Tenshukaku.
"Grand Narukami."
"Raiden Shogun."
At this moment, Kujou Sara was kneeling on the ground, her face filled with self-reproach. If only she had patrolled a few more places, if only she had been a bit more vigilant, if only she had... but with the Shogun's martial prowess, how could she have truly been assassinated? Kujou Sara found it hard to believe.
However, the "corpses" lying within Tenshukaku forced Kujou Sara to believe it; those were the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun whom she followed.
Memories of what happened this morning began to surface in her mind, from the moment Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei went out, to the appearance of that person who seemed like a God.
"Could the Fatui have colluded with a God to... assassinate the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun?"
Tartaglia was in his Foul Legacy state, and in that state, he didn't look human at all. For a moment, Kujou Sara thought he was another "God."
The appearance of the elite Fatui soldiers made Kujou Sara suspect that the entire affair was orchestrated by the Fatui for the purpose of assassinating the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun.
"Lady Kujou Sara... we have interrogated everyone involved, and there are no suspicious individuals." A Shogunate Soldier walked in, his face also showing a hint of despair.
Their most exalted Raiden Shogun of Inazuma had actually been assassinated.
"How is the Little Shogun doing?" Kujou Sara suppressed her inner grief and stood up to look at the Shogunate Soldier. With Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei assassinated, only the Little Shogun was left.
"Her condition... is not very good."
"The Little Shogun has been in a daze... Lady Kujou Sara, in the past when I encountered something sad, I would cry it all out, but the Little Shogun... she is in a very bad state." The Shogunate Soldier's mood was almost identical to Kujou Sara's. Right before their eyes, the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun, who had just returned, were assassinated.
No one could believe that all of it was actually true.
"Lady Kujou Sara, if you can't hold it in, you should cry too. It'll feel better once you let it out." The Shogunate Soldier's eyes were red, showing he had already cried once.
"You may leave now. Continue to keep a close watch on the Little Shogun. With the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun assassinated, only the Little Shogun remains in Inazuma. We must not let anything happen to her," Kujou Sara said with a solemn expression.
"Yes."
After the soldier left, Kujou Sara stared blankly at the two "corpses" before her. As a fanatical follower of the Raiden Shogun, she had many statues of Her Eternal Excellency, the Narukami Ogosho, in her home. The Raiden Shogun was her faith.
"I must pull myself together. The mission given to me by the Grand Narukami is not yet complete; I cannot lose my composure." Kujou Sara took a deep breath. "The person who assassinated the Shogun must be thoroughly investigated!"
..."I can't believe Sister Makoto actually succeeded in imitating Rex Lapis... it's quite unexpected." Paimon and Lumine were strolling through the streets of Inazuma. "It's just that I feel like things aren't as simple as they seem."
"Are Inazuma and Liyue the same?" Paimon looked at Lumine without thinking, while Lumine had just snapped out of her deep thoughts.
"Things are indeed not as simple as they appear on the surface." Lumine nodded. She had a feeling that a storm was brewing; her intuition was rarely wrong.
Because of the Shogun's assassination, the streets of Inazuma were now empty, and almost all Inazumans were in a state of high alert.
"Where do you think Sister Makoto and Sister Ei are now? But about those things, we can't tell anyone."
"I don't know."
While Lumine and Paimon were talking, a figure appeared before them.
"Lumine, the Demoiselle invites you to the Kamisato Estate for a gathering..." Thoma appeared before them, his face carrying a hint of grief.
Thoma was not from Inazuma, but the news of the Shogun's assassination had already spread throughout Narukami Island. Everyone now knew the Shogun had been assassinated at the Festival.
He wasn't grieving for the Raiden Shogun, but for Raiden Makoto.
"Was... was she really assassinated?" Thoma still couldn't quite believe it as he looked at Lumine seriously.
Paimon surprisingly didn't blabber and instead nodded. "Yes, Mr. Thoma, Sister Makoto..."
"Sigh." To make it more convincing, Paimon even started acting. After all, Sister Makoto chose to retire so she could go to Liyue with them; shouldn't she cooperate properly?
"Hmm..."
Kamisato Estate.
When Lumine and Paimon arrived at the Kamisato Estate again, Thoma led them to the drawing room.
"Lumine, Paimon."
"What happened... what happened this morning... is it true?" Kamisato Ayaka's voice came from behind the screen, her voice trembling slightly.
"Yes, Miss Kamisato, it's completely true." Lumine nodded. "Sister Makoto and her sister were assassinated together..."
"How... how can that be?" Kamisato Ayaka's voice was full of disbelief. She really couldn't believe Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei would be assassinated, much less that they would perish at the same time.
"Miss Kamisato, please accept my condolences..." Lumine sighed. "Sister Makoto... sigh..."
To cooperate with Raiden Makoto, Lumine also acted very sad. "I also can't believe such a thing would happen, but the facts are as they are..."
"Was it the Fatui? Was it their doing..." Kamisato Ayaka asked somewhat excitedly, "The Fatui are incredibly bold to dare assassinate the Raiden Shogun in front of so many Inazumans."
"I'm not sure."
Lumine couldn't directly say it was the Fatui. During the conspiracy between Raiden Makoto and Tartaglia in Tenshukaku, Raiden Makoto had also told her not to reveal the truth to anyone else.
"Zhen..." Kamisato Ayaka's eyes were red. After hearing the news, she didn't know how many times she had cried. She thought her destined person would be with her in the future, she thought... but then this happened.
But she couldn't wallow in despair now. As the Demoiselle of the Kamisato Clan, she had to pull herself together.
The passing of the Shogun would surely affect the morale of the Inazumans, and she had to stabilize the hearts of everyone in Inazuma first.
She couldn't let the Inazuma that Raiden Makoto cherished fall into chaos.
"Can you two do me a favor?"
..."Sister, it's probably not good for us to appear in Inazuma as we are now, right? They should all recognize us."
"That's why we need a little disguise."
"In any case, Tartaglia certainly won't reveal those things, and Lumine and Paimon should be able to keep the secret. As for others, they can't know for now." Raiden Makoto's tone was somewhat solemn. "Fishing them out one by one is really too slow. Once they all surface, we'll catch them all in one net."
"Those fish aren't stupid."
"And until then, we can only let them suffer a bit. In any case, it can be considered a form of training for them."
"The fish within the Shogunate will be handled by Sara and Ayato. As for the fish from The Abyss, once they appear, you and I will resolve them together." Raiden Makoto had already planned this out; from the moment the retirement plan surfaced in her mind, she had been thinking about this plan.
She had almost completely purged the Three Commissions. Except for the Kanjou Commission, which currently had no leader, the Tenryou Commission was led by Kujou Sara, and the Yashiro Commission was led by Kamisato Ayato—both of whom she trusted deeply.
Furthermore, in this plan, she could also see whether Watatsumi Island had truly submitted completely. If Watatsumi Island made any moves, it would mean they were not suited for a peaceful resolution but rather a more severe method of handling.
Raiden Ei looked at Raiden Makoto with some admiration. Her sister was indeed known for her wisdom; she could never have devised such a meticulous and perfect plan.
In her past life, this kind of "sting operation" was incredibly common. If used too much, it naturally wouldn't catch any fish, but it was different in Inazuma; they had no idea of the power of a "sting operation."
"We'll observe on Narukami Island for a while. When the time is ripe, we'll go to Watatsumi, Tsurumi, and Seirai."
Of the six islands of Inazuma, only three were actually under the full rule of the Shogunate: Narukami Island, Kannazuka, and Ba Yun Island.
Only Narukami Island, Kannazuka, and Ba Yun Island were suitable for human habitation. Watatsumi Island worshipped Orobashi, and it was actually constructed from the branches of Orobashi's body, making it unsuitable for farming and living.
As for Seirai Island and Tsurumi Island, they were completely unsuitable for human habitation due to the thunderstorms. Moreover, Seirai and Tsurumi were very close to The Abyss, making them the true front lines.
The Gods of The Abyss had always been watching greedily. Because the Raiden Shogun was there, they didn't dare enter Teyvat, but they still extended their power to influence Inazuma.
Most of the Gods who entered The Abyss had also become evil Gods.
"Mm." Raiden Ei understood Raiden Makoto's meaning. She was actually quite excited; she could once again follow her sister's guidance into battle.
"Let's go take a good look around Inazuma City."
The next day, Inazuma City.
"Have you heard? The Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun have been assassinated. The perpetrator might be another God..."
"The Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun were assassinated? What happened?"
As Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei walked the streets of Inazuma, many Inazumans were discussing what had happened in front of Tenshukaku.
"So how are the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun?"
"Sigh..."
They were in disguise, so the Inazumans couldn't tell it was them. It was truly too easy for a God to change their appearance.
"Lady Kujou Sara has blockaded Inazuma City."
"Who would have thought those things would happen at the Festival? The Shogun and the Grand Narukami actually..."
"I thought the sakoku decree was being lifted... but now martial law has started again. But it must be done; the culprit must be severely punished!"
"Yes, the culprit must be severely punished!"
Some Inazumans were sad, some were angry; the majority were both very sad and furious.
"Sister... aren't we deceiving them by doing this?" Raiden Ei looked at the indignant Inazumans and turned to Raiden Makoto with some doubt. "If later..."
"If we completely clear the obstacles in Inazuma, do you think we still need to be the Raiden Shogun?" Raiden Makoto said with a smile. "For now, we just wait slowly for the fish to surface."
"I guess so." Raiden Ei nodded. If Inazuma's problems were all solved, then they wouldn't be needed. As for now, they just had to wait patiently.
"Besides, the Shogun can also handle government affairs. I taught her everything she needed to know over the past few days."
"What we need to do is wait calmly. When those restless Gods appear, we'll just take action."
As they walked through the streets of Inazuma, they saw the small street vendor who had been selling Dango Milk.
"Want to have some?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Boss, can we have a few bottles of Dango Milk?" But when they walked up to the vendor, Tomoki was sitting on the ground, looking a bit dejected with red eyes.
Raiden Makoto called him several times before Tomoki finally reacted.
"Ah? Sorry! Sorry!" Tomoki stood up and looked at Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei. He couldn't help but be a bit dazed. Although Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were not quite the same as the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun who had tasted Dango Milk at his stall that day, the twin sisters before him really did look a bit like the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun from that day.
"You want some Dango Milk?" Tomoki was a bit confused. He wiped his eyes slightly and then said seriously, "How many bottles?"
"Two bottles is enough." Raiden Makoto smiled. "Is Dango Milk selling well now?"
"Well... of course it's selling well. If it weren't for the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun helping me..." Tomoki let out a deep sigh. "Usually it sells out every day, but business isn't very good today. But I can understand."
"With such a major event happening..."
In fact, for most Inazumans, the Raiden Shogun was truly a very distant existence. They revered the Raiden Shogun, but if the Raiden Shogun passed away, it wouldn't affect their lives at all. They might be sad, but life would go on as usual.
Tomoki, however, was sadder than others because he had interacted with them at the time.
It was exactly as she had said.
The people of Inazuma could lose them, but Inazuma could not lose them right now.
"To think the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun were assassinated..." If Tomoki hadn't also attended the Festival yesterday, he wouldn't have believed such a thing could happen, but it happened right before his eyes.
Everything was just too sudden.
"Sister, did you bring any Mora?" However, Raiden Ei's next question left Raiden Makoto stunned.
"Never mind, never mind."
"Boss, we don't want them anymore." Raiden Makoto smiled a bit awkwardly. She had been so busy preparing for everything that she hadn't thought about bringing Mora.
"Consider them a gift to you." Tomoki probably realized that the two girls before him had forgotten to bring Mora, and some time ago, hadn't the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun been the same?
As Tomoki looked at the two girls before him, his thoughts couldn't help but return to that time.
The two girls before him really were like the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun.
"Dango Milk is a product that was personally reviewed by the Grand Narukami. Giving you two bottles... you should also taste the flavor the Grand Narukami and the Raiden Shogun liked," Tomoki said with a smile.
"Then... thank you."
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