A flash of light appeared before Kuki Shinobu's eyes.
When it faded, she found herself standing in a spacious interior.
"Is this the manga shop? It looks quite a bit better than Yae Publishing House!"
After looking around the shop, a trace of interest flashed through Kuki Shinobu's eyes.
Like the other Inazumans who had visited before her, her first instinct was to compare it with Yae Publishing House.
She couldn't say much about the manga itself yet, but judging from the décor and overall atmosphere, Kuki Shinobu undoubtedly preferred this place.
"The manga here is much more interesting than the ones at Yae Publishing House!"
Yoimiya smiled, then pulled Kuki Shinobu toward the shop.
"Welcome, Miss Yoimiya, and Miss Kuki Shinobu!"
Seeing the two women approach the counter, Han Feng greeted them with a smile.
"Boss, have Miss Alice and Klee arrived?"
Yoimiya asked curiously.
"Mhm. The two of them have already gone to read manga."
Han Feng pointed toward where the two were sitting.
"Then I'll go read too! Boss, I'll leave my friend to you!"
Seeing the two fiery figures, Yoimiya happily placed a bag of Mora on the counter before heading toward the bookshelves.
After browsing for a while, she eventually picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and headed inside.
"Miss Kuki Shinobu, would you like to read some manga? It's 100,000 Mora per person, and you can only read once a day!"
After Yoimiya left, Han Feng's gaze fell on the masked girl.
"100,000 Mora? That's expensive!"
Kuki Shinobu was surprised by the price.
Although the Arataki Gang sounded rather imposing, in reality, they were incredibly strapped for cash.
The gang members often had to take temporary jobs just to make ends meet.
Otherwise, their boss, Arataki Itto, wouldn't constantly be competing with children.
Even considering his personality, it was hardly befitting of a gang leader!
"But it's worth the price, isn't it?"
Han Feng smiled faintly.
If this had been during the early days of the shop, he might have gone to great lengths to explain how miraculous the rewards were.
But it had been open for so long now!
Its reputation had already spread far and wide.
Anyone who needed to know about it naturally knew.
And since Kuki Shinobu had been brought here by Yoimiya, she had obviously heard at least a little about it.
There was no need for him to waste his breath.
"That is true."
Kuki Shinobu pondered for a moment before nodding.
If she really could obtain a good reward, 100,000 Mora wasn't much at all.
With that thought, she took out a bag of Mora and placed it on the counter.
This money was her personal savings.
Before she left the Grand Narukami Shrine, her older sister, Kuki Yuki, had secretly given it to her.
Originally, she hadn't planned on spending it.
But for the sake of reading manga, she had no choice but to use some of it for now.
"Boss, could you recommend a manga for me?"
After paying, Kuki Shinobu asked softly.
It was her first time here, so she had no idea what to read.
"This one."
After accepting the Mora, Han Feng casually waved his hand.
A manga flew from the bookshelf and landed on the counter.
"Runeterra?"
Kuki Shinobu picked up the manga, curiosity flashing through her eyes.
"There's a character in this manga who's quite similar to you. You might want to pay attention to her."
Han Feng smiled.
Back in his previous life, when Kuki Shinobu had first appeared as a character, he had immediately felt that she looked quite similar to Akali from a certain game.
Especially when she wore her mask.
The resemblance was practically uncanny.
If the two of them ever met, it would definitely be interesting.
"Someone who's similar to me?"
Hearing that, Kuki Shinobu became even more interested.
Could it be someone who also wanted freedom and had run away from home?
With that thought, Kuki Shinobu became eager to find out.
"Boss, then I'll go read the manga."
"Mhm. The shop is divided into a Silent Zone and a Discussion Zone. Choose whichever you prefer."
Han Feng nodded.
"Thank you, Boss!"
After thanking him, Kuki Shinobu took the manga and headed toward the Silent Zone.
She preferred a quieter atmosphere.
Inazuma.
Outside Solace Book House.
Not long after Yoimiya and Kuki Shinobu entered the manga shop, a figure wearing clothing resembling a kabuki costume and a woven hat arrived at the entrance of the alley.
It was Scaramouche, who had come from outside Inazuma City.
"That black-haired young man is inside?"
Scaramouche frowned slightly.
After arriving in Inazuma City, he had immediately begun investigating the black-haired young man.
Thanks to Kamisato Ayaka's previous inquiries, his investigation had been much easier.
After spending some Mora, he had finally arrived at this secluded alley—
the very place Kamisato Ayaka had visited twice.
Although he was somewhat skeptical about the information he had received, there was a saying:
Well, I'm already here.
So Scaramouche decided to take a look inside.
As he continued deeper into the alley, the manga shop gradually came into view.
But the moment he saw the four characters "Solace Book House" above the entrance, Scaramouche's expression changed.
He was utterly shocked.
"Inazuma has that manga shop too?!"
After Signora discovered the wonders of the manga shop, she had written to the Tsaritsa numerous times, urging her to take it seriously.
Faced with such a mysterious shop, the Tsaritsa naturally discussed it with the Fatui Harbingers.
At first, most of the Harbingers hadn't taken it seriously.
Just as Dottore had thought, they assumed Signora had fabricated the existence of such a shop to avoid punishment for failing her mission.
But after Dottore's death, the information spreading from Mondstadt and Liyue, and that terrifying display of sword intent—the Fatui finally began taking the matter seriously.
That was also why Signora had returned to Snezhnaya.
They wanted to learn more about the shop in greater detail.
As one of the Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche naturally knew about it.
He also knew that the mysterious shop was called Solace Book House.
At the time, he had even planned to go to Mondstadt and investigate it himself.
But halfway there, the Tsaritsa had instead sent him to Inazuma.
He never expected that he would ultimately encounter the manga shop here in Inazuma!
What an unexpected surprise!
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