In her daily life, Yae Miko presents herself without any fox-like features. Anyone who sees her would praise her as a beautiful and elegant shrine maiden.
Older Inazumans might remember that the shrine maiden looked the same in their youth as she does now in their old age.
After all, this is a world where the supernatural exists, and immortality is not unheard of. Alternatively, Yae Miko might simply be too distant from the ordinary people of Inazuma.
If immortality exists, then surely the ability to quickly regrow fur isn't far-fetched, right?
"You jerk! You actually pulled out my fur! That hurts, you know!"
Shock.
It had been a long time since Yae Miko had experienced such "humiliation."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she pitifully looked at her tail, where a patch of fur had been plucked, leaving behind bare skin.
Immediately, she turned to accuse the fur-plucking ruffian: "Didn't I say I'd give you a fox fur pillow?!"
Li Mo ignored her, turning to Raiden Ei instead. "Ei, this bit of fox fur is a bit sparse, but it should be enough to stuff into a pillow as a memento."
Raiden Ei hesitated. "Is this… really okay?"
She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the dynamic between Yae Miko and Li Mo. Wasn't Li Mo being a bit too harsh?
Li Mo rolled his eyes. "Ei, do you think that fox fur pillow was made from whose fur? And Yae, stop trying to stop the fur from growing back. Look, it's already growing back just from us talking."
"Ugh, little one, don't you feel even a shred of pity? Can't you be moved even a little? Where does that leave the beautiful and wise Yae Miko?" Yae Miko pouted, clearly sulking.
Admittedly, she looked quite cute like this.
But Li Mo remained unmoved.
He could admit that she was beautiful and adorable. But to give up his advantage because of that? Not a chance.
*Click—*
The sound of a camera shutter echoed through the room.
The source was Raiden Ei. She seemed to be holding a camera.
Under the combined gaze of Li Mo and Yae Miko, Raiden Ei quickly hid the camera. "It's nothing. You two can continue. I just thought Yae's expression was too rare to miss…"
"Quick, Ei, give me that photo!" Yae Miko demanded.
Raiden Ei shook her head, refusing.
Yae Miko sighed dramatically. "You two are ganging up on me now?"
Today was Yae Miko's defeat.
The Grand Narukami Shrine had become both quieter and livelier since Raiden Ei had taken up residence.
It was quieter because ordinary citizens were temporarily barred from entering to pay their respects to the Sacred Sakura. But it was livelier because the shrine maidens often witnessed the amusing interactions between their Guuji, the priest, and the Shogun.
It might have been a bit disrespectful, but the shrine maidens rarely got to see their Guuji display so many emotions.
"So, you two really went to Inazuma City to have fun yesterday? Did you just forget about all the work that needed to be done?"
Having gotten a bit of revenge on Yae Miko and secured a brand-new fox fur pillow, Li Mo's anger had subsided somewhat. But as soon as the topic of yesterday came up, he got mad again.
While he had been working overtime, Yae Miko had taken Raiden Ei out to play in Inazuma City.
"Heh, isn't that why I came back to help?"
Then, he noticed something new. "I knew you'd say that. I finished all the work from yesterday while working overtime. So today's work is all yours, fox!"
"Huh? Wasn't that dark circle under your eye just makeup?" Yae Miko widened her eyes in surprise.
"I stayed up all night working overtime! Do you think someone at my level would get obvious dark circles from just one night without sleep? Even when I was human, it wasn't that obvious!" Li Mo retorted.
Seeing the two about to start arguing again, Raiden Ei smiled faintly and quietly continued handling the paperwork in front of her.
These were the documents Li Mo hadn't been able to decide on yesterday, all of which required Raiden Ei's input.
As for the tension between Li Mo and Yae Miko, she had initially worried it might affect their relationship. But after a bit of bickering, the two returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
When today's documents were delivered by the tanuki, Yae Miko was the one who ended up working, with Li Mo standing behind her, supervising and occasionally pointing out mistakes.
It was only thanks to Yae Miko's patience that she didn't completely lose her temper.
"By the way, we saw that Traveler yesterday," Raiden Ei mentioned.
"Lumine? What's she up to now?"
"She should be on a ship heading to Seirai Island," Raiden Ei replied. "Official records of Seirai Island stop at a few hundred years ago. I commissioned the Adventurers' Guild to investigate the island. That Traveler probably took on the quest. Speaking of which… Yae, didn't you say you originally planned for that Traveler to convince me?"
Buried in paperwork with a supervisor breathing down her neck, Yae Miko answered, "Wasn't that the day you pulled that Traveler into the Plane of Euthymia?"
"Ah… I just didn't expect there to be humans in this era who could use elemental powers without a Vision," Raiden Ei mused.
"Isn't the guy standing behind me the same? He doesn't have a Vision either," Yae Miko pointed out.
Li Mo interjected, "She and I are both from beyond this world. The Irminsul has no record of us. Why would a Vision be granted to us? Besides, those things are barely useful. Speaking of Seirai Island… wasn't the Thunderbird killed there?"
"Yes, the Thunderbird was slain by me long ago," Raiden Ei added. "However, its remnants still linger there."
"Lumine can control multiple elements now. She should have no problem dealing with the remnants of that god."
Recalling the Traveler's abilities, Li Mo remembered that Lumine, with her control over multiple elements, had defeated the Lady in Tenshukaku and, in the storyline, had also defeated the Thunder Manifestation born from the Thunderbird's remnants—after all, it was just a boss that dropped materials.
After a pause, Li Mo asked, "Ei, hasn't the Gnosis been sold yet?"
"We're waiting for Snezhnaya to deliver the first batch of supplies. There's no rush. They have no right to defy my conditions," Raiden Ei replied.
Li Mo nodded. "By the way, the Anemo and Geo Archons gave up their Gnoses so easily… Yae, any ideas?"
"Why would I have any ideas about the Seven Archons? You should be asking Ei," Yae Miko retorted.
"But Ei's been in the Plane of Euthymia all these years," Li Mo countered. "So, what did the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya discover 500 years ago that made her act so drastically…"
"Who knows? Aren't you the one with all the insider information? How come you don't know this?" Yae Miko teased.
"You should be focusing on the paperwork in front of you, not chatting about the heavens!" Li Mo shot back.