Shortly thereafter, "the various affairs of the raiden shogun and the guuji," still smelling of fresh ink, along with several other books from Liyue, were quickly printed, bound, and prepared to flow into the Inazuma market.
Several days later.
On the streets of Inazuma City, the Yae Publishing House's new book billboards were prominently erected, attracting many citizens to stop and stare.
[A best-selling masterpiece from Liyue! Revealing the unknown daily anecdotes of the Raiden Shogun and the Shrine Maiden!]
Beside this promotional slogan was that title that invited all sorts of imaginings.
Passing citizens of Inazuma were abuzz with discussion.
"Eh? A story about the Lord General and the Shrine Maiden written by someone from Liyue?"
"Is this for real?"
"It's published by the Yae Publishing House. For a book like this, did the Shrine Maiden... agree to it?"
"I'm so curious! I really want to see what the Lord General looks like in the eyes of a Liyue author!"
Curiosity, surprise, apprehension, expectation... all sorts of emotions spread through the crowd.
Despite some hesitation, driven by intense curiosity, the first batch of "the various affairs of the raiden shogun and the guuji" was quickly snapped up and sold out.
Inside Tenshukaku.
The vast space was silent, save for the occasional bird song from outside the window and the subtle sound of trickling water in the courtyard.
The Raiden Shogun—more accurately, the puppet created by Raiden Ei—sat regally in the main seat, eyes closed in concentration, executing the maintenance of "eternity."
Kujou Sara walked into the hall with steady steps, her expression carrying a rare hint of gravity and hesitation. She came before the throne and bowed respectfully.
"Lord General."
The puppet Shogun slowly opened those purple eyes, which contained no emotion, only absolute calm and majesty.
"What is the matter?"
Kujou Sara took a deep breath and presented with both hands a novel that was not particularly lavishly bound, but had a title that was exceptionally eye-catching.
It was precisely the freshly released "the various affairs of the raiden shogun and the guuji" from the Yae Publishing House.
"Reporting to the Lord General, recently, a book from Liyue has begun circulating among the public. Its content... involves the Lord General and the Yae Guji, and the language is... quite transgressive. This book was printed by the Yae Publishing House and is widely circulated, having already caused much discussion among the people."
The puppet Shogun's gaze fell upon the title. There seemed to be no change on that calm, rippleless face, but for a split second, the aura around her body seemed to stagnate.
She reached out her hand, and an invisible force snatched the book from Kujou Sara's hands, making it hover before her.
The pages turned rapidly, as if moved by a windless air.
The puppet Shogun expressionlessly scanned the pages, her internal programming efficiently analyzing this "worthless" textual information.
As those overly intimate, even "absurd," interactive plots between the "Raiden Shogun" and the "Yae Guji" continuously entered her perception, the low pressure emanating from her body almost caused the air in the hall to freeze.
Things like "the Shrine Maiden insubordinately pinching the Shogun's cheek," "the two being ambiguous over a game of chess," "tumbling through the clouds and rain in bed," and so on... They portrayed the majestic Raiden Shogun and the cunning Yae Miko as an intimately interacting couple, which could only be described as "childish."
The puppet Shogun's brow furrowed slightly. As an enforcer of rules who pursued "eternity" and discarded "momentary" entertainment, she could not understand this groundless fiction, nor could she tolerate her own (and the original Ei's) majesty being dissolved in such a frivolous manner.
She closed the book and placed it casually on a corner of the desk as if it were something filthy.
"Absurd." A cold voice without a hint of emotion finally rang out, interrupting the subtle sound of turning pages. "Why is such reckless talk permitted to circulate?"
Kujou Sara lowered her head: "Your subordinate has also investigated; this book was personally approved for printing by the Yae Guji..."
"Yae Miko..." The puppet Shogun whispered the name. No joy or anger could be heard in her tone, but the surrounding air seemed to grow several degrees heavier.
"Kujou Sara."
"Present!"
"Place this book on the ban..." The puppet Shogun's command paused slightly.
Deep within her eyes, a purple light flickered faintly.
Clearly, the original body sitting deep within the Euthymia had already become aware of everything through the puppet's senses... Meanwhile, within the Plane of Euthymia.
The silence was broken. Raiden Ei slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness pulled back to reality from meditation. Through the visual shared by the puppet, that novel and its contents were clearly presented in her mind.
Initially, like the Shogun puppet, Ei felt displeased and indifferent toward these fabricated stories.
But when she read those passages describing "them" supporting each other during the Archon War, fighting side-by-side amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, especially those details about "them" sharing victories and disguising themselves as one another, a strong sense of déjà vu made her frown.
This... the stories in this book were not entirely groundless.
The book depicted those events experienced by "Yae Miko" and "Raiden Ei" with extreme "familiarity."
Except, that person who had been by her side, the one she depended on, the one with supreme wisdom, should have been... Makoto, her sister, Baal.
Those battlefield strategies, that mutual support in moments of crisis, that warmth after victory... Why would the author of this book place these experiences onto Miko and herself? It seemed the author had merely stumbled upon these details by chance and had not discovered the truth of Inazuma's twin deities.
Just as doubts were rising in Ei's heart, through the puppet Shogun's senses, she heard Kujou Sara's subsequent report.
This book was printed by the Yae Publishing House and was already widely circulating in the market.
The Yae Publishing House... Miko.
All the clues were instantly connected.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"