However, as soon as the two of them walked out of Komore Teahouse, they encountered an unexpected person.
"Yae Miko? Why are you here?"
"Of course, something has happened. I can no longer sense the omamori I placed on Shiki. Your relationship with her is quite good, so I came to ask if anything has happened."
Although Yae Miko was somewhat mischievous, she could discern the situation at such a critical moment. Clearly, now was not the time for jokes.
"The last place I sensed her was Yashiori Island. Do you know why she went there?"
However, somewhat to Yae Miko's surprise, it was the Fontainian next to Ayaka who answered her.
"It's all because of me…"
"For the past few days, I've been plagued by nightmares, so we followed the clues that appeared in my dreams to Yashiori Island. I didn't expect it to be a trap set by the Fatui."
"Shiki and the Traveler were both captured by Balladeer. I only managed to escape under the Traveler's desperate cover."
"Hmm… this is bad…" Yae Miko, for once, frowned.
"That fellow Balladeer is no easy opponent. Even I can only hold out against him for a while, at most achieving a mutually destructive outcome by relying on the power of a Raiden Shogun's familiar."
"So we are now planning to go to Tenshukaku to find the Raiden Shogun. Only she can rescue Shiki and the Traveler!" Xavier said.
"Your choice is correct, but unfortunately, Ei is very weak right now."
"I was wondering if she was up to something again, but after seeing you two, I understood."
As Raiden Ei's familiar, Yae Miko could sense Raiden Ei's condition. Not in extreme detail, but sensing whether Raiden Ei was in good condition or not was perfectly fine.
Correspondingly, the latter could also sense her condition.
And now, in Yae Miko's perception, Raiden Ei's condition was very listless, as if she had expended too much power.
As for the reason, it must be the katana on Ayaka's back. She could feel a powerful elemental power of thunder from it. It seemed Raiden Ei's excessive consumption was due to this blade.
So she asked, "Kamisato Clan's little one, this blade on your back, Ei gave it to you, didn't she?"
"Yes, the Shogun said this blade is very important and asked me to deliver it to Shiki's hands." Ayaka nodded.
"Heh heh, then it seems it's time to give this blade to her."
Yae Miko smiled. A blade forged by Raiden Ei, requiring such a vast expenditure of elemental power, must be of astonishing quality.
At least in her perception, the power contained within this katana was no less than that of Musou Isshin.
With such a divine weapon to assist, perhaps the rescue operation for Shiki wouldn't even need Ei.
Of course, there was another reason: she couldn't guarantee that the Puppet Shogun wouldn't harm Shiki.
The Puppet's fundamental setting was to pursue eternity, and Inazuma's current situation had deviated from this path of eternity—the eternity in the Puppet's setting, that is.
And the person who caused all this, turning Inazuma's page, was Shiki. Who knew what the Puppet would do then?
If Raiden Ei's condition were good, it would be fine, but now she had exhausted her elemental power and needed rest. It was hard not to worry that the Puppet Shogun might go berserk.
"Then without further ado, let's quickly go to Yashiori Island. Let's not trouble Ei."
"Ah? Not trouble the Shogun? Then how will we fight Balladeer? Didn't you say you couldn't defeat him?"
Xavier was completely dumbfounded. Without calling upon the Raiden Shogun, wouldn't going there just be a suicide mission?
"So the one fighting Balladeer isn't us. Ei expended too much power forging this blade; calling her wouldn't help anyway." Yae Miko said.
However, this was a lie. She said this because she was unsure of the Puppet Shogun's state.
But Xavier didn't know about any Puppet Shogun. He just thought that the Raiden Shogun had forged a divine weapon for Shiki and had exhausted too much power, and now they just needed to take this blade there and give it to Shiki, and she could defeat any god or Buddha…
What nonsense!
Could a single blade really be that absurd?
"But with just this one blade, will it really be enough?" Xavier asked, very worried.
"Of course it will be enough. You know, this is a true divine weapon."
Yae Miko covered her mouth and chuckled, though she herself wasn't sure if it would work. She could only place her hopes on Shiki.
After all, compared to the unstable Puppet Shogun, Shiki was clearly more reliable.
"Alright, let's go. If we delay too much time, it will truly be too late."
"Understood. The Kamisato Clan has idle Waveriders in Ritou. We can depart as soon as we arrive."
Although this matter originated from Xavier, Ayaka did not blame him, because it was pointless.
Friends helping each other was natural, and in case of an accident, unity was even more important than mutual blame.
Besides, what good would blaming do? Could it free Shiki?
Clearly not. So, instead of blaming others, it was better to quickly finalize the plan.
"Shao, prepare a fast carriage. We need it now!" Ayaka instructed.
"Understood, Young Miss!"
Shao nodded, then left Komore Teahouse.
And Yae Miko said, "For this trip to Yashiori Island, the three of us are enough. We don't need anyone else."
"Balladeer's strength is immense. Ordinary people would only be a nuisance, not only failing to form effective combat power but also slowing down our progress."
"You should know that the larger the team, the easier it is to be discovered."
"When the time comes, I will go to the front to attract the Fatui's attention. Of course, if I can lure Balladeer over, that would be even better. You two will take the opportunity to sneak in and deliver the blade into the hands of little Ryougi."
"That's the general plan. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Ayaka nodded. "At that time, please be extra careful, Yae Miko."
"Don't worry about me. You two should be careful. Fox spirits have nine lives, you know."
Yae Miko said, narrowing her eyes and putting on a mysterious smile.
However, in reality, there were no such things as nine lives. If fox spirits had nine lives, Kitsune Saiguu would not have died.
She just wanted to ease the pressure on these two. If it were the Balladeer from before—no, he should be called Kunikuzushi—then she wouldn't be afraid with her abilities as a Raiden Shogun's familiar.
It was just a pity that the current Balladeer was much stronger than before, and she couldn't defeat him.
She could only rely on the deep impression she had left on him in the past to maneuver and try to stall for more time, so that Shiki could get the blade.
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