It had been just over ten minutes since they'd left Liyue Harbor, and the cruiser had already raced out to the middle of the open sea.
Looking back, there was no longer any sign of Liyue Harbor in any direction.
Ye Xi gave the order to turn the ship around.
Beidou declared that Ningguang had a delicate, pampered constitution that couldn't take rough wind and waves, and insisted she come up on deck to take in some salt breeze.
Ningguang let out a snort and followed her up anyway.
Keqing and Ganyu, meanwhile, kept the Adepti company, taking a leisurely tour of the ship's interior.
Ye Xi made his way alone into the captain's room — he intended to install a portal there, so he could stay in touch with Beidou at any time.
Just then, Yae Miko slipped quietly inside.
She pulled the captain's-room door shut behind her with a flick of her hand and pressed in close to Ye Xi, a smile playing all over her face.
With a lone man and a lone woman shut up in one room together, the atmosphere turned distinctly peculiar all at once.
Ye Xi went on guard. "What are you up to?"
"Master~"
"A ship like this — couldn't you give one to our Inazuma too~?"
The fox's words were like the heady aroma of a tempting wine — leaving you intoxicated and unable to help just going along with whatever she asked.
Especially in a setting like the present one, anyone else might have already agreed in a swoon.
Fortunately, Ye Xi's resolve was rock-solid.
He caught himself just before reflexively nodding.
He settled into the captain's seat and countered, "You take me for a philanthropist?"
"I get it, I get it~"
Yae Miko smiled sweetly. "I'll send a wife over to you too~!"
Hearing that, Ye Xi actually felt this scummy fox had the right idea after all.
Sure, she was a scumbag — but this pink-haired fox really did have a fine figure.
If she was the trade for that ship, it was hardly a loss either.
That pristine, sanctified shrine maiden outfit, in particular, really did invite all sorts of stray thoughts.
Right as Ye Xi was mid-thought, Yae Miko suddenly added, "I'll just send our Raiden Shogun over to you, how about that~"
Ye Xi: ???
He'd thought Yae Miko was about to pack herself up and ship herself over — but no, she'd flipped right around and sold Raiden Ei out instead!
Truly the same being who, back in the game, had shoved the Raiden Shogun straight into a weekly boss instance.
The kin in Liyue and Mondstadt — at least, when they were of sound mind — sided with their own God.
This scummy fox, on the other hand, threw Raiden Ei under the bus the moment anything came up.
Ridiculous!
Without even thinking it over, Ye Xi shook his head. "If you want to drag me under, just come out and say it!"
"As we said before — if you want me to help Inazuma, hand Inazuma over to me."
He wasn't falling for it.
Seeing this, Yae Miko had no choice but to nod. "All right, all right, Inazuma is yours then, Master — that works, doesn't it?"
That perfunctory attitude didn't sit right with Ye Xi at all.
"Didn't you say a mere little Guuji like you couldn't make such decisions?"
"What — suddenly you can?"
Yae Miko covered her mouth lightly and gave a small laugh as she explained, "The truth is, Her Excellency the Shogun never sets foot beyond the gates — she has no idea what's actually going on in Inazuma at all."
"These days, Inazuma is essentially being governed by me from behind the scenes, so…"
"Even if I hand Inazuma over to you, she won't notice a thing."
Hearing that, Ye Xi couldn't help blurting out a 'good grief.'
This fox was actually deceiving her superior and her inferiors both!
Scummy through and through!
Truth be told, Yae Miko had given this a great deal of thought beforehand!
Whatever else, she was kin to the Electro Archon — there was no way she'd sell Inazuma down the river.
The real reason she'd agreed was that she'd already figured out what was running through Ye Xi's head.
Ye Xi might say he wanted Inazuma in hand, but really — it was just like the Southern Cross fleet earlier. He only wanted to be a hands-off boss.
He certainly wouldn't be meddling in Inazuma's day-to-day affairs.
Come to think of it, Ganyu had told her Ye Xi had a great many precious wives.
With that many wives, he couldn't even keep up with spending time with them all at home.
Where would he find the time to come to Inazuma and handle a mountain of official business?
In the end, wouldn't all the dirty, exhausting work still fall on her shoulders alone?
So what Ye Xi wanted was nothing more than a single word from her.
That being the case, why not agree?
With just a single promise, Inazuma stood to gain everything.
With a few great ships like this, not only could the imminent food shortage be solved, but Inazuma could be armed as well.
By then, never mind pirates and brigands — even if a Fatui Harbinger came calling, they'd have to scratch their head for a while.
As for Watatsumi Island, that would be even simpler to handle.
With some maneuvering, hand them a single ship and that would be enough to keep them satisfied.
With these ships, Inazuma's freight routes would multiply.
Trips to Mondstadt and Sumeru would be far swifter, too.
By then, Mondstadt's fine wines and Sumeru's spices and fruits could all reach Inazuma!
The International Commerce Guild would flourish all the more.
And this chance — one that could advance Inazuma by a hundred years in an instant — required nothing more than a verbal promise from her.
Wasn't that an absolute bargain!?
Ye Xi said helplessly, "And if the Shogun finds out — what's your plan then?"
"If she finds out, she finds out — I'll just go buy her her favorite Tricolor Dango and Dango Milk!"
"She'll cool right off, I'm sure of it."
"And worst case…"
"…that cake you gave her before — give her a few more pieces of it~"
She remembered it crystal clear.
Some time ago, Raiden Ei had gone to Sumeru and brought back a small piece of cake on her return.
At the time, Raiden Ei had been too reluctant even to take a bite.
A few more pieces of cake as a bribe — if they came from Ye Xi, Raiden Ei would surely accept them.
Hearing Yae Miko's explanation, Ye Xi felt a little sorry for Raiden Ei.
Poor Ei-bao, played for a fool right between this scummy fox's palms.
"How about it, Master~? That works, doesn't it~?"
Yae Miko thought Ye Xi would agree, but instead he shook his head.
Plainly put, all of that was nothing more than Yae Miko's lip service.
He knew, of course, that Yae Miko was actually quite reliable when it came to serious matters.
But even so, he couldn't afford to drop his guard against this scummy fox's cunning.
So he said, "Empty words aren't worth anything to me — I need a guarantee."
"A guarantee…? Master, what did you have in mind?"
Ye Xi extended a hand, and a glowing, esoteric magic array appeared upon his palm.
He explained, "This is my contract magic. It can sustain a binding pact between you and me."
"If you're willing to enter into the contract, I'll trust you."
"Of course, this is a master-servant contract. Once you sign, you'll be my little fox."
"Eeh!?"
Yae Miko hadn't expected Ye Xi to actually know this kind of spell!
But this was a master-servant contract!
If she signed it, wouldn't she have no choice but to obey Ye Xi in everything?
At that point, she wouldn't be kin to the Electro Archon anymore — she'd be kin to Ye Xi!
And if Ye Xi told her to do something strange, she'd have no recourse but to be controlled!
Reading Yae Miko's worry, Ye Xi spoke up. "Relax. This Master of yours isn't some kind of demon."
"This contract is different — you can dissolve it at your own discretion."
"If you enter it willingly, then the contract takes effect."
"And if you have a change of heart, you can lift it whenever you want."
"However — dissolving the contract means breaking our agreement."
"At which point, the cooperation between us naturally comes to a complete end."
"As for retaliation… that'll depend on my mood."
This was the best solution Ye Xi could come up with.
With the binding of the contract, the promise would actually carry some weight.
Listening to Ye Xi's explanation, Yae Miko turned the matter over in her mind.
Inwardly, she truly admired Ye Xi — to think he'd come up with a method like this.
With this contract in place, she'd be obliged to obey Ye Xi's commands.
Which meant Inazuma, too, would be under Ye Xi's control.
If she ever went back on her word, Inazuma would certainly suffer for it.
At that point, Inazuma could be facing sanctions from Sumeru, Mondstadt, and Liyue all at once!
You could say he'd given Inazuma a chance, and given Inazuma room to maneuver, both at once.
She let out a soft sigh. "Oh my, my~ Master, you really are wicked~ You aren't leaving me even a sliver of a chance, are you~"
"I understand. I'll sign the contract with you, Master~"
"Only — you wouldn't make me do anything strange, would you?"
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