One Makoto, one Ei, and one Shogun.
Why did all three of them look exactly the same?
Kamisato Ayaka stood there blankly, still trying to process this shocking revelation.
Were the secrets of Inazuma's gods… a little too many?
The puppet was one thing—but now there were two more identical people?
"And that lady over there…"
Ayaka looked at the one currently playing shogi with Su Ran.
"She's my elder sister," Ei replied calmly.
Elder sister…?
So Inazuma was this incredible all along?
Not one, not two, but three divine beings!
Twin gods to begin with, one of whom had gone on to create the famous Shogun puppet.
In reality, Inazuma possessed three archons.
Didn't that already outclass the other six nations?
As the match continued, Raiden Makoto's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Su Ran, wearing his usual smile, deliberately left an opening.
She didn't fall for it.
He made his next move.
And still—the board was hopelessly lost.
Makoto stared at the situation, fighting the urge to flip the table.
What? Already over?
Impossible.
She was no ordinary being—she was a thousand-year-old god, one renowned not just for her strength but also her intelligence.
How could she be beaten so thoroughly in a mere game?
"…Another round!"
Unwilling to accept it, she demanded a rematch, determined to claw back some dignity.
Ayaka, watching, realized something.
This Raiden Makoto seemed to be falling into the same trap she herself had earlier.
The more desperately one wanted to win… the less chance one had of actually doing so.
Ei, on the other hand, was unfazed.
Scenes like this, she had witnessed countless times.
Back at the Grand Narukami Shrine, Makoto often played against Kitsune Saiguu.
Back then, all Ei needed to do was sit on the side, happily eating sweets.
Chess-like games were never her forte anyway.
But here, there were no sweets.
Her gaze instead drifted toward the two bottles of dango milk Makoto had packed earlier.
"…What do you think you're doing?"
Makoto's sharp eyes locked onto Ei's outstretched hand.
"…I was just looking."
Intimidated, Ei awkwardly withdrew her hand.
Her sister's gaze just now had been downright terrifying— as if Makoto were about to really teach her a lesson.
Why was her usually gentle elder sister suddenly glaring at her like this?
"That's not for you," Makoto warned coldly, before turning back to the game.
A mother, already preparing gifts for her child, and yet here she is having to guard them from her own sister…
Her first defeat had been far too quick. Makoto couldn't stomach it.
So this time, she bore down seriously, pouring all her focus into the board.
"If you can't see well from there, why not sit beside me?"
Su Ran patted the spot next to him.
Ayaka had been hovering behind, fascinated by the rare sight of a shogi match involving a god.
But out of respect for Raiden Makoto, she hadn't dared to approach too closely.
This way, she could see much better.
"Ei, come sit."
"Me? That's not necessary… Fine, I understand."
She had been about to refuse, but one look at Makoto's eyes left her no choice.
Obediently, Ei sat down at Su Ran's side.
Strange… why was Makoto acting so oddly today?
"I have an open seat on my other side too," Su Ran added casually.
With one side already occupied by Ei, he still had space on the other.
Ayaka didn't sense anything unusual.
She simply walked over and sat down as well.
Seeing Ei sit there indifferently, Makoto nearly fumed.
Hopeless. Utterly hopeless!
Did she expect her big sister to fight for everything on her behalf?
That child—was she Ei's and his?
Or was she hers and his?
"Lady Makoto, you mustn't lose focus while playing," Su Ran teased with a grin.
He had noticed her glare, though he didn't quite understand it.
Why was she pushing so hard to pair him with Ei?
Could it be… Ei actually liked him, but was too shy to say it?
So she'd secretly told Makoto, who was now playing wingwoman?
His eyes shifted suspiciously to Ei.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I was just thinking—you're really quite pretty."
"…Am I?"
Ei touched her own face in surprise.
It was the first time anyone had praised her looks so directly.
"Su Ran, you mustn't lose focus while playing either," Makoto countered, throwing his own words back at him.
But seeing their rapport, her heart eased a little.
So long as it wasn't a case of him chasing novelty and casting Ei aside, she could relax.
"No need to worry. I'm a genius. Everyone knows a genius can't be measured by ordinary standards. Even if I'm half-distracted, it makes no difference."
Double standards?
For others—unacceptable.
For himself—perfectly fine.
That was just the kind of man Su Ran was.
"You are quite confident, Mr. Su Ran," Makoto said wryly.
Half an hour later.
Makoto stared grimly at the board.
"…Lady Makoto, would you like me to space out for a moment?"
His mocking, challenging smile made even her, the usually gentle god, grit her teeth.
Shogi might be called a game, but games weren't always fun.
Sometimes, they were only suffocating.
And right now, she felt exactly that way.
"No need."
Yet somehow, this board felt even more grueling than the Archon War itself.
Back then, at least Ei had stood by her side.
But now? Ei was off in her own world,
while Ayaka, on the other side, was happily offering Su Ran fruit.
Makoto's heart twisted.
She truly couldn't carry Ei at all.
Why was protecting her sister's happiness… harder than waging war against gods?
"…Mr. Su Ran, what do you think of Ei?"
At last, Makoto struck directly.
She had wanted to use this match as a show of strength, a subtle warning.
Even if Su Ran was her savior, he couldn't be allowed to trample Ei's heart.
Multiple wives? Fine.
But neglecting her sister? Absolutely not.
Yet she couldn't beat him at shogi, so the intimidation plan was out the window.
From what she'd seen, though, his relationship with Ei wasn't bad.
Just… quiet.
Perhaps there was a misunderstanding between them.
If so, she would clear it up right here and now.
After all— an older sister who tolerated harems, and even took the initiative to resolve misunderstandings?
That was a rarity indeed.
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