The group still hadn't figured out what was going on with Yae Miko, but an unexpected event occurred...
They saw Sayu slowly walk up to Kano Nana, looking downcast and seemingly on the verge of tears, as she said:
"Geez, so what if the Shrine Maiden came with a task..."
"Is there any task more important than me getting taller?"
Seeing that something was clearly wrong with Sayu, Su Yuan immediately shouted:
"Kano Nana! Danger! Stay away from Sayu!!!"
However, Su Yuan's warning came too late.
"Sayu" extended her hand and pierced Kano Nana's abdomen, causing blood to splatter everywhere!
Kano Nana, blood spilling from her mouth, stared at "Sayu" in disbelief...
"You disturbed my sleep, you're stopping me from growing taller... I can't forgive you..."
"Sayu" growled, then swiftly withdrew her hand, and Kano Nana fell to the ground.
"Dammit, if only I were taller, I could have pierced your chest or head directly, not just your abdomen..."
"Sayu" said, looking down at Kano Nana's lifeless body, her face suddenly showing a glint of realization.
"Don't think that just dying ends things. Let your body become my nourishment to grow taller..."
"Although your height isn't particularly tall, it's still much taller than mine right now. If I eat you, I should be able to grow taller, right..."
Then, in the astonished gaze of the others, "Sayu" began to gnaw on Kano Nana's body.
But after a while, despite having barely eaten much, "Sayu" looked like she was full...
Gulp~ Sayu let out a satisfied burp and said, "Ah, I think I can't eat anymore, I'm full... I just want to sleep now..."
"Sayu" said this and then used Kano Nana's body as a pillow, directly lying down in the pool of blood to sleep...
"It seems that the condition for Sayu's Eerie transformation is when someone disturbs her sleep..."
Su Yuan looked at the scene seriously, feeling a bit guilty.
After all the lessons he'd learned, how could he still not be cautious enough...
It seemed like Aether noticed Su Yuan's expression and stepped forward, patting his shoulder, and said:
"Su Yuan, this isn't your fault. Who would have thought Sayu would be here at the Grand Shrine?"
At the same time, Aether felt that Su Yuan's methods of gathering information had indeed been quite limited.
In the past, he would have found out that Sayu was here and been prepared in advance...
"Hotomi, you've been in charge of the Grand Shrine since Yae Miko isn't here, right?"
Kujou Sara looked at Hotomi, who was standing to the side, and spoke: "As you can see, there are some unexpected situations here now. I suggest that we temporarily close the Grand Shrine to the public. I will lead the Tenryou Commission to investigate."
"Understood, General Kujou Sara." Hotomi nodded, agreeing with Kujou Sara's suggestion.
After that, everyone left the Grand Narukami Shrine with heavy hearts and continued eastward, setting their next destination as the Kamisato Estate.
They also asked Inazuma's shrine maiden Hotomi to tell Sayu—once she woke up—to head to the Kamisato Estate immediately.
"By the way, Su Yuan, I recall you once mentioned that back in Fontaine, someone had seen Kamisato Ayato, and at that time, he was already under the control of Eerie corruption."
While on the way to the Kamisato Estate, Kujou Sara spoke:
"That trip to Fontaine wasn't arranged by the Almighty Shogun—it was Ayato himself who insisted on going."
"Because the Almighty Shogun had taken an interest in Kamisato Ayaka's eyes. However, out of respect for the Kamisato Clan's unwavering loyalty and their invaluable contributions to Inazuma, she gave Ayato a chance."
"If he could find a pair of eyes that were precious enough, he would be able to trade them to save his sister."
Hearing Kujou Sara's explanation, Su Yuan quickly connected the dots.
If Ayato had gone to Fontaine in search of precious eyes, then his decision to head to the Fortress of Meropide was likely because of Head Nurse Sigewinne's eyes.
After all, Melusines were already rare, and among humanoid Melusines, Sigewinne was the only known one.
However, because of his own actions, Kamisato Ayato ultimately didn't manage to obtain Sigewinne's eyes.
So Su Yuan continued asking:
"Then what happened afterward? When Kamisato Ayato returned to Inazuma, did he present any eyes?"
"No. After returning to Inazuma, Kamisato Ayato did something completely out of character—he challenged the Almighty Shogun to a duel…"
"What? Why would Ayato do that?" Paimon exclaimed in shock.
"Even if someone's strength increases after becoming Eerie, if the Raiden Shogun was also in Eerie state, Ayato wouldn't stand a chance!"
"No one knows the result of that duel, but ever since that day… no one has seen Kamisato Ayato again."
"However, Kamisato Ayaka returned safely to the Kamisato Estate. That, in itself, is quite intriguing," Kujou Sara remarked.
"Then… did Ayaka show any signs of abnormality?" Aether asked.
"None whatsoever. She's still the same flawless 'Shirasagi Himegimi' in the eyes of the people."
As everyone chatted, they arrived at the gates of the Kamisato Estate.
But just then, Lyney and the others spoke up:
"Traveler, Su Yuan, sorry about this..."
"We've received a directive from Father. There are some things we have to take care of."
"That said, we won't be leaving Inazuma for now."
Su Yuan couldn't help but feel puzzled—hadn't Arlecchino returned to Snezhnaya?
How was she able to send messages to Lyney and the others from such a distance?
If their team had this kind of communication method too, wouldn't that be incredibly convenient?
Still, seeing how rushed Lyney and the others seemed, Su Yuan decided not to press the issue—it could wait until next time.
After that, the group entered the Shuumatsuban headquarters.
The first person they saw was Thoma, who was cleaning in the central courtyard.
"Oh? It's the Traveler and little Paimon!" Thoma said with surprise and delight.
"How long has it been since you last came back to Inazuma? The Lady often talks about you two!"
"Oh wow, even Lady Kujou Sara, Brother Kaedehara, Captain Beidou are here—and this young man I don't recognize. Welcome to the Shuumatsuban!"
"The Lady is inside. I'll take you to her."
"No need. I'm already here."
With Kamisato Ayaka's voice, the doors to the Shuumatsuban headquarters slowly opened, and she stepped out to greet them.
Ayaka looked at Aether, smiled softly, and said, "Traveler, it's been a while…"
"I've already lost my brother, and the Kamisato Clan needs a master to lead it…"
"So this time—I won't let you leave me again…"
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