The moment Ye Xi stepped out of the Tenshukaku and was just about to take off, a solemn voice reached his ears.
"Master, where are you planning to go?"
Seeing Kujou Sara wearing her usual stern, humorless expression, Ye Xi suddenly remembered—Kujou Sara was to be his personal bodyguard.
He spoke up: "I'm planning to head back to Ritou. Are you coming along?"
Kujou Sara nodded. "Then I'll ready a ship for you!"
"No need, we'll fly over."
As he spoke, Ye Xi used the skill [Walk on the Wind] and lifted straight into the air.
"Eh?"
Kujou Sara was slightly stunned, a flicker of astonishment flashing through her eyes.
She had actually sensed Anemo Elemental Power!
But she clearly hadn't seen an Eye of God on Ye Xi!
What on earth was going on!?
She recalled that something like this had happened before in Inazuma, too.
There had been a golden-haired idiot who, without an Eye of God, could nonetheless wield elemental power.
Could it be that there was some connection between the two?
The Okuzumeshuu off to the side were all startled as well.
To be honest, with Kujou Sara standing guard at the door, none of them dared to discuss it.
But right at this moment, everyone was extremely curious about Ye Xi's identity.
To be brought along by Yae Miko and Kujou Sara, and to walk straight into the Tenshukaku to meet the Raiden Shogun—
This was undeniable proof that Ye Xi's status was anything but ordinary.
And yet, even so—
In their eyes, Ye Xi was just an ordinary person.
Because without an Eye of God, everyone was the same!
But now, seeing Ye Xi suddenly take flight, they were truly startled.
One after another they sighed in admiration—as expected of a guest personally invited by the Raiden Shogun.
Seeing Kujou Sara standing there dumbstruck, Ye Xi asked, "Do you need me to carry you?"
"Uh... Master, I can fly too."
As she spoke, the black Tengu wings behind her spread open.
As Kujou Sara beat her wings, her feet gradually left the ground.
Ye Xi smiled. "Then how about we have a contest of flying speed?"
The instant these words were out, several of the Okuzumeshuu nearly lost their composure.
"Racing a Tengu youkai in speed—how is that any different from challenging the Raiden Shogun to a sword duel?"
"Shh, don't let her hear you!"
"This is the first time I've ever heard of someone challenging General Kujou Sara to a speed race. Truly an eye-opener."
"Understandable, understandable—after all, he's an Outlander."
"Hahahaha."
"...."
Several of the Okuzumeshuu couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Though they kept their voices as low as possible, the words still fell into Kujou Sara's ears.
It filled her heart with pride.
"Master Ye Xi, are you aware of the saying about Tengu racing?"
Kujou Sara planted her hands on her hips, wearing a smug, self-satisfied look, the corner of her mouth curving upward as she said with a laugh, "If the Master truly wishes to compete, then the loser is certain to be you, Master."
"Oh?"
Ye Xi's gaze turned playful as he teased, "Seems you're quite confident."
"But of course!"
"We of the Tengu clan can glide through the air at will, making our bodies light as a feather."
"Among all the youkai of Inazuma, when it comes to gliding speed, we Tengu absolutely hold the title of number one!"
"Naturally, humans aren't even worth mentioning."
Seeing Kujou Sara so brimming with confidence, Ye Xi naturally had to have a contest with her.
"Fine, then let's see who's faster. The starting point is right here."
"As for the finish line—how about the Ritou docks?"
Kujou Sara jutted up her chin, her nose so smug it was practically pointing at the sky, and said breezily, "Master, I'll give you a three-second head start."
Bonk—
Ye Xi rapped her lightly on the head and said sternly, "As if I'd need a head start from you."
"Master, you're asking for trouble. Then I won't hold back."
"If you lose, you mustn't go running to Her Excellency the Shogun to complain."
As she spoke, Kujou Sara stretched out her wings, as if giving herself a lazy stretch, and got herself ready.
Hearing this, Ye Xi's face went blank with exasperation. "Do you take me for a child?"
"All right then, how about we have one of the guards at the door give the signal?"
Hearing this, the several Okuzumeshuu hurriedly bowed. "We shall obey the instructions of the Master and General Kujou."
"Mm, do the countdown then."
Hearing Kujou Sara's order, one of the Okuzumeshuu shouted loudly, "Counting down from three."
"Three——"
"Two——"
"One——!"
As the last word slowly faded, Ye Xi instantly shot off into the air.
Kujou Sara's speed, too, was so fast it left an afterimage.
The two figures streaked toward the sky like arrows loosed from a bowstring.
Seeing this scene, the Okuzumeshuu were all astonished.
"S-such incredible speed!"
"It really does seem he's even faster than Lady Kujou Sara!"
"My heavens, that Master Ye Xi—is he really just an ordinary person?"
"Could it be that Lady Kujou Sara is going to lose!?"
"Impossible. The Tengu youkai have the fastest speed of all."
Gazing at the two figures receding ever farther into the distant sky, the Okuzumeshuu couldn't help but sigh in admiration again and again.
High up in the heavens.
Watching Ye Xi who remained a step ahead of her the entire time, Kujou Sara's heart was filled with disbelief.
'How can he be this fast!'
'This is impossible!'
She beat her wings with all her might, boosting her speed by another huge margin.
Yet Ye Xi quickly caught up, and even pulled a step ahead of her once more.
After repeating this attempt several times over, Kujou Sara finally understood.
Ye Xi was simply toying with her!
It was plain to see—no matter how she accelerated, Ye Xi could always go faster than her.
Which meant that Ye Xi still had energy to spare!
"Looks like this is your top speed. In that case, I'll go on ahead and wait for you at Ritou."
Ye Xi looked back with a smile and waved, then suddenly accelerated, streaking past like a shooting star.
Kujou Sara accelerated for all she was worth, but she truly couldn't fly any faster.
Within Inazuma City, all was lively and bustling.
The populace wandered about the city as they always did.
Suddenly, two "swish-swish" sounds came from the sky.
They looked up to see two figures sweeping across the heavens.
"Heavens, what is that?"
"Looks like youkai of the Tengu clan racing!"
"Such incredible speed—if they crash into something, won't that be a disaster!"
"Where are the people of the Tenryou Commission? Aren't they going to do something about this? If one of them falls down it'll be terrible!"
But the few Tenryou Commission officers patrolling the streets, upon seeing this, made no move whatsoever.
Even if they wanted to give chase, there was simply no way they could catch up!
"That seems to be Lady Kujou Sara, doesn't it?"
"Probably..."
"Aside from Lady Kujou Sara, who else could possibly possess such speed?"
"And whose is that other figure?"
"That's..."
There was still quite a distance between the Tenshukaku and Ritou.
Even by flying, it would still take a while.
Seeing the Ritou docks now right before him, Ye Xi slowed his pace and gently alighted on the wooden bridge.
A person suddenly dropping down from the sky gave the people nearby quite a fright.
Beidou was slightly startled. "Master Ye Xi, why are you back?"
At this time, the fleet had just finished unloading the cargo from the ships.
She was just about to head to the International Commerce Guild to see whether there were any suitable orders, so the ships wouldn't return empty.
And then Ye Xi had dropped straight down from the heavens.
"Beidou, I heard from the Kanjou Commission that someone at the Guild wants to discuss a long-term partnership."
"So I rushed back specially to talk business for our fleet."
Hearing this, Beidou's eyes immediately lit up. "You've come at just the right time—I was about to head to the International Commerce Guild!"
"Then let's go together!"
Ye Xi waved his hand. "Hold on, there's still one more person."
With that, he looked off in the direction he'd come from.
"Someone else?"
Beidou and the fleet members all followed Ye Xi's gaze and looked over.
They saw a youkai with jet-black wings flying toward them.
"Is that a Tengu youkai? It looks like General Kujou Sara, who was just on the ship, doesn't it?"
Beidou made out Kujou Sara's silhouette.
Only, at this moment Kujou Sara looked a bit odd.
Her wings suddenly twitched, and her whole body went tumbling forward from the momentum.
"Look out!"
Before anyone could even cry out in alarm, Ye Xi rushed forward and steadily caught Kujou Sara in his arms.
Kujou Sara was panting for breath, her face flushed red.
"S-sorry... haah..."
"I tried to push past my speed limit... and ran out of strength."
Seeing Ye Xi toying with her, she'd felt deeply unconvinced, and so had tried to break past her former limits.
To her surprise, no sooner had her speed picked up than she felt her whole body grow weak, as if her strength had suddenly drained away.
That was why she'd lost her bearings and come tumbling down.
To be so disgracefully undone, as a member of the Tengu clan—it was truly humiliating!
Ye Xi burst out laughing. "You really are stubborn. Is admitting defeat that hard for you?"
"Hmph."
Kujou Sara broke free of Ye Xi's embrace, still wearing her stern, humorless expression, and said in a low voice, "The honor of the Tengu clan will never fall into decline!"
"Next, I'll undertake special training. In ten days, we'll race again!"
"The Tengu clan will never lose!"
"Oh?"
Ye Xi asked with a playful look on his face, "And what about this time, then?"
"Th-this time was... was an accident!"
Kujou Sara furrowed her brows slightly and said gravely, "I haven't been training adequately these past days, so I'm not in peak condition!"
Beidou, standing off to the side, had already seen through it.
She stepped forward with a smile to console her. "General Kujou, it's no surprise at all that you're no match for the Master."
"After all, the Master spends every day in the Adepti's blessed grotto-heaven, where everything he eats and drinks carries an adeptal aura."
"Whereas you, here in Inazuma, haven't even had enough food to eat these past days, have you?"
Hearing Beidou's words, Kujou Sara's eyes instantly lit up. "Exactly! It's all because I haven't eaten my fill!"
"And besides, the Adepti's blessed grotto-heaven...."
"So that's it—it must be the Adepti of Liyue!"
"The Adepti are simply far more formidable than us lesser youkai to begin with!"
"If he lives within an Adepti's grotto abode and has absorbed some sort of spiritual energy, then it's only natural that he'd be faster than me!"
This face-saving exit Beidou offered landed squarely in Kujou Sara's heart.
Taking the out she'd been handed, Kujou Sara had found herself a fine excuse for her defeat.
Seeing Kujou Sara's earnest expression, Beidou suddenly spoke up: "So, you see, if there's to be another contest, General Kujou ought to at least have the same environment as the Master, don't you think?"
"How about this—why don't you follow the Master home and train in the grotto-heaven for a few days?"
"By then, your speed will surely improve all the faster!"
These words made Kujou Sara's eyes blaze with light.
She nodded over and over. "That's right, that's right! Otherwise it wouldn't be fair!"
"Master Ye Xi! Since you're going to compete against the Tengu clan, it must be fair and aboveboard!"
Overhearing their conversation, Ye Xi's vision went black and he nearly fainted on the spot.
It had only been a spur-of-the-moment race to begin with—how had it escalated into a contest against the entire [Tengu clan]!?
What's more—
Wasn't Beidou far too smooth a talker?
In just a few words she'd maneuvered Kujou Sara right back home.
It was utterly absurd.
"Master, I want to go home with you!"
Seeing Ye Xi slow to respond, Kujou Sara couldn't help but emphasize it once more.
Ye Xi could only nod. "Fine, fine, fine—I'll take you back tonight, all right?"
........
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