"You two came together?"
Ken was genuinely surprised when he saw Ganyu and Keqing.
First of all, because their views on Rex Lapis' ideals differed, there had always been a bit of distance between them. It wasn't that either held a grudge—far from it—but they had never traveled together like this.
"Um… today was supposed to be a day off, but Miss Keqing came to my home and insisted I bring her here," Ganyu said.
Because of the coconut milk incident last time, Ganyu still felt shy whenever she faced Ken.
That was also why she hadn't visited him recently.
If Keqing hadn't insisted on coming to Blue Star today, Ganyu wouldn't have come to see Ken so soon. Every time she saw him, she remembered what happened that day—her heart would race as if a little deer were pounding inside her chest.
She had planned to wait until she completely calmed down before coming over to relax and chat with Ken.
"And it's because I can't come by myself," Keqing said, pouting slightly as she glanced at Ken with clear resentment in her pink eyes. "Even Ningguang can come on her own, but I can't."
She didn't understand the mechanism, but it was definitely related to Ken.
"What are you looking at me for? That's your own problem," Ken said irritably, glancing at Keqing.
To enter and leave Blue Star freely, one had to become his contract partner. But Keqing's tsundere personality affected the system's judgment, so no contract had formed between them.
"Hmph." Keqing glared at him, held it in for a long time, and ultimately could only snort to vent her frustration.
Ganyu, watching Keqing like this, was a little surprised.
In the workplace, Keqing was always decisive and sharp, straightforward to the point of bluntness. When had she ever shown such girlish behavior? That sulky expression almost looked like… she was acting cute.
"Stop huffing. I'll give you something," Ken said, looking at Keqing's purple cat ears hairstyle and remembering something he'd drawn earlier.
—Keqing's cat ears.
But since Keqing's cat ears weren't real cat ears—just styled hair—the item he'd pulled was also a hair-made cat-ear headband.
It wasn't exactly something amazing, but it would never come undone, didn't need maintenance, and looked lifelike all the time. As an accessory, it was… passable.
Anyway, it was useless for him to keep. He might as well give it to Keqing.
"Put this headband on and you won't have to work so hard styling your hair every day," Ken teased with a grin.
Keqing stared at the cat ears he offered. Her fair cheeks turned pink.
She studied Ken suspiciously, her pink eyes full of scrutiny.
Why would a man have something like a cat-ear headband at home? And why did it look exactly like her hairstyle? Did Ken custom-make it based on her image?
Thinking of that possibility, Keqing's thoughts wavered.
She felt… a little flustered, even though Ken hadn't said much, and strictly speaking hadn't even touched her.
"I… Ganyu, come to the study with me. Let's check out Blue Star's internet," Keqing said abruptly.
She felt like her brain was malfunctioning. Every time she faced Ken, her mind started producing messy, uncontrollable thoughts.
She didn't come to Blue Star to fall in love.
She came to learn.
"Okay," Ganyu replied.
Her gentle face relaxed slightly. Heaven knew she was even more nervous than Keqing right now.
When Ken's gaze fell on her, even her slime—somehow—felt faintly sore.
"Keep your voices down when you go to the study," Ken reminded them. "Don't disturb the new guest."
Thinking of Ayaka, who had been so immersed she forgot to eat or sleep, Ken added that warning.
Keqing raised an eyebrow. "A new guest? Do Ganyu and I know them?"
"Um… the young lady of the Kamisato Clan from Inazuma's Yashiro Commission—Kamisato Ayaka," Ken said.
"I've heard of her, but I don't know her," Keqing replied.
She'd naturally heard of Inazuma's Tri-Commission—just like how people in Mondstadt or Inazuma inevitably heard of Liyue's Qixing.
But hearing of someone and being familiar with them were two different things.
Ganyu looked thoughtful. "I'm not familiar with Miss Kamisato, but I do know Inazuma's Guuji very well. Before Inazuma closed its borders, I was responsible for liaising with Lady Guuji."
Thinking of that pink-haired fox who used to call her "Sister Ganyu" at every turn, Ganyu couldn't help smiling.
Yae Miko, the Guuji of Inazuma, really was a very interesting person… or rather, an interesting fox.
A thousand faces was practically her epithet.
It was a pity that after Inazuma enacted the Sakoku Decree, Ganyu hadn't seen Yae Miko in a long time. Now that she thought about it, she did miss her.
"When Miss Kamisato leaves, could you call me?" Ganyu asked softly. "I want to prepare some Liyue specialties and have her deliver them to Lady Guuji."
Her jade-like face held anticipation.
She didn't have many friends in the mortal world. Although her exchanges with Yae Miko had mostly been work-related, Miko's personality was so amusing that she often made Ganyu laugh despite herself.
In Ganyu's heart, she counted Miko among her few friends.
"Of course. When Ayaka leaves, I'll let you know," Ken said, understanding their relationship.
Fortunately, neither Ganyu nor that pink-haired fox was an ordinary mortal. Otherwise, with a mortal lifespan and decades of isolation, they likely would never meet again.
…
Time passed quietly.
Today, Ken rarely went to Teyvat. Instead, he stayed home and handled company matters. It was unexpectedly fulfilling.
In the blink of an eye, it was five in the afternoon.
Ayaka emerged from the tea room. Her serene, water-lily gentleness was still there, but her face carried a dazed, astonished look.
"I… I never imagined…" Ayaka murmured, still stunned. "That my brother and I would lead people to oppose the Shogun… that I would even bring the Traveler to… to fight the Shogun?"
She couldn't come back to herself after seeing the game's storyline.
For a young lady like her, it was far too shocking.
It was true that she wanted to borrow the Traveler's strength to overturn the situation and oppose the Vision Hunt Decree—but she had never imagined betraying the Shogun.
Yet later in the story, she not only fought against the Shogun—her brother even helped the resistance open the city gates.
It made Ayaka realize that once certain decisions were made, they would inevitably set off countless chain reactions.
What broke her composure even more was that even the Shogun's familiar—Lady Guuji Yae—ended up betraying the Shogun too, even teaching the Traveler how to oppose her.
It was simply unbelievable.
That was a divine familiar.
Even if Ayaka understood there were reasons behind it, and that no one truly meant to betray the Shogun—only to make her see Inazuma's suffering, to let the lofty god understand that the people were drowning in hardship—
Seeing those scenes so suddenly, Ayaka couldn't accept it right away.
Fortunately, in the game's storyline, the Shogun didn't punish them. She lifted the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree. Otherwise, the Kamisato Clan's fate would have been unthinkable.
"Isn't that part of why you wanted to befriend the Traveler?" Ken asked, smiling as he watched Ayaka's dazed expression.
Ayaka answered instinctively, "I did want to use the Traveler's power to change things… but I never expected it would develop step by step into that."
Or rather…
Not only the Kamisato Clan and Lady Guuji turned against the Shogun.
Inazuma's people—large and small—also turned against her.
In that storyline, Ayaka felt a deep ache in her chest.
That was the god who had protected Inazuma for thousands of years. To be opposed by her own people… surely that would be painful.
And yet… Inazuma truly could not go on like this.
From what Ayaka saw in the game, the Shogun did not do it out of malice. It was more like… even she had not realized that the eternity she pursued would cause such harm to her people.
"I never thought that even gods can be poor at ruling a nation… I never thought that even gods can have regrets they cannot hold on to," Ayaka said quietly, overwhelmed with emotion.
To the people of Inazuma, the current policies were harsh beyond words.
But from the Shogun's lofty position… what she had experienced was also heartbreak beyond words.
Watching friends and kin fall in war and being powerless to stop it…
Even imagining it hurt.
"No one is born knowing how to govern," Ken said calmly. "But when gods make decisions, they may feel like brief moments to the divine—while for ordinary people, they can become disasters that can't be erased. After seeing all this… have you found the answer you wanted?"
Ken didn't want to judge Inazuma's internal politics.
Different positions produced different perspectives.
Whether it was the Raiden Shogun or the people, they all had reasons they believed they must act on. But as an outsider, this was merely a story of conflicting stances—one that wasn't his place to judge.
He remembered how, in his previous life, players argued about it endlessly.
Some believed Raiden Ei's wrong policy harmed the people and resistance was inevitable.
Others believed Ei had endured too much, spilled blood and tears to protect Inazuma, and even if she made mistakes, she shouldn't be treated that way. A god didn't owe the people anything; she was only taking back Visions once granted.
In the end, it was simply a matter of standpoint. Outsiders had the least right to declare black and white.
So Ken offered no verdict.
"I want to ask you, Mr. Ken… is there a better way?" Ayaka asked.
She now understood the full story and also knew what the Shogun had endured.
If possible, she still hoped their god could awaken from a mistaken course, see the land she once protected with blood, and lift the decrees—without things having to reach such a dreadful point.
"There is a way," Ken said thoughtfully. "But it depends on luck. The invitation system is random—I can't decide when I'll be able to invite the Raiden Shogun."
"However, based on probability, inviting every day is still easier than carrying out a plan like yours. But I have a condition: I can invite the Raiden Shogun here, but Yae Miko must be on Blue Star to witness the invitation."
Ken had no desire to risk the city being cut in half by a single strike.
Blue Star's elemental power was low, and he had set up a barrier—but the Raiden Shogun was still a god. Better safe than sorry. If her power caused trouble, it wouldn't be good for Ken.
In short, there was no need for him to take that risk.
For safety, someone the Shogun trusted should be present.
Otherwise, given shut-in Ei's style, conflict would be unavoidable.
"I understand your concerns," Ayaka said seriously. "Someone as exalted as the Shogun, appearing in a strange place… would certainly provoke… unpleasant reactions. I will speak with Lady Guuji. But could I borrow your recorded video first?"
Because of work, she was not unfamiliar with Lady Guuji. But this matter was too important. Ayaka wanted to be extremely cautious—let Yae Miko see the video first.
Otherwise, relying on words alone… the Guuji likely wouldn't believe her.
"Of course," Ken said. "But before that, I want to introduce you to someone."
Ken had spare phones. Giving Ayaka one wasn't an issue.
He also hadn't forgotten Ganyu's request.
He called Ganyu over and introduced them.
"It may be abrupt to ask you for help," Ganyu said apologetically, "but because of Inazuma's isolation, I truly haven't seen an old friend in a long time. I'd like to ask you to deliver some gifts for me, as a token of my feelings."
Ayaka hurriedly replied, "Please, there's no need to speak like that. Mr. Ken has helped me greatly. You are his friend—bringing something back for you is a simple matter. There's no need to be formal with me. But… may I ask who your friend is?"
"Yae Miko," Ganyu said. "Lady Guuji of Inazuma. I'd like you to give her these Glaze Lilies and Qingxin."
Seeing the gifts, Ken couldn't help smiling.
They were indeed Liyue specialties—especially Glaze Lilies, which now sold for astronomical prices in Liyue Harbor.
Ganyu choosing these for the pink-haired fox was sincerity overflowing.
But as for Qingxin's… distinctive taste—
Ken suspected that mischievous fox might have a hard time enjoying it.
…