Upon hearing this familiar voice, Paimon and Lumine were instantly startled, while Sen'emon's face broke into a smile. Ei, however...
"I said, why do you always try to kill me the moment we meet? Do you really hate me that much?"
Ye raised his right hand, pinching the blade before him, his gaze calm as he looked at Ei—though his tone was unmistakably resigned.
"You think you aren't hateworthy?"
"A kind-hearted person like me really has no reason to be hated, does he?"
"That's the biggest joke I've heard in thousands of years."
"You didn't laugh, though."
"Hmph. You dare show yourself in Inazuma again? I've already repaid the debt I owed you. What remains is nothing but grievances. Do you truly believe I can't kill you?"
"I'm not arrogant enough to think I could stand against the Narukami."
Ye spoke plainly, "But I also don't believe there's any deep-seated hatred between us that demands a fight to the death."
Who is the Narukami?
The Electro Archon.
Who is the Electro Archon?
The Raiden Shogun.
Who is the Raiden Shogun?
HoYoverse's most famous actress.
Faced with such an existence, Ye could only admit defeat.
Of course, even without that, Ei was one of the Seven Sovereigns, a deity whose combat prowess ranked among the top three, the pinnacle of the beloved Archons. Though Ye believed he could hold his own against a god, he truly didn't dare entertain the delusion of matching Ei.
Thus, Ye very reasonably suggested, "For now, I think you should consider whether you'd like to buy this tea set from me. His time isn't long."
As Ei's eyes fell upon the tea set cradled in Ye's left hand, her icy expression softened slightly, and she sheathed her blade.
"You really know how to do business."
"888 Mora isn't too expensive, is it?"
It really wasn't. However... Ei turned to Sen'emon. "Sen'emon, do you have any Mora on you?"
Sen'emon grinned brightly. "I never carry Mora when I go out, Your Excellency."
Paimon couldn't help but complain, "We're used to Archons having no connection to Mora, but Sen'emon, why are you emulating them?"
Sen'emon replied with utter seriousness, "How can one approach the realm of the divine without learning from the gods?"
Meanwhile, Lumine ignored the nonsense and simply pulled out the Mora to pay. "Here."
As Ye had said, Furuyama's time was likely short, so Lumine didn't want to waste any of it.
Ei felt the same. Accepting the tray, she said to Lumine, "I owe you another favor, Traveler."
"Shouldn't it be me you owe?"
Ei completely ignored Ye's words. Even if, in her heart, she did owe him a favor, she would never admit it.
Instead, she handed the tray with the tea set to Furuyama.
"My sincerest thanks, honored guests. Today, allow me to show you my skills—though I fear this may be the last opportunity."
With these words, Furuyama calmly began brewing the tea.
Ei, too, fell silent then, ceasing her bickering with Ye.
The others also watched Furuyama quietly, Ye included.
There was no need for further words. It was clear that Furuyama understood his own circumstances.
It was hard to say just how much he knew, but at the very least, he was aware—this would be the last time he brewed tea for the Shogun.
Even Ye regarded the fading old man with reverence in this moment.
Before long, the tea was ready.
Ei was the first to drink. Softly, she said, "It's as excellent as ever."
"Hehe, that's good to hear. To receive such praise from Your Excellency one last time... I truly have no regrets."
With these words, Furuyama slowly dissipated.
Ei's emotions at this moment were indescribable.
Yet she did not linger in them. Instead, she turned back to Ye.
"Why have you come to Inazuma again?"
"Don't be so tense. I've only fled Fontaine, that's all."
"Fled?" Paimon blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, 'fled'? Did you do something illegal in Fontaine?"
Ye looked at Lumine and Paimon. "Do you know of Fontaine's Iudex?"
Before Lumine or Paimon could respond, Sen'emon was the first to answer with a smile. "Fontaine is the nation of water, the nation of justice. The Archon Focalors is both the God of Water and the God of Justice. Just as Liyue has the Qixing or Inazuma has the Tri-Commission, Fontaine is governed by the joint efforts of the Supreme Bishop and the Iudex, who assist the Archon in ruling."
"Sounds like a terrifying person," Lumine remarked.
Paimon patted her chest, seeming a little frightened. "Yeah, someone on Ye's level... How could they not be? Especially since I've heard the Iudex, like Ye, has held his position for centuries."
"I've heard of him as well," Ei added. "They say that in terms of pure combat prowess, Fontaine's Iudex surpasses even the Supreme Bishop. It's precisely because Fontaine has these two—the Iudex and the Supreme Bishop, both with strength rivaling the gods—that it's widely regarded as the second most powerful nation among the Seven, second only to Snezhnaya."
Ei spoke softly:
"But why bring up the Iudex now?"
"Fontaine's Iudex is named Neuvillette—a shameless, lazy man who constantly dumps his work on me."
Ye didn't refute Ei's claim that Neuvillette was stronger than him. After all, combat was never his forte; he was the strategist.
Moreover, while Neuvillette's current strength might not be overwhelming—he was still young—he was, at the end of the day, a Sovereign Dragon. And any Sovereign Dragon possessed power comparable to an Archon's. Neuvillette was no exception, no matter how young he was.
So, was there any problem in saying Neuvillette was stronger than Ye?
None at all.
Ye conceded willingly.
—But conceding in strength didn't mean Ye would endure Neuvillette's bullying in silence.
"This time, he shoved all his duties onto me again and went off traveling. I couldn't take it anymore—this time, I refused to endure it. So I left Fontaine too. I've made up my mind: I won't compromise with Neuvillette this time."
"Eh?! But if you're not doing your job either, what happens to Fontaine? The duties of the Iudex and the Supreme Bishop... No ordinary person could handle them, right?" Paimon exclaimed in shock.
Ye reassured her at once. "Don't worry. There's still Focalors."
"...So you dumped all the work on Focalors and skipped out?"
After a moment of silence, Ei cut straight to the point:
"If you were under my command, I'd have cut you down already."