Yae Miko said, "The Vision Hunt Decree is nothing more than a foolish policy, born from Fatui misinformation, that has the people of Inazuma binding their own hands."
"And the one who clouded the Shogun's judgment was your own master—the head of the Tenryou Commission, the Kujou Clan."
Kujou Sara looked utterly incredulous. "Are you saying... the Kujou Clan has betrayed the Shogunate?"
Yae Miko nodded. "Precisely. Your understanding is correct."
Kujou Sara laughed derisively. "Lady Guuji, your accusation is not only dangerous, but absurd. The Three Commissions have served the Shogun since ancient times with absolute loyalty."
"Since being adopted by the Kujou Clan, I have witnessed firsthand that everyone in the Tenryou Commission is utterly devoted to the Shogun—especially Lord Takayuki, the clan head."
"His reverence for the Musou no Hitotachi surpasses that of anyone. My own admiration for the Shogun does not amount to even one ten-thousandth of his. How could the clan head possibly do anything to harm the Shogun?"
[Ningguang: The answer is simple: deceiving one's superiors while misleading one's subordinates. Suppose I were the only one who could communicate with the Exuvia. No matter how I distorted the Exuvia's words, those below me would never know.]
[Paimon: But the Exuvia strolls around Liyue all day. Surely he would notice.]
[Zhongli: No one can break my contracts.]
[Ningguang: Of course the Exuvia would notice. But clearly, that puppet in Inazuma would not.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Because the Shogun rarely leaves Tenshukaku. Her understanding of Inazuma comes entirely from her subordinates' reports.]
[Ningguang: When your eyes and ears depend on others, how accurate can the information you receive truly be?]
[Paimon: So that's it... Gods cannot remain detached from the people.]
[Ei: I am humbled by this lesson.]
[Lumine: Raiden Shogun.]
[Ei: I have awakened. I am now personally managing Inazuma's affairs. The head of the Kujou Clan, who deceived his superiors and misled his subordinates, has been imprisoned by my own hand.]
[Ningguang: The future can be changed.]
[Furina: In the future... we all lost too much. Perhaps this livestream is showing us the original future. And now, we can make amends in advance.]
[Tartaglia: Wait a moment. This seems somewhat unfair. All our plans have been exposed.]
[Lumine: I think this is a good thing for the people.]
[Paimon: Yeah, yeah! This way, Inazuma won't go to war, and they can resolve the eternity issue peacefully.]
[Il Dottore: As they say, 'When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue.' Do not fret, Tartaglia. The original plan may be compromised, but we can always devise Plan B.]
[La Signora: All we seek are the Gnoses. Whether Liyue erupts in crisis or not, I can still obtain Morax's Gnosis.]
[Tartaglia: And what of Inazuma's Gnosis?]
[Ei: I will give it to you.]
[Paimon: Huh? You'll just hand the Gnosis directly to the Fatui?]
[Ei: Since transforming my body into a puppet, it can no longer contain the Gnosis. To me, it is merely a useless object.]
[Lumine: Neuvillette also simply gave his Gnosis to Arlecchino.]
[Neuvillette: Yes. The Fatui wanted the Gnosis. Refusing them would only destabilize Fontaine.]
[Yae Miko: Ei... you agreed far too easily. You should at least demand something in return—like an entire room full of Mora.]
[Ei: Hmm... a fair point. Yae Miko, I leave the negotiations to you.]
[Yae Miko: Very well. I shall have myself a nice little profit.]
Yae Miko gave a confident reply. "Three days. Come back here in three days, and I will have the evidence for you."
"As a Guuji, I understand one thing very clearly: people tend to believe what they want to believe. So perhaps there are things you simply refuse to see. That leaves me to play the villain—to unravel the truth layer by layer and present it to you clearly."
Kujou Sara nodded solemnly. "Three days, then. I will come. But if I find no evidence, I expect an apology from you for falsely accusing the Kujou Clan. And I will also be taking that wanted criminal back with me."
Yae Miko was unbothered by Sara's sternness; instead, she smiled warmly. "Very well. We shall await your arrival in three days, dear guest."
[Kujou Sara: In truth, I had sensed something was off. I simply never dwelled on it.]
[Paimon: Why not?]
[Kujou Sara: I am a general of the Shogunate. My duty is to execute orders. Before this livestream appeared, I rarely questioned such matters.]
[Zhongli: This mysterious livestream has changed much.]
[Paimon: Yeah. Some people have gotten beaten up multiple times because of it.]
Once Sara's imposing presence had departed, Paimon let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, that scared me! I never expected to run into Kujou Sara here. Hey, Yae Miko, do you already have a lead on that evidence of the Tenryou Commission's treachery you mentioned?"
Yae Miko shrugged. "What kind of question is that? Of course not. I only said that on the spot because I couldn't convince Sara."
Paimon was speechless. "Ugh... as expected?"
Yae Miko continued, "We're talking about overturning the will of a god. That in itself is a huge gamble. Who could possibly face a deity with absolute certainty?"
Paimon asked urgently, "Then what do we do? We only have three days!"
Yae Miko tilted her head, glancing at Lumine. "To obtain that evidence, we'll need an assistant. Now, follow me—let's go wake up that professional."
Guided by Yae Miko, Lumine arrived before a tanuki-shaped puppet.
As Lumine approached, the tanuki puppet suddenly transformed into the shape of a human.
[Paimon: Amazing! It transformed in an instant!]
[Yae Miko: Well, it does have a Vision.]
[Paimon: There are so many youkai in Inazuma!]
[Yae Miko: Consider it one of Inazuma's unique charms.]
Paimon's eyes widened. "What is this?! A tanuki puppet just turned into a human! This is incredible—I've never seen anything like it!"
The child the tanuki puppet had transformed into seemed not quite awake, mumbling slowly, "Not a tanuki... a mujina..."
"...So sleepy... If I don't get enough sleep, I won't grow taller..."
Paimon gestured helplessly. "Yae Miko... this is your so-called professional? Doesn't seem like it at all."
Yae Miko chuckled and explained, "Hehe. This one is a member of the Shuumatsuban—a genuine ninja."
Paimon looked puzzled. "A ninja? So that just now was the legendary substitution technique?"
"But wait... what's the Shuumatsuban?"
Yae Miko elaborated, "The Shuumatsuban answers to the Yashiro Commission—Kamisato Ayato's secret force."
"Currently, Kamisato Ayato and the Yashiro Commission maintain a neutral stance, so I cannot command the Shuumatsuban directly. However, 'borrowing' one of its members—a habitual slacker, no less—is well within my capabilities."
[Paimon: Clearly, this member really does love slacking off.]
[Sayu: Sleeping... is the only way to grow taller.]
[Lumine: But is she truly capable?]
[Kamisato Ayato: Every Shuumatsuban member is a certified ninja. Sayu possesses a Vision and is one of the Shuumatsuban's finest.]
[Paimon: She really doesn't look the part.]
[Furina: One mustn't judge things solely by appearances.]
Yae Miko continued, "Alright. Now, I'll entrust you two with entering the city and finding evidence of the Tenryou Commission's treachery. After all, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to show my face there."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged exasperated looks. "But we don't even know what the evidence is!"
Yae Miko replied, "I thought you might have figured it out by now. Very well, I'll give you another hint. For outsiders, it's indeed difficult to uncover the Tenryou Commission's secrets."
"However, the Three Commissions serve the Shogun together and maintain close ties. Surely the other Commissions would be more likely to notice any irregularities."
Lumine immediately grasped the key point. "The Yashiro Commission!"
Yae Miko nodded. "Good. It seems you understand. The Shogunate is likely still hunting you, but with this Shuumatsuban ninja's help, I'm confident you can reunite with your friends safely."
"And don't forget—bring back the evidence before the deadline."
[Paimon: Yae Miko sure knows how to delegate. She could easily visit the Yashiro Commission herself, couldn't she?]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Lady Yae holds a high status in Inazuma. She could go anywhere without restriction.]
[Paimon: So... she's just being lazy.]
Lumine quietly made her way back to Komore Teahouse and found Thoma.
Thoma seemed to have been trapped inside the teahouse for a long time, cut off from outside news. He had countless questions.
Thoma asked, "What are you doing here? How's the situation now? Did you meet the resistance? What's happening with the war? Can I finally get out of here?"
Paimon shook her head. "Probably not yet. We still saw patrols on the way here."
[Paimon: Thoma must be so bored cooped up in there.]
[Ningguang: This is like an upgraded version of imprisonment. Cut off from the outside world every day—and forced to work.]
[Paimon: Forced to work too?]
[Keqing: To live is to work. For Liyue.]
[Ningguang: Indeed. Work is necessary. People must support themselves.]
Thoma sighed. "Guess it's not over yet. So... you're here because you need something from us, right? I'll go fetch someone to call for the young lady. Wait a moment."
Before long, Ayaka arrived, and Lumine recounted everything that had happened.
Kamisato Ayaka listened thoughtfully. "I see. You've been through quite a lot as well. I understand the situation now—you need evidence of the Tenryou Commission's treason. Let me think..."
"Now that you mention it, there is something that has been bothering me. The Shogunate and the resistance have been fighting for so long, yet the Shogun has never once inquired about it."
"I assumed she simply didn't care. But now... perhaps the official reports submitted to the Shogun by the Tenryou Commission were flawed from the very beginning."
Paimon asked, "What do you mean, Ayaka?"
Ayaka considered her words carefully. "The Tenryou Commission oversees all domestic military affairs. If they intended to conceal the truth, we would have no way of knowing."
"The result? The Shogun underestimates the harm caused by the Vision Hunt Decree and stubbornly persists. If we could obtain the Tenryou Commission's official reports to the Shogun, the truth would be plain to see."
[Ningguang: When those in power remain detached from the people, they easily become puppets of their subordinates, led about by the nose.]
[Furina: How do you solve this problem, Ningguang?]
[Ningguang: I have many sources of information that can corroborate one another. Two people can conspire to deceive me, but with many, it becomes impossible. Still, I often walk among the people myself. Keqing doesn't have this problem.]
[Keqing: I work on the front lines year-round. I naturally receive firsthand information.]
Thoma furrowed his brow. "But as I recall, only one person has the authority to draft those official reports: Kujou Takayuki himself."
"And that place is heavily guarded. Even with Sayu's help, sneaking out those documents would be no easy task."
Kamisato Ayaka said, "If only there were something to temporarily distract the guards..."
After a moment of thought, Thoma's eyes lit up. "Yoimiya's fireworks!"
Kamisato Ayaka nodded. "The Tenryou Commission headquarters is right next to the Statue of the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed God. If we set off fireworks near the statue, the Tenryou Commission couldn't ignore it. Then Sayu could slip in and retrieve the official reports and other evidence."