MM Racing Page 107
Page 107
Raiden Shin let out a shout comparable to "A Strike Without Thought," and rushed forward, grabbing Kitsunemi's wrist tightly amidst her exclamation, "Wait! Shin! I have important shrine matters to attend to!"
"Come on! The priest himself said that the biggest 'matter' at Narukami Shrine lately is you reading the new light novel!"
Raiden Shin mercilessly exposed him, then began to forcefully drag Kitsai-miya towards the desk.
"Let me go! Seriously! This is forced labor! I want to file a complaint!"
Fox Palace screamed, its other hand gripping the smooth floor so tightly that its fingernails even sparked a few real sparks as they rubbed against the floor!
The scene didn't look like being dragged to approve documents; it looked more like being dragged into some kind of abyss or demonic cave.
"Appeal rejected! She's in dire straits herself now! (referring to possibly still being in a coma or addicted to desserts)"
Lightning exerted every ounce of its strength, dragging the screaming Fox Palace step by step to the front of the document mountain.
"Good sisters, we should share the good times and the bad! Nobody's leaving until this batch is finished!"
Fox Palace looked at the stack of documents taller than herself, rolled her eyes, and almost fainted on the spot, but Raiden "gently" pinched her philtrum: "Wake up! The work hasn't been done yet!"
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In stark contrast to the dire atmosphere of the castle tower, the shrines and mansions were peaceful and serene.
Wow! This is so delicious!
Ayaka Kamisato gracefully picked up a piece of the Wolf King's special "Sakura Shrimp Rice Cracker" with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. The crispy texture and sweet taste instantly exploded on her taste buds, making her exclaim in amazement.
"Yes, yes!"
Paimon flew proudly through the air, holding a "Sweet Flower Chicken" leg that was even bigger than herself in her arms, gnawing on it with grease dripping from her mouth.
"Even Xiangling raves about the Wolf King's cooking! His dishes are simply the best in Teyvat!"
"I completely agree with that!"
Xiao Gong is full of energy, holding a skewer of "three-color dumplings" drizzled with special sauce in his left hand and a "Mola meat" with a generous filling in his right hand, eating with both hands and having a great time.
"It tastes better than anything I've ever eaten before! Mr. Wolf King is amazing!"
Her gaze fell on a round, roly-poly toy next to her, and she curiously nudged it with her foot: "Zaoyou, are you really not going to eat some? You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss out!"
From inside the roly-poly toy came a muffled, sleepy voice from Hayato: "Ugh...no...Hayato wants to sleep...eating is such a hassle...zzz..."
On the other side, Ying and Ayaka Kamisato were immersed in a pink atmosphere.
“Linghua, come and try this ‘imported poultry meat’. It’s roasted by the Wolf King using a special method. It’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.”
Ying smiled and carefully placed a fragrant piece of poultry into Linghua's bowl.
"Thank you, Ying."
A faint blush rose on Linghua's face as she gracefully accepted the gift, savored it carefully, and her eyes sparkled.
"It's really delicious! You should try this 'bird egg sushi' too, I think the taste is very unique."
She also offered to serve Ying some food.
The two fed each other, one bite at a time, filling the air with a sweet atmosphere, as if everyone else around them had become mere background figures.
Just then, the four-person team responsible for "cleaning up the battlefield" happened to drag Ayato Kamisato, who was so exhausted from working overtime that he was practically delirious and looked like a salted fish, past the restaurant entrance.
Qingyu sniffed, looking disgusted: "Tsk, I smell the sour stench of love, the musty smell of documents, and the despair of a corporate slave emanating from Ayato Kamisato."
Erkang, always eager for chaos, yelled at Ayato Kamisato, who was being carried on Gu Qian's shoulder like a sack of potatoes: "Hey! Ayato Kamisato! Wake up! Don't sleep! Your sister is about to be kidnapped by the Knight of Honor—!!"
"What?! Who dares to kidnap my sister?!"
Ayato Kamisato, who had been as still as a dead fish, suddenly seemed to be injected with a soul upon hearing these words, and sprang up from Kogane's shoulder with lightning speed!
However, he clearly overestimated his current situation (and underestimated the height of the floors in traditional Inazuma buildings) –
"boom--!!!"
A dull sound that makes your teeth ache!
Ayato Kamisato's forehead slammed solidly against the top edge of the restaurant's low door frame!
His movements froze, his eyes instantly turning into circles of mosquito coils, and then without a sound, he fell straight backward again, only to be caught instinctively by Zhang Chu behind him.
Zhang Chu looked at Ayato Kamisato, who had fallen unconscious again in his arms, and then at the door frame that was clearly shorter than him. His lips twitched, and he seriously doubted, "This guy... could he have deliberately knocked himself out to avoid work?"
Gu Qian scratched his head sheepishly and offered counter-evidence in a deep voice: "I don't think so, do I? I just saw that Coral Palace Heart Sea was also exhausted from the documents and was carried away by Kujo Sara."
Sure enough, following the direction Kogane pointed, they saw the stern-faced Kujo Sara carrying Sango Mikoto Shinkai, who had fainted from dealing with the backlog of government affairs on Umijima Island, in a standard princess carry, and quickly leaving the castle tower.
Kujo Sara is perhaps the most "relaxed" among the Inazuma high-ranking officials at this moment. After all, she is mainly in charge of military affairs and is not good at domestic affairs, which is why she escaped a disaster.
Seeing Kujo Sarana's back, which was strained but with a clear goal in mind, everyone couldn't help but smile knowingly.
(Kujou Sara's inner thoughts: Documents? What are those? Can I cut them? No? Then I'll take my leave! Patrol suits me better!)
Just as Inazuma was once again caught in the strange daily struggle of being overwhelmed by a sea of documents and comforted by delicious food, no one noticed that a small, dumpling-like Baku—Mizuki Yume—was rubbing her round little belly and letting out a burp.
"Hiccup~~ The nightmares of Lord Lei and Lord Yae no Miko are really hard to digest... One was filled with anxiety about 'not wanting to deal with files,' and the other was dreaming that all the light novels he treasured were borrowed by Lord Kitsui and never returned..."
She patted her lower belly, a slightly troubled expression on her face: "I hope my lower belly can still hold... Next, let's go see what Ayato Kamisato's nightmare is like. His dreams are definitely full of terrifying scenes of documents and his sister being kidnapped, definitely...!"
After saying that, she smacked her lips, her figure gradually fading into the shadows of Inazuma Castle, and continued her search for those "nightmare feasts" caused by excessive pressure.
Inazuma's day passed slowly and "fulfillingly" amidst the painful overtime work of the higher-ups, the sweet interactions of the young people, and the foraging of a certain dream-eating tapir.
As for that mountain of documents? Maybe we'll find a solution tomorrow... probably.
Chapter 129 Heading to Xumi
Looking at yet another official who "sacrificed himself heroically"—
Fox Palace was carried out of the office on a stretcher by two members of the Okuzawa Clan, unconsciously muttering, "Documents... so many documents..."
Qingyu shrugged helplessly.
"It looks like Inazuma won't be able to climb out of this hell of documents anytime soon."
The air was thick with the smells of ink, sweat, and the despair of corporate slaves.
Ayaka Kamisato gracefully wiped the corner of her mouth (from the feeding frenzy with Hotaru) with a handkerchief, a hint of reluctance in her eyes: "Everyone... are we leaving already?"
Gu Qian nodded, his enormous body appearing somewhat cramped.
"We caused such a huge mess as soon as we arrived (referring to Bai Luo's erhu incident and the subsequent Astartes modification). Although the main responsibility doesn't lie with us, we still feel a little embarrassed..."
"Hey! What do you mean 'although'! The responsibility isn't ours at all! It's all Bai Luo and that lousy author's fault!"
Er Kang immediately jumped up and refuted, resolutely defending his (non-existent) innocence.
Zhang Chu adjusted his mask and gave a concluding speech: "In short, Inazuma needs time to restore order, and it's not convenient for us to stay any longer. We'll come back when we have time."
Paimon flew through the air, waving her little hands and shouting to Ayaka Kamisato, "Come again next time! I'll definitely get the Wolf King to make you lots and lots of delicious food again!"
Upon hearing this, Ayaka Kamisato smiled gently and expectantly: "Okay, I'm looking forward to it. Have a safe trip."
After bidding farewell to the Inazuma group, who were still struggling in the sea of documents, the four-person group, Ying, and Paimon once again boarded the silver-white Wolf King.
The thrusters ignited, and the massive mechs carried them into the sky, speeding towards Sumeru, a place brimming with wisdom and the scent of rainforest.
More than ten minutes later, the Wolf King landed smoothly on the open ground outside Sumeru City.
The group disembarked from their mechs, breathing in the air, which was completely different from that of Inazuma, carrying the fresh scent of damp plants and a hint of spices, and headed towards the magnificent city built atop the sacred tree.
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Meanwhile, in Sumeru City, inside the Pure Goodness Palace.
"Mr. Suzuki! What did you just say?! The Knights of Honor and the others are coming? You mean those four Hilichurls, along with the Traveler and Paimon?"
The Great Tree King Buyer, who was lazily leaning back in her seat (doing some slacking off), sat up straight instantly upon hearing the flying squirrel's report, her face revealing a mixture of surprise and... a barely perceptible hint of "opportunity has arrived" glee.
"Yes, Buyer."
Momonga—the supreme being summoned by the group of four through chess pieces—remains in the form of a skeleton mage, his crimson eyes gleaming calmly.
He was giving a meticulous report at that moment.
"According to the external signals received by the Void Terminal, the Wolf King has entered the territory of Sumeru and is expected to arrive soon."
The Great Tree King's eyes lit up instantly! A brilliant (lazy) idea took shape in her mind!
She leaped from her throne, rushed to Ainz Ooal Gown, clasped her hands together, and pleaded in her vibrant, slightly coquettish tone, "That's wonderful! Mr. Suzuki! Shouldn't we prepare a grand welcoming ceremony? It needs to be solemn and enthusiastic! This requires a lot of planning and preparation beforehand, look at these documents..."
She tried to push the mountain of documents on the table toward the flying squirrel.
The flying squirrel's skeletal face was expressionless, but its tone carried a hint of helplessness: "Great Tree King, please abandon your attempt to complicate the preparations for the welcoming ceremony in order to evade routine administrative duties. Your recent 'outbursts of inspiration' have already resulted in three unnecessary celebrations, severely consuming administrative resources. Moreover..."
He paused, then pointed with his bony finger to a corner to the side.
“Secretary Elhesen is almost pushed to his limit by the additional budget reports and approval documents.”
Behind the desk in the corner, Al-Hysen was reviewing documents at an almost frantic pace, with empty sanity-restoring potion bottles piled up beside him.
His face was pale, and his eyes were sunken, as if he would turn into white light and return to the earth's veins at any moment.
"Aaaaaah—Suzuki Satoru! Ainz-sama! Please! Let me rest for a while! Even just one minute!"
When the Great Tree King realized that its plan had been exposed, it immediately changed its strategy. It hugged the flying squirrel's skeletal hand without any regard for its image, shaking it like a little girl and letting out a pitiful wail.
"There are simply too many documents to read! Especially those concerning the handling of the aftermath of the extradition of nobles from Fontainebleau! Just seeing those names makes me want to vomit!"
The moment the nobles of Fontainebleau are mentioned, the Great Tree King's face scrunches up, as if it has eaten something unclean.
Compared to those wicked scoundrels of Fontainebleau who are adept at exploiting legal loopholes and whose appeals are longer than academic papers, even those gilded bandit gangs who burn, kill, and plunder in the desert seem somewhat "simple and lovable."
At least they're straightforwardly bad, so there's no need to waste a lot of time playing word games with them.
Ainz looked at the Great Tree King hanging on his arm, devoid of any divine majesty, and then at Elhesen, who was on the verge of sudden death. A faint red light flickered in his empty eye sockets, and finally turned into a silent sigh.
"In that case."
"It's flying squirrel," he said in his steady, magnetic voice.
"Keep the welcoming ceremony simple, and let everything... take its course."
Without making a sound, he wrote "Roast the protesters" on a document concerning the latest complaint from the Fontaine nobles (demanding improvements to prison food, claiming it violated Section N, Item M of the Provisional Ordinance for the Protection of the Rights of Prisoners in Sumeru) and stuffed it back to the bottom of the pile of documents.
(Flying Squirrel's inner thoughts: It seems necessary to summon the assassination bugs and send them on "occasional" business trips to "assist" in handling these international legal disputes... After all, assassination bugs are very good at making trouble "disappear naturally.")
Meanwhile, rumors about the flying squirrel and the two grass gods are quietly circulating in the taverns and cafes of Sumeru City.