This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 297 - 224.Faction_2

Chapter 297: 224.Faction_2

Qiuxiao Yunai sat ungracefully on the steps of the dojo, and patted the step beside her.

By the time Mr. Beichuan sat down, Qiuxiao Yunai had already taken off her mask. She sighed in relief, her black hair cascading onto her snowy white hunting outfit.

Black and white complemented each other perfectly.

"I didn’t expect Mr. Beichuan to find out after all."

As soon as she sat down, Qiuxiao Yunai started speaking, scratching her head as if annoyed, "I didn’t want Mr. Beichuan to know that I was involved in this..."

"Involved in ’this’... You mean the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association?"

"Yes." Qiuxiao Yunai tilted her head, "Shihua and I were just friends to begin with. She had no idea I was associated with this organization. So, as Shihua’s friend, I was supposed to keep it hidden from you too, but..."

She sighed again as she spoke.

"Do you often do that kind of thing?" Mr. Beichuan suddenly asked.

Was Qiuxiao Yunai frequently using the financial and human resources of the Mutual Aid Association for charity work? Honestly, Mr. Beichuan was quite curious.

Depending on Qiuxiao Yunai’s response, Mr. Beichuan might slightly change his opinion about the Mutual Aid Association.

"That kind of thing? The charity work?" Qiuxiao Yunai asked.

Mr. Beichuan nodded.

Meanwhile, his dark eyes were fixed intensely on Qiuxiao Yunai, as Nishijou Kurenai also quietly heightened her alertness.

In such a state, any slight misexpression from Qiuxiao Yunai would be immediately detected by both Mr. Beichuan and Nishijou Kurenai.

"Well, about twice a week I do charity work," Qiuxiao Yunai said, hugging her knees and resting her head on them, her white hunting outfit sleeves were carelessly rolled up.

At this moment, Qiuxiao Yunai appeared as an innocent and adorable child. She sat on the steps, tilting her head, her eyes gazing towards the charity area.

There, several homeless people, having received free food, displayed contented smiles on their dirty faces.

The early spring sun shone down, illuminating the clarity of Qiuxiao Yunai’s eyes.

In this light, every word she spoke seemed to carry an inexplicably holy aura.

Her voice was soft and sweet, yet carried a trace of determination, "As for the reason... Well, there’s no particular reason, it’s just... Seeing the smiles on people’s faces, I feel a kind of warmth in my heart."

"Maybe that’s why I joined the Mutual Aid Association in the first place... for that reason. I wanted everyone to be happy, to create an image of the Thousand Mirror God in their hearts. But in reality, gods don’t exist, and blindly exploiting believers is utterly wrong. However, I’ve been confused for so long; as the Mutual Aid Association grew, the path before me seemed to narrow inexplicably."

By the end of her words, Qiuxiao Yunai seemed to be subtly reminding herself as well.

"So, you decided to do charity work twice a week?" Mr. Beichuan asked again.

"Yes!" Qiuxiao Yunai nodded, tilting her head to look at Mr. Beichuan.

She seemed to be organizing her thoughts.

Was she trying to remind the internals of the present day Mutual Aid Association of their initial purpose? Or was it through this behavior that she hoped to guide the chaotic congregation back to the true spirit of the Mutual Aid Association?

Qiuxiao Yunai couldn’t summarize any grand philosophies, so it took her a while before she revealed a childishly pure smile again, "I think it’s fine this way."

"People being together without any ulterior motives."

"Simply because here they can eat a warm meal."

"Maybe that’s happiness, maybe it’s not."

"But I think it’s fine this way."

Qiuxiao Yunai’s pristine smile made it impossible for anyone to harbor the heart to shatter it.

At over twenty years old, she had yet a hint of the sordid world.

In a way, that was a miracle within miracles.

Qiuxiao Yunai was still looking at Mr. Beichuan, but he had already silently turned his head away.

His gaze reached farther and more clearly than Qiuxiao Yunai’s.

Mr. Beichuan could feel a distinct sensation that, within the crowd... someone was harboring malice towards Qiuxiao Yunai.

Dark and unrestrained malice.

...

"Please take care." Nishimura Seikawa, with a gentle smile, handed the curry soup in his hands to the homeless man in front of him, a flash of impatience piercing through the depths of his gaze.

Nishimura Seikawa was a senior executive of the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association. He had answered the call from Great Ming Guangde Mage to come to Jing Shangye Park to carry out the Mutual Aid Association’s charitable activities.

Logically speaking, these sorts of charitable activities could have been handled by lower-level executives.

But for some unfathomable reason, Great Ming Guangde Mage insisted on bringing different senior executives along every week.

After the charitable session ended—

"Ptui! What Great Ming Guangde Mage! She’s clearly just a little girl who’s been put forward! And she really sees herself as the leader of the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association!" Nishimura Seikawa cursed at the Great Ming Guangde Mage.

She was just dearly beloved by the lower-rank believers, what of it?

No matter how impressive she might appear, she was merely the figurehead leader. The real leader of the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association should be...

Beside him, another senior executive chuckled coldly, "Don’t worry, Mr. Nishimura, that girl won’t be able to act high and mighty for much longer."

"Oh? What’s that supposed to mean... could it be that Mr. Nan Ye has some inside information?"

"I’ve heard that Master Hengshan is planning to take action against that girl tonight. Seems like he’s been quite impatient with the attitude of her faction."

"Exactly!" Nishimura Seikawa complained, "The charity activity should be held once a month to win over believers. People are such knaves; if you feed them daily, they grow accustomed to it, and it completely undermines the effort to win them over."

Nan Ye nodded his agreement intensely,

"That girl doesn’t even understand such a simple principle; she’s squandering our sect’s funds on frivolous pursuits! Just building her image to win over people’s hearts!"

Thinking of this, the two senior executives from the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association felt their teeth itch with hatred.

In their eyes, Qiuxiao Yunai was just using the Mutual Aid Association for her own advancement, not leaving a single drop for these senior executives – a thorough extermination.

What these two had never considered was the fact that a large part of the development funds of the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association had also come from Qiuxiao Yunai’s reputation gathering donations from believers.

Having already received some information, Nan Ye continued in a lowered voice,

"The ritual of the Thousand Mirror God is to be held tonight... that girl, she will be chosen as the living sacrifice for the Thousand Mirror God this evening. Most of the inside believers have already been substituted with our own—"

With this, they exchanged a knowing smile.

The Great Mage, serving as the representative of the Thousand Mirror God, would ironically be killed by the Thousand Mirror God. Once this rumor spread, the lower-rank believers who had been drawn in by Qiuxiao Yunai would naturally fall into Master Hengshan’s faction.

But after laughing, Nishimura Seikawa still asked with some confusion, "Still... I find it strange, what happened? Weren’t we supposed to wait until next month, or the following month, to take action?"

Indeed, the plan had been set for a while, but it was not supposed to be so urgent as today or tomorrow; it was supposed to be slated for the next month, or the month after that.

"I’m not quite sure either. There seems to have been a problem when Master Hengshan was communicating with the Thousand Mirror God around two o’clock this afternoon, so the plan had to be moved forward."

The two continued their discussion, oblivious to the silent figure trailing behind them.

’So that’s how it is,’ thought Beichuan Si.

Qiuxiao Yunai was the Great Ming Guangde Mage, the person he had seen in the video.

In fact, when Beichuan Si saw her donning the hunting attire, he had already had a vague feeling about it.

But he had never dared to be certain.

Now, having heard the contents of these two men’s conversation, Beichuan Si had a rough understanding of Qiuxiao Yunai’s awkward position within the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association.

She was just a mere figurehead spokesperson...

Beichuan Si’s gaze shifted slightly.

Factional infighting within the Thousand Mirror Mutual Aid Association?

What to do next...