Seeing that he couldn't scare the Traveler, Konda Mamoru mentioned another strange thing: a broken cart had appeared at the village entrance.
"Look, over there. The Hilichurls are digging through it."
After quickly dealing with the Hilichurls, the Traveler found a damaged cargo manifest inside the broken cart.
At this point, Ei noticed something off. A cart, cargo, signs of deliberate damage… She roughly guessed what Konda Village had been up to.
Sure enough, as the Traveler continued investigating and found a Mora pouch by the dried-up well, she also realized something was wrong. Why would there be a Mora pouch by the well?
It's not like someone committing suicide would deliberately leave their money by the well for others to pick up. That's just too strange!
Paimon thought the same, so she said:
["Ah! You mean we should make the Mora pouch disappear, right?"]
Classic Paimon! Readers chuckled knowingly, understanding that Paimon was joking.
Paimon's greed was real, but so was her caution. She wouldn't just pick up something in such a bizarre situation.
The Traveler went to confront Konda Densuke. With so many clues, Konda Densuke couldn't keep hiding the truth and was ready to confess everything.
However, Paimon jumped in with her analysis first:
["It's crystal clear! Grandpa Densuke, you actually…"]
["Robbed the Shogunate's escort cart! In the struggle, you smashed the cart with one punch, and the cargo sack flew off and fell into the ditch."]
Of course, it was impossible for an old man to suddenly rip off his shirt, reveal a muscular physique, and smash a cart with one punch. That would be too much for the old guy.
In reality, a group of young men from Konda Village, after getting drunk, had the audacity to rob the Shogunate's transport cart. The village chief had merely helped cover it up.
But such an act was extremely serious, and helping to conceal it carried no small guilt.
Ei nodded. It matched her analysis. Lucian had said she was sometimes as foolish as Paimon, but how could that be? She was brilliant most of the time.
As for Konda Village's actions, Ei wouldn't forgive them.
Although there were no casualties, attacking the Shogunate's transport cart was no laughing matter. Severe punishment was inevitable.
However, considering their generations of guarding the barrier and for the sake of Kitsune Saiguu, Ei wouldn't implicate the entire Konda Village. Only the culprits would be punished.
In the story, the Traveler had no interest in reporting them. After getting the information from the village chief, she went to the location he mentioned to find the key.
Along the way, she casually slapped some Nobushi and Treasure Hoarders who were trying to steal the treasure, and dug up the key.
Using the key to unlock the dried well, the Traveler dove right in.
This synced up with reality, where Lumine followed the decryption method written in Lucian's book to summon the evil spirits within the barrier and physically purify them.
In the story, the Traveler did the same, but without a guide, she had to rely entirely on herself for the decryption.
Her decryption process became the guide for Lumine in reality.
Lumine: My guide is the decryption process I figured out myself, so technically, I'm not skipping class.
After dealing with the 'evil spirits,' Hanachirusato approached gracefully.
["That was truly remarkable."]
[Paimon exclaimed: "Eek! How… when… why…"]
[The Traveler mimicked Paimon: "Eek!"]
Neither of them had expected Hanachirusato to be tailing them the whole time without being noticed.
This was just in the story. In reality, they also had a fox spirit trailing them.
Hanachirusato had been observing the Traveler and naturally knew about Konda Village's actions, but she had no intention of reporting them because:
["My loyalty lies with the land of Narukami Island, not the Commissions."]
["Besides, she… I have a long-standing connection with Konda Village. If those family lines were to end because of this, I would have no face to…"]
Ei, sharp as ever, immediately caught something off.
This shrine maiden named Hanachirusato had many suspicious points. The 'she' she mentioned likely referred to Kitsune Saiguu, but why did she change it to 'I'?
Could it be… Ei's heart raced, and the floating stones in the Plane of Euthymia sped up, revealing the unease in their master's heart.
Ei didn't dare confirm it. She feared the final answer might disappoint her, so she chose to keep reading.
In the story, Hanachirusato asked the Traveler to deal with the other barriers. The Traveler agreed, asking about the locations of the other barriers and how to meet up afterward.
[Hanachirusato: "'The cherry blossoms of the east and west shores bloom at different paces. The flowers of the south and north branches open and fall differently.'"]
["But everything on this island lies under the shade of her… of the 'Sacred Sakura.' There are still petals falling like snow on this island, so I'm certain we'll meet again."]
Most readers were like: I don't get it. I totally don't get it. Is this what scholars sound like?
Even Ei was a bit confused. Her? The Sacred Sakura? Did Kitsune Saiguu have a connection to the Sacred Sakura?
Ei pondered. Other Inazumans thought the Sacred Sakura had always been there, but Ei knew it had appeared suddenly.
Though strange, it genuinely protected Inazuma's ley lines from disturbance, so Ei had never considered removing it.
Now, it seemed the Sacred Sakura might be related to Kitsune Saiguu? Thinking about the timeline… it did match up. The Sacred Sakura appeared after Kitsune Saiguu's death.
Lucian hadn't mentioned anything about the Sacred Sakura to Ei. Spoiling too much would ruin the fun—how could he enjoy seeing Ei break down if he told her now, hehe.
So, Ei could only rely on her clever mind to analyze it. Whenever she looked at Lucian, he just whistled and looked around, clearly avoiding the topic.
Ei thought: Look at me. Meet my eyes. I don't believe your gaze is empty.
No matter what Ei was thinking or how intense her stare was, Lucian pretended not to notice.
At worst, if she got mad, she'd just make him do extra assignments. Go ahead and train me to death if you dare.
Ei was helpless. Having a walking Baidu Encyclopedia nearby and not being allowed to check it—what's wrong with looking something up?
Aren't you Dora-the-Lucian? Nobita Ei needs your help!
Since Lucian wouldn't talk, Ei had no choice but to keep reading the story, hoping to find the answers she wanted.
She was destined to be disappointed, though, because the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual story wasn't actually about the Sacred Sakura, haha.
In the second part of the story, the Traveler arrived at the second barrier, located at an abandoned shrine northeast of Konda Village.
After some investigation and decryption, the Traveler found a book called The Essentials of the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
Then, the Traveler and Paimon began reading it.
[Paimon: "I roughly skimmed through it, but it's like I didn't understand a thing."]
This line captured the feelings of most readers. Now everyone was Paimon—completely clueless!
Lucian had written out the contents of The Essentials of the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual. Every word was recognizable, but put together, it was incomprehensible.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Raiden Shogun: The Sacred Sakura · Unknown
"Could that Sacred Sakura… be related to Kitsune Saiguu's death?"