Yuzume is working in a borrowed office when Agasha Touma arrives to meet her, bringing with him a Scorpion man named Shosuro Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi’s family owns the local sakeworks that Touma wanted to buy, and they request that Yuzume draw up a contract of sale. Yuzume quickly realizes that Touma is offering an absurdly low amount for what he thinks he’s getting – the land, the equipment that survived the flood, and the starter mold for the sakeworks’ most famous brand, Clouds Over Hirosaka. However, Touma hasn’t actually specified anywhere in the contract that he wants the mold, and so Yuzume doesn’t point this out to him, in fact bargaining for a higher price for Kiyoshi, who seems unhappy with selling but determined to do so anyway.
Once everything is signed, and Yuzume has made certain that Kiyoshi will still own the mold, Touma leaves, while Kiyoshi hangs back. He reveals that he has been sent to Hirosaka to investigate a criminal named Tamiko, and was tasked with selling the family sakeworks to fund his operations. He was told to contact Yuzume directly, not Minoru, but doesn’t want to give her too many details as he’s not sure exactly where her loyalties lie. She offers to help him, and he reveals the large scale of Tamiko’s operations – they are no ordinary bandit, and have contacts with pirates, government officials and ronin warlords all over the region. He also notes that they aren’t attached to the Scorpion, and implies that once dispatched, he will have to become the new Tamiko, ensuring that these operations benefit the clan. She says that if she finds any evidence of Tamiko’s wrongdoing, she’ll make sure a case is opened up and give him leads as necessary during the Emerald Office’s investigation.
While this is going on, Minoru, Eiko and Hajime are walking through Hirosaka trying to find somewhere to get lunch. They make note of all the reconstruction efforts and the daily life of the commoners, particularly as they prepare for the upcoming Doll Festival. Eiko is reminded of similar celebrations in his family lands, while Hajime wonders what became of Yoshi, the boy they found during the winter calamities. They are interrupted by the sound of shouting coming from one of the gates, and the three discover local firefighters threatening a group of ronin accompanying a cart of opium. Minoru and Hajime attempt to dispel the animosity and most of the firemen return to town, but one throws a knife at the ronin, which Minoru manages to deflect with his blade. The man is then arrested and taken away.
The ronin explain that they have permission to bring the opium to the city, and that the village they’re from, Split Rock, always brings regular shipments to the Moth. Seppun Ishima arrives and lets them know that the substance is under the purview of the Emerald Office, but she recommends that the opium be burned. Minoru, thinking about the destruction of Ryoko Owari in the great hail, and what this means for the Empire’s immediate opium supply, chooses instead to store it in an empty granary. Extra guards are posted at the granary, which means fewer can tend to the gates, which will slow down the pace of reconstruction work in Hirosaka. Minoru hopes to find firefighter gangs who will do the job instead, but the only one not currently working elsewhere that the Moth seemed to trust seems to have turned to piracy since the winter.
Upon finding out that there’s opium in town, and that his new holding actually produces it, Miya Sora is incensed. He demands that Minoru ensure Split Rock’s opium is legally sent somewhere else so as not to stain his reputation, and that of the Miya, and so the group decide to visit Split Rock village on their way to the Crab village of Maemikake.
The next day, Yuzume convinces Seppun Ishima that her help in this task will be invaluable, and the Imperial provides her with four Miya steeds and provisions for their journey. The trip to Split Rock is thus a very short one, and as they arrive the samurai find that the village is quite unlike others they’ve seen during their travels. There are few distinctions between the houses of the peasants and those of the burakumin, and both seem to enjoy a similar standard of living, sharing the wealth of their work evenly. This equilibrium can be felt throughout the village, in its sense of community as well. There are underground warehouses in the center of the village, where more opium is stored, but in spite of this bounty there is almost no protection around them, save for spiritual wards.
The group meets with the village headman and explain that for now, the opium cannot go to Hirosaka and that they want to have a cursory look so as to determine where it can go next. Minoru discusses the prospect of a garrison, and goes with Yuzume to check the protective wards, which the headman says were put in place by the Moth, as they have no priest of their own. He also notices that the ronin who guarded the opium on the way to Hirosaka have not returned to the village, as they would be staying in the headman’s house along with them.
Eiko goes through the headman’s paperwork to see just how much opium the village produces and how much wealth is tied up in it, and then inspects the warehouses with Hajime. The warehouses can only be opened if the village headman and the leader of the burakumin commune unlock them at the same time, to everyone’s surprise. Once opened, it’s revealed that the warehouses are full, and that the village won’t be able to store the next harvest. With the River of Gold still such a mess, and the village so far from main roads, finding a way to trade it will be difficult.
Eiko makes it clear that he sees opportunity here, but Hajime is in a state of shock and expects that this will end badly. They talk to the headman and discover that the Moth could legally produce the crop, but had no permits to sell it, so would give it away as a gift to others instead. Eiko realizes that by giving it away as a gift, the opium would not have been taxed, and that if it could be taxed, the Moth, or the region, could be as rich as the Mantis, and he could even skim from it without anyone really noticing, if he wanted to funnel money to the Sakai. He leaves the warehouse without Hajime, consumed by the possibilities.
Minoru and Yuzume are inspecting the charms and wards on the walls, and Yuzume finds that even though some are old, they’re well-made, and clearly doing their job, as Split Rock has been spared from the horrors of the winter, and is as harmonious a place as she’s ever seen. The Moth clearly prioritised keeping the village safe from spiritual intrusions.
While they check the wards, Yuzume tells Minoru a little bit about about Tamiko and Shosuro Kiyoshi, and wonders how Split Rock hasn’t been targeted yet, particularly as it doesn’t have a garrison. She considers the possibility of a connection between the bandit and the village, and the two discuss the oddities of the area. Yuzume then communes with local earth spirits, who tell her that strange presences from Yume-do are tied to the place through Moth rituals. The dream spirits are passive and like the people of Split Rock, and so Yuzume sees no need to meddle, believing that they will keep Split Rock from being targeted.
Hajime, left behind in the warehouse, asks for it to be locked again and guards the entrance for a while. He gets a feeling that Eiko might be about do something that will reflect poorly on the Crane, and tries to reconcile that knowledge with the importance he places on their friendship.
Eiko tries to impress upon Yuzume and Minoru the potential in the amount of opium he’s seen, but Minoru sees it as a sign of ill things to come and doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. He shares the knowledge of the wards, but not of Tamiko, and listens as Eiko tries to sell them on the idea of using the opium to restore Hirosaka, clearly wanting to profit off of it in some way. Hajime enters the headman’s house at this moment, looking on in horror as the conversation takes place.
Yuzume disagrees entirely, reminding them that the Moth haven’t been dissolved, so to make long term deals would be overstepping, and dislikes the idea of profiting off of the opium. Minoru decides to take the middle approach, and says that the group should be custodial and use the money to help the town, but not to profit off of it personally, which Hajime agrees with whole-heartedly, glaring at Eiko, who is clearly not happy with the pushback.
The group finish the conversation, ready to move on to Maemikake.
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