In the grand, silent hall of the Tenshukaku, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
Atop the throne, the Raiden Shogun sat like a cold divine statue, her purple eyes looking down at the two below.
However, in the depths of the Plane of Euthymia, unreachable by mortals, Raiden Ei sat cross-legged as her “Ei-grade processor” ran at top speed.
She could not help but muse to herself:
“Kujou Sara stayed out all night and came here with Lu Heng today… Furthermore, why is the General’s physical depletion (referring to the dark circles) so severe? It seems what the Okuzumeshu said was indeed true.”
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Her cold purple eyes first swept over the energetic, smiling Lu Heng.
For some reason, his current foxy grin always reminded her of a certain pink-furred fox at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Then her gaze landed on Kujou Sara, whose expression was tense, though the fatigue in her eyes was hard to hide.
Curiously, the usually steadfast Tengu general was now stealing occasional, seemingly casual sideways glances at Lu Heng out of the corner of her eye.
*They seem to get along quite well,* the Raiden Shogun concluded.
Drawing back her thoughts, she asked plainly:
“Sobayonin Lu Heng, what important matter do you have to report?”
Lu Heng smiled slightly and bowed, his voice neither servile nor overbearing.
“Reporting to Your Excellency! Your subordinate is here to present the progress of the first stage of the ‘Eternal Paradise Project’!”
Raiden Ei was somewhat surprised.
She had not expected progress so quickly.
The Shogun on the high platform remained expressionless as she spoke slowly.
“I did not expect the Sobayonin to act so swiftly. Appointed only the day before yesterday, and yet there is progress today. I presume this is also related to General Kujou?”
Suddenly addressed by the deity, Kujou Sara shuddered.
Her wandering gaze snapped back from Lu Heng like lightning.
Kneeling on one knee with her back held straight, she bowed her head and said:
“The Ogosho’s wisdom is absolute! Your subordinate… does not dare take credit. Last night was merely performing my humble duty as a subject!”
“The General is far too modest,”
Lu Heng stepped forward slightly, taking over the conversation with his usual warm smile.
“As the saying goes, ‘Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.'”
“To perfectly carry out Your Excellency’s eternal will, Lady Sara and I conducted a sweeping investigation last night of the baseline finances of fifty-two villages on Narukami Island, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized merchants, fully grasping the current state of Narukami Island.”
“Without the General’s top-tier, watertight auditing talents, your subordinate would not have been able to complete this document today, no matter how many grand plans I had.” With that, Lu Heng held up the thick stack of papers with both hands.
The Raiden Shogun on the high platform nodded slightly.
With a wave of her hand, invisible Electro energy steadily lifted the papers to her.
She swept a glance over the neatly structured, concise documents, her cold voice ringing out once more.
“Kujou Sara has always been meticulous and rigorous in her work. Coupled with your whimsical ideas, you make a fine match in administrative matters.”
She closed the file, looking at them with her cold, majestic eyes.
“Furthermore, I heard this morning that you spent the entire night in that room engaged in a ‘pure and passionate collision of youth.’ Mmh… It is only natural for talented young people to do so. In the future, the two of you may engage in more of these friendly, profound yet accessible exchanges.”
In an instant, it felt as if an invisible bolt of lightning had struck Lu Heng inside the hall.
The air fell into a deathly stillness.
“Cough, cough… *hack, wheeze!*” Shocked, Lu Heng nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing violently as his face flushed the color of raw liver.
The Raiden Shogun tilted her head slightly in confusion, her long purple hair swaying with the movement.
“Lu Heng, is something wrong?” she asked, perplexed.
“Your… Your Excellency, such absurd nonsense! Where on earth did you hear this?” Having finally caught his breath, Lu Heng’s mouth twitched, and even his smile became stiff.
“Mmh? It is not nonsense.”
“It was reported in the duty log by the night watch of the Okuzumeshu,” the Raiden Shogun said in all seriousness, maintaining her cold, majestic, deadpan expression.
“Aside from that, it was also mentioned that you harbor pure, distraction-free feelings for me, and that General Kujou achieved a spiritual resonance with you because of her shared loyalty to me.”
Watching Lu Heng’s face turn from red to white, then white to green, the Shogun frowned slightly and asked with some uncertainty:
“Could it be that there are inaccuracies?”
Hearing these thunderous declarations, Lu Heng’s vision went black as his blood pressure spiked.
If someone poked a hole in his head right now, blood would probably geyser straight onto the ceiling of the Tenshukaku!
What in the absolute hell!
Those iron buckets with brains stuffed full of Electro had no entertainment while standing guard every day, so they spent their time fabricating scandalous rumors about their superiors for fun?!
Just let him catch whoever wrote that log—he would absolutely banish them to Seirai Island to scoop cat poop for the stray felines!
Meanwhile, Kujou Sara, who had spent years campaigning and handling military affairs with zero romantic experience, did not understand the double entendre at all.
She merely turned her head with a look of confusion, glanced at Lu Heng, who was scratching his head in sheer panic, his face flushed all the way to his neck, and snorted in her heart.
He was only praised a little by the Ogosho, yet he’s so overwhelmed by the favor that he’s completely lost his composure.
Truly lacking in gravitas.*
At this thought, Sara lowered her eyes slightly, cupped her hands, and faced the throne, her voice ringing with passion:
“Rest assured, Ogosho! As long as it is for your great cause of eternity, your subordinate’s feelings for you are equally pure! No matter how fierce the collision we encounter, your subordinate will never back down!”
Lu Heng looked at the General “madly self-destructing” beside him in despair, closing his eyes in sheer agony.
*Oh gods, just destroy me.
I can’t stay in Inazuma for another day.
Thank goodness there are no other Okuzumeshu here, otherwise…*
To prevent Kujou Sara from making any more shocking declarations of love before the deity, Lu Heng steadied his mind, ignored his wildly thumping heart, and loudly defended himself:
“Your Excellency!”
“Lady Sara and I were truly just making reports all night! And we casually engaged in an… academic discussion on how to efficiently serve the Ogosho! Anything else is pure fabrication by the lower-level staff! Please, by no means let it be recorded…”
Fearing that the Raiden Shogun would continue her “deep thoughts” on this topic, Lu Heng hurriedly brought up his real purpose.
“Your subordinate’s arrival today is also to request Your Excellency’s special approval on two major matters!”
“First, to advance the Eternal Paradise Project as quickly as possible, I request to officially temporarily transfer General Kujou Sara as my assistant. Second, I require a Shogunal decree to summon the various merchant guilds of Rito to join, initiating the next phase of our work.”
When it came to state policy, the Raiden Shogun’s eyes returned to their cold, mechanical state, and her tone shifted back to business.
“Mmh. This strategy concerns the eternal, unchanging eternity of Inazuma. I, too, look forward to seeing its success soon.”
“Approved. As for the subsequent documents, you may directly use the Tenshukaku’s authority to process them through the official channels.”
Then, the Shogun shifted her gaze to the Tengu lady kneeling on the ground.
“Sara, what is your wish?”
“To execute the Ogosho’s will, your subordinate shall spare no effort to assist the Sobayonin!” Kujou Sara straightened her back, her eyes practically bursting with lasers of determination.
“Mmh. I trust your work.”
The Raiden Shogun nodded slightly, her body shifting slightly, clearly preparing to dismiss them.
However, just as Kujou Sara was about to rise, Lu Heng suddenly took a deep breath, slowly reached into his cloth bag, and said in a gentle voice:
“Your Excellency, the official business is concluded. While inspecting the city, your subordinate acquired an item. I dare not keep it for myself, and thus present it to Your Excellency!”
“Lu Heng! Do not be insolent before the Shogun!”