Makoto returned before Reisen Riou's shift ended. "Is Lady Makoto getting lazier?" he mused. Lately, she skipped leaving a clone to oversee Tenshukaku, a far cry from her post-Archon Banquet zeal. After submitting processed documents, Reisen Riou clocked out, spotting the Northland Intelligence Organization's leader stuffing intel under his door. They locked eyes awkwardly.
"Come in," Reisen Riou said, breaking the silence. "Next time, deliver to Tenmoku Uji, my retainer knight." Unsurprised they knew his address, he brewed tea. "What's the news?"
"My lord, we secured live Electro and Cryo Regisvines. The Cryo was found at Mondstadt-Fontaine's border, the Electro in Liyue. Electro arrives in a month, Cryo in six weeks," the leader said. After their last alchemist deal, they hired more potion-makers and alchemists, speeding captures.
"Faster this time," Reisen Riou noted.
"Experience," the leader grinned. "Alchemists made the difference."
"Impressive." Reisen Riou bought Khaenri'ah intel too. The leader, a talent, detailed Khaenri'ah's recent alchemist surge, expelling many to Sumeru or other nations. The last alchemist and this team's hires were exiles. Khaenri'ah was also collecting global myths. Reisen Riou pondered: they'd monetized his shared data, likely for years, boosting knights and alchemists but risking social imbalance. "Not my problem," he chuckled, shaking off concern for an enemy nation. "Both Regisvines en route? Good. If all goes well, I'll hit Great Youkai before next summer's festival."
He locked up and dove into his cave heaven's lab, believing steady research trumped setbacks. Every error was a lesson, a treasure for his Longevity Thunder Elixir Art.
"Anko, you're breaking through to Great Youkai!?" Reisen Riou gasped.
"Yes," Kitsune Anko beamed. "In a week, I'll touch the Law of Annihilation, stepping into Great Youkai (LV70)."
"So fast…" he muttered.
"Thanks to your Longevity Thunder Elixir Art," she said, eyes dancing. "Mine's weaker, but I'm better at applying it. Daily, I use it to push my limits, honing my will, swordplay, and heart in blade meditation. Two nights ago, in a storm…"
"What happened?"
"I got struck by lightning."
"You disrespected Lady Makoto?" Reisen Riou teased, derailing the mood. (Offscreen: Who's more disrespectful than you?)
"Not her divine thunder—natural lightning," Anko clarified. "I linked my heart to it, feeling the annihilating Electro force. My life force jumped to LV70 (unbroken). I stabilized for two days before messaging you. Bring Master Ei."
"Got it. Plans after ascending?"
Inazuma's active Great Youkai bore heavy duties. Even the weak Tanuki King Gorozo guards Tsuyukusa Forest. The Shogunate or Grand Narukami Shrine wouldn't let Anko stay on tiny Ritou. "Haven't decided," she said. Her breakthrough was luck—surviving relentless lightning via his elixir's passive energy surge. Fainting cut her heart-link, stopping the strikes. She'd healed, not stabilized, confirming her ascension timeline via Wicked Yougou Shadow Machine.
"You heard her," Reisen Riou sighed, turning to Ei behind him.
"You're too slow," Ei scoffed.
"…" Reisen Riou, thinking himself fast, sulked. Anko soared on his tech, outpacing him. A tragic tale. He trudged to his lab, planning to drag a scribe to cover his shift tomorrow.
Next day, after informing Makoto, Reisen Riou swapped shifts with the Third Scribe, who looked spooked. Hand-in-hand with Ei, he flashed to Ritou as lightning—his Flowing Light Escape was elite, but Ei's speed outshone it. In 15 minutes, they reached Ritou, not Traveler-tier ley line teleportation but swift for Inazuma.
"Long time, Anko!" Reisen Riou kicked open her door, ignoring junior maidens, catching her mid-elixir practice.
"Master, Priest," Anko greeted.
"Ready?" Ei asked.
"Thanks, Master. I'm set," Anko said, confident.
Sensing a spar brewing, Reisen Riou bolted. "You're fine, Anko. I'll check the slimes!" These master-student duels always turned violent—unharmonious. Fleeing their clashing auras, he reached the garden, spotting a Grass Slime. "You're huge!" he laughed. Enhanced by elemental monster data, it hit LV50+, a Teyvat boss. Ritou Shrine had nearly 100 such bosses. The slime, recognizing him, beamed. At 2m tall, 2.4m wide, it dwarfed standard slimes (30cm small, 1m large), boosting nearby vegetables' size. Reisen Riou munched a tomato—near Shogunate-grade.
Spotting a farmer, he called, "Tenou! Chat!" Tenou, Ritou's top farmer, bowed. "Lord Priest." At 70, he still tilled, too restless to retire. Decades-old friends, Reisen Riou teased, "How's life?"
"Eldest son's a station chief, obsessed with stars, won't farm. Got scolded, doesn't listen," Tenou griped. "Younger son and grandson only half-learned my craft. Frustrating."
A natural farmer, Tenou nearly matched Reisen Riou's skill, surpassing in talent. Recruited at 20, he became Ritou's best in five years. Now, he was writing a book on his expertise, aiming for LV7 mastery. "Book's on track?" Reisen Riou asked.
"Done by year's end," Tenou said. "Might earn my family a samurai title."
"You'll be a samurai lord, but don't overdo it," Reisen Riou teased. "Who told you to winter-swim at your age?"
"Wanted a thrill," Tenou grinned sheepishly.
"Take care. Anko's back—I'm checking." Reisen Riou waved, finding Anko unconscious, Ei oddly thrilled yet regretful.
"Too heavy-handed," he chided Ei, checking Anko. Her elixir was active. "Anko, your fake-faint's weak. My elixir's effect is obvious."
Anko stuck out her tongue, sitting up. Her arm lagged, but she'd recover by afternoon. "Felt you and Master were… close," she smirked.
"You noticed?" Ei blinked.
"Cough," Reisen Riou said. "Ei and I are set to wed after I hit Great Youkai. Her status keeps it secret. Keep quiet."
Ei blushed, nodding, and took his hand. He met her gaze softly. "Sorry, Ei, no grand wedding."
"I don't care for that," she said warmly.
Anko groaned inwardly, drowning in their affection—sour, useless, stuffed. Days flew. On Anko's breakthrough day, a cloudy morning, she predicted her ascension. At Ritou's mountaintop pavilion, fortified with arrays and barriers, Reisen Riou and Ei guarded her. A eerie force brushed Reisen Riou, raising his hackles.
"It's begun," Ei messaged via electromagnetic wave.
"This vibe?" he asked.
"You're close too," Ei said. "It's her domain from touching the Law, boosting allies but taxing the user and others. Most avoid it in peace." Reisen Riou nodded, recalling his failed "Territory Creation" study—useless in combat, as he favored kiting over brawling.
Anko's skin cracked, purple Electro glowing beneath. Her clothes and the pavilion vaporized. Reisen Riou, hundreds of meters away, spat dust. "Good thing I'm fast."
"No threat to you," Ei's wave scoffed, as she and Anko floated mid-air. Reisen Riou, wiping his nose—glad he skipped Pyro Regisvine last night—watched Ei drape Anko in her elemental-resistant robes. Ei glanced at Anko's enhanced physique, then her own, nodding smugly.