"Sister Makoto."
After Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei emerged from Tenshukaku, Paimon immediately scurried over. She was just about to gush over how cool Makoto's strike was when she slew Signora...
...when Raiden Ei's deathly gaze shifted toward Paimon. Looking into Ei's eyes, Paimon shivered.
What's going on?
"That strike just now... was so cool." Paimon swallowed hard. Why did it feel like Raiden Ei was looking at her as if she wanted to swallow her whole? That gaze was truly terrifying.
"But is Signora really dead? Will slaying a diplomatic envoy from Snezhnaya have any negative repercussions?" Paimon just really wanted to confirm if Signora was truly gone, and she was also a bit curious.
"What repercussions could there be?" Raiden Ei's tone was cold. "She was but an arrogant Harbinger. If she is slain, she is slain."
She had slain many Gods; why would she fear a mere diplomat from Snezhnaya? Besides, it wasn't as if she was completely ignorant of what Signora had been doing in Inazuma.
"Alright then."
"Lumine, you've helped me quite a bit. Is there anything you'd like me to do for you?" Raiden Makoto looked at Lumine with a gentle expression.
Paimon looked at Raiden Ei and then at Raiden Makoto. She felt that upon closer inspection, the differences between the sisters were significant: Raiden Makoto was incredibly gentle, while Raiden Ei was cold and indifferent.
"Me?"
Lumine was stunned for a moment. Originally, because she felt a sense of kinship with Raiden Makoto, she hadn't expected anything in return for her help. Moreover, since Makoto had shared information with her that even Venti and Zhongli hadn't, she was even more inclined to help without seeking rewards.
"If possible... could you help me print some missing person posters for my brother? It would be great if they could be posted all over Inazuma." Lumine thought for a long while; her ultimate wish remained to reunite with her brother, and she didn't really need anything else.
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Speaking of which, Kujou Sara just took Kujou Takayuki and another person away..."
"I know."
While Raiden Makoto and Lumine were talking, a familiar figure burst in from outside Tenshukaku.
It was the target of the hundredth Vision Hunt Decree, Thoma, who had been hiding with Yoimiya.
Thoma looked anxious as he rushed toward Raiden Makoto in a flurry.
"Makoto... this is bad, the Demoiselle..." Thoma's face was pale, and he was so panicked he could barely keep his footing.
"Thoma? Are you saying something happened to Ayaka?" Raiden Makoto was slightly taken aback. Hadn't she completely sealed the power within Scaramouche? How could something have gone wrong?
Could it be that the other Fatui Harbinger who had arrived in Inazuma, Childe Tartaglia, was causing trouble?
Thoma hurriedly handed a letter to Raiden Makoto, who opened it in front of everyone.
"Dear Auntie, I have taken Kamisato Ayaka. If you want to save her, please hand over the Gnosis to me."
The gist of the letter was that Scaramouche had taken Kamisato Ayaka, and to save her, the Gnosis must be exchanged.
"Ei, look at your 'great' son." Raiden Makoto was somewhat angry. The letter exuded Scaramouche's arrogance. Had she known he would be this brazen, she would have scrapped him long ago. "He's simply..."
"Isn't that Scaramouche's doing? What does it have to do with me?" Raiden Ei felt innocent. She felt like she was being blamed for no reason; she had been in the Plane of Euthymia for five hundred years, so how could everything be her fault?
She had also sealed Scaramouche's power, but she didn't know he would eventually fall into the hands of the Fatui.
She would remember this grudge.
The next time she saw Scaramouche, she would scrap him personally. He actually dared to make her sister angry and get her scolded.
"Something happened to Miss Kamisato?"
Paimon was also a bit scared seeing Raiden Makoto angry. It had to be said that when Makoto was angry, the air itself seemed to freeze.
"It must be that Childe went to the Kamisato Estate to rescue Scaramouche, and they kidnapped Ayaka."
"The Fatui again?" Raiden Ei was also a bit angry. She had known the Fatui were reaching into Inazuma, but she had always tacitly allowed it. "I thought they wouldn't cause too much of a stir in Inazuma."
A moment later, Raiden Ei seemed to realize something. She looked at Raiden Makoto. "Sister, why do you care so much about that little girl from the Kamisato Clan?"
"I even saw Miss Kamisato and Sister Makoto hugging! They must be good friends!" Before Raiden Makoto could speak, Paimon blurted it out.
In the next second, Paimon noticed that the air, which had returned to normal, became frozen once again. An arc of electricity even struck the horizon in the distance.
"Paimon, shut up!" Lumine immediately realized that Paimon had definitely said the wrong thing. She pulled Paimon into her arms and covered her mouth.
Why was Paimon always such a big mouth?
Lumine had a general idea of what Paimon had said wrong. She had a brother too; if her brother were secretly hugging some girls behind her back, she would definitely be angry as well.
She could understand why Raiden Ei was acting this way.
"Ei."
"Be good."
"Ayaka and I are good friends. I'll explain the details to you after we resolve this."
"Mhm..." Raiden Makoto's gentle tone calmed Raiden Ei down, and she nodded slightly.
She had to be well-behaved in front of her sister, or else she might be outdone by Orobashi.
When her sister praised Orobashi in front of her, she felt an indescribable emotion.
After Raiden Makoto put the letter away, Thoma finally snapped out of his anxious state and noticed Raiden Ei standing next to her.
"The... Shogun?" Thoma was slightly stunned and immediately lowered his head. "Shogun... I am Thoma, a retainer of the Kamisato Clan."
"I know you. Kujou Takayuki told the Shogun that you were the target for the hundredth Vision Hunt Decree." Raiden Ei nodded, returning to her cold and arrogant demeanor in front of outsiders.
"That girl from the Kamisato Clan..." Raiden Ei was about to huff, but she felt that doing so in front of everyone would be too obvious. "I'll have to see for myself..."
She wanted to see what that girl from the Kamisato Clan looked like and how she managed to capture her sister's attention.
Her sister had actually been secretly hugging another girl behind her back!
"Thoma, go back to the Kamisato Estate and stay there. If you can, help Kujou Sara while you're at it."
"As for Ayaka, I will bring her back."
She wanted to see what Scaramouche would do if she didn't hand over the Gnosis.
She had already been considering whether to give the Gnosis away, but now it seemed that if the Cryo Archon didn't show enough sincerity, the Gnosis? She wouldn't give it up.
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