Lumine said, "All right, enough about that. Let's talk about you. You're on a diplomatic mission to Sumeru, so why are you staying in little Vimara Village? Surely either Port Ormos or Sumeru City would be more suitable?"
Yucheng replied calmly, "Our ship struck a reef near Vimara Village, and it tore a large hole in the hull. We had no choice but to dock nearby for repairs."
Paimon said, "Oh, really? Then I guess you didn't have much choice."
Paimon actually believed Yucheng's explanation, leaving Lumine beside her utterly speechless. It wasn't as though she didn't know how powerful Yucheng was, not to mention his incredible ninjutsu. Even if they really had struck a reef, patching a large hole would have been child's play for him.
So this definitely wasn't Yucheng's real reason for staying here. But to anyone unfamiliar with his specific abilities, striking a reef was certainly a good excuse. They couldn't very well make them keep sailing in a damaged ship, could they? What if it sank?
Lumine didn't expose Yucheng on the spot. After all, this was a political matter between Inazuma and Sumeru, and she was better off keeping her involvement to a minimum. Otherwise, she could easily end up wanted in Sumeru again.
Lumine said, "Yucheng, since you have Akasha Terminals, could you help me ask whether there's a way to meet Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
Lumine's words reminded Paimon, who suddenly came to her senses. "Oh, right! We came to Sumeru to find Lesser Lord Kusanali because we had some things to ask him. I never expected the business with the Aranara to hold us up for so long. I nearly forgot about it."
At this request, Yucheng turned to glance at Ayaka. She immediately understood and operated her Akasha Terminal, beginning to