Mu Yang wasn't particularly skilled at comforting others with words.
He usually preferred to take direct action.
Seeing that Lumine and Paimon were in low spirits, he made them some sweets.
With recipes from Sumeru and Fontaine, he gave the two a taste of exotic flavors ahead of time.
After eating their fill and resting for the night,
Lumine and Paimon's moods gradually improved.
Though Mu Yang himself was somewhat affected, he wasn't as downcast as the two of them.
He had already known about Tejima's circumstances from playing the game.
Besides, his own situation was different from Tejima's.
Even if his memories were hazy, he had never forgotten his duty to protect Chenyu Vale.
Because it was a shared wish among several people...
Time passed, and the next day arrived.
Lumine led Mu Yang into the city from Byakko Plain.
As they approached the outskirts of Inazuma City, they noticed a group of people gathered around a samurai from the Tenryou Commission.
The argument grew increasingly heated.
From the looks of it, the crowd seemed ready to attack the samurai?!
"It sounds like there's a dispute over there. Let's go take a look."
The three of them moved closer and finally caught the gist of the conversation.
"Listen, are you planning to withhold this month's relief rations?"
"My whole family is counting on those supplies to survive! If you don't give us an answer today, don't even think about leaving!"
Lumine frowned. Relief rations?
Weren't they right outside Inazuma City? How were their lives harder than those in Konda Village?
Though, Konda Village wasn't much better off either.
The ones who had tried to persuade Tejima to stay were either elderly or children.
There weren't any able-bodied adults at all...
The surrounded samurai kept his eyes shut, repeating the same line:
"I don't know anything about relief rations."
Clearly annoyed by the residents' accusations, he had no intention of engaging with them.
The residents were visibly agitated,
but their weak voices betrayed their hunger.
"You're still lying! Those are life-saving supplies, not for you samurai to line your pockets with!"
"Do you think being a samurai means you can do whatever you want? I'll report you to the Tenryou Commission!"
Yet, no matter what the residents said, the samurai stuck to his script:
He knew nothing about relief rations.
[Why isn't this samurai drawing his sword? What's the point of carrying it then?]
[Kinda looks like they're bullying an honest man.]
[If this were Ritou, those guys would've been cut down by now.]
Just as some overconfident individuals were about to take action, Lumine spoke up:
"What exactly are these relief rations?"
However, the residents' attitudes were far from cooperative.
They even redirected their anger toward Lumine.
"Huh? Who are you? Are you with Kurosawa?"
"You—don't tell me you're in on this embezzlement too?!"
Mu Yang unsheathed Withering Glory, his voice icy.
"Answer her question. Properly."
[Damn, Mu Yang's so cool.]
[Oh, so you like answering questions with questions, huh? Who do you think you are?]
[Daring to insult Lumine in front of Mu Yang? If you wanna die, just say so.]
The chilling frost emanating from him made everyone present shudder.
The crowd fell silent.
The leader of the group stammered out an explanation.
The Shogunate had been distributing relief rations in this area, and the samurai they'd surrounded—Kurosawa—
was the local representative of the Shogunate forces.
"Before, we could just go to him to collect our rations, but now he's suddenly refusing."
"He must've gotten greedy and decided to keep the supplies for himself! But without them, we'll starve!"
"No one cares about us... We used to think he was a decent man, but now we see he's just as rotten as the rest."
Realizing Mu Yang's strength, the residents seized the chance to accuse Kurosawa,
hoping he'd take their side.
Mu Yang knew the truth of the matter, but he wouldn't say it aloud.
Lumine's journey should remain untroubled.
As for him, he had to consider many things—especially his popularity points.
Kurosawa offered no defense, leaving Lumine and Paimon unable to judge the situation.
But as the residents ranted, Lumine finally caught a crucial detail:
[No wonder even his Vision was confiscated. The Raiden Shogun wouldn't want someone like him serving her, right?]
Now Lumine understood—this was another person whose life had been upended after losing his Vision.
She urged the crowd to calm down.
With Mu Yang looming behind her, the residents didn't dare protest and obediently stepped back.
Kurosawa thanked Lumine and the others for helping defuse the situation.
But he made it clear he genuinely knew nothing about the relief rations.
"I don't know where these people heard these rumors, but they're just trying to extort me."
"It's ridiculous—if I had relief rations to embezzle, would I be this poor?"
"My own family's on the brink of starvation..."
Kurosawa didn't seem to be lying.
Lumine cut straight to the heart of the matter:
"Judging by your uniform, you're a Tenryou Commission samurai, right? Is it true your Vision was taken?"
Kurosawa confirmed it.
The Shogunate had accused him of opposing the Vision Hunt Decree and slacking in his duties.
They said he'd betrayed the Raiden Shogun, so they confiscated his Vision.
Paimon, puzzled, asked, "But isn't the Tenryou Commission the one enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree? Why would you oppose it?"
At this, Kurosawa seemed lost.
"Honestly... I don't remember."
He strained to recall.
"I just know... back then, I used to do something every month. But now, I have no desire to do it at all."
Lumine immediately connected the dots.
If he used to do something monthly but suddenly stopped,
and those people said they used to get relief rations from him but now couldn't...
Didn't that perfectly align?
Paimon realized it too. "Did you forget about distributing the relief rations?"
Kurosawa shook his head. "I don't remember. But... I feel uneasy about it."
"Like someone owes me something."
Though he couldn't recall, he was certain he hadn't embezzled the supplies.
His home was empty—he was dirt-poor and couldn't even afford meals.
If he had relief rations, wouldn't he at least feed himself first?
Who would choose to live like this?
Kurosawa sighed in frustration.
"And just now, my house was ransacked by Treasure Hoarders..."
"Oh, right—I was chasing them here when these people stopped me."
"If there's nothing else, I'll keep going after them."
He turned to address the crowd.
"If anyone doesn't believe me, go confront those Treasure Hoarders yourselves."
"Ask them—did my house have any relief rations or not?"
The residents exchanged uneasy glances.
Kurosawa had made his position clear.
There was no way they'd actually go interrogate Treasure Hoarders—
those guys would beat them up for real!
When some tried to plead with Lumine, a single glare from Mu Yang sent them scattering.
Meanwhile, Lumine was still pondering Kurosawa's words.
She didn't think he was lying.
Perhaps the Treasure Hoarders who'd looted his home knew something.
Mu Yang stepped forward. "Which way did they go?"
"That way." Kurosawa pointed toward the beach.
"I'll go bring them back."
"Wait, we're coming too!"
Lumine and Paimon hurried after him.