Yashiori Island remained drenched in lightning and heavy rain, thunder rolling endlessly across the sky.
After finishing his diary entry, Su Xuan turned toward Raiden Ei.
"That's the situation. As long as we restore the Warding Stones, the corrosion will settle."
This world was not a game world.
There were no floating puzzles, no glowing markers, no "press F to fix."
To restore the warding seals, they would need to remake the Magatama Pillars and Stabilizing Stones.
"I assume recreating the warding implements shouldn't be difficult for you," he said.
Ei paused, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"…Are you planning to release me?"
Su Xuan waved lightly.
"Not yet. Once I finish the research I plan to do on you, I'll be moving on to other places."
"Then, you'll be free."
"This seal has already been broken for years. A few more days won't change anything."
Ei went still for a moment.
Then, seeing him turn to leave, she called out:
"…I do have something to ask."
Before she could finish, Su Xuan cut in:
"Don't worry. I'm not interested in disturbing Inazuma. As long as no one provokes me, I won't cause trouble. What I want to study is you."
"No," Ei said.
Su Xuan stopped.
"…No?"
Ei exhaled slowly.
"My question is: Do you have a way to restore the Warding Stones?"
Su Xuan froze.
Ei continued quietly—
"Orobashi did die by my blade. But the Warding Stones were created by my sister—Raiden Makoto, the first Electro Archon."
"…So I cannot restore them."
Su Xuan: "…????????"
She had created a puppet that rivaled gods, developed perfect consciousness projection, created the Realm of Euthymia—
Yet she couldn't rebuild a rock?
His diary updated instantly:
[To be honest, Ei's greatest talent has never just been swordsmanship.]
[It's her technique and her mind.]
[She created the Shogun puppet—the strongest artificial consciousness in existence.]
[She literally engineered a near-indestructible god-body.]
[And now she tells me she can't restore one little warding stone.]
Ei, hearing this, felt her cheeks warm ever so slightly.
But she answered seriously:
"It is not a matter of technology. The Warding Stones require ritual knowledge. That knowledge belonged to Makoto. I… lack that skill."
Su Xuan stared at her.
[Disaster.]
[She's not lying—she really can't make them.]
[And now she's asking me to handle it.]
[How did the roles reverse? Who is the trophy here??]
The women reading:
Pfft—!
They were genuinely torn between laughing and pitying him.
[I do have a way to solve it.]
[But why should I?]
[Inazuma isn't my country. This mess wasn't caused by me.]
[There is no free lunch in this world.]
[You break it, you fix it.]
[If you rule a nation poorly and plunge it into chaos—then you bear the consequences.]
[I only just started traveling. I am not doing unpaid labor.]
He opened his system panel.
[Host]: Su Xuan
[Item]: Heaven and Earth Mirror
[Ability]: Psychokinesis
[Traits]: None
[Authority]: None
[Draws]: 0
Yesterday's diary reactions had earned him eight draws.
He used them all in one go.
Most results were useless daily items.
But one item stood out—
The Heaven and Earth Mirror.
It did not grant strength—
but its effect was terrifying.
Heaven and Earth Mirror:
Reverses Heaven and Earth
Flips Yin and Yang
Rewinds Time
Restores Cause and Effect
Expels Corruption
It could reflect an object and:
• rewind its history
• restore lost states
• purge corruption
• even resurrect what had been erased
In short—
The mirror could reconstruct the Warding Stones by recalling the past in which they still existed.
He said nothing.
He simply walked back toward shelter.
Ei remained where she stood, staring at the rain-soaked ground.
Then slowly, she lowered her gaze to the diary text.
"Unpaid work… a loss-making deal…"
Her eyes narrowed faintly.
"Then the matter is simple, isn't it?" she murmured.
"If I offer something equal in value—"
"—he will move."
Her steps became steady.
Her expression calm.
"Then I only need to decide what part of myself I am willing to give."