"So this is the house of a prominent family in Inazuma? Hmm~ I somehow feel it's not as grand as I imagined."
Having seen the Dawn Winery in Mondstadt and the Jade Chamber in Liyue Harbor, this house of the Shuumatsuban was indeed more luxurious compared to other houses, but it was far from astonishing.
"Oh? It seems you've seen even more magnificent buildings. As expected of Travelers who have journeyed through many nations, your experiences are truly rich. If you have time, I'd like to ask you to tell me about those experiences, if you don't mind?"
"Ehehe~ Actually, we've only been to Mondstadt and Liyue, so it's not quite 'journeying through many nations' yet."
Paimon, flattered, showed a silly expression, scratched his head, and laughed.
"...Besides the visible guards, there are others hiding here."
As soon as she entered the Shuumatsuban, Durandal noticed someone hiding in the shadows. The person was disguised as an ordinary object, and the camouflage was so good that it was impossible to tell if it was real or fake.
"Eh? Are there people hiding here too?"
Thoma looked as if he was hearing this for the first time, his expression turned serious, and he vigilantly looked around.
"Is that person still here? Miss Durandal. Can you tell where they are?"
Durandal said nothing, silently pointing to a wooden barrel in the corner. The barrel was placed perfectly with two other barrels next to it, looking completely natural. The only problem was a single leaf on top of it.
Seeing that leaf, Thoma breathed a sigh of relief and, smiling, told everyone not to be nervous, as the person hiding was not an enemy.
"She is a member of the Shuumatsuban, an organization under the Shuumatsuban. Its members are mostly ninjas responsible for carrying out secret missions."
Thoma walked up to the barrel, gently tapped it, and laughed, "Slacking off again? Sayu. To slack off all the way here at the Shuumatsuban, you're quite bold."
"Ugh... I, I've been discovered."
A puff of smoke enveloped the barrel, and as the smoke cleared, a small girl appeared before everyone.
"I thought the most dangerous place was the safest place. I hadn't even slept much, so how was I discovered so quickly?"
Sayu stretched widely, looking at Thoma vaguely, puzzled by her discovery.
This time, to avoid the shrine maiden supervising her, she had very carefully used ninja techniques to hide herself. Previously, no one from the Shuumatsuban had noticed her, so why was she discovered this time? Did she show some flaw?
"That's all thanks to Miss Durandal. She noticed you hiding in the shadows as soon as she came in. It seems your stealth methods aren't very effective in front of her."
"Miss Durandal?"
A name she hadn't heard before. Sayu followed Thoma's gaze and noticed many unfamiliar guests at the Shuumatsuban today.
She didn't know which one among them was the Durandal Thoma spoke of, but she did notice Shenhe. Looking at Shenhe's figure... most importantly, her height, she was very envious.
"How... how did you grow so tall?"
Driven by intense envy, Sayu approached Shenhe and asked the question she most wanted to know.
"Grow so tall? I don't know either. I practiced with my master in the mountains, and before I knew it, I became like this."
To say it was due to cultivating adeptal arts with Cloud Retainer wouldn't be right. To say she ate well also had issues, as she only ate herbs like Qingxin in the mountains, and such things aren't nutritious.
"Un... unknowingly? Is there really no special method? Like what you eat? Or sleeping a lot?"
"No."
"Wuwuwu~ Why is this happening?"
The heavy blow left Sayu in a state of despair. Could it be that she would always remain like this, maintaining her petite body, watching other peers grow taller and taller?
"Alright, alright. Let's talk about these things in private later, Sayu. Since you're here, Miss Kano Nana must be looking for you, right? Hiding like this without a word will make her worried, you know."
"No way, she'll only pinch Sayu's ears when she finds Sayu and make Sayu do all sorts of things."
"But that's also your mission as a member of the Shuumatsuban, isn't it? It's because she trusts you that Miss Kano Nana assigns you those tasks. Now that you're awake, go find her quickly. Don't make her worry."
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