The girl’s long, snow-white hair was tied into a high ponytail, with a thick, blunt fringe resting above her ash-blue eyes, and a tear mole at the corner of her left eye. She wore a gradient-blue haori and a dark blue pleated skirt, her chest and abdomen encased in black armor, with connected skirt armor covering the sides of her attire.
"Greetings, Miss Kamisato," Youying said, cupping his hands slightly in salute after recognizing the newcomer.
The person who had arrived was none other than the young miss of the Kamisato Clan—Kamisato Ayaka.
"No need for such formal courtesies," Ayaka said, offering a slight bow in return. "I greatly admire your courage, sir. Since you are in need, I am willing to lend you my deck in a personal capacity."
"Thank you very much, Miss Kamisato," Youying said once more, accepting the card box from Ayaka.
The card box was entirely ice-blue, embroidered with white egret patterns. It seemed to have been custom-made specifically for the young miss of the Kamisato Clan.
"I never expected to run into Ayaka here by chance," Youying muttered to himself inwardly.
While meeting Kamisato Ayaka here might have been a coincidence, Kamisato proactively lending her deck to him just now was definitely intentional, rather than just the polite excuse she had made it out to be.
Admiring his courage? Not even a stray dog would believe a reason like that. (What? You're a clever dog from the mountains? Never mind then.)
Youying refused to believe that Ayaka didn't recognize him. Even though he had been staying at the Grand Narukami Shrine all this time without stepping outside, Sayu had seen him quite a few times.
What was Sayu's identity? A ninja of the Shuumatsuban, the Kamisato Clan's direct special operations force! A man who suddenly appeared at the Grand Narukami Shrine and seemed to have a deep connection with Yae Miko—certainly, a dossier on him had long since been compiled and placed before the sisters of the Kamisato Clan for review.
So this meeting now: was it an accidental encounter that prompted her to make contact and test the waters?
"Where on earth does this guy get all this romantic luck..."
"Yeah, seriously. To think he could actually get the young miss of the Kamisato Clan to actively strike up a conversation with him."
Overhearing the whispering crowd around them, Youying quickly formulated a plan and spoke loudly to Kamisato Ayaka.
"I cannot possibly repay Miss Kamisato's kindness. If Miss Ayaka doesn't mind, I would be more than willing to sell that holofoil card to Miss Kamisato at a preferential price. I wonder what Miss Kamisato thinks of this proposal?"
By doing this, he gave Ayaka a convenient cover story for her initiative in approaching him—she was simply after the rare card.
He would make some money, and at the same time help Ayaka avoid any unnecessary gossip or rumors about a man and a woman. Earning a little less money in exchange for the favor of the young miss of the Kamisato Clan was hardly a loss.
Upon hearing Youying's sudden remark, Ayaka was momentarily startled, but being a clever person herself, she quickly caught on, her gaze carrying a hint of gratitude and approval.
"In that case, I must thank you, sir, for parting with it. May I ask your esteemed name?"
"My name is Youying."
"Hey, are you two done borrowing cards? Can we start already?" Sanjela interrupted rudely, highly displeased that these two hadn't even started their match yet and were already discussing business as if his prize card already belonged to them.
"You brat, just you wait. I'll show you how I'm going to deal with you," Sanjela cursed viciously in his mind.
"Hold on, let me pick a simple deck." Youying began to briefly flip through the card box.
He had to admit, the young miss of the Kamisato Clan truly lived up to her name. The cards in the box were practically complete. Genius Invokation TCG seemed to have just been released in this version, with characters mostly limited to those from Mondstadt. After putting together a simple starter deck commonly used for PvE, Youying was ready.
(The match is glossed over briefly, please bear with it, as I really don't know how to play Genius Invokation TCG very well.)
"So this was the method he used to resolve it?"
For a roadside character with the skill level of an NPC, Youying naturally didn't take much effort to deal with him.
After just two or three rounds, his opponent was already well within Youying's kill range.
"Go down!"
With Youying's final throw of the elemental dice, he unleashed Diluc's Elemental Burst, ruthlessly taking down Sanjela's last character.
"This..." Sanjela was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
He never would have imagined that here in Inazuma, practically a beginner's village, where he had been lording it over everyone and sweeping all before him over the past couple of days, he was now being beaten like an absolute novice.
"Thanks a lot." After securing his victory, Youying put his cards back into the card box and neatly stashed them away, then snatched up the holofoil card and the Mora left on the side.
"Watch yourself next time~"
Hearing these words, Sanjela—who had already suffered a devastating loss—felt a fresh surge of anger rise within him, almost sweetening his throat as he nearly spat a mouthful of blood.
"You people are simply too vicious!"
"Mission accomplished, Miss Kamisato."
Ignoring Sanjela completely, Youying stood up, turned to Kamisato Ayaka, and handed the card box back to her.
"Mr. Youying's card-playing skills are truly remarkable. Even though you only used the most basic starter deck, you managed to play it with considerable strength, Mr. Youying."
"Not at all. I merely took advantage of having gotten my hands on the game a little earlier. Miss Kamisato is brilliant; I'm sure that after playing for a few more days, you'll easily surpass me."
After exchanging a few polite, flattering remarks, Kamisato Ayaka smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Not at all. I wonder if Mr. Youying has any free time left today? There are still some techniques regarding Genius Invokation TCG that I would like to consult you about."
"I have no objections to the afternoon. Since Miss Kamisato honors me with such an invitation, how could I possibly refuse?" Youying agreed with a smile.
Following that, Youying accompanied Ayaka up to the third floor of the Komore Teahouse, walking all the way to a private room tucked away in the very back.
Judging by its size, this must have been one of the largest private rooms in the Komore Teahouse, seemingly reserved exclusively for the Kamisato Clan rather than being open to the general public.
Youying casually took in his surroundings as he settled into a seat.
Ayaka personally poured a cup of tea for Youying and placed it before him.
"To be able to drink tea poured by Miss Kamisato's own hands—I suppose today is my lucky day."
"Please forgive me for what happened just now, Mr. Youying. I acted out of a momentary curiosity; I hope I haven't inconvenienced you too much."
As expected, the very first topic of conversation after sitting down had nothing to do with card games.
"It's no trouble at all. I genuinely needed to borrow a deck at the time, and I am more than grateful that Miss Kamisato was willing to lend a hand." Youying took a light sip of tea. "Besides, I suppose it's no surprise that the Kamisato Clan would take an interest in someone who practically appeared out of thin air at the Grand Narukami Shrine."
"Hehe, today's presumptuous intrusion was entirely my own personal whim, Mr. Youying, and has nothing to do with the Kamisato Clan," Ayaka said softly. "As long as you pose no threat to Inazuma, neither the Kamisato Clan, nor Inazuma itself, nor even the Lady Shogun would take action against a foreigner appearing here. Besides, the Lady Guuji is right by your side, is she not?"
"..." Youying didn't take the bait or comment on any future plans, simply taking another sip of tea.
"Still, meeting you today truly was a coincidence, and I never expected Mr. Youying to possess such card skills." Ayaka broke the awkward silence once more. "Might I ask where you are from, sir? Judging by your speech and appearance, you must be from Liyue?"
"Miss Kamisato, please just call me by my name, Youying. Addressing me as 'sir' is really far too much to bear," Youying replied. "I am indeed from Liyue. I used to live alone in the outskirts not far from Liyue Harbor. A while ago, I wanted to head out to do some business and look around the world, but on the way to Inazuma, our ship ran into an accident. When I woke up, I was already at the Grand Narukami Shrine. I assume that while I was drifting at sea, I must have just happened to be fished out by the Lady Guuji and brought back to the shrine."
"I see," Ayaka nodded. "In return, please feel free to call me Ayaka as well, Mr. Youying."
"Uh... let's stick with Miss Ayaka, if you don't mind. Honestly, directly addressing a girl I've only just met by her first name feels like quite a challenge for me," Youying said, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile, though he didn't refuse the young lady's kind offer.
"It's quite alright; do as you please, Youying." Ayaka didn't press the matter or make things difficult for him. "That being the case, I suppose I understand why you've been staying at the Grand Narukami Shrine all this time. If you ever encounter any difficulties, you are more than welcome to come to the Kamisato Estate to find me. Hmm... how about serving as my Genius Invokation TCG mentor and sparring partner?"
What a warm, kind-hearted girl who was so considerate of others' pride, Youying thought, feeling so moved he was practically on the verge of tears.
Ayaka was simply too thoughtful; she was probably worried he wouldn't be able to swallow his pride and ask for money outright, so she had deliberately found an excuse to give him.
"If I have free time later, I will certainly come by to pay you a visit," Youying smiled. "Meeting Miss Ayaka today is a genuine stroke of fate. That holofoil card I won earlier is of no use to me anyway, so I'd like to present it to Miss Kamisato as a small souvenir. What do you think?"
"How could I possibly accept such a valuable item so casually?" Ayaka gently shook her head. "Besides, downstairs you already agreed to sell it to me, Mr. Youying. Turning around and giving it to me as a personal favor simply won't do."
"Very well... in that case, how about twenty thousand Mora?" Youying chuckled and shook his head helplessly.
"Deal."
Resisting the urge to give it a sniff, Youying took the bag of Mora—which carried a faint, lingering fragrance—that Ayaka had pulled from her pocket, and tucked it into his robe.