Now their lazy, opportunistic image would spread across Teyvat... Even knowing there was no danger, this method was useless. With their current reputation, forget taking disciples—walking down the street without being pointed at would be a miracle. Their image wasn't great, but that possessed Oni wasn't half bad. Yae Miko told the Traveler that the Oni had no ill intentions and even wanted to temper shingo's character and courage.
Perhaps the Oni knew it couldn't stay long, so it wanted to pass on some real skills to Shingo before leaving, even if just to change his mindset a bit?
Didn't he want to get stronger? This way, after the Oni vanished, he'd be at least somewhat stronger, right?
Yae Miko's words gave the Oni another boost in favorability.
Arataki Itto was already quite popular, and now the Oni's reputation rose even further.
Who wouldn't want a friend like an Oni? Strong, loyal, and even considerate of others.
But being friends is fine—being the boss? No thanks. Readers said, "I'm still young; I don't want to starve early."
The "ghost possession" issue wasn't fully resolved. After all, chanting a spell could "add them on WeChat," and it wasn't just those two brothers who got added.
Yet Yae Miko seemed uninterested in dealing with it further.
It wouldn't cause any major trouble, so letting those youkai have some fun wasn't a big deal.
However, one thing changed Yae Miko's mind. Kuroda informed her that A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits was completely outshining Yae Publishing House's books in every way.
Yae Miko got fired up instantly. You can question my skills as a shrine maiden, but you can't question my skills as an editor-in-chief!
Under my management, a light novel not published by Yae Publishing House is comprehensively surpassing us? Unacceptable!
Being a shrine maiden is just a job—I can slack off a bit—but being an editor-in-chief is my life! You're challenging me!
Yae Miko couldn't tolerate it and directly called the Traveler back.
["Little one, come back!"]
[Paimon, puzzled: "What's wrong, Miko? Your expression looks a bit scary."]
Yae Miko declared the situation had become serious—A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits' popularity had completely surpassed Yae Publishing House's novels!
[Traveler: "This kind of serious?!"]
So all my earlier worries didn't faze you, but a novel's popularity got you excited?
[Yae Miko: "What do you mean 'this kind of serious'?! You know how hard I worked to promote our flagship work, and it's been outdone! How can I tolerate this?!"]
Perfect timing—didn't Paimon also want to know who the author of this book was, worried about whether Inazumans were in danger?
Great, then let's solve this problem now!
Kitsune Saiguu watched helplessly. No wonder Miko stuffed me into this shrine maiden outfit and dumped a pile of work on me—this was why.
Compared to being a shrine maiden, Miko clearly preferred being an editor-in-chief. Back then, she had no choice.
The position of Guuji was decided by Ei, and Yae Miko was initially just a stand-in Guuji before officially taking the role.
In theory, the position couldn't be transferred privately, or Yae Miko would've already stepped down and passed it on.
This situation felt bizarre—handing the "emperor's" throne back to the "former emperor." What even was this? A "conjugate father-son" dynamic?
But it made sense. If Zhu Di became emperor and Zhu Yuanzhang came back to life, would Zhu Di step down?
Raiden Ei glanced at Yae Miko, then at Kitsune Saiguu. Logically, returning the Guuji position to Kitsune Saiguu was a good choice.
Kitsune Saiguu was the previous Guuji, and Miko herself was willing.
But recalling what Lucian had said—countering Yae Miko requires doing the unexpected—Ei figured her logic should be reversed. So, let Miko keep being the Guuji.
Though Ei had been "corrupted" a bit, she was still Ei, still a bit naive. If Lucian were here, he'd have Kitsune Saiguu manage Yae Publishing House.
Yae Miko showed no strong emotions. After all, Yae Publishing House's current flagship work was Lucian's prophecy book, and no matter how great A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits was, it couldn't surpass it.
As long as her authority as editor-in-chief wasn't challenged, Yae Miko wouldn't get worked up.
But she didn't know yet that her ace author had just backstabbed her.
Perhaps because she was betrayed by her ace author in reality, in the story, Yae Miko chose to cultivate her own ace author.
Before this, Yae Miko hadn't actually read the contents of A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits.
It was only after her books were surpassed that she took a look. Upon reading, she realized it was a "challenge letter" from an old friend.
So Yae Miko's plan was to have the Traveler write a novel to directly defeat the opponent.
If the Traveler couldn't write, no problem—she just needed to provide an outline, and Yae Miko would arrange ghostwriters to help.
The Traveler didn't need to worry about the writing team. In her spare time, she went to ask people what made novels appealing nowadays.
The first person said: Naturally, it's authentic and interesting content—stories that make your eyes light up.
Readers thought: Yeah, authenticity. Prophecy books win because of their authenticity... They even reveal the true sides of gods.
The second person said: Illustrations, of course! Buying illustrations with a light novel attached isn't a joke!
Readers nodded quietly. The prophecy book's content was thrilling, and its illustrations were equally spectacular.
Gods from every nation, beauties, handsome men, the Fatui—it had everything, surely something for everyone.
The third person said: It's about the thrill! It's all for the thrill!
Readers agreed. Learning stories they never dared imagine was thrilling as hell—even glimpsing the gods' private lives.
Now it clicked. This story was Shikikan using A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits' popularity to praise himself!
Wasn't this just spelling out why his book was so popular?
Hey! I've got an idea! Why not rename the prophecy book A True Future Diary?
To this suggestion, Lucian could only say: Keep your little schemes to yourself!
Does that name sound like it's for a Teyvat story? It's more suited for Demon Slayer! For Zenitsu Agatsuma!
No, wait—not Zenitsu Agatsuma, it should be Yuno Gasai.
Back to the story, Yae Miko prepared a writing team for the Traveler, who couldn't write novels.
The team had three members: editor Amou, main writer Soumi, and idea generator Shunkichi.
The idea generator always had great ideas but was in a creative slump lately, so he came to help the Traveler while seeking new inspiration.
With their help, the Traveler only needed to provide an outline, which was essentially a modified version of her real experiences.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Raiden Ei: About Lucian · Teachings
"Hm, I didn't remember his teachings on eternity, but I did remember his advice on how to deal with Miko."