Chapter 275: He'd Forgotten She Always Wore One
Unlike the ordinary citizens, the staff members from Yae Publishing House—those responsible for maintaining order—immediately turned their eyes toward the "Raiden Shogun" atop the palanquin, who was actually Yae Miko cosplaying as her own friend.
They knew that with their Guuji herself present, the real Shogun shouldn't get angry at all. So how could this…
"Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign!"
Yae Miko was clearer than anyone that this lightning had come from Narukami herself—specifically from Raiden Ei within the Plane of Euthymia.
But she also understood that Ei would never act without cause.
There must have been something on that bell tower—something significant enough to make Ei strike.
However, the meet-and-greet still had to continue. So, imitating her friend's usual gestures, she raised and swung the naginata in her hand.
At the same time, she summoned her elemental power.
BOOM—
Several bolts of lightning spiraled around the entire palanquin, thunder booming like distant drums. Combined with the flickering violet glow, the palanquin now seemed like the descent of divine majesty.
The ones who reacted first were not the Publishing House employees, but the Vision holders borrowed from the Tenryou Commission.
"Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign!"
They snapped to attention, shouting the slogan in unison with Yae Miko.
Kuroda—who had been lectured by Yae Miko more times than he wanted to remember—seemed to finally be showing some competence today.
He raised both arms high, waving them over his head to draw everyone's attention.
"Eyes on me! I have an announcement! What you just saw was a performance arranged by Guuji Yae especially for this Miss Hina meet-and-greet! It was originally planned to be done using fireworks, but the owner of Naganohara Fireworks had an emergency, so we had to perform it this way instead! We hope everyone understands!"
"Eh? But I didn't—"
A red-clad figure in the crowd began to speak, but someone wearing glasses behind her quickly stopped her and whispered something in her ear.
Anyone personally chosen by Yae Miko was never a fool. They all understood that whether or not this was actually part of the program—today, it absolutely had to be.
The orang-haired girl's expression shifted slightly. The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.
If things were as Yae Miko's subordinates claimed, then she had to cooperate.
Otherwise…
Her eyes drifted to the smoking ruins of the bell tower, and she quietly slipped out of the crowd.
"Alright, alright! We apologize for startling everyone—this was due to oversight on Yae Publishing House's part. As compensation, we'll be giving limited-edition drinks to all Miss Hina fans!"
Under Yae Miko's direction and the Publishing House's efforts, the crowd soon came back to life.
Aside from a handful still feeling uneasy, most people refocused their attention on Miss Hina.
. . .
"Good thing I ran fast."
Bai Luo—now completely invisible—looked at the still-smoldering pile of rubble with lingering fear.
He knew Raiden Shogun's temperament well. The moment he locked eyes with the Raiden Ei inside the Plane of Euthymia, he immediately triggered his quantumization escape.
As it turned out, that was absolutely the right choice. If he had taken that strike directly, he would've been suffering for a long time.
He glanced back up again. The Eye of Stormy Judgment was still scanning the streets, clearly unconvinced that a single thunderbolt could kill such a suspicious individual.
"Looks like I've grown careless after going so long without heavenly trouble. Very well… once I finish my current matters, I'll pay you a proper visit, Lady Raiden."
As for an offering to the Electro Archon?
Let me think…
How about… a whole wagon of Sunsettias?
. . .
"Boss, the fact that you got selected for this—no matter how you look at it, it's gotta be a trap, right?"
Shinobu, who had already disapproved of Itto having dinner with Miss Hina, felt even more uneasy after witnessing that thunder strike moments ago.
She understood the saying "fools have their own luck," but the fact that he was chosen this time—no matter how she looked at it—felt incredibly suspicious.
"It's like this, Shinobu—your boss has lost who-knows-how-many bug-fights in his life, and always gets wiped out when playing cards. Do you know how important it is for me to experience being the lucky one, just this once? Are you really gonna crush your boss's dream like that?"
"..."
Looking at Itto's pitiful expression, even Shinobu felt her resolve soften a little.
Her boss drifted through life without a care, always simple-minded and carefree; he rarely mentioned things like dreams in front of her.
Had she really been too strict with him?
Maybe she should let him have his way, just this once?
But just as she was about to agree, she suddenly realized something.
Her boss… had a dream?
That was more unbelievable than a Lavender Melon learning to talk!
"Boss, who taught you to say that?"
Arms crossed, Shinobu asked Itto with a stern expression.
"Mr. Bai, of course."
Itto answered without hesitation.
For the sake of helping him have dinner with Miss Hina, Mr. Bai had planned everything down to the tiniest detail.
He even predicted what Shinobu would say and how she would react—everything calculated perfectly.
What a mysterious man indeed.
"I knew it… him again."
As the external brain of the Arataki Gang, Shinobu understood her boss's personality better than anyone.
He could be clever at times, yes… but absolutely not in this kind of way.
But for some reason, whenever Itto mentioned Mr. Bai, her head always buzzed faintly.
Was she sick?
Come to think of it, she really had been acting strangely lately. According to the others, she had left saying she needed to go find something, and then never returned for the entire night.
The next morning she just… appeared next to them again, with no explanation.
The problem was—she herself couldn't remember anything from that time.
Sigh…
Maybe worrying about her boss every day had made her ill.
She should probably go see a doctor when she had the time.
"Come on, stop thinking about Miss Hina. Better focus on what part-time job we're working today—our Arataki Gang operating funds are almost gone again."
Shinobu shook her head. Hearing that her boss had followed Mr. Bai's instructions to gain her sympathy—no, she definitely was upset.
But what upset her even more was that so-called Mr. Bai himself.
There was no way she would let her boss fall into that man's schemes and go eat dinner with Miss Hina.
But she failed to notice that the Arataki Gang members—including Itto—had their expressions shift all at once.
And then Shinobu felt a tap on her shoulder.
She turned automatically—and a fruit was shoved right in front of her face. If not for her face guard, it probably would've been stuffed directly into her mouth.
"Mr. Bai?"
Shinobu had been confused, but the moment Itto called out his name, she immediately became alert.
Without hesitation, Bai Luo dashed into a nearby alley.
"Don't run!"
Instinctively, Shinobu chased after him.
But she didn't notice that the Arataki Gang members she had been blocking took advantage of her being lured away and sneaked off toward the event venue.
[If Shinobu won't let you go, I'll find a way to lure her away.]
Even this had been precisely calculated by Mr. Bai.
"It's empty?"
Chasing Mr. Bai into the alley, Shinobu found it completely empty.
And when she realized what was happening, it was already too late.
Thunk—
With a muffled sound, Shinobu collapsed face-down, unmoving.
Bai Luo appeared behind her.
"I was planning on giving you a Sunsettia, you know. I gave you a chance, but you wasted it."
Glancing at the face guard covering Shinobu's face, Bai Luo sighed with mild disappointment.
It was his own fault, he'd forgotten she always wore one.
. . . . .
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