Drought

"Had anything happened in the village recently?" Han Jiang asked Yae Rin beside him.

Yae Rin looked up at Han Jiang innocently. "Yes! Lots of things have happened!"

"I heard from the household helpers that villagers weren't allowed near the back mountain anymore. The water in the little river was nearly dried up, and you couldn't see the little fish inside. The few birds that often came to our yard seemed to have stopped coming lately too, and also, and also..."

Yae Rin counted on her fingers, telling Han Jiang about each thing one by one.

For every matter Yae Rin mentioned, Han Jiang gave a response. Sometimes, he even pretended to be startled, making the young Rin giggle.

Just as the two were chatting happily, Yae Sakura emerged from the house.

"Rin, don't trouble our guest." Yae Sakura gave Rin an indulgent look, standing beside her and stroking her head.

Rin looked up at Yae Sakura. "I'm not. I was telling this outsider about Big Sister's accomplishments."

"Don't talk nonsense. What accomplishments do I have?" Yae Sakura smiled awkwardly. "Mr. Han Jiang, your friend should wake up by tomorrow morning at the latest. If you don't mind, please stay here for the next few days."

Only an idiot would refuse Yae Sakura. Han Jiang immediately replied, "Then thank you, Miss Sakura and Miss Rin, for your hospitality."

"Leave Mr. Han Jiang some time to rest. Don't disturb him." Yae Sakura took Rin's hand and led her into another room.

Han Jiang stared idly at the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. From chatting and playing with Yae Rin earlier, he had already learned quite a bit.

Several points were particularly important: Honkai Beasts had only appeared recently, the village had suffered from drought for a long time, and not long ago, the village had held a rain-prayer ritual.

Han Jiang rose and walked a few steps toward the center of the courtyard, stopping beneath the cherry tree as he looked toward the towering Tenshukaku behind the estate.

It was said that the Tenshukaku contained some evil thing guarded by the Yae Family for generations. Han Jiang was rather interested in what it might be.

"Sorry, Mr. Han Jiang. My younger sister had been bedridden for many years. Seeing a stranger like you today made her especially happy. Thank you as well for being willing to talk with her." Yae Sakura's voice came from behind Han Jiang.

Han Jiang shook his head. "You're too polite, Miss Sakura. Though Miss Rin is young, she's very sensible and impeccably polite. I'm ashamed to compare myself to her."

"Every place has its own customs and etiquette. Mr. Han Jiang simply isn't familiar with Yae Village's customs." Yae Sakura's voice was exceptionally gentle.

Theresa had yet to wake up, so Han Jiang asked Yae Sakura if he could take a walk around Yae Village alone.

Outside the Shrine Master's residence, dense rows of houses lined both sides of the street. A little farther ahead stood an enormous shrine.

Small markets stood on either side of the shrine, with many vendors selling goods. Among them were the fox masks Han Jiang had touched when he first woke up.

"Inari represents a bountiful harvest here, and foxes are Inari's messengers. Would you like to buy one, young man?" a vendor asked Han Jiang after seeing him stare at the masks for a while.

Han Jiang shook his head and turned toward the next spot.

Yae Village was not particularly large overall. Everywhere Han Jiang went, people greeted him warmly. On the surface, it seemed like a fine place with simple, honest folk.

Along the way, Han Jiang kept pondering the matter of Stigmata Space.

The villagers were thriving, and not much time had passed since the first ritual. They believed rain would come after the Shrine Master conducted the ritual.

Early the next morning, Yae Sakura's servant called her away for a discussion, and Han Jiang was told that Theresa had awakened.

After waiting for a long time, Theresa emerged from the room wearing a Miko outfit and holding a huge rice ball in each hand.

When she reached the outer sitting room, Theresa saw Han Jiang waiting outside and immediately became angry.

"Have you forgotten your duty as a Valkyrie? When you encountered a Honkai Beast, your first thought was actually to run away. How could St. Freya produce a student like you?" Still not satisfied after saying that, Theresa took a huge bite out of her rice ball.

"Principal, calm down, calm down. Haven't you noticed that all the strength in your body has disappeared?" Han Jiang curled his lip and deliberately said, "You've been awake for so long. What were you doing in your room? Didn't you notice your strength had vanished?"

Theresa's ears turned bright red, and her little hand squeezed the rice ball so hard it nearly caved in.

"Y-you... what are you saying? I... I was just about to, um..." Theresa began to stammer.

Han Jiang pressed both hands downward in the air. "Calm down, Principal. Calm down."

"Huh? Oh! Oh!" Theresa recovered, then stuffed the rice balls into her mouth in a few bites.

"As for the strength issue, I noticed it yesterday when that Honkai Beast caught me. I just didn't have a chance to say it." Theresa tried to regain a little face by claiming she had discovered it first.

"The academy not only taught us our duty to protect civilians, but also taught us to adapt to circumstances. Those villagers had already run far away yesterday. Rushing in would only have meant death."

"Do you know where this place is?" Theresa rolled her eyes at Han Jiang, skipping over that question.

Han Jiang nodded. "This is Yae Village. Its people are simple and honest, treating everyone with sincerity. It's a secluded paradise."

"Come on, let's go take a look around!" Han Jiang said loudly, though his body showed no sign of moving.

"Someone is watching us. I don't know what they're up to." After several dozen seconds, Han Jiang spoke calmly.

This Stigmata Space had been constructed from the powers of Hiyori and Yae Sakura. Other than Yae Sakura, who possessed her own consciousness, everyone else inside was Hiyori's pawn.

Theresa did not know this was a curse born from Yae Sakura's memories, but Han Jiang knew perfectly well. Hiyori, who had cursed Yae Sakura, naturally knew as well.

Whether the people watching the two of them in the residence had been arranged by the Shrine Master or were under Hiyori's control, Han Jiang saw no harm in being cautious.

"Principal, you're an S-rank Valkyrie after all. So how..." Han Jiang frowned and glanced outside, his meaning obvious.

Even Han Jiang, a mere C-rank, had noticed the person hiding in the corner, yet an S-rank Valkyrie had not sensed a thing. No matter how one looked at it, something was off.

Could it be that the stronger someone was, the harsher the restrictions became?

That was not impossible.

Han Jiang asked again, "Principal, do you know about Stigmata Space?"

"You're saying this place is Stigmata Space?" Theresa reacted quickly.

Theresa placed a hand on her shoulder and stared at Han Jiang in surprise. "My stigmata is gone. And how do you know stigmata exist?"

After all, Han Jiang was merely a C-rank combatant, far from qualified to know anything about stigmata.

"Um..." Han Jiang pondered for a moment. "Shenzhou has many ancient texts. I happened to come across it by chance."

Theresa tapped her chin with her thumb. The answer was barely acceptable.

According to the Schicksal Database, Stigmata Space existed in many different forms.

Some were consciousness spaces, some were data spaces, and some ancient ruins contained the power of stigmata. Even Schicksal had not fully researched them.

At this stage, the only way Schicksal's Valkyries could obtain stigmata could be summed up in four words: a fortuitous chance. There was still no means of creating them.