After looping around the winding alleys of Hanamizaka and confirming he'd shaken off the Tenryou Commission, Victor finally stopped, calm and unbothered.
"Tch, this is going to be troublesome…"
"Hey! You shameless merchant, give me back my dinner money!" Arataki Itto thundered up behind him in three long strides.
"Dear customer, please don't get so worked up. My milk tea stand is honest business—fair to children and elders alike—"
"Honest? Hah! You don't even have a license, and you dare talk about honesty?!"
"That's… a long story. Just hear me out first." Finding a suitable spot, Victor pulled out his little cart again. "I'm from Liyue. As a local, you probably don't know this, but when foreigners land on Ritou, the so-called Outlander Affairs Agency bleeds us dry. The handling fee alone can be as high as one million mora."
"How much? One million mora?! That expensive?!"
"Every word's true. You can ask around! At a million mora, I'd need to sell at least five hundred cups at full price—not even counting ingredients and labor. If everyone buys at the discounted first-cup price, I'd need at least two thousand cups just to break even!"
"So what? What's that got to do with me? Give me back my money!" Itto barked.
"I'm explaining why I don't have a license. The fees were absurd, so I found a way to bypass them. But without those papers, I can't apply for a permit. That's why I've been forced into 'unlicensed vending.' But I swear the quality of my milk tea is guaranteed!"
As he spoke, Victor finished preparing the five pearl milk teas. But Itto wasn't appeased. "You bolted on us earlier! If I hadn't caught up, you would've scammed us blind! Pay up!!"
"That's because I saw your shining Vision. I knew you'd be able to chase me down. And see? Once we shook off the Tenryou Commission, I stopped running, didn't I?"
"Hmph. A shining Vision… Fine. At least you know what's good for you."
"Mm-hmm. Sigh…" Victor nodded, then let out a long breath. With a hint of hesitation, he returned both the 2000 mora and the five cups of milk tea. "You were my hundredth customer… and also my last. We've got some fate between us, so I won't take your money. These drinks are on the house."
"Well, if you insist—thanks then!" Itto carefully tucked away his precious 2000 mora, picked up the milk teas, and made to leave.
"...Wait. Aren't you curious why I said you'd be my last customer?"
"Huh. Yeah, why am I the last?"
"Because now that the Tenryou Commission has their eyes on me, I won't be able to run this stand anymore. Before long, I'll be stranded in a foreign land with no place to stay…"
"No way. You run that fast, you must have a Vision… Do you?"
"I do."
"Ahem. Then at least you're a Vision-holder. Finding work to make a living shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"You've got a Vision too, don't you? And yet your financial situation isn't exactly stellar either."
"Hey! The Arataki Gang's boss doesn't work because…" Halfway through, Itto lowered his voice and muttered, "Tch. You're an outsider. Maybe you don't recognize me…"
"Anyway, let's just say my identity's… special. No way the Arataki Gang's leader goes and takes a day job!"
"I've got my own special reasons for needing to sell milk tea in Inazuma. But things are what they are, unless…"
"Ohhh—" Seeing Victor so earnest with discounts, free drinks, and now a sob story, Itto slapped his fist into his palm like he'd figured it all out. "So, this whole 'hundredth customer' thing was fake, huh!"
Victor blinked. When did Itto get sharp enough to see through that?
Before he could even respond, Itto barreled on confidently: "All the discounts, free milk tea, dragging me out here to talk—turns out you just want help. Hah! You must've heard of the great name of the Arataki Gang, eh?"
"The name… right, as long as there's a local from—"
"I get it. I get it all. You're looking for Kuki Shinobu to handle the legal stuff for you! No problem, give me your contact info. Since you've shown such sincerity, when I see Kuki Shinobu, I'll have her get in touch. But, heh, lawyer consultations are billed by the hour, y'know?"
"My problem isn't something a lawyer can solve. I just need someone who's willing to—"
"Heh-heh-heh. You're underestimating our second-in-command. Kuki Shinobu's amazing. I've never seen a case she couldn't handle!"
No, no, no—he's completely misunderstanding me!
Not just misunderstanding—he keeps interrupting too…
But if Victor wanted to work with the Arataki Gang, there was no avoiding Kuki Kuki Shinobu. After thinking it over, he decided to just go with the flow.
…
"So, you're Victor, huh?"
"And you must be the 'Kuki Shinobu' he mentioned?"
They met casually at a restaurant in Hanamizaka. One had a mask covering the upper half of his face, the other covering the lower half. Victor and Kuki Shinobu sat across from each other in silence for a moment.
"I've already heard from the boss. You snuck in from Liyue, wanted to do business in Inazuma, but found out you can't get a permit without proper entry documents. That's expected. And yes, I've heard the fees for those documents are extortionate."
Kuki Shinobu paused, and when Victor nodded, she continued: "The solution's simple. You could hire me to accompany you when applying for your entry papers. I can guarantee the fees will be brought down to what they should be. Normally, my rate is 20,000 mora per hour, but treating this as a single case, I'll give you a discount—80,000 mora flat."
"That won't work. I can't apply for entry papers."
"…You're not a wanted criminal, are you?" Kuki Shinobu tensed immediately.
"Nothing like that," Victor shook his head, speaking seriously. "I just have a condition—if I take off this mask, I'll die."
"…If you just think my fee is too high, you could always wait. The isolation decree will be lifted eventually. Once Inazuma pushes foreign trade, the Kanjou Commission won't dare to overcharge like that."
"I'm serious. Social death is still a kind of death, isn't it? You wear a mask too, don't you? I thought you'd understand that feeling."
Social death… Kuki Shinobu's expression flickered. Certain bad memories surfaced—her oni mask armor was, after all, meant to shield her from familiar faces' stares. That little girl's words, and her mother's reaction… even now, she wanted to crawl into a hole just thinking about it.
But this man was from abroad, in a foreign land, just trying to run a business. What shame could he possibly be hiding?
Kuki Shinobu studied him closely, but his eyes betrayed nothing. Either he wasn't lying, or he was so used to lying it came naturally.
If he wasn't lying… perhaps he was just insecure about his appearance?
Still, entry inspection only took a moment. They didn't demand you stay unmasked forever. Why the secrecy? Too many oddities. Best not to get involved.
With that thought, Kuki Shinobu rose. "Sorry. I can't help you. By my standard, this consultation hasn't even lasted an hour. That's 10,000 mora, but you can keep it. We'll just call it even with those five milk teas."
Breaking it off cleanly, she turned to leave.
"Wait. Isn't there another option? Someone else gets the business permit, then transfers the stall to me?"
She froze, then sat back down. "…You'd planned that all along?"
"That should work, right? Like renting a shop, except I pay the permit fees, and afterward I'll even share profits. Think of it as subletting."
Renting a shop required an actual building, but a permit? Any ordinary person could apply. In other words, easy passive income.
"It's possible. But if you cause trouble, the registered owner bears responsibility."
"As long as I don't cause trouble, it's fine. Which means I need a trustworthy 'owner.'"
Kuki Shinobu's thoughts raced. The moment he suggested it, she realized—this meeting wasn't coincidence. It was inevitable.
"…Why us?"
"I've heard the tale of the Red and Blue Oni. I know the Red Oni's character. Your boss is a Red Oni too, isn't he? When I saw him, I knew—he's the partner I want."
"…Really?"
The unexpected yet reasonable answer caught Kuki Shinobu off guard. Inazuma treated both oni unjustly, and yet here was a foreigner putting faith in them. How ridiculous…
"And I tested him. He lost money, yet didn't attack me. Instead, he sent you to help."
"No… more likely, he never even realized he'd been conned…" Kuki Shinobu sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead at Itto's lack of sense. "Still, I don't trust you yet. If we're to cooperate, you'll need to prove your identity."
"This?" Victor pulled out his special travel permit.
"With that, yet you struggle with paperwork? Either you've got ties with the Kanjou Commission, or you bought it on the black market."
"This?" He showed his Adventurer's Certificate.
"So, you've been to Liyue and Mondstadt. Still not enough. You know what I want. Identity is unique."
"This?" Finally, Victor produced his Liyue identification card—the photo on it showed him masked as well.
"…It does look exactly like you."
Victor smiled awkwardly. It wasn't that he'd been unwilling to show it. He just feared they'd think it fake…
But Kuki Shinobu inspected it carefully and nodded. "The material and texture check out. A proper Liyue ID. Seems you've got some connections there. Fine. The Arataki Gang will handle the permit and the stall. But you'll pay 'rent.' I'll draft the paperwork and contract soon. That acceptable?"
"Pleasure doing business."