The next morning.
Under the Sacred Sakura Tree, Ei slowly opened her eyes.
She lifted a hand and brushed off the fallen blossoms on her clothes.
Xia Ying's voice echoed in her mind. "Check the time on your phone."
Ei paused, remembering something, then took out her phone.
"Six thirty-seven."
"From now on, you've got one hour. When it hits seven thirty-seven, it's my turn to come out."
"Seven thirty-seven… I should still be in the kitchen learning to cook then…"
"I can give you my mealtime and swap with another time slot."
"…Alright."
Their exchange ended.
Ei looked into the distance.
Yaoyao was already here with her spear, doing her morning drills again.
"Good morning, Lady Raiden!"
"Mm. Good morning."
"Can Yaoyao practice with you again today?"
"Come."
"Yes! Please guide me!"
After training the little girl, Ei went to the kitchen.
Xiangling and Guoba were already busy inside, but Xia Zhi hadn't arrived yet.
Ei touched the little badge pinned to her chest, then quietly continued practicing her cooking.
Even with her tastebuds working normally now, everything she made still turned out strange.
And in the last two days, she'd noticed something else: the exact same dish she cooked never tasted the same twice. Every attempt was wildly different.
But she wasn't discouraged. She simply kept practicing.
After a while, Xia Zhi finally arrived.
He checked her morning results, then… encouraged her.
He had no choice.
As long as she had that passive trait, she simply couldn't make anything that tasted normal.
Even with a master chef guiding her.
Xia Zhi took the ladle from her and glanced at Ei, who stood beside him watching earnestly. He couldn't help feeling that his sister-in-law had it rough.
When he got some free time today, he should really browse the Shop.
There had to be something in there that could fix her problem.
---
At the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Yae Miko stepped out of her room with a yawn, looking like she'd barely slept at all. Her movements were sluggish, her eyes half-lidded. Every shrine maiden who passed bowed respectfully, and she gave each of them a lazy nod in return.
"So sleepy…"
She'd pulled another all-nighter dealing with work. In the past, she'd always spend the next morning catching up on sleep. But she couldn't do that now. Breakfast itself didn't matter much, but as the host of the shrine, it would be rude if she didn't join the guests.
She reached the dining area and spotted Hanachirusato sitting alone. Yae Miko walked over and sat beside her.
Seeing her so drained, Hanachirusato bit into a shrimp dumpling and said, "Didn't sleep again last night?"
Yae Miko sighed and grabbed a bowl of sweet tofu pudding, adding sugar with practiced motions. "Yeah. Too much to handle lately."
Hanachirusato remembered how things had been back when Kitsune Saiguu managed the shrine. It had never been this busy. Times had changed, clearly.
Yae Miko put the sugar jar back. "Right, I have news."
Hanachirusato looked up. "What news?"
"Last night a report came in. They might've found Urakusai's studio."
Hanachirusato froze. "Really?"
"Not confirmed," Yae Miko said. "The intel only said 'suspected.' The lead came from that copy of A First-Hand Guide to Summoning Spirits that suddenly appeared on the market. My guess is that Urakusai's spirit leaked out of the ley lines too. I'm heading there this morning to check. Want to come?"
Hanachirusato had originally planned to join the main group heading to Araumi. She hesitated, then nodded. "Alright."
She pulled out her phone and messaged the Magical Girl group chat that she wouldn't be joining them this morning.
As she continued eating, Kitsune Saiguu's memories drifted back into her mind…
Urakusai's sin back then had driven him away in shame, making Saiguu furious. She left the shrine and went to Tenshukaku instead, saying, "A great calamity is coming. As one who stands at our lord's side, I must fulfill my duty to protect her and all life." She moved immediately to Makoto's side.
Then the black calamity struck. Makoto went alone to Khaenri'ah. Kitsune Saiguu led youkai and samurai to defend Inazuma until she fell.
Now Urakusai's spirit had appeared, but he hadn't come to the shrine to see his old friends. If it wasn't because of erosion, then he must still be ashamed of what he'd done.
But Hanachirusato knew that in Saiguu's memories, there wasn't much resentment toward him. The Abyss disaster five hundred years ago swept across all of Teyvat. Even if Urakusai hadn't sinned, the darkness still would've reached Inazuma.
Yae Miko definitely understood that too. That was why she invited her along. She wanted Hanachirusato to comfort Urakusai as Kitsune Saiguu.
Hanachirusato lifted her head, took out a small piece of incense, and handed it to Yae Miko. "Qiqi gave me this Calming Incense. You look exhausted. Use it later to rest a bit."
Yae Miko smiled and accepted it. "Thank you, senpai."
…Senpai.
Hanachirusato's expression flickered with quiet helplessness, but she didn't say anything.
Her gaze drifted toward Chi Yu, sitting not far away.
According to Qiqi, Chi Yu used to be a spirit too, but had come back to life and was no different from an ordinary person now.
If Mr. Xia was willing to intervene… maybe Urakusai could…
---
After breakfast, everyone went off to their tasks.
Ei arrived in Araumi. After destroying a few war machines, she stood still and closed her eyes.
Time was up.
Switch.
Xia Ying opened her eyes to the desolate landscape and felt instantly bored.
Right now all she wanted was to spend time with her cousin. Talk with him. Play music with him. Absolutely not clear out weak war machines.
But the reconstruction plan for Araumi was her cousin's idea, so she would still work seriously.
Just… later. She had something to take care of first.
Xia Ying took out her phone and opened the chat app.
It was logged into Ei's account.
She logged out and made a brand-new account for herself.
Inside their shared consciousness, Ei asked, "Why make another one?"
"Because that account is yours," Xia Ying said naturally. "Using it would be inconvenient."
"Inconvenient how?"
"You wouldn't get it."
"…Fine."
A moment later, the account was ready.
Xia Ying set her display name to Xia Ying.
Ei spoke again. "Shouldn't it be 'Shogun'? Or did you misspell it? It's Ei, not Ying."
"No. It's the correct Ying."
"?"
"I forgot to tell you. This is my new name."
"You got a new name?"
"Cousin gave it to me last night in the dream."
Ei went quiet again.
Xia Ying logged in and immediately started sending out friend requests.
Ei noticed something interesting.
The very first friend she added wasn't Makoto.
It was Xia Zhi.
----
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