The Raiden Shogun covered her face in pain. "All prohibited matters. Sigh... just let me stop talking."
[Paimon: It seems the rules Ei left behind are really restrictive.]
[Ei: Yes. I couldn't let the Shogun run wild, nor could I let anyone discover she's merely a puppet. I also couldn't allow her to do anything excessive. Hence, many restrictions.]
[Venti: Looks like slacking off isn't so easy either.]
[Ningguang: Even with such thorough preparation, the Shogun still has many behavioral obstacles.]
Paimon said, "What do we do, Lumine? This conversation is going nowhere."
Lumine thought for a moment. "Is the Shogun... broken?"
[Yae Miko: If the Shogun broke that easily, how could we even speak of eternity?]
[Lumine: True. The Shogun was forged from Ei's divine body. She's hard to break.]
[Paimon: Still, she seems off.]
[Focalors: Fontaine's robots break rather easily, but they're simple to repair—just replace a few parts.]
[Paimon: What kind of parts does the Shogun need?]
[Ei: The Shogun doesn't need parts. If injured, she can recover through lightning.]
Just then, a gentle voice rang out. "Oh, it's you two. It's been a while. The Shogun is currently... inconvenienced. Come in and see me directly."
The next moment, Lumine was pulled into the Plane of Euthymia.
Paimon complained emphatically, "You scared me! Don't just yank us in so suddenly!"
Ei spread her hands. "It's not like this is the first time. What's there to panic about?"
Paimon asked, "Is the Shogun out there broken? Should you find time to repair her?"
Ei explained, "No need to worry. That was my doing. I've temporarily disabled many of the Shogun's functions."
"The Shogun can currently neither handle affairs nor serve as my proxy, so I simply declared she would be in secluded cultivation."
[Kamisato Ayaka: So that's the truth behind the Shogun's seclusion.]
[Ningguang: In a sense, the real Shogun has always been in seclusion.]
[Zhongli: She was guarding eternity.]
[Focalors: Locking oneself in a room without sky—even just for a month—sounds terrifying.]
[Yae Miko: Indeed. That's something only a deity's will could endure.]
Lumine understood. "No wonder the Shogun kept saying 'prohibited.' So that's the situation."
Ei continued, "I mentioned before that I needed to think carefully about Inazuma's eternity. I need time. But the Shogun was still operating under her original rules. Until I've thought things through, I cannot allow the Shogun to continue making mistakes."
[Lumine: Speaking of Inazuma's eternity, perhaps you could note Liyue. The spirit of the Qixing passed down through generations—the people forever happy and prosperous. Isn't that also a form of eternity?]
[Streetward Rambler: Yes, Liyue gets better with each passing day. A hundred years ago, a thousand years ago, Liyue wasn't this prosperous.]
[Yae Miko: Eternity is about preserving what is beautiful. But appropriate progress can also preserve beauty.]
[Ningguang: And it gets better and better.]
[Zhongli: Shogun, perhaps visiting Liyue wouldn't be a bad idea.]
[Yae Miko: Yes, Ei. Because of the livestream, Inazuma's reforms happened early. We could borrow some experience from our neighboring nation.]
[Ei: Would that not trouble you?]
[Zhongli: Not at all. I have ample free time. I would personally serve as your guide and introduce you to Liyue.]
[Ei: Then... I shall go to Liyue now.]
[Lumine: This is a good thing. All those soldiers—from both the resistance and the Shogunate—who fell in battle... none of them would have to die.]
[Paimon: And many people's wishes would be preserved because of this.]