"Aren't those Her Excellency and the Shogun? Why are they carrying a Little Child?"
"It couldn't be Her Excellency and the Shogun's daughter, could it? And there's a Fox Spirit beside them..."
"It's Kitsune Saiguu... I've read historical records; they contain accounts of Kitsune Saiguu."
"Wow..."
The Fireworks Festival was initiated by Kamisato Ayaka to celebrate Inazuma returning to normal; it was certainly not the same as a traditional Inazuman Festival, and one could even say the Fireworks Festival was held specifically for this celebration.
The organizer was, naturally, Yoimiya.
At this moment, Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were walking along the streets of Inazuma with the little puppet. Because of the Fireworks Festival, the streets were bustling with people, but once the Inazuman citizens spotted Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei, they cleared a path for them.
"Inazuma has truly changed a lot," Kitsune Saiguu remarked, looking at the shops around them. "There weren't this many people here before, right? And that street didn't exist either."
"Indeed."
As for the little puppet, she was curiously sizing up her surroundings. She had almost never walked on the streets before, and now that the restrictions were completely lifted, she had returned to normal.
Like Ei, she was glancing around everywhere; after all, both of them could be considered country bumpkins who hadn't stepped out into the world for centuries.
The little puppet was slightly better, but only just slightly.
"Sister Makoto, Sister Makoto? Haven't seen you in a few days!"
When Paimon's voice came from over there, Raiden Makoto knew that Lumine and Paimon were also here; they truly hadn't seen each other for a few days.
"Lumine, Paimon."
As she turned and stopped, Lumine and Paimon walked over from behind.
"Sister Makoto... it's only been a few days, how did you end up with a daughter? Why didn't you tell us you got married, Sister Makoto!" Paimon stared at the little puppet in Raiden Makoto's arms in shock, mistaking the little puppet for Raiden Makoto's daughter, as the two truly looked like they were carved from the same mold.
"She is my and my sister's daughter." Raiden Ei linked her arm with Raiden Makoto's. "Don't talk nonsense, how could my sister ever get married?"
"???"
"Can two girls even have children?" Paimon was completely bewildered. She couldn't believe that the little puppet was actually the daughter of Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei.
But then she recalled a story about someone in Liyue; she had heard that when the Geo Archon descended to the mortal realm, he occasionally appeared in a female form, and the gender of a God was not fixed.
So, could it be?
Paimon's mind started to wander. Back then, she had even asked Zhongli why Rex Lapis liked that kind of perfume, and now she understood.
The perfume wasn't because Rex Lapis liked mature older sisters, but because Rex Lapis had transformed into a mature older sister and liked it.
"She is the puppet that Ei created in the past to escape reality... It's just that now, since Ei won't return to the Plane of Euthymia, she created a new body for the puppet."
"She can be considered my and her daughter." Raiden Makoto rubbed the little puppet's head, and the little puppet obediently enjoyed it in her arms.
"Alright then."
Lumine and Paimon more or less understood.
"Speaking of which, Big Sister Beidou told us that the moonchase in Liyue is starting in a while. Would you like to come to Liyue with us, Sister Makoto?" Paimon and Raiden Makoto had a pretty good relationship now, so she extended the invitation directly to Raiden Makoto.
"Moonchase Festival?" Raiden Makoto rarely paid attention to Liyue's affairs, so she naturally didn't know much about the Moonchase Festival. "Little Paimon, are you inviting me?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Aren't you planning to come with us, Sister Makoto? The Moonchase Festival starts in about a month or two, and I heard there's so, so much delicious food to eat."
"So, so much delicious food! Liyue has lots of delicious food! It's all very, very tasty." Paimon was quite excited, already urging Lumine to hurry back to Liyue to participate in the Moonchase Festival.
She was such a glutton.
Hearing about delicious food, Raiden Makoto didn't have much of a reaction, but Raiden Ei, standing beside her, eyes lit up. She tugged on Raiden Makoto's arm. "Sister, should we go take a look with them? Anyway, now that Inazuma..."
"Let the puppet handle it, she knows everything." Raiden Ei felt a bit greedy upon hearing about delicious food, and she had never eaten Liyue's delicacies before.
"The puppet has learned everything she needs to; she understands the essentials of governing. I just set restrictions on her before, so she could only act that way..." Raiden Ei was already fantasizing in her mind about traveling in Liyue with her sister, and she began to yearn for a happy future life.
Most importantly, being able to travel abroad with her sister was a very, very happy thing.
"???"
"The puppet is so small, you should just stay in Inazuma. If we're going to the Moonchase Festival, I'll be the one taking the puppet along." Raiden Makoto's words made the little puppet quite happy; she nestled her little head against Raiden Makoto's chest, finding that being a child wasn't so bad after all.
"What do you think?" Raiden Makoto looked at Raiden Ei with a smile. "Just stay in Inazuma and manage things properly."
Raiden Ei only knew how to exploit her... Forcing her to work high-intensity shifts twenty-four hours a day, even setting all sorts of restrictions on her. But Raiden Makoto was truly gentle, and she had come to like Raiden Makoto.
"Sister?"
"You aren't serious, are you?" Raiden Ei stood frozen in place, but Raiden Makoto's smile let her know that Raiden Makoto seemed to be truly serious.
No, she couldn't let Raiden Makoto take just the puppet; how could she be the only one left behind in Inazuma?
She wouldn't allow it!
"puppet! Say something! Don't you understand everything!"
If the restrictions on the puppet were lifted, then after five hundred years of learning, the puppet would have learned enough strategies for governing the country. But because she had set the restrictions, the puppet could only operate according to that set program.
However, the puppet still kept her little head buried in Raiden Makoto's chest, completely ignoring Raiden Ei's questions.
Raiden Ei had exploited her for so many years, setting all kinds of restrictions to make her work well, but now that she had Raiden Makoto backing her up, she wasn't afraid of Raiden Ei.
She hadn't really been afraid of Raiden Ei to begin with.
"Mother Ei, what are you talking about? I don't quite understand." And as Raiden Ei continued to ask, the little puppet looked at Raiden Ei with feigned confusion. She then turned to Raiden Makoto and said, "Mother Zhen, what is Mother Ei talking about?"
"I don't quite understand."
So infuriating! Watching that puppet pretending to know nothing, Raiden Ei was truly furious. Could everyone except her enjoy her sister's pampering now? She, she wouldn't allow it!
If she had known it would come to this, she wouldn't have recreated the puppet.
Raiden Ei gritted her teeth and glared angrily at the little puppet. She even noticed that Orobashi, coiled around Raiden Makoto's arm, was gloating a little.
Orobashi was even provoking her, as if saying to her, "It can go to Liyue with Sister, but you can't."
So infuriating! Could everyone except her enjoy her sister's gentleness? Could everyone show off and provoke her?
"Alright, stop fussing. The Fireworks Festival has begun."
At this moment, a grand fireworks feast began. As one firework after another burst in the sky, everyone on the street stopped in their tracks.
Colorful fireworks bloomed in the sky; the scene was somewhat spectacular. Raiden Makoto held the little puppet, quietly watching one firework after another Bloom in the air, the fireworks taking on all sorts of shapes.
So there were so many beautiful things in the mortal world. The little puppet watched in a trance in Raiden Makoto's arms. It was all Raiden Ei's fault for setting so many restrictions on her! If it weren't for Raiden Ei, she would have enjoyed this long ago.
As for the Little White Snake coiled around Raiden Makoto's arm, it also watched the flowers blooming in the sky in a trance. A flash of light passed through its eyes, which were like red crystals, and then it slowly rested its head against Raiden Makoto's arm.
Fireworks illuminated the night sky.
"So beautiful." Lumine and Paimon watched the fireworks blooming in the night sky intently. As the fireworks bloomed, the cherry blossom trees beside the street were illuminated, and many Inazuman citizens who were shopping began to embrace tightly.
Because they knew that from this moment on, they were entering a new era, and Inazuma was about to welcome a great change.
The Vision Hunt Decree and the sakoku decree were beginning to be lifted; from now on, they would no longer have to live such serious lives. Perhaps there would be many foreigners coming and going in Inazuma in the future, and they would also be able to travel abroad.
Her Excellency would lead them forward.
Raiden Ei watched the fireworks blooming in the night sky over and over again. If it were with her past mindset, she would definitely have thought: if she could freeze the fireworks at this moment forever, wouldn't that be eternity?
Fireworks were just a flash of light in an instant, fleeting.
"Sister, I think I understand what you said about... the beauty of the fleeting moment..."
"The eternity where I completely froze Inazuma... was indeed a bad thing." Raiden Ei sighed slowly. She looked at the Inazuman citizens beside her, brimming with happy smiles, and then looked at Raiden Makoto. She knew she had been completely and utterly wrong.
"People's wishes are endless; you can never hinder their wishes." Raiden Makoto smiled. "It's good that you understand. eternity... is more than just that superficial meaning."
"Mm."
"Inazuma also needs to develop, doesn't it? Technology is the primary productive force for development." Raiden Makoto recalled a phrase that was very widely circulated on Earth in her previous life.
"Technology?"
She didn't know much about the world of the Genshin Impact, but she had played Honkai Impact 3rd in her spare time. Teyvat and the Honkai Impact 3rd world were likely branches on the same imaginary tree.
Why did Khaenri'ah completely disappear? In large part, it was because of the existence of the Heavenly Principles; to prevent the Honkai from descending upon Teyvat. On the other hand, it was because Khaenri'ah had tampered with the Ley Lines at the time.
She actually didn't oppose the Heavenly Principles regarding Khaenri'ah. If the Honkai really descended, it would be something no one could bear.
What she opposed was the Heavenly Principles wiping out all the people of Khaenri'ah, with some becoming Hilichurls, some becoming the Abyss, and others still surviving.
A nation that was striving with all its might completely vanished.
"In any case, let them develop Inazuma from now on. As long as it isn't detrimental to Inazuma, it's fine."
From the time Hiiragi Kōji took the lens that Kitsune Saiguu had given her to Fontaine to be made into a Kamera, Raiden Makoto knew there was certainly no shortage of people among the Inazuman citizens who harbored thoughts of change.
They were not people who stuck to old ways.
"Like the Geo Archon next door... I heard from Lumine and Paimon that the Geo Archon chose to step behind the scenes himself, letting the people of Liyue develop on their own." Raiden Makoto smiled. "Although Inazuma and Liyue have different national conditions, we can do that in the future too."
She could emulate Morax, but not now. Inazuma still required her to manage it.
Because Liyue had the Liyue Seven Stars, it had a foundation for human governance, but the Three Commissions of Inazuma, apart from the Yashiro Commission being slightly better, the other two were completely rotten.
"Kamisato Ayato is actually quite good; he can be nurtured well, and he will be able to take on responsibilities later." She recalled seeing Kamisato Ayaka's brother, Kamisato Ayato, at the Kamisato Estate; she knew Kamisato Ayato was loyal and capable of getting things done.
"Mm." Raiden Ei nodded. She didn't care anymore; as long as she could always be with her sister, that was the best thing.
"Sister can just make the decision."
How Inazuma developed was no longer a question she cared about.
At this moment, Inazuma City.
"How should I obtain the Gnosis? The Raiden Shogun's Gnosis is not easy to get." Tartaglia was standing in that place, watching the fireworks in the night sky.
La Signora and the Scaramouche had both completely fallen in Inazuma. Although he had foreseen it, the Raiden Shogun was truly too decisive.
The Anemo Archon Barbatos and the Geo Archon Morax had never done such a thing, but the Raiden Shogun Raiden was different; she had directly slain La Signora and the Scaramouche.
And all of that was because the Fatui had been acting recklessly in Inazuma. He had to be cautious now.
Moreover, the Fatui could not act recklessly in Inazuma now either. If they completely angered the Raiden Shogun Raiden, he believed the Raiden Shogun Raiden would definitely strike at him, and as for the Gnosis, he would be even less able to obtain it.
"I wonder when Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's message will arrive." All he could do was wait patiently; he didn't dare to act rashly.
If he didn't obtain the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis, then the lofty ideals of the Tsaritsa could not be realized. But with his strength, how could he dare to make a move against a Raiden Shogun who was renowned for having martial arts that were peerless in the world?
If he were to make a move, wouldn't that be making it clear that he had lost his mind!
But if he didn't obtain the Gnosis by making a move, how else was he supposed to obtain it? Tartaglia was in a very difficult position now. Of course, he also somewhat regretted his actions in Liyue. Fortunately, the old man had a good temper and didn't care at all about the things he had done.
Otherwise, he would probably be ashes by now; the miserable state of La Signora and the Scaramouche would have been his fate.
"A God who once perished in that calamity has actually been resurrected. It's truly surprising. Are Gods immortal and indestructible?" Tartaglia muttered to himself. He had been in Inazuma for a while, and he knew more or less quite a bit about what had happened in Inazuma.
"It looks like I need to prepare properly... I'll wait for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's message first."
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