Yes, Lady Funina!

Could it be that Lady Yae-no-miya is trying to tell Lord Rai-shin that she has found her soulmate and hopes for his blessing?

Inashiro Hotaru didn't quite understand, but she felt it was quite romantic. If she found her other half in the future, should she follow in the footsteps of Yaegami-sama...?

Richard was unaware of the priestess's complex inner thoughts, and without much thought, he accepted the invitation from Yae no Miko.

'If I don't go, things will probably get even more complicated,' Richard thought.

"I'm sorry, Lord Miyaji only invited Mr. Richard..." Inashiro Hotaru had to remind Lynette when she saw that Lynette was about to follow, while her eyes were involuntarily drawn to Lynette's cat ears.

Wow, are those ears real? So cute!

Lynette's cat ears twitched uncomfortably, and her cool gaze fell on Richard as if she were waiting for his reply.

"I'll trouble you to take charge here for now," Richard said.

“Okay.” Lynette nodded, not angry at being left behind, and not thinking of arguing with Richard.

That would not only fail to retain Richard, but would also have the opposite effect...

Lynette flicked her cat tail and watched Richard and Inashiro Hotaru disappear around the corner before returning to the embassy to begin her daily schedule.

Meanwhile, Richard followed Inashiro Hotaru out of Inatsuma Castle, climbed Mount Kageko, and arrived at Narukami Shrine.

I don't know if it was because of bad timing or some other reason, but Narukami Shrine was unusually deserted today, and I hardly saw anyone along the way.

Until they reached the torii gate of Narukami Taisha Shrine, they saw no more than five people.

"There aren't many people coming to worship today," Richard said seemingly casually.

Inashiro Hotaru replied quite naturally, "Because the shrine is not open to the public today. The priest said that we are welcoming a distinguished guest today."

The identity of this distinguished guest is self-evident.

Inashiro Hotaru led Richard to the steps leading to the entrance of the temple, then stopped and bowed slightly to Richard, saying, "The divine child is waiting inside."

After saying that, Inashiro Hotaru paused noticeably for a moment, then continued, "May you have great success in your military endeavors!"

What does "武运昌隆" mean? Does it mean that Yae no Kamiko wants to have a long-awaited battle with me?

Even if he hasn't been back to Inazuma for a long time, does he deserve to be 'entertained' in this way?

Moreover, even before he left, Yae no Miko was no match for him, and now... while it's not an easy way to suppress him, he's at least a match for him.

Even if Yae no Miko unleashed her power, it wouldn't amount to much for Richard in his current state.

He also had some knowledge of the power of thunder, and because of his shadow, his application of the power of thunder was far superior to that of other powers.

If we really had to give a specific ranking, the power of thunder should be in the top three.

With that thought in mind, Richard stepped into the temple.

The temple was solemn and dignified. On the central altar was a statue of the Great Master of the Imperial Guard, Mikenami, and on the left and right sides were a white spirit fox and a pink spirit fox, respectively.

I don't know if it's just Richard's imagination, but the pink fox seems to be made much more exquisitely than the white fox.

Beneath the statue, there were only two prayer cushions. One of the cushions already had an owner, who was dressed in a shrine maiden's furisode with only red and white colors, and a wide black sash tied around her waist.

Her hair was styled into a bun with a pink cherry blossom hairpin, and on each of her fox ears hung a purple gemstone earring symbolizing a divine messenger and a lightning-attribute divine eye, respectively.

At this moment, Yae no Miko stood upright on the futon, her full and plump buttocks and heels pressed against each other, and pure white cotton socks wrapped around her soft buttocks.

As if sensing the arrival of the person she was waiting for, Yae no Miko's fox ears trembled slightly, and her amethyst earring also swayed slightly.

Yae no Miko relaxed her straight back slightly and bent it to a certain extent. Then she stretched out her hands to support herself on the ground, adjusted her kneeling position, and faced Richard at the door.

In a solemn and dignified atmosphere, Yae no Miko straightened his back, then placed his hands in front of his knees and bowed again, saying, "I am sorry for not welcoming you properly, distinguished guest."

As the angle of her leaning forward gradually increased, the alluring view at her collar inevitably became visible.

This immediately shifted the originally solemn atmosphere in a subtle direction. Generally speaking, furisode consists of long sleeves and short sleeves, with the long sleeves on the outside and the short sleeves on the inside.

However, it seems that Yae no Miko is only wearing long sleeves, while the short sleeves underneath seem to have been deliberately ignored by the other party. So, at first glance, there is nothing wrong with her, but when she bends over, there is immediately more to see.

Seemingly aware that Richard had noticed this, Yae no Miko immediately straightened up. Her towering snow-covered figure was partially obscured by a thin cloth. She gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said serenely, "It's been a long time, Mr. Richard."

“Long time no see, Divine Child,” Richard replied without changing his expression, appearing every inch the gentleman.

Yae no Miko did not expose him, but instead gestured for Richard to sit on the futon beside him.

Richard took his seat, raised his head to look at the statue of the Supreme Lord Mikami, and silently said in his heart, "Kage, I'm back."

However, he did not worship, but looked directly at Yae no Miko and said, "There is no one else here, aren't you tired doing this?"

“Honored guest, what are you saying? Respect for the gods is ingrained in my bones and blood. My words and actions have become a habit. How can you talk about the word ‘tired’?” Yae no Miko still made up a lie with a straight face.

Who would respect the gods and only wear a long-sleeved outer garment without a short-sleeved inner garment? Especially now that it's autumn or winter, it's impossible that she wouldn't wear a short-sleeved inner garment because it's hot, right?

“Is that so?” Richard didn’t argue, and just quietly watched Yae no Miko spout nonsense.

Yae no Miko ignored Richard's attitude and said with a smile, "Aren't you going to pay your respects to Lord Narukami? It's very effective, you know."

“If it really works, then what’s in front of me won’t just be a statue,” Richard said.

"Perhaps if you pay your respects, the statue might come to life."

"Given Shadow's current state, it's difficult."

The smile on Yae no Miko's face gradually faded, turning into something somewhat ethereal.

So what caused this?

There are many reasons.

"Tell me."

"Personality is one part, experience is another part, and wear and tear is yet another part..."

"And you... are part of it too, right?" Yae no Miko interrupted Richard before he could finish speaking.

“…Yes.” Richard did not deny it. In fact, he had thought about it when he came: if he hadn’t left without saying goodbye, would things be very different now?

However, he quickly dismissed the idea, as it was pointless.

Given the circumstances at the time, his choice was inevitable; no matter what, leaving was the only option he could take.

"Since you've admitted it, you also acknowledge that you bear some responsibility for this, right?"

"I agree."

"Very good." Yae no Miko was very satisfied with Richard's attitude and then moved on to the next part of the topic.

"So, will you contribute your own strength to finding the Shadow?"

"what do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple."

Yae no Miko turned her body towards the statue of Mikage no Mikoto before her, bowed slightly, and murmured something as if she were praying for the god's attention.

After doing all this, Yae no Miko left the futon and moved gracefully to Richard's side.

One hand rested on Richard's shoulder, while the other brushed aside a stray strand of hair that had fallen behind her ear, and then her delicate body slumped slightly.

Before the statue of the deity, their lips met.

In front of the statue of the Supreme Lord Mikami, Yae no Miko performed a live demonstration of what it means to be eloquent and persuasive.

That didn't seem to be enough. The hand that was on Richard's shoulder had somehow turned into an embrace, and the other hand no longer cared about the messy hair. The initial restraint gradually turned into boldness.

With her arms wrapped around Richard's neck, she sat sideways in Richard's lap, her sleeves wrinkled, and her full chest flattened from the pressure.

This continued for a full five or six minutes before Yae no Miko finally moved her head away. However, even when she did move it away, it wasn't by much, only about two or three centimeters. Before the crystalline threads in the middle could even break, Yae no Miko moved her head back up.

With the experience she had just gained, she became even more adept at capturing the enemy, but unfortunately, the enemy was too cunning and experienced, and she was quickly defeated.

Before long, Yae no Miko's body became as soft as water, her whole body limp and boneless, collapsing into Richard's arms like a fox cake.

Yae no Miko glanced at the large hand that had somehow landed on her waist, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. This time, instead of searching for her lips, she extended her delicate, lilac-like tongue and licked Richard's earlobe like a cat licking water.

In just about ten minutes, the solemn atmosphere vanished, replaced by a sensual and alluring one. The Yae no Miko transformed from dignified and graceful to charming and alluring, and the sacred and solemn temple seemed to have suddenly changed its atmosphere.

Yae no Miko rested her chin on Richard's shoulder, her delicate body pressed tightly against his until there was no gap between them.

Even so, the statue of Mikenami no Kami Ogami on the altar of the shrine remained motionless, like an inanimate object, silently watching the tender couple before him.

Yae no Miko narrowed her beautiful fox-like eyes, intending to further test her god's bottom line, but was stopped by Richard.

“Stop joking, she can’t see,” Richard said.

"If you can't see it, you can't see it." Yae no Miko thought that how would she know if the other party could see her if she didn't try?

Richard, however, did not indulge Yae no longer. He reached under Yae's legs and lifted her up completely, then placed her back on the futon. He also pulled her collar, which had somehow slipped down to her shoulder, back into place.

Yae no Miko did not resist, letting the other person fiddle with her clothes until they were neat and tidy again. Only then did she speak, "Your virginity is still intact, isn't it?"

"..."

Why are you all like this?

Richard looked at Yae no Miko with a headache, keeping his mouth shut, clearly not intending to answer Yae no Miko's presumptuous question.

Yae no Miko, however, seemed to have received a satisfactory answer. She smiled and patted Richard's head, as if praising a well-behaved child.

Richard slapped the rogue fox's hand away impatiently and said, "The power you mentioned for finding Shadow, it can't be the same one you were talking about earlier, right?"

"Of course not, that's just the interest I charge."

Yae no Miko didn't specify what kind of interest it was, but Richard understood.

This is collecting interest that he hasn't received in a century.

If the interest alone is already this high, what will it be like when it comes to repaying the principal?

Richard didn't dwell on it and tactfully changed the subject.

"What's the Eye Hunt Order?"

"The words are as they sound, meaning the confiscation of the Eye of God," Yae no Miko replied. "The general created by the shadow wanted Inazuma to remain static, so that the river of time could flow by on both sides, while Inazuma remained unmoved until [eternity]."

“The Eye of God can provide the people with the power of change, but the Eternity in the General’s eyes cannot allow such instability to exist, hence the ‘Eye Hunt Order’.”

“That’s really capricious…” Richard said.

Volume 1: Chapter 134 You're not leaving, huh? Then let's sleep together.

"Tomorrow morning, I will meet with the head of the Shagō family at the Mokulou Tea House. In the afternoon, I will visit the Tamahagane factory in Tatsuna. The day after tomorrow..." Linette wrote something in her notebook with her head down, but her eyes kept glancing out the window.

Because of its proximity to the shogun's residence, there were few pedestrians on the street, only a few shogunate soldiers in armor patrolling the area. From time to time, one could vaguely see troops entering and leaving the shogun's residence across the wooden bridge in the distance, seemingly escorting something.

If things are like this even in Inazuma Castle, it's clear that Inazuma is far from peaceful these days.

However, whether Inazuma is in a mess or not is not what Lynette is concerned about right now. What she is concerned about right now is that Richard has not yet returned from Narukami Taisha.

In her distress, Lynette didn't even want to drink the local specialty tea from Inazuma. She was afraid that while she was drinking tea at the Fontaine embassy, ​​Yae no Miko would be eating at Narukami Shrine.

Then I would be too ashamed to face Fontainebleau.

Look at what you've been protecting!

"Ms. Lynette, dinner is ready." The speaker was the secretary of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because of their similar status and related work, they communicated frequently.

"Thank you, but I'm not very hungry, Ms. Bettina. You go ahead and eat. I'll wait until I finish my work..." Lynette smiled listlessly at Bettina. It was almost dark and Richard still hadn't returned. How could she possibly eat?

When Bettina heard Lynette say that, she left as well. Only a few civil servants remained at their posts in the huge office, and Lynette was one of them.

Lynette took a deep breath, looking at the notebook in her hand, but her mind was on other things.

What exactly does Yae no Miko want to do by inviting Richard to Narukami Taisha? Is it to discuss how to deal with the 'Eye Hunt Order', or is it simply that she can't come down the mountain but still wants to see Richard?

We can't exactly summon Richard to Narukami Shrine and execute him on the spot, can we?

That's Narukami Shrine, the place watched over by Narukami Inatsuma. Even Lynette, a native of Fontainebleau, knows the status of Narukami Shrine in Inatsuma. No matter how outrageous Yae no Miko is, she wouldn't do anything to Richard in such a sacred and solemn place, right?

It shouldn't be... right?

Lynette grew increasingly agitated. She closed her notebook, got up, and headed to the rest area, intending to find a book to pass the time.

However, before Lynette could take a few steps, she heard a commotion outside. Following the sound, she found a dozen people standing in front of the embassy. The leader was dressed as an Inazuma samurai and seemed to be negotiating with the embassy staff.

"What happened?" Lynette stepped forward to ask what was going on.

When the staff member in charge of the negotiations saw Lynette arrive, he briefly explained the situation to her.

"So they've come to 'seek refuge'?" Lynette looked at the large group of people in front of her. The group was quite diverse; just by looking at their clothing, she could tell they were from several different professions: merchants, samurai, painters, adventurers...

However, they all have one thing in common: they are all holders of the Eye of God. The Inazuma Shogunate issued the Eye Hunting Edict to confiscate all the Eyes of God within the territory of Inazuma.

However, due to the special nature of diplomatic missions, the Fontaine embassy, ​​including the open space in front of it, was not considered part of Inazuma's territory. Therefore, in order to avoid the Eye Hunt Order, these people came to the front of the Fontaine embassy.