"Ryougi? Balladeer? Who are those?"
As a Shikigami who had been inside the Domain the entire time, Shikitaishou naturally knew nothing about external developments, let alone events that had just happened recently.
"Miss Ryougi is the Raiden Shogun's Side Attendant. Her full name is Shiki. Both your names contain the character'Shi' (Mode), so we think she might know something," Paimon explained.
"As for the Balladeer, he is a Fatui Harbinger. I figure you probably don't know what the Fatui are either, so you just need to know that he is a powerful person with a terrible personality."
"And you don't need to worry, Miss Ryougi has already cut down the Balladeer. Their fight was so fierce it darkened the skies, and the rampant Thunderstorm even covered the entire Yashiori Island. Maybe the Onmyōdō Shrine woke up precisely because of their battle!"
"A Thunderstorm encircling the island?"
Shikitaishou was astonished. In its memory, only a Archon could achieve such a feat. Coupled with the similarity in names, the other party might indeed know something.
"In that case, it seems I really should meet this Shiki. Could I trouble you to take me to her?"
"Of course. If we can figure out the situation with you, the Ryōshi, it will greatly help our subsequent Domain exploration," the Traveler said.
"So, here's the problem, Traveler, where should we look for Miss Ryougi?" Xinyan asked a crucial question.
"Uh... Traveler, what should we do? Miss Ryougi didn't tell us where to find her, did she?"
"That is indeed a problem. Why don't we go check the Kamisato Estate first? Doesn't she live there?"
"You're right! Let's not delay and hurry up! We need to get back before the next batch of monsters emerges!"
"Wait, Shikitaishou, aren't you the Ryōshi here? Do you know when the next wave of monsters will appear?" Paimon asked.
"I... I can't be certain," Shikitaishou shook its head. "But it should be in about one or two hours."
"That's enough. I can teleport, so we won't take long to travel."
After the Traveler finished speaking, she linked her consciousness to the Ley Lines and then teleported the team—composed of the Emergency Food, the Rock 'n' Roller, the Shikigami, and the Star-Sea Person—to the Kamisato Estate.
The Traveler walked into the courtyard and found the Kamisato Clan's steward, Hyakubei, asking: "Mr. Hyakubei, is Ryougi the Side Attendant here?"
"She is, but she's currently... uh... busy with something. I suggest you wait a moment."
Hyakubei naturally wouldn't reveal that his mistress was currently intimately involved with someone, and the group didn't notice anything unusual, simply assuming she was busy working.
Well, she certainly *was* "busy."
Shiki tidied her slightly disheveled kimono, then used the electro element to erase the saliva-dampened mark on her chest.
Meanwhile, Ayaka lay on the sofa, her face flushed, breathing heavily, her budding chest rapidly rising and falling.
"Wuu~ Shiki, you cheated~"
The girl's delicate voice made Shiki tremble slightly. Alright, she admitted she couldn't handle this kind of thing, but she still feigned toughness and retorted, "Can matters between girls be called cheating?"
Following that were phrases like, "This is called reciprocating courtesy," and "I was careless and didn't dodge." Hearing this, Ayaka giggled, and the living room instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"Alright, alright, you didn't cheat. I shouldn't have ambushed you with the Cryo element, okay?"
"That's more like it. I knew there was no way I could lose! If you hadn't ambushed me with Elemental power, I wouldn't have..."
Shiki blushed, while Ayaka smiled and said:
"Wouldn't have what?"
"Wouldn't have been pinned beneath you, alright?" Shiki said resignedly, her face flushed, before leaving the living room to the sound of her bells. She needed to cool down in the courtyard.
Jingle, jingle.
The clear sound of the bells was very noticeable in the quiet Kamisato Estate. The moment it appeared, the waiting group turned their gaze towards the source of the sound, and saw Shiki, now in a different outfit, emerging from the house.
However... her bright red cheeks and bashful demeanor made Paimon and the Traveler almost think they had mistaken her for someone else.
"Uh... Traveler, that should be Miss Ryougi, right?"
"Paimon, there's nothing wrong with my eyes. Even though she changed her clothes, I can still recognize her."
"But... can someone like her really act so much like a young maiden?"
Paimon was truly enlightened today. Shiki, who didn't even groan when Balladeer beat her bloody, actually showed such a shy expression, like a girl in love.
"Maybe... someone melted this iceberg? Paimon, who do you think that person could be?"
"Since it's Kamisato Estate, it can only be someone from the Kamisato Clan, right? Could it be the legendary head of the Kamisato Clan, Kamisato Ayato?"
Kamisato Ayato: "Achoo!"
"Probably not. Paimon, did you forget? Yesterday on Yashiori Island, who came with Xavier to deliver the sword?"
"It was Ayaka! No way? Are the two of them..."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't forget what we're here for. And isn't it a bit rude to discuss other people's privacy like this?"
Xinyan suddenly appeared, interrupting their gossiping. Her vibrant, Pyro-attuned voice also made Shiki notice them.
'Someone!?'
'Damn, did they see me just now?'
'It's probably better to just kill them...'
Shiki regained her usual calm expression, but her eyes, hidden in shadow, gave off an unsettling feeling.
The hilt of the Nine-Letter Thunder Blade appeared beside her. After lightly grasping it, Shiki walked towards them, and the excessively long katana was slowly drawn.
"Eek! Traveler, this is bad!"
"I know, I know, Paimon, stop talking!"
The Traveler hugged Paimon and bravely dashed towards the door, but threads of golden lightning arcs appeared at the entrance, then expanded to form a curtain of thunder.
"Hehe, Traveler and little Paimon, why are you running?"
Shiki walked step by step towards the golden-haired girl. The crisp sound of her bells was like a summoning bell, heavily striking the girl's heart.
"Ahhh! Help! I didn't see anything!" Paimon covered her eyes with her small hands and began to huddle defensively, while the Traveler trembled, watching Shiki slowly approach.
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