"Yes." The fox-masked shrine maiden, Hanasato, nodded gently.
"...If you don't want to say, then never mind. Let me hear what you need help with."
The shrine maiden's explanation was rather vague. Yae Miko could not get any more information from it, nor could she work out her identity right away.
Since Li Qiuzhi could not easily explain how he knew Hanasato's identity either, he said nothing for the moment. He would have to find a suitable opportunity.
"There is a 'Ward' inside this fox-shaped statue. You can extract it by channeling Electro. After that, I would like you to investigate the barrier in Konda Village."
Hanasato explained calmly.
"The barrier in Konda Village? I do remember there being a barrier beneath the village. It protects the roots of the Sacred Sakura. Has something gone wrong with it?"
Yae Miko folded her arms and asked in puzzlement.
"As the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, you should know that Thunder Sakura Trees can purify the Ley Lines. But over the years, the roots that channel pollution out of the Ley Lines become clogged with filth.
"When that happens, they must be purified."
That was the answer Hanasato gave from behind her white fox mask.
"Oh? Has it already reached that point?"
Yae Miko naturally understood the Sacred Sakura's functions. It was just that she had recently been preoccupied with Ei, working to prevent Inazuma from heading toward a dark future, and had overlooked these matters for a time.
"Come to think of it, your identity must be rather unusual if you know all this. As far as I know, no shrine maidens outside the Narukami lineage should know about it."
A new question arose in Yae Miko's mind. Hanasato felt increasingly familiar to her. She had to be someone she