SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 56 out, this is Chapter 57 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Pairings: Albedo/Sucrose, Zhongli/Mitsuko/Kazuha, One-sided Diluc/Mitsuko, One-sided Diluc/Jean

Disclaimers: Genshin Impact and Sailor Moon belong to miHoYo and Takeuchi Naoko-sensei respectively. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except the plot, I hope.

Chapter 57: Teyvat Arc: The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia, Part Six

"According to Miss Kamisato, the second one who lost their Vision is a samurai from the Tenryou Commission." Paimon noted as the Traveler headed to the suburbs of Inazuma City. "They say the Tenryou Commission is directly controlled by the shogun. They're the ones responsible for maintaining law and order in Inazuma — the ones actually enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree. But why would they take action against one of their own? Paimon doesn't get it... Huh? There seems to be some commotion over there, let's go see what's happening!"

"I'll ask one more time." Oomori pressed. "Do you intend to withhold this month's emergency provisions?"

"The entire clan is counting on that food." Yuuya insisted. "We demand an explanation!"

"How many times do I have to say it." Kurosawa shook his head. "I don't know anything about emergency provisions."

"You dare deceive us!" Oomori snapped. "Those provisions are essential, do you understand? Not some goods to be pocketed by greedy samurai!"

"You samurai think that you can just do whatever you please!?" Yuuya glared. "The Tenryou Commission will hear of this!"

"Emergency provisions... like emergency food?" the Traveler cut in.

"And who are you?" Oomori turned to the Traveler. "One of Kurosawa's gang, no doubt?"

"We just happened to be passing by." Paimon refuted. "We heard the commotion and came to see what the matter was."

"You seem to have come just at the right time." Oomori nodded. "Perhaps you can help us settle this matter. This is Kurosawa, he's a samurai and a member of the Shogun's Army. They issue emergency provisions to the area, and he's the one responsible for distribution. In the past, we'd simply ask him for provisions and everything would be delivered. Now, he suddenly refuses to give us anything! He's keeping the provisions for himself, I just know it! We'll starve without them!"

"No one seems to care about us." Yuuya sighed. "We used to think Kurosawa was a kind man, but he's shown his true colors. He's the same as all the other samurai. It's no wonder all the Visions have been confiscated. The Raiden Shogun doesn't need people like him helping her rule the nation."

"This must be one of the people Ayaka asked us to help." Paimon noted. "But why would she ever want us to help someone like him? Maybe we should talk to Kurosawa and see what he has to say."

"I've never even heard of these emergency provisions!" Kurosawa told the Traveler. "I don't know whether it's rumors or whether they're trying to blackmail me, but either way it's ridiculous. If I was hoarding supplies, would I still be the poor man I am today? My own family can barely get by as it is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got other matters to attend to."

"We heard that you lost your Vision recently." the Traveler pointed out.

"That's the first bit of truth I've heard all day." Kurosawa admitted. "The Shogun's Army told me that I was unworthy of my Vision — they said I was slacking off in my work. Apparently, I'd even disappointed the Raiden Shogun. That's why they confiscated my Vision."

"That's strange, you were helping enforce the Vision Hunt Decree." Paimon stated. "Why would you be unworthy of your Vision?"

"To be perfectly honest... I don't seem to remember the details." Kurosawa confessed. "All I know is that I would perform certain things every month, but I don't recall what they were. And it's not just that... I have this unsettling feeling like... someone owes me something."

"Does it have to do with the missing emergency provisions?" Paimon wondered.

"I didn't take any!" Kurosawa insisted. "Like I said, if I was taking them for myself, I wouldn't be going through such hard times right now. To top it all off, my house was just raided by Treasure Hoarders, which is why I came here in the first place. I was chasing after them when I got held up by these two. If you don't believe me, go find the Treasure Hoarders yourself! If there were any emergency provisions to be had, they would've found them."

"He seems to be telling the truth." Paimon mused. "But we'd better confirm. Let's go round up those Treasure Hoarders and see what they have to say. We should be able to follow their tracks. They couldn't have gone too far."

By the riverbank...

"We really outdid ourselves this time!" Ken bragged. "All those samurai houses packed with goods! We really hit the jackpot. I mean, besides that one house..."

"You haven't seen anything yet, there'll be a lot more where this came from!" Tadao declared. "Today's just the beginning. I'll be leading you all on an epic journey of pillage and plunder that will go down in hoarder history!"

"These seem like the Treasure Hoarders we're after." Paimon remarked. "Let's teach 'em a lesson!"

"There goes all the Mora." Ken whined after the Traveler defeated them. "We worked hard to steal that, ya know!"

"Not bad, kid." Tadao stammered. "Y—You ever think of joining the Treasure Hoarders? We could use someone like you."

"Forget it." the Traveler huffed. "Tell us all you know about Kurosawa."

"Kurosawa?" Tadao echoed. "Oh... I remember. So, he's the one who sent you after us, huh? Just our luck: I knew we shouldn't have hit that place."

"So, what did you see inside?" Paimon demanded. "Was it stuffed with food supplies?"

"Food supplies?" Tadao echoed. "You kidding? That place was a complete mess. All we found was a strange—looking box, hopefully with valuables inside. I didn't want anyone else to see it, so I was planning on opening it myself once we got back. But now that you've caught us, how about we make a deal? That little box for our freedom. Whaddya say?"

"You've got a deal." Paimon agreed. "Now show us what's in the box!"

"There's nothing in here but IOUs!" Gou exclaimed, seeing the stack of papers in the box.

"A lot of them, too..." Paimon added. "And they all seem to be made out to the owner of a general goods store, a Miss Aoi. We're talking tons of Mora here! We'd better go talk to this Miss Aoi and get to the bottom of this. As for you guys, you're free to go. Just pray that our paths don't cross again!"

At Tsukumomono Groceries...

"Welcome to Tsukumomono Groceries, we've got everything you need." Aoi greeted the Traveler. "Can I help you find something? Or perhaps... there's something you want to inquire about?"

"About these IOUs..." the Traveler started.

"So, you're friends of Kurosawa, I take it?" Aoi remarked. "Perhaps you're here to pay off his debts?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Paimon backpedaled. "We're just here to learn where they all came from. How did Kurosawa end up owing you so much money? Did he buy anything super—expensive here?"

"Let me think..." Aoi recalled. "Kurosawa would come regularly to purchase large quantities of foodstuffs. He'd always put the payment on his own account. However, the price of provisions began to skyrocket recently, and his salary was no longer enough to cover the cost. So, he started writing out IOUs to cover whatever he couldn't afford of the usual amount."

"So that's how he was getting those emergency provisions." Paimon mused. "But why did he have to purchase a 'usual' amount? If the prices increased, couldn't he just buy less?"

"If you think about it, the citizens receiving the emergency provisions must have been carefully calculating how much they needed to sustain them each time." Aoi rationalized. "Kurosawa thought that it would be quite the disappointment for them if they found they didn't have enough. Especially after such long and careful planning. So, he deemed it necessary to take on the debt rather than let the people down."

"Kurosawa was purchasing all the emergency provisions at his own expense." Paimon was awed by the samurai's integrity. "And no one ever appreciated what he did. They just complained and held him accountable."

"People's attitudes will always reflect their circumstances." Aoi stated. "In the face of hardship, nobody cares to think twice. If you ask me, had Kurosawa told everyone the truth about the supplies from the start, then there wouldn't be such a severe backlash now. Of course, I'm sure there would still have been some unrest. What he was doing was truly a thankless deed. As for why he chose to spend his own money on emergency provisions and never tell anyone, I'm still not too clear myself. If you're still curious, why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"Unfortunately, he doesn't remember." the Traveler answered.

"I see..." Aoi mused. "That reminds me... it seems that his Vision was recently confiscated. Most unfortunate... If he doesn't clear the debt on his name, he'll have no choice but to sell that sword that is so dear to him."

"Sword?" Paimon echoed. "What sword?"

"Didn't he tell you?" Aoi was surprised. "He possesses a very valuable blade. He's carried it for years now. I've asked him about its origins — he told me that it was a gift from his father; that it was too precious to sell. In hindsight, I regret that I never made an offer on it. Everything has its price, at least that's what I think. Why don't you ask him about the sword yourself? Perhaps it'll even provide you with the answers you are looking for. But before you go, if you would kindly settle today's bill?

"But we didn't buy anything!" Paimon exclaimed.

"Information is also a kind of commodity, wouldn't you agree?" Aoi giggled. "Don't worry, I won't charge much for information about Kurosawa. Nothing we ever discussed was explicitly confidential anyway. Let me think... 2,000 Mora should be a fair price."

"Fair enough." the Traveler handed over the payment.

"At least we now know where the emergency provisions were coming from, plus we found out that Kurosawa has a priceless sword in his possession." Paimon noted as they went their way. "Let's go talk to Kurosawa again and see if he can remember anything."

Back with Kurosawa...

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Paimon found Kurosawa alone. "Where did those other two go?"

"I presented them with a choice: either they left or I drew my sword." Kurosawa replied. "They left. It turned out to be a real time—saver, actually. Perhaps I should start using it more often. Did you manage to track down the Treasure Hoarders? Everything I said was true, right?"

"Actually..." the Traveler started.

"That just about sums it up." Paimon concluded after the Traveler recounted what they found out. "It turns out that you really were distributing emergency provisions, but they were all purchased at your own expense."

"Strange... Is that really the kind of person I was?" Kurosawa wondered. "I don't really have any such recollection. Even after all you've told me, I still don't remember anything. Why was I purchasing emergency provisions for everyone? And why would I put myself in such a difficult situation? I really don't understand. But I cannot deny that when I brandished my sword to scare those two away, I could sense that my body was somehow reluctant to do so."

"The sword..." the Traveler spoke.

"This sword was once wielded by my father." Kurosawa explained. "I remember once when I was young, I wanted to sneak out with the blade and show it off to the kids next door. My father ended up catching me in the act and scolded me severely. What did he say? I can't seem to remember that either. It would seem that I forgot many important things when my Vision was taken from me. So many memories, gone forever, no matter how hard I try to remember. All I can remember now is my father telling me that this blade bore his life's creed. Before he passed away, he placed the sword in my hands and said to me, 'With this sword, you should—'"

"If you look carefully, there seems to be some words engraved on the hilt." Paimon pointed out. "Can you recognize the words?"

"The words are: 'Virtue and Justice'." the Traveler supplied.

"'Virtue and Justice'?" Kurosawa repeated. "Somehow, those two words seem to explain everything now. Taking on seemingly endless debts to make others happy. I guess that must have been my greatest ambition after all. But what use are virtue and justice? I purchased the provisions for those in need, and look how things ended up. The Tenryou Commission seized my Vision, and the very people I was so desperately trying to help, refuse to understand me. And the irony of all of it is, I somehow still felt sorry when threatening them with my blade. I'm incapable of being a good person, yet I'm equally unable to be bad. I don't know what to do with myself."

"Yet another troubled soul." Paimon sighed. "When we get the chance, let's speak to Thoma about Kurosawa's debt. The Yashiro Commission would surely help cover his expenses. In any case, we must never let him sell off that sword."

"Losing a Vision..." the Traveler muttered.

"Seems like losing all ambition is a terrible experience." Paimon empathized. "Fortunately for us, you don't have a Vision. Let's go find the next poor soul."

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Grins* Don't you just love plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.