After returning to Tenshukaku, Su Pretty-Boy's efficiency was as terrifying as ever.
He hopped across the Inazuma islands with instant teleportation, setting up a full, convenient spatial teleportation network for everyone.
By the time Raiden Ei judged that the timing was right and wanted to head to the special teleport room to look for Su Xuan… Su Xuan had already brought Yae Miko and Lumine back to Tenshukaku.
As promised, Su Xuan used Raiden Ei's memories and the Kankun Mirror to bring Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo back together.
The moment Lumine saw this, her clever little head instantly linked the rest of the story together.
She immediately turned to Paimon and Shenhe and suggested they hurry back to the Jade Chamber to pick their rooms.
Shenhe thought Lumine's idea was very reasonable, so she followed her through the Tenshukaku teleport array and headed for the Jade Chamber as well.
Right now, inside a room in Tenshukaku—
The joy and excitement of seeing old friends again didn't last very long.
The instant the diary copies appeared in the minds of Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo, the torrent of memories that flooded in left them too stunned to speak.
After quietly sorting through it all—
Kitsune Saiguu was the first to open her mouth.
"I didn't expect the one who granted us new life to possess such a terrifying power."
What did it mean to say he could shatter the planet of Teyvat with a single swing?
The five women present couldn't even picture that kind of scene.
"In my memories, there's even a scene of Ei coming to see me, where I first heard of his existence from her."
Raiden Makoto smiled gently at Raiden Ei.
"Ei's change of heart… we owe that to him as well."
Kneeling formally on the tatami, Raiden Ei didn't speak. She just gave a small nod, acknowledging every word.
Only Yae Miko clicked her tongue and shook her head regretfully.
"Sigh, I already guessed you'd all have copies of his diary."
"But no matter how I calculated it, I didn't expect your diary copies to actually include the earlier content too."
"I'd been planning to personally tell you all about Ei's little escapades—her isolation decree, her Vision Hunt Decree."
"Oh, right, and that Thunder Cannon doll she made. I clearly said I'd take care of him, but… sigh…"
"Ei never listens to me."
Miko wasn't lying.
She really did want to tell Raiden Makoto exactly what Ei had been thinking and doing all this time.
She'd been looking forward to seeing Ei flail and panic.
Unfortunately, Su Xuan's diary got there ahead of her, and dumped the whole story in Raiden Makoto's lap.
"And the horn that was cut off me after I fell into the Abyss—the one the Shogun removed—he took care of that in advance too."
"It's just… sigh…"
As soon as Chiyo thought of the subordinates and friends who'd died by her hand, she sank into deep guilt instead.
The others turned to look at the dejected oni.
They all understood exactly why Chiyo was blaming herself so much.
Those people really had died beneath her blade. She had even dared to raise her sword at her own general, Raiden Ei—someone she should have respected beyond all else.
Raiden Makoto looked at Chiyo's grief-stricken face and spoke softly.
"This cannot be blamed on you."
"You took on Abyss creatures to protect Inazuma back then—that's how you got tainted."
"Once the Abyss corrupted your mind, the one rampaging wasn't truly you anymore."
"In front of the Abyss, we were all simply too weak."
She had joined the war in Khaenri'ah herself.
Raiden Makoto understood the Abyss all too well.
In that war, the enemies of the Seven were not the people of Khaenri'ah, but the Abyssal monsters.
And for Khaenri'ah's people in that war, the enemy had never been the gods either.
Everyone there shared one enemy: the Abyss.
"I saw many warriors in that war," Makoto said quietly, "people who had charged in without regard for their own lives to protect others, only to be eroded by the Abyss and lose all sense of friend or foe."
As memories of that battlefield washed through her, the god who loved the people could only ache.
Precisely because Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo had witnessed firsthand what disasters the Abyss could bring—
They were the ones who best understood the weight of Su Xuan turning Teyvat "intangible."
To him, it had just been summoning a spirit, poking a hole through a shell, and painting a spatial array across the surface.
But for all the living beings in Teyvat, Su Pretty-Boy was truly their savior.
When the topic circled back to him—
Raiden Makoto suddenly remembered the most pressing matter and hurriedly said,
"Since it was Su Xuan who gifted us new life, naturally we should personally go and thank him."
Kitsune Saiguu nodded in agreement.
"We have all the time in the world to reminisce."
"But leaving our benefactor standing around while we chat—that, I absolutely cannot accept."
"Miko, Ei. Where is this Mister Su Xuan right now… we—"
As the three women's gazes landed on her, Yae Miko simply curved her lips.
"See… I knew we'd get to this point."
"You're not the only ones who don't quite understand what's going on in that man's head. I'm sure the immortals over in Liyue are just as confused."
"But the thing is… he doesn't seem to care whether you understand him or not."
Miko's tone softened.
"If you want the answer, you'll probably have to ask him yourselves."
Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo all nodded lightly.
Yae Miko led the group deeper into Tenshukaku.
Soon, they arrived at the door of a room bubbling with laughter and music.
Through the half-open door—
A girl in foreign-style formal wear was dancing gracefully in front of the tatami.
"That lovely girl is the current head of the Yashiro Commission, Kamisato Ayaka."
Miko pointed at the dancing Ayaka and formally introduced everyone.
"The pink-haired girl tucked under his right arm is Sangonomiya Kokomi, present-day Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island."
"The girl on his left is Inazuma's kind-hearted sweetheart he mentioned in his diary—Yoimiya of Naganohara Fireworks."
"The one behind him, giving him a massage, is of the tengu clan—the current head of the Tenryou Commission, Kujou Sara."
"As for those two who look a little stiff—that's Kuki Shinobu and Kirara. I simply thought they had good looks and good character, so I snatched them up."
Kuki and Kirara had been complete accidents.
While Su Xuan was off in Mondstadt and Liyue setting up teleport arrays, Yae Miko, following her usual policy of "if she looks good and acts decent, grab her," had set her sights on them.
Then she discovered that both Kuki Shinobu and Kirara, just like them, were diary holders.
So Miko had very simply ordered the two of them to remain in Inazuma City on standby.
Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo glanced at each other, not quite sure how to describe what they were feeling.
Everything was perfectly logical… yet somehow felt very off.
"Mm, I figured you'd look like that."
"Maybe it's not just you. Even Liyue's adepti probably can't wrap their heads around it."
"But he doesn't seem to care whether you can or not."
Yae Miko's voice was soft and almost indulgent.
"If you want to know what he's thinking, you'll have to ask him face to face."
The three women nodded once more.
Raiden Makoto's eyes quietly slid over to Ei.
From what Miko had said, out of all the diary holders in Inazuma, Ei was the most pampered.
Three days and three nights on Yashiori Island and he still wasn't tired of her.
The night he returned to Inazuma, in a sea of flowers, the one he "watered" the most was still Ei.
If it weren't for the fact that none of them needed offspring anymore, Raiden Ei would probably be walking around with a belly by now.
Finally, when Kamisato Ayaka's dance drew to a close—
Yae Miko raised her hand to knock, only to find her wrist caught in Raiden Makoto's pale hand.
"Miko, don't disturb him just yet."
"When he's finished, tell him I'll be waiting in my room."
Of everyone there, only Raiden Ei didn't quite understand what Makoto intended.
Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, and Yae Miko, however, all guessed it immediately.
Right now, Su Xuan was having a grand time with the other diary holders.
Makoto and the others weren't familiar with the girls inside. In terms of Inazuma's hierarchy, their statuses were far more exalted than the others as well.
If they barged in like this, they might ruin everyone's mood.
And once that happened, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
The best way forward was obvious: wait until Su Xuan was alone and speak to him then.
And Yae Miko couldn't help thinking that Makoto was "very sly."
After all, when it was just the two of them, it would be far easier to leave a deep impression in Su Xuan's heart.
"Inazuma's future really is safest in Makoto's hands," Miko thought.
"Sigh. Ei is just as clumsy with this kind of thing as she is at games."
Yae Miko griped a few lines in her heart, then told Makoto with a smile,
"I understand, Makoto."
"I'll make sure he comes to you as soon as he's free."
"You'd better get yourself ready."
…
Night fell quickly.
With a final soft thud from Kujou Sara as she toppled over—
The room that had just been full of laughter, song, and dance was now a battlefield of "fallen bodies."
Yae Miko picked her way through the scattered, delicate forms and stopped in front of Su Xuan.
She smiled. "So? How was tonight?"
Su Xuan shrugged one shoulder. "Not bad."
"Really?" Yae Miko circled behind him, leaned close, and blew softly into his ear.
"Don't forget now."
"You resurrected three souls right before this."
"You can't just let them go because Ayaka and the rest performed so well."
Su Xuan: "…"
Miko really was rotten to the core.
Her favorite pastimes were selling out friends, old colleagues, and even her superior without batting an eye.
Of course, she was really just fanning the flames on purpose—stoking Su Pretty-Boy's mood to make what came next more fun.
Besides, Su Xuan had already noticed their earlier little "reconnaissance and retreat."
He could more or less guess what they were thinking.
Makoto didn't want to ruin everyone's fun.
And, not knowing him yet, she was worried she wouldn't say the right things and might miss his heart entirely.
If the conversation crashed and burned, things would get awkward fast.
"Say, Miko."
"Before this, don't you have some work to do?"
Su Xuan gestured lazily at the girls strewn all over the place.
"Somebody still capable of walking ought to clean up the battlefield, don't you think?"
At that, Yae Miko's gaze instinctively dropped downward.
Then she laughed.
"As if I'd forget."
While they'd been waiting for Makoto and the rest to wake up, Raiden Ei had filled Miko in on Su Xuan's latest "upgrade."
If she'd understood correctly—
In order to "better exchange knowledge" with all of them, Su Xuan had developed a technique that would let both sides grow stronger together.
From now on, there would never again be such a thing as "wasting a chance to grow stronger" between them and him.
As she thought about that, Yae Miko flicked the tip of her tongue across her lips, a hungry spark lighting in her eyes.
"They're separated into different rooms," Su Xuan said casually, sitting on the tatami.
Miko's attention didn't seem to be on the conversation at all anymore.
Her mind was fully focused on the path of "getting stronger."
Without thinking, she answered, "Yes. They each wanted to meet you alone."
"Oh?"
"Makoto…" Miko's voice trailed, then she forced herself to continue.
"When it comes to this kind of thing, Makoto is definitely calmer than the others."
Yae Miko nodded lightly, then drew a deep breath to steady herself.
"There's also another reason."
"Her identity is still that of the original Electro Archon."
"She can't behave like Ei—doing that in front of junior generations and her people, now can she…?"
"Besides, Ei already received your 'thorough education.' Makoto, at the moment, is a blank sheet of paper."
"No experience, no relationship with these juniors. Unless you gave her a special disguise like you did for me in that game—"
"Turning yourself into an invading conqueror of Inazuma, otherwise—"
Miko didn't get to finish that thought.
In an instant, Su Xuan's hand was in her hair, "firmly" grabbing her head.
"So much chatter while you're supposed to be working."
Yae Miko: "…"
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