"How did you know I was going to cause trouble for the Tenryou Commission? I don't think I ever told you, did I?"
Ember surveyed his surroundings. Although this room looked no different from other rooms, the subtle shimmer flowing through the wood grain constantly told Ember that this place was extraordinary.
This made Ember even more curious. As the head of the Kamisato Clan, what unspeakable secret did Kamisato Ayato have that required such a place?
"Guuji Yae Miko told me, of course." Kamisato Ayato extended his hand, making a 'please sit' gesture.
"That pink-haired fox?" Ember didn't stand on ceremony and sat cross-legged on the floor.
Speaking of which, Inazuma's customs were truly strange. There were no chairs; they just knelt on the ground to discuss any matter, not seeming to mind the discomfort.
"Uh… precisely. Guuji Yae Miko and I, I suppose we could be considered partners." Kamisato Ayato couldn't help but smile wryly a few times at Ember's way of addressing Yae Miko.
He seemed to be the first person to call Yae Miko that. However, Ember certainly had the right to call Yae Miko a pink-haired fox.
If it were anyone else, Yae Miko would have probably tormented them into who knows what state.
"By the way, what exactly are you two so secretive about? You can't even tell your sister?" Ember, seeing Kamisato Ayato nod and admit his connection with Yae Miko, immediately leaned in and asked curiously.
This time, Kamisato Ayato didn't answer Ember immediately. He looked left and right, and after confirming that no one was around, he turned to Ember and asked, "Ember, what are your thoughts on the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree?"
"I know, you're going to rebel." Ember's words were astonishing, nearly making Kamisato Ayato jump off the tatami mat.
"Ha… haha, Ember, you're quite the joker." Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Kamisato Ayato chuckled somewhat dryly.
"Not rebelling? Then why are you being so secretive?" Ember immediately lost interest upon hearing this. He had originally wanted to fan the flames and stir up trouble. Who would have thought Kamisato Ayato and Yae Miko had no such intentions?
"Not rebelling? Well said. It's a pity that it's almost one step away from rebellion." Kamisato Ayato said with some emotion after hearing Ember's words.
"Oh? I'd like to hear more." Ember spread his palm, indicating his willingness to listen to their plan.
"Rebellion, that is truly unnecessary. Not to mention the Raiden Shogun's supreme power…"
"Your Raiden Shogun's power is indeed impressive."
Kamisato Ayato glanced at Ember, who was nodding in agreement, and decisively pretended not to see his actions.
"In any case, in current Inazuma, the Raiden Shogun is absolutely the most indispensable person."
Ember nodded again, this time sincerely. Inazuma was located on the edge of the Dark Sea, and who knew how many potential threats were lurking on the other side of the islands, eyeing Inazuma's land.
If it weren't for a deity like the Raiden Shogun, who specialized in combat and slaughter, the war that would ignite in Inazuma at that time would not be this minor skirmish.
It might even result in more islands, or fewer islands, and so on.
"But now the Raiden Shogun has listened to the slander of the Fatui, the Tenryou Commission, and the Kanjou Commission."
"They made the Raiden Shogun issue the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree. Ember, you frequently go on Adventures in Inazuma under these two edicts, so you must know much more than someone like me, who hides in the shadows."
"Our goal is to persuade the Raiden Shogun to abolish these two decrees and restore stability to Inazuma."
Kamisato Ayato couldn't help but clench his fists as he spoke. The Yashiro Commission held too little power, and Yae Miko, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, had always been indifferent to the troubles of the human world.
Did she agree to cooperate this time because the people of Inazuma were in dire straits? That might be a factor, but not a significant one.
Kamisato Ayato felt that she was more simply acting as Raiden Ei's familiar and friend, worried that she had been in the Plane of Euthymia for several hundred years and had developed problems, and thus chose to open her heart.
His expansion of the Shuumatsuban had the intention of strengthening the Yashiro Commission's power.
"What? The Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree also involve the Fatui?" Ember only heard the three words "the Fatui" from Kamisato Ayato's mouth.
"Naturally. If they hadn't taken the lead, the Raiden Shogun probably wouldn't have thought of issuing these two policies." Kamisato Ayato nodded.
Ever since the Fatui diplomat spoke with the Raiden Shogun a few years ago, the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree followed one after another, and Inazuma became what it is now.
However, the Fatui only got a "good start"; the ones who truly implemented the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree thoroughly were the Kanjou Commission and the Tenryou Commission.
These two families gained too many benefits from the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, so much so that they almost turned the resolute enforcement of the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree into a means of profit for themselves.
The Kanjou Commission, of course, goes without saying. After the Sakoku Decree, foreign merchants could still do business in Inazuma, but various overt and covert taxes had increased manifold.
That group of people from the Kanjou Commission had long since made a fortune.
And what the Tenryou Commission gained from the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree was not money, but something even more enticing than money—power.
After the Vision Hunt Decree was issued, as the direct enforcement department of the Vision Hunt Decree, the Tenryou Commission was unrivaled in its prestige for a time.
This situation reached its peak after Watatsumi Island raised an army in rebellion. The current Tenryou Commission, whether in terms of manpower or influence, has steadily surpassed both the Kanjou Commission and the Yashiro Commission.
Now, with the two families combined, the enforcement of the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree is unprecedentedly strong. Even if Kamisato Ayato wanted to oppose these two edicts, he would have to go underground and secretly cause trouble.
Openly, the Yashiro Commission could not bear such pressure.
"So that's it, so that's it. I wondered why those few knew nothing about the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree; turns out they were the ones causing trouble!"
Ember made a show of sudden enlightenment. He had previously wanted to ask the Fatui if they knew why Inazuma issued the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree, hoping to find some opportunity.
But when he asked, each of them shook their brains so much they almost scrambled their brains, yet couldn't utter a single word.
So the instigators were them, the Fatui, right!
"Looks like I'll have to make them work harder!" As Ember pondered, he arranged a full schedule of work for the Fatui in his mind, so full that it would keep them busy for several years.
Kamisato Ayato saw Ember lost in thought and gently tapped the table, "Ember? Ember?"
"Oh! I was listening the whole time." Ember snapped back to reality. He now only regretted that Inazuma had no deserted islands; otherwise, he could just throw all these Fatui there to develop the land. Why would he need to rack his brain to find work for these people?
Sitting up straight, Ember looked at Kamisato Ayato, crossed his arms, nodded, and praised, all in one smooth motion.
"A very good idea. It seems the Yashiro Commission truly is the light of Inazuma."
"You flatter me. I'm just doing my duty. Moreover, the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree are of no benefit to the Raiden Shogun's great cause of eternity."
Kamisato Ayato shook his head. He was merely following his father's last wishes.
To follow by the Raiden Shogun's side and uphold the path of [eternity].
But current Inazuma truly had no eternity to speak of. Even wishes could be taken away, and other material possessions would likely not escape the fate of being seized.
As for whether it was due to banditry and disaster, or exorbitant taxes, that would vary from person to person.
"Your idea is very good, but how do you plan to achieve it?" Ember's tone shifted, and he asked the composed Kamisato Ayato.
"Heh heh, well…" Kamisato Ayato chuckled a few times, then looked at Ember.
"I had an immature idea before, and if you, Ember, could join in, this plan would become incredibly mature."
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