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wormnovel 200 . xyz
"Your Excellency! This must not happen!"
The moment Raiden Shogun reappeared before the eyes of the Inazuman people, she had proclaimed her promise of a dream for all subjects. All of Inazuma would fall into an eternal slumber. No longer would they be burdened by birth, aging, illness, or death. Everyone would receive fair and just treatment, and this dream would wash away all the suffering they currently endured. Happiness, fairness, and equality that could never be attained in reality would be realized within the dream.
While her appearance had successfully quelled the panic among the common folk, her rhetoric deeply unsettled another group: the nobles who held power, wealth, and various resources. To them, the idea of commoners enjoying the same privileges they did was akin to being exploited. Thus, they quickly petitioned Raiden Shogun, begging her to retract her decree.
"Your Excellency! Inazuma was conquered by you; how can you simply abandon it all now?" Kujou Takayuki spoke with righteous indignation, appearing as if he held the moral high ground and feared nothing.
In reality, his refusal to accept this eternal dream stemmed from the vast power he wielded in the waking world. He had no intention of abandoning his authority to enter a dream of unknown nature. If everything was truly as Raiden Shogun claimed, with no inequality or injustice, it would mean the total stripping of everything the Kujou clan possessed. To Kujou Takayuki, this was a death sentence.
He was not alone; Hiiragi Shinsuke of the Kanjou Commission also arrived to obstruct the plan. As the head of another great clan, while the Hiiragi family did not command military power like the Kujou clan, they held immense wealth. How could they possibly let go of all they had built? Before even entering Tenshukaku, the two had agreed on one thing: they must convince Raiden Shogun to abandon that dream. They did not believe a god's great power was merely a joke. If she said it, there was a real chance it would come to pass.
"Look at that. They are trying to stop eternity, Shogun. Can you really stand for this?" Su Ran held the petite Raiden Ei in his arms, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest, and even fanning the flames. He had loathed these two old fossils for a long time. Killing them outright would be far too merciful.
"Cease your wild words! We act for the sake of Inazuma and for your eternity, Shogun. How could an outsider like you possibly understand such things?" Kujou Takayuki retorted at Su Ran with fury. His loyalty to Raiden Shogun was absolute—or so he believed. How could a mere outsider sow discord between them?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I've become an outsider now, have I?" Su Ran reached out to tease Raiden Ei in his arms, prompting her to swat his hand away.
The dignity of a god could not be compromised. If she were not currently occupying the body of an armed puppet, she would never have allowed herself to be held by Su Ran without offering significant resistance. If the world learned that this small puppet shell contained the true Raiden Shogun, she would lose all face.
Hiiragi Shinsuke broke into a cold sweat. He desperately wanted to ask if Kujou Takayuki was blind. Could he not see what was in that man's arms? A miniature Raiden Shogun. Did that really require guessing? She must be the Shogun's daughter! And what position could a man who didn't even need to kneel before the Shogun hold? He was clearly the Shogun's consort.
"Do you intend to oppose eternity?" Raiden Shogun did not waste time, cutting straight to the point as she interrogated the two kneeling men.
Upgraded with artificial intelligence as she was, she handled this differently than the old, stoic version of herself. Had it been the past, that version of the Shogun who existed solely to protect eternity would have already reduced Kujou Takayuki and Hiiragi Shinsuke to ashes without wasting a single breath on them.
"No! That is not it, Shogun! I merely feel that this dream is as fragile as a bubble, and not the eternity you seek!"
Su Ran poured more fuel on the fire. "Shogun, they mean that your eternity is as fragile as a bubble. In their eyes, your eternity is nothing more than a joke."
The two men on the ground ground their teeth in frustration, yet they were helpless. How could they refute this? Since even the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree had been sanctioned by Raiden Shogun, how could she not accept this eternal dream? Even if they wanted to argue, Kujou Takayuki and Hiiragi Shinsuke lacked any valid grounds to do so.
Watching the two disgruntled officials below, Raiden Shogun rolled her eyes at Su Ran. She was no longer the foolish puppet of the past; she could clearly see that this man was deliberately stirring up trouble. Were she not wary of the true entity he held in his arms, she would have long since turned her focus to attacking him.
"And how do you suggest I handle this?"
The establishment of the dream could not be allowed to be hindered. Since that was the case, the Shogun did not mind playing along with Su Ran for a while.
"Those who defy eternity should be executed on the spot! Furthermore, their heads must be displayed to the people of Inazuma. Only then will the public understand that the eternity of Raiden Shogun is sacred and inviolable!"
The Shogun nodded. Even Raiden Ei, held in Su Ran's arms, nodded as well. However, their motivations were entirely different. The Shogun nodded simply to indulge Su Ran in teasing the two men. But Raiden Ei nodded because she truly believed that eternity could not tolerate dissent. If she did not make an example of these two, there would undoubtedly be more people opposing her eternity.
Neither Su Ran nor the Shogun had any intention of killing Kujou Takayuki and Hiiragi Shinsuke right then and there. However, Ei had already begun planning to display their heads before the Statue of the Omnipresent God shortly.
Kujou Takayuki could no longer sit still. He stopped caring about what relationship this man had with Raiden Shogun. If this person were not removed, the Kujou clan would never know peace.
"Your Excellency! Do not listen to the slanders of a villain! I do not trust this man—he may even be an undercover agent who has infiltrated Inazuma to destroy your eternity! He must be captured immediately!"
Raiden Shogun: ...
Raiden Ei: ...
Capture him? Just the two of us?