"He probably came aboard when we docked just now. If he had boarded earlier, the ship-saboteur would have already been silenced by him," Shiki said.
"In any case, you all should strengthen your defenses. In a little while, I'll find two Vision wielders to help you. This assassin is the first, but he won't be the last."
During this time, Shiki planned to have Kazuha and Fujiwara protect the ship-saboteur, while she would go find Xavier to deal with the Mikage Furnace Core.
In the game, it's a long continuous quest, but with her help, it should be solvable within three days.
If it really came down to it, she could just dismantle the Mikage Furnace Core. Then she'd find someone from Fontaine to build a new one. It's not like she's paying for it anyway. The Kanjou Commission has embezzled so much; building a Mikage Furnace Core would be more than enough.
Of course, this would only be a last resort. Such a magnificent thing, it would be a shame to dismantle it.
After instructing the captain to preserve the body, Shiki directly climbed over the railing and jumped from the deck onto the shore.
Not far away was the line of villagers disembarking. Shiki even saw Yasumoto among them; his complexion was much better than when he was on Yashiori Island.
However, Shiki didn't see Kujou Masahito among the group receiving the refugees. It was quite a pity not to see the comical expression on his face.
But it was probably for the best, saving her from having him act up upon seeing her.
Using a waypoint, Shiki directly teleported to the northwest of Tatarasuna. If she remembered correctly, Xavier was supposed to be in this location in the game.
As for why she didn't find him last time she came, perhaps it was because the Mikage Furnace Core hadn't had any issues yet?
However, after walking down the slope, Shiki didn't see the Fontaine engineer. Instead, she saw someone unexpected.
"Arataki Itto? What are you doing here?"
"Ah!" Arataki Itto jumped in surprise, then turned and saw it was the Young Miss, finally letting out a sigh of relief: "Phew, it's you, friend!"
"What are you doing in Tatarasuna? This place has been blockaded, and everyone needs to evacuate to the Kujou Encampment," Shiki said, looking up at the Oni youth, frowning slightly.
This person... why is he so tall?
"Hey, friend, haven't you noticed something missing from me?" Arataki Itto sighed.
Shiki scrutinized him from head to toe and finally noticed that a round, yellow object was indeed missing.
"Your Vision was taken."
"That's right! This is a grudge of the eye! A grudge of the eye!"
At the mention of this, Arataki Itto trembled with rage, and two streams of hot air spewed from his nostrils.
"In that duel, I did lose, and it was not wrong for her to take my Vision."
"But Kujou Tengu, that coward, actually dared not accept my challenge for revenge! I heard she's fighting, so I came to Kannazuka to look for her, to see if I could find that cowardly Tengu!"
"...So what are you doing in Tatarasuna?" Shiki asked a critical question.
Arataki Itto fell silent. Yes, what was he doing in Tatarasuna?
"Ahem, that's not important! Friend, I heard you're some consultant for the Kamisato Clan? As someone from the Three Commissions, do you know where that Tengu is?"
"I don't know. I'm here to deal with the Mikage Furnace Core. It has nothing to do with Kujou Sara," Shiki shook her head. How would she know where Kujou Sara was?
"I see. Then let this great one help you! With the help of Arataki, the strongest in the world, what task isn't easily accomplished?"
Arataki Itto said, adjusting his hairstyle. It had to be admitted that his hair was good, though its quality was slightly inferior to hers.
"There's nothing much that needs help. By the way, have you seen an engineer from Fontaine?"
If the other party still had their Vision, Shiki might have let Arataki Itto come along. But Arataki Itto, whose Vision was taken and couldn't use elemental power, let alone help, would have difficulty even walking near the Mikage Furnace Core, which was full of Thunder calamity.
"Engineer? What's that? But I did see a Fontainian not long ago. He was mumbling a bunch of words I couldn't understand at the time. Just thinking about it gives me a headache," Arataki Itto said.
Shiki immediately knew it was Xavier without a doubt. Luckily, she asked Arataki Itto; otherwise, she wouldn't have known where to look.
"I remember he seemed to have gone into that house. As for whether he's still there now, I don't know."
"Understood, thank you for the tip. However, I suggest you leave Kannazuka as soon as possible. The Shogunate is currently at war with Watatsumi Island, so Kujou Sara naturally can't abandon a war for a single person's duel invitation."
However, Shiki didn't know that the content of that duel was actually wrestling shirtless in the middle of a crossroads, and she naively thought Kujou Sara simply couldn't spare the time.
Arataki Itto thought carefully upon hearing this: "Hmm... you have a point. It seems Kujou Tengu isn't a coward after all. In that case, I, the great one, will wait until the war is over to find her. This grudge of the eye, I will definitely avenge it!"
"Then I wish you success. I have other matters, so I'll be going now."
With that, Shiki turned and walked towards the small wooden house Arataki Itto had pointed to.
The doors and windows of the wooden house were tightly shut, but Shiki could still sense someone inside. As for whether it was Xavier, she would only know once she opened it.
Before she even reached the door, Shiki heard a sound coming from inside the wooden house.
"Oh dear, why hasn't the submitted document come down yet? This thing can't be delayed any longer. If it is, no one will be able to fix it."
Without a doubt, this was definitely Xavier.
After confirming his identity, Shiki directly pushed open the door, startling Xavier, who was busy calculating data.
"My goodness, how did you get in?" Xavier asked in surprise.
"Locks can't stop me. Back to business, I'm here to deal with the Mikage Furnace Core. Such a dangerous thing cannot be left unattended."
"That's great! The Shogunate has finally sent someone! So, where's your team? Do you have any solutions?" Xavier breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that reinforcements had finally arrived, but the next second his smile froze.
"It's just me. Don't count on those useless people from the Tenryou Commission. The document you submitted is probably still stuck somewhere."
"Huh?"
Listening to the Young Miss's words, Xavier was dumbfounded. This was truly outrageous; it was like outrageousness itself had opened the door to his home. Are all your Inazuman higher-ups this outrageous?
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