"But after you replaced him, why did the taxes become even more severe, and why are you collecting something called jinghua bone marrow?" Lumine retorted.
However, as her voice fell, she saw Shiki looking at her as if she were looking at Paimon.
"Did you give your intelligence to the little guy floating beside you? When things are abnormal, there must be a reason. If taxes were suddenly reduced, what would the Fatui think? How could I continue to gather intelligence?"
"Ioroi's disguise was already very good, but even so, Hiiragi Chisato still noticed something was off. Didn't you consider that a sudden change would cause everything in Ritou to collapse?"
"I..."
Lumine was speechless for a moment. It seemed that she herself had messed up the other party's plan like a big idiot. And indeed, Hiiragi Chisato had never said what her father was like before, only that she felt something was a little off.
She hadn't known that the real Hiiragi Shinsuke was a corrupt official who oppressed the people, and she had also preconceived that the other party was going to cause destruction.
"Uh... Traveler, why do I feel like we messed up?" Paimon said, rubbing her small head.
However, at this moment, Lumine heard Shiki say, "I can have Ioroi get you a permit to enter and exit Ritou, but on the condition that you don't interfere with anything concerning Ritou."
"Can you do that? If you can, you'll receive the Ritou entry and exit permit tomorrow."
"...Can you guarantee that everything you do is right?" Lumine didn't agree directly but hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Where in this world is there absolute right and wrong? I never think that everything I do is right, but what I do can make Inazuma better, and that's enough."
"So, what's your answer, Traveler?"
Shiki's words made Lumine fall into deep thought. Today, she had seen how badly the merchants of Ritou were affected by the taxes.
Even with trade demands within the city, the jinghua bone marrow still drained their profits, leaving them barely able to make ends meet.
Her kindness made her unable to bear for this situation to continue, but the girl's words were also not wrong. If sudden changes were made, it was very likely that the entire Ritou would collapse.
However, in the end, Lumine decided to leave Ritou first. Meeting the gods was more important than helping the Ritou merchants escape their suffering.
Moreover, the other party also said that everything she did was to make Inazuma better.
"...I promise you, I will not interfere with Ritou's affairs."
"Very good, Traveler, you've made a very correct choice. I guarantee that Ritou will escape its suffering soon, and merchants will not be oppressed."
"What are you going to do about Hiiragi Chisato?" Lumine was afraid that the other party might kill Hiiragi Chisato to keep it a secret if she was unhappy.
"Her?" Shiki pondered, feigning thought: "As expected... let her go back."
"I won't let you kill her!"
Shiki: "???"
Lumine felt so embarrassed that she could dig out a three-bedroom, one-living-room house with her toes. It turned out that the other party had no intention of killing Hiiragi Chisato to keep it a secret.
"Ah, so in your eyes, that's the kind of person I am?"
"But you're not wrong to say that. Whether I kill her or not depends on you, Traveler," Shiki said.
"Me?"
"That's right. If you can convince her to properly be a Young Miss and not think about managing these things, then I won't kill her. If she insists on causing trouble..."
Shiki didn't explicitly state the rest, but Lumine knew what Hiiragi Chisato's fate would be.
"I understand. I will try my best to persuade her."
Lumine couldn't guarantee that she would be 100% successful in making Hiiragi Chisato accept the facts and stay properly in Ritou. What if the other party insisted on going to Inazuma City to report to the General? Then the result would definitely be an accidental death halfway.
"Then I'll leave her to you."
Shiki waved her hand, then went to Ioroi, took the list, left the beach, and finally teleported back to Konda Village.
Shiki knew that Hiiragi Chisato would obediently stay in Ritou as she said. As Hiiragi Shinsuke's daughter, she was well aware of all the bad things her father had done. If she wanted to expose Shiki, she would be the first to suffer.
At that time, if people came to investigate, they would see: Oh! It's the Fatui again, collecting taxes indiscriminately, and selling important materials like jinghua bone marrow to the Fatui. Alright, first charge with treason, and then slowly count the rest.
If Hiiragi Chisato didn't report it, then after everything was exposed, she could still use the excuse of 'ignorant is innocent' to get away with it. But if she did, it would be self-destruction on the spot, and she could forget about falling in love with Kujou Renji. She'd be stuck in prison!
Besides, who could guarantee that there wouldn't be any accidents on a long journey?
The next morning, Shiki teleported to the Kujou Encampment in Kannazuka. One reason was to see if she could find that formidable Xavier, and the other was that the Kamisato Clan's fleet should be arriving soon.
The refugees from Crimsonwood Village certainly couldn't be transported directly to Narukami Island; there was no place for them to live there currently. They could only temporarily settle down at the Kujou Encampment.
Only after the houses for refugees on Narukami Island were built could they be sent to Narukami Island.
Shiki was very much looking forward to Kujou Masahito's expression, after all, it was his idea to scuttle the ships, for the purpose of framing the resistance.
But now, except for the maddened and demonized village chief Washizu, everyone else had been brought back safely by her. Kujou Masahito could be said to have lost everything.
The most crucial thing was that the person who scuttled the ship absolutely could not die. If he died, there would truly be no evidence, and at that time, the Kujou Clan would have a hundred ways to clear themselves.
The result Shiki wanted was not this; she wanted to completely bring down Kujou!
At this moment, the Kamisato Clan's fleet slowly docked. Kujou Masahito listened to the information from his subordinates, and a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes.
Of course, the samurai who was reporting the news didn't see it. After dismissing the samurai, Kujou Masahito gently made a gesture with his hand.
Then, a black-clad figure in a night suit jumped down from above. His hood covered his face, revealing only a pair of indifferent eyes, and an ice-blue Vision hung on the back of his neck.
That's right, he was a ninja exclusive to the Kujou Clan of the Tenryou Commission, who only obeyed the direct descendants of the Kujou Clan and was responsible for various unspeakable tasks.
"Wolf, I need you to confirm if that 'resistance' member is still alive. It's best if he's dead; if he's alive, I need you to silence him forever."
Kujou Masahito said coldly. The matter of scuttling the ship absolutely could not be leaked, and the Kujou Clan's reputation absolutely could not be damaged.
"Understood, your subordinate will handle it cleanly."
The ninja named Wolf nodded lightly, then disappeared into the tent.
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