Rոնava set down her teacup and looked calmly at Yae Miko with golden eyes.
"There's something sealed away in the depths of Tenshukaku, a token Phanes gave Raiden Makoto all those years ago. I need it."
Yae Miko spoke with a smile, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Oh? Something in the depths of Tenshukaku..."
"The Shogun personally keeps watch over that item. I'm only a Guuji; I'm afraid I don't have much say in the matter."
Ronava looked at her without responding.
The sitting room fell quiet for a few breaths. Ayato sat to the side, holding his teacup and glancing between the two of them. Then he tactfully got to his feet.
"I'll have someone prepare dinner."
He walked out, closing the door behind him.
Yae Miko put away her playful expression and rested one hand on the table.
"Phanes personally gave that item to Ei back then. She said, 'Someone will come for it in the future,' but she didn't say who."
She looked at Ronava.
"What do you want it for?"
"To restore my power."
"And after you restore your power?"
"To stand against Phanes."
Yae Miko was silent for a few seconds, then gave a soft laugh.
"How interesting. You want to stand against the Heavenly Principles?"
She shook her head.
"This world is becoming harder and harder to understand."
"She should already know."
Ronava said.
"But she hasn't stopped me."
"Of course she wouldn't stop you now."
Yae Miko waved a hand.
"Ei is very hard-hearted, but I'm different. If you can offer something of equal value, I might consider it."
She sat up straight, her foxlike eyes narrowing slightly as she fixed them on Ronava.
"I'm Inazuma's Guuji, and I'm responsible for this land. That item has been sealed away for so many years. No one can say what might happen if it's taken out. I need you to do something for me in exchange."
Ronava looked at her and did not refuse.
"Tsurumi Island."
Yae Miko said.
"The island lies at Inazuma's southernmost tip and is shrouded in thick fog all year round. Strange things have happened there over the past month. We've lost contact with all the shrine maidens and investigation teams sent there."
A chill ran down Lin En's back.
"All of them?"
"What's this? Are you afraid, little guy?"
Yae Miko teased him.
"Tsurumi Island was destroyed once in a great war, and its civilization was nearly wiped out. Recently, the fog has grown several times thicker than in previous years. First the investigation teams disappeared, and then even the Shogunate Army over in Tatarasuna noticed something was wrong."
She looked at Ronava.
"I sent three groups there, and not one person came back. The Shogunate Army doesn't dare send anyone else, but we can't just ignore what's happening on Tsurumi Island."
Ronava was silent for a few breaths.
"What do you think it has to do with?"
"I'm not sure."
Yae Miko said.
"But you'll definitely agree, won't you? After all, there's no way you two can lose out on this exchange."
Ronava considered it for a while, then nodded slightly.
"All right."
"Straight to the point."
Yae Miko stood and smoothed the wrinkles in her shrine maiden robes.
"I'll have a boat prepared for you tomorrow. You can sail straight there. Once you've dealt with the matter on Tsurumi Island, come back and see me. I'll give you the item."
She walked to the door, then looked back at the two of them, her gaze lingering on Lin En for a moment.
"Young man, treat the girl well."
She winked at Lin En.
"It's rare for someone born under a lone star to be willing to let you get close."
Lin En's face turned red again.
"We really aren't..."
"I know, I know."
Yae Miko waved a hand and walked out with a smile.
After the door closed, only Lin En and Ronava remained in the sitting room. The candlelight flickered gently in the breeze, casting their shadows across the tatami.
Lin En lowered his head and drank his tea, not daring to look at Ronava. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she was drinking tea too. Her cup was already empty, yet she was still holding it.
"Your tea's gone."
He reminded her quietly.
Ronava looked down and set the empty cup aside. Her movements were as composed as ever, but Lin En swore he saw the tips of her ears grow a little redder.
"Get some rest."
She said, her voice returning to its usual even tone.
"We move tomorrow."
"Mm."
Lin En leaned back against his cushion and closed his eyes, but Yae Miko's words, "born under a lone star" and "treat the girl well," kept going around in his head, along with the investigation on Tsurumi Island.
Ayato brought dinner himself: several plates of exquisite Inazuman side dishes and a flask of sake, which he set before the two of them.
He put down the food box and said,
"It's already late, you two. Why not rest here for the night and make your plans tomorrow?"
"That sounds good. Sorry for the trouble."
Lin En thanked Ayato.
After Ayato left, Lin En picked up his bowl and started eating. He had been hungry all day, and his stomach was practically caved in.
Ronava sat across from him, moving her chopsticks slowly. She took a bite now and then, but spent most of the time watching him eat.
"Not to your taste?"
Lin En asked indistinctly through a mouthful of rice.
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten since noon. How could you not be hungry?"
Lin En picked up a piece of sushi and placed it in her bowl.
"Even if you're not hungry, eating is better than not eating."
Ronava looked down at the food in her bowl and was silent for two breaths. Then she picked it up and ate it.
By the time the two of them finished their meal, the sky had grown completely dark. The stone lanterns in the courtyard lit up with a warm yellow glow that shone through the paper windows, spreading a soft halo across the tatami.
They rested there for the night, and early the next morning,
Ayato sent someone to tell them that the Guuji was making arrangements and to wait a little while; they would be departing shortly.
Lin En leaned against the corner of a wall and took out his shortsword to sharpen it by the morning light.
The sword had accompanied him from Liyue to Mondstadt, from the snowy mountain to Inazuma. Though its quality was ordinary, he had grown used to it and couldn't bear to replace it.
A thin layer of Anemo covered the blade. It was a technique he had worked out himself, and it made the edge a little sharper.
"You're using it wrong."
Ronava's voice came from beside him.
Lin En looked up and found that she had already sat down next to him, much closer than usual.
She reached out and took the shortsword, her fingertip gliding gently along the blade. Under her touch, the Anemo grew docile and condensed, settling against the metal like a thin film, even and stable.
"Your Anemo is too dispersed."
She handed the sword back.
"Compress it, then compress it again, until it's thinner than paper. Only then can it cut through a hard shell."
Lin En took the sword and tried guiding it again as she had instructed. It did work better.
"That's right."
Ronava's voice was right beside his ear.
"Just like that."
She was so close that Lin En could feel her silver hair brushing against his shoulder.
He kept his eyes closed, his heart beating a little faster, but his hands did not stop. He pressed the Anemo down layer by layer until he felt an extremely faint, sharp sensation against his palm.
He opened his eyes. A nearly transparent film of wind covered the blade, so thin it was almost invisible, but when he brought a finger near it, he could feel a faint cutting sensation.
"I did it."
He said, a note of pleasant surprise in his voice.
Ronava looked at him and smiled slightly too.
"You're improving quickly."
She said.
"That's because you're a good teacher."
"I haven't taught you much."
"You have."
Lin En put his sword away and looked at her.
"You taught me how to get stronger, how to survive, and how not to hold you back. Doesn't that count?"
Ronava did not answer. She simply looked at him, her habitually cold face softening a little, a rare sight.
Her gaze rested on Lin En's face for a few seconds, then shifted away.
"What do you think about Tsurumi Island?"
She changed the subject.
Lin En knew she didn't want to continue down that line, so he followed her lead.
"Isn't there a Celestial Nail on Tsurumi Island too?"
"Mm."
"Then we're going there to...?"
"Danger and opportunity are sometimes the same thing."
Ronava said.
"So you're going to Tsurumi Island for more than just helping Yae Miko."
"We're each getting what we need."
Lin En thought about it and nodded. Then something suddenly occurred to him.
"You said before that you were gathering power so you'd have the strength to negotiate with Snezhnaya. But now you say you want to deal with Phanes. Which is it?"
Ronava was silent for a few breaths.
"Both are necessary."
She said.
"Snezhnaya's God of Cryo won't give up on attacking Celestia just because I fell. We can make use of Snezhnaya, but without power, none of it means anything."
"So you're actually pursuing both at the same time."
"You could say that."
Lin En leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking over what had happened these past few days.
"Are you tired? If you are, I can go to Tsurumi Island alone."
Lin En turned his head to look at her, apparently not expecting her to ask.
"I'm used to it."
Lin En said.
"But not being tired doesn't mean it hasn't been hard. I went from the Nail of Retribution to the Skyfrost Nail, then came to Inazuma for the token. I've barely stopped. Along the way, I've also had to deal with remnants of the dragon race, a sea monster..."
Ronava watched him, something loosening in her golden eyes.
"Do you know why I don't leave you?"
She suddenly asked.
Lin En was taken aback.
"Why? Bringing me along obviously holds you back."
"When I said I hadn't chosen you, I was lying to Istaroth."
Ronava interrupted him, her voice quiet and even.
"I did choose you. Back in Liyue, I noticed something about you."
"What was it?"
"You clearly don't belong to this world, yet you want to stay here more than anyone."
She said.
"When you took that blow for me in the Chasm, I wondered if you were an idiot."
"And then?"
"I realized you really are a fool."
The corners of Ronava's mouth curved ever so slightly, but Lin En saw it.
"But I haven't seen that kind of foolishness in a long time."
She turned to look at him, her golden eyes calm as water in the candlelight, though faint ripples stirred in their depths.
"So, don't die."
Lin En looked at her, his heart pounding. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he found he couldn't get them out. In the end, he just nodded.
"You too."
Ronava looked at him for two seconds, then looked away and returned to her usual manner.
"It's almost time. Let's go."