87 87. Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu

"Don't stop me, Shinobu! They stole something precious from everyone, and on top of that, they put the Visions into such a sloppy arrangement in that statue! Damn the Shogun's Army, they are absolute monsters! Normally, you'd think that the more powerful the Vision's holder is, the higher up theirs would go. But... Who the hell was it?! Who dared to put mine on the very bottom?!"

It was a man with a pair of red horns who yelled loudly while pointing at the statue with a pair of wings where the Visions were inlaid upon.

If Ryūhei looked carefully, that man was a Yokai from the Oni tribe. He has white spiked hair, and as an Oni, he has two red horns on his forehead. He also has eyes that fade from red to yellow and diamond-shaped pupils and has pointed ears. His face is painted with red makeup which extends from his upper eyelid to his lower eyelid, and numerous parts of his body, arms and head are also painted with red lines. He isn't wearing any shirt, but a black sleeveless coat instead while showing his six-pack build.

What attracted Ryūhei wasn't that Oni, but the one he talked to. He turned to the person who prevented the Oni from rushing ahead. And that person was a girl with a mask and green hair. Her pale skin, violet eyes, and revealing clothes that exposed part of her midriff and black shorts made her look so sexy.

And as he recalled, Yanfei seemed to have mentioned a girl called Kuki Shinobu before. And she couldn't go back to Liyue to take her graduation certificate. He was sure he heard "Shinobu" just now. If her surname was Kuki, then she was the person he was looking for.

When Ryūhei heard what the Oni said, he muttered.

'His art of seeking death isn't as shallow! But this noob has just mediocre strength. Only going on a rampage just because his Vision was put on at the very bottom of the statue, how disgraceful. He should explode at any moment!'

Meanwhile, when the girl called Shinobu heard the Oni's reason, she twitched her cheek.

"So, you got mad with that reason instead? Can you be more reasonable?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!? Are you trying to say I'm not famous enough?"

"If you can't stop from making more trouble, I'll tie you up and drag you away instantly!" And the girl who was 20 cm shorter than the Oni was seriously pulling out the dagger at her waist, which also intimidated the Oni.

"Tsk, fine, fine. For your sake, I'll stop." Although he pretends to be strong, he's actually kind of afraid when Shinobu is angry.

And at that moment, Ryūhei decided to step forward while greeting them.

"Huh? Who are you?" The Oni asked while raising his voice. But Ryūhei ignored him as his gaze focused on the girl.

"Excuse me, miss. I overheard you guys just now. By any chance, are you Kuki Shinobu?"

Shinobu looked at Ryūhei curiously then her gaze turned to Jiu. Ryūhei wore a t-shirt and black haori coat, while Jiu wore a black cheongsam. Well, wearing modern clothes in Inazuma City was too conspicuous. So they just wore their usual attires. Even though Jiu was wearing traditional Chinese clothing, at least it was less eye-catching than wearing modern clothes.

"Ah, yes. I'm indeed Kuki Shinobu. How may I help you?"

Shinobu didn't expect him to be a stalker or something since Shinobu was quite famous herself recently. Everyone knew that Shinobu was a member of the Arataki Gang in Inazuma City, or to be precise, she was a deputy officer. And the Oni beside her is the boss of the gang, Arataki Itto.

The Arataki Gang is an organization typically involved in logistics and transportation, home repair, and performance. However, they often cause too much trouble for everyone in Inazuma City despite their good intentions.

But with the arrival of someone who could be the "brains" of the organization, which was none other than Kuki Shinobu. Because of her, the Arataki Gang now added a tax agency, legal consultation, event management and various other operations that both involved sizable capital investments and a not-insignificant air of danger to them.

With Shinobu's reputation, it wasn't strange if someone knew her.

"As I expected. So you're the one that Yanfei talked about. I want to offer you something. Can we talk somewhere else?" Ryūhei said with a smile. But, his statement surprised her.

"Eh??" Shinobu looked at him while talking to herself. 'Was Yanfei he was referring to the walking law encyclopedia who had memories of all the laws in Liyue? How did he get to know her?'

The Oni, Arataki Itto, was somehow annoyed by Ryūhei's behavior and made him step forward to stand in front of him.

"Hey you, don't ignore me! Do you know who I am? My name is already known far and wide. Arataki "The World Number One" Itto."

"Then, do you know who I am?" Ryūhei replied. "My name is Niwa Ryūhei, 15 years old, almost 16 this year, my house is in the Chihu Rock section of Liyue Harbor, not married yet but already engaged. I'm a manga artist and I own companies in Liyue. I do a morning routine at 6 AM and work at 8 AM. I don't smoke or drink. I'm in bed by 11 PM and make sure my body is healthy. I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I'm trying to explain that I'm a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight I wouldn't lose to anyone."

Ryūhei didn't really know the Jojo plot. However, as an artist who often drew fanart, he knew a lot of characters from Jojo Bizarre Adventure. A lot of people also asked him to draw those characters on a livestream. So he wasn't unfamiliar with them.

On the other hand, he knew a lot of memes created from the Jojo anime. Since he thought it was quite amusing, he tried to introduce himself by imitating a villain from the Jojo anime.

"..." Itto couldn't respond since Ryūhei's introduction was kind of weird.

'How uncultured! Well, people in this world didn't know Jojo yet. It wasn't strange if people were uncultured. Ugh, why am I so hypocritical? I didn't know a lot about anime either.' Ryūhei said inwardly.

Meanwhile, Shinobu lit her eyes.

"You're from Liyue?"

"That's right. Anyway, I want to talk to you since I heard from Yanfei that you're a talented lawyer. How is it? I'll treat you two in the Komore Teahouse!"

Shinobu didn't know him at all although she had seen him before. And since Ryūhei knew Yanfei, she believed that he came from Liyue although his features were from Inazuma. In the end, she followed him to the Komore Teahouse.

"Oi, wait a moment!" Itto decided to follow them as well.

—————

As always, Jiu didn't pay attention to Ryūhei and the others while eating the snack slowly. It was a normal day for her.

Meanwhile, Ryūhei talked with Shinobu whether she could work for him or not. He would also help her to pick up her graduation certificate at the Tongwen Academy in Liyue.

"Isn't this nation locked down? How can you talk so lightly?"

"I just arrived in Inazuma yesterday, and I have my own way of getting in and out of this nation without the knowledge of the Shogun's army. Otherwise, how can I promise you that?" Ryūhei said nonchalantly.

Itto on the side could only look at them in silence. Although he was somewhat dumb, he knew he couldn't voice out anything in this kind of situation, unless he wanted to get beaten by Shinobu.

Seeing Shinobu contemplate for a minute without a sound, Ryūhei added.

"You said that you're from the Arataki Gang. If you agree, I'll pick some of them to work at my company. Of course, not at my companies in Liyue, but at Inazuma. But if you want to work at my company in Liyue, I'm still happy to welcome you, as long as the people of your gang pass the interview."

"You have a company here?"

"Hmmm. Not yet. But soon enough. I bet Lady Yae would find me soon enough regarding my intention to open a branch." As he finished saying that, he heard someone open the Komore Teahouse door.

"Speaking of the devil, she's here." Ryūhei said.

"???" Shinobu and Itto turned around but saw nothing. However, a moment later…

"I finally found you, little scoundrel!" Yae Miko appeared while showing her irritated expression.

Unbeknownst to Ryūhei, Shinobu and Itto flinched the moment they saw her. Well, it can't be helped. After all, she was a former shrine maiden and Miko was the head priestess. Meanwhile, Miko once pranked Itto by adding beans to the dish, knowing that Itto is allergic to them.

Yet, the weird thing was, how could Ryūhei know if Yae Miko came here without seeing her?

"Oya… It seems Miyuki's little sister is also here."

"Greetings, Lady Yae." Although she was somewhat nervous in front of Miko, she could still keep her composure by greeting her.

"Ufufu. You don't need to be so formal. This isn't a formal occasion anyway. More importantly, little scoundrel! I waited for you since yesterday, but you didn't come back at all. Are you gonna kill me with this manga's cliffhanger? Give me the next volume!"