Taking the book, Yae Miko fell into silence. "Why is it that when you write stories about the other two nations, the updates are consistently smooth, but when it comes to Inazuma, you keep taking breaks?"
Lucian hadn't expected this. Originally, he had planned to halt updates to mess with Ei, but Ei didn't even read them—instead, he ended up messing with the little fox.
But messing with the little fox wasn't bad either. When Lucian had gone to the Grand Narukami Shrine to find Yae Miko before, she had said his drawings were quite good and promised him a reward.
Lucian wanted to touch her tail—rejected. He wanted to pinch her ears—still rejected.
He wanted to see the fox lady in her fox form—yet again rejected.
"Thrice I was denied. What kind of reward is this even supposed to be?"
Aside from these "kemonomimi" traits, Lucian didn't really have anything else he wanted as a reward.
If you're going to break your promise about the reward, then I'll break my promise about the updates. Heh.
While Yae Miko and Lucian were having their "friendly" exchange, Lucian suddenly received a message from Lumine:
"Thoma's been captured!"
Lucian froze for a moment. Even if fate couldn't be defied, did it really have to happen this quickly?
Wasn't the Tenryou Commission still preparing for the Vision Hunt Decree ceremony? Why were they arresting people ahead of schedule? Weren't they afraid the Yashiro Commission would storm the execution grounds early?
And wasn't the Traveler supposed to be with Thoma? No matter what, it shouldn't have gotten to the point where he was captured without even having a chance to call for help, right?
As it turned out, it was all a "coincidence." The Traveler and Thoma had also wanted to read Lucian's new book, so they planned to go buy it.
Thoma said he could handle buying the book himself, so Lumine didn't accompany him. Instead, she went to find Yoimiya.
While Lumine was chatting with Yoimiya, someone from Komore Teahouse came to inform her that Thoma had been arrested by the Tenryou Commission.
No one had expected the Tenryou Commission to be this bold. Everyone knew capturing him was pointless, yet they did it anyway.
It was also because Lucian hadn't written the subsequent events in this part of the story.
The information revealed so far was roughly: Thoma gets captured, the Traveler and the Yashiro Commission try to rescue him, then end up opposing the Shogun and getting branded as criminals.
Having the Shogun become enemies with either the Yashiro Commission or the Traveler was clearly in the Tenryou Commission's best interest.
They didn't know that after the Traveler joined the resistance, the Fatui would get involved. What they least expected was that the Traveler could actually "convince" the Raiden Shogun.
The most critical point was the second one. In the eyes of the Tenryou Commission, the Shogun was invincible. If the Traveler opposed her, wouldn't they just be a small fry to be crushed at will?
Who could've predicted that the Traveler, with Yae Miko's help, would actually persuade the Raiden Shogun? The Tenryou Commission wouldn't even dare to dream that the Shogun's blade could be blocked.
The Tenryou Commission only knew that if they captured Thoma early, the Yashiro Commission would surely come to rescue him—and that was exactly what they wanted.
After Kujou Sara's "defection," the Fatui approached the Kujou Clan head to discuss terms.
With the Fatui's involvement, the Kujou Clan head thought to make use of them. Even if the Yashiro Commission or the Traveler came to rescue Thoma, the Fatui would handle it.
No matter which side won, it would benefit the Tenryou Commission. If the Fatui won, that went without saying—they were already collaborators.
Even if the Yashiro Commission won, they'd have to pay some kind of price. How could they oppose the Tenryou Commission afterward?
The Tenryou Commission could even take this chance to cut ties with the Fatui. Why not?
A win-win! And by "win-win," it meant no matter which of them won, I would profit in the end!
Unfortunately, compared to Lucian, the information he possessed was utterly asymmetrical. No matter what, he couldn't outmaneuver Lucian.
If nothing else, Lucian understood the Fatui's true goals far better than Kujou Takayuki.
When the time came, who do you think the Fatui would prefer to cooperate with?
This was also why Lucian hadn't bothered to protect Thoma in advance. He could have, but it wasn't necessary.
Now that the Traveler had gone to rescue him, breaking into the Tenryou Commission's prison would likely allow them to save Master Masakatsu as well.
"Kujou Sara, I think the time has come," Lucian said with a smile.
He had originally planned to take things slow, but since the other side had made the first move, he had no choice but to respond.
Yae Miko also smiled. "So the little author thinks so too? How wonderful."
===✧✦✧===
On the other side, Lumine and Yoimiya had successfully infiltrated the Tenryou Commission's prison.
Or rather, the Tenryou Commission had allowed them to. The guards inside the prison were Fatui—the Tenryou Commission hadn't stationed many of their own there.
Instead, they had arranged plenty of personnel outside the prison, waiting to make their entrance once the fighting inside was over.
Lumine and Yoimiya hid in the shadows, peeking inside. Several Fatui were guarding Thoma.
Thoma, however, was completely unruffled, sitting cross-legged calmly. If his hands hadn't been tied, he might've even started reading the new book he'd bought.
Compared to the Raiden Shogun, the Fatui's intimidation was nothing.
"Should we make our move?" Yoimiya asked.
Since the Traveler had been in constant contact with Lucian, whether or not to act was actually being decided by him on the other end.
"Go ahead," Lucian said.
The moment the words left his mouth, Yoimiya slid out from cover, bow drawn.
"Enemy—!" The Fatui member didn't even get to finish the word "attack" before Yoimiya's Pyro-infused arrow struck him down.
Another Fatui Pyroslinger quickly raised his gun to aim, only for a massive rock to suddenly drop from above, blocking his line of sight.
When he looked up again, a flash of purple lightning filled his vision as Lumine's Harbinger of Dawn came straight for him.
Luckily, a Fatui Anemoboxer reacted quickly, rushing forward to block the strike.
"Thanks—" Before he could finish, the Pyroslinger noticed vines coiling around his legs. A Dendro seed had somehow appeared beside him.
"Not good!" the Fatui Geochanter shouted, trying to erect a barrier.
Yoimiya winked, then pursed her lips and made a soft sound: "Boom!"
The flaming arrow ignited the Dendro seed—Burgeon!
Boom! Boom-boom-boom! A chain of explosions sent all three Fatui flying.
"Easy-peasy~! Hehehe, we're so amazing." With the fight over, Paimon emerged.
Luckily, both Lumine and Yoimiya were the type to indulge her, so they didn't tease her about it.
But let's not forget—the Traveler was still connected to Lucian via communication.
"They're very strong, but you didn't do anything, little Paimon," Lucian teased.
"Ugh, can't you let me have this one moment? Why so stingy?!" Paimon puffed her cheeks.
Despite her grumbling, she wasn't idle. She flew over to Thoma and began untying his bonds.
"The Traveler really is incredible," Yoimiya marveled.
Combat wasn't her forte. She could handle a few Shogunate soldiers or Fatui, but compared to Lumine, she was clearly outmatched.
"It's because of Lucian's help," Lumine said.
During her time in Inazuma, Lucian had taken her to Sumeru to unlock Dendro.
Thanks to him, Lumine had already activated the Dendro and Hydro Statues of the Seven. Now, with five elements at her disposal, she wasn't even afraid of Scaramouche.
"Oh, and we should thank Sayu too—she got us into the prison. Speaking of, where is Sayu?" Yoimiya looked around curiously.
Only then did they notice that Sayu had already fallen asleep in their previous hiding spot, curled up like a little "roly-poly."
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice - Kamisato Ayato: About Thoma's Capture
"Hmm... what a coincidence. But then again, isn't this perfect timing?"