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The sky turned dim as Kujou Sara climbed to the highest room of Tenshukaku, carrying a massive food container. Because Yae Miko had given her clear instructions, she did not have to waste time searching room by room. The fading light made her task even easier; at this hour, only one room in Tenshukaku remained illuminated.
Sara had volunteered for the delivery herself, harboring her own private motives. She still hungered for a chance to witness the truth with her own eyes. Even if that proved impossible, she hoped to at least pry some information out of Kamisato Ayaka.
"My Lady, dinner is served. Should I bring it inside?" She knocked on the door, though she dared not peer into the room. Yae Miko's warning still echoed in her mind.
Ayaka's voice drifted from within. "Miss Kujou, just leave the meal at the door and be on your way."
Sara hesitated. She knew Ayaka was likely speaking on behalf of the deity within, but she was deeply unwilling to leave. Her pace as she turned away was agonizingly slow, her head turning back with every step. Just as Sara's anxiety peaked, the door creaked open. Ayaka caught sight of her lingering nearby and promptly slammed the door shut again.
She could not risk anyone seeing the scene inside. The Shogun's primary general was far too loyal to her leader. If Sara were to witness the state of the Shogun, no one could predict if she might lose her sanity and launch a desperate, doomed attempt at vengeance against Su Ran. Failure was inevitable, but it would plunge Inazuma into an even more horrific abyss. Even without explicit orders from Yae Miko, Ayaka knew exactly what needed to be done. She might be seen as naive, but she was certainly not a fool.
"Miss Kujou, I understand what you want to know, but the only thing I can tell you is that the Shogun is still alive."
After an afternoon of interaction, Ayaka no longer felt quite as terrified of Su Ran. They were hardly close friends, but the edge of her fear had dulled.
"Then... is the Shogun alright?"
Being alive did not necessarily mean being well. Looking at Ayaka's expression, Sara could deduce that the Shogun had likely suffered a devastating fate.
"Not exactly well, but at least she is alive. She will be able to continue ruling Inazuma in the future." Ayaka still did not dare leak the truth. She feared Sara would crumble if she knew the full extent of the damage.
Sara remained silent, but the words only fueled her worry. The Raiden Shogun was in a bad state, and the only consolation was that she was still alive and would remain Inazuma's deity. Had the invincible protector of the Shogunate really fallen so easily?
"May I see her?"
Ayaka shook her head helplessly.
"Very well."
Sara left, feeling a heavy sense of disappointment. Yet, the trip had not been entirely fruitless. She had learned more than before. Ever since the Shogun's defeat, she had braced herself for the worst—she had even entertained the possibility of Inazuma falling under new leadership, or the unknown god slaughtering the citizens of Inazuma entirely. While the news she received was grim, it was, at the very least, news. As long as the Shogun remained, Inazuma was not yet lost.
Only when Sara's silhouette vanished completely did Ayaka finally let out a sigh of relief. With the Shogun's most loyal follower gone, she felt a sense of security return. After all, what she had said was not entirely true. The true Raiden Ei was indeed safe, but the entity that had managed Inazuma for five hundred years was as good as dead. Because the Shogun was not a living being, it was not defined as death, but rather as destruction.
Moreover, her refusal to let Sara enter was not because Su Ran had forbidden it. He had, in fact, been perfectly indifferent to whether someone looked or not. But the scattered remains of the Shogun scattered across the room would be enough to break anyone's spirit. Ayaka's refusal was a mercy to protect Sara's sanity, not a command from her captor.
She returned to the door and pulled the food container into the room.
"I am finally beginning to understand all of this."
Su Ran cradled the head of the Raiden Shogun, finally grasping the intricate construction of the puppet. He had to admit, Raiden Ei was truly a Genius. The puppet was incredibly lifelike in every conceivable way. He even wondered if Ei had considered these factors when she created it.
Beyond its realism, it was a vessel capable of holding the power of a god. That alone proved that Raiden Ei's craftsmanship surpassed that of Dottore. Although, in his eyes, Dottore was hardly a compliment. The puppet was simply too rigid, prone to falling into logic loops. It was a miracle that such an imperfect construct had managed to govern Inazuma for so many years. Perhaps it was a testament to the massive foundation left behind by Raiden Makoto, which allowed for such reckless expenditure, or perhaps Yae Miko's hard work was the real reason the nation hadn't collapsed.
"Master Su Ran, dinner has arrived."
After a full afternoon of talking, Ayaka felt comfortable enough to address Su Ran by name. It was a pity that human emotions were so difficult to parse through data alone. If he were to measure it by an affection gauge, Ayaka's favorability toward him had reached at least 40.
"Let's eat together, then."
In terms of raw beauty, Ayaka was perhaps a step below the Tsaritsa or Columbina, who possessed the innate, otherworldly advantages of gods and celestials. A mortal body simply could not compare. But Su Ran found Ayaka's features perfectly aligned with his own subjective aesthetic. She held an advantage simply by existing in a way that pleased him.
"Just as I expected, you didn't dare let her in."
He had actually been looking forward to seeing the look on Kujou Sara's face when she realized the Shogun's fate. It was a shame to have missed it.
"If she had seen it, she would have surely fallen apart."
Ayaka understood the consequences all too well. She had climbed to the Tenshukaku without fear of death, believing that nothing could be more terrifying than the end of her life. But when she first entered and saw the reality, she had been paralyzed with terror. Her faith had been destroyed, and in the most brutal way imaginable. For a devout believer, it was an unbearable cruelty. If a fanatic like Kujou Sara had witnessed it, the aftermath would have been far more catastrophic.