paid with leaf-disguised Mora for a cask.
"Goryou's prank habit's a problem," Reisen Riou muttered to Ei.
As Chinju Guardian, Goryou wasn't broke—his tricks were pure mischief, heedless of the oni's anger.
"Like a kid," Ei sighed. "He'll wreck the festival if unchecked."
She negotiated with the vendor; Reisen Riou paid up. "Gotta catch him before he tanks the party," he said, readying his Elemental Sight.
"His escape arts leave no trace—Elemental Sight's useless," Ei said, closing her eyes to sense him. Reisen Riou confirmed it, shutting off his vision.
"Got him," Ei said. "Mud-ball stall."
Mud-ball was a game like marbles from Reisen's past life—players flicked smooth clay balls into a pit to win. The stall's balls were uniform, fairly priced at 100 Mora for ten, one per round.
When they arrived, Goryou Goma was gloating, having beaten a tengu kid. "Goryou, you're scamming again!" Reisen Riou bellowed.
"What?! I'm Great Youkai Goryou Goma—I don't scam!" the tanuki huffed, hopping. "Shadow Warrior! Phone Youkai! Why're you here?"
"Your leaf-Mora trick's busted," Reisen Riou said. "Apologize to the vendor. Check his payment."
The oni stallholder, stunned, pulled out two leaves instead of 100 Mora, face greening with rage.
"No running," Reisen Riou sneered, flicking a mud-ball.
"Ouch!" Goryou tumbled from a tree. "How'd you spot me, Phone Youkai?"
"Apologize. Pay up," Ei glared, chilling him.
Shivering, Goryou meekly handed the oni two 100-Mora coins and apologized. "First time, I swear…"
"Really?" Reisen Riou scattered leaves from the wine stall.
Grabbing Goryou's tail, he shook out the tanuki's hidden coin purse, recouping his earlier payout. Tossing it back, he and Ei locked eyes. "Spill it—how many stalls?"
Cornered, Goryou confessed: five stalls, all popular, like the mud-ball game. The sums were small—youkai didn't sell pricy goods, and Goryou could afford it—but his itchy fingers loved the prank.
Ei and Reisen Riou dragged him to each stall, forcing apologies and payments.