Genshin Impact: I Can Obtain Adventure EXP

"That's a relief."

Kurisu let out a breath of relief but then asked with a puzzled look,

"If you're not here seeking assistance from the Trade Association, what brings you here?"

"Hehe, hello! We were sent by Thoma. He mentioned that the association is facing some troubles," Paimon said, her small face lighting up with a smile. She took the opportunity to briefly introduce herself, Lumine, and Nolan, the "notorious playboy."

"Oh, so it's the famed Traveler! I've read about you countless times in the Steambird Gazette, but seeing you in person, I didn't recognize you at first!"

Kurisu exclaimed in realization, then continued,

"If Mr. Thoma has brought you here, then there's truly hope to resolve the association's current predicament!"

"Mhm, we'll do our best to help! Start by telling us about the issues the association has been facing recently," Paimon said, nodding earnestly.

"Ah, please have a seat, everyone, and let me explain in detail," Kurisu sighed, gesturing for Nolan and the others to sit at the table and chairs on the left side of the office.

The situation wasn't too complicated.

Due to the Sakoku Decree, foreign merchants were restricted to doing business only on Ritou and were prohibited from traveling to other regions outside the island.

Even so, profits were decent, and the merchants managed to get by.

However, the Kanjou Commission—one of Inazuma's three governing commissions responsible for managing foreign trade and affairs—recently issued a series of unreasonable regulations targeting foreign merchants.

The first issue was the exorbitant taxes.

Foreign merchants were required to pay more than double the amount imposed on local merchants. While it was unfair, they reluctantly accepted the situation, even though it meant earning less.

But the Kanjou Commission's greedy officials didn't stop there. They introduced a new tax law requiring taxes to be paid not in Mora, but in a rare resource called Crystal Marrow—a substance many had never even heard of.

Left with no choice, as they were dependent on Inazuma for their livelihood, the foreign merchants did everything they could to locate and collect Crystal Marrow to pay their taxes.

However, unlike Mora, Crystal Marrow is not a currency and holds no transactional value. Once submitted to the Kanjou Commission, it essentially vanished, as though fed to a whale in the depths of the ocean.

As a result, Crystal Marrow became increasingly scarce on the market, driving up its price. Eventually, only one merchant managed to secure a monopoly on the resource.

This merchant exploited their monopoly by continuously raising the price of Crystal Marrow, making it so expensive that the tax effectively exceeded the merchants' profits!

If this continued, the merchants wouldn't be able to sustain their businesses and would have no choice but to pack up and leave.

"So that's the situation! Didn't you try negotiating with the Kanjou Commission to revert the tax back to Mora instead of using Crystal Marrow?"

Paimon was astonished to hear that something other than Mora could be used for taxes. It seemed illogical even at first glance.

"Of course, we've tried," Kurisu replied helplessly. "But the Kanjou Commission completely ignored us. They insist that Crystal Marrow must be submitted if we want to continue doing business."

This law was so unreasonable and illogical that it seemed designed to push them into a corner.

Unless the Kanjou Commission deliberately wanted to see the foreign merchants fail, it made no sense. After all, without foreign merchants, Inazuma's foreign trade would be completely cut off. How could that benefit them?

"If we can't resolve this through policy and regulations, we'll have to focus on the merchant monopolizing the Crystal Marrow. If he can be stopped from hoarding and hiking prices, the Trade Association might have some breathing room," Nolan suggested after a moment of thought.

"Yes, that merchant is definitely suspicious. While the rest of us struggle to find Crystal Marrow, he seems to have an endless supply. To think he once worked for the International Trade Association—now he's making life difficult for us!"

Kurisu's anger flared as he thought about the situation.

"So, this merchant must have some kind of secret. Kurisu, do you know where we can find him? We'd like to investigate and see if we can uncover anything useful," Lumine said, her gaze fixed on the polished wooden table as she considered their next steps.

"Of course. Thank you so much. Usually, we conduct transactions with him under the tree by the seaside in the residential area. You can check it out tomorrow morning," Kurisu replied, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders as these renowned Travelers offered their help.

"Hehe, leave it to us!" Paimon declared confidently, patting her chest.

To express his gratitude, Kurisu treated them to dinner at the finest restaurant on Ritou. Paimon was thrilled, vowing to uncover the truth no matter what.

Nolan and Lumine, however, exchanged unimpressed looks. After all, they were the ones doing the heavy lifting, while Paimon merely tagged along as their emergency food.

After dinner, the group strolled around Ritou to familiarize themselves with the area and look for teleport waypoints to activate. Lighting these would make future travel to the island much easier.

They also kept an eye out for the Statue of the Seven. Lumine would need to interact with it if she wanted to unlock a new elemental power.

Their efforts were fruitful.

At a local shop, they bought a map of Ritou, which marked two unusual devices: one at the pier and another in the city center. Taking advantage of the night's cover, they stealthily activated both waypoints.

As for the Statue of the Seven in Inazuma, it was located in the Hiragi Clan's mountain estate, which was under the jurisdiction of the Kanjou Commission.

Though sneaking in with their invisibility abilities wouldn't be too difficult, it was already late by the time they activated the two waypoints. Traveling from the pier to the estate would take several more hours, so they decided to save that task for the next day. After all, the statue wasn't going anywhere.

When it was time to rest, they didn't bother renting a room at an inn. Instead, they entered the Wonderland, where they could lay out simple bedding and sleep comfortably.

However, Mona, upon returning to the wonderland, had left her astrology instruments and research materials scattered everywhere, refusing to tidy up even a little.

Additionally, with a certain "emergency food" nearby, Nolan couldn't exactly engage in anything inappropriate with Lumine.

A bit of a shame, really.

Of course, a little cuddling and a soft kiss weren't off the table.

Perhaps it was time to construct some partitioned rooms for privacy. When there was a moment of downtime, that would be the next project to tackle.

---

The Next Morning

The weather on Ritou was clear and pleasant. Nolan prepared a breakfast for Mona, who appeared promptly in the Wonderland to continue her stargazing studies.

Afterward, he joined Lumine and Paimon, heading to the seaside tree in the residential area where they planned to stake out the merchant monopolizing the Crystal Marrow. Kurisu had told them his name was Werner and had described his appearance in detail.

Since he was the only merchant selling Crystal Marrow, identifying him wouldn't be difficult.

When they arrived, a few other people were already waiting under the tree. These were likely customers looking to buy Crystal Marrow from Werner.

Before long, a merchant matching Kurisu's description approached.

Hidden within the Invisibility Domain, Nolan and Lumine exchanged glances and signaled to proceed with the plan.

Once the other merchants finished their transactions and left, Werner began to leave as well. The group silently tailed him.

They wanted to find out how Werner managed to obtain so much Crystal Marrow.

Nolan suspected that the shogunate officials collecting taxes might be involved. If they encountered them during this investigation, they could catch them all in one fell swoop—much simpler than conducting a lengthy investigation!

(End of Chapter)

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