They made their way to the Komore Teahouse.
Taroumaru wasn't on the counter.
"Huh? Where's Taroumaru… no wait, where's the dog Taroumaru? How come he's not here?"
Paimon looked puzzled.
"Let's go find Thoma first," Lumine said.
"Mn." Paimon nodded.
They made their way to the room where Thoma had been earlier. Thoma and Kamisato Ayaka were sitting at the low table.
Taroumaru was sprawled on top of Thoma's head.
On the table sat a small stove.
On the small stove was a little iron pot, crammed full of food.
The broth churned and gave off a rich, savory aroma—so much that Paimon started drooling at the sight.
"Smells so good—it's hotpot!"
Paimon flew right over, eyes shining as she gazed at the food in the pot.
"You're here."
Seeing them come in, Kamisato Ayaka rose with a smile and greeted them, "It's been a while, Traveler, little Paimon."
"Ayaka, long time no see."
Paimon waved at Kamisato Ayaka, then turned her gaze straight to the bubbling hotpot and swallowed hard.
"It's been a while." Lumine nodded.
"Come, sit. Thoma told me you were coming, so I made a point of preparing hotpot. It went into the pot not long ago—we've just been waiting for you," Kamisato Ayaka said, then added with a soft laugh, "This time it's a normal hotpot."
"Then we won't stand on ceremony."
Paimon wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, flew up to the table and picked up her chopsticks, looking ready to dig in at any moment.
Lumine sat down beside Paimon as well.
"Thoma, the books you asked Sayu to buy—I brought them back for her along the way."
Lumine took out three copies of Weathering With You and handed them to Thoma and Kamisato Ayaka.
"Thank you."
Kamisato Ayaka took the books, kept two, and passed the other to Thoma.
"Two people, three books… Ayaka, are you buying an extra one as a keepsake?"
Paimon picked up a freshly cooked piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it into her mouth. Chewing away in excited satisfaction, she looked at Kamisato Ayaka and asked, puzzled.
Lumine cast a puzzled look too.
Earlier, when Sayu had said three copies, she'd assumed Sayu had gotten it wrong.
When buying books in Liyue, many people would purchase three at once.
One for reading themselves day to day.
One to recommend and pass along to others.
One to keep as a collector's copy.
But no matter how she thought about it, the number Sayu had given didn't add up.
How would two people split three books?
So she'd kept wondering whether Sayu had misremembered, and that it was really two people, three books each.
Six in total.
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have doubted it, but Sayu always looked half-asleep, so slip-ups were bound to happen.
After all, when Sayu had once gone to the Tenryou Commission to steal a document, she hadn't known what the document even looked like, so she'd swiped everything suspicious in one go.
"That's not it."
Kamisato Ayaka smiled and picked out a piece of meat for Paimon. "This one is being kept for my elder brother."
"Ayaka's brother?"
Paimon blinked.
"The current head of the Kamisato Clan, Kamisato Ayato," Kamisato Ayaka said. "But he has matters to attend to these days and isn't on Narukami Island, so I can only set it aside for him."
"Kamisato Ayato… I think I've heard Miko mention him. The Shuumatsuban that Sayu belongs to seems to be his private unit," Paimon said.
"Mn." Kamisato Ayaka nodded and said nothing more.
"Who'd have thought—even your brother, Ayaka, likes reading Fang Qiu's books." Paimon exclaimed.
The moment she said it, her thoughts turned to Ei, Zhongli, and Venti—they read Fang Qiu's books too.
Zhongli especially couldn't put Fang Qiu's books down; he lined up for every new release.
Put that way, the head of the Yashiro Commission reading Fang Qiu's books didn't seem so hard to believe after all.
"When Miss Fang Qiu's The Forest of Fireflies' Light went on sale, my brother was here too, and Thoma recommended The Forest of Fireflies' Light to him," Kamisato Ayaka said. "Ever since, whenever my brother goes out, he often brings along one of Miss Fang Qiu's books."
"Speaking of that time, I really suffered for it…"
At the mention of The Forest of Fireflies' Light, Thoma looked thoroughly miserable. "Especially that night, when I happened to run into the Shogun Almighty—who'd just finished reading The Forest of Fireflies' Light and had heard that I was the one who'd asked Fang Qiu to write it… that look in her eyes… I honestly thought I was about to get cut down… Just remembering the way she'd drawn her blade before gave me goosebumps all over. That terror of staring death in the face was truly horrifying—I couldn't sleep right that night, even my dreams were bad."
At Thoma's words, both Paimon and Lumine felt a little awkward.
After all, they were the ones who'd taken Ei to the Yae Publishing House to read The Forest of Fireflies' Light…
Still, Ei had only meant to give Thoma a scare.
There was no way Ei would actually cut Thoma down over something so trivial.
Fortunately, Thoma didn't dwell on it. He raised a cup of oolong tea and said, "All right, enough of that—come, cheers."
"Cheers."
They all raised their cups.
The hotpot Thoma had prepared tasted wonderful, with even a hint of Liyue flavor.
According to Thoma, he'd added a Liyue-style soup base to the pot.
Fresh, fragrant, numbing, and spicy.
As they ate, Lumine and Paimon asked Kamisato Ayaka about the contents of Fang Qiu's letter.
Kamisato Ayaka told Lumine and Paimon everything in Fang Qiu's reply.
The gist was that she thanked them for their affection, then answered some of Kamisato Ayaka's questions, and finally, in response to Kamisato Ayaka's invitation to come visit Inazuma, Fang Qiu's answer was that if the chance ever came, she would definitely visit.
At that answer, Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance.
Miko's commission was as good as done.
As Paimon put the last slice of beef into her mouth, the hotpot feast finally came to an end.
"So full."
Paimon patted her slightly rounded belly. "A tasty cup of Dango Milk right about now would be perfect."
"Paimon, you've already eaten so much—you'll burst your stomach," Lumine said.
"No I won't—sweets go in my other stomach," Paimon said, waving a hand.
"Paimon likes Dango Milk too?" Kamisato Ayaka blinked, then asked with a smile.
"What do you mean, 'too'?" Paimon asked, puzzled.
"Because my brother likes it as well." Kamisato Ayaka smiled. "Lately, whenever he goes out, it's with one of Miss Fang Qiu's books in one hand and a Dango Milk in the other."
"Who'd have thought the head of the Yashiro Commission would be fond of Dango Milk." Paimon exclaimed.
But once she'd said it, her thoughts drifted back to Ei…
Ei seemed to like Dango Milk too—she'd once wanted the Yashiro Commission to buy a few hundred cups and hand them out door to door.
Besides Ei.
Back when they'd returned to Liyue, they'd also seen Zhongli go and buy a cup to try.
Put that way, Kamisato Ayato liking Dango Milk wasn't anything strange.
The only question was whether Venti would like Dango Milk.
They thought it over: that drunkard Venti loved wine like his very life, so unless it were Dango Wine, he probably wouldn't care for it.
"If you want some, Paimon, I can have someone go buy it," Kamisato Ayaka said.
"No, no, that's fine—let's read the book first," Paimon said, waving a hand.
"Mn." Kamisato Ayaka nodded.
Once Thoma had cleared the table, they settled down before it, took out Fang Qiu's Weathering With You, and began to read.
And so, the story began aboard a ship in Inazuma.
Meanwhile, at the Tenryou Commission.
"That's enough—take him away. And you'd best give him a good talking-to, so he stops coming to run wild at the Tenryou Commission."
Kujou Sara said this with a frown, looking at Kuki Shinobu and Arataki Itto before her.
"What did you say!"
Arataki Itto was instantly displeased and jeered, "Kujou Tengu, don't think I'm scared of you—I just don't want to hurt you, that's all. If you've got the guts, let's settle it with sumo!"
"Looks to me like you'd fancy spending a few more days in a cell," Kujou Sara said in a low voice.
"Who's afraid of whom! A few days, so what—I'll make you, Kujou Tengu, taste the might of me, Arataki Itto, Number One Under Heaven!"
With that, Arataki Itto started rolling up his sleeves—though the clothes he wore didn't have any sleeves.
"By all means, try." Kujou Sara narrowed her eyes and said, arms crossed.
Just as Arataki Itto declared he couldn't take it anymore, Kuki Shinobu at his side tugged at him at once and said, "Boss, Fang Qiu's new book comes out today. If you get thrown in there, you won't get to read it."
"What? Fang Qiu's new book? Today isn't a release day, is it?" Arataki Itto asked, puzzled.
"Word is Lady Guuji rushed it out for an early release," Shinobu said. "Let's hurry—the first day is a limited release. If we don't go now, we won't be able to buy one today."
"Wh… what! Lately Lady Shina gave Fang Qiu's books quite the praise in Idle Talk Monthly, and said she was really looking forward to Fang Qiu's new book—I can't miss this."
Arataki Itto paled and turned to Kujou Sara. "Count yourself lucky this time. If I didn't have Fang Qiu's book to read, you'd already be lying on the ground begging for mercy."
"Heh."
Kujou Sara said nothing, only gave a cold laugh.
Arataki Itto was riled up on the spot and made to snap back, but Kuki Shinobu dragged him off by force.
"Fang Qiu's new book, huh…"
Once they'd left, Kujou Sara looked at Fang Qiu's book on her desk and murmured to herself.
After finishing Fang Qiu's The Forest of Fireflies' Light last time, she'd gone on to try some of Fang Qiu's other books, and each one turned out more heart-wrenching than the last.
A few of them had actually made her cry.
This Fang Qiu had extraordinary literary skill—what she wrote was plainly just words, yet reading them, one could almost see the scenes play out.
It was as if one could witness with one's own eyes Miyazono Kaori dissolving into falling cherry blossoms amid Arima Kousei's music, Jack sinking into the cold depths of the ocean after his heartfelt confession, Xu Changqing and Zixuan drinking Forgetfulness Water together…
Scene after scene, as though it were all right before her eyes.
One could only say it was worthy of being a book the Shogun Almighty loved—truly extraordinary.
"My work's done, too—I might as well head to the Yae Publishing House and take a look."
Kujou Sara walked out of the Tenryou Commission, found the nearest bookstore, and got in line.
Even though it wasn't the main Yae Publishing House store on Hanamizaka, the crowd lined up outside this shop was enormous.
It stretched out like a long dragon.
Just as Kujou Sara frowned, a voice rang out behind her.
"Oh? If it isn't Lady Kujou Sara. What brings you to line up outside the Yae Publishing House bookstore? Here to buy a book?"
"Hm?"
At that voice, Kujou Sara froze.
She turned quickly to find a woman in the sumptuous shrine maiden garb of the Grand Narukami Shrine standing behind her.
It was Lady Guuji Yae.
"Let me guess what you've come to buy."
Yae Miko looked at Kujou Sara with a mischievous glint. "Don't tell me you're here to buy Fang Qiu's Weathering With You?"
"There's no need to report such a thing to you, Lady Guuji, is there?"
Kujou Sara's composure wavered for a moment before returning to normal, and she said mildly, "The real question is why you, Lady Guuji, aren't at the Grand Narukami Shrine—what brings you to Inazuma City?"
"I've come to Inazuma City, of course, to present Fang Qiu's new book to the Shogun Almighty."
Yae Miko covered her mouth with a soft laugh and said teasingly, "And here I was thinking, if you'd come to buy Weathering With You, I'd gift you a copy."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lady Guuji, but although I did indeed come to buy Weathering With You, there's no need to gift me one," Kujou Sara said.
"Still so rigid and set in your ways."
Yae Miko shook her head with a sigh, then took out a copy of Weathering With You and pressed it into Kujou Sara's hands. "This book is yours now. Mind you don't waste my good intentions."
"This…"
Before Kujou Sara could refuse, Yae Miko waved a hand and set off toward the Tenshukaku.
"Be sure to read it well—I'm quite looking forward to seeing you sniffle and cry."
Yae Miko said, the corners of her mouth lifting, "And when that happens, I'll find a way to capture it with a Kamera."
Watching Yae Miko recede into the distance, Kujou Sara pressed a hand to her head.
This woman was as hard to deal with as ever…
She looked down at the brand-new copy of Weathering With You in her hands and sighed.
Honestly.
She really had no confidence she could get through one of Fang Qiu's books without crying.
It was a headache.
She could only hope that woman had just been saying it offhand.
Since she already had the book, there was no need to keep waiting in line.
So she made her way toward the Kujou Clan estate at the Tenryou Commission.
Glancing back at Kujou Sara, who had left the line and was heading toward the Kujou Clan, Yae Miko curved her lips into a smile.
"What an awkward, prickly one."
Yae Miko said with a faint smile, "The only thing is, I don't know what this Weathering With You is even about."
Yae Miko glanced at the book in her hands, feeling a flicker of anticipation.
Because of the rush to get it published, she hadn't had time to read it herself.
Still, at least on her way here, readers had spoken quite highly of the book.
There was just one problem.
She had no idea whether the ending of this Weathering With You was a tragic tearjerker or not.
After all, whenever readers recommended Fang Qiu's books, it was all "heartwarming" and "healing" from start to finish.
Last time, when she'd gone to an izakaya for Fried Tofu, she'd overheard readers recommending The Forest of Fireflies' Light and the Sword and Fairy series, and all they said was how heartwarming and healing they were.
With Fang Qiu's books, there was simply no way to learn from others' reviews in advance whether the ending would be sad or happy.
If it were a tragedy, then Kujou Sara's face while reading Fang Qiu's book was bound to be a sight to behold.
People this stern by nature were the very ones who, reading a top-tier tragedy like Fang Qiu's, best revealed the tender, fragile side within.
At the thought, the corners of Yae Miko's mouth lifted once more.
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