Shao Yun looked down at the firework tube and note in his hand, then carefully tucked them into his Legend of the East satchel. Smiling, he turned to Yoimiya and said, "Thank you, Miss Yoimiya."
Yoimiya waved cheerfully and replied with a grin, "No need to be so polite! And I hope you all have a wonderful time here in Inazuma—enjoy yourselves! I'd better get back to work now."
With that, she turned and disappeared into the shop to resume her busy day.
Shao Yun turned toward Arataki Itto and asked curiously, "Mr. Itto, when exactly does your wrestling match start?"
"Brother, it's sumo, not wrestling! As for the time…" Itto tapped his head, trying to recall.
"Let me think… Hmm, I believe it's at two in the afternoon, right in front of the Commission's headquarters."
Shao Yun rummaged through his Legend of the East satchel and quickly retrieved a finely crafted gold pocket watch. He checked the time, then said, "Oh no, we've got to move! It's already one o'clock!"
Itto blinked in surprise before panicking. "Ah! That late already? Let's go, brother—no time to waste!"
Hugging his fireworks bundle tightly, he strode quickly toward the city, and Shao Yun hurried to follow.
The two made their way along the path from Hanamizaka, heading toward the headquarters of the Tenryou Commission.
As they passed by Yae Publishing House, the scene before them was jaw-dropping.
A massive crowd had gathered outside the shop entrance, each person clutching Mora in their hands, eagerly jostling to purchase the newly released Chapter One, Volume Three of The Gunslinger Butcher from Fontaine.
Shao Yun was stunned. When he first arrived, the place had been nearly empty—how had it filled with so many people so quickly?
Mr. Kuroda at the front desk was overwhelmed, sweat pouring down his face as he worked frantically to assist the crowd, trying to reassure everyone as he did.
"Please don't panic! There's enough for everyone! Yae Publishing House printed an extra 5,000 copies this time!"
But his words didn't seem to calm the masses. Instead, they pushed forward even more anxiously, afraid they'd miss out.
At that moment, Itto handed his fireworks bundle to Shao Yun and exclaimed, "Ah right! Today's the release of The Gunslinger Butcher from Fontaine, Volume Three, Chapter One! Hold these for me—I need to get a copy!"
With that, he plunged straight into the throng, shouting, "Make way! Mr. Kuroda, one copy for me!"
Shao Yun glanced at the fireworks in his hands, then at Itto's head barely visible among the sea of bodies. He sighed and muttered, What's so great about that stupid book anyway…
After a short while, Itto emerged triumphantly, gripping his newly acquired volume, and rushed over to Shao Yun, beaming with pride.
"Brother, look at this, hahaha! If I wasn't so determined to win back my Vision today, I'd be diving into this book right now!"
Shao Yun stared at the ornate cover with no visible reaction. "Let's keep going," he said calmly.
Itto took the fireworks back and offered Shao Yun the book. "Here, you're my only audience today—read it on the way!"
Shao Yun waved dismissively. "No need. You keep it."
"Wait, really?" Itto looked shocked. "You're not going to read it? You'll regret it!"
"I'm sure. We're short on time—it's nearly two o'clock."
Itto smacked his forehead. "Right! Almost forgot about the match! Let's go!"
…
At 2:00 p.m., Shao Yun and Itto arrived at the front of the Commission headquarters. The gate guard, a Officer named Uesugi, gave them a suspicious glance.
He didn't recognize Shao Yun, but he definitely knew Arataki Itto—who was practically a regular in the Commission's holding cells, in and out every few days.
Every officer working there knew him by name.
Itto handed the fireworks to Shao Yun with a huge grin. "Brother, hold these for a sec!"
Shao Yun took them, confused. "What are you—"
Before he could finish, Itto burst out laughing and shouted, "I've gotta issue the challenge, obviously! Can't do that with my hands full!"
Shao Yun nodded helplessly and stepped aside, holding the bundle.
Itto dashed over to a nearby wooden crate from the Kura Boutique, placed one foot on it, struck a bold pose, and shouted toward the building.
"Kujou Tengu! I, the great Arataki Itto, challenge you to a sumo match! Get out here now!"
Shao Yun whispered from behind, "Wrestling! Not sumo!"
Itto waved him off. "Same difference! Just get out here already, Kujou Tengu!"
Uesugi the Officer, already exasperated, approached him and pleaded, "Mr. Itto, could you please not cause trouble again? At this rate, the holding cells will become your second home. Please, I'm begging you…"
But Itto stood tall and declared, "No way! I must settle this with the Tengu today!"
Then he resumed shouting, "Kujou Tengu! Kujou Turtle! Come on out!"
Uesugi sighed and explained, "She's not here. Lady Kujou left for Ritou this morning."
Itto, unconvinced, immediately countered, "You said that last time too! And then she came walking out of the building. Don't treat me like a kid!"
Uesugi rubbed his forehead in frustration. "If you keep this up, I'll have to detain you again."
"Perfect!" Itto grinned. "Then I can go inside and find her myself!"
Uesugi groaned and pressed on. "She's really not here. Keep this up, and I'll detain you for three days."
Itto's eyes lit up with a new idea. "How about this—we have a fair sumo match. If I win, you bring the Tengu out. If I lose, I'll gladly do three days in jail. Fair deal, right?"
Uesugi was at his wit's end. "Mr. Arataki… that's cheating. Please, just go. You're going to get Miss Kuki Shinobu in trouble again."
Right on cue, an angry voice echoed from a distance.
"Boss!!"
Shao Yun turned to see a green-haired girl in ninja garb storming toward them, eyes blazing.
Itto froze, recognizing the voice. "Ah, Shinobu! I can explain!"
Kuki Shinobu strode up, kicked the crate out from under his foot, grabbed his ear, and began dragging him forcefully.
"I've been looking all over for you! Weren't you supposed to help on Ritou today? Asou, Aho, and Genta have been waiting forever!"
Itto grimaced in pain. "Ow ow ow! Shinobu, it hurts! I'm sorry! I just wanted to win back my Vision first!"
But Shinobu only tightened her grip. "Win back your Vision? This is public disturbance! How many times do I have to bail you out of jail?!"
She smacked her own shoulder where a Vision was clearly missing. "And while you're chasing after your Vision, the Arataki Gang can barely keep the lights on! And here you are wasting time!"
Itto, thoroughly humbled, mumbled, "Sorry, Shinobu… I'll go with you now…"
Shao Yun couldn't help but chuckle behind his hand. This is too funny… No wonder they call her Itto's external brain—her words have weight.
Shinobu finally noticed Shao Yun. In front of outsiders, she was still willing to preserve her boss's dignity.
She released Itto's ear and politely asked, "And you are?"
Itto, still rubbing his bright red ear, jumped in. "This is the audience member I hired! Mr. Tacitus, right?"
Shao Yun nodded and replied calmly, "That's right. I accepted the commission to be Mr. Itto's wrestling match audience."
"It's sumo!" Itto protested again.
Shinobu frowned and raised her foot threateningly.
She turned back to Shao Yun and bowed deeply. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Tacitus. I didn't think the boss would actually commission someone to be his audience. Sorry for the trouble!"
She glared at Itto, then kicked him again and muttered, "Boss! Apologize!"
Itto sighed in resignation and said, "Sorry."
Shao Yun laughed and waved it off. "No worries. I've got time to kill anyway. I accepted this commission willingly—no reason to blame Mr. Itto."
Shinobu sighed. Sure, being an audience is one thing—but causing a scene right in front of the Tenryou Commission headquarters? If he got arrested again, and dragged someone else with him… what a disaster that would be.
"Still," she began, "this involved potential risk, and the boss never mentioned that in advan—"
Shao Yun cut her off with a relaxed smile. "No big deal. Risk is just part of life for an adventurer."
In truth, Shao Yun was a rather lazy adventurer who rarely did actual adventuring.
But after hearing that, Shinobu could tell he wasn't angry and reluctantly forgave her boss's foolishness.
"Thank you kindly. I'm Kuki Shinobu, deputy of the Arataki Gang."
"Tacitus Kilgore. Just call me Tacitus," Shao Yun replied, giving the name he'd registered under with the Adventurers' Guild.