In the prison cell, an elderly man with graying hair lay on the ground, coughing violently.
Two soldiers stood over him, weapons in hand, sneering viciously.
"...Did you really think your little schemes could fool us?"
"Heh, don't think we're just going to lock you up and call it a day!"
Seeing this, Yoimiya grew furious.
It was clear these soldiers had resorted to torture.
She was about to rush out to save him.
After all, her purpose in coming here was to rescue Master Masakatsu.
If something happened to him, wouldn't this whole trip have been for nothing?
Mu Yang reached out and stopped her.
"Wait—someone's coming."
Lumine also urged Yoimiya to stay calm. The person who had just entered was no pushover.
"What are you all doing?!"
A sharp, authoritative voice rang out as a woman strode into the cell.
The two soldiers flinched at the sound.
Turning around, they immediately bowed in respect.
"L-Lady Kujou Sara!"
One of them hurriedly tried to explain.
"W-We were just… giving him a little lesson, that's all."
His voice trembled—clearly, he feared Kujou Sara greatly.
"She actually came to a place like this…"
Worried the others might not recognize her, Yoimiya whispered a quick introduction.
"Kujou Sara—adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan of the Tenryou Commission, and a general of the Shogunate Army."
Lumine recalled Kazuha mentioning her—this was the enforcer of the Vision Hunt Decree.
Kujou Sara didn't give the soldiers even a hint of leniency.
"Step aside. Let me see him."
She crouched down to examine Master Masakatsu's injuries.
"The use of unauthorized punishment is explicitly forbidden by the Shogun's decree. Are you aware of that?"
"Y-Yes, we are…"
Kujou Sara turned and glared at them.
"If you feel no shame for your actions, then you are unworthy of serving under the Tenryou Commission."
"W-We beg for your forgiveness, my lady!"
[Wow, what a cool big sister!]
[I see—this general's charm is still going strong, huh?]
[Yeah, she's big—definitely top-tier among the characters we've seen so far.]
"She's so imposing…" Paimon remarked.
"Who's there?!"
It seemed Kujou Sara wasn't just imposing—she was also extremely vigilant.
The group hadn't made much noise, yet she still noticed them.
"You two—go check it out."
Mu Yang prepared to act, but Yoimiya stopped him.
"What I prepared earlier can come in handy now."
Her Vision glowed at her waist.
Fireworks erupted upstairs, drawing everyone's attention.
As the guards approached, Yoimiya set off even more.
BANG! CRACKLE! POP!
The deafening noise sent them into a panic—they were terrified the fireworks might actually be hiding real explosives.
Too bad the two fiery red girls haven't officially met yet.
Mu Yang could understand Yoimiya's feelings.
If the goal was just to distract, this much wasn't necessary.
But with her personality, she couldn't just stand by and watch Master Masakatsu suffer without doing anything.
This was her way of getting back at them—though it was still a bit too soft-hearted.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the group moved to rescue him.
But Mu Yang stopped them again.
"Kujou Sara is still there. I'll handle it."
"She's still here?"
"Mhm. We'll regroup at Naganohara Fireworks."
With a flash of movement, Mu Yang swiftly rescued Master Masakatsu from the scene.
And Kujou Sara?
She didn't even have time to process what had happened.
From her perspective, Master Masakatsu had simply vanished into thin air.
——————
Guinaifen's Livestream
"See, this is why my hubby's reliable, folks! The 'King of Backup' title isn't just for show."
[LMAO, this is what absolute power looks like. Look at Kujou Sara's face!]
[Can't blame her—she's plenty strong, just unlucky to run into Mu Yang, the human-shaped cheat code.]
[Mu Yang: "I'm only a little stronger than them." (holds up fingers with infinite distance meme)]
"Sigh… I kinda wish I was the one being carried away like that…"
[No way, Little Gui, just no.]
[Bro, that's next-level degenerate.]
[Jailbait fetish, huh?]
——————
Though Kujou Sara couldn't see Mu Yang's movements, she knew some people were still there.
"Just this once. He's badly injured—take him and treat his wounds."
"But—once he's healed, I will arrest him again."
Of course, Lumine's group didn't respond.
Mu Yang had bought them this chance—why would they foolishly give themselves away?
——————
Naganohara Fireworks
"Master Masakatsu, how are you holding up?"
The moment Yoimiya returned, she anxiously checked on the old man.
His complexion had already improved significantly.
"Thanks to this young man, I'm much better now. His medical skills might even surpass those of the doctors in town…"
"You flatter me. A friend taught me a few tricks—just for emergencies."
[Is there anything Mu Yang can't do?]
[Yeah—exist in the real world.]
[Damn! I'm crying real tears here!]
"Mu Yang, are you talking about Changsheng?"
Mu Yang sighed internally.
Paimon and her Schrödinger's intelligence.
Why was she suddenly so sharp now?
Back when Yoimiya mentioned being on the same side, Paimon had just stared blankly like, "Uh… huh?"
Guess he'd just have to get used to the "Divine Mouth's" occasional bursts of insight.
Mu Yang didn't elaborate—just nodded.
With Master Masakatsu rescued and his condition stabilized, the group headed to Komore Teahouse to relay the news back to the Kamisato Estate.
But when they opened the door, they found Kamisato Ayaka already waiting inside.
Yoimiya first gave a detailed account of the rescue operation.
After listening, Ayaka expressed her gratitude to all four of them—her manners as impeccable as ever.
"That Kujou Sara… she really didn't send anyone after us," Paimon noted.
"Was she trying to make up for her subordinates' mistakes by letting us take him?"
Thoma, who had been listening, chimed in with his analysis.
"Seems she's not entirely unreasonable."
"I wonder if we could try reaching out to her—maybe get more intel…"
Ayaka, however, was far more clear-headed.
"Kujou Sara is the enforcer of the Vision Hunt Decree. She answers only to the Raiden Shogun."
"To her, Master Masakatsu isn't a direct threat to the decree, which is why she let him go this time."
"But if we expose ourselves, she won't hesitate to act against us."
Thoma nodded.
"True… Still, saving Master Masakatsu is a small victory for us."
Ayaka's expression remained serious.
"Thanks to Lumine, Paimon, and Mr. Mu Yang, this rescue succeeded far more smoothly than it should have."
"But if we want to oppose the Vision Hunt Decree, we still have a long way to go."
Thoma, ever the optimist, felt things were at least moving in the right direction.
He then shared new intel he'd gathered that day:
The Tenryou Commission seemed to be preparing for some kind of festival—or perhaps a ceremony.
Because of this, the number of samurai enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree on the streets had decreased.
But the specifics were still unclear.
Ayaka turned to Lumine and Mu Yang.
"My apologies—we've been discussing the Vision Hunt Decree this whole time…"
Mu Yang waved it off—talk about whatever, it doesn't matter.
Lumine, however, said:
"Tell me—who else is part of this 'same front'?"
"I'm… starting to get interested in this Vision Hunt Decree."