Under the sacred sakura tree at the Grand Narukami Shrine, two people were facing each other, one large and one small.
The larger one was Yae Miko, the chief priestess of the shrine and a little-known scum woman.
The other was Sayu, a young female ninja from the secret organization Shuumatsuban.
After staring at Sayu for a few moments, Yae Miko pretended that nothing had happened and said:
"Sayu, you've worked hard recently on the task of protecting Yuuko."
Sayu lowered her head guiltily: "N-no... Sayu was just carrying out her mission..."
"Is that so." Yae Miko nodded with a smile, then asked casually:
"Then you shouldn't have had too much contact with the target, right, Sayu?"
"Mmph! No!" Sayu's tone was slightly panicked.
"Is that so." Yae Miko pondered for a while, intending to say something.
In the end, she sighed: "Never mind. I'll notify you when there's a new mission."
Sayu nodded, then swiftly transformed into a Wind Ball and rolled away.
Clearly, for Sayu, communicating face-to-face with this scum woman was quite stressful.
Watching Sayu leave, Yae Miko sighed softly again:
"Ah~ Facing such an innocent creature like Sayu, I just can't bring myself to blame her..."
Thinking this, Yae Miko shook her head:
"But never mind. Since Sayu is so innocent, it's unlikely anything would happen between her and Yuuko."
"Sayu probably just relies on Yuuko, treating him like an older brother."
"And Yuuko probably just takes care of Sayu, treating her like a younger sister."
"What I need to worry about now is that bumpkin Ei..."
Yae Miko fell into contemplation, her expression gradually turning serious.
Just as Yae Miko was considering how to face Raiden Ei later.
A Shrine Maiden walked toward Yae Miko and said with a lowered head:
"Guuji-sama, the General has issued an order, asking you to go to the Tenshukaku to meet her."
Hearing this, Yae Miko's expression shifted slightly, and she refused without hesitation:
"Tell her I am indisposed and cannot conveniently meet her."
Yae Miko definitely did not want to meet Raiden Ei recently.
Because she could imagine how Ei would mock her after they met... The attending Shrine Maiden paused slightly, then hesitated:
"But is that alright? After all, it is the General's order..."
Yae Miko waved her hand dismissively:
"Don't worry. If I don't go, she can't possibly bring her sword up to the shrine to find me."
"Uh..." The Shrine Maiden was stunned again.
Yae Miko showed a scummy expression and waved her hand: "What is it? If there's nothing else, don't disturb my light reading... Don't disturb my Peaceful Meditation."
The Shrine Maiden hesitated for a moment and said weakly:
"Oh, Guuji-sama, when the General gave the order, she also asked me to relay a message. Her exact words were..."
"Miko, you truly have an interesting side that no one knows about. He, surely doesn't know yet, right?"
Hearing this, Yae Miko, who had been full of scummy intent, immediately looked troubled.
After all, this was outright blackmail... After a moment, Yae Miko sighed softly: "Fine, I'm scared. I'll go see her..."
"Then I will return to my duties." Seeing this, the Shrine Maiden breathed a slight sigh of relief.
All in all, her mission was complete as long as she successfully delivered the message.
Just as the Shrine Maiden intended to return to her regular work, Yae Miko stopped her again:
"Also, it's about time to perform the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual. Go instruct the other Shrine Maidens to prepare in advance. I will preside over it personally."
"Yes." The Shrine Maiden nodded thoughtfully, bowed, and then left.
It wasn't until the Shrine Maiden left that Yae Miko let out another heavy sigh.
She rubbed her temples continuously with both hands: "When did that fellow Ei become so cunning..."
She stood up and walked toward the direction of the shrine's main entrance.
Now, Yae Miko had no choice but to go see Raiden Ei... Inazuma City, Tenshukaku.
The Raiden Shogun was sitting cross-legged inside, resting with her eyes closed, as usual.
And at a certain moment, she suddenly opened her eyes.
The Raiden Shogun fixed her gaze upon the main entrance of the Tenshukaku.
She was no longer the Raiden Shogun; she was Raiden Ei.
At this moment, a graceful pink figure walked into the Tenshukaku and swayed toward Raiden Ei.
Clearly, the only scum woman who could walk in without even knocking was Yae Miko.
Yae Miko was wearing an expression of utter helplessness, spreading her hands:
"What, did you absolutely have to call me here just to mock me?"
As she said this, Yae Miko put on an expression that seemed to say, 'Laugh all you want, I choose to slack off.'
However, Raiden Ei shook her head: "I didn't call you here today to mock you."
After speaking, Raiden Ei smiled again:
"However... the way Miko behaved in front of him certainly was quite amusing."
Yae Miko sighed helplessly again:
"And you say you weren't mocking me? Ei, have you turned evil? Your friend is already socially dead, and you still insist on twisting the knife."
"Didn't I deliberately try to shift Ei's attention to Yellow Fox before? Why did Ei still end up interacting with Yuuko..."
Facing this question, Raiden Ei was silent for a moment before answering with a smile:
"After all, he is someone close to Miko. Naturally, I was very interested."
"So that was it. It seems I shouldn't have been so publicly generous in helping Yuuko..." Yae Miko sighed.
"Miko, he truly is a wonderful person." Raiden Ei smiled again.
These words caused Yae Miko's face to twitch slightly.
The feeling was like having a Love Rival declare "He's amazing!" right to your face.
Yae Miko looked at Raiden Ei expressionlessly:
"Ei... you didn't call me here today just to pick a fight, did you..."
Recalling what happened yesterday, Yae Miko genuinely felt the impulse to start a 1v1 real-life brawl with Raiden Ei right here... though whether she could win was another matter entirely.
Raiden Ei shook her head: "I was only stating facts. How is that picking a fight? Anyway... let's talk about serious matters."
At this moment, Raiden Ei's expression also became serious, and the atmosphere was no longer as light and pleasant as before.
"Yesterday, under Yuuko's guidance, I witnessed many novel things I had never seen before. Those were truly wonderful things."
"Things that sprouted up without my notice."
"Even though the Shogun has been implementing eternity according to my will all these years."
"In the end, the will of eternity simply couldn't withstand the people's desire to move forward."
"Isn't that the truth? Ei, you used to be quite stubborn. And because you were always isolating yourself in the Plane of Euthymia, the rest of us were truly exhausted." Yae Miko waved her hand helplessly.
"I apologize." Raiden Ei bowed her head slightly.
Afterward, Raiden Ei raised her head again and said solemnly:
"After witnessing the changes in Inazuma today, I have made a decision."
"From now on, I will no longer abandon the dreams of the people of Inazuma. I will carry their wishes forward and advance alongside Inazuma."
After speaking, Raiden Ei's face was filled with a bitter smile:
"At least, if Makoto were still here, she would definitely want me to do this."
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