"If you like them, I can draw more for you," Lucian said. Drawing emojis was no big deal.
They're tricky to design, but copying them isn't hard.
"Hm," Ei nodded, surprisingly not refusing. It seemed she actually liked them a bit.
"I want some too! I want some too!" Paimon's voice suddenly burst into Lucian's ears.
"Paimon? When did you get here?" Lucian genuinely hadn't noticed that Paimon and the Traveler had entered the Plane of Euthymia.
No wonder, since Lucian always took an unconventional route to get in, he naturally wouldn't see the Traveler arrive. She was pulled in by Ei after reaching the Tenshukaku.
"Just now! I heard you talking about those cute drawings, and I want some too!" Paimon said, excitedly rubbing her hands together.
Lucian nodded. Alright, next time I'll draw a drooling Paimon for you.
"So, what's going on?" Lucian asked.
Lumine usually adventured outside with Paimon and rarely came back. When she did, there was always something up.
Just like that monkey Sun Wukong visiting the Jade Emperor's court—she wouldn't come just to catch up.
Lumine answered, "Yeah, while adventuring outside, I met a shrine maiden who said her name was 'Hanachirusato.'"
"She asked me to help with the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, but it feels a bit troublesome."
"I don't even know where this barrier is."
"So, got any intel on the barrier?"
Lucian got it. Lumine was treating him like some kind of 'Ei Wiki.'
Not going to explore on your own and coming to me for a walkthrough?
Lumine had teamed up with Lucian a few times and had grown accustomed to how useful he was. She was getting a bit hooked.
"Isn't exploring and solving puzzles an adventurer's duty?" Lucian countered.
Lumine didn't argue. Instead, she said bluntly, "Then come with me."
"?" Are you hearing yourself right now?
Exploring is an adventurer's job, but I'm just a novelist!
"Ahem, let's stick to talking about intel," Lucian said with a light cough.
"Just wait a bit longer. My next book is about this story, and it's coming out soon."
That caught Lumine off guard. Are you secretly in love with me and spying on me? I just met her, and you're already publishing a book!
Ei, listening to their conversation, blinked but said nothing.
Did they really have to discuss this in her Plane of Euthymia? Shouldn't they be at the Narukami Shrine?
Isn't the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual Yae Miko's job? Why assign it to a shrine maiden?
"Fine, I'll wait then," Lumine said, not in a rush. She'd met Hanachirusato early enough, so there was still time.
She'd treat the next few days as 'gathering intel.'
"Oh, take this with you. It'll come in handy," Lucian said, handing Lumine a system puppet.
Ei's eyes lit up. This was the puppet Lucian mentioned that could revive 'Makoto'!
Lumine nodded, a bit confused but used to following Lucian's advice.
After teaming up with Lucian a few times, Lumine had developed a habit of switching off her brain when working with him.
Why bother thinking when an external brain knows all the 'walkthroughs' and can take shortcuts? When enemies show up, just elbow them.
Whatever Lucian says, just do it. People shouldn't go against their 'brain.' Even Arataki Itto knows to listen to his 'brain.'
That said, it's a good thing Lumine had a storage space. Otherwise, running around with a 'puppet' in her arms would look pretty weird…
Having gotten the answers she wanted, the Traveler left, probably heading to Inazuma City to wait for the book's release.
"Is it time for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual again…?" Ei said, completely unaware of the passage of time in her secluded state.
"Yae entrusted such an important ritual to a shrine maiden. Will it go smoothly?" Ei asked.
Naturally, she was asking the miraculous Lucian. Having a prophet nearby made it hard not to want spoilers. Who could resist when the answers were right there?
"It goes very smoothly. All the monsters are purified. You'll see when you read it, hehe," Lucian replied.
Ei felt there was something sly in Lucian's laugh but couldn't pinpoint the malice.
All the monsters being purified—wasn't that a good thing?
Ei would soon find out whether it was good or not, because the next day, Lucian brought her the book.
By the way, Ei's second act and Yae Miko's first act had both been written, but for some reason, Yae Miko hadn't seen those stories.
This time, Yae Miko did read the story, so instead of visiting Ei's Plane of Euthymia, she secretly followed the Traveler.
Talk about the ways of the world—even the blonde Traveler was being tailed by a beautiful girl now.
Speaking of Lucian's book, the moment it was published, the most panicked person was the head of Konda Village.
As soon as he read the opening, his heart sank. The elderly village chief nearly passed out.
"It's over, it's over. I can't hide it anymore, ugh," Konda Densuke (the village chief) sighed.
He'd meant to keep it from the Shogunate, but now all of Teyvat knew.
Lumine, of course, bought the book immediately. What she held wasn't just a novel—it was practically a walkthrough!
Lucian's latest guide, exactly what Lumine needed.
Following the book's instructions, Lumine skipped the step of asking locals for information and headed straight for her goal, diving into the well after finding the key.
Yae Miko didn't want to go inside, so she chose to wait for the Traveler at the exit.
Other readers, unlike Lumine, weren't in such a rush. They were carefully reading the story.
In the story, the Traveler didn't have a 'walkthrough.' After arriving at Konda Village, she began investigating on her own.
First, she found a little girl named Futaba and learned about the situation. Futaba said her dad had been acting strange lately, and she'd seen a floating sack in the village's ditch.
Futaba's dad was none other than the old village chief of Konda Village. The large age gap was because Futaba was adopted.
Futaba also mentioned that her nephew—the village chief's grandson—liked to hang out in high places and might have seen something.
The Traveler first found the floating sack of goods, then tracked down the grandson, Konda Mamoru, who told her that during thunderstorms, he'd seen a ghostly big sister appear.
Mamoru thought the Traveler would be scared, but she just calmly said, "Oh."
After all, the Traveler had seen it all. Ghosts? She'd met real ones.
Plus, she had plenty of friends who were experts at dealing with ghosts. Couldn't she just go 'to the heavens' for backup? She wasn't scared at all.
Forget Hu Tao—even if she brought out Itto's beetles, most ghosts probably couldn't handle it.
Not to mention the talisman Yae Miko gave her, which had some exorcism powers.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Raiden Shogun: About the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, Part One
"So this is what Lucian meant by all the monsters being purified… That guy… He's kind of infuriating."