I brought Sora back to the room. She had a look on her face like she'd burned herself out, like someone who'd made peace with everything.
The room we'd rented was a large group room. That said, this was an upscale inn that catered to nobles, so it was nothing like the cramped shared dormitories that broke Treasure Hunters were forced to make do with.
Lucia looked up from the book she'd been reading in the spacious living room, and her eyes went wide when she saw us.
Her gaze fixed on Sora behind me.
"W-Who is that? A Leader?"
If you ask me who she is... I'm not sure what to say.
Saying "I don't really know" would probably be the most accurate answer, but that felt far too irresponsible. I mean, I really didn't know, but still...
I furrowed my brows and put on the hard-boiled expression I'd developed specifically for dealing with Lucia—a look that shut down any complaints before they could start.
"Well, there are... complicated circumstances. I'm a bit at a loss myself."
Sora was completely expressionless. Her eyes were dead.
Apparently, Sora didn't want to go home. Was she really that afraid of being scolded? She kept stubbornly insisting, "My duty is to follow the White Fox," so I had no choice but to bring her along.
Sure, I'd offered to help with her situation, but I never intended to take full responsibility for a whole person.
I usually ended up entangled in confusing situations, but this one had a particular smell to it.
What was I supposed to do about this? Should I apologize to the Fox Mask Enthusiasts Club (provisional) after all?
"Ugh! Not this again, something I don't understand..."
"Oh, right. Lucia, I need you to charge this Treasure Weapon."
"!? Ugh, fine!"
I tossed her the Third Sight, which was essential for wearing the fox mask, and the Owl's Eye, which let you see through darkness.
Lucia caught them cleanly, then shot me a sharp glare. I hadn't explicitly asked her to do it, but she'd take care of it anyway, so we were good.
"Ohh, a troublesome job!? Who do I need to cut!?"
"What? Is it my turn? Who do I get to punch!?"
"...There's nobody. Not right now, so just behave yourselves, okay?"
Lids and Luke sidled up to me with grins on their faces. They'd been looking bored, so I shooed them away. These two had been rejected from accompanying me on missions before—they were problem children who could've been a welcome addition to the party.
Sora, who'd been hiding behind me, opened her eyes wide. After a long silence, she asked in a small voice: "Could it be... is the White Fox... the Mourning Specter?"
"Yeah, that's right. You figured it out, huh."
My name and face weren't particularly well-known, but Lucia and the others were different. Apparently, my reputation had spread to the Fox Mask Lovers Club (provisional) as well.
Sora babbled to herself in a murmur as sweat poured down her face.
"...It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, I haven't betrayed anyone. I am a shrine maiden, I am correct. I am correct. I am correct. I'm not the one who's wrong. Fox God, please grant me your blessing... ...Right, this is undercover work... ...No, there's no way I can fool anyone. I'm the one who's right! I am!!"
That conclusion is completely wrong. Honestly, I figured being straightforward was the best approach.
It's okay. After all, there's a saying that once the danger has passed, you forget the pain. Most things work out in the end—that's what all my experience so far told me.
But I could understand her panic. I called out in a loud voice: "Citry, sorry to bother you, but could you come here for a moment?"
"Coming! Is something wrong?"
I called for her without even knowing if she was around, but she turned out to be in the bedroom. Citry appeared, looking cheerful as ever.
Time to show her my Level 8 improvisation skills.
I flashed an embarrassing grin and made my request.
"Could you get Sora a hideout? ...You know, the usual thing."
"!! Of course! The usual thing, right!"
Citry clasped her hands together and widened her eyes.
Citry was truly reliable. I wanted to make Lids and Luke soak their fingernail clippings in water and drink it for all the good it would do them.
It had to be Citry. I'd been a Citry supporter since way back. She had great energy and our personalities clicked. We weren't going to get married or anything, though.
"Since it's the usual thing, I'll be making inari sushi bentos, so thanks in advance."
"...Ah, I see... inari sushi...?"
"The usual thing."
"The usual thing, right. The usual thing... Understood. I'll make the arrangements. How long do you need it?"
"Right away."
"Right... away!? The Martial Emperor Festival is just around the corner—"
Citry's eyes went even wider. I could see bewilderment in her pupils. This was, after all, the first time she'd ever come to the city of Crito.
I shrugged in a hard-boiled manner.
"Well, you see... it's the usual thing."
Citry was silent for a moment, then nodded sagely.
"...Understood. The usual thing, right... ...I'll step out for a bit. It might take a while before I can get back."
Citry trotted out of the room in a hurry. It was already nighttime... I supposed tomorrow would've been fine too.
Sora blinked, looking confused. Lucia, who'd been watching the exchange with a suspicious look, turned to me and asked: "Leader... what exactly is the 'usual thing'?"
"Well, you see—the usual thing is the usual thing."
As if I could answer that! Asking me was against the rules. Not asking was the whole point.
This was my improvisational ability in action. True on-the-spot problem-solving... this was how it was done.
I let out a big yawn, sank into a chair that felt like it was swallowing me whole, and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
§ § § Sora Zoro couldn't keep up with the rapid shift in circumstances.
Nothing made sense. The only thing she understood was that she was trapped in a desperate situation with no way out.
The shrine maiden of the Fox God was a specially respected figure within the organization. But that wasn't because she was capable—there was a largely symbolic dimension to the role.
Sora wasn't the only shrine maiden of the Fox God. If she made a major blunder, quietly disappearing her was entirely plausible.
Misjudging the judgment of the White Fox, the organization's supreme leader, was unthinkable. It called into question the very reason the shrine maiden existed.
The White Fox mask had been genuine. Ordinarily, there might have been room for leniency given the circumstances—but when the other party was none other than the Mourning Specter, the sworn enemy of the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox, that changed everything.
In short, Sora had been deceived. On her very first mission, she'd been caught in an elaborate and cunning trap.
What's worse, the man who'd tricked her had taunted her, saying she should just come clean.
There was no way she could. She would definitely be killed. And even if she somehow wasn't, imprisonment was a certainty.
And imprisonment might not have been any better than death. There was no telling what they'd do to you.
Her shrine maiden family would surely never lift a finger to help her after a blunder like this.
Every option to get off the ship had already been lost to Sora.
She didn't want to die yet. She'd been raised as a shrine maiden. She'd done nothing wrong—being killed over this was outrageous.
It might be an unbecoming thought for a shrine maiden, but the mask had been real. Sora wasn't at fault.
Those who bore the god's mask were objects of reverence. That was the very core of being a shrine maiden to the Fox God.
At some point the meaning had been reversed, and she'd ended up serving the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox instead—but that was the mistake from the start.
This was a return to origins. Restoring things to how they should be—that was Sora's mission. Sora wasn't at fault.
Return to the proper form. Yes, serve under the new White Fox—the organization known as the Ten-Tailed Fried Tofu—and follow her will to roll out inari sushi nationwide! Sora wasn't at fault!
"..."
Sora thought maybe she should just quit being a shrine maiden.
But being a shrine maiden to the Fox God wasn't something you could just quit, and even if she did—if the organization realized her words had been wrong, they would definitely come after her.
"Kurei, how is it? It was difficult to put together, but... here it is—the usual thing."
"You really managed to prepare all this in such a short time."
The Thousand Transformations, completely unaware of what Sora was feeling, wore an expression so nonchalant it was infuriating.
The place she'd been led to was a small building just outside the city center. It looked like it had once been a café—the first thing that caught her eye was an incongruously impressive kitchen. It seemed to have a living space as well. If this had been arranged after receiving those cryptic instructions, then Citry's organizational skills were extraordinary.
At the very least, could she live here in hiding? If she changed her clothes and hairstyle, could she pass unnoticed?
But the organization was planning a major operation in Crito. Sora, being just an ordinary shrine maiden, didn't know the details, but an operation entrusted to the Seven had to be something significant.
The fake White Fox—no, the real White Fox—had said they were short on personnel, but Gaf—that veteran Thief—would find a way to pull it off regardless.
There was even a risk of getting caught up in it.
"I also prepared the fried tofu! For the inari sushi bentos, right? It was very difficult—around here, almost nobody eats it anymore—"
"Huh? You actually prepared it?"
"!?"
She had to act. There was no place for her in the original organization anymore. She had to survive somehow—no, serving the true White Fox was the heavenly fate placed upon Sora! Sora wasn't at fault!!
She forced herself to perk up, clenched her fists, and raised her head. She voiced her determination.
"White Fox, command me as you see fit. I, Sora Zoro, swear to devote myself body and soul as your shrine maiden. Please watch over me. Be gentle with me!! By the way, I can't cook!! I've never done it before!!"
Conquering the world with fried tofu was surely too much, wasn't it? What was she even thinking? What kind of divine scheme and devilish plotting had been behind the scheme to entangle Sora in all this!?
She felt her head spinning. Nothing made sense. Yet she desperately tried to hold it together, and the true White Fox furrowed her brows.
Then Citry spoke with a troubled expression.
"Kurei, the thing I hate most is... being in the red."
"...And the thing you like most?"
"That would naturally be... the usual thing. Kurei, you should do the usual thing with me more often."
"Hahahaha, Citry, you're such a joker."
"Hehehehe... It was very difficult. This was all for the usual thing, Kurei. The. Usual. Thing!"
Was she really going to be okay? Just how far ahead was the true White Fox thinking?
Did this White Fox even understand that there was a chance the real one might show up during this operation—and that was precisely why Sora had been able to join so quickly?
Sora watched for a while as the true White Fox deflected the pouting Citry with a smile, but soon gave up trying to figure it out.
In the end, there was nothing a mere shrine maiden like Sora could do.