LIGHTNOVELONLINE I Resign
I stood in front of a ship, the one that will take me to Liyue.
In front of me were Ayato and Ayaka, who decided to come here to say goodbye. I already said goodbye to the others. My family, the girls at the shrine, Yoimiya and the Arataki Gang. Of course aunt Kayo too, she gave me cookies for the trip.
"When are you coming back?" asked a teary Ayaka.
"Soon, I will be out only for a week" I replied gently. Yes, I'm lying to her vilely, but I won't be the one who will see her cry.
"I'm back" said Ayato after paying the captain of the ship. "Now we can keep the tradition, the Kamisato Clan will pay for your boats to Liyue" he said amusedly.
"Next time I will buy my own fleet then".
"You really don't hold back" he said bitterly.
"Anyway, I'm not good with goodbyes. Just be careful about those assh-, ehem, mean people and that frigid ice cube". That Shogun is literally a statue. Around 4 years working for her and I still don't know if she is taking showers. I get that as a puppet she doesn't sweat but still.
"Don't worry about that. I will not let that happen again" he said with clenched teeth. His father got murdered and the culprit was only caught because of a fluke. "Did you tell the Shogun that you were taking a leave?".
"Yes" I nodded. "I left a letter".
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In the meeting room in the Tenshukaku.
"Your Excellency, what are we waiting for?. The meeting should have started an hour ago" a bald old guy asked to the still Shogun.
"Kenshin is not here yet" she answered, without opening her eyes.
Kamisato Kayo widened her eyes, she knew Kenshin was leaving, why was the Shogun still waiting?.
They heard a knock on the door.
"Your Excellency, I have a letter from Kenshin" the guy said, giving the God of Eternity a letter.
'Oh no' was all Kayo could say, remembering how destructive Kenshin letters were.
"Read it" she instructed the delivery guy, who didn't dare to refuse.
"Dear aunt Kayo, how are you?. I hope you are fine, as fine as I know your home-made cookies will be. I will enjoy them on my trip"
"Trip?" the Shogun finally opened her eyes in surprise. "What is he talking about?" she asked Kayo.
"Y-yes" Kayo felt a bit nervous after everyone looked at her, including the God. "He is going to go to Liyue, I thought you already knew"
"I didn't approve any trip" the Shogun said with a frown. "Continue reading".
"Y-yes" the guy gulped down, finally thinking that reading this maybe wasn't the honour he expected it to be.
"I send this letter to tell the Raiden Shogun, the Immortal Shogun, the Narukami Ogosho, the God of Eternity, the God of Thunder and whatever name she has that I'm leaving my job. Yes, I resign".
"...." everyone looked to the Shogun while holding their breaths.
"What?" the SHogun herself was confused. Of course she understood what resigning meant, but it was the first time in 500 years that someone with a good health resigned from a position she had offered.
"I mean, what I'm I working for?. It has been a month since I caught anyone lying, those old rats and bats are saying vague statements all time, that being the reason why we had to spend a total of 50 hours over 7 days to determine that we needed to buy more food. I'm wasting my time, and I hate losing time for nothing".
Those old 'rats and bats' looked furious, but it was true. They were not solving anything. Maybe now that Kenshin was out they could catch up and actually do something, without worrying about that lie detector.
"Continue" the Shogun calmed down, her thoughts unknown, but inside the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei, sensing the puppet's unusual surprise was paying attention. She will decide what to do after listening to everything.
"And most of all, you don't listen. You are so stubborn that you could convince a wall to let you pass. I tried any way I could think of, but I don't know if you are not listening or not understanding what I'm saying. Over half of the people in that room are corrupt and stealing from the very citizens you are supposed to protect. And when I warn you, you still not listen"
Everyone looked at the Raiden Shogun, waiting for her reaction. Leaving aside Kenshin's accusation, they were more interested in knowing the Shogun's reaction, it was the first time in the whole history of Inazuma that someone criticized the God of Eternity. The guy reading wanted to disappear right now.
"And I have more important things to do with my time than stay in a room, listening to the same people saying the same things to get the same thing done, absolutely nothing. So yes, I'm leaving. Of course I will be back, and I hope you can show mercy".
Raiden Ei was listening to this and felt perplexed. She wouldn't change her ways because of a child's words, but hearing such shamelessness made her surprised.
"Anyway, I'm going to Liyue to meet my friend Morax. He's older that you and still, he listens to me. I have adeptus friends here and I'm quite liked, so sometimes I wonder why I didn't leave Inazuma before".
Ei felt surprised now. This child knew Morax, and he is even in good terms?. Maybe this kid is special, and maybe she should have paid more attention.
"And after that I'm leaving for Mondstadt. Barbatos invited me last time, and I will make sure to take on his offer now"
Ei didn't feel surprised now. That guy was the shame of archons, even a homeless guy with more drugs than blood in his veins could be invited to his nation.
"I expect to be back in a year. I know a lot of you rats are happy I'm leaving, but I don't care any more. Do whatever you want."
Ei looked at the people near, and indeed, she saw how most of them had bright expressions. Are things really that bad?.
"And to you, Raiden Shogun. I started working for you because I love Inazuma and wanted to work for my homeland, but I just wasted time. I will tell you the truth as someone who doesn't expect anything from you. Inazuma is not a good place to live".
Ei's eyes narrowed at that. Inazuma was the last legacy her sister Makoto left in this world. Hearing that it was not a good place made her feel like her sister's legacy was tarnished. Of course, she didn't blame Kenshin, he was just a kid giving her opinion, but she wanted to hear his reasons.
"I haven't seen you leave that place in 4 years, I don't know when are you showering. I know you don't sweat or eat, but still"
Ei's frown grew more pronounced. This child knows something he shouldn't. She will ask Miko about this.
"You don't go out, but I do, so I will tell you what I feel. Inazuma right now is dangerous. People are in his house after 5 P.M because robbery has been running rampant. I even saw a guard robbing a merchant from Mondstadt, and now you all are wondering why is there not enough food?. The Tenryou Commission is actively extorting people, your vassals are still killing and fighting each other, even after what happened last time. I don't know how your brain works so I will repeat it for you. I PERSONALLY caught a murderer in that room you are now. He had poisoned the Lord of the Kamisato Clan, whose representative is sitting there right now, sorry aunt Kayo"
Ei was once again surprised. Were such things happening?. She normally left everything to the puppet, but were things really that bad?. Were murderers governing Inazuma with her consent?.
"And the Fatui are infiltrating Inazuma. Everyday a now boat arrives with more and more suspicious people, and the guards just ignore them. When a merchant comes with food, he gets robbed and deported. Do you think this is a good country?. And last, you have a war in your hands. I can't blame you for that, honestly, I think the other party is at fault. But why are you sending a 12 year old girl to fight?".
Ei's eyes widened in surprise. What is happening around her?. Didn't she chose these people because they were people she personally recognized?.
What she didn't realize is that a great family is not going to be great forever. Maybe her own idea of Eternity, maybe her long life, her ideals or even her inability to sense that centuries have passed, but those families are not the ones the used to be.
"I'm not trying to tell you how to rule, this is your country after all. You made it from scratch, but that's precisely why I would have liked for you to pay more attention to it, or there will be no Inazuma soon, only a group of thieves and murderers bickering with each other. Anyway, I said what I needed to say. I'm not that affected, I love Inazuma, but I can afford to leave and take my loved ones with me, so no sweat. I would feel sad, but hey, in Liyue I can be happy.
So yeah, please don't kill me when I come back and pay attention to you dear friend. She has been lonely for a long time. Good luck"
Raiden Ei closed her eyes, thinking about what she heard. She decided that she needed to hear from a third party, one that she could trust.
"Call Miko here" she instructed the sweating guy who read the letter.
"Y-yes....who is Miko?" he looked confused.
"Miko, Yae Miko" Ei clarified, thinking that the guy didn't hear her.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know who you are referring to" the guy apologized.
It has been a very long time since anyone called Yae by her name. Nowadays, people knew her as the Supreme Priestess or Guuji.
"The Head Priestess" clarified Ei once again, feeling disoriented. Why didn't anyone knew about Miko's name?.
"Oh, r-right away" the delivery guy ran out of the room, feeling happy that everything ended.
"Shogun-sama, is everything alright?" a Clan Head asked her. Everyone felt that the Shogun was a bit different now.
"Yes" she replied, and waited patiently for Miko to arrive.
"I'm here. What does her Excellency want?" .
Ei saw Miko enter the door, and felt relieved that she looked good, but Miko had a far away look. What was she so distracted by?.
"Can you read this and tell me what do you think?" she asked with gentle eyes. Expression that Yae didn't notice, and that stung Ei a bit.
"Hmmm" Yae quickly read the letter and looked at her. "What do you want me to say?".
"What is true in that letter?".
"Shogun-sama, this is not a matter the Shrine should get involved with. The Shrine has never been involved in politics" Kujou Takayuki respectfully said.
"Does that answer your question?" Yae looked amusedly at Ei, to which Ei shook her head. "Oh, sorry, it's been a while, didn't recognize you" she said, knowing that it was Ei in front of her, and making everyone surprised.
"Say it clearly" Ei said. She trusted Miko's opinion.
"What Kenshin said is true. Inazuma is no longer what you hoped to be". 'Nor your sister' was left unsaid, but Ei realized what she meant, and frowned in anger. Not at Yae of course, but she felt angry all the same. "That's all I will say, you are too stubborn to listen, so do what you think you should do. I will be by your side"
"Hmmm" Ei nodded gratefully. She knew she could count on Miko, but even she was confiring to some degree the contents of this letter, things would need to change. She left everything to the puppet believing it to be the best option, but if something was wrong, it was her duty to do solve the problem. "What can you tell me about this boy?"
Yae thought for a bit, and noticed that everyone was looking at her with curious eyes. Kenshin's true abilities where a mystery. Yae decided to reveal it, in the worst case he will leave Inazuma. She will be sad, but she could take a vacation after 500 years of continued work. A 80 year long vacation.
"You should know him" her characteristic teasing smile was back.
"Do I?" asked a puzzled Ei.
"Yes, I was there when he said his first word. Do you know what it was?" she asked, and continued seeing Ei's negative gesture. "He said Ei when he was a baby".
While everyone felt confused, Ei's eyes widened. She remembered the baby she found in the Plane of Euthymia a while ago. Again, Ei's dulled sense of time didn't let her realize that a 'while' had been more than 10 years.
"He was so cute at the time, he thought he could scare me with that word. Eheh, I had a lot of fun" Yae softly laughed.
"How did he do it?" asked Ei, feeling cautious. This was screaming 'irregular' like no tomorrow. And in her mind, that meant 'enemy of Eternity'.
"Come on, don't get anxious. You should have realized that he loves Inazuma, and he was even working under you. Do you think that if he was that dangerous he would be friends with Morax?. I will leave that disappointing Archon out of this" Yae reminded.
"Is he truly friends with Morax?" Ei felt that this question was key. She knew that Morax loved Liyue as much as she loved Inazuma, and he would never let anyone dangerous wander around. If he was friends with this boy, maybe she would give him a chance. Under her personal observation of course.
"Friend?. He knew about your extremist ideology, and threatened me. 'If he is not welcome in Inazuma, Liyue will welcome him with open arms. If any danger comes to him, I will personally take action'. That's what he said, so I recommend you think very well about what you do. Of course, I won't stay still either. He is my personal assistant after all, and has been helping me cleanse Inazuma of the growing number of curses" Yae subtly warned.
"Preposterous!. Our Excellency is the strongest being in the world!. That puny God does not reach even the sole of our God of Eternity's feet" Kujou Takayuki jumped. His blind faith in the God of Thunder made him lose all critical reasoning.
Ei stood silent, pondering. She had no confidence in beating Morax. She knew she wouldn't lose, but winning was another story. Still, her Mussou Isshin was extremely good against the Lord of Geo's shields, she could cut through everything, but Morax' ability to cause massive destruction was unparalleled. She couldn't fight him and protect Inazuma from hundreds of meteors.
She couldn't harm Kenshin, she could expel him from Inazuma in the best of cases. Now this was the question. Should she accept him into Inazuma to let him work for the improvement of Inazuma, or should she expel him to keep her Eternity intact?.
If it was before, she would have expelled him with no doubt, but now her trusted friend Miko was telling her that Inazuma was not doing good. And this child was Morax' friend, so he meant no harm and wouldn't attract the attention of the Heavenly Principles.
"What do you think?" she decided to ask Miko to hear her opinion, even if the answer was obvious.
"Let him in. His ability is extremely powerful and we may need it soon. The amount of curses is abnormal, and is still growing" Yae said grimly.
"It's like 500 years ago?" Ei still remembered the incredible amount of monster that appeared in the air, their corrosive aura killing an exaggerated amount of people.Even her sister came back with wounds product of the corrosion of the beasts. She still felt the pain the loss of her sister caused her.
"No, but we will need to observe the situation" Yae replied.
"Yes, let him back, but he still needs some punishment. Will you take care of that?" Ei asked Miko, deciding on the future plan.
"Of course. I will make him come crawling here" Yae said with her mischievous smile. Ei nodded and retracted her consciousness, but just before doing that, she left a last sentence floating in the air before returning the control of the body to the Shogun.
"Make that child come back. No child will participate in a war"
I know the situation is 'dramatic'.
But remember, what was the situation in Inazuma at the 2.0 version?.
Merchants being threatened or blackmailed, the Tenryou Commission capturing every they thought was 'suspicious', and as was revealed later, the Kujou Clan was corrupt.
It may be a little exaggerated here, but Ayato had been facing assassination attempts, and I don't think he was the only one.
Ei will have a lot of character development, but it will come after Mondstadt and I will explain a lot of things, for now leave it aside and try to enjoy Mondstadt.