"Shogun-mam! This must not be done!"
The very moment the Raiden Shogun reappeared before her people, she declared her promise of a dream: an eternal dream into which every citizen of Inazuma would fall.
In that dream, none would suffer the pains of birth, aging, sickness, or death.
All would be treated with equal fairness.
The dream would erase every sorrow they now endured.
Fairness, equality, and happiness— all the things reality denied them—would be realized in their sleep.
Her reappearance dispelled the fear in her people's hearts.
But her words kindled another kind of unrest— among those nobles who held power, wealth, and privilege.
For the nobility, if the commoners were to become their equals, wouldn't that be the same as stripping away everything they had?
That was nothing less than their ruin.
Thus, memorials flooded in, urging the Shogun to rescind her decree.
"Shogun-mam! Inazuma was yours to conquer, how can you now cast it all away?"
Kujou Takayuki spoke with righteous indignation, as though cloaked in justice, fearless before her majesty.
But in truth, the reason he opposed this eternal dream was that he held too much power in reality.
How could he bear to discard it all for a dream where everything was equal?
If the dream truly held no inequality or injustice, then the Kujou Clan would lose everything.
It was no different than a death sentence to him.
He was not alone.
Hiiragi Shinsuke, head of the Kanjou Commission, also spoke up.
Though the Hiiragi did not wield military might like the Kujou, their clan's vast wealth was not something they would surrender lightly.
Even before entering Tenshukaku, the two had resolved to persuade the Shogun at all costs— she must abandon this dream.
They did not doubt her divine power.
If she said such a thing, then it could very well become reality.
"See, they're trying to oppose eternity, Shogun~ Can you tolerate that?"
Su Ran, holding the petite Raiden Ei in his arms, fanned the flames with a smirk.
He had long disliked these two old foxes.
Killing them outright would be too merciful.
"Silence, outsider! We act for the sake of Inazuma, for the sake of your eternity, Shogun-mam!
How could a mere stranger comprehend our devotion?"
Kujou Takayuki shot back furiously, his loyalty to the Shogun unshaken.
How could a foreigner hope to drive a wedge between them?
"Outsider? Tsk, tsk… now I'm an outsider?"
Su Ran teased Ei in his arms, prompting her to raise her tiny hands to block him.
The dignity of a god could not be tarnished.
Were she not trapped in the body of this small puppet, she would never allow herself to be held so shamelessly.
If outsiders learned that this doll was the true Raiden Shogun, she would lose all face.
Hiiragi Shinsuke broke into a cold sweat.
Did Kujou Takayuki truly not see?
Did he not realize what that man held in his arms— a little Raiden Shogun?
What was there to guess?
That was clearly the Shogun's daughter!
And if the man holding her did not kneel before her, then he could only be one thing— the Shogun's consort!
"You would oppose eternity?"
The Shogun's cold voice rang out, glaring down at the two kneeling men.
Her will had already been upgraded with sharper judgment.
Had this been the old, single-minded puppet, Kujou Takayuki and Hiiragi Shinsuke
would have been ashes already.
"No, Shogun-mam! It's not that—we only fear the dream is fragile, like a bubble ready to burst.
Such a thing cannot be the eternity you seek!"
Su Ran stoked the fire again.
"Did you hear that, Shogun? They say your eternity is nothing but a bubble, a laughable joke in their eyes~"
The two men ground their teeth, but had no words to refute him.
Even the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree had been accepted as part of her eternity.
Why would she not also embrace this dream?
The Shogun rolled her eyes at Su Ran.
She was no longer the dimwitted puppet she once was.
Of course she saw through his constant provocation.
Were it not for the inner essence he held in his arms, she would have already unleashed her lightning upon him.
"…Then what do you propose should be done?"
The dream could not be halted.
But before that, she did not mind humoring Su Ran's little game.
"Those who defy eternity should be executed on the spot— and their heads displayed before the people of Inazuma.
Only then will all understand that the Shogun's eternity is sacred and inviolable!"
The Shogun nodded.
Even the Raiden Ei in Su Ran's arms nodded as well.
But their thoughts were different.
The puppet Shogun nodded only to play along.
Ei nodded because she truly believed eternity must never be questioned.
Without a public execution, more voices of opposition would surely arise.
Neither Su Ran nor the Shogun had truly intended to kill Kujou Takayuki and Hiiragi Shinsuke here.
But Ei had already resolved to present their severed heads at the Statue of the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed God.
Kujou Takayuki's face went pale.
He could no longer sit still.
He no longer cared what relation the man had to the Shogun.
If Su Ran lived, the Kujou Clan would never know peace.
"Shogun-sama! Do not heed the lies of this villain!
This man is no good—surely a spy sent to infiltrate Inazuma, to destroy your eternity! He must be seized at once!"
Raiden Shogun: …
Raiden Ei: …
Seize him? With just the two of us?
~~-----------------------------
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