"Stop."
King suddenly spoke, interrupting Yae Miko's ongoing explanation.
The pink-furred little fox looked up in some bewilderment, her lavender round eyes blinking, not understanding why this lord had suddenly lost his patience.
King turned slowly, his tall figure casting a deeper shadow in the dim light.
He walked to the window and gazed through the high pane toward the outskirts of Inazuma City, at those low, crowded dwellings, the tattered clothes hanging out to dry, and the thin, small figures faintly visible in the distant fields, tilling the soil.
King's mind was restless... He thought of that shivering Onibaba huddled at the Ritou Dock.
The sallow, emaciated Inazuma citizens with numb eyes he had seen along the way.
The brightly dressed, extravagant officials coming and going near Tenshukaku.
These images flashed through his mind frame by frame.
Then, he turned back, his gaze falling once more on the still-anxious pink fox, and asked the core question:
"As a familiar of a God, you possess the God's deep trust."
"Why don't you use the God's power to completely deal with these bloodsucking parasites?"
Yae Miko froze.
Immediately, an extremely complex expression appeared on that furry fox face, a mixture of helplessness, bitterness, and a weariness that came from living through long ages.
"Ei is indeed very powerful, but..."
"It won't work, my lord."
She shook her head, her fluffy tail sweeping the ground listlessly.
"Humans are just such creatures."
"Even if I clear out all the current vermin and replace them with new people."
"In a few years, a dozen years, several decades..."
"The new people will gradually turn into another batch of 'vermin' just the same."
"Desire, greed, the thirst for power, the seizing of wealth..."
"These things are etched into human nature; they cannot be cleaned away."
"At least for now, the heads of the Three Commissions—Hiiragi Senri, Kujou Kamaji, and Kamisato Ayato."
"They are all good people who lean toward justice, and they truly want to do things for Inazuma."
"Although there are many problems below, at least there is still hope at the top."
King looked at her and suddenly felt a bit tired—not physically, but mentally.
"Good people?"
King repeated the word, raising his hand to point toward Inazuma City outside the window.
"Can being a 'good person' put food on the table?"
"These good people you speak of are clean, upright, and harbor beautiful wishes."
"But—"
King's voice dropped, carrying a nearly cold interrogation:
"Have you solved the problem of Inazuma's citizens who lack even basic clothing?"
"Have you allowed that shivering Old woman at Ritou Dock, who is seventy or eighty years old and still has to set up a stall to sell naku weed, to retire at home in peace?"
"Have you given hope for tomorrow to those farmers in the fields who toil all year round yet cannot even fill their own stomachs?"
"Have you provided compensation and medical treatment to those workers in the mines who were forced by black-hearted merchants to excavate, contracted tatarigami illness, and in the end didn't receive a single Mora in wages?"
"You might not be greedy for money or power, and you might harbor justice in your hearts."
"But the people of Inazuma have already been reduced to such a state of hardship."
"If you people sitting in high positions cannot even manage the most basic 'letting the people eat their fill and wear warm clothes,'"
"Then your so-called 'justice' is nothing but crap."
Every word from King was like a knife stabbing into Yae Miko's chest.
She opened her mouth, wanting to argue, wanting to say 'governance takes time,' 'deep-seated habits are hard to change,' 'we are already working very hard'... but she looked into King's eyes, which seemed to reflect all the suffering of Inazuma.
All her words of defense were stuck in her throat; she couldn't utter a single syllable.
Because she knew that what King said was the truth.
The cruel truth.
King gave Yae Miko one last look; there was no anger in that gaze, only a disappointment that bordered on contempt.
He didn't stay any longer, walking straight toward the door of the side room.
"Wait! Lord King!"
Yae Miko finally reacted, hurriedly transforming back into her human form, her dress still a bit disheveled.
"Where are you going?"
"We can still talk! Compensation, conditions, anything..."
King's hand was already on the doorknob.
Hearing this, his pace didn't stop; he only turned half his face, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Inazuma is already in such dire straits; where do you plan to get your compensation from?"
"Do you have the determination to cut the flesh and bleed the nobility?"
Yae Miko fell silent. She said nothing for a long time, her nails digging deep into her palms as a few drops of crimson fell.
"If you intend to squeeze the last bit of oil from the commoners..."
"Then I have nothing to talk about with you."
*Creak—*
The door was pulled open.
Outside, everyone's gaze instantly focused on him.
Clorinde stood solemnly with her sword, her eyes alert.
Lumine and Paimon poked their heads around.
Zhongli's expression was slightly cold as he pondered in silence.
Arataki Itto craned his neck.
Lynette quietly held Raiden Ei, who had hollow eyes and was tightly gripping musou isshin.
Seeing King come out, Paimon immediately flew over, her small face full of curiosity: "King, King, what did you talk about? Did that pink fox who likes to tease people play tricks again?"
King looked at the floating Paimon in front of him, her face full of curiosity, and reached out to gently rub her fluffy little head.
"We talked about some adult matters."
His voice was gentle, and his eyes held a hint of doting.
You silly little thing, it's better for you to continue being a glutton and a chatterbox.
You don't need to understand those heavy topics about a nation's deep-seated illnesses and the gambles of human nature.
Big Fool Paimon, I don't ask for you to strike it rich; I only hope you stay silly and simple forever, without any worries.
Paimon narrowed her eyes comfortably from the rubbing, but her mouth was still muttering:
"What adult matters?"
"Paimon has seen the world too!"
"Fighting three hundred rounds with drunks in Mondstadt, helping a street-wanderer deal with an unsealed God in Liyue, and pitting wits against a cunning kitsune in Inazuma..."
"Hey! Don't look at me with that 'looking at a child' gaze!"
King smiled helplessly and didn't respond, turning his gaze to Arataki Itto, who was standing straight with loyalty written all over his face.
"Do you know how to get to the Kanjou Commission?"
Hearing this, Arataki Itto immediately puffed out his chest, his white spiky hair shaking energetically.
His expression turned solemn, one hand on his hip while the other swung forward forcefully, imitating a tone he had heard from somewhere, shouting with full momentum:
"My lord, you've asked the right person!"
"Going to the Kanjou Commission may seem like a winding path, but in truth, there is a hidden shortcut!"
"—Please follow me down this small path!"
When he recited that last line, he deliberately elongated his tone.
Paired with his dead-serious face, he had quite the heroic air of a bold warrior.
Paimon immediately gave a supportive "Wow!" Although she didn't understand what it meant, she felt it seemed very impressive.
Lumine helplessly facepalmed and whispered to Kuki Shinobu beside her, "Has he been reading some strange scripts lately?"
The embarrassed Kuki Shinobu covered her face, her voice muffled: "I think he probably passed by the Town Street last month and heard a storyteller reciting 'Romance of the Seven Nations.' He spent a whole afternoon squatting in the corner listening..."
King nodded, offering no comment on Arataki Itto's overly intense performance.
"Lead the way, please."
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