After listening, Yae Miko analyzed and summarized:
["The current Ei personally planted the Sacred Sakura in the Plane of Euthymia, and it sprouted in the past Inazuma..."]
["No matter how you think about it, it's an unbelievable thing."]
The power of eternity (time)—pretty magical, right?
[Ei: "All this is thanks to Makoto's power; her understanding of eternity is deeper than mine."]
["Eternity is a concept closely related to time; once it touches eternity, the concept of time becomes blurred."]
Ei could be considered to have spoken from experience. In the past, she focused on honing her martial arts, and her thoughts on 'eternity' were unsatisfactory.
But after experiencing this event and personally planting the Sacred Sakura, her understanding of 'eternity' gradually became clearer, while 'time' became blurred.
It's just that Ei had only just touched upon eternity and couldn't fully understand it all yet.
She hadn't reached the level of 'Amazing, it's like I understand everything.'
Yae Miko and Ei continued analyzing: in Makoto's Plane of Euthymia, time was both advancing and retreating.
The 'turbulent flow' Yae Miko mentioned was precisely this chaotic spacetime.
And after Ei planted the Sacred Sakura, those 'turbulent flows' stabilized.
Achieving such an effect might not only be due to Makoto's power; perhaps there was also a "higher-level power (Istaroth)" involved.
The readers' eyes widened all at once—Istaroth? Who is that? Higher level? Stronger than gods?
Venti scratched his head but didn't feel surprised; anyway, since Heavenly Principles and Lucian were written about, writing about Istaroth didn't seem that unusual.
Ei didn't have much thought about it either; regardless, at least the result was good. With the help of this power, the Sacred Sakura sprouted in the past, protecting Inazuma at that time.
It was fortunate that when she returned, she was in a hurry to find friends and drive away the dark beasts, without first causing trouble for this 'strange Sacred Sakura'.
Later, during the process of driving away the dark beasts, she even discovered that the Sacred Sakura was helping her, and Ei began to suspect if this tree was related to her sister's Plane of Euthymia.
After all, it was after she brought her sister's Plane of Euthymia back to Inazuma that the Sacred Sakura appeared.
No wonder this child isn't dumb; her brain works pretty well—she just doesn't like using it.
She had actually tried to prove this to Yae Miko, but failed, because at that time, the Sacred Sakura strictly speaking hadn't 'been planted' yet.
Afterward, Ei didn't want to use her brain anymore and started researching puppets.
In the book, the few people were chatting when Paimon discovered a blind spot.
[Paimon: "But don't you think that tree looks very different from how it appears now?"]
The readers also just realized it; in the previous illustrations, the Sacred Sakura they saw seemed like just an ordinary cherry tree, not in the shape of a fox.
Could it be that during its growth, the Sacred Sakura was influenced by the foxes, gradually becoming extraordinary in appearance?
[Yae Miko: "The Sacred Sakura is planted on my territory, of course it has to be pruned according to my tastes."]
[Paimon: "Uh... you're so domineering..."]
"..." The readers were also speechless. Who would've thought—it was this kind of 'influence'?
They really hadn't expected the method of influence to be so simple and crude.
[Yae Miko: "Just kidding. From sprouting until now, this tree has also gone through a lot. Thanks to the careful care of the foxes, it has its current appearance."]
Yes, in Ei's view, this tree appeared suddenly, but for Inazuma, it had existed for who knows how long.
Even Kitsune Saiguu, who died hundreds of years ago, knew the method of the 'Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual'; it must be that the foxes had 'maintained' the Sacred Sakura in this way before.
The readers were even more speechless—it was just a joke!
In the end, it really was because of the fox spirits' influence that it became like this; we didn't guess wrong!
No wonder during the Asase Hibiki period, the Sacred Sakura already had the fox shape; they thought Kitsune Saiguu had such 'tastes' too.
In the story, Yae Miko skipped this topic and continued talking about the Plane of Euthymia.
She told the Traveler that although she had located Ei, the reason she could send the Traveler to that most probable moment was because of Lumine's strong wish at the time.
The Traveler really did what Yae Miko had said; bringing back Ei was inseparable from the Traveler's efforts, and Yae Miko expressed her thanks for that.
Lumine witnessing that scene was not accidental, but inevitable fate.
In the blurred 'river of time', she was led to that moment—the moment most likely to bring back Ei.
At that time, Ei still thought time inside and outside the space was consistent; seeing the Traveler, she thought Inazuma had suffered calamity again and had no choice but to ask her to come out.
To come begging the 'Supreme Ancestor' who had secluded for five hundred years—it must not be an ordinary matter, at least something that provoked the 'Heavenly Pride'.
Fortunately, that didn't happen; the Traveler was just there to save her.
Now that the problem was solved, Ei could finally use the general's body without restraint; the general would no longer resist—it was like she had been properly trained.
What is this? The keywords would all be: confinement, training, 'mother-daughter', electric shock—you tell me if that's the case.
Cough, no more of this nonsense; back to the story.
[Yae Miko asked: "You saw Makoto's consciousness, right."]
[Ei slightly stubbornly said, "I only heard her voice; it doesn't count as seeing..."]
[Then she sighed: "Just a bit nostalgic, that's all. I've already decided to move forward."]
Makoto was really amazing—I mean, the Raiden Shogun Makoto was really amazing; she anticipated Inazuma's future, including Ei's immaturity and growth.
And to protect Inazuma until her little sister 'grew up', she did everything she could.
[Yae Miko: "Only today have you and Inazuma truly and completely emerged from the shadows of hundreds of years ago."]
["Makoto and you are Inazuma's indispensable 'past' and 'future'."]
"Future..." Ei sighed. Yes, she could no longer be bound by the past.
Miko, it's rare to hear comforting words from you.
You're right; just like that Mondstadt drunkard said, 'people who are unwilling to forget the "past" and abandon the "present"'—how can such people take a step toward the "future"?
Since I am Inazuma's "future", I can no longer be bound by the "past".
And now, as the first step toward the "future", the Eye Hunting Decree... no, the Sakoku Decree should be lifted.
[Ei: "It's rare to hear comforting words from you; I'll accept them."]
Regarding Ei's sentiment about her rare comfort, Miko said:
["Oh my, isn't that because the old you simply wouldn't listen?"]
Whether it was Makoto or Miko, the people close to Ei all evaluated her this way; it shows just how stubborn she was.