Chapter 441: Hope for a lazy life

Those familiar with Yae Miko knew she usually wore a lazy, indifferent expression toward things that didn't interest her. But if she suddenly grew serious... it meant she had found entertainment.

Has the Guuji found something amusing? Inagi Hotomi wondered, standing silently to the side like a wooden puppet.

Lumine, however, didn't fully grasp the underlying complexities. Does the Guuji really take everything involving the Shinsengumi this seriously?

"My little friend never mentioned you..." Yae Miko's voice was light, almost teasing. "Do you have any proof, tiny Traveler?"

"Proof? Traveler, do we have any?" Paimon tugged at her scarf, thinking hard before turning to Lumine.

"We do," Lumine said. "Paimon, how could you forget?"

"Hehe..." Paimon grinned sheepishly, dodging the question.

Lumine pulled out a weapon—a tachi, its blade marred by deep cracks. Any sword enthusiast would have been furious at such mistreatment of a fine blade.

But there was no such person here. To Lumine, an adventurer, it was simply a shame—the sword looked like it would shatter at the slightest touch, held together only by some unseen force.

"Amenoma Kageuchi... So my little one gave this to you?" Yae mused. "Hmm... Nothing could be more fitting."

"Huh? Lady Guuji, what do you mean?" Paimon, ever the curious one, blurted out.

Yae chuckled. "Mean? Oh, nothing. I just recall this was the weapon he wielded during the Tenshukaku incident. Sigh... No wonder I never saw it again. To think it ended up like this..."

"Whoa..." Paimon stared at the blade in awe.

Even she knew how deeply the battle at Tenshukaku had shaken Inazuma. The nation's fate had been decided in that single clash.

Ordinary citizens didn't know the full truth. They only knew a warrior had stormed Tenshukaku, defeated the Shogunate's elite guards, and challenged the Raiden Shogun to a duel before the throne—only to lose.

And defeat in such a duel was synonymous with death.

But Lumine and Paimon knew another version.

In their version, the warrior who had faced the Shogun... still lived.

Lumine glanced down at the cracked blade in her hands.

Yae's voice turned solemn. "That battle between him and the Shogun reached the level of archon war. Amenoma Kageuchi, though a masterpiece of mortal craftsmanship, was no match for the Musou no Hitotachi."

She took the sword from Lumine, tracing the cracks with her fingers. "And yet, it survived a direct clash with the 'Ideal of the Euthymia.' Its historical significance now rivals the Shogun's own Engulfing Lightning. With this... little one, come with me."

"Lady Guuji, what about these documents?" Kano Nana, the shrine maiden in charge of paperwork, interjected. Her duties included managing the tanuki couriers and ensuring they were properly compensated.

Yae waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, Nana, must you ask? Seal them for now. The rest can be left to him and the Shogun."

Nana didn't press further.

"Now, girl—and you, floating emergency food—let's go."

Yae handed the sword back to Lumine and pulled her toward the shrine's exit. Finally, an escape from this paperwork hell.

At first, she had been confident. How hard could bureaucratic nonsense be? But soon, the sight of black ink on white paper made her want to take a nap.

If she could offload this torment onto someone else? All the better.

They descended the torii gate pathway, but before reaching the end, Yae asked, "Do you have a Wind Glider?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me."

Without warning, Yae grabbed Lumine's hand and leapt off the edge. Lumine followed without hesitation, her glider snapping open.

"Hey! Wait for Paimon!" Paimon stomped her foot midair before darting after them.

Their destination wasn't the foot of the mountain but a hidden cavern off the main path, concealed by a barrier. Yae dispelled it with a flick of her wrist, revealing the cave's interior.

"Why's a torii gate here?" Paimon blinked in confusion.

Lumine studied it. The gate's entrance shimmered with an eerie, star-flecked darkness—a portal to somewhere unknown.

The shrine priest mentioned leading someone out of a 'special place.' Is this it?

"This torii leads to Makoto's realm of consciousness," Yae explained. "Ah, you do know there were two Raiden Shoguns, yes?"

"The priest told me," Lumine confirmed.

"Good." Yae nodded. "I know little of Makoto's realm, save that it's tied to the Sacred Sakura—similar to Ei's Plane of Euthymia, but the specifics are... unclear."

This connection had only been theorized long ago, with no further discoveries made.

Yae continued, "After Ei and him entered, the realm became... unstable. What lies inside now? That's for you to uncover. But as Ei's familiar, I can sense her. I'll send you in, and Amenoma Kageuchi will guide you to him."

Her voice softened. "Please... walk this path for us."

"Understood." Lumine nodded. "Thank you, Lady Guuji."

"Lady Guuji is so stiff. Just call me Miko." Yae winked. "Now, prepare yourself. I'll open the gate. Don't worry—I'll stand guard here."

Paimon fidgeted nervously. "Is it dangerous?"

"A mere precaution. Knowing him, that blade will protect you."

"Then let's go, Paimon." Lumine stepped forward resolutely.

Yae unsealed the torii. The starry void within pulsed ominously as Lumine and Paimon crossed the threshold.

"I leave it to you," Yae murmured. "For Inazuma... and for me, succeed. Or else—"

She sighed dramatically.

"—the paperwork will pile up into mountains, and the Tri-Commission will collapse. Ahh... the horror."

With that, she entrusted her lazy salvation to the Traveler.