Chapter 257: Bai Kokomi?
What exactly is equivalent exchange?
It was just like Bai Luo once said—Behind every gain, there is always a price to be paid.
You could obtain something valuable. But in return… something of equal value would be taken away.
Looking at the arrangement between the Fatui and Watatsumi Island, it was hard not to think of it as a trade of the same kind.
Watatsumi had gained countless benefits from the Fatui. And what had they given up in return? Nothing but permission—permission for the Fatui to station themselves on the island. It wasn't as though the natives were being forced out of their homes. The Fatui simply set up camps, or even built their own residences, without demanding the locals give up their land.
And when the rare soldier did step into a villager's house, it was only after an awkward pause and an embarrassed mumble:
"Um… can I borrow your bathroom?"
There is no love without reason. And there is no hate without reason.
So then—here lay the question.
"…What really happened that day, Sveta-san?"
Kokomi should have been smiling. With so many benefits pouring in, her people prospering, her island stable—any leader would rejoice. But the more blessings fell upon her, the deeper her unease grew.
Did the Ausbilder truly… do nothing?
If so, then why did his actions afterward resemble a man who had already crossed the final line—someone who only lacked the wedding ceremony to make it official?
"Ah—my little raccoon needs to be fed. Kokomi, let's… continue this conversation another time."
"…."
Every time she asked, the always-poised Sveta, who carried herself with perfect elegance in every other matter, suddenly became a flustered girl who couldn't even tell a proper lie.
Sigh…
So something really did happen, didn't it?
Once she was alone, Kokomi quietly pulled out her notebook. Flipping past several pages, she stopped at the most recent entry.
"The Fatui's promised supplies have arrived. Energy Value +10.
Although they've sent far more than I expected, the fact it came from them leaves me unsettled. I can only hope it won't bring trouble later on."
"Sveta-san said the conscription plan has been postponed indefinitely. Energy Value +15.
Apparently, the Ausbilder personally made a deal with one of the Harbingers—until the war between Watatsumi and the Shogunate ends, the Fatui won't be recruiting soldiers here. This might be one of the few genuine good news we've had."
"Brought up that day again with Sveta-san. Energy Value -5.
Logically speaking, I should know my own body best… which means the Ausbilder truly didn't do anything. But seeing the look on Sveta's face… did he truly not do anything?"
After jotting down her thoughts, Kokomi slowly closed the notebook and gazed in the direction of Narukami Island.
What lay ahead for Watatsumi's future, she had no idea.
She even wondered… would the name Sangonomiya Kokomi itself survive much longer?
Would she become…. Bai Kokomi…?
Her sigh slipped out into the quiet air.
But while she fretted, her people were far more cheerful.
Once the handover was complete, the Fatui soldiers dutifully delivered every crate of supplies and stepped aside without interfering further.
As the Watatsumi villagers hauled cart after cart into Bourou Village, a crowd quickly gathered.
The elders, predictably, were most interested in the food. But the younger folk? They swarmed the stranger, shinier objects.
"Whoa~ is this what foreign swords look like?"
"Look at this armor—it's so thick!"
"Mama! Why isn't the onee-san in this book wearing any—mmph!"
"You're too young to look at that!"
For islanders who had never traveled farther than Yashiori, everything from beyond the sea brimmed with wonder.
Though not everything caught their eye.
In one corner, a cart of fruit sat untouched.
Plump, ripe, and fragrant—the kind that seemed to glisten with freshness. And yet, curiously, not a single soul reached out to take one.
But the moment many caught the scent, their expressions changed.
That sweet fragrance… it stirred something buried deep within their souls. A bitterness that made their chests tighten.
The taste of despair.
For them, fruit had long been associated with fear. One bite might be sweet—but no one dared to take a second. Because who could guarantee the sweetness would last? For all they knew, the next taste could be nothing but poison… or worse, a trap set by something unseen, waiting for them to fall.
Among them, only Lingling—the sole doctor of Bourou Village—calmly wheeled away the carts of Sunsetia fruit without hesitation.
Ever since that day, when Bai Luo had revived the unconscious Tepei before her very eyes using nothing more than these fruits, she had taken notes. Learned. Adapted. And now Sunsetia was a part of her medical practice.
Sunsetia. Overwhelmingly sour. Effective against fainting spells.
Why did the people of Watatsumi recoil so strongly at its sight? Was it because of Bai Luo?
In a way, yes. Without him, they might never have learned that Sunsetias could taste sour at all. But truthfully… most of the fear came from Lingling herself.
Ever since she began using Sunsetias in her treatments, the entire island developed a collective aversion to them.
"Hey, where are the instruments?"
Some sharp-eyed villagers, who had already heard rumors beforehand, noticed something was missing among the supplies. Not food, not weapons—but scientific equipment, the kind of complex devices none of them had ever seen before.
They didn't know how to use them. Not yet. But that didn't stop the more curious from itching to tinker with the machines.
"The Fatui said… we wouldn't know how to use those things. So they're keeping them for now. If anyone wants to learn, we can send some of our youths—ten to sixteen years old—for training."
The one explaining this was Takahashi, the young man who had hauled the goods back and who was, in a way, like an older brother figure to the village.
But his tone was uneasy.
He knew better than anyone—the future of Bourou Village, no, the future of all Watatsumi—wasn't truly in the hands of frontline soldiers like himself. Nor even in the hands of the Divine Priestess who sat within the shrine.
It was in the hands of the children.
Those young ones were the island's hope.
And now the Fatui wanted them? To train them? Was this… their first step in seizing Watatsumi's future?
He would need to bring this up with Lady Kokomi. At the very least… they had to protect the next generation.
But sometimes, overthinking things only made shadows darker than they truly were.
In truth, the Fatui weren't being nearly that devious.
Those instruments had never been intended for Watatsumi at all. They were meant for Bai Luo—the hopeless layabout who never did his proper job.
The Dottore had only sent them so he could further his research on Delusions and Visions while stationed on the island.
But Bai Luo? Doing research seriously? As if.
True to form, he had waved his hand dismissively and dumped the lot of them into the "aid supplies" shipment for Watatsumi.
Of course, knowing most of the islanders were fishermen with zero clue how to use them, he added a little clause: if anyone wanted to learn, they could go to the Fatui for instruction.
And why the ten-to-sixteen age range? Purely because kids picked things up faster than adults. That was all.
But once prejudice takes root, it grows into a mountain.
Even if that mountain blocks a flood that would have drowned them, the people standing safe and dry behind it will complain—convinced the mountain has robbed them of heavenly rain.
. . . . .
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