After leaving Narukami Shrine, Qixuan planned to go back and find Lumine and Paimon, but on her way back, she was stopped by two shrine maidens.
“Qixuan: What do you want?”
“Kawasakana: Um, you are Miss Qixuan, right? Lady Yae has invited you to Tenshukaku.”
“Red Leaf: Yes, the Shogun is also waiting for you there.”
“Qixuan: (Hmm? Is Yae Miko acting so fast?) Alright, lead the way.”
“Red Leaf: Okay, please follow me.”
Then Qixuan followed the two shrine maidens to Tenshukaku.
Before this…
Yae Miko found the Raiden Shogun (puppet AI), then asked Ei to come out, saying there was something very important to discuss. One second… two seconds… still no movement, the Shogun AI was still in control. Then Yae Miko said something about Makoto… I have…
Before she could finish (Ei’s consciousness came online).
“Ei: What is it?”
“Yae Miko: …”
Yae Miko recounted what had just happened, and then, fearing that Ei wouldn't believe her, she took out the corrupted version of Yae Miko. After seeing it, Ei immediately wanted to meet Qixuan.
“Yae Miko: Alright, alright, I know you’re anxious, but don’t rush.”
After Ei calmed down, she said, “She must have made conditions, right? The only one I can think of who can ignore such rules is the one in the heavens.”
“Yae Miko: Don’t worry, I’ve already sent someone to invite her. As for the conditions… I don’t know what her relationship with the Fatui is, but she said she wants to hand over the Gnosis to them.”
“Ei: Is that all? That’s good then. That thing was meant for you to keep anyway; it’s useless to me.”
“Yae Miko: Don’t think too much about it. Come out of your mansion quickly. Don’t let the Shogun come out yet.”
“Ei: I understand.”
Then Ei regained control of the body.
Meanwhile, Qixuan, led by the two shrine maidens, passed through Konda Village, and then Qixuan felt a different aura.
Suddenly, a figure in shrine maiden attire flashed by and disappeared towards Chinju Forest.
“Qixuan: (Hmm… A corrupted memory? Is it Saiguu?)”
Then Qixuan said to the two shrine maidens, “I’ll go to Tenshukaku, but I suddenly have something else to do right now, sorry.”
“Red Leaf: We can wait for you here.”
“Qixuan: Alright, alright~” Then she entered Chinju Forest.
On the other side, Lumine and Paimon were on their way to Naganohara Fireworks.
At the shop entrance… two samurai were… uh, interrogating a young man?
“Oogawa: Just hand it over obediently. Don’t wait for us to act. If you think you can resist the Vision Hunt Decree with elemental power, you’d better clear your head.”
“You know that those who tried before… didn’t end well, right? It’s just asking for trouble.”
“Hanshiro: Please let me go. I just got this Vision recently. I swear I won’t use it, okay…?”
“Paimon: We actually ran into a Vision confiscation in progress. We can’t just stand by, can we?”
“Lumine: Let’s go!”
Just as Lumine was about to send these two samurai to meet their Shogun with a whirlwind, a voice came from nearby.
“Yoimiya: Hey~ Wait, wait…”
“Paimon: Huh? Someone’s calling us over there.”
“Yoimiya: Here, here! Come over, come over!”
“Paimon: What’s wrong? It’s an emergency, we’re about to…”
“Yoimiya: Shhh~~~ Just watch the show.”
“Paimon: Hey! How can you be like this? Don’t just watch other people’s troubles because you don’t have a Vision… Hey! No, you seem to have one!”
“Yoimiya: Shh! Lower your voice, lower your voice, or they’ll discover mine too!”
The young man on the other side.
“Hanshiro: Ah, alright, alright, I give up, Samurai-dono.”
Then he handed over the fake Vision.
“Oogawa: Hmph, very good, let’s go!”
“Paimon: What do we do? He’s already handed over his Vision. Could it be that he doesn’t know the consequences of doing that…? You really are something!”
Hanshiro walked over.
“Hanshiro: Miss Yoimiya, thank you, thank you! Luckily, you gave me that fake earlier, otherwise, I would have been in real trouble.”
(Oogawa: You’re noble, you’re amazing!)
“Yoimiya: Haha, no problem~! You acted quite wonderfully yourself!”
“Lumine: So it was a fake Vision?”
“Paimon: Ah… so that’s how it is. I just got mad at Miss Yoimiya… Ugh… I’m really sorry.”
“Yoimiya: Haha, what’s that? Looking at your reactions just now, we’re all on the same side, aren’t we? Mutual understanding is essential, right, right!”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Yoimiya, the current owner of Naganohara Fireworks. I usually make a living by doing some small crafts. Please take care of me, please take care of me!”
“Hanshiro: There’s probably no one in Hanamizaka who doesn’t know Miss Yoimiya, right? She’s the ‘Queen of the Summer Festival’! Without her and her fireworks, Narukami Island would be like a summer without summer!”
“Paimon: What an amazing person! I love fireworks! Nice to meet you!”
“Yoimiya: Hehe, you’re making me blush, Hanshiro. Speaking of which… instead of thanking me, you should thank Masakatsu even more. Thanks to him, he still had some fake Visions left with me.”
“Back then, even my Vision was saved thanks to Masakatsu’s fake, otherwise, it would have been inconvenient for me to even do business.”
“Hanshiro: Ah, Masakatsu is our benefactor, but unfortunately…”
“Paimon: Masakatsu!”
“Yoimiya: Eh? What, companions, do you also know Masakatsu?”
“Lumine: We heard from Miss Kamizato.”
“Yoimiya: Really! So it was arranged by Shirasagi Himegimi! That’s great. Actually, these past few days, I’ve been planning to break him out of prison… but then I thought, if I just rushed in like that and failed, would I cause trouble for Miss Kamizato and them? Haha…”
“Yoimiya: So, can I join you?”
“Paimon: Of course! No problem! Ayaka also told us to find help at Naganohara Fireworks, so it seems it’s Yoimiya.”
“Yoimiya: Hehe, it seems besides helping hide Vision holders in the shop, I finally have a chance to be useful in other ways!”
“Yoimiya: Oh, right, Masakatsu is imprisoned at the Tenryou Commission. I’ve already surveyed the surroundings; there’s a very good infiltration point.”
“Paimon: Yoimiya is so reliable! We really found the right person!”
“Yoimiya: Right? Hehe, then get ready, and let’s go! We absolutely, absolutely must rescue Masakatsu!”
“Paimon: Rescue him!”
Then everyone went to the Tenryou Commission and secretly infiltrated it.
“Paimon: We finally got in. It’s much gloomier than I imagined…”
“Yoimiya: We came in from this side; as expected, we didn’t attract their attention. The timing is good.”
“Yoimiya: Ah, it must be terrifying to be locked up here, right? We need to rescue Masakatsu quickly. Let’s split up. To ‘welcome’ Masakatsu, I need to make some preparations…”
“Paimon: Eh… Then be careful, don’t get caught.”
“Yoimiya: Mm, you too.”
Then Yoimiya and Paimon split up.
…
After some fighting, Paimon and Lumine finally found where Masakatsu was being held.
“Paimon: Shhh~ Hide quickly! Look over there, that must be Masakatsu, right?”
Following Paimon’s pointing finger, two samurai were looking at an old man lying on the ground.
“Kinoshita: Hmph, you thought your little tricks could fool us?”
“Maeda: Heh heh, don’t think that just locking you up is the end of it!”
“Masakatsu: …Cough, cough… cough…”
Then Yoimiya walked out from the side.
“Yoimiya: Damn it… these Tenryou Commission guys actually resorted to torture…”
“Paimon: Eh? When did Yoimiya follow us? Didn’t she say she was going to make preparations…?”
“Yoimiya: Oh, now’s not the time to talk about that. If we don’t find a way to rescue Masakatsu…”
“Lumine: Endure for now…”
“Yoimiya: Ahhh—I can’t stand it anymore! If something happens to Masakatsu, our reason for coming here will be… I’m going to confront them!”
Just as Yoimiya and the others were about to launch a frontal assault, a voice suddenly came from over there.
“Kujou Sara: What are you doing, you lot!”
“Kinoshita: Kujou… Lady Kujou Sara!”
“Maeda: We were just… slightly, slightly giving him a little lesson.”
“Paimon: Eh? Who is that person?”
“Yoimiya: It’s Kujou Sara, the adopted child of the Kujou clan of the Tenryou Commission, and also the general of the Shogunate Army. How could she come to a place like this…?”
“Lumine: She’s also an enforcer of the Vision Hunt Decree.”
On the other side…
“Kujou Sara: Move aside! Let me see him.”
Kujou Sara carefully examined Masakatsu’s injuries.
“Kujou Sara: Torture is something the Shogun explicitly forbade, do you know that?”
“Kinoshita: We… we know…”
“Kujou Sara: If you are not ashamed of what you have done, then you are not fit to serve under the Tenryou Commission!”
“Maeda: Your subordinate admits guilt, Lady.”
Paimon on the side: “What a dignified person…”
“Yoimiya: While their attention isn’t on Masakatsu, perhaps now is a good opportunity…”
“Paimon: Hey! Yoimiya, aren’t you being too impatient!”
Then Yoimiya accidentally made a noise.
“Kujou Sara: Wait, who’s over there! You two, go check it out.”
“Samurai: Yes!”
“Paimon: They’re coming! Hide quickly!”
“Yoimiya: Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was my carelessness…”
“Lumine: If this continues, we’ll definitely be discovered.”
“Yoimiya: Luckily, just give me a chance to make up for my clumsiness. I’ll use the ‘good stuff’ I just prepared…”
Then Yoimiya used her Vision to activate the fireworks placed inside.
Bang—!
“Paimon: Wow! It’s fireworks!”
“Kinoshita: Ah?! What exploded over there?”
“Maeda: Could it be… fireworks?”
“Kinoshita: Go check it out quickly!”
“Paimon: Phew… something like fireworks is perfect for attracting attention, even if it’s a bit exaggerated…”
“Yoimiya: Hehe, the use of fireworks shouldn’t be limited to festivals.”
“Lumine: Yoimiya is truly reliable.”
“Yoimiya: Hehe, of course, that’s my masterpiece—”
The fireworks showed no signs of stopping.
“Samurai: Ahhh—!”
“Paimon: Uh… Yoimiya, are you trying to hold a fireworks festival in prison?!”
“Yoimiya: Hmm… After all, I’m an artisan, so without realizing it… I just wanted to make it spectacular, hahaha…”
“Lumine: I don’t know if it’s to attract attention or to get revenge on those two samurai anymore…”
“Paimon: It seems like there’s no one over there anymore. How about we take advantage of this now?”
Then everyone gave up hiding and walked out.
“Masakatsu: Yoimiya! Is that Yoimiya?!”
“Yoimiya: Masakatsu? I’ve kept you waiting. Those hateful guys…”
“Paimon: Let’s go quickly, in case they come back soon…”
“Kujou Sara: Where do you think you’re going?”
“Paimon: Ah…!”
“Lumine: Were you watching from the side the whole time?”
“Kujou Sara: Heh… Forget it. Just this once, he’s badly injured. Take him out for treatment.”
“However—once his injuries are healed, I will definitely bring him back.”
“Yoimiya: Cough, cough, ah, well… that might not be so easy.”
“Lumine: Thank you…”
“Kujou Sara: Hmph, go.”
Everyone nodded and escaped together.
“Paimon: Phew… We finally got out of that gloomy place.”
“Masakatsu: Finally… finally out of that gloomy place…”
“Yoimiya: Masakatsu! How are you? Can you still hold on?”
“Masakatsu: It’s alright. I won’t die before we reach the clinic.”
“Yoimiya: Companions, I’ll take Masakatsu to get treated first. Let’s drink the celebration wine together later!”
“Paimon: Alright, go quickly, don’t worry about us!”
Then Yoimiya took Masakatsu to get treated.
“Paimon: We finally rescued him successfully.”
“Lumine: Thanks to that person.”
“Paimon: Yes, that Kujou Sara, she must have let us go to make up for her subordinates’ mistakes, right?”
“There are actually good people in the Tenryou Commission… Of course, that doesn’t mean I approve of her enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree!”
“Lumine: Alright, Qixuan-jie should be back looking for us. Let’s go quickly and tell Ayaka and the others this good news.”
After returning to the Shogunate…
“Thoma: I see, Kujou Sara didn’t attack you. It seems she’s not completely unreasonable.”
“I wonder if we can try to contact her and get more information from her.”
“Kamisato Ayaka: I think it’ll be difficult. Kujou Sara is an enforcer of the Vision Hunt Decree; she only obeys the Raiden Shogun’s orders.”
“To her, Masakatsu doesn’t directly threaten the Vision Hunt Decree, which is why she was willing to let Masakatsu go. But if we expose our identities, she won’t be lenient with us.”
“Thoma: True, but this time, we did manage to turn the tables.”
“Paimon: Oh, right, Qixuan-jie hasn’t returned yet?”
“Thoma: I haven’t seen her.”
“Ayaka: Then let’s rest for a bit. Thoma, prepare a mini-game.”
“Paimon: Yay!”
“Lumine: Do you believe Qixuan-jie will come back and boil you and eat you?”
“Paimon: Uh… hehe, it’s about balancing work and rest, you know.”
…
(The author has something to say here: some readers want to name the protagonist Kiana, but the author’s work already has a set protagonist name, so the author wants to see everyone’s opinions here. If there are many comments, the author will make a big change.)