Battousai is the Ausbilder?!
Rikou, who is hiding in Igor's house, didn't even dare to breathe.
He seemed to have stumbled upon an incredibly shocking piece of information.
This won't do— this must be reported to Lady Sangonomiya immediately!
Even if it meant exposing himself, this information had to be passed on!
Although Bai Luo was still inside Igor's house, flipping through the official documents Igor had just processed, Rikou could wait no longer.
He quietly climbed out through a side window, sneaking away in the direction of Sangonomiya Shrine.
Perhaps because the other party was too focused on what he was reading, but Battousai seemed to not notice his departure at all.
This made Rikou breathe a sigh of relief.
What he didn't notice, however, was that after he left Bourou Village, Bai Luo cast a playful glance in the direction he had gone.
"Make it count, Rikou."
. . . . .
By evening, when Sangonomiya Kokomi returned, refreshed from her outing, she found that Rikou was actually inside the Sangonomiya Shrine.
"Lady Sangonomiya! You're finally back!"
Staying inside Sangonomiya Shrine for this long was definitely a risky move for Rikou.
But he didn't regret it at all.
"Rikou? Didn't I tell you I had important matters to handle today and would be out all day?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi quickly walked over and motioned to her trusted attendants to bring Rikou some tea.
"My lady, today I infiltrated Igor's home to dig up information on the Fatui. I never expected... I never expected…"
As he spoke, a look of horror once again surfaced on Rikou's aged face.
"Battousai— no, Himura Kenshin, that guy—he's actually one of the Fatui Harbingers! He's the Twelfth Harbinger, the Ausbilder!"
Even now, Rikou could hardly believe it.
Compared to this, the idea of Battousai being an ordinary Fatui member seemed far more plausible.
For a Harbinger to have infiltrated Watatsumi Island—and in such a manner—was truly alarming.
"Calm down, speak slowly."
After receiving a cup of tea from one of the shrine maidens, Kokomi gestured for her to leave, then handed the tea to Rikou.
He took a small sip, moistening his dry lips, and recounted everything he had heard in Igor's home.
But after listening to his story, Kokomi's expression didn't change much.
Instead, she looked as if everything was going exactly according to plan.
"Just as I suspected. He really went and did it."
Her words left Rikou completely confused.
The intelligence he had risked his life to obtain—why did it seem like Kokomi already knew everything?
"Rikou, what you don't know is that Himura-san once stowed away on a Fatui ship to reach Mondstadt. During that time, he learned the Fatui's secret codes. I suspect he also came into contact with the Ausbilder back then, which is probably why he's doing this now."
"Lady Sangonomiya, are you saying... Himura Kenshin is pretending to be a Fatui Harbinger?"
Rikou was finally catching on to the shrine maiden's meaning.
Exactly, Kokomi didn't take the bits of intelligence Himura had gathered very seriously, but that didn't mean she would ignore the information entirely.
The reason she hadn't let him get involved in anything related to the Fatui was partly to avoid disrupting her own plans—and partly to keep his growth in check.
Battousai's rise had indeed lifted a great burden from her shoulders.
But the current balance, where they shared similar fame yet she still held a slight edge, was ideal—at least her title as the Divine Priestess still carried weight on Watatsumi Island.
But if Battousai were to get involved in all of this, then his fame would undoubtedly surpass hers—and that was something she couldn't tolerate, nor could Watatsumi Island.
"But this is all just your speculation, isn't it? I know it's presumptuous of me to say this, but... if Himura Kenshin really is a Fatui Harbinger, then wouldn't Watatsumi Island be in serious danger...?"
Rikou's concern was not without merit. He was well aware of how dangerous Kokomi's line of thinking could be.
"Do not worry, Rikou. The situation on Watatsumi Island is like a battlefield—only those who plan thoroughly can emerge undefeated."
With her energy fully restored, Sangonomiya Kokomi once again assumed the calm and composed demeanor of the Divine Priestess. She explained everything with serenity.
"As for Himura-san, I've already conducted multiple investigations about him. Based on the intelligence I've gathered, his impersonation of a Fatui Harbinger is no secret anymore."
In fact, after Bai Luo had visited her that day, Kokomi had already set people in motion to investigate the matter.
From Liyue merchants and through Kaedehara Kazuha, they'd actually managed to dig up some useful intel.
. . . .
"That man is quite the character. While in Liyue, he roamed every corner of the harbor. Whatever he fancied, he bought. Whatever food he wanted, he ordered. In the end, he sent the bill to the Northland Bank, claiming he was spending under the name of the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger. It caused quite a headache for the Fatui."
"Oh, I know that one. He went around using the Fatui title to con people, and in the end, all the bad rep fell on the Fatui. I heard the Eleventh Harbinger was so furious, he was grinding his teeth and sent people everywhere to hunt him down."
"Himura Kenshin? Our encounter wasn't exactly a coincidence either. I had heard rumors he was in Liyue and went asking around for him. I thought it'd be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but to my surprise, the whole city was abuzz with news about him. I ran into him at a teahouse, where he ended up paying the bill under the name of the Eighth Harbinger, 'The Fair Lady.'"
"Ah yes, him. During that time, the story of the 'Red-Clothed Wanderer from Inazuma' was all the rage in Liyue. One day, when Kiyoko went to Miss Linlang's place to buy antiques, she saw him arguing with Miss Linlang over a pair of chopsticks called 'Coiled Dragon, Carved Phoenix.' I still don't understand how a pair of chopsticks could cost over 200,000 Mora. Anyway, he insisted on charging it to the Tsaritsa herself. That incident became so infamous that Linlang flatly refused. It was probably the only time he failed to get away with it."
. . . .
If what the merchants said could be considered hearsay with questionable reliability, then the testimonies of Kaedehara Kazuha and Beidou were like a soothing balm, completely reassuring Sangonomiya Kokomi.
This Himura truly was an extraordinary man.
It seemed he had fully understood the message she had hinted at the other day.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone so far as to anonymously claim he was making the gift for Sangonomiya, and not for Watatsumi Island.
Which meant... the next time she needed to use that money, she could rightfully do so in the name of Sangonomiya.
That way, the reputation of the Divine Priestess would once again be firmly above that of Battousai.
"Today, I realized that Himura-san is actually a good man: Energy +5
After all that he's done for Watatsumi Island... and to think I treated him so coldly that day... I really hope he's not the petty type."
. . . . .
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind to pay $5 monthly to read till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Current Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 185: Nowhere to Run[2]
Link to the current chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/128924511?collection=174425[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/128924511?collection=174425
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/128924511?collection=174425
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed