Kamisato Ayaka felt a touch dizzy; she gravely suspected she might be seeing a hallucination!
She had guessed long ago that this urgent summoning of the three Commissions was for the purpose of meeting the legendary Master Ye Xi.
And so, just before entering, she had thoroughly braced herself, hoping to make a good impression on Yae Miko and Ye Xi.
Who could have imagined that the very scene she beheld upon stepping inside would be one she'd never forget for as long as she lived.
For she saw Yae Miko, of all things, sticking out her pert little bottom and baring her tail for Ye Xi to stroke!
Th-this—how could this possibly be!?
One had to understand, Yae Miko was a great youkai who had lived for over five hundred years, the most dignified and authoritative Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine!
Moreover, though Inazuma was, on the surface, governed by the Raiden Shogun, the three great Commissions all knew that Yae Miko's say in matters was unparalleled as well.
Most crucial of all—perhaps not even back in the days of her grandfather's grandfather had anyone ever seen Yae Miko bare her tail.
So just what on earth was going on right now!?
Such a sacred shrine maiden, such a dignified kin of God, was actually baring her tail for someone to stroke—and with her cheeks flushed crimson, no less!
It very nearly made Kamisato Ayaka feel her very spirit was collapsing.
She hesitated for a good several seconds before snapping abruptly back to her senses.
To be seen in a situation like this—surely it would turn out very badly!
She wouldn't be silenced for good, would she!
Kamisato Ayaka's pretty face was suffused with rosy color; like a frightened rabbit, she bent at the waist in flustered panic.
"I'm so sorry, I—I didn't see anything, please excuse me!"
With that, she retreated from the meeting room as if fleeing for her life.
The entire meeting room fell into dead silence.
A flicker of astonishment flashed through Yae Miko's eyes, but she very quickly calmed down.
"Aiya ya, it's all your fault, Master~"
"Making me reveal such an unsightly state, and getting seen by our young lady of the Yashiro Commission family, no less."
"What are you going to do about it?"
Ye Xi hadn't expected Kamisato Ayaka to suddenly push the door open and walk in either.
Normally speaking, shouldn't there be a knocking step first!?
If word of this got out, Yae Miko's dignity and prestige would likely cease to exist entirely.
Just think about it—a dignified kin of God, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine!
Actually having her tail stroked by a man, right inside the meeting room!
And Yae Miko was a shrine maiden—a shrine maiden symbolizing purity!
The one fortunate thing was that the person who saw it was Kamisato Ayaka.
This brilliantly clever young lady would surely keep this secret.
Thinking of this, he offered comfort: "If it's Kamisato Ayaka, she shouldn't let it slip."
"Eh?"
Yae Miko was slightly taken aback, and asked with some suspicion, "Master, you know the little lass of the Kamisato family?"
As she recalled, Ye Xi had never once been to Inazuma.
How could he possibly know Kamisato Ayaka?
And by the looks of it, he even seemed to know her quite well!
Ye Xi nodded. "I've heard a thing or two about her, I suppose."
Back in the day, Kamisato Ayaka had been the most popular character around; the serial drama "Waiting for Kamisato" had kept fans waiting for over a year.
The moment Kamisato entered the gacha pool, countless players had scrambled over one another to become her devoted dogs—how could he possibly have no impression of her?
He even remembered that, back during the test server, Kamisato's little undershorts hadn't yet been lengthened and improved.
It was only that he had no idea what the Kamisato Ayaka of this very moment was like.
Hearing this, Yae Miko fell to pondering.
Indeed, just as Ye Xi had said, she too believed Kamisato Ayaka was brilliantly clever and wouldn't go blabbing all over the place.
However, so long as a matter was known to anyone at all, it was unstable.
A secret could only be called a secret so long as no one knew of it.
She had just now made a decision.
If she wanted to keep Kamisato Ayaka from spreading word of this matter, there was only one way.
And that was—
To give Kamisato Ayaka over to Ye Xi as a wife as well!
That's right.
Such a beautiful, sensible little beauty—and Ye Xi had even gone to the trouble of learning about her—which was more than enough to show that Ye Xi held a favorable impression of Kamisato Ayaka.
Once she became part of the family, Kamisato Ayaka would naturally not let the secret out.
What's more, the more wives Ye Xi had in Inazuma, the more he was bound to take Inazuma to heart.
Thinking of this, Yae Miko pondered her countermeasures.
Just at that moment, the sound of knocking came from outside.
Yae Miko tucked her tail away and sat decorously off to one side.
"Come in."
As her voice fell, the door of the meeting room was pulled open.
Kujou Kamaji, Hiiragi Chisato, and Kamisato Ayaka walked in together.
Only, Kamisato Ayaka kept her head lowered, the very picture of anxious worry.
"We pay our respects to Lady Guuji Yae, and to Master Ye Xi."
Ye Xi nodded and said with a smile, "Everyone, please be seated."
"You've all met one another just now, but there hasn't been a proper introduction yet."
"I'm a merchant who came from Sumeru. Not long ago I just settled in Liyue, and at Her Excellency the Shogun's invitation I've come to visit and enjoy myself for a while."
Upon hearing such a simple introduction, none of the three took it at face value.
Are you kidding?
A merchant who could build a steel behemoth of a ship that enormous?
An ordinary merchant, personally invited by the Raiden Shogun?
As far as everyone understood it, a merchant was someone who conducted buying and selling.
But did Ye Xi need to trade?
If Ye Xi truly had the mind to, he could perfectly well build several more of those giant ships and go head-to-head with the Shogunate's navy directly.
And if the Raiden Shogun didn't step in, the side doomed to defeat would inevitably be the Shogunate's forces.
Could a person like that really be described as a merchant?
Seeing Ye Xi finish speaking, Yae Miko added, "Just now, Her Excellency the Shogun has already issued an order, placing Master Ye Xi in charge of Inazuma, to act in her divine stead."
"What!?"
The instant these words were out, the eyes of all three were suddenly filled with disbelief!
To act in her divine stead!
This was no different from handing all of Inazuma over to Ye Xi!
Ye Xi waved his hand. "It's not as important as you're all imagining. I'm merely offering Inazuma a few suggestions and plans, that's all."
"All you need to do is act according to what I say."
Hearing these words spoken so lightly, the shock in the three of them did not abate in the slightest.
Kamisato Ayaka felt that she really shouldn't have come today at all—it really would have to be Kamisato Ayato who came instead!
This matter was simply too momentous!
"All right, let's cut the idle chatter and get straight to the main topic."
Ye Xi couldn't be bothered to waste too many words.
The three people before him represented Inazuma's three great Commissions.
When it came to status, these three were even more formidable than the Qixing and Eight Trades of old Liyue.
During Liyue's Age of God Rule, the Qixing and Eight Trades had governed matters great and small throughout Liyue.
Whereas in Inazuma's Age of God Rule, there were only the three great Commissions.
These three held authority on par with the Qixing and Eight Trades, which was utterly absurd.
Still, having fewer people had its own advantages.
Ye Xi gave a brief account of the planning and management for Inazuma.
"Actually, I don't think there's much to plan for Inazuma."
"What needs developing most is maritime transport."
"So long as there's no problem with maritime transport, Inazuma's development will flourish day by day."
Inazuma wasn't like Liyue or Sumeru; building a Railway here would be extremely troublesome.
The only way to connect a Railway would be a cross-sea bridge.
And without even needing to think about it, that would be an enormously vast undertaking.
The only places worth connecting with a cross-sea bridge would be Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island.
These two islands had the largest populations; the remaining islands were sparsely inhabited.
As for Seirai Island, because of the Thunderbird's influence, almost no one lived there at all.
Tsurumi Island, even more so, was shrouded in dense fog, untouched and unvisited for a thousand years.
It could be said that Inazuma was already nearly broken to pieces.
Take Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island, for instance.
The distance between the two islands was even greater than the distance from Sumeru City to Liyue Harbor.
Over such a vast distance, building a cross-sea bridge was, quite simply, a pipe dream.
So, a Railway wasn't really suitable for Inazuma.
Rather than building a Railway, it would be better to set up a circuit cruising route.
Just like buses—dispatch more vessels to cruise on fixed routes between Inazuma's major islands, and whenever anyone wished to travel back and forth, they could use the ships to get around.
In fact, if one built some small-scale vessels, given strong enough power, their speed wouldn't be slow in the least.
And if that really didn't work, one could build airports and use helicopters to get around.
As for travel within Narukami Island itself, roads could be built, and then opened to vehicular traffic.
Trucks for transporting goods, and cars and motorcycles for ordinary people to get around—all perfectly feasible.
So, all in all—
There really wasn't much that needed planning for Inazuma.
After Ye Xi had told the three great Commissions the general gist of his ideas, the three of them quickly emerged from their earlier shock.
They were captivated by the plans Ye Xi had laid out.
"I see. Master Ye Xi's proposals are excellent—it's just that we don't have so many ships."
"What sort of conveyance is an aircraft? And how exactly should an airport be built?"
"The relationship between Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island is still somewhat strained. I think this matter will also require communicating with the people of Watatsumi Island."
Ye Xi nodded. "I'll take all of these issues into account."
"As for the ships and aircraft, I'll forge them for you."
"What you need to do next is notify the people of Watatsumi Island of this matter, and have them send representatives over to discuss it."
In truth, the issue with Watatsumi Island was easy to resolve.
What they lacked most was food, and their circle was very isolated.
If Inazuma was the unloved child of the Teyvat continent, then Watatsumi Island could be counted as Inazuma's own unloved child.
As long as convenient travel back and forth could be achieved, and then a port just like Ritou's was built on Watatsumi Island as well—
Once Watatsumi Island got a taste of the benefits, Inazuma's situation would soon trend toward stability.
Hearing Ye Xi's words, all three of them nodded.
"I understand. Your subordinate will go and see to it at once!"
"The Kanjou Commission will cover every expense, entirely as Master Ye Xi instructs."
Kamisato Ayaka chimed in as well: "The Yashiro Commission will send people to Watatsumi Island to negotiate with its leaders."
All three of them understood perfectly well that, once Ye Xi's plans were carried out smoothly, it would absolutely be an unprecedented advancement for Inazuma.
Kamisato Ayaka was also confident she could invite Sangonomiya Kokomi over.
Because both Liyue Harbor and Port Ormos were very close to Watatsumi Island.
For reasons of commerce, Watatsumi Island would become Inazuma's economic center!
And then, with advanced cargo ships handling the transport, traffic could be diverted from Watatsumi Island toward Ritou.
This way everyone would benefit, and Watatsumi Island would have no reason to refuse.
Ye Xi nodded. "There's no need to conceal this matter from the populace. Issue the announcement in the name of the Electro Archon."
"In a few days, we'll convene a nationwide assembly."
Right now Inazuma was precisely in the throes of a food crisis.
At a time like this, his stepping forward would instantly win him the support of the people of Inazuma.
Once the meeting was over, the three great Commissions rose one after another to take their leave, ready to complete the tasks Ye Xi had assigned.
In her heart, Hiiragi Chisato already held Ye Xi in boundless admiration.
She felt Ye Xi was just like a God.
To think he had, with such a tiny little meeting, devised a strategy that would bring earth-shaking change to Inazuma.
It was only that she didn't dare say so outright.
In her heart, Ye Xi was far, far more formidable than the Raiden Shogun!
Kujou Kamaji and Hiiragi Chisato departed one after the other.
After Kamisato Ayaka had recorded all the important content, she fell in behind Hiiragi Chisato, preparing to leave.
But just at that moment, Yae Miko suddenly spoke up: "Little lass of the Kamisato family, stay a moment."
Kamisato Ayaka's body instantly went stiff, her mind filled with panic.
She understood—it must be that she had just seen something she shouldn't have, and Yae Miko meant to keep her behind to punish her!
What to do, what to do!?
....
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