83. Terms

If Miko really had a way to defeat the Raiden Shogun, there was no reason to refuse. However, Ryūhei felt something wasn't right.

'Hold on! In order to hide my little secret, did she want me to agree with her condition, which would risk my life in exchange? Did she understand that I also want to stop Ei's ridiculousness that caused Inazuma to become like this, making her lure me into fighting Ei? What is this? She psychologically influenced my thinking due to the circumstances at Inazuma, almost making me agree with her term. Dang it! What she said might assure me, but the risk of dying is still there. If I agree with this, wouldn't it be a huge loss for me? What a fearsome woman.'

With that in mind, Ryūhei's gaze turned to Miko. Then, he said,

"Lady Yae, I'm afraid I can't agree with this term. Even though I hid my power, it doesn't mean I hid it forever. It's just that this isn't the time to display my true power yet due to a certain circumstance. Moreover, my power still pales in comparison to the Archon's. The term you laid out was too risky to just reveal my power in exchange."

Yae Miko chuckled at this. She understood this as well. In the first place, Yae Miko has a close relationship with the Yashiro Commission. Thus, it wasn't strange if she was close to the Kamisato clan and knew Ryūhei's past, except when he was in Liyue. The moment she knew that Ryūhei could be helpful after hearing that he could defeat a dragon, she decided to try. Too bad, she didn't know the extent of Ryūhei's power since Jiu was defeated in her weakened state. But from what he said, it seemed he wasn't confident against an Archon. And the risk was too big.

Ayato might have a plan, but his plan was likely to let Ayaka escape, because that was the duty of an older brother to his younger sister. After all, Ayato realistically believed that someone couldn't defeat a god.

On the other hand, if Miko let the situation at Inazuma be as it is now, sooner or later, Inazuma would be finished.

So, Miko needed to test Ryūhei in combat.

"Then, what do you want?" Miko asked.

Ryūhei didn't expect Miko would be easily convinced as if the woman in front of him wasn't Yae Miko. As expected, he didn't know what was in her mind, but this was his chance.

After all, he would confront the Raiden Shogun, or Ei, sooner or later. Because, if she didn't change her mind, he couldn't get any customers if he opened a branch in Inazuma. Who would bother to buy his manga, novels, or games if those customers were still suffering due to the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree?

And regarding how he would fight against Ei, he still needed to try something if Miko could drag him into Miko's realm of consciousness and needed more time to create more techniques to counter Ei. If he succeeded, then his chance of winning against Ei would be increased.

In summary, he would confront Ei the moment he had completely prepared.

After thinking it through, Ryūhei said,

"I plan to open a branch in Inazuma for my business. But since it's not possible to deal with buying land and building just because of my relationship with the Kamisato clan, how about you help me, Lady Yae?"

He had no plan to commit to selling his works under that circumstance at first. However, it would be good to have a base to monitor Inazuma from the dark while trying to find something amiss caused by the third party. In other words, the source of trouble. Perhaps, he could find the mystery of his clan's destruction as a part of the Raiden Gokaden, the decline of the Raiden Gokaden, and many more. Although he knew Ayato already did that already, the results were still unsatisfactory.

Apart from that, it was preparation in case something happened to the Tri-Commission at a later date. If the Tri-Commission is abolished, then Inazuma will need another organization to govern.

'Well, better to do it step by step.' Ryūhei said inwardly.

"A land and building to open a branch? So, instead of helping me to take care of the situation in Inazuma, you would rather run a business, huh?"

Miko stared at him intently. And Ryūhei stared back at her without a flinch while replying.

"I have my own reason."

Both of them said nothing while staring at each other for a few moments. After a while, Miko put a smirk on her face.

"Alright, you have my words, little scoundrel. I'll help you later." Miko slightly backed away from Ryūhei, then crossed her arms, making her twin peaks sway. "By the way, what kind of business are you running?"

Hearing her question, Ryūhei replied by taking a kind of book, then showing it to her.

"A novel?" Miko asked.

Ryūhei replied with a word.

"Similar."

He looked at Miko's reaction which was kinda surprising after seeing the cover illustration.

"Interested?" Ryūhei asked. "You can try to read, you know!"

What Ryūhei showed her was the first volume of Shokugeki no Sōma. Illustration of a boy serving a dish to a customer in a restaurant.

Before Miko flipped the cover, she turned to Ryūhei and asked,

"A story about cooking?"

Ryūhei nodded to reply. Then, she opened her mouth.

"Eh, this is kinda new. Indeed, there are books about dishes and recipes printed in magazines. But if what you said is true, this would be the first time there's been a story about cooking… Let me see!"

Miko flipped the manga, then started to read. She widened her eyes at first, but still continued to read. The more she read, the more fascinated she became.

And some time after that, she closed the manga. Seeing this, Ryūhei asked her.

"What do you think? This is called manga."

"Manga, huh? Who is the illustrator and the writer of this story?" Miko asked.

"The writer of a novel is called an author. However, the writer and/or the illustrator of manga is called a mangaka or manga artist. And the one who wrote and illustrated this manga is…" Ryūhei pointed at himself, telling Miko that he was the mangaka.

"Huh? You're not joking, aren't you?"

"Why should I? Everyone in Liyue knows about me. If you want, I can show you how I draw."

Miko widened her eyes, then covered her face as if she regretted something. Something like, if she knew his talent, she would chain him up inside the Yae Publishing House. But, it's too late now as he already has his own company.

"Did you run a company just to write this? To be honest, finding a novel author who only has writing and a story is still quite difficult. Yet, for your publishing company, isn't it even more difficult to find a mangaka? Not to mention you still need editors and stuff."

"Erm… I did it all by myself." Ryūhei scratched his hair while saying that.

It caused Miko to knit her brow.

"Hmmm??"

"There are 3 mangas and 2 novels currently. All new novels had their first volumes published. Shokugeki no Sōma manga had published its second volume, while the other two manga published their respective sixth volumes. My company was covered in the paper from the Steambird last month. Coincidentally, the reporter from the Steambird wanted to interview me today, but I declined because I returned to Inazuma. So I postponed the interview. If only the newspaper had gotten here, maybe you would have known about my company since last month." Ryūhei stated.

From what he said, Miko didn't see any lies in his words. But, it was somewhat unbelievable if what he said was true. He had only been in business for two months, yet the Steambird had already covered his company in the newspaper. Moreover, a total of 14 manga volumes and 2 novel volumes have already been published by him in the span of 2 months. And he did it by himself.

If the stories and graphics are superficial, maybe 14 volumes in 2 months are not impossible. But Miko had read several chapters of Shokugeki no Sōma. And all that was on her mind was only one word. "Incredible"

"Did you bring the other books?" Miko asked.

"Nope. If you want, I can bring them to you another time. More importantly, how about my terms earlier?"

"Hmmm, asking you to face the Raiden Shogun in exchange for hiding your secrets, land and building, and a combat program. Aren't you too greedy, little scoundrel?" She counted with her fingers slowly while asking him coldly. However, Ryūhei just shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm risking my life, okay!? Don't think that facing the Archon is easy! And I can only take action at least after I create new techniques to fight her."

If she didn't agree, then he would leave. Not caring whether she leaked his power to someone else or not. After all, he already got some information regarding Ei and how to defeat her. If she didn't help him, Ryūhei would ask Zhongli to pull him into Zhongli or someone's realm of consciousness to train.