While the Tenryou Commission was still diligently working on that investigation report, the Raiden Shogun stayed in the Tenshukaku for several consecutive days, even secretly observing, trying to find the person who placed desserts and reports on her desk, but she didn't detect anyone for several days.
The Raiden Shogun seemed to realize something, and deliberately left the Tenshukaku for an hour. When she returned, sure enough, there was another small plate of Taiyaki and a bottle of Dango Milk on her desk, with an investigation report still pressed under the plate.
The Raiden Shogun sensed from within the door that, after the last incident, the number of guards at the Tenshukaku's entrance had doubled, and the number of patrols had also increased significantly.
This time, the Raiden Shogun first picked up the investigation report. Sure enough, the big headline on the report immediately made her expression sink — Inazuma's accidental death rate among civilians has been continuously soaring for the past decade! In the last year, the death rate has exceeded the birth rate!
In this report, the accidental deaths of civilians specifically used Higi Village on Yashiori Island as a case study. What was originally a perfectly good village, during the war, collectively contracted a strange illness. Regardless of gender, age, or youth, there were casualties, and the age group of onset was continuously decreasing. Eventually, the entire village was abandoned because of this, with only a few survivors left.
Goodness, it was one thing for the birth rate to keep dropping, but now the annual death toll is already higher than the birth rate. Doesn't this mean that Inazuma's population is getting smaller and smaller?
After reading this report, the Raiden Shogun directly overturned the entire desk onto the ground. Documents, reports, and the desserts and drinks from just now were all sent flying. The next moment, the Raiden Shogun's figure flickered like lightning, steadily catching all the Taiyaki and Dango Milk. As for the documents and reports, she didn't bother with them, letting them fly in the air.
The Raiden Shogun bit into the Taiyaki fiercely, as if imagining the Taiyaki as some enemy, devouring him whole. However, after one Taiyaki went down, its delicate and smooth taste immediately softened the Raiden Shogun's expression, making her forget her recent displeasure.
"Please note, too much sweets can lead to tooth decay, please avoid it!"
"Tooth decay? I can just get a new set of teeth. This won't affect my pursuit of eternity, so don't worry about it." After saying that, she opened the bottle of Dango Milk and drank it all in one go.
Despite being the same body, two different tones of voice emerged. If anyone were to witness this scene, they would probably wonder if the Raiden Shogun had developed schizophrenia, though she truly did have schizophrenia.
While the Raiden Shogun was still pondering how to handle this matter, at the entrance of Inazuma City, a blonde Lumine, accompanied by a white floating Paimon, finally arrived in Inazuma City from Ritou after overcoming many hardships.
Because Demoiselle Hiiragi Chisato of the Hiiragi Clan and the second young master Kujou Kamaji of the Kujou Clan were in love, it would logically be a good thing for the children of the heads of the two great commissions, the Kanjou Commission and the Tenryou Commission, to marry. However, a strong alliance is not always a good thing.
The key issue was that Hiiragi Chisato was the only daughter of Hiiragi Shinsuke. If she married into the Kujou Clan, the Hiiragi Clan would lose its pillar of support. Wouldn't the Hiiragi Clan then become a subordinate of the Kujou Clan? Not only would Hiiragi Shinsuke disagree with such a situation, but even the subordinate families of the Hiiragi Clan would not agree.
This is also why the patriarchs of those great clans want to have as many children as possible. A situation like the Hiiragi Clan patriarch having only one daughter is indeed very troublesome. In the current situation, the best solution for the Hiiragi Clan is to find a trustworthy person to marry into the family. Therefore, Hiiragi Shinsuke could only forbid his daughter from continuing to have contact with the second young master of the Kujou Clan.
So, Hiiragi Chisato secretly found Lumine and Paimon, who were struggling to find a way to leave Ritou, and asked them to deliver a letter to Kujou Kamaji on her behalf.
As for the Reward, it was for them to be able to leave Ritou smoothly under the guise of escorting goods. She also instructed Kujou Kamaji in the letter to prepare a Tenryou Commission-approved Inazuma-wide pass for Lumine and Paimon.
Although this Inazuma-wide pass is probably only useful on Narukami Island now, the other major islands are either uninhabited or in war zones.
Thus, Lumine and Paimon traveled through mountains and rivers, finally arriving in Inazuma City. Following the address on the invitation Thoma had given them before he left, they found the Komore Teahouse.
As soon as they entered, they saw a Shiba Inu sitting on the counter. The most peculiar thing was that this Shiba Inu was wearing human clothes, looking exactly like a shop owner.
"We're finally here! Where's Thoma? Where is Thoma? Eh... did Thoma break his promise?" Paimon looked around, but didn't see anyone else in the teahouse, except for a dog-like Shiba Inu on the counter.
Just then, a voice came from the direction of the Shiba Inu: "Who said I broke my promise? I'm even sad that you two forgot about me."
"Huh! What's going on? The dog can talk?" Lumine and Paimon were both startled.
"Hahaha... There's nothing to be surprised about. This is your first time seeing me like this, isn't it?"
"Thoma is... a dog? Huh? Why do I suddenly feel like I can accept this? Is it because I've already seen the Adepti in Liyue?"
"Paimon, something seems wrong, doesn't it? This really looks like a complete dog, doesn't it?"
"Hahaha... Alright, alright, no more jokes like that." Two bursts of laughter suddenly echoed in the originally quiet teahouse. One came from behind the counter, where Thoma emerged, grinning.
The other burst of laughter came from the second floor of the teahouse, followed by the sound of someone descending the stairs. This sudden development made Thoma, who had just been laughing, immediately become serious: There shouldn't be anyone else in the Komore Teahouse at this time. Where did the person upstairs come from?
"Who's upstairs? This is the Yashiro Commission's territory!" Thoma's stern questioning also made Lumine and Paimon nervous. What's going on? Aren't the people in this teahouse and Thoma on the same side?
Just as everyone watched with wary eyes, Yuto's figure appeared before the three of them. After the three clearly saw who it was, they all unconsciously relaxed their guard, especially Paimon, who flew directly in front of Yuto and asked excitedly:
"Huh? Yuto, why are you here too? You don't know how much suffering Lumine and I went through after you left. No, you have to treat me to a meal to make up for it."
"Alright, alright, you decide."
"Mr. Yuto, you're back. Is it about the report? I'm sorry, the next report will probably take a few more days to prepare."
"Huh? What report? What are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you two at the moment. The previous challenges were to allow me to make a judgment about the two of you, a judgment on whether I could bring you before Miss Kamisato, and it also determines whether we can become partners who dare to face the lightning together."
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