Chapter 16

A bundle of firewood might not change the oppressive life they led, but it was enough to feed a family for the day.

So even though they knew the mountains and forests were filled with evil spirits, some young people would still take their not-so-sharp axes and venture into the wilderness.

It was all for survival.

Aside from firewood, there were occasionally special finds, like the barrels and crates left under the trees.

Ordinary people wouldn't leave these things in the wild—they were mostly food and water collected by Hilichurls.

Though it was usually simple fare like Lavender Melons, Sunsettias, or cabbages, for the poor families of Inazuma, it was still a significant gain.

And if they found some Mora or shiny jewelry, that would be even better.

That's what the young man who came to gather firewood today was hoping for.

He had heard there was a Hilichurl camp nearby and wanted to try his luck.

Whether this was actually a Hilichurl camp was hard to say. While there were traces nearby, they didn't seem like Hilichurl traces.

After all, even Hilichurls knew that Lavender Melons tasted better when peeled and cooked.

Eating them raw... now that was a true warrior.

But aside from these traces, the young man did find what he was looking for.

It was a barrel, more refined than the usual ones.

Though it looked a bit small, it didn't seem like Hilichurl craftsmanship—more like a wine barrel.

"Am I... am I about to strike it rich?"

The young man paused, then excitedly ran over and knocked on the barrel.

If this really was a wine barrel, the amount of wine inside would be worth a lot of Mora.

As he knocked, the barrel made a dull thud, suggesting it wasn't filled with liquid but with something solid.

Whatever, it had to be something good.

When he tried to brush the leaves off the barrel, he noticed one leaf seemed stuck to it, no matter how much he tried to remove it.

"Strange..."

As he tried again to pull it off, there was a poof, and a cloud of smoke dispersed, revealing a large tail next to the barrel.

"A... a tanuki!!!"

The young man's face turned pale, and without a second thought, he turned and ran.

He knew the mountains were home to tanuki spirits.

Though these little creatures weren't particularly dangerous, spirits of any kind were considered bad omens.

Especially tanuki.

Unlike tengu, who protected the mountains, tanuki often took on strange forms to play tricks on humans.

This gave them a bad reputation among humans, with some even believing that encountering a tanuki brought bad luck.

And this leaf-on-the-head transformation was a well-known tanuki trick.

"Not a tanuki... a mujina!"

The barrel disappeared, replaced by a small figure dressed as a ninja.

She stretched and rubbed her head, looking confused.

She had a vague memory of someone knocking on her head while she was asleep.

"Senior, now... huh?"

After shaking off her drowsiness, she was about to ask her fellow Shuumatsuban ninja for the time when she realized she was alone in the forest.

"Was I abandoned again?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she realized she had probably been left behind again because she fell asleep.

"Well... maybe it's not so bad."

Yawning again, Sayu muttered to herself.

Last night, she had been tasked with infiltrating the room of a high-ranking Fatui agent, but she had been discovered.

Being discovered was bad enough, but the guy had chased her relentlessly.

If that tengu hadn't shown up and interrupted the chase, Sayu didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she had been caught.

Rumor had it that the Fatui would skin and gut captured tanuki, using their thick fur to make coats... Wait, no! Sayu was a mujina, not a tanuki!

Yes, it was all that Fatui agent's fault!

If he hadn't chased her for so long, she wouldn't have been so exhausted that she fell asleep during the mission.

And she wouldn't have been abandoned by her teammates.

Hmm... Speaking of which, what was her mission again?

"Uh-oh—"

Suddenly remembering something, Sayu's eyes, which had been barely open, widened like lightbulbs.

"Oh no, oh no! I'm going to be late!"

She finally realized why she had been abandoned.

It wasn't that her senior had left her here to sleep out of consideration.

It was because she had a new mission.

She had to meet that woman before noon.

Otherwise... otherwise...

Thinking about what had happened to those who had crossed her, Sayu shuddered.

It was said that even the Raiden Shogun couldn't do anything about her.

If even the Shogun found her troublesome, then that woman... that woman was terrifying! She couldn't afford to provoke her! She had to hurry!

With that thought, her drowsiness vanished completely.

Uhu Style: Fuuin Dash!

After forming a hand seal, Sayu leaped into the air, the Anemo energy around her visible to the naked eye.

She curled up into a ball, and the Anemo energy enveloped her completely.

Then, like a wheel, she began rolling through the forest.

Admittedly, while this ninjutsu was incredibly useful, it had its side effects.

Rolling like a wheel inevitably made her dizzy.

Even though Sayu was a specially trained ninja, she couldn't keep it up for too long. If she did...

But she didn't have time to worry about that now.

Compared to the world spinning around her, she feared that woman far more.

With the help of the Anemo energy, Sayu, despite starting late, actually arrived in Inazuma City before Bai Luo.

"Ugh... so dizzy..."

After reaching the outskirts of the city, Sayu finally reached her limit.

As a Shiba Inu barked at her, she leaned against a cherry blossom tree, barely holding back the urge to vomit what she had eaten last night.

Wait... last night, she had only eaten a Lavender Melon.

Lavender Melons were delicious when cooked into soup, but eating them raw... well, that was another story.

Well, now wasn't the time to think about that.

After shooing away the barking dog, Sayu went to the waterwheel and splashed some cold spring water on her face.

The cool water helped ease the dizziness from all the rolling.

After glancing around to make sure no one suspicious was following her, Sayu wobbled into Inazuma City.

At noon, Inazuma City wasn't particularly lively.

Even though most ordinary people didn't have Visions, the Vision Hunt Decree still weighed heavily on them like a boulder.

Rather than risk being questioned by the Tenryou Commission on the streets, most preferred to stay at home.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, few people ventured out.

"Oh no... I'm going to be late!"

Looking at the sun in the sky and estimating the time, Sayu's expression grew even more grim.

If her calculations were correct, even if she rushed to Uyuu Restaurant at full speed, she would still be at least three minutes late.

"Ugh... that woman will never let me off!"

"That woman?"

Just as she was wallowing in despair, a playful voice reached her ears.

"Which woman?"