"Sure." He said that and continued right after, "I don't want to do anything for the next few hours, so let's go back to the car first, then continue with the rest of the agenda tomorrow."
"But this seems to have been solved quite quickly..." Kujou Sara hummed, ignoring Dantalion's whining.
She wondered if there was anything wrong.
For a threat that encompassed an entire island, it seemed to have been resolved by Dantalion with no difficulty at all.
"Is there anything you found upon absorption?" Sara asked.
"Consciousness." He replied, withholding nothing. "I didn't really absorb it--I just gathered it in one place."
Dantalion had already been trying to separate the said consciousness from the rest of the Tatarigami, but it seemed to be a 'part' of it.
Hence, he stopped trying to absorb those parts for now.
"Is it the Serpent god?" It could also be just the will of the Tatarigami.
"I don't know."
He indeed was not sure. He also couldn't peer into its memories through stimulation, as it seemingly had none, but since he couldn't do anything about it, he simply gave up on it for now.
Opting instead to pose a question that Kujou Sara might know the answer to.
Maybe, or maybe not.
He wouldn't know for sure unless he asked anyway.
"Is there anything physically preventing a yokai from solidifying their soul?"
"I thought you already knew about such things."
Considering how Dantalion, from the accounts of the Raiden Shogun, had once tried to name himself, it was only natural for her to assume he already knew.
Sara was considering whether he was asking on purpose just to change the subject.
Though Dantalion understood that their concepts of naming differed--his following the mechanics of the Cardinal World while Kujou Sara's followed this one--their core belief and intent were the same.
He had delayed asking this particular thing for so long because he couldn't find the answer himself.
No. Perhaps he had simply stopped looking, because the information was literally right there, within his line of sight--with such an easy reach, he had pushed it to the back of his mind until now.
"It would be better if you treated me as someone perceptive rather than nigh-omniscient," He said, responding to what she was thinking.
"I'd rather be treated as someone uninformed than be withheld from knowledge because the other party expects me to already have it."
But of course, as per usual, what he would get in response from Kujou Sara was:
"You are full of yourself. I have yet to witness anyone whose first impression of you even remotely resembled all-knowing."
"I lowered my exalted self to grant you the undeserved privilege of treating me 'just above most,' and this is how you--"
"I will not be answering your question--"
"It was but a jest! A jest! Surely, as the Great Tengu General, you would not hold it against me for trying to draw out your beauteous smile!"
Kujou Sara only sighed and said nothing for several seconds.
Though Dantalion was babbling nonsense, he never halted whatever he had been doing prior, dismantling the consciousness lingering in the Tatarigami. It could not be easily noticed unless one was carefully studying him, but he does not like wasting time.
Had she not been mentally cataloguing every detail about him--had she approached him the way one might approach a regular, unimpressive civilian--everything would have gone straight over her head.
This particular habit of his was something Kujou Sara had observed in others as well.
Some seemingly unimportant. Arguably unremarkable people even do it unknowingly.
Such habits are common amongst intelligent but impoverished people.
Anyhow, it was not a strange thing at all.
And yet.
' I just feel like everything he does is suspicious.'
She thought apprehensively.
Kujou Sara could construct logical explanations to support that suspicion. Yet what she was more certain of was her instinct--that this being was better approached with doubt in mind.
Better to be deductive, or risk missing the information he had yet to offer.
It was a bad practice, generally speaking. But it was simply fitting when the subject was Dantalion. Questions were naturally drawn to him.
And he wasn't secretive about it. He would even readily admit when he knew nothing--asking about it outright, or simply saying 'I don't know'.
As she had concluded before, it was always up to the individual whether they understood him or not.
Dantalion never withheld information--everything he said was direct, stripped bare, only ever a question away.
Unless he deemed someone too dim to grasp it. In which case, he would simply stop trying.
"Her Excellency did not include that information," She answered, returning to what he had initially asked.
"But it should be safe to assume that it is dangerous without Her Excellency's guidance."
The Raiden Shogun had indeed not transferred knowledge pertaining to that particular question.
'Perhaps Her Excellency intends for me to avoid entertaining such ideas...'
Sara wondered. The only knowledge she had that even remotely correlated with his question was: 'It is dangerous for most Yokai.'
That was it.
"It is likely tied to how Yokai are born?" She continued--curious, though not so much as to disregard the implications of why the Raiden Shogun had withheld such knowledge from her.
Kujou Sara breathed in. The air around them had grown lighter compared to how it had been before.
The non-stop thunderstorm over Yashiori Island was gone.
All that remained was to fix the seal on the last ward, reinforce it, and return to Fort Fujitou as per her agreement with Sangonomiya Kokomi.
With the second ward now dealt with, the Tatarigami's influence compared to before Dantalion had 'absorbed' the two wards should have diminished significantly.
"That's right." Dantalion agreed. "I had asked you that question before."
He had--specifically, when he once asked whether she had been naturally manifested or born to biological parents.
"Mhm. But at the time, the question was about me, not Yokais in general."
As she said that, she leaped once more--a booming crack as wind exploded beneath her, launching her forward.
Heading toward the direction of the last ward, the one they were going to seal and fortify.
Dantalion, hearing her answer, couldn't help but be a little, how to say, proud?
But what can he say? She did not withhold any information at the time; he just didn't ask further.
"Hm... Fuck you, bro."
That was all he could say to that.
She had turned his own method against him.
Truly a demon of Japanese folklore.
***
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Schulz roared, a cocktail of placebo courage and adrenaline thrashing through his veins.
Ropes dug into his shoulders, chest, and core--biting into him with every heave.
His entire body leaned forward at a precarious angle, muscles trembling as he tried to drag--no, rip--the unmoving object behind him straight out of the earth.
The optional group quest feature had only recently been added, courtesy of Liliane bargaining with the System Panel for a different reward.
It created a new button on their quest interface--Optional Group Quest--unlockable only after group chat access had been granted.
A quest could even be transferred into this tab and tagged as "Shared," meaning everyone's contributions are merged into a single total. Ten fowls needed? Two people offer five each? Quest done.
And yet, unlike the serious group quests the System sometimes issued, these optional ones were… questionable. A strange mix of whimsical and cruel. Purely for "fun," apparently.
A cousin to Trigger Quests--similar, but only just.
Like the one Schulz had decided to attempt.
===
System Panel: Optional Group Quest--
Pull a tree out of the ground without digging or weakening the soil.
Reward: Mora.
===
It didn't even say how much Mora.
Could be ten.
Could be one.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Schulz was the only one foolish--or inspired--enough to try it.
Optional quests weren't tuned for anyone. Whether you were weak, average, or Liliane-level absurd, the quest stayed the same. No scaling. No adjustments.
But how was it that Schulz--the one bearing the epithet of [I hump on Metals], a man who had yet to witness any explosive or significant growth in his Permanent Quest--what could have possibly compelled him to believe that with those stats, he could uproot a tree?
He wasn't sure.
He just… felt like he might.
Maybe.
Possibly.
Besides, trying wouldn't kill him.
…Probably.
His boots scraped violently against the dirt with every step, sliding back more than forward. Dust plumed behind him, the soles carving two deep trenches into the soil. He had not moved the tree a single millimeter--only the ground beneath his feet had suffered for his optimism.
And still, Schulz pulled.
And screamed.
And believed, with utter delusion and sincerity, that maybe this time the universe would reward him for sheer stubbornness alone.
But that was wishful thinking.
Even someone as strong as Liliane--or as fiercely ambitious as Zhiqiong--had never been deemed worthy of blessings by the gods.
So how could someone like him deserve a miracle?
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---faa."
Then he stopped.
The muscles in his arms and back screamed in protest, twitching with fatigue.
The adrenaline ebbed, leaving a hollow ache that spread through his torso. Reality crept back in like a chill through a broken window.
He wouldn't make any progress this way.
Breathing ragged, Schulz let his gaze wander to the tree behind him. Its trunk was massive--bark gnarled and cracked with age, roots twisting deep into the soil as though the earth itself had clenched around them.
If he were to guess how long it had been standing, he could easily conclude it was at least as old as Wagner, if not three or four years older.
Leaves shivered faintly above, rattling like the whisper of a distant mocking voice.
Dust swirled at his boots with every exhale, fine motes dancing lazily in the sunlight.
The rope across his chest and shoulders tugged uncomfortably, chafing against raw skin.
Turning, he stepped closer and began loosening the rope tied from his torso to the tree.
'Wiping out a camp of Hilichurls trying to relocate would probably be easier than this…' he thought, watching the soil cling stubbornly to the roots like a clenched fist.
And beyond that thought--nothing.
An absolute detachment settled over him like dust on forgotten ruins.
He sank to his knees for a moment, letting the sun warm his sweat-slicked back, listening to the faint rustle of leaves and the distant call of birds.
With a resigned sigh, Schulz opened the group chat and typed--with quiet, unceremonious honesty:
-=-
[I hump on Metals] : The world had failed me.
-=-
The replies did not come right away.
He continued to properly and neatly restore everything to how it had been before he arrived.
After doing so, he noticed that people had already seen his message.
-=-
[Beggiest Beggar of Begdom] : I'm not the one who's wrong! It was the world!
[Lost in the Glory of Holes] : Just put my rake in the bag, bro.
-=-
He closed it right after.
'Ha~ A drink would probably flush this out of my body.'
---
A few minutes later.
In front of the gate of Mondstadt.
Schulz walked through the arch, sparing no glance for the guards on either side.
He stretched--twisting his hips and torso in alternating rotations, left, then right, then reaching for his left toe with his right hand, then the other.
He exhaled a long, slow breath.
'Cat's Tail or… Nah, Cat's Tail it is.'
It was the closest one to him at this hour. Going all the way to Angel's Share from where he was standing would just be inconvenient.
He started down the cobblestone path leading deeper into the city. Afternoon sunlight spilled across the plaza, catching on banners and the soft curve of rooftops.
If he glanced to his left, he could see Wagner still at work in the shop.
In the state he was in, everything seemed slightly sharper--every detail he hadn't bothered to notice before now presented itself plainly.
Like how the planter box at the center of the pavement--the literal first thing anyone arriving in Mondstadt would see--was not actually centered or properly aligned.
Or how the outdoor extension of Good Hunter could be smelled all the way from the Adventurers' Guild.
'Damn, it smells good.'
Reaching the first landing of the stairs.
As per usual.
===
System Panel: Trigger Quest--
Trigger Quest involving the kidnapping of Katherine of the Adventurers' Guild.
===
And as per usual, he ignored it.
There was no way he could do something like that.
He was just an apprentice blacksmith--defenseless against anyone who dealt with Hilichurls as a daily commission.
The only fights he had ever been involved in were with drunkards.
Besides--why the hell was the System Panel referring to Katherine as an 'item'?
'It's not because she's a woman… right?'
-Chapter END-