Removing her hood and shaking the rainwater from her hair, Ksenia walked toward the main camp of Fort Fujitou with an incredibly arrogant swagger.
"Halt! Who goes there!"
In the curtain of rain, Resistance soldiers wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats raised their weapons, leveling them at Ksenia. Being on the front lines, they had no idea that their home base had already been "invaded" by the Fatui. Currently... they were effectively colleagues with the Ksenia standing before them.
"Don't attack yet. Look at this."
Ksenia pulled out the token Bai Luo had given her and displayed it to the soldiers. She had originally assumed this thing was just a pass or some sort of permit; the Fatui had similar items. However, the moment the soldiers saw the token, they snapped to attention and bowed deeply.
"Hmm?" Seeing their reaction, Ksenia scrutinized the token in her hand once more.
It was a wooden tablet carved with a fishtail mark, its base adorned with tassels and genuine Sango Pearls. Ksenia didn't know that, in order to make her journey less dangerous, Bai Luo had specifically asked Tatyana to get a personal token from Sangonomiya Kokomi.
Kokomi hadn't known what Bai Luo wanted it for, but considering his status... she had given him the highest level of authority short of her own presence.
And then this guy, without even blinking, had handed it over to Ksenia.
Tsk... what a scumbag!
Gorou was initially shocked to hear that a Fatui Cicin Mage had arrived carrying the Divine Priestess's personal token. But when he saw the letters placed before him, he felt a wave of relief.
It seemed Mr. Battousai had successfully used... "Miss Hina's" photos to exchange for vital intelligence from the Yae Publishing House.
"Do you have any requirements? Just tell me, and I will arrange them."
Naturally, these letters couldn't be examined in front of Ksenia, so Gorou attempted to dismiss her.
"Little Doggy, Big Sister needs some hot water. And if possible... do you have any Fire-water?"
"..."
Hot water they could provide in unlimited quantities, but Fire-water was another story. A batch had recently been shipped from Watatsumi Island, but that kid Teppei had used it all as disinfectant alcohol; there was basically none left. Also, what was with the "Little Doggy" nickname?! Don't think that just because you have Lady Sangonomiya's token, I'll... I'll...
Sigh.
Actually, why did this Cicin Mage look so familiar? Had he seen her somewhere before?
"Just kidding. There's no way you'd have authentic Fire-water here. Just get me some hot drinks and water."
"I will have my subordinates see to it."
After sending Ksenia away, Gorou finally sat down to examine the letters. At first, he was a bit disappointed. The letters were all trivial matters—meaningless gossip.
But out of a sense of professional duty—and his habit of helping his camp comrades with their troubles—he replied to each one.
But as he continued, his ears began to perk up.
Within those seemingly insignificant inquiries lay hidden secrets of the Shogunate Army. Complaints about children being stationed on specific islands by the Kujou clan, or residents being forced to relocate to Inazuma City because of the Shogunate's presence... numerous details intertwined, gradually forming a map of the Shogunate's troop dispositions in Gorou's mind.
This intelligence matched their existing data perfectly. Which meant... this method actually worked for gathering intel!
After spending half the night, he organized all the letters and pulled a stamp carved with a dog-paw print from a hidden drawer.
He had carved it himself at Bai Luo's suggestion. On every letter, including his replies, he left this paw print to show he had read them.
Actually, Bai Luo had suggested he put on lipstick and leave a kiss mark. However, General Gorou was far more "pure-hearted" than Bai Luo and couldn't accept such a thing. He couldn't even bring himself to carve a stamp in the shape of a lip, so he settled for the paw print.
As he finished organizing the pile, he noticed a separate, unremarkable letter in Ksenia's package.
"A letter from Mr. Battousai?" Gorou's eyes lit up.
To Goro:
Miss Hina is very popular in Inazuma City; we received hundreds of letters on the very first day. It took me three days to organize them and mix the useful intelligence into the common mail. I hope you can forgive the delay.
Furthermore, because Miss Hina's popularity is rising daily, the head of the Yae Publishing House intends to discuss some "offline events" with me. Due to my unique circumstances, I found it difficult to refuse and have temporarily compromised. If you find it inconvenient to participate, I will reject their demands even if it costs me my life.
I have written the details of the offline events on the back of this envelope. Remember to read them.
"Hmm..."
To be honest, Gorou felt something was strange about this letter. While the content sounded like something Battousai would write, and the "indecipherable" handwriting was definitely his signature style, the letter lacked a certain "soul."
Even though it was filled with wanderer-style honorifics like sessha and *kakka*, the letter felt like a clumsy imitation of Battousai.
In reality, Gorou didn't know that once Bai Luo switched his profession to "Hei" (The Harbinger), he lost that specific Ronin aura. He hadn't switched back to the "Battousai" class while writing, yet he had subconsciously tried to write from that perspective. This resulted in the weird, disjointed feeling.
It wasn't that he didn't want to switch to Battousai; it was because he had once injured the Raiden Shogun while in that form—specifically, the true Raiden Ei who had briefly taken control of the puppet.
He was afraid that if he suddenly manifested Battousai's energy signature in Inazuma City, it would alert the shut-in goddess.
Scaramouche could be arrogant because the puppet in Tenshukaku was technically his sister. Bai Luo didn't have that luxury. So, he had to make do for now.
(If Bai Luo were to enter a "Battousai Lookalike Contest" while in his "Hei" form, he'd probably be disqualified in the first round for being a "clumsy imitator.")
Assuming Battousai was simply trying to keep his identity hidden to avoid exposing the letters, Gorou brushed his doubts aside. He didn't even sign his name at the end, after all.
Feeling like he understood the situation, he flipped the letter over to read about the "offline events." As he read, his expression became increasingly distorted.
"HUH?! Have Miss Hina participate in an 'Offline Handshake Event'?! To shake hands and greet every reader who submitted a letter to her?!"
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