Landed Xumi: There is no problem with my numbers!

The main hall of the mansion, the interior of the tea room used for entertaining guests.

Beside a square table made of fine maple wood, a white-haired, benevolent-looking old man sat in the main seat. He looked at the two "heroes" who had wiped out the Fatui before him, and his words sounded quite respectful at first glance:

"Dear guests who have come from afar, I am Shinsuke Hiiragi, the head of the Hiiragi family. It is an honor to meet you both."

"The people at the Executive Office didn't understand the rules and didn't inform you in time, which made you wait for so long. I'm really sorry. I hope you won't mind."

Shinsuke Hiiragi, with white hair and beard and wearing wooden clogs, spoke in a sincere tone and enthusiastically filled the tea cups of the two visitors in front of him.

"."

I was originally filled with anger, but I didn't expect this reaction.

Paimon and Ying, who had been waiting here for three hours, looked at each other. They had never dealt with Inazuma officials before, and suddenly they felt that this guy was not as hateful as Thomas said?

"Huh, since it's a misunderstanding, then Paimon will forgive you. We came here this time to..."

Looking at the attitude of Shinsuke Hiiragi in front of her, she felt that leaving the island might be successful soon, and Paimon also wanted to directly put forward their request.

But before he could finish his words, he saw the old man in front of him smiling and saying:

"—Hey, no hurry, no hurry. Your deeds are well-known in Inazuma, so why rush into business?"

"—A gold medal researcher of the Ordovician Academy, an honored knight of Mondstadt, and a distinguished guest of the Seven Stars of Liyue. Let alone meeting you in person, your mere presence alone brings honor to my humble abode."

".?"

"Hey, so we're already that famous? I didn't expect the Inazuma people knew us so well."

Blinked, a little flattered,

Having never received such enthusiastic compliments, Paimon even felt that the other person's appearance looked more pleasing to the eye.

"Of course, of course. Who in the Inazuma magistrate's office doesn't know about your deeds?"

"Besides all that, are the stories about you two capturing a large number of Fatui in Liyue and Mondstadt, and sabotaging the Winter Solstice Project, also true?"

The tone is still harmless, and the connection between the beginning and the end is very smooth.

But after asking this question, Hiiragi Shinsuke, who originally looked like a kind old man, fixed his eyes on the easily visible white floating object, wanting to confirm the information he had obtained one last time.

"——Hehe, of course!"

"——When we were in Liyue, we not only defeated a large number of Fatui, but also captured that guy called "Young Master" and put him in jail for a long time.

When we arrived in Mondstadt, we found that the Fatui, who were captured by our own hands, were locked up in several cells!"

I have been so overwhelmed by the constant compliments that I almost forget myself.

Thinking that the person in front of her was indeed a good person, a certain white-haired ball proudly told Ying about their "achievements" before she could react.

Hiiragi Shinsuke: "."

"Ah, those two are truly outstanding people. I'm sure they will be very popular in Inazuma."

After a brief silence, he finally shook his head. The white-haired old man's expression stiffened slightly for a moment, but on the surface, there was still nothing wrong with him.

"--To be honest, I already know why you're here. The 'pass' matter is just a small matter, but I've long heard of your kindness. Could you condescend to help us as surveyors?"

"Hey, it's no big deal. We are the best at this."

Paimon nodded, and Ying, who was standing beside him, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this familiar process and didn't think there was anything wrong.

"Haha, that's good. I'm sorry for being so presumptuous."

The kind old man paused, then finally gave the first commission:

"—I've long heard that you two are incredibly powerful. I wonder if you can find the cores of three hundred Ruins Guards? They need to be disassembled within three months."

".?"

The originally lively atmosphere suddenly changed. Shinsuke Hiiragi looked at Ying and Paimon, who looked surprised. He was sure that they would not be able to complete such a mission and would get out of here honestly.

"Well, we have some, and it's okay to give it to you, but the quantity is a little too much. Wait for us for a few minutes."

Hiiragi Shinsuke:? ? ?

Huh? You really have it? With so many Ruin Guard cores, have you plowed the entire land of Mondliyue?!

"Ahem, forget it. I suddenly feel a little embarrassed to ask for so many cores at once. Let's change the request."

By observing their expressions, I confirmed that they really did not think this was a difficult problem. Being in a high position, they were not going to take such a high-risk approach as accepting things without doing anything.

Shinsuke Hiiragi coughed twice to hide his embarrassment and decided to try a task that was absolutely impossible to complete:

"Well, to be honest with you two, I have a beloved daughter named Chisato Hiiragi. It's normal for a father to want to fulfill his daughter's wishes, right?"

"Hmm, I didn't realize you were such a good father."

Paimon nodded, not thinking there was anything wrong with it.

"Ah, that's good. My beloved daughter has been very interested in Liyue's things lately. How about you two help me pick three hundred fresh Qingxin flowers? Preferably freshly picked."

???

"Hey! Your request is too difficult! Three hundred Qingxin flowers are no longer fresh after being picked!"

"Oh, since you two can't do it, then..."

"——But since you are a good father, Lord Paimon will satisfy your request. This thing can be used as a seasoning, and we just happened to have a lot of it planted in the pot."

As she said this, she planned to ask Ying to take out the Chen Ge pot, and she went in to pick a bunch of Qingxin. A certain white-haired ball felt that although this commission was a bit tricky, it was actually very simple for them.

Hiiragi Shinsuke: "."

???

No, this can also be done? How many strange and bizarre things do you have?

The Ruins Core has it, and Qingxin also has it. If I ask you to find a bunch of Abyss monsters or a few members of the Abyss Cult on the spot, can you do it?

"——Ahem, I suddenly remembered that I remembered it wrong. Why don't you two go back and wait for a couple of days while I ask my daughter..."

He had already made up his mind to keep these two from getting away, and make them unable to move. Hiiragi Shinsuke was sure that as long as they couldn't get out, they wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

"——Report to the master! Something bad has happened!"

"—Silence! Didn't I teach you to stay calm the more urgent the situation?"

"What big thing could have happened on the outlying island? Why are you so panicked? Could it be that a monster from the abyss has emerged?"

While the crucial task of perfunctorily dealing with the traveler was still underway, a panicked guard suddenly ran in.

He immediately started to reprimand him harshly. Hiiragi Shinsuke didn't think anything was more important than this matter, unless there was a problem with the supplies he was going to send to the Fatui important figure or there was really an invasion by Abyss monsters.

"."

"Phew, I'm sorry, Master Hiiragi Shinsuke. I forgot your teachings. I shouldn't have been so flustered."

The guard looked at the calm old man in front of him and felt admiration from the bottom of his heart. It was as if he had found his backbone, and he slowly calmed down.

"Oh, that's more like it. Tell me, what's going on? Those two over there are our friends from the Kande Bugei Department, so don't worry about them."

Determined to carry out the friendly strategy to the end and not thinking that anything could go wrong, Hiiragi Shinsuke spoke with pretended magnanimity.

"Yes, sir, it's actually nothing special. You have already guessed it."

The guard spoke in a calm tone, neither hurried nor slow, and even had the time to beat around the bush after applying what he had learned.

".?"

The white-haired old man's face froze, and he suddenly had a bad premonition.

"——Just around the warehouse used to store the crystallized bone marrow, a large group of black wolf-like abyssal monsters suddenly appeared.

They ate most of our crystallized bone marrow, and a lot of our guards were injured. Now those black wolves seem to be attacking the Fatui station nearby."

!!!

"——Why didn't you tell me about such an important matter earlier?! Didn't I tell you that everything related to crystallized bone marrow is top priority?!"

"—You've delayed the military mission. Go and receive your punishment immediately!"

It was about the mentally ill lunatics of the Fatui, and the carefully maintained composure could no longer be maintained.

The furious Hiiragi Shinsuke didn't have time to pay attention to Ying and Paimon, who he had just treated as guests of honor. He ran out in a hurry, leaving the two people in the room alone looking at each other.

Speechless for a moment.

A moment later, on the street.

"Well, if you think about it carefully, those things are almost impossible tasks. Did he never intend to help us from the beginning?"

"."

"Hmph, what a wicked fellow! They deserved their warehouse to be invaded by the monsters of the abyss!"

After leaving the Kanjo Bugyo, I gained nothing except wasting half a day.

Realizing that the guy just now was reluctant to even take out a plate of pastries, Paimon puffed up his cheeks and spoke angrily.

? ?

"Huh? Ying, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"

"Those Abyss monsters are destroying the Fatui's base anyway. Given the fighting power of those nasty guys, a few black wolves shouldn't be a problem.

I just don’t know what the “crystallized bone marrow” eaten by the black wolf is.”

I noticed that Ying beside me looked around from time to time, and her whole body was a little tense.

Paimon scratched his head in confusion, not thinking this matter had anything to do with them:

——If there are monsters destroying the Fatui, then just destroy them. The Fatui are a regular army.

With them around, the abyss monsters would not have been able to escape to the civilian area. This was just an accidental incident with no follow-up.

"Paimon, have you forgotten where that golden bracelet on your hand came from? I'm worried..."

He glanced at the golden bracelet on the wrist of the white-haired ball next to him, which looked like it was made of some kind of scales, and sighed slightly.

Because I had a pendant that I had obtained from a mission, I gave it to Paimondai.

It had only been such a short time and he had forgotten what had happened. Ying discovered that her guide's memory was not much better than that of a wild boar.

"Um, you mean the aura of the abyss that attracts abyssal monsters within a 'certain range'?"

Blinking, Paimon suddenly realized something.

"But that 'certain area' should be very small, right? And even if we attract those black wolves, they should attack us."

？ ！！

"Huh?! I seem to remember that this abyssal aura does not seem to make monsters attack us. Is that true?"

Suddenly, I remembered the small print in the introduction. This thing was of very high purity, possessing the aura of power of the Abyss Leader level. Therefore, ordinary monsters would not only not attack them, but might even come to help.

"—Oh no! What if we get discovered? Won't we immediately become wanted criminals?!"

"——We have to leave the island quickly! Otherwise, we will be attacked by abyssal monsters one after another!"

I always feel that once this connection is discovered, it will definitely be misunderstood and lead to some very bad situations. In the worst case, it may not only make me a wanted criminal, but it may also cause the hostility of the gods.

".Huh, but we don't have any other options. We can only hope that the Kanjo Bugyo-sama will let us go. Otherwise, if we just run away, our journey will be difficult."

Sighing slightly, I felt more and more in a dilemma.

After thinking about her current situation, Ying decided from the bottom of her heart to hide this connection:

——After all, according to my understanding, there shouldn't be many abyss monsters in Inazuma right now, so this incident is probably just a coincidence.

Furthermore, the impact is only within a "certain range," so as long as one suppresses the intensity of the impact as much as possible, it shouldn't cause much harm.

"—Lord Hiiragi Shinsuke, this is already the fourth Abyssal attack in recent times! The first few black wolves seemed to have evolved after devouring the crystallized bone marrow, and even the Fatui base suffered considerable damage!"

fluorescent:"."

Paimon: "."

Do we have to run into this kind of thing every time? It has nothing to do with us, so don't look at us.

They visited Hiiragi Shinsuke again, trying to get their permission to leave the island, but for some reason, the old man, who looked a little haggard, was still inexplicably insistent on letting them stay.

"Oh, sorry, both of you, please excuse me for a moment."

Having been tortured to the point of being in a trance, Shinsuke Hiiragi could no longer maintain his smooth attitude as before.

I had previously imagined that as long as I could keep these two guys on the island, the Fatui's plan would not be disrupted.