After lunch, Jiang Yan and the others stayed at the Kamisato residence until the sun was nearly setting.
"Little Ayaka, little Ayato, we're heading out!"
Standing at the entrance of the Kamisato estate, Jiang Yan waved goodbye together with Ganyu and the Ningguang Four Little Ones.
"Mhm! Jiang Yan-gege, don't forget the promise we made!"
Kamisato Ayaka called out loudly toward Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan smiled and nodded, then raised a finger to his lips.
Ayaka instantly understood what he meant and immediately nodded excitedly.
"Ayaka, what did you two promise each other?"
Beside her, Kamisato Ayato sharply noticed the interaction between Ayaka and Jiang Yan and asked suspiciously.
"Not telling you, hmph!"
Ayaka turned her little head away with a cute snort.
She had just promised Jiang Yan that she wouldn't reveal their secret, after all.
There was no way she'd casually tell her brother.
Ayato: ...
Ah, forget it.
Anyway, they were in Inazuma. What kind of promise could Jiang Yan and Ayaka possibly have made?
Thinking that, Ayato relaxed again.
...
After leaving the Kamisato residence, Jiang Yan didn't take the same path they had used earlier.
Since they were already in Inazuma, they naturally had to properly look around.
So Jiang Yan led Ganyu and the Ningguang Four Little Ones down another route.
Compared to the small trail they came by before, this road was much easier to walk.
At the very least, it wasn't nearly as overgrown.
And so, while sightseeing and playing along the way, Jiang Yan brought the little ones back to Inazuma City.
By the time they returned, night had already completely fallen.
The city of Inazuma was brightly lit.
Honestly, the Inazuma governed by Raiden Makoto and the one governed by Raiden Ei were practically two entirely different worlds.
It wasn't that the Ei from the original timeline didn't care about her people.
Rather, after witnessing the deaths of Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, Sasayuri, and the others, the Ei from the story had suffered devastating emotional trauma.
The blow that hit her hardest was undoubtedly Makoto's death.
It had directly caused Ei to shut herself away emotionally.
Because she feared losing others again, she even walked down an even more extreme path in pursuit of Eternity.
Within the unstoppable river of history, Raiden Ei had actually attempted to make Inazuma remain forever frozen in that single moment.
She even created the Raiden Shogun puppet and sealed herself away within the Plane of Euthymia—a place utterly devoid of anything—for hundreds of years.
Jiang Yan knew very well how painful loneliness could be.
And in that Plane of Euthymia, there was truly nothing.
Forget human warmth and worldly life—even mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, streams, and flowing water didn't exist there.
It was a dead, empty realm.
Just imagining staying in a place like that for centuries made Jiang Yan feel despair.
Fortunately...
In this life, things were different.
In this life, she had never experienced those tragedies.
Raiden Makoto, Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and Yae Miko were all still by her side.
As for Sasayuri, there was nothing he could have done about that.
At the time, Liyue had only just stabilized—how could he possibly have gone all the way to Inazuma just to save one person?
But that no longer mattered much.
At the very least, with him and the others accompanying her, Raiden Ei could still remain that adorably clueless shadow warrior she had always been.
And that was enough.
Walking through the streets of Inazuma City and seeing the smiles of happiness on the faces of the people around him, Jiang Yan unconsciously revealed a gentle smile as well.
Yeah.
Not only were they happy—
Wasn't he happy too?
Jiang Yan lightly held Ganyu's soft, delicate hand, quietly enjoying the faint fragrance drifting from the person beside him.
The Ningguang Four Little Ones ran excitedly through the streets of Inazuma, looking around here and there with endless curiosity.
Ever since arriving in Inazuma City, Jiang Yan hadn't properly taken them sightseeing yet. They had gone straight to the Kamisato residence first.
So naturally, seeing all these stalls and shops with styles completely different from those in Liyue fascinated the four little girls.
"Big Brother..."
At that moment, little Sara ran over, a trace of hesitation and indecision on her soft little face.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Yan lowered his head and asked gently.
"Sara... Sara wants to eat that..."
After hesitating for a moment, Sara pointed toward a nearby stall.
"Oh?"
Following the direction she pointed, Jiang Yan looked toward a vendor selling Tri-Color Dango.
"Oh! Good evening, sir from Liyue!"
The vendor was clearly the sociable type. The moment he noticed Jiang Yan looking over, he immediately greeted him warmly.
After all, Jiang Yan and the others were obviously dressed in Liyue-style clothing.
The people of Inazuma were very friendly toward those from Liyue.
"Good evening. How much are your Tri-Color Dango?"
Jiang Yan walked over with a smile and asked the vendor.
"Twenty Mora each. If you buy a lot, I can give you a discount."
The vendor lifted the wooden lid in front of him, revealing rows of Tri-Color Dango that emitted a sweet and fragrant aroma.
Jiang Yan suddenly remembered that Raiden Ei also seemed to really like dango.
Well, more accurately, Raiden Ei really loved sweets.
He remembered that in one of her voice lines, she had specifically talked about her favorite food.
She had even argued with the Raiden Shogun puppet over it.
Raiden Ei: "Don't listen to the Shogun. Sweets! As for cavities... replacing the teeth works just fine. How could that possibly interfere with the pursuit of Eternity?"
From that alone, it was obvious just how much Raiden Ei loved desserts.
"Pack me twenty of them."
Jiang Yan smiled at the vendor.
He decided to bring some back for Raiden Ei and the others as well.
"Right away, sir! I'll package them up immediately!"
Seeing such a large order, the vendor became delighted and quickly packed the twenty dango into an exquisite box.
"That'll be 400 Mora total, but you can just give me 350."
The vendor smiled.
Jiang Yan nodded, accepted the box, and handed over a pouch of Mora.
However, he didn't actually take advantage of the discount.
Just because he was from Liyue didn't mean he should let the vendor lose money.
There were exactly 400 Mora inside—not one more, not one less.
Afterward, Jiang Yan took out eight skewers of Tri-Color Dango and handed them to little Sara.
"Go on. Give two each to Ningguang and the others."
"But only two each, alright? Eating too many is bad for your teeth."
Jiang Yan said with a smile.
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
Little Sara accepted the dango, her eyes instantly lighting up.
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