After the meal, Liben busied himself, finally securing the location and completing the opening procedures for the milk tea shop.
He himself also became an honored employee of the milk tea shop!
He would work for free to repay the principal debt of ten million Mora.
Calculated at a daily wage of one thousand Mora, it would take a mere 27 years to repay the ten million debt.
"Work hard, and I'll increase your salary in the future!"
Feng Yi encouraged Liben before leaving.
Feng Yi had hired carpenters to renovate the shop and needed Liben to oversee the work.
He himself would go to the market to look for suitable raw materials.
"Boss, please rest assured, with me, Liben, here, there will be absolutely no accidents!"
Liben waved goodbye with a smile at Feng Yi's departing back, then found a chair, sat in front of the shop, and watched the carpenters work while drinking tea.
"Excuse me, have you seen a traveler named Feng Yi?"
Lu Ye Nai Nai, having inquired all the way, asked Liben, who was sitting on a chair, basking in the sun with a nonchalant air.
"Are you a shrine maiden from Grand Narukami Shrine? Is there something you need from the boss?"
Upon hearing Lu Ye Nai Nai's voice, Liben immediately opened his eyes and asked, pushing his sunglasses up.
"Yes, I am a shrine maiden from Grand Narukami Shrine. My Guuji wishes to see Mr. Feng Yi. Do you know when Mr. Feng Yi will be back?"
Lu Ye Nai Nai, remembering Yae Miko's instructions, glanced around to confirm there were no Shogunate soldiers nearby before speaking softly.
"This... this, I can't be sure. How about when the boss returns, I'll let him know?"
Liben's heart skipped a beat. Had the boss gotten into some trouble?
Judging by the shrine maiden's furtive demeanor, she didn't seem like a good person!
"Since I have nothing else to do, I'll wait here for a while!"
Lu Ye Nai Nai could sense that Guuji Yae seemed to be looking forward to meeting Mr. Feng Yi.
She didn't want to see Guuji Yae disappointed, so she decided to stake out Mr. Feng Yi here and bring him back today no matter what!
"Then, alright, I'll let you have the chair. I'll go to the roadside to see if the boss is back?"
Liben decided to go to the intersection to wait for Feng Yi, to inform him of the situation in advance and give him some psychological preparation.
Whether to meet the shrine maiden or hide from her would be Feng Yi's own decision.
Liben waited at the intersection for nearly an hour before seeing Feng Yi return. He immediately stepped forward to intercept him and told him about the shrine maiden.
"Sigh~ If it's meant to be, it will be. If it's not, it won't. I might as well go and see first!"
Feng Yi already had a plan to resolve Yae Miko's situation. Since she had come looking for him, he might as well see what she was up to.
"Shrine maiden, hello. I am Feng Yi. May I ask if Guuji Yae is looking for me for a particular reason?" Feng Yi asked the shrine maiden, who was sitting on the chair, looking expectantly.
"I apologize, Guuji Yae only asked me to invite Mr. Feng Yi over. As for the reason, you will understand when you meet Guuji!"
Lu Ye Nai Nai didn't know how to explain Guuji Yae's contradictory words from last night to Feng Yi, so she decided not to say anything and let Feng Yi ask himself.
"Then, alright, please lead the way!"
Feng Yi said to the shrine maiden. Whether it was good fortune or misfortune, he would find out soon enough.
"Liben, this is the carpenter's wages. You can pay them after they finish their work!"
Before leaving, Feng Yi handed a bag of Mora to Liben.
Liben sat back on the chair, feeling a little worried as he watched his boss being led away by the shrine maiden.
It was rumored that the Guuji of Grand Narukami Shrine loved to play pranks. He wished his boss good luck!
"Yo, Liben, why are you here alone? Where is Mr. Feng Yi?"
Not long after Feng Yi left, Thoma, who had been sent by Miss Kamisato to deliver a gift to Feng Yi, arrived.
He had first gone to Feng Yi's residence and been told by the old butler that Feng Yi was in Inazuma City.
Thoma handed the gift to the old butler and then came to find him.
"It's Thoma, brother. Sigh, I don't know what for, but the boss was taken away by someone from Grand Narukami Shrine."
Liben had a very good impression of this person who had bailed him out of the Shogunate's prison that morning. He got up from his chair and said to Thoma.
"Grand Narukami Shrine? Guuji Yae?!"
As soon as Thoma thought of the Guuji of Grand Narukami Shrine, a chill ran down his spine. Every time Miss Kamisato sent him to deliver a message, Thoma dreaded going to Grand Narukami Shrine the most.
'It's not that Guuji's aura is frightening, but rather... uh... it's awe... awe!'
Thoma thought to himself.
"Yes, if you have urgent business with my boss, Thoma, brother, you can just go to Grand Narukami Shrine and wait for him there!"
"Um, what, I just remembered, my lady has something she needs me for. I have to go back now. I'll come back to find Mr. Feng Yi tomorrow!"
Thoma immediately refused Liben's suggestion, made up an excuse, and left.
Rather than go to Grand Narukami Shrine, Thoma would rather go back and clean the house again.
"Miss Shrine Maiden, please wait for me for a moment. I'm going to buy some gifts for Guuji Yae!"
As they passed a small food stall, Feng Yi remembered that Yae Miko liked to eat fried tofu, so he packed a box of fried tofu and some skewers.
The unintentional action of the traveler was noticed by Lu Ye Nai Nai. Why would he, who had just arrived in Inazuma, know that Guuji Yae liked fried tofu?
Could it be, as Guuji Yae had said, that Feng Yi had known her for a long time?
After a brief interlude, Lu Ye Nai Nai continued to lead Feng Yi, bypassing the Shogunate patrols and heading towards Grand Narukami Shrine through a forest path.
Along the way, Feng Yi kept thinking about the purpose of Yae Miko's summons.
There were only two most likely reasons.
First, she admired his strength and believed he could change the Electro Archon's stubbornness.
Second, she admired his talent and wanted Feng Yi to write novels for her "Yae Publishing House."
It certainly couldn't be because she admired his handsome face, could it?
Feng Yi began to consider countermeasures based on these two hypotheses.
Soon, Feng Yi, led by the shrine maiden, arrived at Grand Narukami Shrine, where cherry blossoms fluttered in the wind.
"Guuji Yae is waiting in the side hall. Mr. Feng Yi can go by himself!" Lu Ye Nai Nai pointed to a room nearby.
"Thank you!"
Feng Yi nodded and stepped forward, knocking on the door of the side hall.
"Come in!"
A lazy yet seductive voice emanated from within, making Feng Yi's skin crawl.
Feng Yi nervously pushed open the door and saw a sexy figure in a red and white shrine maiden outfit lying on her side on the wooden floor in the dimly lit room, her back to him.
Hearing Feng Yi's footsteps, Yae Miko turned around and stared intently at him.
Her eyes held anticipation, excitement, joy, and a hint of hidden adoration.