Thinking about the firearms whose ammunition could be refreshed the next day, as well as all the strange and unpredictable weapons in the system, Mei hesitated.
Mei hesitated.
After the Second Eruption ended, the second game had immediately turned around and plunged humanity into civil war.
"Serious... Even so, we shouldn't rush into this." Mei frowned slightly and tightened her grip on Kiana's hand. "I think we need to meet those Bladekin and learn more about them before making any decisions."
"I'm not trying to smear them, and I don't distrust them. It's just..." Mei paused for a moment and sighed. "There's no harm in being cautious."
The Thunder Calamity brought by Takemikazuchi looked terrifying, but after Takemikazuchi was killed and forged into the Resonating Blade, the thunderclouds that had blanketed everything seemed to lose their cohesion and had already begun to slowly disperse.
The long-absent, somewhat dim light fell over the city, telling everyone that the disaster had temporarily passed.
Takemikazuchi had been terrifying.
The impact of the Thunder Calamity had also been considerable.
But Mei didn't think this was a disaster capable of destroying the world, so when she considered the matter, she hadn't equated the disaster with the destruction of the world.
After all, she had only encountered the Kishin three days ago, yet with Sirin and Kiana's help, she had already slain one of the most powerful Twelve Oni Gods.
Rather than worry that the world would be destroyed by the Kishin, she was more concerned about the Honkai that worried Kiana, as well as Kiana herself.
"I don't really understand this stuff."
Kiana's little mind spun, and she tugged at Mei while looking at her expectantly. "Mei, can you help me?"
"Huh?"
"Please help me, Mei."
She held Mei's hand and instinctively began acting spoiled. "I don't understand any of this. Could you handle these matters for me from now on?"
"Me?"
"Yes!" Kiana nodded. "Just like you did earlier. You were so cool!"
The crisis had temporarily passed, and the effects of the increased Honkai energy had yet to appear. Kiana had returned to her initial efforts to win Mei over.
"Like I did just now..." Cool? Mei didn't think so at all. She had only been thinking that she couldn't let Kiana tell Sirin everything.
She still couldn't get used to this sort of thing. Embarrassed, Mei shifted her attention to the road back.
"...I suppose I can."
Mei's head felt a little hot, but she still thought over Kiana's suggestion rationally.
"Leave communication with the Bladekin to me. Kiana, you only need to add a few unimportant remarks when appropriate."
"I have something I want to discuss with you right now, Mei!" Kiana tugged at her, pulling Mei's attention back to herself.
"The Honkai? Or Sirin?"
"Neither, but they're both somewhat related."
Sirin had said that her comrades should be arriving soon. She had originally wanted the two of them to wait together, since the Resonating Blade was currently in Raiden Mei's hands.
But then she remembered what Kiana had said about the Honkai.
She thought it would be better not to let Kiana meet the people on her side yet. It would be more appropriate for her to first discuss the anomaly of Takemikazuchi with the others.
In any case, everything still had to be verified.
They might as well wait until the verification was complete before bringing up the Honkai Kiana had mentioned.
As for the Resonating Blade...
Recruiting new members wasn't her problem.
Thus, Sirin let them return to the shrine first while she stayed behind to wait for the support that was late in arriving.
"It's about selling equipment."
Feeling that she shouldn't have opened up weapon sales, Kiana also wanted to hear Raiden Mei's opinion.
"When I recover this crystal, I can obtain some useful equipment. Blades are only one category. I also have things like portable rockets, pistols, shotguns, sprays, and mines."
There were quite a lot of weapon categories.
As long as she could sacrifice enough Kishin, wouldn't Kiana become a walking arsenal?
Mei's gaze shifted slightly.
"Don't tell anyone else this information."
The possibility was tiny, but if Kiana wished, she could raise a fully armed army at any time.
Regardless of Kiana's original intentions, others would label her a "dangerous element."
Kiana nodded and continued. "Didn't I give you a healing potion before? The weapons I get by exchanging recovered energy crystals all have limited ammunition, but that ammunition refreshes the next day."
An arsenal with infinite ammunition!
Mei's breathing grew heavier. She stared at Kiana in shock, wondering how likely it was that she had misheard.
Infinite weapons.
The ammunition could replenish itself the next day after being used up. What kind of terrifying story was this?
"Because Honkai can do anything."
Noticing that Mei's gaze had changed, Kiana thought she was wondering why the ammunition refreshed in such an unscientific way.
Anything unscientific—
It was perfectly reasonable to blame it on Honkai.
Because Honkai could do anything.
"Infinite ammunition?"
Mei's voice trembled slightly.
If Kiana obtained a large batch of weapons like that and distributed them, Mei didn't even dare imagine what kind of wasteland Izumo would become.
"...More or less?"
Ignoring the mechanism that required her to wait for a refresh after emptying one round, the weapons she exchanged for had infinite ammunition.
They probably used Honkai energy to restore their ammunition.
Kiana made an unscientific guess.
"They can't be sold!"
The appearance of weapons with large-scale, infinite firepower would inevitably plunge Izumo into an unprecedented civil war.
Once sold, the items couldn't all be recovered. Without restrictions, they would become a nightmare even more terrifying than the Kishin.
"Selling them some blades is fine, but what you just mentioned—no, none of the weapons with refreshable ammunition can be sold!"
If Kiana accidentally became Izumo's greatest arms dealer...
Raiden Mei felt her vision go dark.
She absolutely could not let that happen!
Human greed was endless. Just like her: she was already Kiana's best friend, yet she still yearned to have more.
She hoped their relationship could become even more unbreakable.
The Fifty-Third Chapter: A New, Useless Function
She felt that things weren't quite that bad.
Although the Kishin were difficult and dangerous to kill, they still hadn't given Kiana the means to transform into an arms dealer.
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them!"
Mei's tone was firm.
This Pandora's Box could not be opened in the first place. Weapons that could bring destruction with the mere pull of a trigger could be used by anyone, regardless of who they were.
She also didn't want Kiana to bear the infamy.
Just as Kiana had told her that she didn't want to use her sacrifice to win other people's trust...
"Not even the healing potions?"
Weapons were difficult to control, and once they fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, they could run wild. At times, they might even become the spark that ignited a disaster.
But potions were different, right?
One was used to kill, while the other treated injuries and saved lives.
"Do you mean the one you threw beside Sirin?" Mei asked hesitantly.
The two were indeed different.
But with infinite supplies, it was impossible to be too careful, especially since Kiana wasn't even from Izumo.
"Yes, that one. There are other varieties too, like sprays, and they're all very cheap. You only need to kill the weakest one of those Kishin to buy a bottle."
Mei fell silent.
That cheap?
Mei paused, then said uncertainly, "Are the other weapons, including this blade, the same?"
"After all, I can't afford the expensive ones yet."
Cheap equipment that could be refreshed without limit.
What kind of natural disaster was this?
Mei hesitated, unable to say what she wanted to say. She didn't want Kiana to take risks, but these were also things that could treat illnesses and save lives.
She had seen the effects of the treatment. Just look at Sirin and you'd know how powerful it was. If the potions were made freely available, they might save many people who could otherwise survive.
But selling them...
The cost was only a single crystal.
Mei remained silent for a long time, struggling inwardly for just as long. Finally, she looked at Kiana seriously and gave her advice.
"They can't be sold."
Kiana froze for a moment, then nodded.
She knew what Mei was worried about. Infinite ammunition and medical supplies that refreshed every day would no longer be under her control once sold.
And who knew whether...
"But they can be rented."
The situation took an unexpected turn.
"Eh? Eh?!"
Kiana stared at Mei in surprise.
"Anyone who can devote their life to slaying the Kishin is an extraordinary hero." Mei deeply admired people like that.
She also thought of her own father.
"...But Kiana is important too."
"The ownership of the items cannot be sold. At least, it can't be sold publicly. But the healing potions can be rented to other people."
"Rented?"
"Yes, rented." Mei nodded. "It would be best to reclaim them for one day after a certain period and tell the others that the potions need to have their energy replenished, like recharging."
"Renting out healing potions?"
"Anything related to life is almost impossible to price. If they're sold too cheaply, the healing potions will quickly become widespread and cause chaos, and everyone will realize that the things you provide, Kiana, are special."
All of Mei's thoughts were based on the premise that things were still stable and that Izumo wouldn't descend into chaos.
"If they're sold too expensively..."
Kiana probably wouldn't be able to get past that hurdle herself. Just look at how she reacted when she saw Sirin. Kiana truly didn't dare profit from such an outrageously expensive treatment.
"That's why I think renting is the best option." Mei continued, "They have an organization behind them. Later, you can cooperate with them, and you could even use the potions to establish a new medical department."
Before you continue