Over the next few days, Jiang Yan brought Raiden Ei along and swept through the remaining islands of Inazuma.
Overall, there were gains—
but not many.
Only a few scattered precious chests, which honestly left Jiang Yan a little speechless.
As for Raiden Ei, after spending these past days with Jiang Yan, she gradually discovered that…
he didn't seem nearly as difficult to get along with as she had imagined.
"Eh? Hey, what island is that?"
While flying through the sky, Jiang Yan turned to ask Raiden Ei.
Following his gaze, Ei looked over.
The island shrouded in mist exuded an eerie and unsettling presence.
"This island… should be Tsurumi Island."
Raiden Ei frowned slightly, looking puzzled.
As the Shadow, the embodiment of the Raiden Shogun's martial might, anything involving island planning and administration had always been handled by Raiden Makoto.
Ei only handled fighting.
So she wasn't very familiar with matters related to Tsurumi.
"Tsurumi Island?"
Jiang Yan frowned as well, recalling something unpleasant.
On Tsurumi Island…
He remembered a very tragic storyline.
Something about… Ruu?
"Hey, Ei—did you once slay a thunderbird crackling with Electro lightning?"
He couldn't remember the details too clearly, only that it involved the Thunderbird and Ruu.
A very sad story.
Since it wasn't part of the main quest, he'd followed Ms. Lettuce's guide when he did it and hadn't paid full attention.
Ei thought seriously for a while, then shook her head.
"No. I have not."
A firm answer.
Jiang Yan nodded.
It seemed the story hadn't begun yet.
Should we… go take a look?
He had nothing else urgent to do anyway.
With that in mind, he turned to Ei:
"Let's go check out that island."
"It hasn't been explored much anyway."
Raiden Ei nodded. She was here to accompany him, after all—she wouldn't object to wherever he wanted to go.
"Then let's go."
Seeing her agreement, Jiang Yan brought her to the shores of Tsurumi Island.
Gazing at the fog thickening over the island, Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes.
This fog… definitely wasn't natural.
Something was affecting it.
His senses were never wrong.
Although unlike the game, he didn't have the Thunderbird's feather as an aid, this little fog was nowhere near enough to stop him or Raiden Ei.
Jiang Yan stretched a hand into the mist and lightly waved.
Vector Manipulation activated instantly, and the surrounding fog parted as if brushed aside by an unseen force, dispersing automatically with each step he took.
Raiden Ei's pupils flashed with violet light, and the fog around her retreated instantly as if terrified.
Together, the two of them entered the fog-covered Tsurumi Island.
As they went deeper, the mist grew thicker and thicker.
It didn't hinder either Jiang Yan or Ei, but it was still rather unpleasant to look at.
Before long, a village appeared before them.
"There's… actually a village here??"
Ei said in shock.
She'd always assumed this was an uninhabited island.
She didn't expect people to live here.
"Strange. Let's observe a bit."
Jiang Yan said, noting the expressions of the people here.
Ei nodded and followed him into the village.
"Ah? Hello!"
"Where did you come from?"
Along the way, the villagers acted as though they didn't even see the two of them, going about their work as usual.
The one who spoke was a very young boy, bright and cheerful.
"Hello there, little one."
Jiang Yan crouched down, patting the boy's head as he asked with a smile:
"We're travelers from elsewhere. Are you people from this island?"
"Wow! You really came from outside the island!"
The boy nodded excitedly, eyes shining.
"My name is Ruu. I've never seen the world beyond this island!"
"Can you tell me what it's like out there?"
So this was Ruu?
Jiang Yan froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected the first person to talk to him to be one of the central figures of Tsurumi Island's story—
The tragic boy: Ruu.
"Of course, Ruu."
Jiang Yan smiled and ruffled his hair.
"But first, can you tell me the stories of this island?"
"When you finish, I'll tell you the stories I've seen outside. How's that?"
"Okay!"
Ruu's eyes sparkled. He was incredibly curious about the world beyond.
Under Ruu's lead, Jiang Yan and Ei took a tour around the village.
On a small slope at the edge of the settlement, the three of them sat on the grass while Ruu excitedly narrated the tales of the island.
"Lord Thunderbird really likes my singing! We even made a promise—
the next time we meet, I'll sing my very best for it!"
Ruu spoke with great enthusiasm as he described his relationship with the Thunderbird, Kapatcirl.
Jiang Yan simply watched the boy with a gentle smile.
He said:
"Then, when you sing for Lord Thunderbird next time, can I listen too?"
"Of course!"
"Um… I'm just not sure if Lord Thunderbird would mind…"
Ruu eagerly wanted to agree, but hesitated halfway.
"No worries. I'll stand farther away."
Jiang Yan laughed and rubbed his head again.
"All right! Big brother, now it's your turn! Tell me about the stories outside the island!"
Ruu's eyes sparkled again.
Raiden Ei also turned to Jiang Yan, curious.
She wanted to know what he would say.
"Hm… then I'll tell you some of the things I've experienced…"
Jiang Yan thought for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
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