"Boo-hoo-hoo, Ruu…" Paimon wiped at her tears, her words muffled and broken.
"Paimon, don't be sad," Lumine soothed.
Ruu had said he would surely come back. But both she and Paimon knew that Ruu had already returned to the cycle of the ley lines.
The only proof that Ruu had ever existed was the feather held in her hand.
"Traveler, what happened to you all on Tsurumi?" Kamisato Ayaka asked.
Thoma wore the same puzzled look.
"Some days ago, in Inazuma City, we took on a commission. An author named Sumida asked us to go to Tsurumi and find a wooden reed flute. On Tsurumi Island we met a child named Ruu."
Lumine let out a long breath, then began to tell Kamisato Ayaka and Thoma the story of Ruu.
Ruu had originally been a child living among the Tsurumi tribe. He was the son of the chieftain.
One day, he crossed paths with the Thunderbird.
The Thunderbird was drawn to Ruu's singing, and Ruu gave it the name Kapatcir.
When they parted, they made a promise: Ruu would sing for the Thunderbird again.
The people of the tribe believed Ruu had won the Thunderbird's favor. To secure a better life for the people of Tsurumi, they decided to offer Ruu up to the Thunderbird, hoping to please it.
But when the Thunderbird descended once more, it found that the child it cherished had already been cruelly slain.
And the manner of his death was utterly wretched.
Its thunderous fury annihilated Tsurumi entirely; every soul Ruu had cherished was killed.
The Thunderbird also laid down a curse that bound Tsurumi to an endless cycle, meant to last until it heard that child's song once more.
What it did not know was that Ruu had gone to the blood sacrifice of his own will. He had wanted to trade his own death for everyone's happiness.
Even in his final moments, he had naively believed the Thunderbird would bring blessings upon his people.
Through the endless cycle, Ruu prepared the ceremony again and again, and again and again fell back into the loop—thousands of times over—until the day they arrived.
Ruu came to understand the Thunderbird's true heart, and he wished to sing for it.
But the Thunderbird had long since been struck down on Seirai Island.
Even so, they brought Ruu to Seirai Island, and there he sang a song for the Thunderbird.
When Ruu finished his song, a feather of the Thunderbird appeared in the sky above Seirai Island.
And in the end, Ruu too returned to the cycle of the ley lines.
After hearing the Traveler's story, Kamisato Ayaka and Thoma could no longer bring themselves to feel any joy.
In Weathering With You, the old man at the shrine had said much the same—that long ago, many shrine maidens had been offered up to the weather in exchange for clear skies.
It wasn't quite like Ruu and his people, whose sacrifice had instead roused the Thunderbird's wrath.
But was it truly right to trade one person's life for everyone's happiness?
Those sacrificed shrine maidens had loved ones of their own, families of their own, friends of their own…
Just like Hina Amano…
"So that's what happened," Kamisato Ayaka murmured.
She looked out the window.
The night beyond was deep, and a wind was passing through.
A thread of cold wind slipped through the gap in the window and into the great hall of the Tenshukaku, brushing against Sayu.
Sayu, who had been drifting toward sleep, snapped awake for a moment.
That was close. She'd very nearly dozed off standing up. If she fell asleep in front of the Shogun Almighty, she'd be in real trouble…
She'd be hauled off to hard labor.
She quickly glanced toward Lady Guuji and the Shogun Almighty—they had already finished reading.
"What a pity. It's a good book, but what a pity."
Yae Miko shook her head in disappointment, set the book aside, then lifted her cup and took a sip of sake.
She had gone to all the trouble of coming to the Tenshukaku, only for Fang Qiu to write a happily-ever-after ending.
Not only that, he'd even filled in the loose ends of Your Name—putting Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu together.
Truly disappointing.
And to think she'd been planning to risk using the Kamera strapped inside her sleeve to capture her dear friend's sorrowful expression.
"You've finished the book. You can head back now, can't you?" Ei said flatly, watching the disappointment on Yae Miko's face.
"What sort of way is that to shoo off a dear friend?" Yae Miko complained.
"Doesn't the Grand Narukami Shrine still have plenty of affairs for you to see to?" Ei said evenly.
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go." Yae Miko heaved a wounded sigh and rose to her feet. "Next time Fang Qiu has a new book, I'll bring it over for you again."
"That won't be necessary," Ei said, shaking her head.
"Just think of it as proofreading for me. I'm off."
Yae Miko waved a hand, and without waiting for Ei to answer, she patted the head of the Sayu standing beside her. "Come along, little one. Let's go."
Before Sayu could even react, Yae Miko swept an arm around her, and in the next instant the two of them vanished from where they stood.
After Yae Miko left, the great hall of the Tenshukaku sank back into silence. Only the candle flames crackled softly.
Looking at that line on the last page of Weathering With You—"Between the world and you, I choose you"—Ei fell silent.
A wind passed, stirring the strands of Ei's hair.
The lamplight within the great hall flickered bright and dim.
With a soft sigh, Ei rose, walked out of the hall, and stepped onto the terrace.
Standing on the terrace, she took in the whole of the vast Inazuma City at a single glance.
The bustle of Inazuma City was winding down into peace.
She could see Yae Miko and Sayu walking along the bluestone-paved street. Halfway down, Sayu tried to slip off toward the roadside, only to be snatched back by Yae Miko.
For this thriving, beautiful sight, she had sacrificed too many of the people she treasured.
Those treasured people—she could have saved them all… if only she had sacrificed Inazuma.
But she was a god.
This body was the most exalted and noble of all; it must hold supreme authority over the realm and grant its subjects a dream.
She was not like Hodaka Morishima. She had no choice…
And besides, Hodaka Morishima had saved Hina Amano—all it meant was that Inazuma City would be slowly swallowed by the ocean.
Inazuma City was not Inazuma; the people of Inazuma were.
Had she chosen, back then, to save her dear friend… then the people of Inazuma would have been brutally slaughtered.
She was the god of Inazuma. She could not…
Even now, she still remembered the look in Sasayuri's eyes, without the faintest trace of regret.
The agonized howl of Torachiyo after she had severed his arm.
"Haah." After a long silence, she let out a soft breath, turned, and went back into the hall.
She looked at the copy of Weathering With You on the table.
She had to admit, this author called Fang Qiu was truly remarkable—every word, every line, exquisite beyond compare.
Even she, while reading, had felt her emotions carried along by the writing, stirring up memories buried deep within.
Ei set Weathering With You on the bookshelf, then sat down at the desk and picked up the Dango Milk that Yae Miko had left behind, taking a sip.
"The taste really isn't bad."
…At that moment.
Yae Miko was walking along the bluestone-paved street with Sayu.
Having just been caught once, Sayu didn't dare run off again and trailed obediently behind her.
All at once, Yae Miko halted and glanced back at the Tenshukaku.
Sayu, bleary-eyed, didn't notice in the slightest that Yae Miko had stopped, and walked straight into her arms.
The fright jolted Sayu wide awake, and she stumbled back two steps.
"Little one, I have a task for you." Seeing the look on Sayu's face, Yae Miko narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"Wh-what task?" Pinned under her gaze, Sayu felt uneasy all over and stammered out the question.
"You've met the Shogun now, so the next book delivery to her will be yours," Yae Miko said with relish.
"Huh?" Sayu was struck dumb with terror on the spot.
Just now, meeting the Shogun Almighty, her legs had been trembling…
And that was with Lady Guuji present. If she had to go alone, she'd be scared out of her wits.
She badly wanted to run. But she knew there was no escaping this.
"Look how frightened you are—how delightful." Yae Miko patted Sayu's head and smiled.
Had it been Arataki Itto, she'd have leapt up and smashed his head in.
But this was Yae Miko. She didn't dare resist.
"Lady Guuji… you're not really going to make me deliver books to the Shogun Almighty, are you?" Sayu asked timidly.
"That depends on how well you do." Yae Miko gave a little smile. "Come on."
"Go… go where?" Sayu stammered.
"To pour me some drinks." Seeing Sayu brace herself as though facing a mortal foe, Yae Miko couldn't help a faint smile. "Relax. This time it's just an ordinary izakaya."
Hearing that, Sayu felt a good deal more at ease.
Yet the moment she relaxed, a wave of drowsiness came rolling in on its heels—but this was no time to sleep.
She forced herself alert and followed along.
Meanwhile—Mondstadt.
The night was growing deep.
Mondstadt's climate was far warmer than that of Liyue or Inazuma.
"It's you! What are you skulking around here for, kid?" By the side window of the publishing house, a guard barked at a green-clad youth loitering about suspiciously.
"Me? Teyvat's finest bard is simply wandering aimlessly, composing new verses." Venti gave a slight start, then answered with a smile.
"Wandering? The way you're sneaking about, I'd say you got turned down by the chief editor and came back to steal the book," the guard said coldly.
That afternoon, this green-clad youth had pestered the publishing house for the longest time, trying to get an advance copy of Fang Qiu's Weathering With You.
The chief editor had refused him. And still he wouldn't let it drop.
He'd insisted he would never leak a word, that he only wanted to read it himself, and even claimed that if the chief editor let him see the advance copy, he'd have the Anemo Archon Barbatos bless the publishing house so its books would sell like mad.
So the chief editor had told him to throw the fellow out.
Now, seeing the youth skulking about the area like this, he must surely be planning to steal the book.
Composing new verses, indeed—as if a tale like that could fool anyone.
"No way—I'm the finest bard in all of Teyvat. How could I ever do such a thing? I just find the wind around here especially pleasant, that's all," Venti hurried to explain.
"Whether it's the pleasant wind or stealing the book, unless you want me watching you all night, or reporting you to the Knights of Favonius, you'd best clear off from here at once." The guard barked, making a show of driving him away.
"All right, all right, I'll go—no need to be so fierce about it."
And so Venti was chased off, the guard hounding him the whole way from the publishing house.
"Never mind, then—I'll go have a drink at the Angel's Share." Chased away, Venti didn't mind in the least and headed straight for the Angel's Share.
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