Chapter 410: Martini
Yae Miko arched a delicate eyebrow as the couple turned to face her. The subtle stiffening of their shoulders and the overly deliberate shift in their posture did not escape her sharp gaze. She certainly hadn't expected to run into familiar faces today.
Beneath the layers of expertly applied cosmetics and subtle prosthetics, the telltale traces of disguise were glaringly obvious to her trained eyes. Piecing this together with the recent intelligence reports detailing the Black Organization's shadowy movements, Miko deduced their identities in a heartbeat. Camus and Vermouth. It seemed the infamous syndicate had finally decided to bring their particular brand of trouble directly to the steps of her Grand Narukami Shrine.
A faint, amused smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. It made perfect sense, really. Given their affiliation with the Black Organization, a certain degree of catastrophic bad luck was practically a job requirement. Whenever these operatives crossed paths with a certain bespectacled detective, chaos inevitably followed. Why should a simple visit to a shrine be any different?
For Camus and Vermouth, the sudden, silken voice cutting through the quiet courtyard air sent a synchronized jolt of adrenaline through their veins. Their breath hitched. Neither of them—highly trained operatives accustomed to life-or-death vigilance—had detected a single footstep approaching from behind.
Standing with their backs to the newcomer, they exchanged a fleeting, loaded glance. In a fraction of a second, they forced the tension from their muscles, adopting the relaxed demeanor of ordinary tourists before turning around. Standing before them was the very same pink-haired woman they had observed earlier, leisurely reading a light novel beneath the sprawling boughs of the Sacred Sakura.
Slipping smoothly into her role, Vermouth blinked, letting a perfect mask of mild, polite confusion wash over her features. She tilted her head, her voice carrying just the right amount of hesitant curiosity. "Excuse me... and you are?"
"Oh my, where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself." Miko raised a wide, elegant sleeve to gracefully conceal the lower half of her face, though it did little to hide the deeply entertained curve of her lips. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with a knowing glint. "I am the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine—the Yae Miko, blessed with both unmatched wisdom and beauty."
Her charming, fox-like eyes narrowed into crescent moons. She swept her gaze over the disguised couple, her half-smile radiating an aura that felt dangerously perceptive, as if she were peeling back their carefully constructed layers to read the darkest secrets of their souls.
"So," her clear, melodic voice drifted through the crisp air, "would you care to share what prayer you were just making? Perhaps I might be of some assistance."
Vermouth took the lead, her expression shifting into a masterclass of mild, domestic embarrassment. A faint flush seemed to touch her cheeks. "Um... I am Yamada Kana, and this is my husband, Yamada Kunio."
After smoothly establishing their mundane aliases, she let out a soft, self-deprecating sigh. "Actually, we heard rumors that the fortune slips at this shrine are incredibly accurate. We came to pray... to ask the heavens if we might ever be blessed with a child of our own. But the result..."
She gestured helplessly toward the wooden rack where the ominous slip of paper fluttered in the breeze. "As you can see, Lady Guuji. It seems we are simply destined to remain childless."
"Actually, if you view it from another perspective, perhaps it isn't such a terrible fate," Miko offered, her smile turning sickeningly sweet and gentle. "Think about it, dear. If you were to have a child, only for them to turn out utterly rebellious by nature—completely ignoring your teachings, running off to join unsavory crowds, and possessing the sheer audacity to lecture their own parents... wouldn't that be a dreadful headache? By remaining childless, you neatly avoid such a catastrophic risk."
Vermouth, the famed Thousand-Faced Witch of the Black Organization, certainly knew how to weave a compelling sob story. Miko found it thoroughly amusing. Honestly, if the man standing beside Vermouth had been Gin instead of Camus, Miko might have actually offered her a painless, magical method to achieve motherhood. After all, Raiden Ei had practically perfected the art of crafting divine puppets by now. They could even assign the theoretical offspring a fitting code name right from the start—Martini.
Vermouth: "..."
Camus: "..."
A heavy, awkward silence descended upon the trio. Was that genuinely meant to be a comforting sentiment? More, why did both operatives suddenly feel an icy prickle at the nape of their necks, as if the pink-haired priestess was directly mocking someone specific?
Catching the stiff, frozen smiles on their faces, Miko brought a hand to her cheek, her eyes widening in feigned realization. "Oh my, I do apologize. That was rather insensitive of me, wasn't it? I'm afraid I'm not always the best with comforting words."
"Cough... no, it's quite alright," Vermouth replied, politely breaking eye contact to scan the courtyard, pretending to admire the vibrant shrine architecture. Seeking a safer topic, her gaze landed on the massive, glowing tree. She pointed toward the sprawling canopy of the Sacred Sakura, its trunk twisted into the distinct silhouette of a fox. "Lady Guuji, was that magnificent tree planted by a Fox Immortal? Does it possess genuine magical power? If we were to pray directly beneath its branches, might our wish be granted?"
"You certainly possess a vivid imagination." Miko chuckled softly, internally noting that she had vastly underestimated the whimsical curiosity of Black Organization operatives. "Alas, it was not planted by a Fox Immortal. It is a divine gift, bestowed upon Inazuma by a god. Though, as for why it grew into such a particular shape... that indeed has a great deal to do with a rather beautiful Fox Immortal."
"Inazuma?" Camus couldn't stop the word from slipping past his lips. His brow furrowed slightly.
It was one thing for members of the Teyvat Organization to harbor deep-seated superstitions about deities, but to be this loose-lipped? She had casually dropped the name of what intelligence suggested was a major Teyvat branch right in front of two complete strangers. Or... was this a trap? Did Yae Miko already suspect their true identities and deliberately throw out the name to test their reactions?
"It is nothing of consequence. Merely the name of a former home," Miko replied, her tone dipping into a practiced, wistful sorrow that effectively shut down any further probing into the matter.
Catching the shift in mood, Vermouth tactfully pivoted the conversation. "Bestowed by a god, you say... May I ask which god? Are they capable of fulfilling our wish?"
"The Raiden Shogun, Baal..." Miko paused for a fraction of a second, the ancient, complicated history of the twin gods flickering through her mind before she smoothly corrected herself. "...Beelzebul."
There was absolutely no reason to burden these two mortal outsiders with the closely guarded secrets of the divine. For now, it was more than enough for the world to know the Raiden Shogun as Beelzebul.
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