Tenshukaku.
It was the grandest, tallest structure in all of Inazuma City, standing firm for centuries to witness the turning of the ages.
Silent and majestic, its top floor served as the abode for the ruler of Inazuma, the God of Eternity and Thunder.
The most exalted one sat upon her throne.
Her deep violet hair cascaded down like a waterfall, woven into a thick braid that hung quietly behind her.
Sunlight filtering into the hall, along with the surrounding shadows, seemed hesitant to linger near her person.
She raised her head, her unnaturally perfect features impassive and detached.
The mole beneath her eye did not diminish her majesty in the least; rather, it added a touch of alluring elegance.
Her violet eyes, devoid of human emotion, slowly shifted to look at the person standing before her.
*Clack, clack, clack.*
Geta clicked crisply against the wooden floorboards.
Yae Miko, utterly unfazed by the Raiden Shogun’s imposing majesty, glided to a stop before the steps of the upper dais.
She did not kneel, nor did she bow.
Her narrow fox eyes curved into a subtle crescent, gleaming with a cunning smile as she met her best friend’s gaze without a shred of hesitation.
“My, my, why always wear such a terrifying scowl, my dear Almighty Shogun?”
Miko tilted her head with a beaming smile, her voice as lazy and sweet as ever.
Then, as if presenting a prized treasure, she lightly raised her hands.
In her hands were two objects.
In her left hand was a generous heap of freshly made Tricolor Dango, translucent and steaming gently.
In her right, pinched delicately between two slender fingers, was a crudely bound manuscript.
“Look what I brought you,” Miko taunted, gently shaking the items.
Her smile widened as she caught the faint, subtle flicker in those distant violet eyes at the sight of the Tricolor Dango.
“A sweet treat guaranteed to brighten your mood,” Miko murmured, offering the dango forward before shifting her gaze to the manuscript in her right hand, her voice trailing off playfully.
“And… an exceptionally interesting, unique light novel~”
*Munch, munch, munch.*
Resting her chin on her hands and elbows on the desk, Miko watched with a gentle smile as the Raiden Shogun consumed the sweets bit by bit, her internal thoughts hidden.
The Raiden Shogun’s expression remained completely unchanged, as cold and aloof as ever.
Aside from the increasing speed at which her hand moved toward the dango, nothing seemed to affect her.
“Yae Miko, did you come here merely for these trivialities? (*Munch, munch.*) If so, you may prepare to take your leave (*munch, munch*).” Naturally, the Shogun was still the one speaking.
“My, how heartless! Driving me away the moment I arrive?” Miko reached out to gently wipe a speck of syrup from the edge of the Shogun’s mouth, her smile never fading.
“Especially when you’re enjoying the food so much. Besides, there’s still a surprise you haven’t looked at yet.”
The Raiden Shogun’s gaze finally drifted back to the manuscript on the desk.
She reached out and picked it up, examining the crude draft.
It was entirely different from the exquisitely bound light novels Yae Miko usually brought, and the title on the cover immediately caught her eye:
*Yes, Lord Harbinger*.
“This is different from the light novels you usually bring. Is this a raw manuscript?”
Seeing that Miko had no intention of leaving, the Shogun’s eyes flickered slightly—as if receiving a signal from within—before she turned the page and began to read.
But the very first line made her brow furrow.
The Raiden Ei-grade divine processor was attempting to parse the contents, only for a trace of confusion to flicker across her eyes.
She turned her head with a slightly glitchy stiffness, fixing her violet eyes upon Miko.
“What… is written here?”
In the Shogun’s flat, emotionless voice, there was a rare, subtle hesitation—reminiscent of a system crash.
Her eyes swept back to the manuscript’s first chapter: *Relief Grain*.
“Is this truly how the Fatui of Snezhnaya operate?” The Shogun’s brows knitted tightly.
As the guardian of eternity, her core logic was built upon cold rules and martial power.
Yet on these pages, she saw something far more terrifying than blades: utilizing completely compliant, standardized procedures to deceive the populace and embezzle for personal gain.
Miko noticed the shift in her expression, her fox eyes narrowing into crescent curves as she let out a soft chuckle.
“My dear Almighty Shogun, do you find these Snezhnayans thoroughly wicked?” Yae Miko smiled like a fox that had just devoured a hot plate of fried tofu.
“However, my dear god, look a little closer. Doesn’t this efficient process seem somewhat… familiar?”
The Raiden Shogun paused.
Her violet eyes scanned the page once more—and peering through those eyes was Raiden Ei within the Plane of Euthymia.
Ei was by no means foolish; on the contrary, she was exceptionally sharp.
It was simply that no one had ever taught her such administrative chicanery before.
Now, with Yae Miko’s subtle hint, she grasped the underlying logic behind the text.
Reading with this newfound perspective, she finished the entire manuscript in one sitting.
This time, inside the Plane of Euthymia, Ei finally saw the essence behind the words.
This wasn’t about the Snezhnayan Fatui at all!
If one replaced terms like “Harbinger” and “Northland Bank,” these were precisely the bureaucratic workflows currently being reported to her by certain Commissions!
They were virtually identical!
“That’s not all~” As if anticipating her question, Miko leisurely pulled a piece of paper from her sleeve—it was the letter of intent signed by Kuroda.
“Besides this scandalous book, the little fellow who wrote it used this single piece of paper to ‘legally and compliantly’ walk away with five hundred thousand Mora from my Yae Publishing House.”
“Five hundred thousand Mora?” The Shogun took the contract.
Right of first refusal for derivative rights?
A one-way performance declaration with joint liability?
Indefinite right of final interpretation?
As these otherworldly commercial maneuvers printed on the page filled her vision…
The Raiden Ei-grade divine processor overloaded once again.
In Teyvat, contracts fell under the domain of Morax, the Rex Lapis.
Ei was familiar with Liyue’s contracts, but she had never seen so many bizarre technical terms—a contract laced with so many interconnected traps!
“Extracting vast sums of money with a mere scrap of paper without incurring the crime of robbery… Every character belongs to Inazuma’s script, yet strung together, they form a set of rules more twisted than Abyss monsters…” A flicker of distinctly human astonishment appeared on the Shogun’s cold, captivating face.
What kind of talent possessed such cunning while also exposing the flaws in Inazuma’s current Commission operations so clearly?
She turned to Yae Miko.
“Lu Heng,” Miko said softly, naturally understanding what her dear friend was thinking.
“A fascinating little fellow who bears the face of a Liyue native, yet went by the alias Ilyich. He penned this grand work, exposing the Tenryou Commission inside and out, and today even pocketed five hundred thousand Mora right out of my Yae Publishing House. Yet he is merely a low-level clerk about to be used as a scapegoat.”
Tenshukaku fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, the Shogun came back online.
She neatly placed the manuscript and contract back onto the desk.
In her violet eyes, alongside cold majesty, was a calculating gaze scrutinizing an unknown variable.
“He… is a variable.”
“Guards.” A flash of lightning crackled, and following the Raiden Shogun’s call, an Okuzumeshu samurai outside pushed open the door and entered, immediately dropping to one knee.
“Your Excellency! What are your orders?”
“Deliver my oral decree.” The Raiden Shogun lifted her head slightly, looking into the distance.
“Assemble the Okuzumeshu and head into the city immediately to search for the Tenryou Commission clerk, Lu Heng. Remember… *invite* him to Tenshukaku.”
Pausing, a fierce spark of lightning flashed in her violet eyes.
“No one is to obstruct you. Anyone who defies this order may be detained on the spot.”
“Understood!” The samurai bowed respectfully, stood up, and left to deliver the decree.
“My, my, mobilizing your personal Okuzumeshu just to invite a lowly clerk in the city… Quite a grand gesture.”
“Though talented, he diverges from the path of Eternity I have established. I must interrogate him personally.” The Raiden Shogun’s eyes were cold and distant, her tone impassive.
“However, Ei… I’m afraid you might be a step too late this time.” Miko turned around, gazing in the direction of Rito.
“Because a calculating little mouse has already dug a tunnel and scampered away, you see?”
“Where are you going?” The Shogun watched Yae Miko as she began walking out of the grand hall.
“Hehe… To catch a mouse at the exit of its burrow, of course.” Yae Miko glanced back with an enchanting smile.
“And while I’m at it, to collect the Mora he swindled from me—with interest~”
Meanwhile, on the highway outside the city, Lu Heng was sitting inside a carriage, bumping along the road toward Rito.
“Damn it, why is this road so terrible?! My ass!”