Reisen Riou didn't linger on Ritou's port, flashing toward the Grand Narukami Shrine and Tenryou Commission via Glimmer Technique.
As expected, he was the latest Shrine Guardian to arrive. Even Watatsumi Island's Divine Priestess, second-to-last, beat him by two days.
Barring those excused or tied up, all Shrine Guardians were present.
He hit the Tenryou Commission first, then the Grand Narukami Shrine.
This year, things were calm—no surprise attacks. Maybe the Dark Sea's fugitive demon gods didn't always strike during the Narukami Festival. Or perhaps the assault had passed, and Reisen Riou, the slacker, dodged the draft.
Whatever the reason, he savored the festival. This time, it drew many foreigners, especially Khaenri'ahns, flooding Ritou's port.
Locals whispered of a Khaenri'ahn delegation seeking a Shogunate project. Munching skewers, Reisen Riou edged closer to eavesdrop.
No need for direct snooping. With a finger flick, he conjured a hand-crafted listening device near two Khaenri'ahn tech officials. A swipe by his ear summoned an earpiece, tuned to catch their chatter clearly.
Thanks to his alchemy studies and Teyvat Common Knowledge LV6, Khaenri'ahn tongue posed no challenge.
They discussed building a "tilling machine." Reisen Riou perked up—Khaenri'ah entering mechanized farming? If they sold it, he'd buy one for fun and expand the shrine's fields.
But something felt off about their tiller, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
Eavesdropping revealed their project involved Inazuma's Amethyst Ore and Crystal Marrow. Talks had stalled—the Shogunate refused to grant large shares.
These resources fueled Inazuma's unique forging. Narukami's leaders, no fools, wouldn't hand over heaps of rare materials.
Reisen Riou figured a small request might pass, but a tiller's name screamed high demand. No deal.
Seeing no further intel, he approached, retrieving his listening device, and resumed festival strolling. Let Narukami's bigwigs handle geopolitics—he'd enjoy the festival and forge his personal terminal later.
His terminal wasn't just for power-building; it was for data. As a High Elemental Leader, his memory and processing surged.
Before, daily tasks used 1% of his memory, his database and runtime data took 25%, and body control systems grabbed 20%—45% total, leaving 55% free.
Post-breakthrough, despite upgraded body systems, free memory hit 83%. Runtime memory: 12 billion TB. Storage: 900 billion TB.
His runtime lagged other High Elemental Leaders, but it normalized his talent—no extra hurdles for sword or spear training.
His storage dwarfed others (like Reisen Anko) by over a hundredfold.
The jump from 45% to 17% used memory spooked him, though. The emptiness demanded data to fill his database.
His 5+ TB terminal and server blueprints barely eased the itch.
Nibbling snacks—parsing every spice used—the Narukami Festival kicked off.
With the crowd, Reisen Riou glimpsed Narukami's figure—a clone, no doubt. The real one was off playing.
He eyed this year's "big chump"—Narukami's attendant general. Last time, it was the Oni Torachiyo. This time, a human Archon-tier general.
A familiar figure trailed the general. Reisen Riou squinted, eyes morphing to zoom in. Yep—Reisen Anko, a new Shrine Guardian, roped into attendant duty.
He snickered. Most saw it as an honor, but insiders knew better. The human general, stone-faced, marched dutifully. Anko, visibly grumpy, trudged behind the bigshots.
Her sharp senses locked onto his familiar aura in the crowd.
Spotting his grin, she shot a heart-voice: "Laughing so hard? We'll settle this later."
She couldn't refuse Narukami's orders, though.
Reisen Riou froze. I'm toast.
Time to bolt to Hanamizaka. He'd borrow the Ameno family's forge to craft his terminal's forgeable parts.
The rest, he'd hand-craft to test.
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