Chapter 115: Transition Chapter

Before Lumine arrived, Ye had already been chatting with Ayaka for a while. Ayaka was very straightforward, directly asking Ye what his purpose was for coming to Inazuma. Since there was nothing to hide, and Ayaka wasn't on the Raiden Shogun's side, Ye didn't hesitate to tell the truth. He came to change the Raiden Shogun's will, reopen Inazuma, and abolish the Vision Hunt Decree. Ayaka was a bit puzzled by this. Ye's explanation didn't fully convince her. Ye said he came for the Fontaine merchants trapped in Inazuma, but if that were the case, there was no need for such drastic measures. Diplomatic negotiations could have been used to get Inazuma to release the Fontaine merchants. At the very least, it wasn't worth the Supreme Bishop himself making the trip and even considering a fight with the Raiden Shogun. Of course, despite her doubts, Ayaka didn't press further. Regardless of the reason, if Ye's goal was truly to reopen Inazuma and get the Raiden Shogun to revoke the Vision Hunt Decree, then his objective aligned with hers. Even if the reasons were unclear, as long as their goals matched, they were allies. And having the Supreme Bishop as an ally was a huge relief for Ayaka... She could only pray that the Supreme Bishop was truly on her side. There was nothing else she could do. As for what would happen if he wasn't a true ally, Ayaka didn't even want to think about it. Just the thought of potentially being enemies with the legendary Supreme Bishop was more suffocating than the idea of opposing the Raiden Shogun—even if the Supreme Bishop seemed like a friend now. After all, the things the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine had done over the past 500 years... It wasn't just about draining Sumeru or messing with Liyue. Which of the seven nations of Teyvat hadn't been messed with by him at least once or twice? And not just messed with, but left powerless to retaliate or even dare to retaliate. Take Liyue, for example. That incident affected the entire seven nations, with countless people and wealth being siphoned off to Fontaine. As for Inazuma, a hundred years ago... Well, let's not talk about that. Ayaka really didn't want to recall what she learned from history books as a child. In any case, Ayaka strongly suspected that the main reason the Raiden Shogun had closed off Inazuma was because of the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine. How else could you protect Inazuma from the Supreme Bishop's schemes without closing off the country? He's truly toxic! —And even closing off the country didn't work. This time, he came in person. Sighing inwardly, Ayaka buried the subtle feelings she had developed for Ye over time deep in her heart. Now, she only felt wary of him. On one hand, she wanted to use Ye to change Inazuma's current state. On the other hand, she was also wary of him, not wanting Inazuma to suffer too much loss... She didn't expect zero losses, and no one would expect that. Still, Ayaka wanted to try her best. She couldn't just give up entirely. Theoretically, trying to probe the Supreme Bishop was a futile endeavor, but people don't always act based on theory. Theoretically, humans have no chance against gods, but Ayaka still wanted to oppose the Raiden Shogun, didn't she? So, even if probing seemed useless in theory, she still had to try. What if a miracle happened? People need to believe in miracles. And if she didn't have a heart that believed in miracles, Ayaka wouldn't dare to oppose the Raiden Shogun in the first place. Thus, this time, while Ayaka genuinely wanted to take care of her personal matters and meet the friend of her mother's who had piqued her curiosity, she also wanted to use her friendship with Ye to probe his true intentions toward Inazuma. Ayaka didn't have many friends... Well, to be blunt, if you counted Thoma, then aside from the Traveler and Ye, Ayaka still had one friend. Yes, one. But this matter was personal. Ayaka didn't want her brother or Thoma to know, so she naturally thought of Ye and the Traveler. At the same time, she seized the opportunity to probe Ye's intentions—this was essentially the gist of this legendary quest. Of course, from the players' perspective, they couldn't see Ayaka's inner thoughts, so they were just a bit puzzled as to why the Supreme Bishop appeared so quickly in Ayaka's legendary quest and was even traveling alongside Ayaka, just like the protagonist. "Could it be... that Kiana is trying to pair the Supreme Bishop with Ayaka?" Elysia immediately thought of this and pouted in dissatisfaction. "This is too much. Ayaka is mine, and the Supreme Bishop is mine too. How can they be paired together while I'm left out? Besides, can the players even accept this kind of plot? They can't! No way! I have to remind Kiana during the meeting that CPs are absolutely not allowed, unless she puts me in the game and pairs me with the Supreme Bishop!" 「666, is this the so-called 'Sima Zhao's heart is known to all'?」 「She still can't forget the Supreme Bishop.」 「Wait, are they really going to make a CP? That's not good, is it?」 「What's wrong with it? One husband, one wife, sounds great to me.」 「I'm a solo Ayaka fan!」 「I'm a solo Supreme Bishop fan!」 「Don't listen to Elysia's nonsense. Genshin would never do CPs. Even the protagonist doesn't have a CP yet. It's all just friendships.」 「No! Rea is my wife!」 Well, Elysia wasn't really serious about Kiana making a CP. Creating a CP in Genshin is a huge deal, especially one involving the Supreme Bishop (no mistake there). If Kiana really did this, it would definitely be brought up in meetings. Although Kiana has absolute authority in game development, if her plans were clearly off, Fu Xuan and the others wouldn't hesitate to voice their objections... though none of those objections have ever worked. Kiana has always done things her way, and the results have always proven her right, but the process would still be followed. Elysia isn't just a miHoYo employee; she's also one of the founding shareholders. She wouldn't miss such important meetings. And since she hasn't attended any such meetings, it means Kiana hasn't made any CPs involving the Supreme Bishop. Well, Ayaka is secondary, but Elysia can guarantee that if Kiana made a CP with the Supreme Bishop, she'd definitely be brought to trial. Too many people are watching. ...Although the chemistry between the Supreme Bishop and Focalors has been hinted at since the PV. But that's just the PV, right? In the actual game story, their relationship is still unclear. So, Elysia was just talking. After all, it's a livestream, and she can't stay silent. She's very professional. And while being professional, she didn't forget to push the story forward. There wasn't much to say about the plot. Ayaka said she wanted Ye and the Traveler to help her pick a gift, but in reality, she already had a plan... She wanted to have a custom outfit made. To make this outfit, the group went to fight some monsters and snatch some silk—essentially the usual trial character segment in legendary quests. Afterward, Ayaka offered to have custom outfits made for the Traveler and Ye, asking if they'd like that. Elysia was very excited and looking forward to it, but unfortunately, the Lumine she was controlling directly refused: "Thank you, but I'm fine with what I have. This outfit holds special meaning for me." Ye also calmly refused: "This outfit of mine was personally designed by Lady Focalors." And she even personally dressed him in it. Well, Ye was unconscious at the time. Ayaka couldn't help but laugh: "Mr. Ye truly lives up to the rumors of his devotion to the Hydro Archon." "Of course." Ye nodded slightly. "I am utterly loyal to Lady Focalors." Maybe some people still don't believe it now, but when Ye enters the gacha pool and players see his profile clearly stating his affiliation as 「Focalors」, they'll definitely believe it. And it will undoubtedly spark a huge wave of speculation. Of course, Ye isn't lying. He really is affiliated with Focalors. Compared to Focalors, the Fontaine Court isn't even important. She's Ye's only direct superior now!