Yes, Lady Funina!

But buying snacks now would seem too deliberate, and even feel like copying someone else's ideas.

Fu Ningna looked down at the dumpling milk in her hand, and already had an idea in mind.

"Klee, have some milk with the dumpling filling, don't choke." Funina thought she was being incredibly clever.

Not only did he cleverly resolve his awkward situation, but he also demonstrated his thoughtfulness and increased Klee's favorability, achieving three goals at once.

As expected of me!

However, just as Funina was feeling smug, Shadow also contributed her own dumpling milk.

"Want some?" Ying handed the milk to Richard.

The milk and dumplings were meant for Richard, but they made Funina, who was standing next to him, furious.

No, sister?

I'm trying to win over my sister-in-law, and you're already raiding my base?

Okay, okay, you're really good at having fun, aren't you?

Furness felt she had encountered an unprecedented and formidable enemy, and she had to be extremely vigilant, or she would suffer a crushing defeat.

Seeing that Funina was staring intently at her, Ying hesitated for a moment, then said to Funina:

"How about... you drink first? Ah? Not this one!" Funina looked dejected; she seemed completely outmatched by Shadow.

Little Claire, who was standing nearby, didn't know what was going on, but it was obvious that something was off about the atmosphere.

She glanced at the shadow, then at Funina, and finally quietly tugged at Richard's sleeve.

Richard looked at his sister and noticed that she was trying to remind him by blinking.

As for what to remind her of, it was naturally to have Richard provide some emotional support to Sister Funina, so that her mindset wouldn't become too unbalanced.

Lee realized that Keli was far too clever for her age, but he clearly didn't need Keli to remind him; he already knew how to handle it.

"Thank you, I'm not thirsty." Richard knew Shadow well and knew that it wouldn't matter if he refused.

Not to mention that the dumpling milk is Shadow's most prized possession, second only to the tricolor dumpling in status. It would be fine to share it with Richard, but it would be great if he could enjoy it himself.

Moreover, Ying knew that Richard didn't actually need the dumpling milk; her question just now had already achieved her original goal.

In simpler terms, it means that the thought is there.

When Funina saw that Richard hadn't accepted the dumpling milk that Ying was offering, she felt a little better, and wasn't so anxious that she was about to drop her pearls.

"Besides dango milk, Inazuma must have other delicious drinks, right? I'll go buy some!" Funina said.

Ying shook her head and said:

"Furina is a guest. As the host, how can we let the guest spend money?"

"Ying, you're too kind..."

Seeing the atmosphere gradually improve, Klee breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, she held the tricolor dumpling given to her by Shadow in one hand and the dumpling milk she got from Frinna in the other, feeling that the adult world was really not easy.

But more than the rivalry between Shadow and Funina, what Klee cared about was how her brother handled the situation.

Isn't that a bit too practiced?

Good news: No need to worry about my brother showing favoritism anymore.

Bad news: My brother's way of handling things is too practiced.

This made Klee worry that her brother might actually be a womanizer.

As the main venue for this year's Yung Chae Festival, the central square of the outlying islands already showed signs of the festival atmosphere.

All the necessary shops are there. Apart from five large display cases reserved for Abedo's paintings, the other temporary shops in the surrounding area have already been set up and are already open for business.

The tricolor dumplings and dumpling milk I just ate were purchased from these shops.

Besides shops, due to the unique geographical location of the outlying island, which serves as Inazuma's 'outpost', there are quite a few foreign tourists here.

Judging solely from their clothing, they account for more than half of the customer traffic.

"It looks like this festival will be a great success," Richard said.

The festival hasn't even started yet, and the number of visitors is already so impressive. Once the festival begins, won't it take off like a rocket?

Most importantly, the influx of these visitors has not only boosted Inazuma's economy, but more importantly, it has strengthened Inazuma's local confidence in future economic development.

This is even more important than how much the local economy will be boosted. Only when the people of Inazuma believe that the economy will improve will Inazuma's economy improve.

“Yes.” Shadow didn’t understand these things very well, but she at least knew that Inazuma was much more lively now than it had been during the reign of General Raiden.

The people of Inazuma also seem more active and energetic than before.

"Speaking of which, the successful preparation of the Rongcai Festival was largely thanks to the Divine Child," Ying said.

Ying's very nature dictates that she is unlikely to advocate for organizing such large-scale gatherings and entertainment events.

If we're talking about a type of large-scale group activity that Shadow excels at, it would probably be leading troops into battle.

But those were all things from the time of the War of the Demon Gods. Since the establishment of the Seven Gods, the world has been at peace, and even if there are conflicts, the scale is kept under control by the Demon Gods.

Unless a war involving demon gods occurs, the Shadow will not intervene, as evidenced by the rebellion on Sea God Island.

Even when the island of Haizhi rose in rebellion, the Shadow never made a move, nor did he even ask General Raiden to take action.

Otherwise, with all the people on Haizhi Island combined, they probably wouldn't be enough to kill General Thunder alone.

“Everyone has their own strengths. As for Shadow, he just needs to stay in the rear and oversee things,” Richard replied with great emotional intelligence.

Upon hearing Richard's words, Funina perked up. From the implication in Richard's words, she realized that Shadow was actually just like her, belonging to the category of 'mascot deities'.

But even if she is used as a mascot, it is only because she does not want to interfere in politics, not because she is incapable of doing so.

Having a gun and not using it is one thing, having no gun to use is another.

Richard glanced at Funina, who was clearly much more energetic, but didn't intend to correct her.

"Ahem, that's true. I just leave all the internal affairs to Richard and the others, and all I need to do is grasp the general direction." Funina even started sharing her experience with Shadow, can you believe it?

Ying opened her mouth as if to speak but then stopped herself. Is it possible that before Richard went to you, she was the one who assisted you first?

In a sense, this could also be considered a different kind of verbal offense.

However, it is clear that Funina did not realize that she had unwittingly turned the tables on herself.

Klee didn't quite understand the topic of Fryna and Shadow, but she felt that what her sister Fryna said made a lot of sense, and decided to tell Jean the lesson she had just learned when she got back.

Qin: I understand the logic, but where can I find the right person?

The four of them strolled around the area for a while. Perhaps because it had been a long time since she had gone shopping with Richard, and because they were in a foreign country, Keli seemed particularly excited and would go up to look at everything she came across.

Gradually, more and more people noticed Richard and his group. After all, Klee was lively, cute, and likable, and another reason was that there was also a Shadow in the team.

As Narukami of Inazuma, Kage's popularity in Inazuma is comparable to that of Fryna in Fontaine. Although Kage doesn't like to show her face in public, her identity alone makes her impossible to ignore.

As the attention it receives increases, it naturally becomes less appealing to stroll along the street.

Richard suggested finding a teahouse to rest, and everyone immediately agreed.

Klee raised her little hand and said:

"Let's go to the Wooden Leak Tea House!"

"The wooden lattice tea room?" Richard didn't understand why Claire would want to go there.

Richard was well aware that the wooden-framed teahouse was the headquarters of the guild, and most importantly, it wasn't located on an outlying island, but within Inazuma Castle.

"The Divine Child must have taken Klee there before, right?" Shadow said.

"Yes, there's a dog, it's very cute!" Klee nodded vigorously.

So you have animal friends, huh? That makes sense.

"I heard that the owner of the Wooden Leak Tea House is a small dog, which is quite interesting." The image was recalling this interesting story about the tea house.

"The little dog is the shopkeeper?" Richard wasn't too surprised by this. After all, if a fox could be a court official, there was no reason why a little dog couldn't be a boss, right?

Moreover, although he is said to be the owner of the Wood Leak Tea House, the Wood Leak Tea House is actually under the control of the Sha Fengxing.

"That sounds amazing!" Funina became interested, knowing that she had always been powerless against furry little animals.

Well, or rather, she has no resistance to cute animals that are friendly to her and won't hurt her.

"Sister Funina, why don't you invite Lord Uther, Miss Shebeleda, and Lady Hevima to come and play together too?" Claire not only had her sights set on the owner of the Wooden Leak Tea Room, but also on the members of Funina's Lonely Heart Salon.

Of course, Funina wouldn't refuse such a request.

"No problem!" she replied readily.

After all, Miss Shabelida and the others quite enjoy playing with Klee.

Soon the group arrived at the Mulou Tea House. Before they even entered, they heard a commotion inside, accompanied by the sound of objects falling to the ground.

"Lord Taromaru, where are you going?" The woman's voice was filled with panic and confusion.

"Woof...woof~ (Let's go lay low for a while!)"

Unfortunately, before Taromaru could escape, the woman's voice exclaimed in surprise:

"General?!"

Taromaru immediately stopped in his tracks, realizing that the little rascal was quite someone important; last time he brought a fox, and this time he had actually brought a general.

Is it not enough that it gave in?

Chapter 248 Protection? Add a household!

'Woof~ (sorrowfully)'

Richard almost doubted his own eyes; he actually saw three parts desolation, three parts trepidation, one part expectation, and ninety parts fawning on that dog's face.

Taro-maru was held tightly in Kuri's arms, too afraid to move.

On the one hand, it's because Klee is too young and only about the height of a human standing upright. Being able to pick her up already makes her one of the best human cubs. If she moves around too much, she might drop her.

On the other hand, it was because Lord Narukami was watching over it. If it didn't behave well, what if it offended the god?

Moreover, it's not that Taro-maru dislikes Kuri, he just feels embarrassed to be held by a child. You should know that as the owner of the wooden tea room, he always stands at the counter!

It never asks anyone to hold it in their arms; a dog that is held in someone else's arms is always a useless dog to Inazuma!

Taro-maru is a good dog who is useful to Inatsuma, to society, and to his master.

The two are incomparable.

What Taromaru didn't know was that with Kuri's physical abilities, even if Taromaru struggled with all his might, he probably wouldn't be able to escape her grasp.

"Hey, Klee, don't you think this dog is a bit... fawning?" Fryna looked at Taro, who was being hugged around the waist by Klee, and was quite surprised by the rather human-like expression on his dog face.

"Is there? Let Klee see." Klee easily turned Taro over.

Taromaru reluctantly complied, while also feeling that the blue-haired girl next to him was rather ignorant.

Can a dog that doesn't flatter and doesn't know how to please people be a good dog?

Taro-maru received extremely rigorous training from a young age, including but not limited to many advanced canine skills such as sitting, lying down, shaking hands, and even playing dead. Later, thanks to the favor of the head of the company, he was selected for the "Final Episode" and was able to become the "owner" of this wooden-framed teahouse after retiring.

Only a small part of all this was due to its own efforts and intelligence; the vast majority came from the favor of its owner, especially that young lady. If it could gain her praise, then its dog life would be complete.

"Excuse me... are you Lady Funina?" The one who spoke was the girl who had just been talking to Taromaru.

“Yes, it’s me.” Funina nodded.

"You know me?"

“Lord Water God of Fontaine, as the patron of the Wooden Leak Tea House, it would be a dereliction of duty for me not to know you,” Kozue said earnestly.

"Um, could the signboard girl of this wooden teahouse be some kind of powerful profession? Like a ninja?" Funina remembered that there was content related to Inazuma ninja in the literary works she had read before.

This made Funina extremely curious about the mysterious profession of ninja.

“Ninja… I’m sorry, I’m not.” Koto shook her head. Although she was the daughter of a retainer of the Kamisato family and had mastered a good swordsmanship, and had once been qualified to enter the [Final Chapter], she refused, so she was not a ninja.

“But I think the position of ninja is no worse than that of a signboard girl,” Kozue said seriously.

"The mascot is indeed... wait, according to what you're saying, you think being the mascot is harder than being a ninja?" Funina almost didn't react.

"That's only natural, isn't it? Ninjas only need to undergo rigorous training to become ninjas, but becoming a mascot requires much more consideration, and there's even a necessary threshold that would deter most people."

Seeing how seriously Shao was speaking, even Funina couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.