"So this is Inazuma City? It is huge."
Walking down the streets of Inazuma City, Paimon let out sigh after sigh of amazement. She and Lumine had not paid much attention to the city before, and she never expected it to be this massive once they actually entered.
Looking at the familiar streets, Su Bai also felt a bit emotional. Before he left Inazuma, when the Vision Hunt Decree had just begun, these streets were much more prosperous. Inazuma back then was nowhere near as lifeless as it was now.
"The Vision Hunt Decree, tsk. I really do not know what that old hag Ei is thinking. Ouch... Lumine, why are you pinching me?"
Before Su Bai could finish muttering, a sharp pain suddenly came from his waist, followed immediately by Lumine's questioning voice.
"Who are you calling an old hag? Huh? Do you not know I am only eighteen?"
Lumine put her hands on her hips, her face set in a dissatisfied pout. This guy Su Bai actually called her an old hag, which was simply too detestable. How could a youthful, beautiful girl like her be an old hag? Su Bai rubbed his aching waist with a bitter smile.
"Lumine, I was not talking about you. I was talking about Inazuma's god, Ei."
"??? Is Inazuma's god not called the Raiden Shogun? Why is she called Ei? If I remember correctly, Inazuma only has one god, right?"
"What you said is indeed correct. Generally speaking, based on rationality, Inazuma truly only has one god. But that does not prevent the Raiden Shogun from having two names."
Su Bai imitated Zhongli's tone, spouting completely useless nonsense. This nearly made Lumine fume with anger. Perhaps her brain short-circuited from being annoyed, because she suddenly flashed Su Bai a sweet smile. This bizarre smile nearly gave Su Bai goosebumps.
Good grief, did Lumine's brain actually break?
"Hehe, Su Bai. If you do not want Shenhe to know about all your close female friends in Inazuma, you had better obediently spill everything you know. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that I will not accidentally let slip about your relationship with Ayaka next time I visit Liyue."
The corner of Su Bai's mouth twitched.
Damn it, who on earth did Lumine learn these weird threats from? Where did the innocent Lumine from Mondstadt go? How did she become so shameless in such a short time?
Seeing Su Bai staring at her with a weird expression, Lumine felt a bit uneasy. After all, Yae Miko was the one who gave her this idea, saying that as long as she used this method, Su Bai would tell her a lot of news about Inazuma.
"Forget it. It is not exactly a secret anyway, so telling you does not matter. Besides, Miko's intention is probably for you to help persuade her old friend to come out."
"Huh? Su Bai, how did you know this was the method Yae Miko told me to use??"
"...I haven't taught Miko how to send private messages yet. The method she told you was posted in the group chat, so naturally I could see it..."
Su Bai waved the phone in his hand and looked at Lumine as if she were an idiot. Lumine finally remembered that Yae Miko seemed to have told her this method in the group chat. She awkwardly scratched her head. It seemed that spending too much time with Paimon lately had made her dumber by association.
"Actually, that old hag Ei has had a pretty tragic experience, but knowing that is not very useful right now. Let me first explain to you what is going on with the Raiden Shogun and Ei."
"It is actually quite simple. For certain reasons, the original Electro Archon, Ei, modified her body into a puppet with independent consciousness and thought. Meanwhile, Ei's own consciousness has been hiding inside a sword, letting the puppet rule Inazuma in her place."
Su Bai paused to let Lumine digest the information he had just dropped. This completely stunned Lumine. She could not figure out for the life of her why Ei would modify her body into a puppet. Was she just looking for trouble?
"As for the detailed information, I am not very clear either. If you really want to understand the Electro Archon, Lumine, you can send a private message to ask Miko. She knows her god very well."
...
"Su Bai, Su Bai! Up ahead, the Shogun's Army is confiscating Visions. Should we go stop them?"
Not far away, Paimon, flying in the sky, was the first to notice something wrong up ahead. After observing for a while, she immediately flew back to report the situation to Su Bai and Lumine.
This was not because Paimon was being particularly proactive. It was simply because Ayaka had promised to make delicious food and wait for them to return to eat together, which was why Paimon was so invested in this matter.
"Come over here quickly."
A deliberately lowered voice reached Su Bai and Lumine's ears. Su Bai smiled faintly. He already knew who had made the fake Vision that was being confiscated.
Lumine, who still had no idea what was going on, vaguely followed Su Bai to a street corner. A girl stepping out from the corner was startled when she saw Su Bai, but then spoke excitedly.
"Su Bai, when did you get back? But it is really, really great that you are back! I was just wondering how to rescue Master Masanori, and then you suddenly appeared. With you here, Master Masanori will definitely be saved."
"Haha, I just got back not too long ago either. Seeing you carrying a bunch of fireworks, were you planning to blow up the Tenryou Commission's prison and rescue him in the chaos?"
"Hehe, I did have a little bit of that idea, but since you are back, these high-powered fireworks will not be needed."
Yoimiya chuckled awkwardly and tossed the fireworks aside. In Yoimiya's impression, there was no one in all of Inazuma that Su Bai could not bail out, let alone Master Masanori, who was only suspected of forging Visions. The Shogun's Army who took him did not even have any solid evidence.
"Su Bai, is this beautiful girl who shares Klee's hobbies Yoimiya?"
Lumine looked at Yoimiya curiously. She did not know if it was her imagination, but she felt Yoimiya looked a bit like Klee. Not only was their hair color similar, but even their hobbies were so alike. If Yoimiya did not lack Klee's pointy ears, Lumine would have thought she was Klee's long-lost older sister.
"Huh? You must be Su Bai's friend, right? Hello, I am Yoimiya. We can make fireworks together sometime if you are free."
"Hello, I am Lumine, a traveler. The one flying in the sky over there is my mascot, no, my Emergency Food, Paimon."
"That is completely wrong! How is that worse than a mascot?"
Hearing Lumine introduce her like that again, Paimon angrily tugged at Lumine's hair. Every time she introduced her to strangers, she always called her Emergency Food. It was simply too detestable.
Seeing that Paimon could talk and had such high intelligence, Yoimiya's eyes instantly lit up. She really wanted a cute little fairy like that too. Su Bai, on the other hand, was already used to it.
"Let us save the chat for when we get back. We should head to the Tenryou Commission's prison first. Master Masanori is still waiting for us."
"Right, right, right. Master Masanori is waiting for us. Little Paimon, I will take you out to play when I have time later."
"Huh? Really? That is great! Lumine, look, Yoimiya treats me way better than you do!"