Chapter 40: Sole of the Deep
Leaving aside the missing Kaedehara Kazuha, Bai Luo's days were only getting more and more comfortable.
With the release of My Electro Archon Can't Be This Cute Volume 2, Inazuma City—already weighed down by the Battousai incident—was once again set ablaze.
No one had expected that this masterpiece would actually have a second volume.
And with the introduction of even more new characters—such as Miss Shirasagi, who concealed her identity as a refined young noblewoman while revealing a completely different side of herself, and the mysterious beautiful girl who befriended others through writing under the pen name Sole of the Deep—the story became even more captivating.
And some people gradually began to notice certain clues.
For example…
Gorou.
As a general of the Watatsumi forces, he was born with beastlike combat instincts and an unyielding will.
That the Watatsumi Army could hold its own against the Shogunate despite being inferior in supplies and equipment was due not only to Sangonomiya Kokomi's strategies, but also in large part to Gorou's contributions.
If Kujou Sara, the active general of the Tenryou Commission, was a ruthless figure—decisive, thunderous in action, and utterly impartial—then Gorou was her complete opposite.
Outsiders might find it hard to imagine that Gorou, who possessed a battlefield presence capable of holding off ten thousand foes, was privately more like a considerate older brother, able to get along warmly with every one of his subordinates.
If he had to be said to have a flaw… it would probably be his lack of emotional steadiness.
War is cruel. Compared to veteran commanders who had fought and struggled on the battlefield for decades, Gorou's experience in live combat was indeed somewhat lacking. At times, he could even get carried away by hot blood and make judgments that weren't entirely rational.
That said, through repeated clashes with the Shogunate, he was steadily overcoming this weakness.
Having rushed back from the front lines, his expression was far from good.
Because an important figure in their army had gone missing.
There were many rumors circulating outside about Kazuha, and some of them had actually hit the mark.
During the battle at Nazuchi Beach, the warship Kazuha was aboard had been deliberately targeted and ultimately sunk.
Although Gorou had specifically dispatched subordinates skilled in swimming to search for survivors after the battle, based on the results of their rescue efforts, Kazuha had most likely drifted into the open sea along with the ship's wreckage.
Inazuma was surrounded by endless thunderstorms.
If he had been carried by the waves into those tempests, there was absolutely no way he could have returned alive.
Given the impact of the duel before the throne, Kaedehara Kazuha held special significance. Gorou felt it necessary to report this matter to Her Excellency.
But…
Seeing Sangonomiya Kokomi sitting at her desk, lost in thought, Gorou wasn't sure whether he should disturb her.
Letting his gaze wander, he noticed the book lying on her desk.
Unlike the military treatises she usually favored, this book looked far more like a light novel published by Yae Publishing House.
"Isn't that…?"
With just that casual glance, he recognized it.
Unlike Inazuma City, since they were hostile forces, even though there were occasionally daring individuals who traded with them from Inazuma, such exchanges were limited to general goods and food supplies.
Light novels were completely outside the scope of trade.
So this novel was the only genuine, officially published copy on all of Watatsumi Island.
That said, Watatsumi Island wasn't without its own solutions.
Although Yae Publishing House strictly forbade homemade handwritten copies of their light novels, Inazuma's laws clearly had no jurisdiction over Watatsumi Island.
As a result, handwritten copies of the book became extraordinarily popular on Watatsumi.
Even paper merchants were making a fortune.
If Your Excellency hadn't ordered that prices were not to be raised without cause, the paper merchants absolutely would have shown the world what "paper becoming as valuable as gold" truly meant.
"Gorou, you're back."
Gorou's reaction also snapped Kokomi out of her reverie.
Without betraying any emotion, she put away the light novel and returned to her usual confident and elegant demeanor.
"Your Excellency, please forgive this subordinate's incompetence. In the end, I was unable to rescue Kaedehara-san."
When Gorou said this, even his ears drooped slightly.
He truly, from the bottom of his heart, respected Kaedehara Kazuha.
Everyone could see how much the other party had helped the Resistance. His disappearance was a heavy blow to Gorou as well.
"Regarding Kaedehara-san, you don't need to worry. He has already been rescued."
In fact, after Beidou's fleet saved Kaedehara Kazuha, they used special means to get in touch with Watatsumi Island.
Kokomi had originally planned to send someone to inform Gorou, but she hadn't expected him to return so soon.
"Then, where is he now?"
This was perhaps one of the few pieces of good news Gorou had heard in recent days. The gloom weighing on him was instantly swept away.
Next time, he definitely wouldn't recklessly assign Kazuha to such dangerous positions again.
"He's in a very safe place right now."
Lifting her head, Sangonomiya Kokomi looked in the direction of Liyue.
She had already spoken with him. Since he preferred to stay with that fleet, she hadn't forced him.
Just as she had once promised him, the Resistance would always welcome his return, but if he wished to leave, they would never restrain him.
"...I understand."
The Resistance couldn't keep him. Gorou understood that better than anyone.
He was a free and unrestrained wind, he might linger briefly over a fallen leaf, but he would never long remain in a single forest.
"All right. Partings are for the sake of the next reunion. His roots are in the land of Inazuma. As long as the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree remain in effect, he will eventually return."
As Sangonomiya Kokomi comforted him, she casually picked up a small box beside her.
She had prepared many such boxes, each containing carefully written contingency plans.
Gorou would know how to use them.
After sending Gorou away, Kokomi's gaze once again settled on the light novel she had kept by her side.
As a light-novel enthusiast, when she first encountered this book, she had immediately labeled it a masterpiece.
Its status was even a notch higher than Records of Jueyun and A Legend of Sword.
And moreover… she had vaguely sensed that there was something extraordinary about it.
Those seemingly fictional plotlines bore faint but undeniable connections to reality.
From this novel, she had analyzed quite a bit of useful intelligence.
And that intelligence was proven to be accurate.
That was why, when the second volume went on sale, she specifically had her subordinates risk their lives to purchase a copy from Yae Publishing House.
It would have been better if she hadn't read it.
Because once she did, she was utterly shocked.
Sole of the Deep…
That was her pen name!
As the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island—and its current supreme leader—she had her own little secrets unknown to others.
For example, she quite liked reading light novels.
Sometimes she would submit manuscripts to Yae Publishing House, or correspond with fellow enthusiasts.
Naturally, the name "Sangonomiya Kokomi" could never appear in such letters, so Sole of the Deep became her pen name.
But this was something that, across all of Watatsumi Island—no, across the entire land of Inazuma—there should not have been a second person who knew.
So how did this person know her pen name?
And how could they be so familiar with her?