Not understanding was fine. Lumine, the Traveler, began to tap into her network—calling for reinforcements! She headed straight to the Narukami Shrine to find someone who could make sense of it.
Upon arriving at the Narukami Shrine, the Traveler explained the situation to Inagi Hotomi.
As the 'front desk receptionist' of the Narukami Shrine, Inagi Hotomi was quite well-known in Inazuma, and her skills were equally impressive.
Hotomi told Lumine that sealing the sacred objects required spirit incantations, but she didn't know what those incantations were, as they were essentially just somewhat patterned gibberish.
Basically, the caster would come up with the incantation on a whim, following certain loose rules.
[Inagi Hotomi: "The first line declares one's renown in Inazuma, something like 'so-and-so' plus the word 'Emissary.'"]
["The second line explains the source of one's power. For example, something like 'Dango,' 'Ramen,' or 'Light Novel.'"]
Ei, the shut-in, quietly put down her tricolor dango. Too bad she had to keep reading the book and couldn't set it aside.
Staying at 'home' all day reading novels, eating tricolor dango, and drinking dango milk, while maintaining the image of a perfect Shogun outside to reassure and inspire people—what was this if not a shut-in?
But Ei becoming a shut-in was partly Lucian and Yae Miko's fault. Who told them to keep sending her stuff?
[Inagi Hotomi continued: "As for the third line… the third line can be improvised freely."]
A seal from hundreds of years ago—who, besides the person who cast it, would know the incantation they came up with on a whim?
Well, there actually was someone! Inagi Hotomi pulled out a telescope… I mean, a Memory Lens!
This lens could reveal things in certain places that no longer existed, essentially allowing one to see a 'memory' of the past.
Since only the caster would know, they could just use this tool to 'peek into the past' and 'ask' the caster, right?
In the story, the Traveler obtained this item at the Narukami Shrine, and in reality, the Traveler got it too.
It was prepared by the fox lady tailing her. Yae Miko had already placed the Memory Lens in the abandoned shrine, where Lumine would inevitably see it if she wanted to break the seal.
In reality, Lumine also sensed something was off. After finding the Memory Lens, she looked around for a while but didn't spot anyone.
How could she have known that Yae Miko had left after delivering her assist? Knowing the future made tailing different—she was waiting at the Traveler's next destination to continue tailing her.
In the story, the Traveler returned to the abandoned shrine, took out the Memory Lens, and began investigating.
Through the Memory Lens, the Traveler saw a person who was no longer there—a white-haired man.
[The man stood in front of the shrine, muttering to himself: "Hmm, good. It seems the ley line is still usable for now."]
["This place has her kin too. It's a good spot."]
["Well then, I'll use the 'Spirit Incantation' to protect the sacred object."]
["So, the first line will be 'Narukami Emissary.'"]
Readers were stunned. Narukami? How dare you!? You're the Narukami Emissary? Who are you? Does the Shogun know?
At this point, readers didn't yet know that this man was Kamuna Harunosuke, the Onmyoji from the 'Yougou Three.'
He was a disciple of the Tengu clan leader and later went to Liyue to study adeptal arts.
This Onmyoji named Harunosuke was a renowned figure of his time, and in that era, he was undoubtedly one of the many people charmed by Inazuma's 'social butterfly,' Kitsune Saiguu.
You know, no matter which fox lady it was, her charm was impossible to resist.
Being charmed by a fox wasn't a problem in itself, but then came an unavoidable tragedy in Inazuma's history—a hurdle called the Cataclysm.
In that disaster, Kitsune Saiguu perished. As Inazuma's 'legendary queen of charm,' her passing caused countless changes.
You have to understand that every notable family and youkai clan in Inazuma had a close relationship with Kitsune Saiguu.
The Shogun, noble families, the three Commissions, the Oni clan, the Tengu, the tanuki, famous warriors, great and small youkai, and even 'independent' figures like Kamuna Harunosuke.
Even the ancestors of Naganohara Yoimiya's family were friends with Kitsune Saiguu.
As the Grand Shrine Maiden, Kitsune Saiguu also helped common folk, so even ordinary Inazumans adored her.
It's safe to say that in that era, no one was immune to Kitsune Saiguu's charm.
When someone like that died, imagine how many people in Inazuma couldn't accept it.
Not only could they not accept it, but with the 'link' that connected everyone gone, their relationships underwent some 'slight changes.'
In short, Inazuma wasn't exactly a pleasant place afterward. Kamuna Harunosuke also hated his own powerlessness during this time, but instead of turning into a fiery demon, he went to Liyue to study adeptal arts.
Upon returning to Inazuma, he used a seal to protect one of the Sacred Sakura's vital points, conveniently sealing the troublesome Ioroi.
He then invented 'shikigami' and established the 'Onmyoryo' to maintain Inazuma's stability and clear the lingering filth from the disaster.
After the Raiden Shogun quelled the external calamities, Kamuna Harunosuke, having fulfilled half of his wishes, realized something.
His other half would never be fulfilled because 'she would never come back.'
'In the morning, a beauty's fame lights up the world; by evening, her bones decay in the wilderness.'
Even in the future, Kamuna Harunosuke didn't pass down his 'bloodline.'
The disappearance of the 'Kamuna' bloodline also caused the method of using spirit incantations to be lost, indirectly making the current Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual so troublesome. From this, we can conclude it's all Kitsune Saiguu's fault.
Back to the story's content, after introducing Kamuna Harunosuke, he spoke the second part of the incantation.
["'Hakushin Bloodline'"]
The second line typically refers to the source of one's power, and the Hakushin Bloodline was none other than Kitsune Saiguu.
The Hakushin Bloodline is a mysterious and powerful lineage, usually bestowed only upon the fox clan, so nearly all fox bloodlines are Hakushin.
As a prominent fox youkai, Kitsune Saiguu naturally identified with the Hakushin Bloodline.
Because her power was the strongest, after her death, the fox clan's bloodline waned, and Inazuma's foxes lost their intelligence, no longer able to speak.
Most foxes with magical powers turned into statues, waiting for Kitsune Saiguu's 'return.'
After Kamuna Harunosuke spoke the second incantation, another figure appeared—surprisingly, it was Hanachirusato.
[Mysterious Woman: "You're… that person who's all friendly on the surface."]
[Enigmatic Man: "Oh, long time no see. Still so cold to me…"]
Kamuna Harunosuke was delighted because he had mistaken Hanachirusato for Kitsune Saiguu.
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Character Voice · Yae Miko: About Lucian · Transactions
"Wahhh, I sacrificed so much just to get him to give me that item~!"