Chapter 24: The Kamisato Siblings
Tn: This chapter is re-written at 5 / 20 / 2025
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The moment her brother uttered the name "Master Masakatsu," Ayaka's composure wavered for a split second.
Her fan served well—not only as a gesture of elegance, but also as a tool to mask her unease.
That man… Master Masakatsu... was no ordinary craftsman.
As a highly reputed artisan in Hanamizaka, he possessed a skill so rare, so forbidden, that most wouldn't even believe it existed—
The ability to forge Vision replicas.
Though these fakes lacked the divine blessing that allowed for communion with elemental energy, they were otherwise near-perfect counterfeits, indistinguishable from the real thing to the untrained eye.
After the Vision Hunt Decree was enforced, many Vision bearers avoided capture by using Masakatsu's forgeries.
So now, hearing her brother bring up that name…
"I was wondering who'd be bold enough to risk making counterfeit Visions during these times... So it was your handiwork, Oniisama?" Ayaka said softly, folding her fan with a subtle snap.
She'd already begun to connect the dots.
With the support of one of the Tri-Commission—especially the Yashiro Commission, led by the Kamisato Clan—it made perfect sense that Masakatsu dared to take such a risk.
"Careful, Ayaka. We shouldn't speak so carelessly," Ayato replied smoothly. "As the head of the Kamisato Clan, how could I possibly do something that defies the Raiden Shogun's will?"
His words were carefully chosen, but the faint smile playing at the corner of his lips confirmed Ayaka's suspicions.
He may look young and mild-mannered, but as head of the Kamisato Clan, Ayato had waded through schemes and rivalries that few could imagine.
The clan's return to prominence from near-ruin had been in no small part due to his strategy and subtle maneuvering.
"These names, then…" Ayaka looked again at the list on the table. Her guess came quickly.
"You're right. That's a record of everyone who's purchased a counterfeit Vision from Master Masakatsu—so far."
At that, Ayaka's usually serene face betrayed a flicker of shock.
Vision bearers were often the most powerful individuals in all of Teyvat.
While it was true that a few exceptional mortals had grown strong without them, most elite fighters possessed Visions.
Yet not all of them served nations or joined organizations.
Especially in a region like Inazuma, with its tradition of the wandering Ronin, many powerful Vision holders lived quietly in the shadows—ordinary lives, far from the eyes of the state.
This list… it wasn't just a collection of names.
It was a map to Inazuma's hidden strength—a key to reaching powerful independents, people who might otherwise never come into contact with the Kamisato Clan.
Such connections could shift the future of the Yashiro Commission entirely.
And with both the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions growing increasingly uncooperative, the time might soon come when the Yashiro Commission could break the three-way stalemate and rise above the rest.
Her brother wasn't just playing politics.
He was playing a game of grand strategy.
"…But these are just details," Ayato said suddenly, almost casually.
He pushed aside the list—an item others might treat as a priceless trove—and picked up another document instead.
This one was simple. Just a name, printed neatly across the top.
"Bai Luo?"
Beneath the name was a small mark—the symbol for the Anemo element.
Which meant: Bai Luo had purchased an anemo-element counterfeit Vision.
"Right. I remember Masakatsu mentioning it once—back when he tried to expand to overseas markets," Ayato explained with a smile. "Only one foreigner ever showed interest in his fakes. He remembered this one clearly."
It was through tracking illicit Vision shipments abroad that Ayato's network—the Shuumatsuban—first came into contact with Masakatsu.
"Bai Luo…" Ayaka murmured.
The name rang oddly familiar, though she was certain she had never met anyone by that name.
Yet despite not recalling meeting anyone named Bai Luo, the name tugged at her memory—like a whisper from some forgotten rumor.
"…Kujou."
Resting his chin atop a fist, Ayato spoke lightly—but the name "Kujou" dropped like a stone in still water.
The moment the Kujou clan was mentioned, Ayaka's eyes lit with realization.
Recently, rumors about Kujou Sara had been swirling in the capital.
As the Shirasagi Himegimi of the Yashiro Commission, Ayaka had naturally interacted with Sara before. She knew her well.
Stern. Loyal. Righteous.
There was no way the Kujou general would ever behave as the rumors claimed.
So Ayaka had dismissed it all as baseless gossip and hadn't paid it any mind.
But now, piecing it together…
The man rumored to be romantically involved with Kujou Sara… wasn't his name Bai Luo?
"…Are you suggesting that they're the same person?" Ayaka asked, voice low, folding her fan with a quiet snap.
In Inazuma City, little was known about this Bai Luo.
Most people assumed from his name alone that he hailed from Liyue.
But what really drew attention… was his Vision.
During the height of the Vision Hunt Decree, this man brazenly wore a Dendro Vision at his waist.
Many who opposed the decree took a perverse interest in speculating:
If the Raiden Shogun were to covet Bai Luo's Vision, would Kujou Sara carry out her duty… even if it meant turning on the man rumored to be close to her?
That thought led Ayaka to another point.
"Oniisama… Didn't you say Bai Luo purchased a fake Anemo Vision?"
"Yes."
"But the one he's wearing now is Dendro, isn't it?"
Exactly.
The man tied to Kujou Sara—a man who paraded around with a Dendro Vision—was supposedly the same one who had purchased an Anemo counterfeit.
Had her brother made a mistake?
Ayato's usual calm gave way to a rare seriousness.
"That's where things get complicated."
The moment Bai Luo arrived in Inazuma, Ayato had caught wind of it.
He'd worked with the Head Shrine Maiden and sent out the Shuumatsuban to gather intel.
So he was absolutely certain—the man known as Bai Luo, an envoy from Snezhnaya, was the very one who had once purchased the fake Vision.
But if he already had a real Dendro Vision, the Anemo counterfeit was meaningless.
So why buy it at all?
As Ayato puzzled over this contradiction, another shadow entered the scene:
The Eccentric One.
A wanderer clad like a vagrant—a figure once recorded in the Kamisato archives.
Though Ayato had officially halted any investigation into the man at the Head Shrine Maiden's suggestion, he'd still used his own channels to keep tabs on him.
And then came whispers…
Movements from Yashiori Island.
From Thoma's reports, after the Kanjou Commission allied with the Fatui, they began transporting large quantities of Crystal Marrow to the island.
What's more, that island held the remains of the defeated god—Orobashi.
This reminded Ayato of something else:
Delusions.
The Fatui never truly hid their existence—but they also never released any real data about them.
To the general public, Delusions were shrouded in mystery.
All people knew was that they mimicked Vision-like powers—at the cost of one's life.
Some whispered that the materials used to forge them included the remnants of dead gods.
Could it be…?
Could the Fatui have borrowed Masakatsu's methods of crafting fake Visions—to refine their Delusions?
Could Yashiori Island itself be hiding a Delusion production workshop?