Amidst Lumine and Paimon's astonishment,
The Crux fleet "narrowly avoided danger" as they passed through the storm of the closed nation.
After traversing the thunderstorm, they finally entered Inazuma.
Surprisingly, today turned out to be sunny.
Lumine ran to the ship's side to admire the sunset.
[Little sister is just too adorable]
[Hometown's little tune~]
[Lumine-san, the sakura in your hometown have bloomed]
[Seagull-san, please stop squawking! Baka yaro!]
Lumine followed Beidou ashore and entered Ritou's port.
"Captain, did Mu Yang also disembark here?"
"No, he went somewhere else, but he should have left by now."
Beidou turned her head to answer Lumine.
"I have a 'business partner' in Ritou who's quite familiar with Inazuma. Perhaps you could ask him for help."
At that moment, atop some crates near the dock,
A blond man was deftly flipping a Mora coin between his fingers.
Seeing Beidou's group approach, he leaped down from the crates.
Walking forward, he said, "Finally arrived. The boss lady from Liyue kept me waiting."
Then he "politely" greeted Lumine and Paimon.
"And these two stowaways... oh no, distinguished guests."
"Shh!" Paimon gestured for him to keep his voice down.
Beidou said irritably to Thoma,
"Blame your Shogun for this. The thunderstorm and waves outside Inazuma have been fiercer than before recently..."
"Although my crew gave it their all, we still got delayed somewhat."
Of course, Beidou said this intentionally.
She had deliberately reduced sailing speed.
The more difficult the journey,
The higher the transaction price would be.
Why would she tell the Inazumans that Mu Yang had opened a shortcut there?
After finishing, Beidou finally introduced the man before them to Lumine.
"This is Thoma, the 'recently acquainted business partner' I mentioned earlier."
[Captain oh, you're just a singer~]
[Thoma? Pyro? Blazing Pull!]
[Teacher Thoma here, used to be really strong back in the day.JPG]
"Yo, I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Thoma was very enthusiastic.
He interrupted Beidou's introduction of Lumine.
"No need for introductions. The fame of the outlander traveler couldn't even be stopped by the storms overseas—it's already thunderously renowned."
"Too kind, too kind."
The flattery made Paimon giggle uncontrollably.
"You sure know how to sweet-talk, hehe."
Beidou crossed her arms. "Well, this makes things easier."
"Lumine, Thoma has been around Ritou for a long time. You could say he's the local fixer here." The source of this content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱
"If you run into any trouble, just look for him. But if he tries anything funny with you, I'll settle it with him next time I'm in Inazuma."
Thoma laughed heartily. "Hahaha... don't worry, don't worry. I have a feeling we'll get along just fine."
Afterwards, Beidou bid farewell to Lumine and Paimon.
"See you next time. No matter what storms you encounter in Inazuma, make sure you tough it out!"
"Bye-bye, smooth sailing, Captain Beidou!"
Thoma made an inviting gesture.
"I know you have many questions, but first, let's head to the inspection station to register."
Paimon was puzzled—they didn't have any official documentation.
Was it really okay to meet with officials ?
"Shouldn't we be sneaking—"
Thoma's previously playful expression turned serious.
"Don't underestimate the Sakoku Decree. There's no avoiding identity checks."
"So we'll do things properly... to get the improper things done."
Seeing his solemn expression, Lumine remarked,
"I'm getting a bit nervous now."
The three arrived at the inspection station.
The staff inquired about Lumine's identity and purpose for coming to the island.
Lumine hesitated and made something up on the spot.
Naturally, it was full of holes.
Seeing Lumine lacked a proper reason,
The staff refused to let them pass and prepared to have the Tenryou Commission samurai escort them away.
Thoma produced some documents.
"Here are their landing permits. Please take a look."
Paimon puffed her cheeks angrily. "If you had these, why didn't you show them earlier?"
"Haha, just wanted to see how you'd handle it. My apologies."
Lumine frowned slightly, sensing something amiss.
It was normal for him to know about her deeds in Liyue and Mondstadt,
But the permits required detailed information, right?
Had he investigated her thoroughly?
Lumine felt somewhat uncomfortable.
The documents were not only detailed but completely flawless.
Lumine and Paimon smoothly entered Ritou.
They thought that was the end of it.
Unexpectedly, it was only the first step.
Thoma explained, "This was just the landing permit. To stay in Ritou, you'll need to visit the Kanjou Commission for residency procedures."
"Ugh... so strict indeed."
As they walked, Thoma continued, "After all, in Inazuma, foreigners are called 'gaijin'."
"Literally meaning 'different people,' under the Sakoku Decree, foreigners aren't exactly welcomed."
"Even in Ritou, which has a designated 'foreigner residential area.'"
Since they were on someone else's turf,
Lumine had no better options.
Causing trouble might prevent her from even meeting the Raiden Shogun.
Stupid brother, why couldn't he just explain things clearly? Why insist on meeting at some "destination"...
On the way to the Kanjou Commission,
Thoma elaborated on the origins of these rules.
The Kanjou Commission, one of the Three Commissions, governed land and wealth.
And these rules were established by them.
Arriving at the Kanjou Commission,
The officer got straight to the point.
"You've completed the landing procedures, correct? Here for residency permits? Two people?"
Paimon nodded. "Two."
"Understood. Please pay the processing fee—two million Mora."
Thoma stood to the side,
Again wanting to see how Lumine would handle this.
He expected them to be utterly shocked,
Then exclaim loudly, "Why does a processing fee cost two million Mora?!"
However, his expectations were dashed.
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, then looked around.
As if waiting for someone.
After quite a while with no movement,
Lumine finally said, "Seems Mu Yang isn't nearby."
Mu Yang, lying at Grand Narukami Shrine watching the livestream,
Suddenly "jolted upright as if miraculously healed from a dying illness."
"What the—?! Damn you savage Lumine! I've become the wallet guy now?"
Paimon nodded in agreement. "Truly, that line was the most touching thing I've ever heard."
"Then let Paimon reenact it."
Paimon initiated her combo—holding the Withering Glory mini-sword with a cold expression, she said:
"Two million Mora? I'll pay."
"Then I'll deduct it from Paimon's allowance~"
In Guinaifen's livestream,
Little Gui nearly died laughing at these two.
They really knew how to put on a show.
"Hahaha, Lumine's too good at creating content."
"But honestly, I was also hoping Mu Yang would show up with money just now."
'Paid message from Mu Yang': Money. (10,000)
A flood of question marks filled the screen.
[I don't understand the world of rich people]
[If Mu Yang appeared here now, it'd be an absolute win]
[So stereotypes it is—the wallet guy passive gets triggered]
[So in the future, just go shopping to summon him]
[Wrong. He won't appear for anything under 3 million—low-tier matches don't count]