Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

Going up the steps, you will be greeted by the old buildings and vast views of Inazuma Castle.

The falling crimson cherry blossoms continue the scent of the sun and wind, allowing the history of this place to emerge in every corner of vision.

"I always feel it's very quiet." said Zhe Li who caught up with the team.

Su Shilue frowned and nodded, "There's no one on the street. It's really different from the outlying islands."

"Oh, maybe everyone has transferred manpower to the shopping street." Hiiragi Chinana responded.

"Shopping street? You mean the shopping street in 'Tenryo'?" Zheli suddenly realized.

Climbing the steps from Hanamizaka, the lower district, leads to Tenryo, the upper district. As the name suggests, this is the territory governed by the gods themselves and is the undisputed heart of Inazuma Castle.

The most prosperous shopping street in Inazuma Castle will come into view the moment you step into Tenryo from Hanamizaka.

However, although there is a nominal distinction between the upper and lower urban areas, and a small river flowing down the mountain serves as the boundary between the two, in reality, the barriers are not as clear as they sound.

Most residents usually live in Hanamizaka, and there are some vendors and shops there. For example, they just passed by a blacksmith shop, where the sound of clanging and hammering could be heard constantly, and occasionally one could hear the old master giving the young blacksmith a few words of instruction.

But when it comes to more important livelihoods and the handling of various affairs in Inazuma Castle, commuting to Tenryo every day to work and do things is far more practical than staying in Hanamizaka just to be closer to home.

Deng blinked and asked, "But, isn't the festival going to be held at Hanamizaka?"

From the very beginning, Chinana had mentioned the name "Hanamizaka" more than once, and Deng had already imagined it countless times, and now he was truly amazed by its picturesque scenery. However, compared to Chinana's descriptions of "everyone bustling around" and "laughing happily," the leisurely street scene he saw, like a leisurely rural village, seemed a bit inconsistent.

So, the real bustling part of the city is actually further uptown?

"Yeah. Exactly. So right now, everyone in the shopping district is preparing to bring down the necessary supplies." China smiled and shook her finger. "We once had it in the far suburbs of Ganjin Island. Back then, we could only stay in Inazuma Castle. We saw those huge fireworks rising into the sky that night. It was so frustrating!"

Zhe Li asked curiously, "Can't we just do it in the shopping street?"

"Well," Qiannai was stunned for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "Tianling is the general's territory. No one has ever dared to make a noise in Tianling."

Although General Raiden entrusted the security of Tenryo and even the entire Inazuma region to the Tenryo Bugyo, in practice there was no significant difference between Tenryo and other regions. For example, the residents of Hanamizaka could travel freely between the upper and lower city areas on weekdays, but in any case, it was nominally a territory governed by the general himself.

From the top of the castle tower, the "eternal" god always watches over this land calmly, which makes people feel at ease but also wary and fearful.

Of course, even the distinction between Upper and Lower Town wouldn't escape the notice of an almighty deity. But sometimes, "tradition" can be crude and frivolous: In short, the people of Inazuma are now accustomed to making a living in Tenryo during the weekdays and returning to Hanamizaka for festivals.

"Is that so?" Zhe Li looked up at the towering castle tower.

In the land of Inazuma, it is a fact that the people live and work in peace and contentment, and are prosperous and self-reliant, which is indeed a fact that can be seen with the naked eye.

Apart from slightly stricter controls on unidentified foreigners (which was just as it should be), and the wanderers that existed in every era, the general public in cities and villages lived without worries, as if they had become completely accustomed to the long-term peace.

But their fear of the rulers is deep-rooted.

It seemed that the peace he had seen was merely a rare few hundred years of living in harmony with the people during the eternal rule of a tyrant for a thousand years.

...Or maybe he was just overthinking it.

The girls fell silent on the rest of the journey.

When they first visited Inazuma Castle, even though it was not as crowded and prosperous as they had imagined, the cherry trees in full bloom on the streets, the bright red petals falling in the wind, and the laughing children passing by were all unique colors in the scroll called Inazuma, which made them open their eyes wide and appreciate it.

After climbing the stairs for a long time, I finally crossed Hanamizaka and arrived at Tenryo.

Even before they officially crossed the dividing line, they could hear the bustling sounds of people coming from the shopping street. As expected, when they turned their heads, they saw a bustling atmosphere reminiscent of Tokyo's Ikebukuro shopping district, with so many people coming and going that they subconsciously didn't want to mingle.

Fortunately, their destination was not this shopping street.

After walking into a quieter alley and following the scenic trail for a while, the leading guard turned to Chinae and said,

"Second Miss, we're here."

"Thank you for your hard work." China tried to appear calm, perhaps imitating her older sister or father's usual demeanor.

Having completed his duty of leading the way, the guard nodded to Chinae once more and left.

China turned to everyone and said, "This is the Mokuro Tea House. Miss Linghua should be waiting for us inside."

"Oh, is this Miss China? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Just as China was about to say something else to everyone, a woman who had been standing guard at the door came forward.

Her slightly cold gaze swept across each person, pausing for a moment on Zhe Li's face before moving away. She smiled and said to Qiannai, "The eldest lady is waiting in the room. Please come in and have a chat."

"Thank you, Sister Shao." Chinana smiled broadly at her, then turned back to everyone and said, "Everyone, let's go in."

Strangers are taken in to quiet teahouses in the corners of bustling cities.

●

what.

"Meow?" The kitten squatted under the eaves and blinked.

Why did he become like this in Inazuma Castle today?

Could it be that Mr. Zhe Li has also arrived in the city?

She shook her small body and peeked at the bustling shopping street through the narrow gap.

If she were in human form, she wouldn't mind blending in with the crowd and sharing in their joy. But now she had shrunk back into her kitten form, and if she tried to blend into the streets, she was just waiting to be kicked and thrown over.

Fortunately, the clothes she was wearing were also sealed into this small body, otherwise she would have to find a place to hide the clothes.

Qi Liangliang moved nimbly through the city. She had already realized that only when she was very close to Zheli would she lose control of her body. She could simply try to transform back into human form in a different location, sensing the loosening of her stagnant demonic energy, and thus determine that Zheli was no longer nearby.

Well, not here. Not here either...

She remembered that she had heard in Nascita before that Zheli and the others would also participate in the festival of Hanamizaka this time. She ran from Tianling to Hanamizaka, but still couldn't find any clues. The warm sun even made her snore a little.

That won’t do. We still have some express deliveries to make today!

She pressed her little face with her paws, trying to cheer herself up.

"……Um?"

Tap, tap. A shadow blocked out the sunlight, accompanied by a questioning call.

Qi Liangliang raised her head and saw a girl holding a few pieces of cloth looking at her with her head down.

"Qiliangliang, why did you change back to this appearance?"

Chapter 61: Chiori

"Or not."

The girl threw the torn pages of the book covered with patterns aside, sighed, and sat down on the grass.

As she walked out of the house, the colors of the fabric in her hands still made her heart beat fast.

This time, I will definitely be able to find a better design direction——

But since some time ago, Inazuma's opportunities to collect materials in the wild have become increasingly scarce.

Often, she simply enjoyed the rare quiet away from the crowds, clearing away the dark clouds of rebuke from her teacher. But after calming down, she glanced down at the design sketches in her hand, and saw nothing compared to when she first set out. At best, she'd copied a few more scenes.

She hugged her knees, looked up at the quiet and peaceful Inazuma sky, and after a long, long time, she slowly closed her eyes.

The pitch-black vision failed to give her complete peace, but instead countless images flashed before her eyes.

……

The girl's name is "Chiori" and she is a fashion designer and tailor.

Although at present, it is just a "self-proclaimed" level.

I don’t know how many tailors have given up on teaching her.

Ever since she first touched fabric, first learned about tailoring, and first felt that perhaps this was what she was pursuing for the future - soft touch, wonderful colors, just a piece of fabric lying flat on the table, but it seemed to be able to inspire an entire changing ocean.

Since then, she has driven away countless tailoring teachers!

Before she came into contact with tailoring, as a child of a merchant family, Qianzhi had tried countless skills, whether it was tea ceremony, flower arrangement, or kendo. However, it was not because she was naturally talented or able to apply what she had learned to other areas. It was simply that she had been free and extremely "naughty" in her laissez-faire education since she was a child, and she never gave a good face to the famous masters who were invited to teach her.

Teacher after teacher gave up on teaching her, and knowledge in one field after another was repeatedly placed in front of her.

But she had never been interested in those boring things. Even when learning swordsmanship, she refused to follow the teacher's eight-phase formation, and instead picked up a knife without authorization, shouting, "This will double the damage!"

But the parents didn't think much of it. They thought it was just their child's personality.

When Chihiro was a child, she thought this was natural, but now she is beginning to feel that her parents are a little too permissive towards her.

Of course, this wasn't a criticism, but rather gratitude. She was immensely grateful to her parents for always being willing to accommodate her willfulness until she had finally found a career she was willing to devote her life to, rather than embarking on a life of mediocrity and fruitlessness along the way.

and……

Even if she could go back to her childhood with her memories, she believed that she would still be such a "willful" child.

"Hmph." The girl opened her eyes. Her eyes, sharp as knives, seemed to be able to pierce the sky.

Ever impatient since childhood, she could only calm down and study the world between stitches when she encountered needlework. Even so, this didn't mean her personality changed drastically. She simply had infinite patience for the world of tailoring, but that didn't mean she would tolerate the advice of old scholars.

They keep calling it a "historical masterpiece" and "Inazuma tradition"...

For them, it seems that just making a piece of clothing that was recorded on yellowed pages of a book hundreds of years ago is a very, very remarkable thing.

But what's the point?

Who can't do it just by reading from the script?

Obviously, if she only needed to learn a few techniques from the lapels worn by the Fontaine people, take some materials from the silk spun by the Liyue people, and weave some patterns with reference to the literature of the Xumi people, she could add an unprecedented flavor to the ordinary clothing of the Inazuma people. However, while the teacher was obviously amazed by her creation, he still completely rejected her design.

The reason was simple. She now understood it completely.

These masters who have enjoyed fame, wealth and high status simply do not want to do anything "deviant".

For example, accepting as a student a young, hot-headed, and ignorant boy who despises tradition, has lofty ambitions, and attempts to defeat the long-standing Inazuma aesthetics on his own.

"Boring." She sighed.

Thinking about it now, her name "Qizhi" seems to be a prophecy.

Only by weaving thousands of needles and threads can she pierce the burning wind called "unchanging" that hangs over Inazuma.

But now she is still far from...

"gone back."

Anyway, even if I continue to stay here, I won’t have any new inspiration, and my mood, which has finally gotten better, will become worse again.

Holding the cherished fabric tightly, a faint smile finally appeared on the corners of her tense mouth: these Liyue silks that she accidentally found on the outlying island last time really made her love them, and she even imagined in her dreams what shapes they could be cut into.

But precisely because of her high expectations, Qianzhi cannot accept these half-baked designs in her hands.

"I have to do better," she said to herself in the fragrant breeze.

●

After a walk back to Inazuma Castle from the White Fox Field, Hanamizaka was much quieter today than usual.

Chiori, who had been secluded in the private school for a long time and had finally regained her freedom after being expelled from the school, stood under a tree and thought for a moment before she remembered that the summer festival would be held in Inazuma Castle in a few days.

My father once mentioned that a batch of dyes from Konda Village would be sent to the Naganohara Fireworks Shop for this festival.

I wonder what interesting fireworks the Naganohara family will make this time.

Compared to the various snack and game stalls that are pretty much the same every year, only the fireworks display can make Chizhi perk up a little and enjoy it.

Then the girl set out on her journey home.

This time I have to explain to my mother how I was expelled from the sect...

"Huh?" She was walking absent-mindedly, and suddenly caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

It was a cat, but it was no ordinary cat.

About a year ago, she had just started learning tailoring. It was a period of rapid growth when she felt that every flower, grass and tree was a world of her own and everything she saw could be transcribed into her designs as inspiration.

At that time, the kitten often appeared in the wild like her, and was particularly interested in the cloth in her hand.

Later she found out that the kitten was not only interested in cloth, but in everything in the human world.

Because she is a little kitten who inexplicably found a livelihood in the city.

A monster who loves the human world so much that he would rather work hard to live in the city!

Whether she was a cat or a human, she was always lively and even noisy. She liked to touch things here and there. She was like a girl with curiosity incarnate. Her eyes, full of interest, never changed.

However, ever since he was able to transform into a human form, Chizhi rarely saw him return to his former cat form.

"Qiliangliang, why did you become like this again?" She walked closer to the kitten and asked curiously.

"……what."