Chapter 434: Beast Realm Hounds

After lunchtime passed, the bustling crowds in Inazuma City thinned by more than half. Many people returned to the construction site of Tenshukaku. Even Kamisato Ayaka had to leave after lunch due to other commitments.

As for the Traveler, Lumine, and her companion Paimon, they had nothing pressing to do.

"Wow, I didn't expect even the 'bull-chasing guy' to go work at the Tenshukaku construction site," Paimon muttered.

During their conversation, Kamisato Ayaka had mentioned the Arataki Gang. By chance, Lumine and Paimon had crossed paths with Arataki Itto a few times. The result of these encounters was that Paimon and Itto had given each other unflattering nicknames.

Two children, really.

Lumine chuckled. "Paimon, do you want to go to the construction site?"

"What would we do there, Traveler?"

"Carry bricks, of course. We're running low on food money," Lumine said lightly.

"Huh? Didn't the Seirai Island mission give us a lot, a lot of Mora?" Paimon widened her eyes.

Lumine pretended to think deeply. "But we're going to Sumeru, right? We need to save up for that trip."

"Oh, right. Ugh~~~" Paimon pouted, deep in thought.

Lumine patted Paimon's little head. "It's fine. We can just take on some commissions from the Adventurers' Guild. Silly Paimon, how could you not think of that?"

Paimon crossed her arms, annoyed. "It's all because you dragged me into this! I, I would've thought of going to the Adventurers' Guild soon enough!"

Paimon's anger vanished as quickly as her appetite for Sweet Madames. By the time they reached the Adventurers' Guild, Paimon was already flying ahead to ask Katherine if there were any good commissions available.

Katherine, the ever-diligent receptionist of the Adventurers' Guild, was an expert at matching adventurers with suitable tasks. She quickly presented them with a commission to hunt down some monsters.

For Lumine, hunting monsters was the simplest kind of work. She was strong, and during her time on Seirai Island, she had even faced a monster formed from the remnants of a god, which she had swiftly defeated.

—The only downside was that the monster, called the "Thunder Manifestation," seemed to be renewable… Wait, was that really a downside? It meant they could farm valuable materials repeatedly. Those were worth a lot of Mora.

"'Riftwolves'? I've never heard of this kind of monster before," Paimon said, holding the mission details in her hands.

Lumine nodded. "Yeah, I've never seen them either."

"I'm sure they're no match for the Traveler. But… the commission requires us to visit the Grand Narukami Shrine before hunting the monsters… Ugh, climbing the mountain is such a waste of time!" Paimon pouted.

The journey from the Kamisato Estate at the foot of the mountain to the Grand Narukami Shrine at the top was quite long.

Lumine said, "But Paimon, you can fly. You don't have to walk."

"I'm complaining for your sake, Traveler. Climbing all the way up is exhausting."

"It's not exhausting."

?

The friendly banter between Lumine and Paimon continued. The Grand Narukami Shrine they mentioned had also undergone some changes. For example, today, none of the three key figures of Inazuma were in the study.

The unprocessed documents brought by the tanuki were piled up there, completely ignored by the trio, who were instead gathered in a single room.

Li Mo and Yae Miko stood on either side, staring at Raiden Ei, who sat on the bed.

"I said, how long are you two going to keep staring at me like that?" Raiden Ei asked, exasperated by their probing gazes.

The three were in Raiden Ei's living quarters at the Grand Narukami Shrine. According to Yae Miko, "Even the Raiden Shogun doesn't get special treatment at the Grand Narukami Shrine."

Thus, she had been assigned this room. Raiden Ei had initially wanted to argue, but the thought of Tenshukaku made it hard to refute.

She usually only rested here at night, spending most of her days in the study. The only exception had been when Yae Miko dragged her out to explore Inazuma City.

Today, however, was another exception. She had been cornered in her room.

"Ei, avoiding medical treatment is not the way to go," Yae Miko said.

Raiden Ei replied, "Yae, you make it sound like I've got some terminal illness."

"Isn't that the case? You're the Raiden Shogun, after all. How could a god experience something like dizziness? Isn't that a sign of a serious illness?" Yae Miko exclaimed dramatically.

Li Mo remained silent, as Yae Miko had already said everything he wanted to say. Of course, he couldn't match her flair for the dramatic.

Raiden Ei explained, "It's because of the Shogun."

"Wait, so the Shogun has rebelled?" Yae Miko feigned shock.

The Raiden Shogun and Raiden Ei shared the same body, but the Shogun had her own independent consciousness. It was like having two different personalities in one body, leading to disagreements when facing the same situation.

In short, it was a case of rebelling against oneself.

"The Shogun is the solidified embodiment of my past thoughts on 'Eternity.' To maintain Eternity, I specifically designed her so that even I couldn't easily alter her thought processes," Raiden Ei said.

She wasn't explaining this to Yae Miko, but to Li Mo.

Li Mo quipped, "So, Ei, you were worried you'd change your mind halfway and ruin 'Eternity'?"

Raiden Ei chose to remain silent, neither confirming nor denying.

Yae Miko asked, "So, Ei, what are you planning to do now?"

"I'm going to visit Makoto," Raiden Ei said. "But before that, I want to deal with the Riftwolves. I'm uneasy about those monsters appearing on Narukami Island."

Riftwolves were monsters that had first appeared 500 years ago. Among monsters, they were particularly troublesome. Their attacks carried a certain power that could "corrode" the body, a force that couldn't be defended against—only endured.

In Raiden Ei's memory, Riftwolves had long been driven out of the main islands and should only exist on Tsurumi Island.

"I've already issued a commission at the Adventurers' Guild regarding this," Li Mo said. "With the help of the Shogunate's forces, it should be manageable. If you're still worried, Ei, I can handle it."

"Exactly, Ei. When it comes to dealing with small groups of enemies, you're no match for the little one," Yae Miko added.

Raiden Ei's combat style had always been grand and sweeping, exemplified by her "Musou no Hitotachi," which could annihilate everything in its path. But as the source of all martial arts in Inazuma, she could also strike with precision when needed, still using the "Musou no Hitotachi."

However, when it came to dealing with small numbers of monsters appearing in multiple locations simultaneously, Li Mo was far more efficient. His "Shadow of the Dragon" ability was truly a tool for clearing out weak enemies. Reflecting on his own path, even with enhancements like the Stigmata, Li Mo realized he excelled at dealing with weaker foes. Against stronger opponents, he could only prepare in advance and risk his life in a desperate struggle.

In the end, it was decided that Li Mo would handle the Riftwolves.