Chapter 86: This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [86]
The next morning...
The bedding was filled with Theresa's scent, a mix of Electro-infused fragrance, making it feel as if she had been burrowing into his covers all night. As a result, Luo Qing barely got any rest.
Waking up the next day, his irritation was obvious whenever he looked at Theresa.
Most of the matters involving the Fatui had already been settled by La Signora, so Luo Qing didn't have to be involved unless there was something her subordinates couldn't handle. Only then would he step in and sort things out.
The Fatui in Inazuma mostly comprised personnel under Dottore and La Signora's command, with a handful from Arlecchino's faction. Some of them were even Luo Qing's former colleagues.
There were power struggles within the Fatui, and the Harbingers often maneuvered for influence. While technically part of the same organization, trust wasn't easily given. If someone wasn't your direct subordinate, they might not necessarily follow your orders.
For Luo Qing, who was mainly there to keep an eye on things for La Signora, he was more than happy to keep his distance from the local Fatui and enjoy his "paid leisure."
The cooperation with the Tenryou Commission was still stable. Even though Luo Qing's threat to Kujou Takayuki had been quite blatant the previous night, the latter hadn't made any sudden moves. In fact, the cooperation had become even more proactive, likely because the man was hoping to utilize the Fatui's help before eventually betraying them.
Regardless of what the future held, for now, Luo Qing was free.
Theresa had spent the entire morning loudly declaring her intention to indulge in a spending spree at Hanamizaka. She argued that she had earned so much from her missions that it would be a waste if she died without spending it.
Since Luo Qing had been too busy buying sweets and light novels for Ei the previous day, he hadn't had a chance to properly explore Inazuma City. With nothing pressing to do, he decided to accompany Theresa—it meant he wouldn't have to carry any bags himself, a convenient arrangement.
As an Electro Cicin Mage, Theresa's attire tended to draw attention, especially with her revealing outfit and eye patch, which inevitably attracted the scrutiny of Tenryou soldiers. To avoid standing out, she donned a more traditional Inazuman kimono, even removing her eye patch.
"Are you ready yet? Since when does a superior wait on their subordinate to get ready?"
After waiting outside Theresa's room for quite some time, Luo Qing impatiently knocked on the door.
"Geez, no need to rush, Lord Luo Qing. If you're really that eager to see, you could just come in, you know~"
Theresa's teasing voice drifted through the door.
"Seriously… trying to flirt with me, huh?"
Luo Qing rolled his eyes, irritated by her antics. He promptly slid the door open without hesitation.
The sight that greeted him was a young woman halfway through donning her kimono. Her deep violet eyes locked onto his, and a playful smile tugged at her lips. Her shoulders were bare, revealing smooth, pale skin, and her slender legs peeked out from under the fabric. It seemed she had anticipated his sudden entry, given that her kimono was only strategically covering essential areas.
"Lord Luo Qing, you're so eager~"
Her voice carried a teasing lilt, her expression clearly amused by his reaction.
Recalling the state of his bedding from the previous night, Luo Qing had a sinking suspicion that Theresa was intentionally trying to provoke him.
"I'll give you five minutes. If you're not out by then, I'm leaving without you," he said coolly, closing the door.
He admitted it—there had been a fleeting moment when her flirtation had gotten to him.
Those deep, entrancing violet eyes, the flowing purple hair, and her youthful yet alluring figure had caught him off guard. Even the bare feet, peeking out from beneath her kimono...
But he quickly dismissed those thoughts. How had he, who had resisted Ningguang's and Yae's charms without issue, been caught off guard by an Electro Cicin Mage—especially his own subordinate?
This, he couldn't understand.
Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds later, the door slid open.
Wearing a kimono that emphasized her youthfulness, Theresa stepped out, balancing on wooden sandals. She twirled in front of him, showing off her new look.
"Hehe, Lord Luo Qing, do I look good?"
"You look fine. Let's go."
Luo Qing cast a quick glance at her and turned away, pretending to be indifferent. Yet, he couldn't help but feel slightly stunned by her transformation.
Perhaps it was because he had never seen Theresa without her eye patch or in anything other than her usual attire. The contrast caught him off guard.
Half a day passed.
They wandered around Hanamizaka, where Theresa's hands gradually filled with bags of purchases. Most were for herself—she proudly declared that it was now or never, otherwise the money would go to waste if she died unexpectedly.
She begged Luo Qing several times to help carry the bags, but he refused each time, standing firm in his role as her superior.
Finding himself with some free time, Luo Qing decided to revisit Yae Publishing House. He'd spent the previous visit picking out romance novels for Ei, so he hadn't had a chance to browse the more male-oriented sections.
As he explored the aisles, he was amused by the obvious endings the titles suggested. Realizing there was little of interest, he dragged a reluctant Theresa—who had been absorbed in the women's section—out of the shop.
Just as they were about to find a place to rest, a commotion erupted nearby.
Looking in the direction of the noise, they spotted a group of Tenryou soldiers at the far end of the street, arguing with a girl with bright orange hair. They stood in front of a small store near the city's outskirts, almost at the edge of Inazuma City.
The shop's sign read: Naganohara Fireworks.
"Stop stuffing your face with sweets and check it out," Luo Qing ordered Theresa, gesturing toward the group before heading over himself.
As they drew closer, the argument grew clearer.
"Guys, I swear, I don't have a Vision! You must be mistaken! We just make fireworks here, and sometimes there's a spark—totally normal!"
"Cut the excuses. If you don't hand it over, well... Yoimiya, you wouldn't want the Naganohara Fireworks Shop to be shut down, would you?"
"I... I really don't have it!"
Luo Qing arrived in time to witness the orange-haired girl, apparently named Yoimiya, looking increasingly distressed. Behind her, hidden from the soldiers' view, her hands were nervously gripping something.
"Go handle it," Luo Qing said casually to Theresa.
"Huh? Lord Luo Qing, this is Inazuma City… If I end up killing them—"
"I didn't ask you to kill them. Just draw their attention. That's all."
"Oh... oh, okay!"
Theresa looked momentarily flustered but nodded obediently. Grabbing a box of dango, she confidently approached the soldiers. As she got close, she faked a stumble, tossing the dango onto the ground and then shouted loudly:
"Watch where you're going, you blind oafs!"
---
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OMG IT DIDN'T POST? SORRY I SCHEDULED IT WRONG!
Chapter 87: This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [87]
Several Shogunate soldiers turned their heads, spotting a young girl with purple hair in a kimono sitting on the ground. She was pointing at them, shouting angrily.
"What's the matter with you all? You tripped me, and you think you can just walk away without paying compensation?"
"I'm telling you, unless you hand over at least a million Mora today, you won't be leaving!"
"This is outrageous! Shogunate soldiers bullying a little girl in the middle of the street!"
A rapid-fire barrage of accusations left the soldiers with massive question marks above their heads.
Seeing the girl's confident demeanor, they almost started to believe they might have genuinely knocked her down.
Confused for a while, the lead Shogunate soldier finally came to his senses, realizing that Theresa was deliberately causing trouble. He sternly rebuked her.
"Where did this wild brat come from? Get lost, or we'll take you away too!"
But the next moment, Theresa got up from the ground, dusted off her clothes, and shouted.
"Fine, I'm leaving!"
With that, she sprinted away in her wooden sandals, vanishing in a flash.
Once she disappeared from the soldiers' view, Theresa quickly returned to Luo Qing's side, proudly reporting.
"Sir, how was my distraction this time?"
"..."
It was a decent distraction. Please, don't do it again.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Naganohara Fireworks Shop, the moment the Shogunate soldiers' attention was diverted by Theresa's fake stumble, Yoimiya seized the opportunity. She swiftly tossed aside the Vision in her hand and pulled a new one out of her pocket.
To cope with the Vision Hunt Decree, she always kept a fake Vision ready.
Who could have guessed that the soldiers would show up right when she was using her Vision to make fireworks?
They had been watching her too closely; there was no chance to swap the Vision in her hand with the fake one.
"Yoimiya, don't play any tricks! Hand over the Vision now, or we won't be so polite!"
The Naganohara Fireworks Shop had a good reputation in Inazuma City. If not for the Vision Hunt Decree, the soldiers wouldn't have wanted to make things difficult for Yoimiya.
"Ugh... Alright, alright."
Yoimiya pretended to reluctantly take out the Pyro Vision from behind her and slowly extended it towards the soldiers.
Her expression of painful hesitation, looking like she was about to cry, almost made their hearts soften.
"Thank you for cooperating, Miss Yoimiya."
Seeing that she handed over the Vision, the soldiers didn't push any further. They exchanged glances and began heading towards Tenshukaku.
Every Vision they collected had to be embedded in the statue, so they needed to deliver it quickly.
Once the soldiers were far enough away, Yoimiya's previous sorrowful expression disappeared, replaced by her usual bright and cheerful demeanor.
She scanned the street, catching Luo Qing's gaze from where he was sitting a bit further away, enjoying a dessert.
She smiled, waved at Luo Qing, and ran over to him, thanking both him and Theresa.
"Phew... Thank you both for distracting them earlier."
"Gulp... Ah, finally finished..."
Theresa pounded her chest, having just swallowed the last bite of a dango.
"Miss, thank you for drawing their attention!"
Seeing that Theresa was ignoring her at first, Yoimiya moved closer and gave a slight bow.
"Huh? Oh, I was just following orders. If you want to thank someone, thank him."
"Oh, alright. Sir, thank you for your assistance. I'm Yoimiya, the current owner of Naganohara Fireworks."
Yoimiya gave a bow to Luo Qing, her smile radiant and healing.
"It was just a small favor, Miss Yoimiya. No need to mention it."
Luo Qing waved it off and continued, "By the way, those Shogunate soldiers... Could they really not tell that your Vision was a fake? If they noticed, it could have been dangerous for you."
"They won't."
Yoimiya shook her head and laughed. "A Vision can only be used by its owner. In someone else's hands, it's just a pretty stone. They won't find out."
"Speaking of which, are you two from Inazuma City?"
As one of Inazuma's social butterflies, Yoimiya had a good memory of most residents in the city.
Luo Qing wasn't particularly unusual, but the purple-haired, purple-eyed Theresa beside him, with her distinctly foreign face, would have definitely left an impression if she were a local.
"We're from Snezhnaya, traveling to Inazuma for trade."
"Oh, I see."
Listening to Luo Qing's explanation, a hint of doubt arose in Yoimiya's heart.
Very few people knew about Master Masakatsu's counterfeit Visions, and if Luo Qing and his companion were foreigners, how did they know about her fake Vision swap?
But since they had helped her, Yoimiya felt it would be rude to pry further.
"Miss Kamisato mentioned the matter of Visions to me, Miss Yoimiya. No need to worry about it."
Seeing Yoimiya's brief flash of doubt, Luo Qing decided to offer a slight explanation to boost her trust in him.
"Oh, so you're friends with the Princess of the White Heron. No wonder you're so kind-hearted!"
With her doubts dispelled, Yoimiya beamed once more.
"As a thank-you for your help, if you ever need fireworks, please come to Naganohara Fireworks! I'll provide them for free!"
"Thank you, Miss Yoimiya."
...
Meanwhile, on Ritou.
At the Commissioner's residence, Nagamasa heard the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor outside and quickly went to greet the visitor.
The wooden door gently slid open, and a woman in a luxurious gown entered, flanked by two teams of Fatui elites. Their imposing aura even surpassed that of the Shogunate soldiers outside.
"Thank you for your hard work on the journey."
Nagamasa bowed respectfully.
"As for the task you entrusted to our agent, I have already started preparations. I believe our cooperation will be as smooth as before."
"I'm not interested in these trivial matters."
The woman snorted coldly. "I asked you to keep an eye on a particular situation. How is it going?"
"Well..."
Nagamasa hesitated for a moment, then spoke cautiously.
"Ever since Mr. Luo Qing arrived, up until your arrival, there has been no sighting of the traveler from Liyue that you mentioned at the harbor."
"Hmph, it seems they haven't arrived yet."
The woman scoffed. "When that traveler arrives, make sure they remain on Ritou. Don't let them leave. And remember, don't let them realize you're behind it, and do not harm them. Understood?"
"Yes... I understand."
Nagamasa nodded, then timidly asked.
"And about the matter of the taxes that the lord mentioned earlier..."
"Hmph, as long as you cooperate sincerely, benefits will naturally come your way."
"Understood..."
...
Inside a side hall.
A girl peeked out from behind a door, observing Nagamasa's conversation with the mysterious woman.
She didn't understand why her usually stern father acted so deferentially in front of that woman.
And that traveler...
Wasn't it the same Mr. Luo Qing who had asked her to help the traveler escape before?
Wasn't Mr. Luo Qing allied with that woman? So why did he want her to help the traveler leave?
---
T/N: YOIMIYA!! She's one of my faves!! <3<#3#<#<3
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
If you wish to support me or read ahead here's a link! [patreon.com/WiseTL]
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