Time trickled by. Fearing Ei might harm his Pyro Regisvine, Reisen Riou told her about the golden Artifact. Together, they crafted a fishing-rod-like tool and retrieved it. As suspected, it was a Tenryou Commission Kujou ancestor's relic—stunningly, from their first patriarch, rumored to have reached Ascension (LV90). Half a month later, Reisen Riou delivered 1,400 One System, Ten Thousand Minds units to the Shogunate, collecting 26 million Mora. He handed over his Recorder duties to the First Scribe, who looked at him with weary relief. The role was easy to coast through (just noting the Shogun's words), but serious work aged the poor man—50, yet looking decades older after a month.
During the handover, the Scribe passed Reisen Riou a stack of documents. "Sumeru scholars' requests to return for Akademiya exams or family visits. Handle them," Makoto said. Stamped by the Yashiro Commission, the applications were legitimate. The scholars had boosted Inazuma's taxes significantly; the Shogunate's multi-billion-Mora investment was nearing recovery, likely by autumn. Civilian wealth spurred markets—villagers ran food stalls, and falling food prices raised happiness. Makoto noted a slight increase in divine power from her Gnosis and faith harvests.
"Approved in principle. Our contracts and generous terms are solid, but publicity's lacking. Let them promote Inazuma back home. I'll coordinate with Banna for the next scholar batch," Reisen Riou said. "What about their escorts?"
"Tenryou Commission samurai will guard them. Watatsumi pirates are disrupting Liyue and Sumeru routes," Makoto sighed. She'd sent scholars to Watatsumi, but as Reisen Riou predicted, they couldn't solve the petrified soil. Word spread, reigniting unrest and piracy, draining Watatsumi's labor and taxes. The Shogunate never relied on Watatsumi's meager grain taxes, offset by their hefty luxury tributes, but Makoto was tempted to let Ei strike. She refrained.
"This afternoon, during the break, we're visiting the Yae family to see Miko. Join us," Makoto said.
"A family matter for the Guuji… me?" Reisen Riou hesitated, wanting to study his healed Pyro Regisvine.
"You're Ei's partner now. Shy?" Makoto teased. He couldn't argue.
The returning scholars, over 50, mostly young, missed home after two years. Some aimed to publish papers or defend theses. Reisen Riou, noting they were students or researchers, not senior scholars, arranged their ships. True scholars endured solitude for major breakthroughs; these youths were too hasty. At the docks, Banna, a senior Amurta scholar, saw them off. "Thanks, Honorary Scholar. Everyone's doing well, despite homesickness. Amurta College thrives, thanks to your opportunities," he said.
"Mutual benefit," Reisen Riou smiled. "Inazuma needs your efforts. Also, small devices—my invention—will soon reach Narukami's towns. Try them; they're useful and fun." He hoped the scholars would join his knowledge network, hating Resurrection's idle computing power. The ships, marked with Tenryou banners, sailed with a small warship and a hidden Hatamoto—enough to deter pirates. Reisen Riou bid Banna farewell, worked briefly, and joined Makoto and Ei to visit Yae Saiguu at Byakko Plain's Yae Village.
The Red Fox Yae family, traditional priests of Yae Village's shrine, was an unremarkable youkai clan, notable only for its ancient lineage from Inazuma's founding during the Archon War. Limited by geography, the village stagnated until Sumeru scholars' reforms doubled harvests, highlighting its heritage. Every household boasted samurai, shrine maiden, or ritual legacies, raising average life force by 4–5 levels. The Yae priest family, nearing Reisen Riou's LV60+, thrived most. Their joy led to… activities, resulting in Yae Miko's birth.
"Cough!" Reisen Riou choked on the village's smoky air—literal, from damp firewood, stinging their eyes. At the Yae shrine, the priest, Yae Red Fox, startled at Makoto, Ei, Saiguu, Torachiyo, and Reisen Riou. "Greetings, Lady Makoto, Shadow Warrior, Guuji, Lady Torachiyo, and…?"
"Ritou Shrine Priest," Reisen Riou said, using his civilian title to ease tensions. Ritou Shrine's rapid rise—third largest in Inazuma despite a century's history and barren land—bred envy among rural shrines. Yae Red Fox's strained courtesy didn't faze him.
At the shrine's back courtyard, two maidens cleaned. Reisen Riou recognized one—a former Grand Narukami Shrine classmate. His frail youth and six years of remedial study (nine total) made him a problem student; she graduated on time. Now, he was Ritou's priest and a Shogunate Recorder, while she remained a rural maiden, sweeping shrines. Saiguu hugged her cousin, Yae Ryoko (formerly Kitsune Ryoko), chatting with Makoto. Yae Red Fox introduced the other maiden: "My eldest daughter, Yae Shinryo, holding my second daughter, Yae Miko."
Yae Shinryo, recognizing Reisen Riou, smiled awkwardly and greeted the group. Lacking Hakushin fox blood, her red fox lineage limited her to LV30+ after 80 years, wielding family illusions and shrine-learned skills. Saiguu, done reminiscing, got to business: "I want Ei to take Miko as her familiar."
"She's too young," Ryoko fretted, cradling the fluffy, pink Miko, barely three months old.
"You know Hakushin fox growth cycles," Saiguu said, annoyed. "Your shrine's defenses are weak—no arrays or barriers. If Miko's Hakushin blood leaks, wraiths or outsiders could raze the village. Think of the Archon War. Ei's taking her as a familiar, not stealing her."
"It's Narukami Island, not that dangerous," Ryoko argued.
"Reisen Riou, your turn," Saiguu said.
"Huh?" He blinked, caught off-guard. "Pull up some ley line filth."
"No need!" Yae Red Fox intervened, calming Ryoko. After persuasion, they agreed. Under Makoto's witness, the oblivious, month-old-looking (but three-month-old) Miko bonded with Ei via a familiar contract. Reisen Riou nearly begged Ei to take him too—Miko's LV20+ life force, infused with Ei's divine power and laws, promised a clear path to Great Youkai (LV70+). Stuck at that threshold, he was envious but restrained himself, knowing private talks were better.