Junkichi was slightly startled. Before, he only thought about how glorious Shiki was, standing at the pinnacle of Inazuma's power. He never expected there would be so many things behind the scenes.
And most importantly, as a native Inazuman, he still didn't see things as clearly as an engineer from Fontaine.
"Sigh… It makes sense. Power is something people yearn for; countless individuals want to climb to the top, but they don't realize they simply don't possess the matching capabilities," Junkichi said.
Shiki, in Inazuma, could completely be called the first person under the Raiden Shogun. So, it's only natural for her to become a Side Attendant, above ten thousand people and below only one, right?
"It's good that you understand." Xavier nodded, "Alright, you can write the script here according to my outline, and I'll go find some extras."
"Understood!"
Now that the script supervisor was decided, the next step was definitely to find extras. It was also fortunate that there was only one main character and she was already confirmed, otherwise, casting would have been another troublesome matter.
He set up the pre-prepared sign by the roadside, which read: "Recruiting extras, 5000 Mora per day, meals included."
Actually, 5000 Mora a day was considered little in Teyvat. After all, a single Fisherman's Toast cost 1200 Mora, so an extra's daily wage would only buy four loaves of bread.
He waited for a long time, but no one came. Just as Xavier was considering whether to add more money, a few people gathered around him.
"Hey, what's an extra? Also, is what you said about meals included true?"
The loud voice made Xavier's ears ache. He looked up at the white-haired red oni, a sigh of admiration escaping his heart.
'So tall!'
"Simply put, extras are for filling up the scene. As for meals, only lunch and dinner are included, not breakfast."
"Hehe, your words are enough. Our Arataki Gang has collectively decided to come and fill up your scene. By the way, when do we get paid?"
'What?! Arataki Gang? Yakuza?'
Xavier was completely stunned. He just wanted to recruit some extras, how did he end up recruiting Inazuma's yakuza?
A white-haired red oni with a loud voice—only Arataki Itto in Inazuma possessed such characteristics. People like him would never work, but they had no choice since they were broke.
Because a bean-dipped-salt-cow smashed someone's tent this morning, they had no choice but to go home and take out all their savings to pay for the damages.
Although it was all their savings, there wasn't much, and they were lucky to even be able to pay it back.
"Starting tomorrow, Mora will be paid daily. Come to White Fox Plain at 10 AM. I'll tell you what to do then."
"Tomorrow, huh… Alright! We'll do it!"
Hearing it was tomorrow, Arataki Itto felt a bit worried. They were already out of money; how would they solve dinner tonight? Were they going to roast lavender melon again?
But they had just roasted some not long ago!
Grumble~~
'It seems this Arataki Gang isn't the kind of gang I imagined.'
Xavier saw their predicament. After all, what kind of gang couldn't even afford to eat? Wasn't that a joke?
After some thought, he decided to help them out. Besides, filming was starting tomorrow, and the extras couldn't come on an empty stomach.
"Hey, hey, wait a minute, don't leave yet!"
"Huh? What is it?"
"I'm still short on people here. If you can help me find a few more, how about I give you some Mora as a Reward? 1000 Mora per person, and your wages will be increased to 6000 Mora. Of course, the same applies to all of you."
"6000 Mora? And 1000 Mora for bringing one person?"
Arataki Itto was overjoyed. This was great! It was just bringing a few people over, only taking a bit of effort, and their dinner tonight would be solved!
"Yes." Xavier nodded.
"Good, good, good! Brothers, let's go! To… Uh, what's your name again?"
"…My name is Xavier."
"Oh, oh, let's go get people for Boss Ze!"
"Oh!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Xavier is my first name, I don't have a last name Ze!"
Xavier was stunned once again, but fortunately, the result was good. Having a local Inazuman make introductions was definitely more effective than him just sitting there foolishly by himself.
And the fact was as he thought: Arataki Itto, as Inazuma's biggest gang leader, naturally knew many people who idled their days away.
As soon as they heard there was money and meals included, they immediately expressed their desire to follow Arataki Itto.
"But let me make one thing clear beforehand: once we get there, you better put away your usual bad tempers. We're going to support Boss Ze, not to make a fool of ourselves, got that?!"
Arataki Itto's eyes widened in anger, his oni aura fully unleashed, the pressure directly maxed out.
The thugs quickly nodded. Of course, some wanted to cause trouble, but upon seeing the Vision on his chest, they dispelled the thought from their minds.
When Arataki Itto's Vision was confiscated, they could still challenge him. Now that he had his Vision back, challenging him again would be purely asking for a beating.
"Very good! Let's go!"
The group marched grandly towards where Xavier was, astounding the passersby in Hanamizaka.
Holy moly! Gang war!
Xavier's eye twitched as he looked at the group of people in front of him. Although he was happy that they could bring people, wasn't this a bit too many?
'Never mind, never mind. Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry.'
After comforting himself with these thoughts, Xavier repeated what he had told Arataki Itto earlier.
After a quick headcount, he announced their dismissal and handed 40,000 Mora to Arataki Itto.
"Total 40,000, and also, you don't need to find any more extras for me. We have enough people; more would be useless."
"Hehe, enough is good. My name is still very useful in Inazuma. If anyone tries to bully you, just mention my name! Hahahahaha!"
Arataki Itto patted his muscular chest. This was great! With the money Boss Ze gave them, they wouldn't have to look for work for several weeks!
"Uh, heh heh heh heh…"
Xavier forced a smile. He was now a bit doubtful whether recruiting them as extras was the right choice.
As evening arrived, Shiki slowly awoke from her sleep. In her dream, she saw her deceased parents, and also a cute, white-haired little girl who said she was Shiki's daughter.
Then she woke up.
Shiki was lying on her side on the sofa, her geta and tabi removed and placed on the floor, and a blanket draped over her.
But the white-haired girl beside her was nowhere to be seen. She must have left for something, right?
Stretching her somewhat stiff body, Shiki put her tabi back on, stepped into her geta, and left the room.
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