Inazuma, Grand Narukami Shrine.
Cherry blossoms drifted silently in the air, bathed in the gentle glow of moonlight like flowing water. The mountaintop was utterly still, with all sounds of the world fading away.
Yet beneath the sacred Sacred Sakura tree, the humid air shimmered with steam. In the misty haze of the hot spring, a pink figure let out a soft, bell-like laugh that was both alluring and teasing.
"Who would've thought someone would be into a fox with nine tails..."
"White thigh-high stockings? Someone actually likes those? No way..."
"Oh~ So it's for ripping them off. How intriguing."
She murmured to herself as she flipped through the illustrated book in her hands, chuckling now and then at its contents.
With her light laughter, a single pink tail floated to the surface of the hot spring water.
After a while, the woman set down her book, still savoring it with a hint of reluctance. "How does that guy always stop updating right at the crucial part? What a tease." As her words faded, a voice came from nearby.
"I'd rather not have some stinky fox who sneaks into other people's bathrooms behind my back gossiping about me."
Ye Xi set down the dinner he'd ordered from Yuyutsu Pavilion, utterly exasperated.
This was a small pocket realm he'd carved out using the power of the Sacred Sakura tree.
Sure, it was on the grounds of someone else's Grand Narukami Shrine, but he'd already paid for the usage rights with his manuscript fees!
So, this was his home!
And yet, this Lady Guuji always used her yokai powers to pick the lock and barge in, monopolizing the hot spring in his front courtyard.
Sure, he could admire the smooth, pale curve of her back, but still!
Who wouldn't be pissed off by this blatant trespassing?!
Hearing Ye Xi's voice, Yae Miko turned around in delight. "No helping it—the hot springs at Akisha Onsen are great, but they make me shed a ton of fox fur afterward.
"By the way, Teacher Ye Xi, when's your new work coming out?"
As the chief editor of Yae Publishing House, urging manuscripts was her duty, no question.
Of course, the real reason was...
She glanced toward Ye Xi in the pavilion. Since he'd averted his eyes, she flashed a playful smile. "What's with the shyness? Can't own up to it when thermal underwear comes up?"
Ye Xi's face turned pitch black, cracking on the spot.
[When the hell did I ever take off thermal underwear!]
[This woman—why does she pick up all the bad habits and none of the good ones? I don't remember writing that line in the novel!]
[Where did she even learn that term? Does this world actually have 'thermal underwear' as a thing?]
[No, wait—even if it does, it should be in Liyue!]
[This damn fox! She always gets the upper hand!]
Yae Miko crossed her arms, lightly covering her cherry lips with one hand, a sly smile playing on her features.
That's right—she could hear the inner thoughts of the man before her!
It all started three years ago, when she found a man in strange attire deep in the woods.
Using the terms she'd picked up later, it was a white dress shirt, slacks, and a genuine leather belt.
Such an outfit in Inazuma? It stuck out like a sore thumb.
Most folks in Inazuma City wore kimonos from the Kimoto House these days.
And Ye Xi's clothes? That bizarre style was something she'd never seen before!
From the fabric alone, she—who'd lived over five hundred years—couldn't even identify it!
It didn't feel like the high-end silk made from Silkflowers, but it was incredibly soft.
And that's not all!
When she woke him up, she was shocked to hear a voice muttering to itself!
Having lived over five hundred years, she was no longer the little fox who used to perch on people's shoulders back in the day.
She quickly realized it was this man's inner thoughts.
And then, she heard words that completely shattered her worldview!
[Holy shit!]
[I transmigrated!? Into the Genshin Impact world I created myself!?]
[No way! Didn't the company just register that metaverse trademark? Besides, current tech couldn't pull off full-dive immersion like this!]
[Where's the log-out button? The control panel?]
[Damn it, playing dirty, huh? Not even a log-out button!?]
[I'm just a lowly artist—don't do this to me!]
Ye Xi's outburst back then left her in utter shock, unable to pull herself out of it!
Later, she learned the truth.
Ye Xi didn't belong to this world.
In the world he came from, Ye Xi worked for a company called miHoYo.
He usually handled scripts and original artwork design.
Apparently, exhaustion from overwork caused his body to break down, and he ended up here.
What shocked her the most was that the world she lived in was actually a game!
How could she accept that!?
Fake—everything in this world was fake!
She was fake, the Shogun was fake, even Lady Kujou Sara was fake.
In that instant, her entire world crumbled.
But then, one of Ye Xi's inner thoughts snapped her back to reality.
[The Genshin world, huh? It's not the worst... At least it's more relaxed and happier than the outside one. Just hope my cat back home doesn't starve...] Was the real world really so full of misfortune?
That question lingered in her mind, sparking her curiosity.
And this man, facing such a massive upheaval, still worried about his pet cat—he must be a gentle soul.
So, she made her decision.
From then on, she brought Ye Xi back to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Gradually, she learned so much from him.
From nine years of compulsory education to cram schools, from the 996 work schedule to sudden deaths from overwork, from mortgages and car loans to miHoYo's infamous payroll recovery plans...
She finally understood how tough adulthood could be.
But she also picked up plenty of fascinating knowledge.
Like something called a "computer" with files full of "study materials"—including some stuff that shocked her to her core.
Even as a nine-tailed fox, she felt too embarrassed to listen to it all.
Since it delved into such forbidden "knowledge," she stopped probing into his thoughts about the real world.
Instead, she focused more on what Ye Xi thought about Teyvat.
Like the concept of "leveling up."
This was all new to her.
Turns out, she had something called an "experience bar" inside her.
By slaying monsters corrupted by the Abyss, you could accumulate experience, and once it filled up, you could break through.
This reminded her of the "cultivation" she'd pursued for five hundred years.
Without the right items, though, the maximum level was 40—that was the limit.
To go further, everyone needed specific items.
Take her, for example: she required something called "Dragon's Bane Fin" to break through.
Think about it—how many people in this world tirelessly cultivate, only to hit that 40-level bottleneck?
And for those who reach it, how do they break through?
Ye Xi was different!
Because inside him was something called "Resin"—only with Resin could you harvest Ley Line rewards!
Over these three years, Ye Xi seemed to have secretly challenged tons of monsters, and he'd stashed plenty of items in a chest! As the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, how could she stoop to stealing without permission? So, she realized.
She had to find a way to keep Ye Xi by her side!
And slowly get his consent!