After dealing with Tartaglia's matter, there was a second incident. Following the release of the Inazuma story, Lucian made a trip to Sumeru.
Lucian's visit to Sumeru wasn't for any serious business—he simply wanted to have some fun and, incidentally, buy a house.
The issue Sumeru was about to face was the Akademiya's dream cycle experiment, designed to test the capabilities of the Divine Knowledge Capsule by using computational power to "mine" data.
However, with the Balladeer not yet arrived and the Gnosis still out of reach, the so-called "Divine Knowledge Capsule" was likely incomplete. It was doubtful they would initiate such a final test at this stage.
So, Lucian wasn't in a hurry. He was just there to purchase a property—after all, he couldn't possibly end up actually living with Alhaitham and Kaveh in Sumeru, could he?
Given how well his Hydro Vision suited him now, he was practically swimming in Mora. Buying a house was as trivial as splashing water.
On the side, he also expanded his "travel" business to new regions.
Among other things, Cloud Retainer and Guizhong were quite intrigued by the Akasha System, spending several days in Sumeru studying its virtual network and the knowledge it contained.
They stayed until after the release of Ayaka and Yoimiya's story before returning to Liyue.
Just as the Traveler had guessed, Lucian had been thoroughly enjoying himself these past few days, visiting three nations in just over half a month.
In contrast, the Traveler had only just arrived in Inazuma.
Upon reaching Inazuma, the Traveler was rather bewildered by how warmly she was welcomed by the locals.
It was practically a "grand reception with food and drink, lining the streets to greet her."
The moment she stepped off the ship, she was surrounded by a crowd of Inazumans—one might have mistaken it for a fan meet-and-greet.
"Traveler, we're so popular!" Paimon waved enthusiastically as she spoke.
Before the Traveler could respond, Thoma had already approached them.
"Traveler, you've arrived," Thoma said with a smile.
They should have been familiar with each other, yet this was their first actual meeting.
"It's Thoma!" Paimon recognized him instantly. "Are you going to ask us to help that guild leader again?"
Thoma shook his head. Kurisu no longer needed assistance—Lucian's book had already exposed all the corruption. With the Kanjou Commission now struggling to keep itself afloat, they had no energy left to extort bribes.
"If possible, I'd like to take you to meet the young lady right away," Thoma said.
Though the Traveler and Paimon hadn't read Ayaka's story, they had seen the first act and knew exactly who Thoma was referring to.
After a moment of thought, the Traveler decided that, thanks to Lucian's involvement, she wasn't in as much of a hurry to meet the Raiden Shogun. Meeting an "old acquaintance" first wouldn't hurt.
Besides, according to Thoma, he had a way to arrange an introduction to the Shogun. She could afford to wait a little longer.
The Traveler agreed, and the group left Ritou without any hindrance. The guards who should have stopped them were now busy defending the Hiiragi Clan's estate.
The remaining patrols weren't enough to seal off Ritou completely, so they easily bypassed the Kanjou Commission's defenses.
After the Traveler departed, one person watched them from afar—Shinnojou.
"The Traveler has arrived... My lady, I've delivered your letter to her..."
Indeed, the Traveler had still received Chisato's letter. This time, Shinnojou had become the courier.
Chisato, forbidden by her father from reading, was unaware of Shinnojou's secret affection for her, which was why she had entrusted him with this task.
Truthfully, with the Hiiragi Clan's influence waning and Chisato under house arrest, Shinnojou was one of the few people she could still rely on.
The Traveler and Thoma headed straight for the Kamisato Estate. Neither of them rested much, reaching their destination in just a few days.
Welcoming the Traveler weren't just the Kamisato siblings—Arataki Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Kujou Sara, and even Yae Miko were present.
"Little one, I've finally waited for you," Yae Miko said with a delighted smile.
"Ah! It's... it's the woman from the book!" Paimon exclaimed.
"It's the incomparably beautiful and wise Lady Yae Miko," Yae Miko corrected.
"Just as shameless as Lucian," Paimon muttered under her breath.
She really had been shaped by Lucian's influence—at least now, when talking about someone who clearly wasn't to be trifled with, she knew to keep her voice down.
The Traveler ignored Paimon's remark, her attention fixed on Kamisato Ayaka.
Why is she looking at me so shyly? In the story, our interactions were pretty normal. Why is she even more bashful than Ganyu and the others?
The Traveler hadn't read Ayaka's story yet and didn't know about their "date," but Ayaka did.
Now that the other protagonist of her story stood before her, she couldn't remain completely composed.
The Traveler really has journeyed through many nations. She must have seen so much of the world to remain so unflustered.
Shifting her gaze from Ayaka, the Traveler noticed Arataki Itto.
Who's this guy not wearing his clothes properly? I genuinely don't recognize him.
"So you're the Traveler, huh? Shorter than I imagined," Arataki Itto remarked. "The name's Arataki Itto, boss of the Arataki Gang! And this here is our second-in-command, Kuki Shinobu!"
"The Arataki Gang! Is that some kind of powerful organization?" Paimon asked, intrigued.
"Of course! The Arataki Gang has a whole six members, counting me!" Itto laughed, hands on his hips—he'd even included Ushi in the tally.
"Six people... That's fewer than the number of people in Lucian's household," the Traveler deadpanned.
"What kind of joke is that? The Arataki Gang isn't child's play—we're a super-strong organization that's stood up to the Shogunate's army!"
Itto wasn't lying. They had resisted the Shogunate's forces—they'd just failed and had their Visions confiscated.
"Ugh, how dare you call me a shorty! ...Wait, what's a 'shorty'? Never mind! I'm giving you an awful nickname!"
Paimon didn't dish out nicknames to just anyone. For instance, she'd never given Lucian one—because even though he loved teasing her, he always called her "Paimon" or "little Paimon."
So Paimon never resorted to nicknames for him either, always referring to him properly as "Lucian."
Ignoring the squabble between Itto and Paimon, the Traveler turned her attention to Kujou Sara, who stood slightly apart from the group.
The Traveler had seen Sara's illustrations in the Inazuma story and knew who she was.
This only deepened her confusion. Isn't she a general of the Shogunate's army?
Even if the story portrayed her as decent, shouldn't she be on the opposing side? Why is she here in our "base"?
Kujou Sara addressed Kamisato Ayato, "The Traveler is here. Does that mean we can finally return to the Kujou Clan?"
It turned out she had been staying at the Kamisato Estate for days, yet Ayato had given her no updates.
He had told her to wait for the Traveler's arrival before sending anyone to the Kujou Clan, as the timing wasn't right yet.
Now that the Traveler had finally come, Sara was eager to see for herself whether the Kujou Clan had truly betrayed the Shogun.
But in truth, Ayato simply hadn't wanted her rushing back to the Kujou Clan so soon.
The Kujou Clan wasn't hard to deal with, but Sara was undoubtedly a key piece in handling them—after all, who in the clan held as much authority as she did?
===✧✦✧===
Character Voicelines · Paimon & Traveler: About Arataki Itto
Paimon: "That guy actually called me a 'Flying Lavender Melon'! How outrageous!"
Traveler: "Seems kinda fitting, though."
Paimon: "What are you saying, Traveler? I'm adorable—how could I possibly resemble a 'Flying Lavender Melon'?"
Traveler: "..."
Traveler: "Aren't they both just food?"