Inside Inazuma City.
Having just returned by ship, Ei immediately issued a command for everyone to follow the orders of the Guuji Yae (Yae Miko).
After giving the orders, Ei retreated into the Plane of Euthymia, carrying a large pile of snacks and manga.
Meanwhile, Miko summoned all of Inazuma's top officials for a meeting.
Kamisato Ayaka and Kamisato Ayato, accompanied by Thoma, headed to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
As soon as the two stepped into the main hall, Miko noticed them.
"Oh my, oh my~ Little Ayaka, Little Ayato, as expected, you two arrived the fastest."
Ayato smiled and gave a courteous bow.
"Our Kamisato Estate is right at the foot of Mt. Yougou, naturally we would arrive quickly."
Miko chuckled softly behind her hand.
"Then why doesn't Little Ayato visit my Grand Narukami Shrine more often? Look at Little Ayaka—she comes quite frequently."
As she spoke, Miko beckoned Ayaka over.
"Come, Little Ayaka, sit here."
Ayaka gave a slightly embarrassed laugh and came to sit beside Miko.
Meanwhile, a bead of cold sweat formed on Ayato's forehead.
Who in Inazuma didn't know of the Guuji-sama's love for teasing people? Ayato had even heard stories that even the dogs at the city gates weren't spared—Miko once hung their hard-won bones from trees just for fun.
"Usually, I'm busy managing household affairs and have little time to visit. I hope you'll forgive me. However, my sister often visits, and since we're family, her presence is as good as mine."
Miko smiled.
"You're smooth as ever. Fine, fine, I won't tease you anymore. Come sit. Once everyone arrives, we'll begin the meeting."
Ayato took a seat beside Ayaka.
Miko then ordered some snacks she had brought back from Liyue to be placed on the table.
"The others probably won't arrive so quickly. Let's have a little something to eat first—these are specialties from Liyue. Try them."
Ayaka smiled and thanked her.
"Thank you, Guuji-sama, for treating my brother and me to such precious delicacies."
Miko waved it off casually.
"Precious? Not really. I brought these back myself."
When Ei and Miko had gone to Liyue, they hadn't made any public announcement. Due to the urgency, they simply boarded a ship and left.
Thus, Ayato and Ayaka hadn't known that Miko had visited Liyue.
Hearing this, Ayato was a little surprised.
"Guuji-sama brought them back personally? Could it be that you visited Liyue? I've heard from detained Liyue merchants on Ritou that the Lantern Rite Festival is currently being held."
Miko raised her eyebrows.
"That's right. Ei and I went to attend the Lantern Rite.Alright, enough about that—have some snacks."
Ayato picked up a candy ball and popped it into his mouth.At that moment, he sensed a storm brewing.
Ei—that was the name of the Shogun herself! Which meant... the Shogun had left the Plane of Euthymia and gone with Miko to Liyue.
And now, upon returning, the Shogun had issued a command for the three major clans to obey Miko's arrangements.
Today's meeting was unlikely to be a simple one.
Before long—
The clan heads Kujou Takayuki and Todo Shinsuke also arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine and entered the hall.
Unlike her attitude toward the Kamisato siblings, Miko's demeanor toward these two was cold and harsh.
As the two were about to sit, Miko glared at them.
"Did I tell you to sit?"
The two clan heads froze in place. Todo Shinsuke laughed awkwardly.
"Please forgive me, Guuji-sama. I'm old and weary. After climbing the mountain, I instinctively wished to sit for a bit.Might I have your permission to sit?"
Miko let out a cold laugh.
"If you can't even stand through a single meeting, how can you serve the Shogun? Resign now and save yourself some dignity."
Cold sweat dripped down Todo Shinsuke's back; his spine chilled.
This was clearly an interrogation!
He knew full well what he had done—colluding with foreign forces...
Kujou Takayuki spoke up:
"Guuji-sama, although we are no longer as young as the Kamisato siblings, our loyalty to the Shogun burns just as brightly."
Miko burst out laughing at his words.
"Did you even check your conscience before saying that?Everything you've done—I know, and so does Ei. Today's meeting is an accountability session."
She clapped her hands.
"Guards, take these two clan heads away. Execute them immediately."
Kujou Takayuki and Todo Shinsuke turned pale with terror.
"No! You can't do this! You have no right! We serve the Shogun!Without her direct order, this is rebellion!"
Miko sneered.
"Still haven't figured it out? Or are you still deluding yourselves? Take them away and keep a close watch."
Several soldiers moved in and dragged the two away.
The Kamisato siblings grew tense—They hadn't expected Miko to act so decisively, to go straight to execution.
Miko smiled at the two of them.
"Your family is different, Little Ayato.With those two old fools gone, there'll be no one immediately able to handle their duties. You'll have to shoulder a little extra work for now."
Ayato didn't mind.
"It's no trouble. At last, Inazuma is returning to the right path."
Miko smiled.
"Yes, those two misled the Shogun, colluded with outsiders, and plunged Inazuma into chaos~"
Ayato caught the meaningful look in Miko's eyes.
He understood instantly.
"Yes, they deceived the Shogun. When the citizens learn the truth, they will surely be furious."
Ayaka was a little confused—what were these two hinting at?
Miko looked at Ayato with satisfaction.
"Well, this meeting is over. I still need to meet with little Tengu later. You two may go."
Ayato and Ayaka rose and bid Miko farewell.
On the way down the mountain, Ayaka couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked,
"Brother, didn't the Shogun know what those two clan heads were up to? Why did Guuji-sama say it like that?"
Ayato smiled.
"The Shogun's reputation must not be tarnished.If the people lost faith in her, Inazuma would fall into even greater disorder. Therefore, we need scapegoats—and those two, soon to be silenced forever, are the perfect choice.Finally, the troubles that have plagued me for so long are resolved. Inazuma will once again bask in the light."
He looked up at the sunset—the warm light bathed the land.
No longer were the skies overcast with thunder and storm.
Ayaka finally understood.
"So that's how it is."
Ayato smiled.
"Yes.Let's go home.I probably won't get much rest for a while."
Ayaka giggled behind her hand.
"I think Brother actually enjoys being this busy."
Ayato looked at Ayaka, and the two of them shared a smile.
***
Back to Penacony, it was now the next day.
Everyone woke up and set off individually to continue searching for treasure chests.
Stelle, March 7th, Himeko, and Welt were walking down the street together.
Stelle looked drowsy, with a hangover-like expression and no energy at all.
March 7th rolled her eyes at Stelle.
"I told you not to drink. Feeling awful now, aren't you?"
Stelle scratched the back of her head.
"Not too bad. I actually slept pretty well last night, hehe."
March 7th was speechless.
As the four of them walked, Gallagher approached from the opposite direction.
Stelle waved at him.
"Hey! Buddy, you're... uh, that guy! Oh, right, the sheriff."
Gallagher nodded slightly.
"Hello."
He scanned the four of them and said,
"You all received the invitation I sent to the Express crew, right?"
Himeko nodded.
"We did. Didn't you say to meet in front of Clockie's statue?"
Gallagher replied with a sigh,
"You're late. Anyway, come on. I'll take you to a place. The old man left something for you."
Welt looked puzzled.
"Old man?"
Gallagher said,
"Mikhail, a Nameless who helped lead Penacony out of its hardships."
Upon hearing the name "Mikhail," all four of them widened their eyes in shock.
March 7th covered her mouth.
"Isn't that one of the three seniors Pom-Pom told us to find?"
Gallagher checked the time.
"Let's go. Stay close."
Turning around, he left, and the others quickly followed.
They followed Gallagher to a bar. As soon as Stelle exited the elevator, she spotted a regular treasure chest in the corner.
Without hesitation, she walked over and kicked it open, retrieving 5 Stellar Jades and weighing them in her hand.
"Hehe, another 500 credits in the bank. Sweet~"
Himeko, Welt, March 7th, and Gallagher had already walked out of the elevator lobby.
Himeko noticed Stelle lagging behind and glanced back.
"Stelle, keep up."
Seeing this, Stelle jogged a few steps and rejoined the group.
They arrived at the bar counter, where a stylishly dressed woman greeted them.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Black Swan. Welcome to Dreamscape Bar. Care for a drink?"
Stelle's eyes lit up at the sight of the colorful cocktails on the table.
"One for me, hehe~"
March 7th took a deep breath.
"Stelle, you're still drinking? We still have business to take care of."
Black Swan laughed.
"No worries. This is a dream. As long as you don't want to get drunk, you won't."
March 7th was surprised.
"Seriously?"
Gallagher added,
"Yeah. And not just that—you can mix anything into the drinks here, even, say, screws."
Stelle and March 7th became even more intrigued.
Stelle raised her hand.
"Can we mix our own drinks?"
Black Swan smiled.
"Of course. Come, I'll teach you the basics."
Stelle said,
"Hold on, let me send a message first."
She pulled out her phone and posted a message in the "Long-lasting Friendship Sisters Group."
Stelle: Sisters! Big discovery! Something super fun! Come quick! (Location)
Lumine: Busy hunting Stellar Jade. Don't bother me.
Hu Tao: What's so fun? Send a picture!
Amber: On my way!
Eula: @Amber, we still have to look for Stellar Jade.
Stelle: Come quick. I'll take you to a hidden map!
Lumine: Hidden map?! Coming right away!
Silver Wolf: You guys are heading to Reverie Reef already? Wait for me.
Hu Tao: Reverie Reef? What's that? Silver Wolf: "Hmm, has Stellar Jade."
Lumine: Almost there!
Amber: Already on the way!
After seeing Silver Wolf's message, Stelle turned to Gallagher.
"Gallagher, are you taking us to Reverie Reef?"
Gallagher was a bit surprised.
"How did you know?"
Stelle held up her phone.
"See? My friend told me."
Gallagher glanced at the chat messages and was a bit speechless.
"Yeah, it's Reverie Reef. I'll take you there shortly."
Hearing this, Stelle went back to learn cocktail mixing from Black Swan.
Meanwhile, over with Ye Yun, he was playing a claw machine game with the six little ones.
He caught sight of Misha, a portrayal of the legendary Nameless Mikhail's life story.
Ye Yun was curious—how could he see Misha? Normally, only Nameless should be able to.
As he pondered this, Misha seemed to notice him and walked over.
"Hello, sir. I'm the hotel's bellboy. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Ye Yun looked at Misha, who hadn't yet regained his past memories.
An idea flashed through Ye Yun's mind: he should take Misha to meet Pom-Pom.
Ye Yun remembered in his past life, Pom-Pom cried her eyes out when Mikhail died.
Ye Yun pointed to a box beside him, filled with the plushies the six little ones had won.
"Could you help me move these to the Express?"
Misha smiled and agreed.
He fetched a luggage cart from nearby.
"Let's go, sir. Please lead the way."
Ye Yun smiled and called the little ones back.
"Alright, cuties, it's time to head back."
Bailu, who was happily playing, pouted a bit.
"I still have a few game tokens left."
Ye Yun chuckled.
"We'll come back tomorrow. Let's go. We have something important to do."
Hearing this, Bailu pocketed her tokens and followed Ye Yun back.
Half an hour later.
Ye Yun and Misha returned to the Astral Express.
The moment Misha stepped aboard, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
He looked around, and old memories began surfacing in his mind.
At that moment—
Ye Yun smiled and asked,
"Feels familiar, doesn't it?"
Misha nodded.
"Yes, sir. I feel like I used to live here."
Just then, Pom-Pom came out and spotted Misha.
Pom-Pom couldn't believe her eyes. She rubbed them and looked again, and when she was sure, she rushed forward and hugged Misha tightly.
"Mikhail! You bastard! You finally came back to the Express! Pom!"
Seeing Pom-Pom, all of Misha's memories came flooding back.
He stared in a daze at the surroundings.
"This is the Express. I remember now. I remember everything."
He looked at Pom-Pom, who was crying in his arms.
"Pom-Pom, it's been a long time."
Pom-Pom wiped her tears.
"You bastard, where the heck have you been all these years?! Pah."
Misha smiled warmly, filled with memories.
"Oh, I did a lot of things over these years."
Pom-Pom pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears.
"Mikhail, have you eaten yet? I'll make your favorite Express Hotpot. How about it? Pom."
Misha smiled, his face full of nostalgia.
"Sure. It's been so long. Thank you, Pom-Pom."