"Ahh… Ayaka is the best.
Unlike someone, who only cares about herself and never considers my feelings."
Under the Sacred Sakura of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Su Ran sighed dramatically.
Beside him, Kamisato Ayaka dutifully tended to him, her whole demeanor brighter— perhaps because the person she'd been yearning for day and night had finally returned.
"For someone who's been longing for you, it's only natural she's happy.
Also—considering Ei wanted to prevent you from escaping again, she locked you here in the shrine instead of Tenshukaku.
That's already generous."
A lazy, fox-like voice drifted in.
Yae Miko stepped forward elegantly.
Not only Ayaka— even her mood had noticeably improved.
Ever since the violent tremor of the dream a few days ago, she realized something terrifying:
This "Eternity" isn't unbreakable.
If a mere group of rebels could shake it— then what about an entire nation?
What about widespread defiance?
Could Eternity be… fragile?
Like a soap bubble?
"Little fox, are you scheming something wicked again?"
Su Ran looked at her—one glance and he saw through her.
Every fox spirit had a bad heart, didn't they?
Even Honkai's Yae Sakura was suspicious of being a yandere…
"Me? Scheme?
My, what a cruel accusation.
I'm the most honest fox around~"
Yae Miko plopped down beside him without shame, picked up a piece of fruit from the platter,
and fed it to him.
"You seem very happy, hm?
Running around outside with Ei, being accompanied by other girls…
Meanwhile Ayaka and I were stuck here alone, bored to death."
Su Ran bit into the fruit— and his expression stiffened.
Yae Miko immediately offered him another piece.
His expression darkened further.
"These fruits get more sour with each bite.
You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"
Was this vixen here just to mess with him?
"Now now
I didn't taste them.
How would I know whether they're sour?"
Miko denied everything, looking completely innocent.
As if anyone would believe that.
Ayaka covered her mouth and giggled softly.
Watching the shrine priestess's smile collapse little by little
was indeed a hidden delight.
Those fruits did come from the shrine.
Who knew if Yae Miko had "sorted" them beforehand?
"But Ayaka fed you too.
Why aren't you blaming her?"
Yae Miko immediately dragged Ayaka into the line of fire.
If her pieces were sour, there was no way Ayaka's were sweet.
Su Ran sipped his tea leisurely.
"That's because, little fox, you seem unfamiliar with a certain word."
"Oh? What word?"
"A double standard."
"…"
Yae Miko's smile froze.
As the official queen of pettiness,
she thought no one could surpass her in shamelessness.
But Su Ran's ability to openly admit his double standards made even her feel outmatched.
"Here—say ah~"
Su Ran picked up a wedge of fruit and held it to Miko's lips.
"…"
She hesitated.
"Relax.
I specially picked the souriest one."
…
You little—!!
She forced herself to eat it anyway.
A second later her face twisted violently.
Ayaka giggled again.
The smile had merely moved from Yae Miko's face to theirs.
"All right, Yae Miko.
Enough mischief.
Aren't you going to ask what happened in Liyue?
Ayaka and I are curious.
The Rite of Descension— we've never witnessed it ourselves."
If she weren't restraining herself, Yae Miko would have been wagging her tail right now.
Morax was trapped in the dream.
So what happened at the Rite when the Archon didn't show up?
"Tartaglia ascended to godhood for one fight, then became a clown.
The Vortex God broke free and was instantly nuked—another clown.
And then the Cryo Archon and the Electro Archon fought over me."
Su Ran summarized Liyue in the most outrageous way possible.
"Ei must have won then.
Otherwise you wouldn't be back with her."
Yae Miko's eyes widened slightly.
Two Archons fighting— that was the stuff of myths.
"Not really.
It was a draw.
Or rather, neither dared go all-out.
In the end, Ei won because she relies on me too much."
No one would have expected the Tsaritsa to be mentally defeated simply because she wasn't "dependent enough."
"And the space station?
Ei didn't mention anything else, but that thing—she brings it up all the time."
Yae Miko's ears practically perked up.
A structure higher than Celestia…
And rumor said Su Ran planned to make a woman from Liyue its administrator?
Absolutely unacceptable.
Benefits must stay within the Inazuma family!
No giving them to some Liyue vixen!
"You know…
why did she forget everything else but remember that of all things?"
Su Ran truly couldn't understand Ei's logic.
Out of all the things he did in Liyue and Snezhnaya, the one she fixated on was the space station he'd only mentioned in passing?
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