"Yes… I spoke out of turn!"
Kujou Sara quickly backed down.
Her loyalty to the Shogun and to Inazuma was absolute, but at heart she was a warrior raised by the Tenryou Commission— a commander of troops, not a maid of service.
Compared to the "White Heron Princess" Kamisato Ayaka, Sara was far too rough around the edges.
For her to barge in and replace Ayaka as the one serving a god… it might even backfire.
Still, not seeing the Raiden Shogun with her own eyes gnawed at her with worry.
"Also—beginning today, meals are to be sent up to the two gods, and to that little Kamisato girl with them!"
Su Ran might not need to eat, but Ayaka certainly did.
And Yae Miko doubted that strange god would care to feed her.
Ayaka was, after all, only there to serve.
"Yes, understood!"
A flicker of hope lit in Kujou Sara's chest.
But Yae Miko, sharp as ever, crushed it with a warning:
"Remember—leave the food at the door of the topmost chamber.
You are not to enter.
If you provoke the god's wrath… not a soul in the Kujou clan will live to regret it!"
Such cruel words would never have passed her lips in ordinary times.
But now?
Now she bore the weight of Inazuma alone.
The Shogun's ruin could not be revealed.
The people could not be allowed to panic.
If the nation fell further into chaos,
all would be lost.
Sara clenched her teeth in frustration, but she would not disobey.
Without the Shogun's presence, Yae Miko—divine familiar of the Electro Archon— stood as Inazuma's highest authority.
The three Commissions, usually so willing to maneuver around the Grand Narukami Shrine,
could no longer afford such games.
The heads of the Kujou and Hiiragi clans still fretted in secret,
but they had reached the same conclusion:
Their power had always leaned upon the Shogun's divine presence.
With her fate uncertain, someone else had to hold up the heavens.
That someone could not be them.
Nor could it be the long-marginalized Kamisato clan.
It could only be Yae Miko— a fox spirit, neither mortal nor partisan, favored of the Archon, possessing unmatched status and cunning.
"Lift the lockdown," Yae Miko ordered at last.
"If the gods are unharmed, then keeping Inazuma under heavy guard only betrays our guilt.
The nation is already unstable enough— one more spark and who knows what will follow?"
"Yes, my lady!"
Relief rippled through the ranks as Sara relayed the command.
Watching them ease, Yae Miko allowed herself a small exhale.
But her work was only beginning.
Until the Raiden Shogun was repaired, suspicion would never vanish.
Five centuries ago, countless rare materials had been poured into crafting the puppet that could bear a divine heart.
Fortunately, some stock still remained.
If she gathered them quickly, perhaps the Shogun could be restored.
Yae Miko turned toward the Grand Narukami Shrine.
It was there, after all, that Ei had forged the puppet.
It was then that she had entrusted the Gnosis into Yae's safekeeping.
A shame it had never been set into the vessel as intended.
Perhaps that was why the puppet had seemed so… heartless.
On her way back, a figure she least wished to meet appeared.
"Lady Yae Miko," came the voice of Kamisato Ayato, head of the Kamisato clan.
"I hear my sister accompanied you to Tenshukaku… to meet the god?"
The moment Ayato had learned of it, he had left his estate in haste.
How could he allow his foolish little sister to throw herself into such peril?
The Shogun had fallen into the sea without a trace.
No one knew if she lived or perished.
And Ayaka, dragged by Yae Miko to face a strange, terrifying god in Tenshukaku?
If that wasn't courting death, what was it?
But the Kamisato estate lay too far from the city.
By the time he arrived, Yae Miko had already left the castle tower.
And his sister… had not come out with her.
"She's a clever little thing," Yae Miko said with a sly smile.
"She caught the god's favor and was kept behind.
I must say, I envy the girl."
Whether Ayaka lived or died, Yae Miko would not wager.
"…Ayaka… remained inside?"
Ayato stared at the tower that pierced the clouds.
He longed to storm inside.
But reason won out over passion.
If Ayaka's safety risked Inazuma's stability, then Inazuma had to come first.
Humans were powerless before gods.
"Look at you," Yae teased.
"If your little sister can win a god's favor, won't that solve the Kamisato clan's troubles in one stroke?"
She had no real desire to trade barbs with him.
But since he was here, why not strike a nerve?
If he cracked, fine.
If not, so be it.
"…My sister is but a mortal girl.
How could she possibly catch a god's eye?"
Only in such a moment would Ayato concede that Yae Miko was the more beautiful between the two.
But Yae merely smiled in silence.
And that silence made Ayato's composure crumble.
No… impossible… right?
"Come to think of it," Yae mused sweetly, "I'm a little jealous myself.
That god praised little Ayaka's beauty, you know.
A compliment even I, the great Yae Miko, was never given."
Ayato felt as though struck by lightning.