People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 489 Shadow: Thank you, Mr. Yuanshang
Outside the dessert shop, in front of the magistrate's office gate, in the town street.

Standing on the wooden bridge unlit by the lights, the bright moonlight poured down, illuminating the cherry blossom tree beside the bridge, which was now coated with a layer of silvery white.
Smelling a faint sweet scent in the air, the purple-haired figure looked up and noticed a rather special warm yellow light in the dim light.

"Why did the dessert shop bring me here? Although we have similar interests, you shouldn't have such a strong desire."

From the very beginning, I found the General's behavior somewhat strange. I didn't understand why she insisted on me going out for a walk and going out for dessert with her.

Recalling the tense expressions on the faces of those close advisors who wanted to immediately summon the pastry chef to make desserts after hearing the reason from the general, Ying's emotions fluctuated slightly, feeling that they didn't actually need to come out so casually in the first place.

"My wish? Absolutely not."

"This body exists solely for 'eternity,' even desserts must bow down to it."

"After clashing with the enemy of the abyss, the 'inner' sanctuary became disordered, and the spirit could no longer slow down the wear and tear through meditation. I judged this phenomenon to be detrimental to eternity, and therefore decided to take corrective measures as soon as possible."

A slightly cold voice came from the purple-haired figure. Faced with any potential hidden dangers that might prevent the realization of eternity, the general's program had been programmed with corresponding solutions from the very beginning.

"So, that's why you brought me here? But there should be more solutions than that."

Suddenly able to understand where this strange motive came from, Shadow recalled certain details from the initial general's design, and most of his doubts were dispelled.

"When your inner thoughts are in turmoil and you are unable to maintain a peaceful state of mind, eating sweet desserts is a prepared solution."

"—After trying various methods, the sweets made within the shogunate have failed to alleviate the situation. Considering the root cause of the current problem, I have determined that you also need 'relaxation' from the alternative plan."

He wouldn't hide anything from "himself." Although the general's words sounded devoid of emotion, his bluntness still left Ying Weiwei silent.

Since deciding to pursue "eternity," I never imagined that I would actually need these solutions one day.

Shift your gaze away from the full moon in the sky.

Looking towards the direction where the abyss rift opened in the distance, she couldn't deny that because of what she had experienced some time ago, while clearing out the abyss monsters, she had also thought of her old friends who had left.

"Moonlight and cherry blossoms, it's been so long since I've seen them. If Fox Monk and 'she' were still alive, they would probably compete to compose poems about them."

"And if Chiyo, who loves moonlight the most, had not been tainted by darkness, perhaps she would have performed a sword dance under this full moon."

All of his original friends have perished, and now only the divine child, whom Fox Prince once introduced to him with a smile, remains, carried on his shoulder.

But if eternity is not achieved, or a way to deal with the existence of that previous abyss is not found, even this last friend who cares about him will be gone.
“The enemy is strong, but since they are warriors, all we can do is swing our swords at them.”

"Your inner self has too many worries, which is detrimental to eternity."

"."

He talked to himself, and stood there in the shadows by the wooden bridge, never leaving.

He refused to be accompanied by guards when he went out, and the people passing by were also very tacit, as if they did not notice that the general was there, and left from a distance with their eyes straight ahead and their bodies tense.

No one interrupted the conversation, but talking alone cannot solve any problems.

A night breeze blew by, and the communication, which had yielded no results, temporarily ceased.
Thinking of the initial purpose of this trip, Ying, who was in a semi-in charge, shook her head and looked at the "Yuan Shang Dessert Shop" that she had never seen before and the "Qiu Sha Sheng Tang" next to it:
"I remember this place; the Baku clan applied for land here before, and there is indeed the aura of monsters here now."

But the dessert shop next door appeared out of nowhere; perhaps the goddess relinquished her property.

Despite being friends for hundreds of years, the great demon of the Baku clan and the divine child inexplicably always seem to be engaged in some strange competition.

Having learned of the Baku clan's land application, the Divine Child subsequently submitted an application to the Castle Keep as well.
But it now appears that the property was not used to compete with her old friend, but was instead gifted to someone else for some reason.
"In that case, let's go take a look."

"If the head chef of a dessert shop that has caught the eye of a fox is qualified, it wouldn't be a bad idea to recruit him as a side servant."

The general spoke, describing the heinous act of kidnapping people in a calm tone.

Having temporarily taken over the body, Ying shook her head helplessly. Although she didn't intend to poach people from the fox, she was also very curious about the reason why the goddess would choose to give up this potential land that she had used to compete with her "friend".

"Greetings, Lord Oogami. You may call me Hana-sanri."

"Our shop is not officially open yet, but all the ingredients are ready. We appreciate your hospitality and welcome you to order whatever you like."

A moment later, in the dessert shop lobby.

The purple-haired figure had just stepped into the room in the warm light when she froze on the spot under the watchful eyes of the staff.

Somewhat dazed, I stared at the familiar face before me. Even though the hair color was different, there were no fox ears or tail.

But looking at the little white fox being carefully held in the other person's arms, Ying had a momentary illusion of returning to the past.

"What's wrong? Are you tired from work?"

"If that's really the case, please put your worries aside and come here to rest."

He maintained the necessary respect, but his words lacked the usual fear that an Inatsuma woman would have towards the general.

In most cases, I'm involved in planning and managing the business, and only occasionally do I personally greet guests.
Hana Sanri looked at her "old friend" who was frozen in place, and knew very well what had caused the current situation.

"Is that an Earth Fox in your hand? Have they awakened again?"

He remained silent for a moment, not directly answering the waiter's question.

Clutching at a sliver of unrealistic hope, she tried to discern the identity of the person before her from the sidelines.

"Earth Fox? Is it a member of the legendary Fox Prince's retinue?"

"That's not the case. The little guy in my hand is the shopkeeper's partner, just an ordinary little fox."

He smiled and shook his head, not considering himself to be the same person as the former Fox Abode Palace.
Although the memories inevitably evoke a sense of nostalgia, at least for now, they don't reveal any flaws.

"."

"I misunderstood."

"I would like to meet the owner of this shop. I would like two servings of dango milk and one serving of sakura mochi."

After taking another look, he couldn't sense any demonic aura emanating from the white fox.

After confirming that there was no problem with the other party's statement, Ying finally shook her head.

She had never imagined that such a similar existence could exist in the world. For a moment, she even guessed that the reason why the divine child sent her here was also related to this "Hanasanari".

"Dumpling milk and cherry blossom mochi? Okay, I'll go get the shopkeeper. Please wait a moment." "The moonlight is just right. Your Excellency might as well enjoy some cherry blossoms while you wait. Perhaps it will relieve some of the fatigue from work."

As if completely oblivious to the probing, the pretty waiter smiled and nodded, conveying the simplest request to his companion.

"."

"If cherry blossoms could understand the pain of parting, they would stay forever." The world is full of troubles, but beautiful scenery and sweets might help you temporarily escape them.

She turned around, placed her hands on either side of her skirt, and gave a slight bow.

As if to remind his "old friend" in front of him, Hana Sanri gracefully bid farewell and then turned and left.

"What's wrong? Your heart has become more hesitant."

"Aren't you the same? You have these memories too."

Even though he knew that Fox Palace couldn't possibly appear in front of him like this, and he couldn't sense any special power on the other party, he still had a feeling of déjà vu.

He fell silent for a moment, his curiosity growing even stronger. Who was the shop owner? And where had he found that employee from earlier?
Looking around at the remaining staff, I noticed that they were not only full of enthusiasm for their work, but they also didn't seem as reserved as others when they saw me.

There were just too many unique features. Ying shook her head, unable to understand why this shop seemed so special.

"Here you go, two servings of dango milk and cherry blossom mochi, plus a complimentary three-color dango. Please enjoy."

"I am the owner of this dessert shop. I was helped to open this shop by Lord Gongsi. You can just call me Yuanshang, General."

He temporarily tucked the little yellow-haired abyss creature into the cleaning crew's group, then took the little white creature from Hana Sanri's arms and came to meet this homebody girl who only wanted to eat sweets.

This was the first time since arriving in Inazuma that I had been so close to this "Shogun," a figure rarely seen outside the shogunate.
Sensing the gentle aura emanating from the other person, so different from that of a puppet, Lin Feng knew very well that the person in front of him was most likely the creator of the General Puppet—"Lei Movie".

"A gift? Thank you."

"To be honest, for some special reasons, I want to ask you a few questions. Don't be nervous, it's just some private matters."

There was little airs of divinity in his words, and he was generally polite in his interactions.

Unlike the rigid generals and the outside world's perception, the true "shadow" is actually very easy to talk to and doesn't care much about formalities, as long as it doesn't jeopardize eternity.

"General, you flatter me. My shop hasn't even officially opened yet, and I never expected that our first customer would be a deity."

Such an honor caught even the store's employees off guard.

"I will answer any question you ask."

The young man, dressed in a light-colored robe, placed the snacks in front of the purple-haired figure opposite him. His attitude was sincere, and he even looked particularly serious when making the promise.

"."

"To be honest, I want to know why the Divine Child agreed to let you open a dessert shop here, and the background of that 'Hanasanari' shop assistant."

Being a martial artist by nature, he doesn't have the habit of beating around the bush.

Upon discovering that the owner of the "Yuanshang" shop in front of her was not very old and seemed to respect the gods, Ying couldn't suppress her doubts and directly asked the question she cared about most.

"Well, the reason for opening a dessert shop is not complicated."

"As you can see, the employees in the store are now genuinely happy with their jobs because they fill a void in their lives."

"At first, I just wanted to give these shop assistants who had difficulty finding work a place to stay so that they could live a life with the most basic security. That's why I made my initial request to Lord Miyaji."

"As for the reasons for the current situation, Lord Kuji didn't explain them to me explicitly. He only agreed to transfer the shop to me after I mentioned my intention to open a 'dessert shop.'"

"The Fox Spirit's actions naturally have their reasons, but I'm sorry, if I were to speculate, I really couldn't give you any accurate answer."

After briefly recounting the specific process of opening a store, Lin Feng looked at the figure in front of him and felt that his summary should be basically correct.

"So you decided to open the store to take in these employees?"

"Yes, there are many idle young people in Inazuma. Taking them in to work here stably would undoubtedly be beneficial in the long run. Your actions are a rare act of kindness."

I nodded, noticing how natural the other person's response was, and how genuinely sincere they were when talking about their initial motivation for providing jobs for the shop assistants.

Unexpectedly, the young man in front of him was a righteous man with such a broad mind, and Ying nodded with a hint of praise.

"If that's the case, then could that Hana-san-ri also be one?"

Something came to mind: if the other employees were taken in because they couldn't find work, then...
"The General is absolutely right. Miss Hanahara was indeed in dire straits before, and at one point she could even be described as homeless."

"I found her in the White Fox Wilds, covered in filth, seeking help from two travelers."
"After much effort and numerous setbacks, we finally have the Hana Sanri you see today."

With a slight sigh, his words brimming with emotion, Lin Feng looked at the figure before him and couldn't help but recall the effort he had put into figuring out the character's appearance in "Flower Scattering."

".Thank you."

He paused for a moment, then uttered a sentence that even he hadn't expected.

Not knowing what she was thanking for, even though the shop assistant in front of her was not the old friend from the past, but perhaps because of some kind of emotional attachment, Ying was still grateful to the other party for taking in the homeless Hana Sanri.

Lin Feng: "."

No, you're not usually this honest.

When that divine child used to tease his own gods, did he enjoy the feeling of bullying honest people?
Because this thank you came so unexpectedly, I didn't know what to say for a moment.

He paused slightly, suddenly realizing that Shadow and General were like two extremes:

Firstly, they are too quick to consider issues from others' perspectives. In most cases, except when dealing with eternity, their approach can actually be described as "gentle."

On the other hand, some are too self-centered, rigid, and inflexible; once the established underlying logic is touched, they are prone to showing no mercy and striking without hesitation.
He shook his head, never imagining that his first meeting with Ying would be like this.
Lin Feng glanced at the purple-haired figure in front of him, who couldn't help but look at the desserts and didn't seem to have much of a general's imposing presence, and decided to give her some time to eat.
"--Dumpling milk and cherry blossom cakes taste best when eaten as soon as possible. We can discuss other issues later. Please have your meal, Your Excellency."

"It is a rare honor to have the privilege of entertaining the gods. Please wait a moment after you finish your meal, and I will serve you a few more complimentary dishes."

Having finally understood the mindset of the people in the magistrate's office, Lin Feng realized that compared to the general, this reclusive woman probably wouldn't be too difficult to fool.

Consider it a reward for adding "I have served the General" to the store's future promotions. Although he knew the guy wouldn't have Mora on him, he decided to give him a few extra desserts.

(End of this chapter)