The Moment Elysia Confess Her Love, War Wages On the Ship - Chapter 36: Life Turned a Ninja into an Artist

Her heart already held some conjectures. The healthy smile on her face shifted to calm composure.

Theories, of course, were always good.

And these theories required Mei to act subtly in the background, giving them a little push.

Mei took a light step back, her blade poised. In an instant, her body accelerated. Golden light flickered unpredictably, and in a brief moment, she unleashed a magnificent arc of lightning.

“Such a trivial trick. Hand over the Outer Path Seal and I’ll send you to reunite with your father in prison,” declared Kallen calmly.

As the ruler of Yae Town for the past 500 years, she sensed no danger. For one, Raiden Mei had always been portrayed in the records as an academic. And two, Mei had concealed her aura exceptionally well.

An academic couldn’t possibly wield the kind of power that a combatant possessed. Otherwise, what purpose would combatants serve?

Mei swung her blade, the arc of brilliant lightning trailing behind. Even before the strike reached its conclusion, she had already turned her gaze toward the forest, as though dismissing her opponent as an overconfident mantis, doomed to fail.

In the forest, Yae Kasumi was hiding.

After a lengthy exchange with her contact, “Ferryman,” she managed to obtain some intelligence despite being provoked to the brink of anger.

Armed with this information, she immediately set out to find Raiden Mei, who was suspected of possessing one of the Six Paths Seals—the Animal Path.

The Six Paths Seals were unique methods of utilizing Honkai energy, each with its own extraordinary abilities. These seals were incredibly powerful and needed to be properly recovered. Kasumi’s mission in Yae Town was to retrieve them.

Moments ago, she had located her target. However, instead of a desperate fugitive, Raiden Mei strolled leisurely through the countryside, inspecting her own wanted poster with great interest.

Kasumi had been ready to strike then and there.

But the sudden arrival of another formidable aura interrupted her.

What followed was a duel between two top-tier combatants.

Aura, light, and swift movements intertwined in a dazzling display.

Raiden Mei’s strength was far superior to that of the Yae Town lord, the white-haired, blue-eyed woman codenamed Cloud Dust, a mysterious figure in the records.

Mission impossible.

Kasumi was no hotheaded warrior. She was a cold-blooded ninja, always completing her tasks with indifference and never succumbing to emotional distractions. Even Ferryman’s unintentional flirtations left her completely unaffected.

Ninjas, after all, had no feelings.

Regarding Ferryman’s annoying banter, she only had one thought:

“Since your nonsense is completely unintentional, I’ll spare you from my blade.”

A ninja without feelings, watching this battle unfold so close at hand, evaluated their strengths with a blink of her eye and reached an obvious conclusion—she couldn’t handle this.

Her top priority now was to have Ferryman find a new ally to take over her mission.

Kasumi shifted her gaze, planning to retreat decisively while the others were preoccupied fighting.

“Hah!”

A soft cry rang out. It came from the lord of Yae Town, seemingly preparing to decide the outcome with the next strike.

Light scattered, waves of air rippled through the forest, rustling the trees, while yellow sparks and smoke surged upward.

Kasumi frowned. Without seeing the situation clearly, turning to flee would be suicide.

“Cough, cough~”

As the smoke dissipated, swept away by a swing of the blade, two figures became visible. But now, only Mei remained standing. The other figure had vanished without a trace.

“Did she manage to escape?”

Feigning exhaustion, Mei pretended to have given her all, only to let the town lord escape. She even simulated heavy injuries, coughing deeply.

Only after coughing twice more did she raise her head, looking directly at where Kasumi was hiding.

“A sneaky little rat—are you still not going to show yourself?”

She spoke loudly and clearly.

“Lonely Miss Ninja, let me see if you truly have the qualifications to contend with Elysia.”

Yae Kasumi, unaware of the intricacies of the situation, only saw one peerless master drive off another in a flash of lightning. Although injured, the victor remained composed and even started chasing after her.

Kasumi immediately turned and activated her ninja ultimate technique: Escape.

She never even considered confronting Mei head-on—that would only be a last resort.

The ninja, clad in armor that seemed to barely cover her alabaster body, exposed her snow-white thighs without hesitation. Her skirt armor swayed as she moved, showcasing a figure and posture that were truly exceptional.

A crimson scarf trailed behind her, fluttering as she leapt through the air.

“She’s at least a B-,” Kasumi judged.

“Come here,” Raiden Mei’s voice rang out, calm and chillingly devoid of emotion.

“Let me see your face.”

<+>

Too terrifying.

Kasumi fled all the way to the base of the mountain. Even as a ninja without emotions, she still felt a lingering fear of Mei.

Once she escaped, she quickly changed into a new outfit—a luxurious, icy-blue kimono. Compared to her low-key ninja attire, it was an extreme contrast, high-profile and extravagant.

Kasumi extended her fingers, lightly touching the intricate embroidery on the kimono, a design of blooming flowers amidst ice. It was indeed fitting for the name Shin Hana Maihime.

Mei hadn’t shown up for a while, likely shaken off by her evasive maneuvers.

Kasumi let out a quiet, expressionless sigh of relief.

Earlier, she had kept her back to Mei the entire time, and with the cover of darkness, Mei shouldn’t have seen her face. Kasumi reasoned that if she were unlucky enough to encounter Mei again, she could claim to be a dancer taking a shortcut home after work.

She pondered ways to deal with the situation when a faint crackle of electricity suddenly sounded behind her. Instinctively, Kasumi felt the danger.

Don’t turn around.

In that split second, she suppressed the urge to turn.

The ninja’s art of disguise dictated that a geisha couldn’t sense killing intent.

She could only wait for Mei to initiate conversation—or leave on her own.

Kasumi remained perfectly composed. Her red wooden clogs pressed into the soft earth beneath her. She had been in such a hurry changing clothes earlier that she hadn’t even put on socks, and now her bare feet were slightly chafed by the clogs.

“Excuse me…”

Mei’s voice unexpectedly softened, almost weak.

“Have you seen a ninja pass through here? She’s about your height, with pink hair like yours, and rabbit ears just like yours.”

“Those are fox ears,” Kasumi replied as she turned around. “I’m sorry, I’m just a dancer heading home after work and decided to take a shortcut. I don’t know anything about the ninja you’re talking about.”

“Really?”

Mei’s expression carried a trace of innocence. When she wasn’t cutting people down, even the Herrscher of Thunder exuded a surprising gentleness.

“I’m just a dancer. I truly don’t know the ninja you mentioned. If I’ve caused you any trouble, I can only offer my deepest apologies.”

This suffocating life had forcibly turned an emotionless ninja into a multi-talented artist, capable of both singing and dancing.