Sangonomiya Kokomi had calculated many things, but she had never calculated that the Fatui would be so arrogant as to not even bother concealing their misdeeds.
Even a Fatui Harbinger himself had shown up.
And in such a manner.
"I have long heard of the Instructor's great name. It is a true honor to meet you today. May I ask what business brings the Instructor to my humble Watatsumi Island?"
The pressure on Sangonomiya Kokomi was greater than ever before.
But even facing such a figure, she had to maintain her elegance under pressure, for she was the pillar of Watatsumi Island.
If even she were to fall, the fate of Watatsumi Island was easy to imagine.
"Discussing matters in this desolate wilderness, is this the hospitality of your Watatsumi Island?"
The sea breeze blew gently. Although the Instructor's voice was a bit calmer than she had imagined, his tone was aggressive.
"We have been rude. This way, please."
If it had been Tatyana, Sangonomiya Kokomi could still have driven her away.
But the man who had descended from the sky was a genuine Fatui Harbinger, truly a figure who could decide the life or death of Watatsumi Island with a single sentence. Therefore, Sangonomiya Kokomi had to treat him with the utmost seriousness.
At the same time, she roughly understood how the Battousai had been able to impersonate this Fatui Instructor.
Their voices were too similar!
Perhaps compared to the Battousai, this Instructor's tone was slightly deeper, but that gentle way of speaking was almost identical.
The only way to distinguish the two was likely their aura and hair color.
The Battousai was like a reverse-blade sword in its sheath. While he might exert pressure on those around him, after spending time with him, one would discover he was actually much gentler than imagined.
And the Instructor?
He was a sharp blade coated in poison. His aggressive aura was something that even Sangonomiya Kokomi, long accustomed to being in a high position, found difficult to withstand.
"This is Borou Village, the foundation of our resistance army. I wonder if this place meets your excellency's requirements?"
Here, Sangonomiya Kokomi had actually played a small trick.
She appeared to have invited Bai Luo to the foundation of Watatsumi Island with great sincerity, but the most important place for Watatsumi Island was actually the Sangonomiya Shrine at its center.
Yet, she wasn't exactly lying, because as the headquarters of the Watatsumi priesthood, this place was indeed the foundation of the resistance.
"Hmm, it's not bad."
Bai Luo said, seemingly absent-minded as he casually fiddled with his dagger.
But the cold glint from the dagger seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding air by several degrees.
At Sangonomiya Kokomi's signal, an attendant led Bai Luo and Tatyana to a temporary meeting hall.
As for the subordinates he had brought, they were arranged elsewhere.
It was not their place to listen in on a conversation between leaders.
"If the [Instructor] is here to ask about the funds, all I can say is no comment. It was an anonymous donation, and such situations have occurred frequently since the war between Watatsumi Island and the Shogunate army began."
After both parties were seated, Sangonomiya Kokomi decided to strike first to gain the upper hand.
The point of conflict between them now was this sum of Mora that had been lost from the Fatui.
Fortunately, Mr. Battousai had foreseen this situation and had donated it to Watatsumi Island anonymously.
This gave her more room to maneuver.
"Funds? Apologies, but I don't care about any funds. An amount of that level is merely my pocket money for a day. What I care more about is the one sleeping eternally outside."
"..."
Bai Luo's words made Sangonomiya Kokomi feel as if her punch had landed on a wad of cotton.
But she also keenly picked up on some details in his words.
The one sleeping eternally outside, wasn't that Igor, who had already become a pile of rotten flesh?
And Igor had been eliminated by the Battousai.
In other words... this Instructor had already sensed something from that pile of putrid meat.
"Igor contributed a great deal to our Watatsumi Island. I never expected him to meet such an unfortunate end, and what I expected even less was that he was actually... Please rest assured, Mr. Instructor, our Watatsumi Island will definitely give him justice."
In fact, from this point on, Sangonomiya Kokomi's position had already weakened.
In a negotiation between two parties, what is the most important thing?
Presence.
Regardless of who is right or wrong, presence is the most important thing.
And Sangonomiya Kokomi had been very imposing before, at least placing herself on equal footing with the other party.
But starting with a term of respect like "Mister," the duel between the two had already been decided.
At a glance, the calm and composed Bai Luo had a much stronger presence than the slightly restless Sangonomiya Kokomi.
"Justice? Do you think I came here for such a boring and worthless thing? I only know one thing: our Fatui member is dead, and the Mora he was carrying has appeared on your Watatsumi Island."
Bai Luo's dark eyes stared straight at her through the holes in his mask. That slightly playful gaze sent a shiver down Sangonomiya Kokomi's spine, raising goosebumps.
The other party was intending to forcefully pin the blame on her.
"If you're going to put it that way, shouldn't your side, who planted a spy on our Watatsumi Island, be the one to give us justice?"
Not daring to meet Bai Luo's gaze, Sangonomiya Kokomi looked to the side as she picked up her teacup.
The moment her words fell, Bai Luo on the opposite side suddenly burst into laughter.
As if he had heard a hilarious joke.
He stood up, walked over to the anxious Sangonomiya Kokomi, lifted her chin with the dagger in his hand, and leaned in close to her ear.
"Haven't you always thought of us Fatui as the bad guys? So, what's wrong with us bad guys planting a spy in the camp of you self-proclaimed good guys?"
"..."
Was she afraid?
Actually, Sangonomiya Kokomi wasn't very afraid.
It was more a sense of powerlessness.
She had thought that, based on Sangonomiya Shrine's investigation of the Fatui, the intelligence they possessed was sufficient to deal with any of their various incursions.
She never expected... that the Fatui would instead abandon all the roundabout tactics and stand before her in such a forceful manner.
A sharp knife to cut a tangled mess might not be a brilliant plan, but it was definitely the fastest and most effective.
What made her feel even more aggrieved was that, facing this plan that was almost devoid of any skill, she had no way of stopping it.
"What exactly do you want? Our Watatsumi Island doesn't have anything worth the Fatui's attention, does it?"
Feeling his warm breath on her cheek, Sangonomiya Kokomi clenched her fists, her face a mixture of shame and anger.
But speaking of things worth the Fatui's attention...
She remembered that place beneath the Sangonomiya Shrine.
The Enkanomiya!
Could it be that the Fatui's goal was actually Enkanomiya?
But in all her dealings with Igor over the years, she had never seen him investigate Enkanomiya.
"Oh? But in my eyes, this place is full of treasures."
Putting away the dagger that was pressed against her chin, Bai Luo said with a light chuckle.
For example, the ornamental fish right in front of him.
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