"Yes, exactly. We have some things to discuss with Fox, so we'll just go with you," Shiki nodded slightly.
"Then you go, I won't," Thoma said with a wry smile. He could go do something else, but seeing Yae Miko… he'd rather not.
"No problem, then let's set off."
It must be said that the Traveler was still better at teleportation than she was. Shiki still needed to teleport around Waypoints, but the Traveler could teleport to any already lit Waypoint anytime, anywhere, which was much more convenient than her.
At the entrance of Grand Narukami Shrine, a large group of people suddenly appeared, which truly startled Inagi Hotomi, who was on guard.
However, after seeing the Traveler and Shiki, she regained her composure.
"Long time no see, Miss Ryougi. It's been over half a year since we last met, hasn't it?"
"To be precise, it's eight months. Is the Sacred Sakura Tree root doing alright recently?"
"Of course, the Sakura Tree is doing very well now. On the contrary, the electro element Sakura Tree in Kannazuka has inexplicably suffered damage," Inagi Hotomi said with a sigh.
"We don't know what happened, but the trunks of the four electro element Sakura Trees have all sustained varying degrees of damage. We are still investigating the specific cause."
"It's probably man-made. You can go to the Anbu about this; they might have the answer for you."
Shiki suddenly recalled that among the Inazuma side quests, there was one called 'Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual'. She couldn't remember the exact details, but she knew some important points.
In short, the Treasure Hoarders caused trouble, and even created a youthful version of the Electro Hypostasis.
That's why she recommended Inagi Hotomi to go to the Anbu. The Treasure Hoarders are masters at stealth and mischief; this needs to be handled by professionals.
"That possibility isn't ruled out… Then it seems I'll have to go find the Anbu ninjas."
"Speaking of which, are you here to see Yae Miko?"
"Yes, didn't she also say to bring us directly to her when we appeared?" Shiki said.
"As expected of Miss Ryougi, you guessed it. Yae Miko did tell me something similar," Inagi Hotomi said with a smile.
"Then please follow me, everyone. Yae Miko has been waiting for a long time."
The group arrived at the side hall, and sure enough, Yae Miko was inside, eating sweets and flipping through an unknown light novel manuscript, her ears twitching occasionally.
"Ahem, Yae Miko, Miss Ryougi and the Traveler are here."
"Hmm, I know. You may go."
Yae Miko put away the light novel and then pulled open the door to the side hall.
"Oh~ It seems the engineer has found the person he was looking for."
"Oh, Yae Miko, please don't joke around. If I had found them, would I still be back?" Xavier looked depressed.
"You didn't find them…? Weren't you looking for Garan no Dou? A Fox's memory is very good; I couldn't possibly be mistaken."
"It is Garan no Dou, but I just couldn't find her, so why don't you just introduce me? I just have a few questions I want to ask."
"Hehehe, if you want to ask, why not ask directly now? She's here anyway." Yae Miko covered her mouth and chuckled, then turned her gaze to the expressionless Shiki.
"Isn't that right, Garan no Dou?"
"Eh? Miss Ryougi is Garan no Dou, the author of 'Faded'? Why didn't you say so earlier? You made us run around so many times for nothing!" Paimon said angrily to the girl.
It's truly incredible. Why do they always encounter such things? In Mondstadt, they followed Venti to find Barbatos. In Liyue, they followed Morax to Morax's funeral. In Inazuma, they followed Shiki to find Garan no Dou.
So when they get to Sumeru, will they be following someone else to find the Sumeru Lesser Lord Kusanali?
"You didn't ask, did you?" Compared to the angry Paimon, Shiki seemed very calm.
"You didn't ask, so why should I tell you? If I told everyone I met that I was Garan no Dou, how would I live my life?"
Xavier, standing nearby, was already dumbfounded. He never expected that his idol was actually Shiki!
"You, you… I…"
"Oh? Has your speech system been numbed by shock? Come say this with me: one, two, three, three, two, one, ah ah." Yae Miko said, waving her hand in front of Xavier.
Xavier ignored the playful Yae Miko. After a brief shock, what followed was the resentment of the lack of updates.
"Miss Ryougi, why aren't you updating?!"
"Well, I need time for that! I've been so busy saving Inazuma, where would I find the time to write novels?!" Shiki spread her hands. Bringing this up also gave her a headache.
Raiden Ei isolated herself and didn't care, Yae Fox watched the show, Kujou Sara was a blockhead, and the two major Commissions caused trouble.
So she was saving the nation. Is there a problem with stopping updates for the sake of saving the nation? No problem!
"But you stopped updating for six months!"
"Ahem, that's because the plan required a long period of groundwork."
Shiki would never admit that it was because she had earned enough money and was too lazy to continue writing.
Xavier expressed skepticism about this, but considering the significant changes in Inazuma, he was willing to temporarily put aside his resentment.
"So when do you plan to release a new chapter?"
"We'll see about that later. I'll write it when things settle down."
"Also, you're not thinking of asking me to be the script supervisor, are you? I'm already the investor, the female lead, and the script supervisor. Whose movie is this anyway?"
"Is it true that after it's filmed, I'll also be needed for post-production editing?"
Shiki already had enough on her plate; she didn't want to add another role like script supervisor.
Besides, couldn't he find anyone else for this? Did it have to be her?
"Emmm, you're right."
Xavier scratched his head, so after all that, he still had to find other writers.
"I never thought someone like Miss Ryougi would write light novels?" Paimon found it a bit surprising.
"At first, I just needed to earn living expenses because I had no money. I happened to have some ideas in my head, so I wrote them down. I never expected it to become so popular."
"Uh… your way of saying that, it almost sounds like you're showing off!"
Lumine: "Indeed."
"Hmm? Am I?" Shiki was a bit surprised.
"Never mind, that's not important. Now, let's talk business, Yae Miko. What do you plan to do about the thunder storm raging on Seirai Island?"
Although Shiki always called her Yae Fox, that was a private address. When speaking to her face-to-face, she would still use her name; this was basic respect.
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