Seeing the two about to go off-topic, the Traveler hurriedly reminded Paimon to get to the point.
Only then did Paimon remember there was still a thunder god who needed saving, and she hurriedly explained the situation to Yae Miko.
After understanding the ins and outs, Yae Miko immediately began retorting at Ei.
["Stubborn and extreme, acting entirely on her own will, unable to achieve her goals without absolute strength... That's indeed her style."]
"..." Ei glanced at Yae Miko, a 'fleeting glance'!
"What are you looking at? I didn't say anything wrong." Yae Miko laughed.
Ei withdrew her gaze; it was precisely because you didn't say anything wrong that I looked at you.
If you'd said something wrong, wouldn't I have retorted right back?
Ei had indeed always been like this; even after changing her views on eternity, it hadn't altered her personality.
Though she had the face of a mature, calm, intelligent wife, she wasn't steady or calm at all, and was far from wifely, highlighting a stark contrast.
Those unfamiliar with her thought she was a steady, aloof beauty, but actually, she just looked dazed; neither aloof nor steady.
Based on her face, one would think she was some cool-headed high-IQ character, but once familiar, you'd realize she preferred drawing her sword outright over using her brain.
Though Ei had always been this way, this time the matter was of great importance after all, so the Traveler still felt Ei was being a bit hasty. At least she should have some assurance before fighting, right?
[Yae Miko: "Acting hastily... Hehe, that's not wrong to say. Ei, sometimes you're like a child."]
Being called a child by the little fox she'd watched grow up left Ei with mixed feelings.
Yet she couldn't even refute it; Lucian had given her a chance to view her own story from a bystander's perspective.
From this angle, looking at her own story, even she felt some of her actions were indeed childish.
In the story, Yae Miko suddenly shifted her tone, teasingly saying:
["So, you think I can help? Who told you that~?"]
That tone, those words— no matter how you looked at it, it was like teasing a child.
Just like a kid helping their parent shop, and the weird auntie in the store... cough, weird big sister teases with 'Who told you you could buy these here~?'
[Paimon slightly annoyed: "Is she playing dumb? Is she doing it on purpose!"]
[Yae Miko: "The little one's gotten smarter, huh. But this time, I'm telling the truth; I know very little about the Raiden Shogun's true Plane of Euthymia."]
Though Yae Miko knew very little about the Raiden Shogun's true Plane of Euthymia, Yae Miko still had a way.
As a familiar blessed by the Electro Archon, Miko could sense Ei's location, so Miko could use this perception to send the Traveler to Ei's side.
Simply put, the god sent the Traveler away from her side to protect them.
While the god's familiar planned to send the Traveler right back, highlighting a counter-tune to her own god.
Yae Miko reminded the Traveler that forcibly intruding into the Plane of Euthymia was very dangerous, and to be careful not to get trapped inside.
Hearing it was very dangerous, Paimon chickened out.
[Paimon's voice slightly trembling: "Ah? Then I won't go..."]
[Then she said firmly: "You two go ahead!"]
The Traveler looked at Paimon, saying in a pitiful voice:
["Paimon, you won't abandon me, right?"]
[Yae Miko followed up with a jab: "Not going is fine too; worst case, we just lose Ei, right?"]
Clearly, she was the one in the whole scene who least wanted to lose Ei, yet she used this to prod Paimon.
With one playing good cop and the other bad cop, Paimon naturally couldn't hold out.
[Paimon said in a coquettish tone: "Y-You two... Ugh, you're so annoying! Fine, I'll go with you, Traveler..."]
The readers smiled knowingly; sure enough, no matter the situation, teasing Paimon always cheered things up.
And this 'Ugh, you're so annoying!' was really so cute! Unfortunately, her food expenses are too high; I can't afford to keep her, unless I keep the Traveler, and let the Traveler keep Paimon, heh heh heh.
[Yae Miko: "Since your mind is set, I'll send you on your way then."]
"Send you on your way"— the readers really wanted to know if Yae Miko said this on purpose or accidentally.
Given Yae Miko's personality, it was probably deliberately accidental, right?
Fortunately, though Yae Miko's words were unreliable, her actions were very reliable.
She directly tied a 'rope' to the Traveler, then opened the door and stood guard on one side.
[Yae Miko, rarely serious yet gentle: "My god is in your hands, Traveler."]
Ei's gaze softened quite a bit; just for this sentence, she wouldn't hold it against Miko.
The Traveler entered the turbulent flow of the Plane of Euthymia; it was utter chaos here, disordered and haphazard, liable to blow one into some segment of spacetime at any moment.
Lumine did as Yae Miko said, thinking of Ei in her heart. As she thought, a 'massive' Ei really appeared before her eyes.
Ei's figure was truly against the rules; opening her eyes, the first thing that entered her sight was the 'massive'.
[Ei, full of doubt: "You two... how can you come here again? And... your appearances are still the same as back then..."]
Ei hadn't expected it either; five hundred years, and after five hundred years, the Traveler hadn't grown a single inch taller.
[Raiden Shogun: "This confrontation is quite nostalgic."]
["It feels like the time when the laws of eternity were just established; your will now is comparable to that time."]
["In countless battles, you have never once been defeated, nor hesitated in the slightest."]
["Even when I presented all the enemies of eternity before you, you did not waver."]
Everyone understood the Raiden Shogun's words; it meant that during this time, she had still been trash-talking nonstop in front of Ei.
But Ei hadn't lost a single time, nor hesitated again.
It seemed this trash-talking had instead helped Ei break through her inner demons, making her will even firmer.
So I say, Raiden Q-Bao is a beloved eternity tester with no issues, right?
She stubbornly served as Ei's sparring partner for five hundred years, allowing Ei's will to achieve a breakthrough— a breakthrough in a god's will, no less.
[Ei: "To execute the rules so steadfastly, you are worthy of admiration."]
["You live up to the name of 'Guardian of Eternity'."]
Ei-bao also praised Q-Bao; after all, she would be 'herself' from now on.
[Raiden Shogun: "Then let this decisive battle put an end to our fated rivalry of over five hundred years."]
The readers' hearts pounded; was this finally the moment to decide 'victory or defeat'?
Would Inazuma's future finally take its first step!?
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · The Raiden Shogun: Regarding Ei
"Ei... she must have gone through a lot, I can feel it."