As the patriarch of the Kaedehara clan, Kazuha's father's goal had always been straightforward - "I want many, many grandchildren."

The Kaedehara Clan was one of the few noble houses whose lineage remained thin despite sustaining it's legacy for many respectable generations. It was often lacking in members, such that it wasn't rare for the house to only have a single successor in line.

This resulted in the conversation Kazuha was having with his father being the same one his father had had with his own father.

It was quite unfortunate that Kazuha's father had fallen into the family tradition of having only one offspring, resulting in him having high hopes that Kazuha would be able to revitalize their clan, but this was where the problem began to form between the two.

Kazuha didn't like any of the customs when it came to nobility and the idea of having to one day take control and manage what was a degrading clan was not something he was too optimistic for.

It can never be said that his father never cared for him as his father had done everything he could to try and leave Kazuha with something before he departed to the afterlife, but this resulted in him taking a literal gamble that cost them everything they had left that could be wagered.

In the end, Kazuha was left alone with no family, no assets and an empty lot with only memories of what once was.

This was fine at least as this meant he was free to do as he pleased without the limitations that came with being an heir.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans for him as he was now stuck with the duties once more and he couldn't find it within himself to simply let this chance that his ancestors would have wanted him to take to just wither and die.

Why did this matter?

Inside the room meant for private meetings with The Head Priestess, the regal and gorgeous vixen had Kazuha pressed to his chair as she stood over him, locking the two of them in a rather intimate position, looking down at him with the air of a ruler as if everything she desired would belong to her with the hint of a blush on her cheeks making it hard to reject her demands.

The beauty of the seductive and playful vixen had already been cloaked in a layer of decadent desire, drawing Kazuha in with temptation, however, in that instant, he pushed aside her hand to regain his freedom.

"What are you talking about? Didn't I say that I wanted nothing to do with you?" It took a high degree of control to not stammer there as he maintained his dignity.

Catching a whiff of the slightly sweet scent in the air, he was thankful for the exposure he had with many beautiful women to prevent him from succumbing to her charms too easily.

Being a member of the Crux Fleet, it wouldn't do for him to fall so easily for someone, tarnishing the pride of his captain.

Little did he know that he was the only male of the crew who was able to hold his own against The Guuji Yae's charms.

Kazuha was well aware as well that many people would be fully willing to be essentially the plaything to someone like Yae Miko as despite having such a dark side, it was highly unlikely she'd do anything actually too harming to him as far as his instincts could say.

If anything, she seemed like she'd take proper care of those she'd consider hers, being reminiscent of a menacing yet doting older sister who went "Only I can bully you".

…

Kazuha didn't have that sort of preference though.

"You knew about my hidden side and even counseled me, yet now you're pushing me away?" She was a little perplexed by his attitude, pondering for a moment before adding. "Is there something you particularly dislike about me or perhaps you hold some prejudice against priestesses?"

"It's neither, I'm simply uninterested. Besides, why does it have to be me?" Kazuha somewhat weakly asked, leaving Miko silent for a moment before responding calmly.

"It's because you seem a bit too idealistic. You may not mind who I am, but it's idealistic to assume it'll be the same for others. Whoever I approach can very easily use this as a way to blackmail me. I have an image to uphold after all." Having been deeply rooted within the politics of Inazuma, Yae Miko had a good sense of information that could be used against her, not that anyone had ever had the chance.

"Don't you have subordinates or those under you who you can control?"

"Now that won't do. It's taboo for weakness to fall into the hands of those under them, not to mention the secret might leak out."

"Wait, hold on. You're contradicting yourself. If it won't work with anyone else around you, why would you believe it would work with me?" Kazuha asked with a confused look.

"Mmm…~ You don't look like the type who would do such a thing, but besides my own feelings, there's not much you would gain from revealing such a thing. At worst, it'd put you in a much more difficult position as you'd be someone from a fallen clan who immediately tried to take advantage of the priestess the moment you were returned back to power. Your clan also has a rather respectable lineage of samurais, no? Would it really do you any good to cause a power shift when nothing wrong was being done?" The Guuji Yae placed her hand on her cheek as she pondered deeply before replying.

Somehow the more Kazuha questioned her judgment, the more certain she became with her decision. This left him somewhat flustered, so he decided to snap her out of this dangerous train of thought.

"Alright, this can be discussed later, can you please move back before one of your shrine maidens show up?"

"Ara ara~ Are you worried that I may give myself away now?" She asked in a teasing tone.

Kazuha was feeling a headache come up so he placed both of his hands on her shoulder, not focusing on how surprisingly delicate she was, before pushing her back gently.

"Come to think of it, I have been wondering about this for a while now, but how do you know about my interests? Can you read minds or something?"

"Mindreader? Would I have been duped by your lie detector if I had that sort of ability?" Kazuha exasperated in his mind.

Despite his fierce mental retort, Kazuha remained perfectly calm outwardly as it wouldn't do good to show any more weakness to her.

"It's a secret."

"Hmm… is that so?"

The vixen narrowed her eyes in interest. Her beautiful purple eyes looked a little more spirited than during their initial interaction, resulting in a smile different from the restrained polite one she usually gave to others as she nodded contemplatively before she gracefully walked back to where she was seated originally.

It was then that a shrine maiden appeared conveniently.

"Pardon me, but I'm just here to make sure that nothing was needed as it had been an hour." She spoke respectfully with her head low as if she was a maid.

"Don't worry about it, I believe that I must go meet with the Raiden Shogun so as to not keep her waiting for so long." Kazuha immediately took the opportunity to leave, but Miko wasn't letting him get away that easily.

"Nana, I believe that Sir Kaedehara here is having some issues with acclimating back into Inazuma after being labeled a criminal. May I burden you with the responsibility of assisting him with the renewal of his household? Of course, your duties as a shrine maiden will be covered and I'll be sure to check in case anything comes up." The fox kitsune asked, causing Kazuha's eyes to widen, realizing what she was doing.

"Ah? I don't mind, but I still have my duties to watch over Sayu…" Kano Nana reminded with a worried expression.

"There's no need to worry as in return, Sir Kaedehara here has been blessed with an Anemo Vision. With the rarity of such an element in Inazuma, wouldn't it be convenient to help one another? If you were to aid him, I'm sure he'd be willing to assist with Sayu as a senior user." She waved off her worries before letting loose with the information of Kazuha's capabilities.

"A-an Anemo Vision wielder? That'd be wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing with us your knowledge, Sir Kaedehara, I'll be sure to do my best to help you in return too." Kano Nana bowed politely with a grateful tune.

It was a well known fact that despite the task of Sayu being placed on her as a job initially, Kano Nana was a shrine maiden who had gotten attached to the small ninja and had fully invested herself into her upbringing like a mother would.

As such, the idea that someone more mature with more experience with the strange blessings that had been imparted to mortals by the gods was something she couldn't pass up.

"Ahah… I'd be honored to teach any who is willing to learn, but I surely can't impose on the duties of a shrine maiden with my own burdens." Kazuha tried to brush them off, but Kano shook her head immediately.

"No, it is my duty to ensure that that girl can learn everything she can to be the best she can be. I only ask that you do her best in place of her former master to teach her the best ways to use her vision."

Meeting the eyes of someone who was so caring in the development of someone who wasn't even their own child wasn't something he could fully brush off and her way of seemingly repaying him wasn't something he could just reject so easily.

His eyes met Yae Mikos who had an amused expression and he inwardly sighed, having been caught in this trap of hers so easily.

In the end, it was decided that Kano Nana would meet with Kazuha after his meeting with the Raiden Shogun to escort him to the property that came with his status as a noble.

He was informed that they couldn't give him the former lands owned by his father and those before him due to it apparently being bought by the Kamisato household the very day it had been taken in by the Shogunate.

Kazuha wasn't too bothered by this aside from the fact that this gave more of a reason as to why he needed Kano's help, tying him more closely to the Narukami Shrine.

This led him to where he was now, on the familiar front steps of the dwellings of the Electro Archon, the same place he had been to twice in the past so far and each time under extremely strenuous circumstances.

He was unsure what he should feel as he readied to face the person responsible for killing a friend of his and then attempting to kill another, as no matter which way you look at it, neither of these had been acts against him. The situations of each all fell under the same category.

The two friends of his went to the Tenshuukaku fully prepared with knowing what may await them and the only real grievance he held was the attempt on The Traveler's life.

His friend died in an honorable way, having made the choice of how he'd die, which is not what many can say.

Sighing, Kazuha decided it wasn't any point in stalling, readying his resolve as he opened up the large doors of the Tenshuukaku.

There he was met with the sight he hadn't expected when walking in.

The building was decorated lavishly as if inviting an honored guest, however, it was just that.

The large massive building was decorated from top to bottom in a rather intimate way that only made him feel more on edge. It didn't feel like a comfortable home for one to reside in and had the air of having just been put together with how brand new every single piece of arrangement was.

Oh, that wasn't what truly surprised him as it simply caught him off guard.

What was truly peculiar was the presence of a pale lady who he saw from the corner of his eye.

The sounds of sobbing could be heard as his attention got drawn towards her, moving past the many obstructions between him and her, his curiosity was piqued as he noticed more details in regards to this strange lady who looked incredibly out of place with her tattered and burnt clothes.

Each detail he saw only made him more perplexed and the main one being that she was translucent.

In front of Kazuha was a sobbing ghost who looked like she had just escaped a house fire, which was odd since as far as Kazuha's understanding of things were, there had never been a time that the Tenshuukaku had caught fire.

As with many paranormal encounters in the past, he felt as if he should do something to assist those deceased to make their way into the afterlife, even if he knew he shouldn't be delaying his meeting with the person who invited him while he was quite likely to simply be a short distance away from seeing her and getting this eventful day over with.

Approaching the sobbing spirit, he knelt down in front of her, taking notice of the burn marks that adorned her entire body. It was truly a sight as while he had never meant a victim of flames, he was assured that it wasn't feasible for a body to stay as intact as hers with such grievous wounds like these, already leading him to a hypothesis.

Was she perhaps tortured? A ghosts spiritual body when dying of unnatural causes would normally show hints at what their demise was, but for her body to be so scarred showed that it wasn't that she had simply caught on fire and died as the moment of her death, her spiritual form would have left her physical one with only the state she was in of the moment of her death being kept.

He'd rather not believe that he was currently in the home of a being that had once burnt someone to death in a rather slow way, but it's hard to ignore the evidence laid out.

"Hello, are you okay, miss?" He asked carefully in case this was a vengeful spirit who would immediately lash out.

There was a small "eep!" before the spirit turned to face him, letting him see the horrible scar on the left side of her face, but ignoring that, she was once a rather fair looking and beautiful lady before whatever resulted in her body disfiguration.

"Y-you can see me?" A melodious voice came from the girl as she gave a somewhat surprised look.

"What do you mean?" Kazuha asked.

Generally a ghost would not be seen if they did not want to be seen if his understanding was correct.

"No one else can see me… The purple haired lady, the blonde haired lady and the floating thing with white hair…" She explained, wiping away the tears she had been letting loose with earlier.

"Oh? You know of The Traveler?" Kazuha asked, surprised that this person had seen The Traveler at least. Not to mention specifying them meant that it was likely they hadn't been dead for long, which only muddled the mystery more.

"I don't know which that is, but who are you? How can you see me when no one else has?" She asked, looking rather tense. "Are you an exorcist…?"

"No, I'm simply here to help you move on, may I get your name?"

Kazuha knew that there was likely something unique about this particular spirit due to her placement and he could already sense that whatever was to happen, it was likely better for him to avoid her and pretend he had never seen her, but he couldn't help it when someone was crying and looked so… damaged…

"R-Rosalyne…"

It probably didn't need to be said, but if one were to pinpoint the day where Kazuha had made the most mistakes in regards to obtaining a peaceful life, it'd be this specific day where he gained the attention of a few notable women who would run the course of his life.

At the same time, he wouldn't realize that he'd be the one to control which way the strings of fate would lead.

Gorou

Gorou looked rather meek as he stood before Beidou who had just come back from Liyue after Kazuha and Kokomi both requested for the assistance of individuals with certain talents.

"Oh? So that's what's going on, huh? That Kazuha. For someone who avoids trouble so much, he sure always ends up finding him in the thick of things!" Beidou laughed heartily, finding amusement in the plight of her crew member.

"You don't seem worried at all for him." Gorou had a sweat drop with how Beidou was treating the situation.

"He'll be fine. No one is as trustworthy as Kazuha with these sorts of things. That's the reason I got these three after all." Beidou gestured towards the two people she had hired.

"Fwaaaa! I never thought i'd ever be in Inazuma! Ohh, I can feel something truly dreadful south from here, eeh hee hee.~!" A small girl in black attire looked around excitedly as a tall middle aged man stood by her, crossing his arms with his eyes closed.

"Director, I believe before you run off to explore, that we should focus on what we were hired to do first." He advised, getting her to turn with a playful expression.

"Eeh hee hee, of course. I'd never slack off on a job, you know? First the souls, then the vacation!"

"Captain Beidou, is this the man who has hired me? I'd like to go over the details of my service, especially since this is outside of national borders." A pink haired lady looking over a book of Inazuman laws kept a professional tone herself as she spoke to the legendary captain.

"Haha, no, but this one did hire Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's services. You on the other hand may have to wait a bit since it seems like that brat's going to be caught up in something." Beidou patted Gorou on his back, pushing him forward, eliciting a sound of surprise from the general.

"Ah, of course! Sorry. Um. Are you Director Hu Tao of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? I'm sorry for the long trip, but due to many unfortunate circumstances, we had to hire outside services to assist with properly sending off our soldiers. Captain Beidou recommended you and we are willing to pay any sum you wish for the proper honoring of our brave soldiers." Gorou steadied himself to speak politely with an official tone.

"Whaaa? Captain Beidou recommended me? Zhongli! The Captain Beidou knows me!" The small director turned towards the tall man who could only nod.

"It's truly an honor, Miss Beidou, for you to think of us when it came to such a job." Zhongli bowed his head politely but there seemed to be something off about him as he focused in a certain direction.

"Nah, of course i'd know about Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Everyone knows about what you two do."

"I can't believe we've been recognized by her! Oh, wait! I forgot! Pricing for wars is discounted and a lack of bodies means you can opt for the special tombstone to have all their names on one tombstone to save money. It's a very special deal only given under certain circumstances!"

"Oh? A discount and a special? That does sound very good, but I don't know how much that'd cost… Hmm… I'd have to talk to her Excellency about it, but it sounds perfectly good for us since we're somewhat short on funds after the war…" Gorou took on a contemplative look, before remembering why he was here and turning towards Beidou once more.

"Ah, Captain Beidou, Her Excellency has requested that you stay on the island until Kazuha has fully settled as a noble. We are willing to compensate you for any issues that may come with this, but it would comfort us in knowing that you can stay to assist our dear friend." Gorou bowed his head low to plead with the captain.

He wasn't sure why this was important to whatever Kokomi was planning, but she had never steered them wrong before so he had no qualms with going along with it, especially for his friend.

"Hm? Well of course I don't mind staying, but we have something coming up soon. Kazuha and I are needed for something in the future, so i'll need him regardless. Not to mention this one here needs a ride back to Liyue so I can't leave until she's done with her own job." She gestured towards the pink haired girl who was still going over the laws in Inazuma.

"Ohh, which way are we going? I can feel lingering spirits in so many directions. Does Inazuma not have any exorcists or have you all not properly guided those who have left the mortal plane to the next life?" The Funeral Director asked as she turned her head into a different direction every so often as if she was a signal picking up on something.

She wasn't the only one as the older man with her didn't comment, simply staring intensely in a certain direction.

"May I get more details pertaining to what I am here for besides someone needing potential legal assistance for a long term plan? I also have to ask on if my living expenses will be paid while i'm here or will it be compensated after the contract is over?"

There were a lot of details to iron out with the three new visitors to Inazuma, but they'd play a rather key role in the shaping of the course of Inazuma's fate.

So. Lumine won overall by a single vote between Discord and the reviews here.

What does that mean? Just means I won't mess with the abyss much and that Kazuha won't have too much competition with drawing the attention of some ladies.

Can you all guess all the potential routes our dear samurai will go through? There are a lot of routes and all of them will end up with him wondering how it happened.

Anyways, see you in the next installment and i hope you enjoyed.