"Wh... wh... what smell of lying...? I don't know anything."
Paimon panicked on the spot, wavering terribly.
"Little one, let me tell you a secret."
A playful curve tugged at the corners of Yae Miko's lips as she spoke.
"What secret?"
Paimon, a little dazed, asked in confusion.
"The head priestess of the Grand Narukami Shrine can tell by smell alone whether a person is lying—and just now, you had the smell of a lie about you."
Yae Miko said.
"Huh?"
Paimon hurriedly shuffled backward.
"Judging by that reaction, you really were slacking off, weren't you?"
Yae Miko raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a light chuckle.
Lumine shot a helpless glance at the tricked Paimon, then told Yae Miko about the heavy snow that had been falling in Liyue these past few days.
"So that's how it is. Since there's a good reason for it, then I'll let the matter of docking your wages slide for now."
Yae Miko smiled faintly and said, "But since you're late, I'll have you do me a favor in return."
"What favor?"
Lumine asked.
"After what happened last time, our Shogun Almighty is planning to open up the nation, isn't she? So I intend to organize a festival to be held come spring, meant to serve as a celebration of Inazuma opening its borders. One of my subordinates drew up a plan for an author's book-signing event, which I found rather interesting, so I've decided to fold it into the festival. By then—well, although Inazuma has opened up travel to and from Liyue and Mondstadt, sending out the invitations is still quite inconvenient. So I intend to have you help me deliver the invitations."
Yae Miko smiled and said, "Well? Are you interested? The reward is two hundred thousand Mora."
"Tw... two hundred thousand!"
Paimon's eyes glazed over at the sound of it.
Just what did two hundred thousand even mean?
"A single Jueyun Chili Chicken costs only forty Mora, which means the reward for this commission comes to a full... ones, tens, hundreds, thousands... um... fifty thousand servings of Jueyun Chili Chicken!"
Having reached this conclusion, Paimon turned pale with shock.
"It's five thousand, actually."
Lumine said, shooting Paimon a sidelong glance.
"Five thousand, huh... how strange... Two hundred thousand Mora sounds so staggering, yet five thousand servings of Jueyun Chili Chicken just isn't nearly as impressive."
Paimon had barely finished speaking when she suddenly realized something and exclaimed in shock, "Huh—wait, an author's book-signing event?"
"Is there a problem?"
Yae Miko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"So that means you'll be inviting Fang Qiu and the others?"
Paimon asked.
"Of course."
Yae Miko said, "I've been rather wanting to meet that girl."
"Miko, why do I suspect you're organizing this whole festival for your own selfish desires?"
Paimon said.
"How could that be?"
Yae Miko smiled and said, "My heart is set on Inazuma's development, I'll have you know."
"Traveler, what should we do? Should we take this commission?"
Paimon asked, "If we could bring Fang Qiu to Inazuma for a look around, that seems like it'd be pretty fun."
"We'll take this commission."
Lumine nodded and said.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Take the books to the Yae Publishing House, and tell them these books don't need proofreading—just print and release them directly. They go on sale this afternoon."
Yae Miko said.
"No problem."
Lumine and Paimon nodded.
Just as they were about to head to the Yae Publishing House, Miko spoke up again:
"Oh, right—Fang Qiu is a key invitee for our Yae Publishing House. If she's unwilling to come, then I'll trouble you to tie her up and bring her over."
"We refuse!"
Paimon refused decisively.
After hearing Yae Miko instruct them that they had to keep it secret, they made their way out of Mt. Yougou and came to Hanamizaka.
Although the weather in Inazuma was also a bit cold, it wasn't snowing, and there were quite a few pedestrians along the road at Hanamizaka.
Many people had stopped to chat.
"Come to think of it, if Fang Qiu comes to Inazuma, Ayaka and Yoimiya and the others would definitely be thrilled, wouldn't they?"
Paimon said.
"Yeah."
Lumine nodded and said, "Once we've delivered the books, let's go deliver the letters."
"Mm."
Paimon nodded and said.
They made their way to the editorial department of the Yae Publishing House, handed the books to Hirayama, the editor-in-chief of the Yae Publishing House, and relayed Yae Miko's words.
With that, the editor-in-chief immediately had someone send the books off to the printers, and had people begin preparing the promotional standees and the new book announcements.
Having set them all bustling about, and once they'd collected their reward, the two headed straight for Naganohara Fireworks.
When they hurried over to Naganohara Fireworks, they saw Naganohara Yoimiya in the middle of a Onikabuto battle with a child.
The two were battling in earnest, so Lumine and Paimon didn't disturb them and instead watched from the side.
In just two moves, Naganohara Yoimiya's Onikabuto was flipped over by the child's Onikabuto.
"Sister Yoimiya, you're so weak. When it comes to beetle battling, Big Bro Itto is still the best."
The child sighed and said.
"Don't worry—Sister Yoimiya will definitely find a Onikabuto that won't lose to anyone!"
Naganohara Yoimiya said with a beaming smile.
"Mm, good luck, Sister Yoimiya. I'm gonna go play with my other friends now."
The child nodded and said.
"Oh—Traveler, Paimon, what brings you here? You've come to Inazuma from Liyue—does that mean Fang Qiu has a new book out again?"
Naganohara Yoimiya, having also spotted Lumine and Paimon, greeted them with a beaming smile and then asked.
"Mm."
Paimon nodded and said, "We've already delivered the books to the Yae Publishing House. They'll go on sale this afternoon."
"Huh, really? Then I'd better go line up soon."
Naganohara Yoimiya said.
"Not only that."
Paimon kept them in suspense for a moment, then pulled out a letter and said, "Take a look—what's this?"
"This is... a letter?"
Naganohara Yoimiya froze for a moment, then it dawned on her, and her eyes went wide as she asked, "Could it be..."
"That's right—it's Fang Qiu's reply to you."
Paimon said with a smile.
"Wonderful, she finally wrote back."
Brimming with excitement, Naganohara Yoimiya took the envelope, sat down on a bench, and carefully began to open it.
"Oh right, I've been meaning to ask—why were you playing beetle battles with that child? By all rights, shouldn't you be playing with Itto?"
Paimon asked, a bit puzzled.
"Because a couple of days ago that guy Itto went to the Tenryou Commission to challenge Kujou Sara to a duel. When Kujou Sara ignored him, he started playing a funeral dirge right at the Tenryou Commission's gate, and then Kujou Sara arrested him for obstructing official duties. Word is the Arataki Gang's underlings are trying to figure out how to bail him out, so the weighty task of keeping these kids company at beetle battles has fallen to me."
Naganohara Yoimiya said as she opened the envelope.
"I knew Itto was ridiculous, but this is just way too ridiculous."
Paimon said.
"By any common measure of reason, indeed."
Lumine nodded as well and said.
After opening the letter, Naganohara Yoimiya quietly began to read, and before long she had finished it.
"What did Fang Qiu write in the letter?"
Paimon asked.
"She said she really loves the fireworks I sent her, and she thanked me for inviting her to come visit Inazuma. If she gets the chance, she'll definitely come."
Naganohara Yoimiya happily put the letter away.
"Huh? Fang Qiu said she really wants to come visit Inazuma?"
Paimon's eyes lit up, and she said, "Then doesn't that mean we won't have to tie Fang Qiu up to bring her to the festival Miko's planning?"
Hearing Paimon's words, Naganohara Yoimiya's eyes lit up, and she asked:
"A festival? What festival?"
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