"Boss! What are you saying?! How dare you disrespect Great Divine Sovereign like that!" Kuki Shinobu inhaled sharply. That man was her brother-in-law—and his divine might was no joke. Not to mention, his name now carried unmatched reverence across all of Inazuma.
A god worshiped by the people—how could he be slandered like this?!
"I'm just saying, Great Divine Sovereign's not bad or anything, but when it comes to picking people, he seriously needs better taste…" Itto muttered, rubbing his nose, completely oblivious that he was digging his own grave.
"Watch your mouth!" Kujou Sara, who had been walking away and didn't want to stoop to the level of this brainless oni, suddenly came to a halt.
"Lady Kujou, this guy's gone too far!" the samurai shouted. They were furious too—how dare he speak so irreverently about Great Divine Sovereign?
Sara didn't respond. She simply turned around, her expression darkening as an overwhelming pressure exploded from her. The divine might radiating from her body made the very air feel like it had frozen solid.
The samurai instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path for her.
"Ugh…" Under Sara's godlike aura, Itto felt like he couldn't even breathe. Why did she suddenly seem so strong?
"Lady Kujou! You know Itto's an idiot—he doesn't mean it…" Shinobu hurried to explain, but the look Sara gave her instantly silenced her.
Even her brilliant mind couldn't conjure a plan under such oppressive divine pressure.
"I didn't want to waste my time on a fool like you," Sara said coldly, staring him down. "But to speak so brazenly against Great Divine Sovereign? That's beyond forgivable."
"Today, I'm going to give you a proper lesson—maybe then you'll learn to keep your mouth shut."
In the blink of an eye, she vanished—only to appear behind Arataki Itto. Her foot, crackling with thunder, slammed into his back and launched him into the sky.
What followed was a one-sided beatdown. Kujou Sara unleashed a storm of blows, smacking Itto around like a living volleyball. The scene was so brutal, not a single person could bring themselves to watch it directly.
Thud...
The final hit drove Itto back into the ground like a meteor. By the time he landed, his face was swollen and bruised, looking utterly miserable.
Bang! Sara raised a foot and kicked him straight to the feet of the samurai.
"Arataki Itto," she said icily, "for speaking outrageously and disrespecting Great Divine Sovereign, and for threatening the Tenryou Commission, you are to be detained for one month!"
"Yes, Lady Kujou!" the samurai answered reverently, promptly tying up the limp Itto like a roast pig.
Lady Kujou was terrifying—who would've thought she could wreck Arataki Itto that hard?
"Lady Kujou—" Shinobu opened her mouth.
"No need to argue," Sara cut her off. "His life isn't in danger. But for speaking against Great Divine Sovereign, a little physical punishment is warranted. Locking him up for a month should give him time to reflect on his stupidity."
"…Understood," Shinobu nodded. With Sara putting it that way, what could she even say?
"Shinobu! Save me!" Itto wailed.
"Save you? Hmph." Sara snorted, waving her hand. "Take him away!"
The samurai promptly hoisted the trussed-up Itto and carried him off.
Shinobu watched her pitiful boss get hauled away like a sack of potatoes and sighed in silence.
You're on your own this time, Boss. I saved you before, but this time you disrespected Great Divine Sovereign… I can't do anything for you now.
"Let him stew in jail for a while and maybe learn his lesson," Shinobu muttered.
Sara gave her an appraising look. "With your talent and character, why stay with a silly little group like the 'Arataki Gang'? Why let your brilliance gather dust? You should join the Tenryou Commission and serve the nation."
"I'm sorry, Lady Kujou, but that's not my path," Shinobu replied calmly. "Even as a civilian, I will still serve the people and the nation in my own way."
"…I see," Sara sighed, nodding. Still, with Shinobu around, there had been far fewer public disturbances lately. She had indeed saved the Tenryou Commission quite a bit of trouble.
Sara didn't press the issue further and turned to leave.
"Sis Shinobu, what do we do now?" Genta asked, looking to her for direction.
"What else? He disrespected Great Divine Sovereign. Even I can't get him out of this one. We wait out the month," she replied with a shrug.
"For now, you guys find some side jobs or something. I've got things to do. I'll come back to pick up the boss when his month's up." Shinobu sighed.
"…Alright. Got it," the three lackeys replied in unison—though all of them were already mourning their boss's inevitable jail time.
"Wonder how my sister's been lately," Shinobu murmured. "Ah well, since Boss is locked up, I'll go visit her."
She turned and made her way toward the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Shinobu would sometimes drop by to check in on her sister. She'd once served as a shrine maiden there, after all, and still had her own room at the shrine. Most of the other shrine maidens knew her.
———
Inazuma City, at the Mondstadt delegation's residence.
Jean turned to Lisa and said, "Lisa, Ningguang and the others have already returned to Liyue. It's about time we head home too. We've been away so long—Kaeya's probably swamped."
"True enough," Lisa nodded. "But before we go, let's say goodbye to our dear."
"Of course. Tomorrow then. It's already late today—and I imagine our dear's spending time with some lady or another," Jean said.
"Eh? Captain Jean? Sister Lisa? We're going back to Mondstadt?" Klee, who'd been doodling little figures nearby, perked up at the sound of their conversation.
"That's right. We'll leave the day after tomorrow," Lisa replied with a smile. "Don't you want to go back to Mondstadt, little Klee?"
"Not really…" Klee shook her head. "It's just that I'm gonna miss Akio and all the big sisters here in Inazuma."
Klee had a simple heart. Everyone in Inazuma had been so kind to her—it was no wonder she'd grown attached.
Not to mention… here in Inazuma, she got to go on explosive adventures with Himeko-sis and no one stopped her! Captain Jean didn't even scold her! Once she got back to Mondstadt, she'd have to follow all the rules again…
"Mmm~" Klee pouted a little. "Then tomorrow I have to see Brother Akio! I have a present for him!"
"Alright. We'll go together," Jean said with a chuckle.
"Yay! Long live Captain Jean!" Klee clapped her hands happily. "Then I'm off to get Brother Akio's present ready!"
With that, she dashed off at full speed to prepare her gift.
"What a lively little sweetheart," Lisa said, smiling warmly. "Klee really is like a daughter, isn't she?"