Chapter 258: Ms. Hina's Offline Handshake Event?
As Ksenia swaggered toward the resistance army's main camp at Fort Fujitou, she took her hood off, causing her long hair to flicker rainwater in every direction.
"Stop! Who goes there?!"
Through the downpour, soldiers in straw raincoats and wide-brimmed hats leveled their weapons at her.
"Hold it. Don't get trigger-happy. Look at this."
Ksenia pulled out a wooden token Bai Luo had given her and held it up. She had assumed it was some sort of pass—after all, the Fatui had things like that too.
But the resistance army's reaction was nothing like what she expected.
They immediately straightened their backs and bent low in a deep bow.
"…Huh?"
Perplexed, Ksenia examined the token again.
A fish-tail insignia carved into the wood. Tassels hanging from the bottom, strung with Coral Pearls.
What she didn't know was that Bai Luo, ever the pragmatist, had asked Sveta to procure something directly from Kokomi herself—a personal identification token, something that would keep Ksenia safe on her journey.
Kokomi hadn't the faintest clue what he wanted it for, but given his… peculiar position, she reluctantly handed over an item of the highest authority. Second only to her own.
And then, without a shred of hesitation, Bai Luo turned around and handed it to Ksenia.
. . .
When Gorou first learned that a Fatui Electro Cicin Mage had waltzed in waving around the Divine Priestess's token, he'd been shocked. But once the letters were presented to him, the pieces fell into place.
Apparently, Battousai had already managed to trade… Ms. Hina's photos at Yae Publishing House for important intel.
"…If you have any requests, please tell me. I'll make arrangements."
Of course, Gorou couldn't check the contents of the letters right in front of Ksenia, so he was already looking for a way to send her off.
"Little doggy, onee-san would like some hot water. Oh, and if possible… maybe a little fire-water?"
"…."
Hot water, that they could provide. As much as she wanted. But alcohol? That was another matter. The last shipment from Watatsumi had already been swiped by Tepei and used up as disinfectant. There wasn't a drop left to spare.
And—wait a second. Little doggy?!
Just because you've got Her Excellency's token doesn't mean you can— you can—!
…Sigh.
Also, why does this Cicin Mage look so familiar? Haven't she seen her somewhere before…?
"Just kidding. No way you'd have real fire-water here. Hot drinks and hot water will do fine."
"I'll have someone see to it."
After sending Ksenia away, Gorou finally let his expression harden and turned his attention to the stack of letters.
At first, disappointment.
Trivial matters. Petty complaints. Nothing of any real worth.
But Gorou was nothing if not diligent. He had developed the habit of helping his comrades with their worries over the past few weeks, and so he responded carefully to each letter, one by one.
And then—his ears perked up.
Buried in all those mundane grievances were details. Subtle, but telling.
A parent lamenting that their child had been drafted into the Kujou Clan and sent to some island.
A family forced to relocate into Inazuma City because of military activity near their home.
Piece by piece, the information wove itself into a map inside Gorou's mind. A map of Shogunate troop deployments.
And it matched their own intelligence almost perfectly.
Which meant… this method of gathering intel actually worked!
After an entire night of careful sorting, he had every letter organized neatly. From a hidden drawer, he pulled out a small stamp.
A paw print. A dog's paw, carved in stone.
This was something he had carved himself, under Bai Luo's suggestion.
Every reply, every sheet of paper he went through, he would leave behind this little paw-print seal—a mark showing he had read the letter.
Of course, Bai Luo's original suggestion had been for him to put on lipstick and leave a kiss mark instead.
But General Gorou was a pure boy. There was no way he could accept something so indecent. He couldn't even bring himself to carve a stamp in the shape of lips. In the end, he had to settle for this compromise.
Once the letters were organized, his attention shifted to a rather inconspicuous envelope tucked within the package Ksenia had delivered.
"...A letter from Lord Battousai?"
The moment his eyes caught the signature, Gorou brightened.
To General Gorou,
Ms. Hina has become quite popular in Inazuma City. On the very first day she received several hundred letters. I spent three days sorting through them, and only after that did I manage to slip some useful intelligence into the bundle I sent along. I hope you will forgive the delay.
In addition, due to Ms. Hina's rising fame, the manager of Yae Publishing House has expressed interest in discussing certain in-person events. Given my position, I could not decline outright and had to feign agreement for the time being. Should you find such events unacceptable, even if it costs me my life, I shall refuse them without hesitation.
Details of the proposed event have been written on the back of this letter. Please take a look.
"Hm…"
As Gorou read, a strange feeling welled up inside him.
Yes, the content certainly resembled Battousai's usual letters. That clumsy, hard-to-read handwriting was unmistakably his as well.
And yet… something was off.
Even though the letter was riddled with the typical "in this humble one's opinion" and "by your leave, esteemed sir" that Battousai loved to use, it somehow lacked the essence of Lord Battousai himself.
It felt less like a letter he had written… and more like a poor imitation of one.
What Gorou didn't know was that ever since Bai Luo had switched over to his "Hei" class, he had lost the wandering-swordsman aura that came naturally to Battousai.
When he wrote, he hadn't switched back into that persona, but he still instinctively tried to write from Battousai's point of view.
That was what created this strange dissonance.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take on the Battousai class.
The problem was that, once upon a time, as the Battousai, he had actually injured the Raiden Shogun herself—or rather, her true body, Raiden Ei, when she had taken direct control.
If he transformed into Battousai again while staying in Inazuma City, there was a real chance that the reclusive goddess would notice.
And even if she was too busy to act personally, she could very easily order the puppet Shogun to keep watch.
The Balladeer could afford to be brazen—after all, the puppet in Tenshukaku was his own little sister.
But Bai Luo? He wasn't that suicidal.
So he had no choice but to muddle through like this for now.
Convinced that this awkwardness came only from Battousai's wish to keep his identity hidden, Gorou let out a small sigh of relief. After all, the man hadn't even signed his name at the end of the letter.
Feeling as though he now understood everything, Gorou flipped the page over to read the details of the so-called "offline event."
And the further his eyes traveled, the stranger his expression grew.
"…Hah? A handshake event for Ms. Hina? With every single reader who's ever sent her a letter, lining up to shake hands and exchange greetings?"
. . . . .
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