Regarding Yae Miko's words, Paimon couldn't help but sigh:
["It's the same as what Makoto said."]
[Yae Miko smiled and said: "Really? Then, can the general's position be given to me for a couple of days?"]
Whether it was the illustration in the story or Ei outside the story, both crossed their arms and glanced sideways at Yae Miko beside them.
Do you want to be the general, or do you want to be my big sister?
"Hehe, the next line is exactly what I wanted to say." Yae Miko covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
[Yae Miko: "Fine, fine, I don't want such troublesome things."]
Seeing Yae Miko say this, Ei stopped staring at her.
[Ei: "I will carefully examine the current Inazuma together with the general, organize the present situation, and deliberate the future."]
["Afterward... I will order the lifting of the Sakoku Decree."]
The people of Inazuma suddenly got excited—the Sakoku Decree is finally going to be lifted!!
We're going to be free! Going to be free! I'm free~!
Especially the foreigners in Inazuma and the Inazumans abroad; at this moment, their homesickness exploded, almost composing famous poems to express it, but alas, limited talent.
But then they thought—this is the future general's decision; the current general doesn't know what she thinks yet. Sigh, disappointed.
Lifting the Sakoku Decree is indeed a major decision, as it will bring many 'challenges'. Fortunately, Ei is prepared to face these challenges.
She will no longer evade; she will responsibly watch over her subjects' dreams and acknowledge their wishes.
Yae Miko will also 'face challenges'; many foreigners will come then, impacting the local economy.
So, she's already considering whether to sell tickets to the Grand Narukami Shrine after lifting the Sakoku Decree.
Local people at the Grand Narukami Shrine only occasionally visit to pray or make a wish or something.
But such a landmark building to foreigners would be 'swarming'—wouldn't that make a fortune?
Ei was helpless about Yae Miko's idea; though she felt Miko probably wouldn't do it, thinking it was Miko, it wasn't impossible.
Adidas: Nothing is impossible!
The Traveler asked again about the 'wounds' on the Sacred Sakura's roots.
Ei said she naturally wouldn't forget and would instruct the Yashiro Commission and Tenryou Commission to 'maintain' it.
She had already cleared the monsters; human memories would soon disappear, and as for non-human memories... leave it to Miko; hope she doesn't slack off.
Because everyone had read Miko's story in advance, they knew Miko did want to slack off and handle it coldly, but in the end, she handled it very well.
Finally, the Traveler and Ei-bao mentioned what Yae Miko had once said, 'My god is...'
Before the words were finished, Yae Miko hurriedly interrupted.
["Oh? Who is spouting nonsense and slandering me in person?"]
["Some words cannot be casually repeated, you know."]
["Betraying me comes at a price; you wouldn't want to know. Just treat what I said as a secret between you and me, understood?"]
She wants a secret with me; she likes me!
Whether she likes or not is unknown, but seeing Yae Miko's flustered appearance, everyone knew—she was anxious.
The usually unflustered Yae Miko, once anxious, would talk a lot.
In reality, Ei showed a smile, rarely using an expression that wasn't so dazed but a bit sly as she looked at Yae Miko.
So it was words you were embarrassed for me to hear; now I've heard them.
"..." Yae Miko was silent for a moment, reached out, and lightly scraped Lucian's nose.
"Little guy, betraying big sister comes at a price, oh." Yae Miko said with a grin.
You wrote it, fine, but if you hadn't written this last part, at least Ei wouldn't have noticed I was embarrassed; with her brain, she probably almost forgot.
I was pretending not to care, but with this last part you wrote, even dazed Ei realized it.
But Yae Miko wasn't angry, because writing this last part clearly improved Ei's mood a lot.
Compared to her own embarrassment, she still hoped more for Ei to be happy, so in her heart, she was actually thankful to Lucian.
So she just lightly scraped Lucian's nose, without any rougher actions—this was clearly a reward!
The reason for saying those words was just to make Ei more certain that she was shy, so Ei would feel like she had 'caught a handle' and become even happier.
Price? Naturally, there was no price; rather, Yae Miko felt the 'price' she should pay was far from enough.
Lucian was a male lecturer proficient in 'fox nature', naturally able to see Yae Miko's meaning.
It was pretty obvious—not to mention the gentle action, just her gaze, glancing at Ei now and then, clearly hinting.
Those who couldn't understand this hint were probably only dazed Ei.
"Then I'll have to run." Lucian smiled and played along.
Casually bantering a couple of sentences, the atmosphere in the Pure Land eased a lot; the sad mood was no longer so heavy.
But outside the Pure Land, the readers hadn't come out yet, still immersed in the sadness of this story.
This story, combined with the previous Yae Miko's story—whether gods, youkai, Inazuma's samurai, or ordinary people—everyone paid too much in that catastrophe.
But no one retreated; whether youkai or humans, they fought to the last moment, because everyone deeply believed: their god was Inazuma's thunder light, and light would dispel darkness!
The eternal path is grand, Narukami eternal!! The eternal path is grand, Narukami eternal!!!
Their god did not betray their trust, leading them out of that darkness, dispelling it.
However, she herself remained in the darkness, surrounded by it, the thunder light dimmed.
It turns out that light itself also needs illumination from other lights, and this time, the people of Inazuma became the light illuminating their god—they are the true 'eternity'.
Now, their god has finally walked out of that darkness and will lead them toward the "future" anew!
And as Ei resolved to walk toward the "future", the "past" (Makoto) formally bid her farewell.
How could such a story not move people? How could it not bring tears?
Especially for the people of Inazuma who deeply believe in Her Excellency the Shogun—this was super effective, outstanding effect!
Even someone as strongly rational as Ayato experienced a moment of emotional overflow.
Not to mention Kujou Sara, who was already a die-hard fan of the general; during reading the story, good heavens, she almost fainted.
Being able to persist and finish reading the story, she felt her will had received new tempering, reaching a new level.
Her Excellency the Shogun's will was elevated, and mine was too—truly, my loyalty matches Her Excellency the Shogun so well!
Ah~ Cherry, no, ah~ General.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Kujou Sara: Regarding the Shogun's Story · Two
"Her Excellency the Shogun's performance is evident to all; it is my honor to follow her.
However, regarding Her Excellency the Shogun's merits, this book doesn't fully capture them; actually, there are more..."