"Oh? 'Devour me completely'?" Lisa's eyes sparkled at Akio's words. "Isn't that basically a reward?"
"..." Akio was momentarily speechless. Good grief, this flirty Witch really was unbeatable...
"Alright, alright, you two cut it out," Jean said helplessly. "Be careful you don't set a bad example for little Klee."
"Eh? Me?" Klee blinked in confusion and looked around before pointing at herself with a dazed expression.
"..." Jean was speechless too, staring into Klee's pure and utterly clueless gaze.
"Okay okay, my three little darlings, let's go! I'll take you all out for something delicious!" Akio declared with a wave of his hand.
"Yay!" Klee cheered.
"Yay!" Lisa actually mimicked Klee and threw herself into Akio's arms.
"Yay!" Jean paused, then clumsily echoed Klee's cheer as well.
She didn't want to come across as stiff or uptight in front of Akio.
"Let's go, let's go! Today's expenses are on your dear husband," Akio said as he wrapped his arms around both women and walked off into the distance.
…
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was the next day.
Jean, Lisa, and Klee stood on the docks of Ritou, reluctant to part with Akio.
"Darling…" Jean looked at Akio with a mix of reluctance and longing. The more reserved her personality, the more deeply she felt. Having finally found love, she didn't want to be apart for even a day.
"In a few days, I'll come find you in Mondstadt, sweetheart." Akio wrapped an arm around her slim waist and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
"Okay~" Jean said with a trace of lingering affection.
The Knights of Favonius who had already boarded the ship all widened their eyes at the sight of the kiss. They'd known their Acting Grand Master was dating Akio, but seeing it happen in front of them? That hit different.
The male knights envied Akio—after all, Jean was Mondstadt's goddess in the hearts of countless men: stunningly beautiful, from a prestigious family, and the leader of the Knights.
The female knights envied Jean—for being loved by the Great Divine Sovereign, the supreme god himself. That kind of affection was something no one else could compare to.
"Alright, alright, enough with the PDA. If you keep dragging this out, we'll never leave," Lisa muttered with mock jealousy.
"Your dear husband is always fair in his affections. I would never favor one over the other." Akio gently let go of Jean and pulled Lisa's soft, curvy body into his arms, giving her a long, deep kiss.
"Mmm~" When he finally released her, Lisa's face was completely red as she took Jean and Klee's hands and boarded the ship.
"Goodbye, Big Brother Akio~" Klee waved enthusiastically, bouncing as she did so, clearly reluctant to leave.
"Goodbye, little Klee. Be a good girl, alright?" Akio waved back.
"Klee will be good!" she promised.
As the ship slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, Akio turned and walked away. All of the diplomatic envoys from the six nations had now departed from Inazuma.
At last, Inazuma could focus on developing its economy in peace. Looks like Chisato had her work cut out for her.
Akio smiled faintly and made his way toward the Kanjou Commission Office.
"Lord Divine Sovereign!" The samurai at the entrance immediately saluted upon seeing him.
"Is Chisato inside?" Akio asked.
"Reporting, my lord—Lady Chisato is currently inside handling official matters," the samurai replied.
"Alright." Akio nodded and stepped into the office.
Inside, Hiiragi Chisato was buried under a mountain of paperwork. There had been far too many affairs to manage lately.
Several female secretaries were assisting her with document sorting. When the door opened, they all looked up.
"Lord Divine Sovereign!" they greeted, standing at attention.
Akio gave them a nod.
"Lord Akio!" Chisato beamed as she ran over to him.
The secretaries exchanged glances, then tactfully slipped out of the office, shutting the door behind them.
"Did Sister Jean and Sister Lisa leave already?" Chisato asked as she nestled into Akio's arms.
"Mm-hmm." Akio nodded and swept her up into a bridal carry, then sat down in her plush leather executive chair—one he'd specially crafted for her earlier.
"My love, are you tired?" Akio looked at the piles of paperwork with heartache in his eyes.
"Tired, yes. But when I think of the people of Inazuma living better lives in the future, it doesn't feel so bad," Chisato said with a smile.
"Then I'll help you. Let's tackle this together." Akio kissed her forehead.
"Okay~" Chisato nodded, snuggling into a comfortable position in his lap.
Akio picked up a document and started reading carefully. Then, his expression darkened.
"What the hell? Do these people have nothing better to do? They're ignoring actual duties and prying into my private life instead?!"
"Hmm?" Chisato reached for the document in question—it was a memorandum from the Ministry of Finance under the Kanjou Commission.
"Uh..." Chisato suddenly giggled as she read it. The report was full of complaints about the extravagant personal expenditures of the Great Divine Sovereign, and it even suggested that Lady Chisato, as his consort, try persuading him to be more frugal.
"Uhh... Chisato, am I really spending that much?" Akio asked, scratching his head. Was he really being that excessive?
"It's not that bad," Chisato said thoughtfully. "But it's true that as you've gained more beloved companions, the internal treasury of Tenshukaku has been covering the costs of their gatherings—and that has definitely driven up expenses."
"Ugh..." Akio was speechless. So that's what it was about?
Seeing his silence, Chisato added, "The Minister of Finance is actually a really good and honest official—frugal, upright, and truly dedicated to the people. Please don't be angry with her."
"Come on, you make me sound like some tyrant. I'm not that petty," Akio said with a chuckle. "She's not wrong for pointing out problems—even with a god. That makes her excellent in my book."
"She probably just wanted to let off steam," Chisato said. "The costs have gone up a lot, but it's still within our means. It hasn't affected normal operations."
"Otherwise, even if she didn't say anything, I would've cut back anyway," she said with a playful smile. "I'll go ahead and approve her request."
"She does have a point," Akio mused, stroking his chin. "Now that we've lifted the Sakoku Decree, there are tons of things we need to spend money on. We still have to build the firearms department, too. If Tenshukaku's expenses are too high, that'll only put more strain on you all. I really didn't think this through."
"How about this—let's revert the internal spending of Tenshukaku back to the old budget. From now on, any gatherings we host... we'll fund them privately," Akio said with a smile.
"Your husband has plenty of tribute treasures from other nations. Covering my darlings' expenses won't be a problem."