"What a backward nation this is."
Compared to Snezhnaya, which pushed tirelessly forward, Inazuma's stagnant life felt almost primitive.
"How does it compare to Snezhnaya?"
Ei was curious about the land ruled by that so-called Tsaritsa.
"Well, the girls there all dress very thickly," Su Ran said.
"But compared to Inazuma's god, their god at least loves her people more."
He gave Ei a strange look.
By logic—one was "Duck Duck," the other the "Rice Cooker Wife."
Shouldn't the gentle Rice Cooker Wife outshine the aloof Duck Duck?
Or was it because the Rice Cooker Wife was bad at games, not skilled at management sims like Duck Duck was?
So that's why Inazuma lagged so far behind Snezhnaya?
"Uh… the Shogun-sama also cherishes Inazuma deeply."
When one's god was compared unfavorably to another's, a true believer would naturally defend them.
And Yoimiya was such a person.
"Oh? Then by your reasoning— the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree were both ways for the Shogun to cherish her people?"
The girl's rebuttal piqued Su Ran's interest.
Since the Shogun herself was right here— why not let her hear what her people truly thought?
"This…"
As one of the firmest opponents of the Vision Hunt Decree, Yoimiya couldn't possibly claim it was good.
"If you truly thought the decree was right, then why help those hunted by it escape capture?"
He directly exposed her secret activities.
Her face went pale.
"Ha… hahaha…"
Her eyes darted toward Ayaka.
How could an outsider know this?
Had Ayaka told him?
But Ayaka only shook her head softly.
She had never breathed a word to anyone.
No—under a god's gaze, even deeds done in the shadows shone bright as day.
"Don't worry," Su Ran said.
"I won't expose your resistance.
In fact, if I get the chance, I'd like to help the rebels."
"Mm-mm!" Yoimiya leapt forward, clapping a hand over his mouth.
"Brother Su Ran, you can't talk about the resistance here!"
This was Inazuma City itself— the Tenryou Commission's stronghold.
To speak of the resistance so openly, was he trying to make the Shogunate notice?
She glanced nervously around.
Seeing no one close enough to overhear, she finally let go.
"What's there to be afraid of?
Would they really arrest me just for speaking?
Is Inazuma's speech so unfree?"
Su Ran rubbed his nose.
When her hand had covered his mouth, there was the faint scent of gunpowder.
As expected of the fireworks girl— either unwashed, or steeped in it by now.
"Brother Su Ran, you don't understand!
The resistance and the Shogunate are at war.
If word of this reached the Tenryou Commission, you would be arrested!"
Yoimiya, as a native, knew her city's state all too well.
She herself had even forged a fake Vision to hand over to the Commission.
Anyone daring to mention the resistance here— that was nothing short of courting death.
Ayaka's gaze grew strange.
Catching it, Yoimiya instinctively edged away from Su Ran.
Clearly, she thought Ayaka's possessiveness was too strong.
Not only wouldn't she let others hold Little Shogun— she wouldn't let other women approach Su Ran either.
Ayaka: …
"In any case, don't bring up the resistance here again!"
"Then, could you help me get in touch with their leader?
I'm rather interested in their strategist."
"…Why are you so impossible to reason with?
And how could I possibly have that kind of pull?"
Yoimiya groaned.
She'd already told him not to bring it up— yet now he wanted to meet the strategist?
That mysterious figure was hardly someone one could meet by asking.
At most, she could help fugitives here and there.
But having connections to that person? Impossible.
"That's really a shame," Su Ran sighed.
"I'd hoped to join the resistance, rise to the high ranks, lead them to defeat the Shogunate, and then build a new—"
The further he spoke,
the colder Yoimiya's sweat ran.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed someone terrifying walking toward them.
None other than the Tenryou Commission's general— the executor of the Vision Hunt Decree, Kujou Sara.
If she caught them here, there would be no escape!
Yoimiya once again clapped her hand over Su Ran's mouth.
Any more words from him, and he'd drag Ayaka and even the whole Yashiro Commission down with him.
Yoimiya knew well enough that the Tenryou and Yashiro Commissions were at odds.
But Kujou Sara didn't stop short.
She came straight up to the group.
First, her eyes lingered on Ei in Ayaka's arms.
A look of naked envy flashed across her face.
Then her gaze fixed on Yoimiya, still covering Su Ran's mouth.
Her voice was sharp:
"What are you doing?"
That was no mere man— that was the one who had even defeated the Shogun herself.
The one who could bring Inazuma true eternity.
The one even Narukami revered.
How could a mortal dare defile him so?
"Haha… th-this is just a joke," Yoimiya stammered, forcing a smile, desperate to fob her off.
"A joke? At the expense of a god?"
Yoimiya: !!!
Had she heard everything just now?
Was it too late to run?
"Still not letting go?"
Sara's eyes turned razor-sharp.
Faced with such pressure, Yoimiya could only release her grip.
"Lord Su Ran, why have you come outside?"
For once, Sara sounded vexed.
If she hadn't been on the frontlines, wouldn't it have been her holding Little Shogun in her arms right now?
But some things, once missed, were missed forever.
"What? Am I not allowed to leave my quarters?"
He had only meant to tease this tengu a little, but clearly he had underestimated
the depth of her reverence for the divine.
"It was my error.
Please punish me, Lord Su Ran!"
Sara bowed her head instantly.
Yoimiya: …
What the heck is going on here?!
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