"Feng Yi, do you know them?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi asked Feng Yi with a puzzled look. Seeing the reactions of the people opposite, they seemed to be on friendly terms with Feng Yi.
"Although it's embarrassing, that's the truth. This not-so-bright Oni is actually one of my employees. I have no idea why they're here..."
Feng Yi sighed and said. From his understanding of Arataki Itto, he was indeed not the kind of person who would commit evil deeds.
Whether as a friend or as his leader, Feng Yi couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Itto, why are you guys here? And you got into a conflict with Sangonomiya's soldiers?"
Feng Yi spoke up, giving the Arataki gang members a chance to explain.
"Boss Feng Yi, these guys judged me by my appearance and accused me of being a spy for the Tenryou Commission. What a joke! Don't they know if the Tenryou Commission could recruit such a bold and unrestrained spy like me?"
Arataki Itto took out a comb and tidied his flowing handsome long hair, stating it was slander.
However, after Arataki Itto talked for so long without getting to the point, Feng Yi couldn't help but regret that he might have chosen the wrong person to ask.
"Itto, I more or less understand what you mean, but perhaps Kuki Shinobu can explain it better..."
Feng Yi gave Arataki Itto a little face-saving and then turned his gaze to Kuki Shinobu beside Arataki Itto.
"Mr. Feng Yi, we meet again. I didn't expect it to be in this place. The situation is like this: the boss took on a commission from the Tenryou Commission this morning..."
Kuki Shinobu was also very confused at first. The Tenryou Commission would actually give a commission to Arataki Itto?!
However, after she learned the content of the commission, she roughly understood the Tenryou Commission's predicament.
This commission was from a merchant operating in the Watatsumi Island area. His goods were stolen by Fatui hiding on Watatsumi Island. The merchant sought help from Sangonomiya's soldiers but received no response, so he chose to issue a commission to the Tenryou Commission.
After all, he was a resident of Inazuma City himself.
The Tenryou Commission found the commission very troublesome.
Negotiations with Watatsumi Island were scheduled in two days. At such a crucial and sensitive moment, it would undoubtedly cause unnecessary misunderstandings if Tenryou Commission soldiers entered the Watatsumi Island area.
However, the merchant was a registered merchant with a trade license, and the Tenryou Commission had a responsibility to protect his legal rights and could not ignore it.
Therefore, the Tenryou Commission decided to outsource this commission, allowing some idle individuals to enter Watatsumi Island and help the merchant retrieve the stolen goods from the Fatui.
Considering the strength of the Fatui, the Tenryou Commission needed to assess the strength of the idle individuals who accepted the commission.
After successively eliminating several candidates, they encountered Arataki Itto.
As a frequent visitor to the Magistrate's Office, they were well aware of Arataki Itto's strength. Coupled with meeting the criteria, after some consideration, they ultimately decided to give this commission to the Arataki gang.
Kuki Shinobu, worried that the boss would cause trouble, also followed.
Shortly after they arrived on Watatsumi Island and met the merchant, before they could even begin investigating the stolen goods, they were stopped by Sangonomiya's soldiers.
Those Sangonomiya soldiers, without distinguishing right from wrong and before they could explain, took them for spies sent by the Tenryou Commission...
"Mr. Feng Yi, Lord Sangonomiya, this is what happened..."
Kuki Shinobu, in concise language, clarified the entire sequence of events.
"So that's how it is. Matsuda, is the matter concerning that merchant true?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi nodded, filtering the information Kuki Shinobu had relayed, and turned her gaze to Matsuda by her side.
According to Kuki Shinobu, Sangonomiya's soldiers had ignored the merchant's plea for help, which led to the subsequent events.
In the past, Sangonomiya Kokomi had always taught her soldiers to help others as much as possible when they encountered pleas for help, regardless of whether the person was a resident of Watatsumi Island.
Therefore, she was eager to know if Sangonomiya's soldiers had indeed stood by and done nothing.
"Reporting to Lord Sangonomiya, that merchant's behavior was suspicious, and we discovered it. According to our observation, he only buys and never sells, yet he has no goods on him. He might be secretly transporting them to the Tenryou Commission..."
Matsuda felt wronged. They had their reasons for standing by and doing nothing.
They were still in the investigation phase. If it turned out that the merchant was a spy later, they would arrest him directly.
"Matsuda, I know you are concerned about Watatsumi Island's safety, but our Watatsumi Island has always pursued truth and facts. If there is a mistake, it should naturally be punished. If there is no mistake, one should not be wrongly accused. We cannot be arbitrary; at least we should give others a chance to explain, don't you think?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi had a general understanding of the situation from both sides.
Matsuda was indeed thinking about Watatsumi Island's safety, but his methods were somewhat lacking.
As the leader of Watatsumi Island, she needed to take charge of the situation and strive to be impartial.
"Lord Sangonomiya's teachings are correct. We will obey all your commands!"
Matsuda bowed his head in agreement.
"Very well, is that merchant here? Since my subordinate has raised questions about the goods, may I ask him to come out and explain?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi's gaze swept around, finally resting on the middle-aged man wearing a hat behind Arataki Itto and his group.
"Yes, of course!"
Seeing that he had caught Sangonomiya Kokomi's attention, the man immediately stepped forward.
"Esteemed Lords, my name is Naruse. I am a small merchant with a registered business license. I have been doing business on Watatsumi Island for some time and have accumulated a batch of goods. I intended to hold onto them for a while and sell them when the price rises again... cough cough, but I never expected to be robbed by the Fatui..."
"Is it easy for me? I brave the wind and rain. A small merchant like me has no one to rely on. My entire fortune is invested in this. I was counting on selling these goods to support my family. But my goods were stolen, and when I asked you for help, you ignored me. What else could I do? I had to spend more money to issue a commission and seek help from the Tenryou Commission..."
Naruse wailed, recounting the sorrows of a common person.
To save a few tens of thousands of Mora in membership fees, he didn't join the merchant guild, thinking he could earn more. He never expected to encounter such a thing. His goods were stolen, and the risk was his own. This was a sure way to go bankrupt!
He was short-sighted and tried to save a small amount of money, only to lose a large amount. Naruse wished he could slap himself twice.
"Hmph, who knows if he's telling the truth?"
Another Sangonomiya soldier muttered quietly from the side.