After the massive Alcor docked, Lumine, the Traveler, and her Emergency Food, Paimon, stepped onto the land of Narukami for the first time.
But before she could admire the scenery of this nation, she discovered that the Waypoints, which were unusable in other continents, were actually activated.
'In this nation, there's someone who can activate Waypoints?'
Without time to think much, Lumine saw two men and one woman approaching. Needless to say, this must be the fixer organization Beidou mentioned.
"You must be the famous Traveler, right? Captain Beidou told us all about you." Thoma greeted her enthusiastically.
"Yes, you quelled the dragon menace in Mondstadt and repelled the resurrected Archon Osial in Liyue. Each is an extraordinary achievement," Kazuha said.
"If you get a chance, we could spar. I'm very interested in strong individuals like you!" Fujiwara seemed eager. After losing to Shiki, she hadn't drawn her katana in a long time.
"Uh… actually, I'm not as amazing as you think~"
Lumine was a bit embarrassed by all the praise, as it truly was awkward.
"Let's go, we'll take you to handle the procedures first. Foreigners without proper procedures here will be expelled, which means being thrown into the sea."
"Huh?"
Lumine was stunned to hear that. Is Inazuma so outrageous? They just throw people into the sea without any procedures?
"Hehe, don't worry, no one's been thrown in yet, and besides, we're here to vouch for you!"
Thoma patted his chest, then led the Traveler to the Foreign Affairs Department and found Yurika, who was in charge of handling the procedures.
"Hello, I'm here to process my residency permit," Lumine said.
"No problem, two million Mora per person. Counting the little one flying beside you, that's four million in total~"
"How much? Four million?"
Lumine was bewildered. She didn't mishear, did she? It actually costs four million Mora just to process a permit?
"That's right, it's four million. Without that amount, it's very difficult for me to proceed," Yurika continued.
Lumine immediately felt a bit troubled. Was she going to be on a wanted list on her very first day in Inazuma?
Just at this critical moment, Thoma stepped forward: "Oh, Miss Yurika, this Traveler is my friend. Can you give her a discount? I'll treat you to dinner later, how about it?"
"Oh? Since it's Mr. Thoma's friend, I'll charge six hundred Mora per person, a total of twelve hundred. Please pay here, thank you."
Lumine, utterly bewildered, took out 1200 Mora, then, still bewildered, followed the process and obtained her permit. She still couldn't figure out how to haggle two million down to six hundred.
The key was that such a huge difference in amount was agreed to by the other party without any hesitation!
Thoma saw Lumine's confusion and explained, "Actually, the initial price was six hundred. It's just that due to the sakoku decree and internal reasons within the Kanjou Commission, the price became ridiculously high. What amount to charge completely depends on their mood."
"If they're in a good mood and don't want to rip people off, they'll quote a lower number. If they're in a bad mood, it'll be like now, directly setting it at two million. If you don't know anyone locally, you'd truly have to sell even your underwear."
"Later, I'll introduce those two friends to you, and then arrange a place for you to stay. After that, whatever you want to do has nothing to do with us."
Lumine nodded, indicating understanding, but there was one more thing she cared about: how to meet the Raiden Shogun.
Ten minutes later...
"You want to see the Shogun?" Thoma's expression was a bit troubled.
"You don't have any connections?" Lumine was also a bit disappointed to see this, but then Thoma changed the subject.
"That's not it. I can indeed let you see the Shogun, but Ritou is currently under lockdown. If you can't get out, even with my connections, there's nothing I can do!"
"You mean, as long as I can get out of Ritou, you can take me to the Raiden Shogun?" Lumine said, feeling energized.
"Uh... that's not wrong to say, but you must obtain a legitimate permit to enter and exit Ritou. Otherwise, even a fixer can't run around with a wanted criminal!"
"As for how to get the permit, I don't have a way, but I think you can start with Hiiragi Shinsuke, the head of the Kanjou Commission," Thoma said after thinking carefully.
"Hiiragi Shinsuke, huh..."
After a brief understanding, Lumine learned that Ritou was completely controlled by the Kanjou Commission, a local tyrant, and due to the lockdown, he could arbitrarily levy taxes without the Shogun's knowledge.
"If you can really get out of Ritou, then come find me at Komore Teahouse in Inazuma City. At that time, I'll try to get you an audience with the Shogun."
"Eh? Why can you get out, you guy!" Paimon said indignantly.
"Maybe because I'm a fixer! Goodbye, Traveler, we'll meet again if fate wills it!" Thoma finished speaking, waved his hand, and then disappeared into the crowd on the street.
"Seriously, what does he mean, 'I'm a fixer'! Next time we meet, Paimon will definitely give him a nasty nickname!" Paimon began her traditional Akasha stomp.
Lumine said nothing, but lowered her head thoughtfully. She felt that the identity of this fixer was not as simple as it seemed.
Ritou was so heavily locked down that it was almost impossible to leave once you entered, even for locals. Yet, he could say he would wait for her in Inazuma City, clearly indicating he had other connections.
'So, is he testing me? To see if I can find a similar connection?' Lumine couldn't help but think.
In fact, that was indeed the case. Shiki knew of the Traveler's existence, so long before Thoma went to Ritou, she told him that if he encountered someone who could influence the overall situation, he should give them a test and bring them before her.
Although Shiki didn't explicitly state the criteria for 'influencing the overall situation,' the Traveler, as the one who resolved the dragon disaster and repelled the Archon, was clearly someone who could influence the course of events.
And so, Thoma gave a relatively simple test: to leave Ritou without being wanted.
If the other party truly possessed the great abilities Captain Beidou spoke of, then a small Ritou naturally couldn't hold them.
However, at this time, Shiki did not know that the famous Traveler had already landed in Ritou. She was currently sitting by the fire with Ayaka, drinking freshly brewed lavender melon soup.
"How are you two feeling? Are you much more comfortable? I'm ashamed to say that all I can do is brew lavender melon soup," Yasumoto sighed.
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