Seven years later.
Seven years is neither a long time nor a short time, but for the people of Inazuma, the changes that occurred during this period seem even greater than the changes that have taken place in Inazuma over the past few centuries.
Over these seven years, due to the exceptionally close cooperation between Inazuma and Sumeru that went beyond mere diplomatic relations, every so often, new items or technologies from the latest research at the Akademiya were applied to production and daily life in Inazuma.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Alhaitham, who claimed to always want to step down from the position of Acting Grand Sage and return to being a Scribe, was unable to resign not only because he was wary of someone, but he even successfully removed the word 'Acting' from his title.
Today, Alhaitham has become a rare iron-fisted Grand Sage in the history of the Sumeru Akademiya; even the diplomats from Snezhnaya, who always held their noses in the air, could not gain any advantage from him.
The infighting among the six schools of Sumeru, in front of the highly intelligent Alhaitham, was like a fool offering his head for execution, firmly suppressed by him.
It is just a pity that whenever it involved cooperation and policies related to Inazuma, under the interference of his own deity, even someone as formidable as Alhaitham was helpless. All Alhaitham could do was ensure that Sumeru could still benefit from it as much as possible, so as not to lose even the principal.
Furthermore, cooperation with neighboring Liyue and Mondstadt had entered a honeymoon period, productivity increased significantly, and the material life of the people became increasingly rich and diverse.
This also caused earth-shaking changes in Inazuma's cities; although it had not yet reached the high-tech level of the Court of Fontaine, it at least had a trend of transitioning in that direction.
More importantly, Inazuma's remote geographical location allowed it to successfully avoid the attention of certain nations, enabling it to quietly amass wealth.
When Inazuma once again appeared in the field of vision of other nations, they were surprised to find that in just a few short years, Inazuma had developed from a remote, backward, and war-torn small fishing village into a major city with great potential.
As for the greatest contributor, everyone knew it was not the Raiden Shogun, who held the highest status in Inazuma, but rather the young Regent of Inazuma.
This point had been recognized by almost all the people of Inazuma, which also indicated that the fame and prestige of the Regent had already surpassed that of the deity of Inazuma.
Because over the years, whether it was the promulgation and revision of various policies, the popularization and application of various new technologies, or even the distribution of various benefits, everything was issued in the name of the Regents Office, not the Raiden Shogun. And the people of Inazuma had not seen the figure of the Shogun for a long time.
However, even though they hadn't seen the Shogun for a long time, no one felt there was anything unreasonable about it. After all, hadn't the Shogun always been this reclusive?
In fact, in today's Inazuma, Miyashiro, as Regent, rarely appeared in public either; even the measure of using a Shadow Clone had been abandoned after strong protests.
Daily work arrangements were left to subordinates, with Kokomi being the most prominent. Although this former leader of Watatsumi Island was still nominally the Regent's secretary, in reality, the vast majority of Inazuma's policies were drafted and executed by her. All Miyashiro had to do was sign and stamp the documents.
Originally, Kokomi was very reluctant about this, but after having the Akasha, a powerful and efficient office tool, it became possible.
Inazuma's rapid development naturally attracted the attention of other nations. Some politicians, jealous of Inazuma's situation, began to promote certain conspiracy theories, claiming that the Regent of Inazuma had likely replaced the Raiden Shogun, or even imprisoned her.
After all, this seemingly outlandish matter had a precedent; it had happened to Lesser Lord Kusanali in Sumeru, so couldn't such a thing also happen in Inazuma?
However, this speculation simply could not hold water. Spies spreading such remarks in Inazuma did not receive support from the Inazuman people; instead, they were reported by the people and caught on the spot by the Doushin of the Commission Office.
The situations of the Raiden Shogun and Lesser Lord Kusanali were worlds apart and could not be compared. The reason the Grand Sages of the Akademiya were able to successfully imprison the deity back then was because Lesser Lord Kusanali had exhausted her wisdom and power to eliminate the Khaenri'ah catastrophe.
Furthermore, the birdcage used to imprison the deity was a device originally created by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to isolate everything from the outside world for solitary meditation. The Grand Sages back then only slightly modified this device, making it impossible to control from the inside, which gave them the opportunity to use the deity's own technology to imprison her.
However, if this method were used on the current Lesser Lord Kusanali, it would no longer have any effect, because at this time, Lesser Lord Kusanali's power had returned to the level of the Seven, and her mental power could even be ranked among the forefront of the Seven.
Even without stepping out, her mental power was enough to cover the entire Sumeru, and every citizen who believed in her could become her eyes and ears.
The Raiden Shogun was a deity known for her unparalleled power, and her comprehensive strength could be ranked in the top three of the Seven. Wanting to imprison this deity was simply a fantasy. Therefore, those who spread such unfavorable rumors were either stupid or malicious; there would absolutely be no case of wrongful arrest.
Rather than trying to use violent means to imprison this deity, it would be more straightforward to lock her in a room full of desserts with free refills.
Of course, the real situation was not like this, but this Raiden Shogun was indeed 'imprisoned' in another way.
At this moment, in the backyard of the Regents Office, one could hear faint, childish laughter and loud wailing from time to time, and several beautiful figures were moving through it, seemingly instructing something.
And Miyashiro, as the Regent of Inazuma, was sitting upright in the attic of the Regents Office, eyes closed in meditation, as if the commotion below had no effect on him.
At this moment, his aura seemed to merge with nature. If one did not perceive it carefully, even though Miyashiro had not made any concealment, an ordinary person would not be able to detect Miyashiro's presence.
Just then, a beautiful figure, wearing a loose purple kimono, with a bottomless cleavage appearing on her chest, walked slowly towards Miyashiro with a cat-like gait.
Miyashiro, sensing the person arriving, was the first to show a smile on his face. He slowly came back to his senses and opened his eyes; the ripples in his eyes were full of mysterious aura.
Miyashiro smiled and said: "Ei, you've come."
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