Sensei and Kisaki were sitting across from each other at the tea table. In the middle, there was a pot of tea with two cups. Steam was still rising from the pot. Kisaki put back her gloves on and then ordered one of Xuanlong's Office members to bring something. When the member left, the shopkeeper came bringing plates of cookies, meat buns, and a tote bag. Sensei was curious but decided not to talk about it.
The shopkeeper poured the tea into each cup, before serving it to the Empress and the Teacher. She also separated the snacks into two sets of plates for each of them. Kisaki gave her thanks; to which the shopkeeper replied with gratitude before she went back inside.
"Sensei, please enjoy the tea. I have it prepared just for this occasion."
"O ... Oh. Well then," Sensei took the cup and raised it, "thank you for the hospitality, Kisaki." He drank the tea but quickly stopped because it was still too hot.
"Ufufufu … be sure to take it easy, Sensei. I can understand how thirsty you must be after going through arduous paths I directed you to."
"Ah, it was okay. For me, it's like sightseeing."
"Is that so?"
Sensei nodded. He blew the tea to cool it, and he drank it. His eyes widened.
"This is delicious. A bit bitter, but once you let it cool down it tastes great."
"You like it? Then I suppose I made the right choice. Oh, you might be willing to try them with these cookies."
Sensei simply nodded at the suggestion and excused himself to grab a bite of one and his face turned to pure bliss.
"Ooooh, the sweetness melted in my mouth as it fused with the bitterness of the tea. It balanced them out and created a paradise in my mouth."
Sensei kept enjoying the treats while Kisaki looked on from across. Once he felt refreshed, he noticed that Kisaki hadn't drunk her own tea.
"Do you not like the tea?"
"Oh, it is not like that. I simply want to look at the happiness of my guest whenever they eat and drink what we serve. For me, it shows that I have done well as a host."
"You are doing great. At least for me, I am happy enough to meet you and be welcomed like this."
Kisaki looked at her cup, before reaching it and drinking it herself.
"I suppose what they say about you is true."
"Hmm?"
"Well, I would like to speak about the reason why I invited you here, Sensei."
She turned her gaze towards the port with a serene look.
"We, the Xuanlong, have been working hard for years to maintain order and prosperity of our land. We welcome visitors from the outside to open connections and relations for the future. It is going as we had expected, and we were sure to see it like that for years to come."
She gently put the cup back and reached for the meat bun.
"However, things were not going as smoothly as it was now."
She took a bite of the meat bun and licked her lips when she noticed the sauce was oozing out.
"Sensei, what happened to you today was an oversight of mine. Therefore, on behalf of the Xuanlong, I apologize."
She put down the meat bun and lowered her head towards Sensei. Sensei quickly came to her side and told her to raise her head.
"As a host, I should probably have known about the lacking possibility of information surrounding our territories. The Plum Blossom Garden and the school area are safer and have more guards, but here…"
She looked at the port again.
"Port City is filled with people who had dirtied their hands with the purpose of disrupting the peace. We have been getting a mountain of reports complaining about a lot of chaotic activities which are hurting our reputations."
She stood up and walked towards the fence and gripped the bar tightly.
"Look over there, Sensei."
Sensei stood up and stopped next to Kisaki as they looked at an area with open space like a park below, with noticeable roofs of houses.
"What about that place?"
"That place used to be a traditional delicacy area that had run for generations. Recently, we had no choice but to shut it down due to the stores being the object of burglary and vandalism. Eventually, every resident had to move away to protect themselves. Now it had become the den of these scoundrels."
"I see. That certainly has become a problem. So, do you have any plan on dealing with them?"
Sensei rubbed his chin as he turned to face Kisaki. Kisaki let out a chuckle before looking at Sensei confidently.
"I would not be where I am now if I had not thought about something like that, Sensei. However, what I have in mind might be a little difficult to bring to fruition."
"Why?"
Kisaki looked down for a moment, before looking up again.
"I … Xuanlong Office is losing support as we speak."
