Chapter 42

“Yeah, I fainted at the time, I don’t know what happened at all!” Paimon nodded.

“It’s the secret method of the Grand Narukami Shrine, which made that guy named Scaramouche kneel and beg for mercy at once. Do you believe it?” Yae Miko said with a smile.

[Scaramouche]: ...

[Paimon]: Ah? Wasn’t he killed by Gu Chen in seconds?

[Tartaglia]: The strength of the Sixth doesn’t look very good. I thought he was very strong. I can take two moves from Mr. Gu Chen, but Scaramouche was killed in seconds by a spear, tsk tsk. (Funny)

[Scaramouche]: ...

Scaramouche is pondering at the moment.

What exactly did Gu Chen’s sentence mean?

Sort out your life?

In the video.

“You’ve seen her, right? I’m not talking about that puppet, I’m talking about, you’ve seen ‘her’, right?”

“You mean...?” Lumine’s eyes widened.

“Hmm, the real Raiden Shogun who is meditating endlessly in the Plane of Euthymia to maintain herself—her name is Ei.” Yae Miko said.

[Paimon]: So, the Raiden Shogun usually seen is actually a puppet, and the one Lumine saw in that space is the real Raiden Shogun, Ei?

[Lumine]: I remember, there seems to be someone in the group who is related to Ei! (Alert)

[Yae Miko]: Very smart little one~ (Yae Miko: Smirking)

[Raiden Ei]: (Raiden Ei: Autistic)

[Furina]: @[Raiden Ei] So you are the Raiden Shogun!

[Raiden Ei]: Yes. (Nodding)

[Kamisato Ayaka]: (Kamisato Ayaka: Confused)

[Yae Miko]: So, the plot is here, how does everyone evaluate the Shogun’s Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree? (Yae Miko: Smirking)

[Seeing Seeing Seeing Seeing Seeing Zhongli]: Hard to comment. (Seeing Seeing Seeing Seeing Seeing Zhongli: Face full of black lines)

[Venti]: Hard to say.

[Furina]: Feels not as good as Fontaine.

[Nahida]: Don’t know. (Shaking head)

[Gu Chen]: My evaluation is that the Raiden Shogun is worn out and muddled, not as good as Kamisato Ayaka taking the throne!

[Venti]: Well scolded!

[Yae Miko]: Good suggestion! But Ayaka is young, it’s better for the Guuji to supervise the country. When Ayaka is older, return the government to Ayaka! (Yae Miko: Smirking)

[Kamisato Ayaka]: (Kamisato Ayaka: Confused)

[Kamisato Ayato]: Just joking. (Cold sweat)

[Raiden Ei]: I was abdicated? (Confused)

The real world.

Inazuma, inside the Plane of Euthymia.

Watching the banter among the group members on the light screen, a sense of irritation welled up in Raiden Ei's heart.

Could it be that I really am doing a terrible job?

Raiden Ei did not understand.

In truth, she had never been skilled at these things; she was only good at fighting and killing.

The heavy responsibility of governing Inazuma had been handed to her by her sister, and she could only fumble her way forward.

From the video, she could see that the state of the people of Mondstadt and Go Go Go Liyue was vastly different from that of the people of Inazuma.

Their mental outlooks were completely different.

The ordinary citizens of Inazuma were not directly affected by the Vision Hunt Decree, yet their mental state carried a sense of oppression.

It seemed to be an oppression stemming from the national situation.

So, was I really wrong?

Raiden Ei’s expression was complex; she rubbed her brow, feeling even more irritable for a moment.

She did not know where she had gone wrong, nor did she know what consequences her actions would ultimately have.

Perhaps certain consequences were intuitive, but the decrees she issued affected millions, and their far-reaching impact was something Raiden Ei could not see directly.

"Am I not even as good as that girl from the Kamisato Clan?"

Raiden Ei felt a sense of self-doubt.

After thinking for a long while, Raiden Ei had to admit that she was only suited to be a warrior.

Because she was a god, she did not need to study the power struggles of government affairs, nor did she need to understand in detail the impact brought about by her decrees.

She only needed to say a word, and the Tri-Commission would handle her orders.

She had never looked at the state of the common people in Inazuma; in short, the documents submitted by the Tri-Commission said a thousand things, but they all boiled down to: the country is prosperous and the people are at peace, the Shogun has excellent policies!

As for what it was really like, Raiden Ei knew a little, but not much, and in her mind, it had no real impact.

Because she was in endless meditation, and the handling of affairs was left to the Shogun.

And the Shogun...

"So, does the Shogun have a problem too?"

Raiden Ei’s headache worsened.

She knew clearly that she had problems, because she was just a warrior.

But the Shogun was a puppet she had worked hard to create; if the Shogun also had problems, then...

I fear it is just as Gu Chen said: it would be better to let that girl from the Kamisato Clan sit in this position. At least humans understand humans better, right?

In a trance.

Raiden Ei suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Morax’s abdication.

Beyond Morax feeling that his duties were fulfilled, abdicating also meant not having to think about these headache-inducing matters, letting humans govern themselves—what a wonderful thing that is!

Unfortunately, Inazuma is not Go Go Go Liyue; at this stage, Inazuma cannot do without her, the Raiden Shogun.

"Sigh..."

Raiden Ei let out a long sigh.

A pink figure appeared beside her, though she did not know when.

"Oh my, you haven't spoken for half a day, so you were here worrying in secret?" Yae Miko said with a beaming smile.

Raiden Ei glanced at her, puffed out her cheeks, glared at her, and said nothing.

"You, now is not the time to look for your own problems. Watch the video more; it might give you the answer."

Seeing Raiden Ei remain silent, Yae Miko sighed softly.

"Understood..."

Raiden Ei nodded, her gaze returning to the light screen.

In the video.

"Heh, isn't her approach just like a child throwing a tantrum and locking themselves in a room? Moreover, her so-called eternity has long since become the eternity she imagined for herself. In the end, it’s just fear of loss..." Yae Miko shook her head.

"What do you want me to do?" Lumine asked.

Yae Miko looked at Lumine for a moment before suddenly saying: "Actually, you and I stand on the same side."

"You want to save the people of Inazuma under the Vision Hunt Decree, and so do I. It’s just that I also want to save this country and save her along the way."

"And the key is this: since the Plane of Euthymia represents Ei’s inner world, if you can defeat her there, there is a possibility of turning the Raiden Shogun’s will."

Hearing what Yae Miko said, Paimon asked in confusion: "Is this the method you thought of to abolish the Vision Hunt Decree? Not by refuting her with words, nor by borrowing the power of the Resistance for a coup, but by... directly turning the Raiden Shogun’s inner world?"

Yae Miko revealed a gratified smile and said: "You understand quickly. In short, this is the only way to get Inazuma back on track before it falls into the darkness of eternity."

"But why me?" Lumine asked, puzzled.

"Have you not realized your own uniqueness? I said before, the Plane of Euthymia is a space that generally only allows the self to exist, and the fact that you can appear there proves she has enough interest in you."

"Perhaps she has never seen an individual who appears so unstable to eternity?"

Paimon scratched her head and asked: "Has no one else gone in?"

Yae Miko recalled for a moment and said: "Ever since that believer in eternity began to close herself off, never. No one even knows what that space looks like."

As she spoke, as if remembering something, Yae Miko suddenly said: "Oh right, that friend of yours might have gone in. He had a fierce battle with her, after all."

"Gu Chen?" Paimon’s eyes widened.

"Is he alright?!" Lumine asked with great concern.