The day before his scheduled meeting with Yae Miko at the Statue of the Omnipresent God, Shao Yun once again arrived early in the morning at the reception desk of the Adventurers' Guild.
As usual, he idly passed the time chatting with the receptionist, Katheryne. They talked the entire morning without repeating a single topic.
By noon, Katheryne was nearly at her limit—her auditory circuits were on the verge of burnout!
Though she was a puppet capable of working twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, this kind of "mental bombardment" was too much—even for her. Her CPU had been running at full capacity all morning; at this rate, she feared a system crash.
In a hurry, she pulled a few delivery commission forms from a drawer and said, "Mr. Tacitus, I have some delivery commissions here with decent rewards. Perhaps you'd be interested…"
Shao Yun waved his hand, uninterested. "Nah, boring. Can't you just chat with me a bit longer? Lumine and Paimon went off to Tatarasuna to play today, and I'm dying of boredom stuck here in Inazuma City."
"Why does Inazuma have zero entertainment? Just one hot spring, and not even a decent place for storytelling like Iron Tongue Tian's in Liyue. Not even any rakugo—it's just so dull!"
Katheryne sighed internally. With both the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree in effect, the general atmosphere in Inazuma had become stifling. Entertainment wasn't what it used to be.
Still, if it was amusement Shao Yun wanted—there was a commission that fit the bill.
She quickly retrieved a commission request submitted by Arataki Itto a couple days ago and held it out to Shao Yun. "How about this commission from Mr. Arataki Itto? It's the one from a few days ago—when you took Mr. Junkichi's request instead. This one's still here. No one else has picked it up."
Shao Yun took the commission form and examined it carefully before asking, "What kind of competition is he holding, anyway? Even if it's a worst-ramen contest, does he really need an audience?"
Katheryne shook her head. "I'm not sure. But he has increased the reward—it now includes three vouchers for Fox Ramen."
Shao Yun couldn't help but admire the sheer Arataki-ness of that reward.
Broke as hell, but always stocked with discount coupons.
Since he was bored out of his mind anyway, and had no clue what to buy Lumine and Paimon for dinner tonight, Shao Yun decided he might as well check it out to kill time.
He tucked the commission form away and said to Katheryne, "Alright, I'll go. I'll stop bothering you."
Katheryne exhaled in relief. Finally. This insufferably bored man is leaving.
Still, she kept a professional smile on her face. "Mr. Arataki Itto should be near the Naganohara Fireworks Shop in Hanamizaka."
Shao Yun nodded to show he understood, then waved casually. "Got it. I'm heading over."
And with that, he set off in the direction of Hanamizaka.
…
At midday, sunlight streamed through scattered clouds, falling on an old fireworks shop in Hanamizaka.
The shop's exterior had a traditional elegance. Its wooden sign bore the marks of time—faded but still legible: "Naganohara Fireworks Shop."
On either side of the entrance were colorful fireworks—everything from vibrant aerial shells to tiny sparklers.
A tall, muscular oni with red horns and silver-white hair—Arataki Itto—was chatting with a lively girl whose hair was tied in a goldfish-tail style, her outfit adorned with fireworks and goldfish patterns: Yoimiya.
Yoimiya handed him a carefully packaged bundle of fireworks with a bright smile. "Mr. Itto, here's the batch of fireworks you ordered."
Itto received the package with a bold grin, visibly delighted.
"Hahaha, thanks, Miss Yoimiya! Only your fireworks are worthy of celebrating the great Arataki Itto's glorious victory!"
Yoimiya chuckled politely and waved. "Well then, best of luck! And do send my regards to Asou, Aho, Genta, and Miss Shinobu."
Itto was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and eagerly invited Yoimiya to come watch.
"Right! Miss Yoimiya, don't you wanna see in person how I'll defeat 'Kujou Turtle' and win back my Vision?"
Yoimiya looked troubled and scratched her head awkwardly. "Um… If it were a beetle fight, I'd be all in. But this match you're planning... well…"
Seeing her hesitation, Itto looked visibly disappointed.
"Man… After all this time, and still no one wants to watch a free show. Is there some other performance in Inazuma I don't know about?"
Yoimiya tapped her chin thoughtfully, about to say something—
Just then, Shao Yun approached the shop, commission in hand. Seeing the two in conversation, he politely asked, "Hello, may I interrupt for a moment?"
Thinking he was here to buy fireworks, Yoimiya stepped forward warmly. "Welcome to Naganohara Fireworks! Looking to pick out something special?"
Shao Yun smiled politely, shaking his head and producing the commission form.
"No, I'm not here to buy fireworks. Actually, I accepted Mr. Arataki Itto's commission—to be an audience member."
Itto beamed when he heard that. "Oh! Hahaha! My friend, you've got excellent taste! The Arataki Grand Sumo Showdown kicks off today—and you've come at just the right time!"
Shao Yun blinked in confusion, coughing twice. "Cough cough! Wait—sumo?"
Images of two massive men on a ring, pushing and throwing each other around, immediately popped into his head.
Itto looked him dead in the eye and nodded. "Yep! I'm going head-to-head in a sumo match against that Kujou Tengu from the Tenryou Commission—to win back my Vision!"
Shao Yun turned to Yoimiya, dead serious. "Actually, I'm not here to be an audience member—I'm here to buy fireworks."
Itto stared in confusion. "Huh? Brother, what's with that reaction? Why do all you guys react the same way? Does everyone hate sumo or something?"
Shao Yun and Yoimiya both wore identical, awkward half-smiles.
'Hate' was too strong a word—it was more like... his opponent choice was just a bit much.
Shao Yun looked Itto up and down, voice tinged with disbelief. "You're really gonna sumo wrestle Kujou Sara? You sure you didn't get something mixed up?"
Itto thought for a moment, then nodded confidently and pounded his chest. "Absolutely! That Tengu won't beetle battle, so I'm challenging her to sumo! And I'm not taking advantage of her or anything—I'm going to win back my Vision fair and square!"
If she actually agrees, that's one hell of a 'fair and square' advantage…
Shao Yun muttered under his breath, "Definitely… fair…"
Itto tilted his head. "Huh? What was that?"
Shao Yun just shook his head without answering.
Still, given Itto's respectful tone, Shao Yun figured he should offer some friendly advice.
"Mr. Itto, do you actually know what sumo entails?"
Itto nodded without hesitation, beaming. "Of course! I wrestle all the time with Asou, Aho, and Genta!"
Expressionless, Shao Yun nodded once. Then asked, "You know sumo's done shirtless, right?"
Itto blinked, then shook his head. "Nope!"
Shao Yun, assuming he'd heard wrong, began to reply, "Oh, so you do know—"
Then he froze. Wait a minute—did you say you don't know?!
"Hold on—you don't know?" Shao Yun stared at him in disbelief. "We are talking about sumo, right?!"
Itto scratched his head, confused. "Isn't sumo just strength wrestling? You grab the other guy's clothes and toss them down. But if you're shirtless—how do you grab anything?"
That's judo or wrestling! That's not sumo! Are you mixing them up?
If someone else said that, Shao Yun might've thought they were playing dumb.
But coming from Itto… he really didn't know. Sounded exactly like something he'd do.
Yoimiya finally exhaled in relief. "Ohh, so it's wrestling with Miss Kujou. That's… much better. But, um, I've got things to do, so I can't go with you…"
Sorry, Itto, she thought. If it were anyone else, maybe. But wrestling with Kujou Sara? I just… can't.
Shao Yun nodded thoughtfully beside her.
Co-ed wrestling is fine. Co-ed sumo? Way too much for the eyes.
"If it's just wrestling, I've got nothing more to say. Let's go." He nodded in approval.
Itto noticed their relieved expressions and asked curiously, "What's the big deal? What's the difference between sumo and wrestling? Why does everyone relax the moment I say 'wrestling'?"
Oh, the difference is huge. One wears more. One wears way less!
Yoimiya suddenly had an idea and turned to Shao Yun with a bright smile. "By the way, sir, would you still like to buy some fireworks? Our shop has some of the best!"
Shao Yun scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I was just saying that to… uh…"
He gave her a subtle glance, gesturing at Itto, and finished, "Actually, I don't need any."
Yoimiya instantly caught on and waved her hands. "No problem! Oh, right—let me introduce myself. I'm Yoimiya, current owner of the Naganohara Fireworks Shop. May I ask if you're Mr. Shao Yun?"
Shao Yun froze for a second. How does she know?
Then it clicked.
He quickly shook his head. "No, my name's not Shao Yun. I'm Tacitus Kilgore."
Yoimiya looked a little embarrassed and apologized. "Oh, really? My mistake—Lumine and Paimon mentioned they had a companion who looked just like you. I thought you must be Mr. Shao Yun."
Shao Yun suddenly understood. So that's how she knows about me…
He let out a quiet breath and smiled. "Ah, I see… Well, I am their companion. But please, just call me 'Tacitus.' It's a bit complicated—hard to explain quickly."
Yoimiya nodded, smiling. "Of course, Mr. Tacitus. Oh, and yesterday Lumine and Paimon helped me out a ton—please thank them for me!"
Shao Yun thought to himself, Looks like Lumine and Paimon just finished Yoimiya's Story Quest. Even after I rewrote the main questline, they still ended up meeting her… how odd.
But on second thought, that quest did start through a local child. Not directly tied to the main plot—no issue there.
Besides, Yoimiya was warm and outgoing. It made sense that Lumine and Paimon would hit it off with her.
He smiled politely. "I'll be sure to pass along your thanks."
Then Yoimiya pulled out a beautifully decorated firework tube and handed it to Shao Yun. "Oh, and this is for you! When you light it, the firework bursts into the shapes of Lumine and Paimon. I made it especially for you all!"
"I've been wondering how to get it to you. Now I finally can!"
She gently placed it in his hands.
Shao Yun examined the tube. It was painted in vibrant colors, with red, blue, green, and purple fireworks. At the base was Yoimiya's handwritten signature.
Then she handed him a small note and added, "And keep this note safe! If you ever want me to make the same firework again, just bring this to me."
At that moment, two system messages popped up.
[You've received a Custom Firework from Yoimiya. (This is a unique item.)]
[You've received a Naganohara Fireworks Shop Slip. (This is a unique item.)]