The girl smiled sweetly. Shiki gently touched the girl's fair cheek, then smiled and left the Kamisato Estate.
"I'll be right back."
As her voice faded, Shiki's figure instantly vanished beside the Waypoint, and in front of the Tenshukaku in Inazuma City, a cold-faced girl appeared, as if indifferent to everything.
"Ryougi-sama!"
The Okurumashu on duty were already used to it. Their Sobayonin could teleport using Ley Line Anchors; this was already a mandatory lesson for new recruits.
"Hmm, you all can proceed as usual. I'm just here to observe."
Shiki nodded, then turned and walked towards the Machi-bugyo.
The Machi-bugyo belonged to the Tenryou Commission and was not a separate Tenryou Commission. As for why it wasn't called a prison but a Machi-bugyo…
You'd have to ask Makoto; she had no idea why.
However, before reaching the entrance, Shiki heard a commotion inside the Machi-bugyo.
"Hey! Don't run!"
"Quick, stop him!"
"This great lord has business to attend to first! I'll be back after I'm done!"
Arataki Itto's distinctive loud voice made it hard not to recognize him. Shiki, seeing this, stood with her arms crossed in front of the Machi-bugyo's main gate.
Bang!
The tightly shut door was kicked open by Arataki Itto, who then turned back to make a funny face at the jailers behind him. The next second, he was pressed to the ground by Shiki, who held his head down.
"Ow! My head, this great lord's head!"
Shiki's speed was so fast that Arataki Itto was pressed to the ground before he saw anything.
"Arataki Itto, don't run… Eh? Ryougi-sama?"
The jailers who chased him out were dumbfounded. Good heavens, the hooligan they couldn't handle was just pressed to the ground by someone with a single slap?
"What's going on?" Shiki asked expressionlessly.
"Uh, this… we don't know either, Ryougi-sama. This Arataki Itto was doing fine inside; he was supposed to be released in two more days."
"But for some reason, he suddenly went crazy, smashed the cell door, and ran out."
The jailers were also baffled. This Arataki Itto could be considered a regular at the Machi-bugyo; they weren't sworn brothers, but they had certainly become familiar through their encounters.
From his understanding, Arataki Itto wouldn't break out of jail when he only had two days left, because it simply wasn't worth it.
Shiki released her hand upon hearing this, allowing Arataki Itto to get up from the ground.
"Hiss… I say, friend, that was too harsh, wasn't it?"
"Don't give me that. With your Oni physique, my strength is definitely fine. Now tell me why you ran?"
"You only have two days of detention left, why did you have to run out today?"
Although she rarely met Arataki Itto, this big oaf's personality was easy to figure out.
He had an extremely strong desire to win, was loyal, and besides being aimless, his brain was a bit slow.
Fortunately, he hadn't done anything truly bad, otherwise his Arataki Gang wouldn't have survived peacefully until now.
"Oh, I just wanted to get out, can't I?" Arataki Itto shouted loudly.
"No, you still have two days of detention. Also, has anyone ever told you that you're terrible at lying?"
Shiki looked at Arataki Itto's strange expression. This guy might as well have written 'I'm lying' on his face.
"Holy cow! Is it really that obvious?" Arataki Itto was greatly disheartened.
"Yes, but that's not important. What's important is why did you break out of jail?"
"What could make you willing to damage your relationship with the Shogunate?"
To be honest, Arataki Itto's relationship with the Shogunate wasn't bad, especially with the jailers of the Machi-bugyo; they were even more familiar than neighbors.
"This… can we talk alone?"
Shiki waved her hand upon hearing this: "You may withdraw."
"Uh, okay."
The few jailers exchanged glances, then returned to their posts.
"Now can you speak? It's just the two of us left."
"This goes back to noon today." Arataki Itto recalled carefully, then explained the situation.
"So… you heard from the jailers that the Tenryou Commission was going to send troops to Higi Village, and you wanted to bring your family, Granny Oni, from Yashiori Island to Inazuma City first?"
"That's right! Anyway, Granny Oni and I aren't well-liked in Higi Village, so I might as well take this opportunity to bring her over."
"Don't worry, I've already saved enough money from working odd jobs. It's all legitimate, hard-earned money!"
Arataki Itto said this, patting his sturdy chest. Although Arataki Itto was aimless, he would absolutely never do anything sneaky!
"Originally, I planned to go to Yashiori Island after I got out, but then I heard from the jailer brother that the Tenryou Commission was sending troops to Higi Village."
"Think about it, is sending troops ever a good thing? And Yashiori Island was previously the battleground between Watatsumi Island and the Shogunate. I just couldn't rest easy!"
This time, Arataki Itto didn't mix in a single lie. Just as Shiki said, he was not good at lying.
Whenever he lied, the expression on his face would become very strange.
Moreover, even a habitual swindler like Okamon Mifune couldn't escape Shiki's eyes, let alone this big oaf, Arataki Itto.
"Is that so? For the sake of your filial piety, I can have the Machi-bugyo release you early."
"Really? Thank you, my friend!"
Arataki Itto was overjoyed. He had thought he would have to fight the girl before he could leave!
"Of course." Shiki nodded, then changed the subject: "But there are conditions."
"This is a special period. You can only take Granny Oni. Everyone else must remain in Higi Village, and you must not reveal anything about the Tenryou Commission sending troops to Higi Village."
"I will have an Okurumashu follow you the entire time, understood?"
"Got it, got it. You're going to fight with Watatsumi Island again, aren't you? Don't worry, I won't say anything!"
"Ah… yes, yes, that's right. You absolutely must not say anything."
Shiki suppressed the urge to laugh, led Arataki Itto to the front of the Tenshukaku, then called over an Okurumashu.
"What's your name?"
"Reporting, Ryougi-sama, my name is Akita!"
"Alright, Akita, you go with him to Higi Village on Yashiori Island. Make sure he doesn't interfere with the Tenryou Commission's work, understood?"
"Understood! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Akita bowed and responded.
"Hmm, don't disappoint me."
Shiki nodded in satisfaction, then left Arataki Itto there and returned to the Machi-bugyo.
...
"What's the progress on the matters I assigned you earlier?"
In the conference room, Shiki sat at the head of the table, looking calmly at the few people below.
"Reporting, after our investigation these past few days, we have initially discovered traces of the organization behind Okamon Mifune."
"And based on the existing intelligence analysis, it seems like someone is intentionally helping them hide," one person replied.
"What about those buyers? Have you investigated them?" Shiki asked.
"Yes, but we currently have no leads. That organization has its own unique cipher, which we are currently trying to decrypt."
"..."
Tap, tap, tap...
Shiki's slender fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, the dull sound causing everyone present's heartbeats to involuntarily synchronize with the rhythm.
"Understood."
"You can appropriately expand the scope of the investigation. Also, issue a commission to the head of the Sangonomiya Detective Agency and have them join in."
"I will have the Anbu ninja conduct infiltration work. If you need manpower, just request it directly from the Tenryou Commission."
"However, you must pay attention to one point: do not alert the enemy."
"What I want is to uproot this human trafficking organization, not just a temporary solution like a simple encirclement!"
"Understood!" the group shouted in unison.
"If you understand, then go do it. Meeting adjourned!"
With that, Shiki was the first to leave the conference room, then called Yu Rou over.
"Yu Rou, have you retrieved all the money?" Shiki asked.
"Yes, I have..."
"Is there anything else you need to bring?"
"No, nothing else..."
"Alright, come with me."
Shiki led Yu Rou to a Waypoint. Then, the scene before them shifted, and Yu Rou's figure appeared at Chi Hu Rock in Liyue.
"This... I'm back already?"
Looking at the familiar yet somewhat strange scenery before her, Yu Rou couldn't help but pinch herself.
Only after feeling the pain did she realize that everything was real.
However, the girl who had sent her back was not by her side.
At this moment, Shiki had already returned to Kamisato Estate and was drinking the sakura bloom tea brewed by Ayaka.
As for the infiltration order, it had been given to the Yashiro Commission official responsible for handover before she even entered the house.
"You're back so soon. It seems it truly was just some trivial matters," Ayaka said, gracefully refilling the girl's tea cup.
"Of course. I just went to check on the progress and arrange a few things. It doesn't take much time."
Shiki looked at the cherry blossoms in the tea, pondered for a moment, and ultimately decided to tell Ayaka about the human trafficking situation.
"Ayaka, what are your thoughts on human traffickers?"
"According to Inazuma law, they should be executed by hanging. Those with heinous crimes are to commit seppuku without a kaishakunin."
"Inazuma law is my view. I have nothing good to say about these people."
"However, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Ayaka asked.
Despite her words, Ayaka already had a bad premonition in her heart.
She was indeed the Young Miss of the Kamisato Clan, but that didn't mean she was naive.
She knew quite a bit about the darker sides of society and had even witnessed public executions of human traffickers.
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