Zhu Zi was stunned, seeing Kirara sitting in the living room, chatting with Xia Ci while sipping a cup of juice.
Xia Ci turned and smiled at Zhu Zi.
While Zhu Zi was upstairs, Xia Zhi had subtly tugged on Xia Ci's sleeve.
Xia Ci imdiately understood and started a conversation with Kirara.
As the forr Dendro Archon, she had a natural affinity for wild youkai born of nature.
This ability was sowhat similar to the hidden effect of Xia Zhi's [Radiant Wings] (initial favorability of Divine Beings is friendly, and favorability increases by 100%).
Plus, cats seed quite gullible—no, quite simple. With Xia Ci's excellent emotional intelligence and eloquence, she easily befriended Kirara in just a few words.
Inviting her to stay for lunch was a natural next step.
Zhu Zi walked over and handed the envelope to Kirara.
"Thank you for your trouble."
"No trouble at all! Thank you for choosing [Komaniya Express]!"
Zhu Zi paid the postage.
Chi Yu was squatting on the ground, poking the large package with her finger, curious.
"Zhu Zi, what did your parents send you? Can we open it and take a look?"
"Of course, it's probably just so local specialties."
"Specialties from Inazuma, huh?"
"Here, a letter, so dried plums, so dried fishes, a jar of sakura…"
"And a sweater! Your parents really care about you!"
"Hehe…"
Zhu Zi smiled and shared so of the snacks with everyone.
Compared to Xia Zhi's cooking, the taste of these ordinary foods was just average, but Shenhe seed to enjoy the dried plums, which were quite sour.
Zhu Zi handed the jar to Xia Zhi.
"Boss, this is sakura—cherry blossoms from the Sacred Sakura Tree at the Grand Narukami Shrine, preserved with salt. You can use it to make sakura mochi."
"Ah."
Xia Zhi took the jar, opened it with a smile, and his expression suddenly stiffened slightly.
He dipped his finger into the sakura.
At first glance, these were just ordinary red cherry blossoms.
Having been preserved with salt, they had lost their floral fragrance and instead carried a slightly fernted sourness.
This was normal for salted ingredients.
But in Xia Zhi's perception, these sakura had an unusual characteristic—he sensed a faint ripple of ti law within them.
This ripple was extrely weak, and if Xia Zhi hadn't been familiar with the power of ti law due to his [Hourglass of Ti], he might not have noticed it.
These were just fallen cherry blossoms. How could they be connected to the law of ti?
Xia Zhi found it strange.
He lifted his finger and tasted the sakura on it, carefully savoring it.
There was nothing particularly special about the flavor.
The power of ti law didn't seem to affect their taste at all.
"Boss, how is it?"
"Quite flavorful."
"Then let's make sakura mochi tonight!"
"Sure."
Xia Zhi smiled and nodded, closing the jar while subtly storing a bit of the sakura residue on his finger in his inventory.
He checked the item information.
[Salted Sakura]
Quality: Common.
Type: Consumable.
Traits: None.
Effect: Cherry blossom petals that have fallen from the Sacred Sakura Tree, preserved in salt using traditional thods.
Hidden Effect: None.
The system didn't provide any explanation for the ti law power within the sakura, simply classifying it as a common item.
However, the effect description specifically ntioned the "Sacred Sakura Tree"…
Xia Zhi pondered.
It seed the issue lay with that cherry blossom tree.
The Sacred Sakura Tree at the Grand Narukami Shrine, huh…
Since it's rare to encounter sothing related to ti, I'll visit the shrine when I travel to Inazuma.
After a while, Qiqi returned.
Granny Ping, Yaoyao, and the two Adepti—Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper—also ca along.
When Kirara saw them enter the shop, her body tensed up imdiately.
She seed to bristle like a cat, her entire deanor becoming nervous and uneasy.
The three seemingly kind elders gave her a sense of pressure, much like the pink-haired fox at the shrine.
They're… terrifying youkai!
Xia Ci suddenly reached out and patted Kirara's shoulder, smiling. "Don't be nervous. They're friends."
Kirara inexplicably felt her body relax.
Now, when she looked at the three, they seed like ordinary elders, and the two Adepti even looked a bit awkward, as if they were more nervous than she had been earlier.
Was… was it just her imagination?
"Oh!"
"Co, Yaoyao! Let introduce you to a Dendro big sister! This is Kirara!"
"Hello, Kirara! Yaoyao greets you!"
"Hello, Yaoyao!"
Xia Zhi greeted Granny Ping and the two Adepti, then returned to the kitchen with the jar of sakura.
After a while, Chi Yu went back and brought Hu Tao over.
Hu Tao, being naturally lively and outgoing, quickly struck up a conversation with Kirara.
"So you're a courier?"
"Yes."
"These days, courier services are so convenient… no need to bother adventurers with errands anymore."
"Mm, our company has a wide range of services. We can deliver packages between nations. Before, due to the Sakoku Decree, we mostly delivered within Inazuma, but recently the policy seems to have loosened a bit."
"Can you deliver anything?"
"Yes."
"That's perfect. I happen to have so docunts I need delivered to the construction site."
"Don't worry."
"Then after lunch, I'll go get them for you."
Yay, another new job!
Kirara was delighted.
When the hot pot was brought to the table, there was no need to worry about heating it—just place the three warm stones underneath the pot.
As everyone was setting the table, a voice ca from outside.
"It's so lively here."
"Lady Yuheng, what brings you here?"
"I'm here to see Xia Ci. There's a problem with the design blueprints."
"How could there be a problem with my blueprints… Never mind, let's talk after lunch. Have you eaten?"
"Not yet…"
"Then sit down and join us."
"This… alright."
Keqing, trying not to swallow her saliva as she slled the enticing aroma, walked over with a calm expression and sat down.
"Then I'll be intruding."
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