"Lady Miko!"
"Lady Miko, are you alright?!"
"What happened? Why the explosion?!"
At that moment, a swarm of shrine maidens rushed into the Grand Narukami Shrine, their eyes filled with fear and concern.
Ever since the Raiden Shogun had sealed off Inazuma, Yae Miko was the one who made the major decisions.
In their hearts, she was Inazuma's current ruler and beacon of hope!
If something happened to Lady Miko, they were done for!
Yet when they charged into the shrine without a second thought and arrived beneath the Sacred Sakura Tree...
They saw their revered Lady Miko, with all nine tails on display, cowering behind a man.
Ye Xi glanced at the shrine maidens and said calmly, "No need to worry—we're fine."
The shrine maidens exchanged bewildered looks.
Of course they knew who Ye Xi was.
Ever since Lady Miko had brought him back three years ago, she'd been like a different person.
At first, when she insisted on letting him live under the Sacred Sakura Tree, they'd strongly opposed it.
For one thing, Ye Xi's background was a mystery!
Especially his attire at the time—it didn't match Inazuma's style at all, and it didn't even look like clothing from this world.
Someone like that was clearly suspicious!
And secondly...
After all, this was the sacred Grand Narukami Shrine. Every shrine maiden was expected to maintain purity.
A man moving in? How could that be allowed?
But later, Lady Miko insisted on it and even wanted to keep Ye Xi by her side.
The shrine maidens never could have imagined that, and they couldn't understand it at all.
The pure Lady Miko, actually wanting to be inseparable from some mysterious outsider.
Sometimes, they even wondered if Lady Miko had been bewitched, secretly controlled by this man.
But eventually, they relaxed.
Because Ye Xi had no power at all.
When they heard Ye Xi say it was nothing, they all turned puzzled gazes toward Yae Miko.
Ye Xi said helplessly, "It seems like I went a bit overboard. Sorry, I made so many petals fall from the Sacred Sakura Tree."
The tree shed a lot of cherry blossoms every day, but this disturbance had nearly stripped it bald in one go.
So, Ye Xi felt a twinge of guilt.
"That commotion just now was caused by Lord Ye Xi!?"
"No way? When did Lord Ye Xi get so strong!?"
"I thought it was Lady Miko casting some spell!"
The shrine maidens whispered in surprise to one another.
Though they'd kept their distance from Ye Xi before, everyone had come to realize that, aside from his unclear origins, he was actually a gentle person.
But they never imagined that someone who couldn't wield any Elemental Force back then could pull off something like that.
Even Lady Yae Miko might not be capable of more!
He might even catch the Raiden Shogun off guard!
This progress was way too fast!
In an instant, the shrine maidens cast envious looks his way.
Yae Miko herself felt a chill of alarm at that moment, but she quickly used her youjutsu to forcibly regain her composure.
She was the head priestess of the Grand Narukami Shrine, the current voice of authority in Inazuma.
If her expression showed any flaw, word would spread across Inazuma in no time.
Rumors like "Even Lady Miko is afraid"—that kind of thing.
It would plunge the people into panic.
To be honest, she could understand why Ei always kept such an icy demeanor.
Because the slightest change could spark all sorts of speculation from others.
"Ah... you all go reassure the people."
Yae Miko suddenly sighed, resuming her usual enigmatic poise as she issued orders to the shrine maidens.
The disturbance had been no small thing; it had probably woken countless people in Inazuma.
Without someone to spread the word, things might get restless down below.
Yae Miko couldn't abandon her people.
The shrine maidens bowed and hurried down the mountain.
And just as Yae Miko had guessed...
Inazuma City at that moment was gripped by utter panic.
Countless citizens had woken up, and the guards were in disarray.
"What happened!?"
"Where did that explosion come from!?"
"Was it a god attacking!?"
The whole city was in chaos.
At the Nagano Original Fireworks Shop.
A curious girl's voice rang out.
"What a huge firework!"
"It's a waste not to save it for the festival!"
In the serene Chinju Forest, a flock of birds took flight in alarm, while foxes on the ground scurried in all directions.
A little girl who had been sleeping was startled awake.
"So noisy... If I don't sleep properly... I won't grow tall... Zzz..."
In the Kamisato Residence, a young woman opened her eyes and looked toward the Grand Narukami Shrine outside the window, her gaze filled with worry.
"Xi, did something happen?"
The villagers of Konda Village had lit their lamps too.
Firelight illuminated several li around, and the sound had echoed through the clouds.
The Tenryou Commission, Yashiro Commission, and Kanjou Commission—the three major pillars of power—had all been jolted awake. This chaos might drag on until dawn.
At that moment.
At the Grand Narukami Shrine.
The instigator of this uproar had already returned to his little world.
Yae Miko's thoughts were in complete disarray; she could only keep her head lowered, not letting Ye Xi see her expression.
Changing the subject, she said, "Xi, you don't even have a Vision, so how can you command such vast Elemental Force?"
"This... I don't really know how to explain it."
[Everyone's crossed over here—if I didn't have some kind of golden finger, I'd really be cursing up a storm!]
Ye Xi gave a wry smile in response to Yae Miko on the surface, while inwardly, he fumed.
He brought up leaving Inazuma, looking at the pink-haired fox before him. Calmly, he said, "Editor-in-Chief, now you can finally relax, right? I'll go out and find some inspiration, then come back to write even better stories."
"I..."
Yae Miko's gaze flickered evasively; she realized she could no longer find a reason to hold Ye Xi back.
But she truly couldn't bear to let him go.
The outside world was full of temptations, and she worried that once Ye Xi left Inazuma, he'd forget all about her.
If Ye Xi knew what Yae Miko was thinking, he'd probably retort.
The temptations for staying here were the real abundance!
One Miko was already too much to handle!
After hesitating for a moment, the Miko sighed, as if she'd made up her mind.
"Alright, Xi. I agree to let you go."
"But..."
Before Ye Xi could even exhale in relief, Yae Miko turned the conversation. "You have to go say goodbye to Ei—see if she'll let you leave." As she finished, a sly, mischievous glint appeared at the corner of her mouth.
It was that fox-like scheming nature kicking in again.
She didn't believe her good friend would let Ye Xi go so easily!