Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

But at the same time, she also found it somewhat interesting, somewhat amusing, and not so boring anymore. So, she whispered:

"...Alright, alright, I'll keep you company for a while."

What exactly happened at the castle tower that day remains unrecorded by historians. The people of Inazuma only know that since that day, a new military officer, the Imperial Attendant, has appeared beside Lord Narukami.

At the same time, he was also the only close attendant to the emperor since the founding of the country by Inazuma.

Five hundred years later, the boy from that time had become a renowned pillar of the state.

However, His Holiness Narukami never had a second attendant before him.

Although no one mentions it, the official documents of the magistrate still list the name "Kiyono Raimei" as the only name listed for the position of Imperial Bodyguard.

Five hundred years have passed, and nothing has changed.

---

Rain and snow were falling heavily.

"Is this his intention? Or yours?"

...

"This is His Excellency's instruction. It is also my decision."

...

"Your Majesty will resign from your position as a close attendant to the Emperor and recommends me to succeed you."

...

Kiyono Sara raised her head, her bright golden eyes calm and without a trace of emotion.

She was expressionless.

In the almost suffocating silence, time slowly passed, the sun gradually shifted, and the reflections of the pine and cypress trees outside the palace rotated, climbed along the palace wall, and finally landed on General Thunder and Lightning.

During this time, the general kept his head slightly lowered.

'Then let me stay by Shadow's side forever.'

Resign? Now you're saying you want to resign?

After a while, the general became a shadow, and she emerged from the Pure Land of One Heart.

Ying raised her head and said:

"...Let him come to me in person."

The snow melted on the steps, a vast expanse of white, just like the white cherry blossoms that covered the steps that day.

As the snow slowly seeped in, Ying felt inexplicably irritated.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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P.S.: Ah, the room is closed... I feel so lonely.

Writing in a single computer is a bit tough... The only interaction between the author and readers is through the backend, where you can see the votes cast by readers.

Please try to submit your work so I know that there are readers—that you are reading it.

"...Tell him to come to me in person."

A slightly cold voice came from the throne.

Upon hearing this, Kiyono Sara, who had been hanging her head, trembled slightly. She pursed her thin lips, her nails digging slightly into her flesh, let out a soft sigh, and then regained her composure.

Then—after entering the hall, she raised her head once more, looking directly into Narukami's eyes, meeting Kage's gaze.

Inazuma has many officials, and many people come to pay their respects at the castle tower every day, but very few people make eye contact with Narukami.

Just being stared at by those lonely, purple eyes would make mortals feel an awe-inspiring majesty, and faintly hear the rumbling of thunder.

Do not look directly at God.

But Sara met Shadow's questioning gaze head-on, without fear or hesitation, even with a hint of recklessness and offense:

His golden eyes were like a lake tinged with sunlight, calm and still, meeting Ying's gaze with unwavering composure.

"His Excellency the Pillar of State is ill at home and unable to come."

Refuse.

This is a rejection.

He refused Narukami's summons.

Kiyono Sara's voice was soft, but it sounded heavy in the silent hall. The howling wind clung to the frost on the wooden windows, and the snow fell in a flurry. Apart from that, the castle tower was shrouded in a deathly silence.

"What else did he say?"

Ying said expressionlessly.

The wind outside the window was annoying, howling and pounding against the torii gate, making a noisy noise that also annoyed Lord Narukami.

For a hundred years, he has been hiding in that mansion as if he were dead, repeatedly defying imperial orders because of the Eye Hunting Order and the Lockdown Order.

It was one thing to resign from his generalship as a show of force, but this time he even resigned from his position as a close attendant.

Whether you resign from this position of close attendant or not, what difference does it make? You're just hiding away in the mansion, indulging in your dereliction of duty. What right do you have to talk about being a close attendant?

Is sending this girl to continue her job an insult to her reputation for making terrible movies?

He was asked to come in person, but he declined, citing illness.

You broke your promise and what you said that day.

She coldly looked down at the girl below, her mind, calm for a hundred years, now questioning, "...what else did he give you?"

There is a letter.

Kiyono Sara took out a letter sealed with sealing wax from the lining.

letter....

A century has passed, and he has never written a single letter.

With a gentle wave of her hand, the letter automatically slipped from Saro's hand, swirled like snowflakes, and landed in her slender palm.

She opened it, but only saw the first line, and then she frowned slightly.

Very official terminology.

They were very polite, very honest, and very respectful.

Very distant.

This is a letter of resignation.

Begging for one's remains.

...Although I have diligently practiced celibacy and avoided anger, I am truly exhausted, both physically and mentally....

"Today, the weather is fine and clear, and I am truly grateful for the divine light of the gods. I can now peacefully request to leave and enjoy my remaining years. Although I have been diligent and conscientious in my work, I am already exhausted in body and mind. Although I am determined to do my utmost, I am becoming increasingly weary as I grow older, and illness follows me. The weight of my responsibilities makes me fear that I may be on the verge of collapse... My days are numbered."

Kiyono Sara quietly watched the shadow.

"However, the position of the throne guard is of great importance, and I have a daughter who is virtuous and gentle..."

tear.

Ying only read half of the letter before tearing it up.

The snow seemed to have stopped.

The world is eerily quiet.

"This old bastard truly deserves to be beheaded," Ying said coldly. "Resigning from office? Begging for retirement?"

"Are you just making up these excuses to humiliate me?"

Her purple eyes remained calm, but deep within them, amidst the deep purple mist, a rumbling, unsettling energy flickered.

I knew it... haha.

You guessed right.

Kiyono Sara listened to Narukami's words and thought to herself.

Lord Narukami, just as you predicted.

Only she knew that everything Zhu Guo wrote in that letter was true.

It wasn't a reason, it wasn't a humiliation, it wasn't an excuse; every word was sincere and heartfelt.

The head of the family is really leaving.

But precisely because it is real, Narukami believes it is fake, some kind of excuse to fool people.

Having lived together for five hundred years, Lord Narukami knows the Pillar of the Nation all too well.

No matter how badly he was injured or what hardships he endured, that man refused to give up on his own and never admitted defeat. He was like a stubborn calf, terrifyingly proud, and he was strong-willed his whole life.

If someone is truly old and about to die, it's impossible for them to proactively write in a letter something like "I have the will but not the strength" or "My days are numbered."

There is only one possibility for this writing: it is like the last time the general resigned, using old age as an excuse to deliberately resign and show his displeasure!

On the contrary, if he wrote something like "terrifyingly strong and vigorous in his old age" in the letter, Narukami would start to doubt his physical condition.

But it's clear that the Pillar-King understands the Shadow better than the Shadow understands the Pillar-King...

Sara silently watched Narukami, who was furious in the courtyard, recalling the conversation she had with Kiyono Raimei that day:

"Sara, where do you think Inazuma's enemies are...?"

"It is the will of Heaven—embezzling public funds and deceiving superiors and subordinates. I will go and wipe out the Kujo family..."