Yae Miko's expression remained calm as ever.
"What god are you talking about? Isn't the Shogun right there in the Tenshukaku?"
At the same time, Miko subconsciously glanced toward Yumemizuki Mizuki.
Miko's first reaction wasn't whether Shura Anyakonsen-shou could actually do it, but where he had gotten the information from.
The matter of Ei was a secret to Inazuma—and to her personally, it was incredibly important. There could be no room for the slightest carelessness; she had to probe the source of the information first.
Not many people knew Ei existed. She counted as one, and while Yumemizuki Mizuki didn't know Ei very well, she was aware that the Raiden Shogun had been replaced by someone else.
Had Mizuki told this Shura Anyakonsen-shou about Ei?
She had thought the "cowing" was just a joke, but it turned out Mizuki really had spilled everything?
And Mizuki was different from before. In the past, Mizuki would have shown some defeat and avoidance under her gaze.
But now, Mizuki was boldly meeting her eyes—the gaze of her former big-sister figure.
The timidity in Mizuki's eyes was gradually fading away.
It seemed this Shura Anyakonsen-shou was quite skilled at manipulating people's hearts.
"Oh, I was referring to that god of Inazuma who locked herself away in the Plane of Euthymia."
This piece of information wasn't something Mizuki could know. This little baku only knew that the god had been replaced; she had no details about Ei sealing herself in the Plane of Euthymia.
Was this the special nature of a Descender?
Yae Miko fell into a brief moment of contemplation as she looked at the Anemo Vision at Shura Anyakonsen-shou's waist.
She finally took this Shura Anyakonsen-shou seriously.
"Little one, being this frank isn't necessarily a good thing. But since you find my teasing uninteresting, discussing serious matters is fine too. First, tell me—what exactly do you know?"
Shura Anyakonsen-shou sensed that the playful scent on Yae Miko had vanished, confirming that she was now speaking seriously.
"Oh, take a look at this."
Shura Anyakonsen-shou handed his Shura token to the Guuji.
Yae Miko examined it and quickly spotted the issue.
The people's wishes… Although they weren't as intense as what she had sensed before, they had become far more numerous…
If one imagined Ei's will as a bottle, the people's wishes as water, and the Raiden Shogun as the cork blocking it—then Miko's goal had always been to let the water burst out of the bottle and change Ei's mind.
First, Miko had no power to move the bottle or the cork. All she could do was observe the force of the water inside.
In the past, when the people suffered greatly, their wishes acted like a catalyst, making Miko feel that the water would soon erupt and shatter the bottle from within, thus influencing Ei.
But after Shura Anyakonsen-shou's arrival, that catalyst had been removed. The people's wishes lost their explosive momentum, becoming calmer, which weakened the pressure inside the bottle.
Miko had been quite troubled by this—but the people weren't literal water; she couldn't just reverse course, could she?
Yet now, the Shura token in Shura Anyakonsen-shou's hand told Miko something new.
As life improved, although the water lacked a catalyst, the volume of water had increased.
People always longed for a better life. Even if temporarily satisfied, they would still yearn for an even brighter future.
And as development progressed, the population rose, causing the total volume of longing for a better life to grow as well.
When enough water accumulated, the pressure alone could shatter the bottle formed by Ei's will.