Yes, Lady Funina!

The once devastated Isshin Pure Land, damaged by the aftermath of the battle, began to slowly recover. The shattered earth and the cracked torii gates were restored to their original state by the power of the battle.

Perhaps reminded by Richard's earlier words, the Pure Land of the Heart was not restored to the desolate and broken scene when it was first entered. The torii gates were no longer crooked and became neat and orderly, and the ground underfoot was free of mud and dust, looking spotless.

“As punishment for failure, I will abolish the Eye Hunt Order,” Shadow said to Richard, head bowed.

"Snapped."

Richard flicked his finger and delivered a sharp slap to Ying Guangjie's forehead.

Ying didn't cover her head with her hand; the blow was no different from a mosquito bite to her. She just looked up at Richard in confusion, not understanding why he was doing this.

"When did I say that the punishment for failure was the abolition of the Eye Hunting Order?"

"That sound just now wasn't..."

"That is the wish of your people, not mine."

"The people's wishes." Ying remained silent for a moment, then raised her head again and asked, "And what are your wishes?"

“My wish is…” Richard turned his gaze to Shadow.

Ying felt a little uncomfortable under Richard's gaze. She unconsciously reached up and smoothed the hair behind her ear, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Could Richard's wish be for himself? Didn't he already choose the Divine Child? Or... does he want both?

Isn't that a bit too greedy?

I don't care, after all, this is the punishment for defeat, but what about the Divine Child?

Should we challenge the Divine Child to another duel before the Emperor? That doesn't seem like an impossible scenario...

As Richard paused between words, Ying's thoughts inevitably began to wander, and the more she thought about it, the more skewed it became, gradually moving towards an R18-like direction.

"I hope Ying won't stay in the Pure Land of One Heart forever."

“…G?” Shadow stared blankly at Richard, as if to say, “Is this all you wish for?”

"I hope you can go out more, instead of locking yourself in your own little world."

"What about the Eye Hunting Order?"

“I’ve already said that it’s the wish of the rice farmers, not my wish. Whether or not this wish is fulfilled is entirely up to you.” Richard wouldn’t force Shadow to make any decision.

For Ying, the only one she can rely on to get out of her obsession is herself. Even Richard can only provide some necessary guidance from the sidelines, but he cannot take action himself to forcefully steer her back on the right track.

“I understand.” Shadow was not stupid and could naturally perceive Richard’s intention.

"So...what's your answer?"

“I’ll go out for a walk, and as for the Eye Hunting Order… it will be abolished,” Shadow replied.

"That's good." Richard nodded and handed the [Dream Together] back to Shadow.

Ying took the "Dream Together" token and couldn't help but ask, "And what about you?"

What will you do after I leave the Pure Land of One Heart?

Ying thought Richard would live a carefree life with Yae no Miko, just like an ordinary couple, living in seclusion in the mountains and not caring about worldly affairs.

That's good, but for some reason, Ying couldn't be happy at all, especially after seeing Richard in person, the image of him kissing Yae no Miko seemed to appear before her eyes.

Feeling a mix of emotions, Ying herself didn't even realize that her slender eyebrows had furrowed when she asked the question.

Upon hearing Ying's question, Richard replied with an expression of utter certainty:

"Me? Of course, I'll hurry up and finish my diplomatic mission, then go back to Fontainebleau to continue working."

“G?”

Volume 1: Chapter 141 He Wants It All

At the Eye Hunting Ceremony, as General Raiden pulled Richard into the Pure Land of One Heart, only Yae no Miko, Kujo Sara, and Kujo Takayuki remained before the Thousand-Handed Hundred-Eyed God Statue.

Although Kujo Takayuki felt extremely regretful that he could not witness the General's "unthinking slash," the ending was already predetermined.

Although there is suspicion that they are colluding with the Fools and deceiving the Holy One, it is clear that the trouble on Yae no Miko's side is much greater.

Richard's confrontation with the General can be described as an assassination attempt, or more seriously, Fontaine's attempt to interfere in Inazuma's internal affairs. Yae no Miko, who has a close relationship with Richard, is naturally to blame.

He can't escape the charge of being a collaborator, a charge that even the chief priest of Narukami Taisha would find difficult to escape unscathed.

Thinking of this, Kujo Takayuki's originally unhappy mood immediately improved a lot, and he even began to consider whether there was room for maneuver in the matter.

"Lord Yae no Kami, as you can see from the current situation, rather than a lose-lose situation where others reap the benefits, I think we have another way."

Kujo Takayuki was preparing to make peace with Yae no Miko. Admittedly, Yae no Miko's troubles seemed greater, but Yae no Miko was, after all, a member of Narukami's retinue, and her relationship with Narukami was something that these retainers could not compare to.

For Yae no Miko, some things can be punished with a cup of wine, but for Kujo Takayuki, they might be serious enough to cause serious harm.

Therefore, shaking hands and making peace to overcome the difficulties together is clearly a better option for Takayuki Kujo and the Kujo family behind him.

As for how to overcome the difficulties together, all we need to do is make good use of the power of language.

For example, Kujo Takayuki colluded with the fools to promote the "Eye Hunting Order." It can be said that he was deceived by the fools and was not greedy for the benefits they promised. He had no idea about the benefits promised by the fools; they were all temporary workers under his command.

The reason for reporting only good news and not bad news in the official documents is that the Heavenly Commander believed that he could handle such a small-scale rebellion and that there was no need to alarm the General.

In short, there are as many excuses as there are to be made. As long as Yae no Shinji is willing to agree on a story, and with Kujo Takayuki's years of experience in deceiving the Holy One, there is a high chance that a big problem can be turned into a small one and a minor one can be ignored.

Yae no Miko's expression turned somewhat strange after hearing Kujo Takayuki's words.

"Both sides suffer?"

"Of course, does Yae no Kami think that the General can't handle that Fontaine envoy?" Kujo Takayuki said, then looked at Kujo Sara.

“Saro, I must correct you on one point. I did not betray the General. Those fools were merely being used by me. What could they possibly accomplish?”

"In Inazuma's land, once the heavenly lightning strikes, they are nothing but trembling ants, and would never dare to act recklessly."

"That envoy from Fontaineble will probably soon become a victim of the General's blade."

At this point, Kujo Takayuki felt as if he were Zhuge Liang reborn. He stroked his beard with a smug look and said in a condescending manner, "I think Lord Yae-no-miya should make plans as soon as possible. Cooperating with the Kujo family and severing ties with Fontaine is the best course of action to protect yourself."

However, before Kujo Takayuki could finish speaking, the thousand-armed, hundred-eyed statue in the center of the venue suddenly shone brightly, and the ninety-nine divine eyes embedded in the statue gleamed and radiated a dazzling light.

The three people present, including the onlookers who had already left the venue a kilometer away, all witnessed this extraordinary scene.

Seeing this, Kujo Takayuki became even more excited. He said with certainty, "The general is going to get serious. This Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed Statue is the best proof of that."

It was almost as if they were saying directly that Richard's life was already hanging by a thread.

"Is it possible that the one who triggered the Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed Statue was not the general you mentioned, but Richard?"

After seeing the light emanating from the statue, Yae no Miko finally showed a faint smile.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Kujo Takayuki thought that Yae no Shinji must have gone mad. This statue with a thousand hands and a hundred eyes was clearly ordered to be built by the shogun. What did it have to do with Richard?

Wait! Could it be...?

"Kujo Takayuki, you don't really think that your subordinates alone could collect so many God's Eyes from the people in such a short time, do you?"

Kujo Takayuki's expression changed drastically. He pointed at Yae no Miko and wanted to say something, but Yae no Miko didn't give him a chance to speak.

You've been incredibly noisy since just now, just shut up.

A bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky and struck Kujo Takayuki, causing him to twitch with shock.

Considering that Kujo Sara was still present, Yae no Miko's attack did not kill her.

Kujo Sara looked at Kujo Takayuki, who was slumped on the ground and trembling from time to time, and did not intend to say anything. After the conversation just now, she had come to understand her master.

Since being adopted by the Kujo family, the principles of loyalty they taught her were simply meant to keep her loyal to the Kujo family, perhaps out of concern that she might betray them one day.

The other party only cares about his own interests and the interests of the Kujo family, and has no loyalty to the Shogun.

"Lord Yae no Miko, what about the General..."

"Don't worry, Richard knows how to handle things."

Kujo Sara: ?

Is this what she wanted to ask?

Although Kujo Sara is on Yae no Miko's side this time, like Kujo Takayuki, she does not believe that Richard will be a match for Raiden no Shogun.

Judging from Yae no Miko's words, it seems that she feels that the general is no match for Richard at all.

Isn't this right?

Kujo Sara wanted to say something more, but found that Yae no Miko had already disappeared from the spot.

What about people?

"It seems the duel is over."

Having successfully entered the Pure Land of One Heart through Richard as a medium, Yae no Kamiko immediately stood between Richard and Kage upon her appearance.

"You've lost, Shadow."

"Yeah, I lost."

Kage was not surprised by the appearance of Yae no Miko and readily admitted his defeat.

"Since you've already lost, you should behave and stop being so stubborn."

Because Yae no Miko's words were so paternalistic, calling her pursuit of "eternity" a childish act when she was clearly her familiar, even Kage couldn't help but retort, "Who's being childish!"

"To lock yourself away in your inner world for hundreds of years, leaving Inazuma's mess to me and a doll who knows nothing—isn't that just being petty?"

"The general is very knowledgeable; she is not ignorant of everything."

“Knowing only martial arts skills is not enough to govern a country,” Yae no Miko sighed.

"Even if you're going to create puppets, why create your own? Wouldn't it be better to create a puppet like Richard? Not only could he help you govern the country, but I could also use him to relieve my loneliness when necessary."

Richard's face darkened upon hearing Yae no Miko's lewd words, but the shadow beside him seemed to think that Yae no Miko made a lot of sense.

Right, why did she decide to create General Thunder instead of General Richard?

"It was technically impossible. Richard had already left Inazuma at that time, and without his cooperation, it would be difficult to produce dolls that met the requirements."

"You're actually considering it!" Richard retorted. "Yae no Miko is obviously joking."

Ying was taken aback. Is that so?

"Just kidding. I'm really happy to see you again, Shadow."

“Me too, Divine Child. I thought I would never have the chance to meet you like this again. To be able to see you is a variable in eternity... and a pleasant surprise.”

"Hehe, since you've honestly admitted it, we can still be friends, right?"

Yae no Miko took Kage's arm again, leaned close to her ear, and whispered to Kage while looking at Richard, "Kage, we're in trouble."

"Trouble?" Ying asked, puzzled, thinking that Yae no Miko was worried about the 'Eye Hunting Order'.

"I will order the abolition of the Eye Hunting Order later, but regarding [Eternity], and whether this country should move forward, and how it should move forward, I need to think about it some more."

“No, that’s not it!” Yae no Miko looked at Richard. “It’s about that guy.”

"Richard?" Ying also looked at Richard. What trouble could he possibly be in?

"Me?" Richard pointed to himself, not understanding why Yae no Miko had suddenly brought up the topic of him again.

"Because you, Shadow, have been in seclusion, someone has already been seduced by another god." Yae no Miko unhesitatingly shifted the blame to Shadow.

As for Ying, who was inexplicably put on a big pot, it was all rather baffling. He had been lured away by other gods. What was going on?

Do you know where Richard works right now?

“Fontaine,” Ying said. Richard had just told her that he would be going back to Fontaine to continue working.

"That water god of Fontaine is quite handsome, no less so than you. Even if I had promised myself to him, our Mr. Richard would never be able to leave him."

Richard, annoyed by Yae no Miko's tactless remarks, said, "Miko, don't talk nonsense. My relationship with Funina is completely innocent."

"Heh, it's more like a lovey-dovey affair, isn't it?" Yae no Miko pointed to the mark on Richard's right hand. "It's been stamped by someone else, so what's the point of talking about innocence?"

Richard looked down at the seal on his hand. Could this even be considered a stamp?!

But Richard really couldn't refute anything, because from a worldly perspective, he and Funina were probably, possibly, likely, and indeed not so innocent.

Although we haven't reached the point of being lovers, we can't be considered ordinary friends either.

Whose best friend kisses their forehead?

If we kiss each other on the forehead now, won't we be kissing each other on the face, nose, and mouth in the future?