"Why are your clothes so tattered?"
Ei's brows furrowed slightly. At first, she hadn't noticed, but now she saw that the fishermen before her were dressed in extremely worn-out clothes. The least tattered among them had at least five patches on their garments.
And the little girl who had tried to give her a lollipop—her pocket was made entirely of a piece of patched cloth. That's why it had torn so easily.
"What else could it be? After the Sakoku Decree—"
"Shinpachi! Silence!" The old man who had spoken earlier cut off the young fisherman's words. The young man realized his mistake and quickly apologized to Ei. "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I spoke out of turn."
"It's fine," Ei shook her head. "Tell me what's on your mind. Right now, I'm not the Raiden Shogun—just an ordinary listener."
"This..." The young fisherman hesitated, glancing at the old man for guidance.
"Ah, Your Excellency, let me explain."
The old man sighed and said, "After you issued the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree, the Tenryou Commission often came to our homes to search for Vision holders. When they left, they usually took some of our belongings. On top of that, the Sakoku Decree made it difficult for us to sell our catch, and goods from Liyue couldn't enter. Over time, we've ended up like this."
As the old man spoke, his eyes were filled with sorrow. Hearing his words, the other fishermen also lowered their heads, as if acknowledging the truth.
"The Tenryou Commission... how dare they!" Ei's eyes flashed with cold fury, and faint sparks of lightning crackled around her. She was truly angry.
However, when her gaze fell back on the fishermen, her anger gradually subsided, replaced by a sigh of self-reproach.
"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have issued the Vision Hunt Decree or the Sakoku Decree. It's because of my mistakes that you've been living in such hardship." Ei spoke with deep regret, then bowed deeply to her people.
"Your Excellency! You mustn't!" The old man dropped his cane and hurried forward to help Ei up.
"Can you forgive me? Forgive this ignorant, unworthy god?" Ei's gaze was complex as she looked at the old man, filled with three parts guilt, four parts sorrow, and three parts pleading.
"Your Excellency, we've never resented you," the old man shook his head, then slowly turned and extended his hand toward the space behind him.
"Look, Your Excellency. These are the people of Inazuma. They've never resented you either. We've always believed that Your Excellency was simply blinded. When you awaken and return, you'll lead us toward the future with the same wisdom and strength as before."
Hearing this, Ei raised her head and looked beyond the old man.
Fishermen, soldiers, sailors, farmers, workers...
Behind the old man stood countless people of all ages, from all walks of life.
But at this moment...
"Your Excellency!" "Your Excellency!" "Your Excellency!" "..."
At this moment, they all shared one identity—the people of Inazuma.
"Your Excellency, you must win!"
The little girl, Kagura, came forward again and tugged at Ei's sleeve with her short arms.
"Thank you. I will."
Ei crouched down again and gently stroked Wenwen's hair.
"Giggle," Kagura smiled sweetly, then transformed into a golden stream of light and merged into Ei's chest.
"Your Excellency, do your best!" "Do your best!" "Do your best!" "..."
More and more people turned into golden light, converging toward Ei and merging into the Gnosis in her chest.
"Your blessings... I've received them."
Ei took a deep breath, and the Electro Mitsudomoe symbol reappeared in her eyes. With a single slash, the white space before her shattered.
"Hmm?" Yun Fan, who had been chatting with Yae Miko, suddenly raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to Ei. Sensing the flow of power in the air, he seemed to understand something and smiled wryly at Yae Miko.
"Yae Miko, you truly are a cunning fox. You actually thought of using the Gnosis as a medium to connect Ei with the people of Inazuma, using their faith to enhance her power."
"So you figured it out after all," Yae Miko covered her mouth with a light laugh. "But it's too late now. My Ei has already succeeded."
As she spoke, Ei, who had been standing with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. In an instant, a tremendous divine aura shot into the sky, shattering the dark clouds that had covered the heavens.
Hum—
Elemental energy swirled around Ei, and her tattered clothes reformed, shedding their purple hue and transforming into a white divine attire.
"Yae, thank you," Ei, now clad in her divine attire, walked over to Yae Miko and spoke with genuine gratitude.
"Giggle, no need for thanks between us. Let's deal with the problem at hand first," Yae Miko said with a smile. She could clearly feel the vast divine power emanating from Ei, several times stronger than before.
Though it was only temporary, Ei had now surpassed even the Geo Archon Morax of Liyue, becoming the strongest being under the Heavenly Principles.
"Alright," Ei nodded, then turned her gaze to Yun Fan.
"Divine Sovereign, I owe my breakthrough to your assistance. If you withdraw now and cease interfering in Watatsumi Island's affairs, we can consider this matter settled. What do you say?"