"This green dress is for you, General Gorou, perhaps it'll come in handy someday?"
"Ridiculous, I would never wear such a garment again!"
Goro felt his dignity insulted and directly refuted her. Now that he had the points, he no longer needed to swallow his pride.
"That's not something you can be so sure of~"
Yae Miko smiled meaningfully, and without waiting for his reply, turned and left.
For a moment, only General Gorou remained in the room, holding the green dress, wanting to say something but holding back due to the lack of an audience.
Discard it?
But... this green dress was incredibly comfortable to wear. Goro guessed that the material must have been premium silk from overseas, quite valuable.
Wouldn't it be a shame to just throw it away?
Keeping it might prove useful later.
Goro: Don't misunderstand, I don't mean there's a use for the dress itself, but rather for cutting up the material for other purposes... Yes! That's exactly what I thought!
Therefore, adhering to the principle of frugality...
Goro looked around, confirming no one was peeking, then quickly packed the green dress, stuffed it into his embrace, and leaped out the window.
He headed to Qingke Hall to purchase agricultural books, retrieve the buried large bone along the way, and then successfully rendezvoused with Lady Kokomi.
On the ship returning to Watatsumi Island, Kokomi's gaze occasionally flickered towards Goro beside her and his bundle.
"Lady Kokomi, how was your undercover investigation this time?"
Goro's eyelids twitched nervously, worried she might see through him. He quickly brought up a topic, attempting to divert her attention.
"It was very fruitful. The post-war civilian development policies in Inazuma City truly have unique aspects, some of which are worth referencing and learning from for Watatsumi Island...
By the way, Goro, you had quite a good haul this time. While I was undercover, I heard that purchasing agricultural production books requires a star-level clearance from Qingke Hall. I was planning to advise you to take your time, but I didn't expect you to buy so many. Goro, tell me, how did you manage it?"
Kokomi glanced briefly at the contents of Goro's bundle. There were at least twenty books on agricultural production, something not easily achieved by an ordinary person.
Especially considering Goro didn't have the advantage of being a local.
"Uh... Lady Kokomi, it's a long story. I... I just worked very, very hard to earn points, and then I reached the one-star clearance standard and borrowed these books..."
Goro's heart sank. He stammered, deliberately avoiding the crucial issue.
Goro: How could I possibly admit that I earned points through cross-dressing performances? It's too embarrassing!
"Alright, regardless, Goro, you've made a great contribution this time. There will be a significant reward when we return!"
Kokomi, with her sharp intellect and keen observation, could tell that Goro had something he couldn't speak of.
As a competent leader, she needed to consider her subordinate's feelings and decided to stop there. Further questioning might only lead to awkwardness.
"Goro, have you heard? Miss Shina appeared at her fan meeting at Yae Publishing House this afternoon. Speaking of which, she looks so much like you. It's a shame I arrived later, Miss Shina had already left. I regret not being able to take a photo to show you..."
Kokomi ceased her inquiry, and Goro breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was finally saved. However, before he could relax, the new topic she brought up was even more outrageous, causing Goro to instantly flare up.
"This... that... Lady Kokomi, perhaps we should change the subject..."
Goro feared that saying too much would lead to mistakes. If they continued discussing it, Lady Kokomi might discover something.
Goro declared that he would guard this secret with his life!
...
Time flew by. Two or three days had passed since Miss Shina's fan meeting, yet people still frequently discussed the grandeur of that day over tea and meals.
Fengyi was woken up by Yuanbao early this morning. After a quick breakfast, she headed to the port of Ritou to wait for and welcome the friends Yuanbao had invited.
"Hahahahahaha... The Arataki Gang is the best at welcoming distinguished guests! Boys, bring out everything your great leader has prepared!"
His voice preceded him, and Fengyi heard Arataki Itto's characteristic hearty laughter from afar.
The situation was as follows: this morning, Arataki Itto, who was soliciting customers, heard that Yuanbao's invited friends would arrive in Inazuma today. He immediately declared that the Arataki Gang was willing to undertake the welcoming service.
Arataki Itto claimed that no one understood welcoming services better than him; the Arataki Gang was professional in this regard.
Yuanbao agreed, and Fengyi went along with it.
And so, after Arataki Itto prepared some items, he appeared here.
The dock was initially sparsely populated, but Arataki Itto's arrival instantly drew a crowd of onlookers, curious about what new spectacle the street rogue was up to.
"Ding ding ding—"
"Boss Fengyi, Yuanbao, these are welcome banners that your great leader spent a fortune to have friends rush-create! They are for welcoming guests and will surely impress!"
Arataki Itto, along with three Arataki Gang underlings, unfurled two banners, displaying the slogans printed on them.
【Warmly Welcoming Klee from Mondstadt to Inazuma!!!】
【Warmly Welcoming Guoba from Liyue to Inazuma!!!】
"Wait, Itto, what's this 'warmly' welcome supposed to mean? Did you misprint something?!"
Fengyi blinked, banners were banners, but couldn't they be a little more accurate?
"Really? Let me see... It does seem like... Ah no, Boss Fengyi, this seemingly wrong word is actually intentional! Think about it, you're so excited you're moved to tears, isn't 'warmly' even more enthusiastic than 'warmly'?"
Arataki Itto was about to admit it when a sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a plausible explanation, earnestly spouting nonsense.
Fengyi had given him 30,000 Mora for this commission. To save money, Arataki Itto decided to make the banners himself, not expecting such an error.
After all, it concerned the reputation of the Arataki Gang, so Arataki Itto's mind was unusually sharp at this moment.
"Now that you mention it, it does make a little sense!"
Fengyi, understanding from Arataki Itto's perspective, found it to be quite reasonable.
He suddenly realized that his intelligence had been inadvertently brought to the same level as Arataki Itto's.
Hiss~
Was this the legendary law of intelligence transmission?