"Although it's not a fortune about wealth and prosperity, it's still a Great Fortune. For a business, that means everything will go smoothly in the future. I'll gift this fortune to your shop."
After saying that, Gendou Ringo subconsciously glanced again at the crowd on the other side of the milk tea vendor. The girl who had looked so much like her earlier had been standing there just a moment ago—but after their eyes met, she quickly ducked into the crowd and disappeared.
A sense of doubt rose in her heart.
She was a member of the secret organization "Shuumatsuban" under the Yashiro Commission. There hadn't been any special reason she joined—it was simply because, back when she was wandering and alone, she had been rescued by a senior operative codenamed "Hyakka."
Yes, she was an orphan. Ever since she could remember, she had been drifting from place to place… not knowing where her home was, who her parents were, who she was, or even whether she might have had a twin sister somewhere out there.
But this was the first time she had ever seen someone who looked so much like her.
"Ringo, the gift for this shop's opening has been delivered. Let's head to the other one."
Yae Miko's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Yes, Lady Guuji."
Honestly, that Guuji was something else—she knew full well Ringo wasn't a real shrine maiden, yet had dragged her along for this fortune-drawing stunt anyway. Still…
After leaving the milk tea shop, Gendou Ringo hesitated before asking, "Lady Guuji, those customers back in the store—they all looked like Yae Publishing House employees, didn't they?"
"That's right. Why?"
"Do you know if there's someone at Yae Publishing House who looks a lot like me?"
"Is there? I can't say I've noticed. But recently, Yae Publishing did hire a girl who's even cuter than you, I think her name was 'Momoyo,' right?"
"Momoyo?"
The Guuji really had a wicked sense of humor. She could've said it directly, but instead she had to dance around the topic. Since she knew… could it be she'd already discovered this resemblance, and that's why she'd brought Ringo along today?
Thinking about it more, it all made sense—before they entered the shop, Yae Miko had deliberately lingered outside for a while, saying they should "wait a bit longer." She must have been setting things up so that their "coincidental meeting" would happen.
Gendou Ringo felt utterly drained, yet she couldn't shake her curiosity about this Momoyo. It distracted her so much that even when she later met her superior, Kamisato Ayato, at the other milk tea shop, she couldn't focus.
Once the task was done, she immediately requested leave from Yae Miko.
The Guuji smiled knowingly, as if she'd expected this all along. "Go on, go on~ Since your duties are already being covered this afternoon, I'll grant you a whole day of free time."
By noon, Gendou Ringo had managed to get her hands on a dossier about Momoyo.
According to the file, Momoyo had returned to Inazuma from abroad several years ago. Her Inazuman ID had been reissued before the Sakoku Decree was enforced. She appeared to have no known relatives—at least, none in Inazuma.
From her appearance, Momoyo clearly had Inazuman blood. Whether she'd been taken abroad by her parents as a child and later returned alone, or something else entirely, the brief dossier offered no clues.
Gendou Ringo pulled out her own ID card. The photo on it and Momoyo's ID photo looked identical. A stranger wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Was it just a strange coincidence—or something more?
"Argh! This is driving me crazy!"
She'd handled countless missions with Shuumatsuban before and resolved plenty of troublesome situations—so what was the big deal about this one?
After struggling for a while, she decided to meet Momoyo during lunch break.
But when she actually saw her target in person, her courage faltered. Missions for Shuumatsuban usually ended in simple, efficient conclusions—kill one person, or a few. This was… different.
From a distance, she watched the girl eating alone. Even her profile looked so much like her own… Ringo mentally ran through every possible scenario, then finally gathered her resolve and stepped forward.
"Hello."
Hearing her own voice coming from someone else startled Momoyo. She froze, lifted her head nervously to glance at Ringo, then quickly lowered her gaze again, flustered. "H-hello… can I help you?"
That confirmed it—Gendou Ringo now knew it wasn't just their looks; even their voices were alike. "You must have noticed it already, right?"
"Noticed what?"
"…That we look very much alike."
"I–is that so?"
"Don't be so tense. I was just curious—it felt strange, so I wanted to meet you."
"It is kind of strange…"
Momoyo's head nearly disappeared beneath the table. As long as Ringo didn't leave, it seemed she'd stay that way forever. Oddly enough, her awkwardness made Ringo feel more relaxed.
Taking a deep breath, Ringo finally voiced what she'd come to say. "Actually, I'm an orphan. I don't remember much about my childhood."
It wasn't the kind of thing you'd normally tell a stranger just because you looked alike—but unless she asked, she'd never know. What if there really was a connection? If there was even half a chance, she couldn't just ignore it.
Momoyo's reaction made Ringo's heart skip a beat. The girl looked up suddenly, eyes wide in surprise. "You… you're an orphan too?!"
"You too…?" Ringo repeated softly.
If their resemblance was a coincidence, fine—but two nearly identical, same-aged orphans both born in Inazuma? That stretched coincidence beyond reason.
But then Momoyo's next words made everything confusing again. "Sorry… I must've given you the wrong idea. My parents passed away five years ago. I was just surprised—that there could be such an uncanny resemblance in this world…"
"Is that so?"
"Mm…"
Momoyo was lying.
She had been taken to Snezhnaya as a child, raised in the orphanage "House of the Hearth" established by the Fatui Harbinger known as The Servant. She didn't even know who she really was. What parents could she possibly have?
She had often wondered: Who am I? Why am I alone? Did something happen to my parents… or did they abandon me?
When she'd first seen Ringo that morning, she'd felt the same impossible spark of hope. Hearing that Ringo was also an orphan had made her chest tighten—but as a Fatui agent, no matter if they were related or not, the safest choice was to keep her distance.
She lowered her head, the air between them growing heavy.
"…Sorry for disturbing you."
Gendou Ringo gave Momoyo one last look, then turned and walked away.
Even as a member of Shuumatsuban, she could tell Momoyo had wavered—and lied. But given the girl's attitude, there was no point in pressing further.
Still… it felt so regrettable.
She wondered how the Guuji would react to this outcome. With half a day left, she might as well return to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"…"
By the time Gendou Ringo realized someone was following her, she had already left Hanamizaka and entered the deserted plains of Byakko Field—a place perfectly suited for doing bad things unseen.
"…Looks like I'm not as calm as I thought I was."