Yes, Lady Funina!

Another rumble of her stomach. Funina got out of bed to grab some dessert to tide her over, but before she even reached the kitchen, she heard a knock on the door.

"Dong dong dong..."

Who would come to my house so late?

Fu Ningna was a little confused. Generally speaking, there were hardly any people in Mo Mang Palace after mealtime, and even if there were, they wouldn't usually come to her side.

Could it be Richard?

Fu Ningna's pretty face flushed slightly. Thinking back to the scene when she pretended to be asleep in front of Richard, she still felt a little excited.

At that moment, Fulina displayed the most exquisite acting skills of her life, not only controlling her breathing but also her heartbeat. Actually, it wasn't exactly control, since she was in a semi-conscious state at that time.

The person is conscious, but almost asleep; to be specific, it's similar to 'sleep paralysis'.

Funina felt that the term "sleep paralysis" was not quite accurate; "possession" would be more fitting. She herself couldn't believe that she would say such a thing to Richard.

Just thinking about 'kissing me' makes Funina realize how incredibly bold she is, and Richard actually did it...

It's just on the forehead.

Funina couldn't help but touch her forehead again, as if that scene had just happened.

"Dong dong dong..."

Another knock on the door interrupted Funina's reverie.

"They're here," Funina called out, walked to the door, and opened it to find Lynette and Chlorinde standing there with a huge lunchbox in their hands.

"Good evening, Lady Funina." x2

"Good evening, what are you carrying..." Furina's gaze fell on the lunchbox in Klorinde's hand.

"Lady Funina hasn't had dinner yet, has she?" Claurind said.

"Yes, I was just about to have some dessert to tide me over," Funina nodded.

"That's perfect, let's eat together!"

"it is good."

Furnessa stepped aside to let Lynette and Clorinde into the house, but her eyes kept glancing towards the doorway.

"Lady Funina, what are you looking at?" Clarin asked, puzzled.

"Um...it's nothing." Of course, Funina couldn't say that she was checking to see if Richard had come along.

After confirming that Richard was not with Lynette and the others, Furness breathed a sigh of relief but was also somewhat disappointed.

It's better that Richard didn't come. Because of what happened before, Funina doesn't know how to face him. It wouldn't be good if he noticed anything.

As Funina thought about this, she couldn't help but touch her forehead again, a gesture that Lynette noticed.

"Is Lady Funina still feeling dizzy?"

"I'm much better now," Funina said, glancing at the still-warm food on the table. "Let's eat first."

After a satisfying meal, the three of them chatted and the conversation inevitably turned to a certain person.

“G? Lynette, are you coming on this business trip too?” Funina asked, somewhat surprised.

She thought Richard was planning to go to Inazuma alone this time, but she didn't expect him to bring Lynette along. But thinking about it carefully, it made sense. After all, Lynette was Richard's secretary, so it was reasonable for him to bring her along.

Funina wasn't jealous; on the contrary, she felt much more at ease. At least Richard wasn't going to Inazuma alone, was he?

Moreover, Lynette is more or less one of our own. With her around, while we can't completely stop Yae no Kami, she can at least play a certain role in limiting him and prevent Yae no Kami from doing whatever he wants.

Thinking of this, Funina looked at Lynette with a serious expression and said, "Richard, I'm entrusting this to you."

Lynette: ...?

However, Lynette quickly understood what Frynn meant. In fact, even if Frynn hadn't said anything, she would have paid attention to that Yae no Kami. Back when Yae no Kami visited Fontaine, Lynette had already sensed a kindred spirit in him.

"I will, Lady Funina."

——————

"That guy's going to Inazuma?"

"Yes, my lord."

“Very well, I intend to meet someone.” The servant put down his teacup and said calmly.

"Do you need me to prepare this?"

"No need, I'll do it."

'I need to see the water goddess Funina, not just because of the prophecy of the crisis, but also to see what makes her so special that she has won that guy's favor,' Arecino thought to herself.

[Servant] Although Arecino has only been an executive officer for a short time, she joined the Fools quite early, so she has worked with Richard for a period of time.

As for that guy, [Servant] had nothing good to say. Like himself, he had joined the Fools for some purpose, and chose to leave the Fools after achieving his goal.

Many people say that this is a betrayal, but in the [Servant's] view, it is not so. That guy is different from all the Fools, including himself. He has never accepted the 'Winter Queen's favor', nor has he ever said that he would pledge allegiance to the Fools or to the Winter Queen.

Rather than loyalty, servants prefer to call it 'cooperation' or 'transaction'.

However, not everyone can make a 'deal' with the Fatui, or even with the Winter Queen. As far as she knows, the last person to make a 'deal' with the Winter Queen was the retired Rock God...

Of course, the reason why the servant paid so much attention to Richard was not because of his strength, nor because he had once taken Lynette from her, but because Richard had once been... her 'family'.

"This matter is classified as top secret. Don't let Lynette know about it," the servant instructed.

"Yes."

The reason for keeping this a secret from Lynette was twofold: firstly, to avoid putting her in a difficult position, and secondly, to maintain secrecy.

Regardless, once Lynette finds out about this, there's a possibility of a leak. The servant has never doubted Richard's charm; clearly, Richard is more important to Lynette than her 'father'.

'Women in love are always blind,' Alecino thought.

————————

Soon the day arrived for Richard's visit to Inazuma. Funina personally escorted Richard and Lynette to the envoy's ship. The water goddess, gazing at her capable assistant, hesitated for a long time before finally speaking:

"come back earlier."

'Don't let that fox be bewitched and never come back,' Funina automatically added the second half of the sentence in her mind.

Richard smiled slightly and lifted the brim of his hat as he replied, "Yes, Lady Funina."

However, when Richard raised the brim of his hat, he made a small gesture: he tapped the center of his forehead with his finger.

Because of the limited field of vision, this small action could only be seen by Funina, and only Funina could understand it.

'He knows!' That was the first thought in Funina's mind, and then her heart was filled with shyness and secret joy, a feeling that even overshadowed the sorrow of parting.

So much so that even after the ship had sailed far away, Funina stood blankly on the dock of Softlight Harbor, gazing at the distant sea, until she heard Clorind's reminder and then she snapped out of her daze.

"Lady Funina, it's time to go back."

"Let's go."

On the other side of the ship, Lynette was giving Richard a briefing on Inazuma's current situation.

Since Yae no Miko returned to Inazuma from Fontaine, she has begun a series of reforms to the isolationist policy. However, as with any reform, there will inevitably be some opposition.

These voices were naturally from the group that supported the implementation of the isolationist policy. Although Yae no Miko held a superior position in Inazuma as a member of Narukami's family, she could not ignore their voices.

Therefore, the current situation in Inazuma can be roughly divided into three factions: the reformist faction led by Yae no Miko and the Shabu-Hosho, the conservative faction led by the Tenryo-Hosho and the Kansei-Hosho, and the centrist faction led by the Shogun's Office. Overall, it presents a three-way balance of power.

However, while it is said to be a three-way standoff, in reality it is just the first two forces secretly vying for power. As the absolute hub of the current Inazuma power structure, the General's Mansion's transcendent position means that it cannot easily withdraw from the fray. Once it does, it would mean that the first two forces have already decided the winner.

As things stand, while Yae no Kamiko holds an absolute advantage, the Kansei and Tenryo magistrates are clearly not to be underestimated, and it is unlikely that they can overcome all obstacles in a short period of time.

Moreover, based on the existing intelligence, it seems that the Kansei and Tenryo magistrates are not sitting idly by, but are plotting something behind the scenes, and the Fools seem to be involved.

Lynette wasn't sure what exactly was going on. Although they were both members of the Fatui faction, the Executors didn't share information with each other. Just like how the "Young Master" didn't know about the "Lady's" actions, Lynette didn't know what Inazuma's Fatui were planning.

However, since it's a scheme, it will surely be launched one day. Perhaps when we reach Inazuma, we'll know what he's planning.

Yae no Miko's invitation to Richard to visit Inazuma was not just because she wanted to see Richard; it also had a hint of seeking help.

Of course, calling for reinforcements here doesn't mean that Yae no Kamiko can't deal with the Kanto and Tenryo magistrates. No one knows better than Richard just how cunning that fox spirit is. Let alone the Kanto and Tenryo magistrates, even the three magistrates combined wouldn't be enough for her.

Moreover, even if we take a step back and assume the worst, given the strength and status of the Eightfold Divine Child, if pushed too far, he could simply flip the table and quit without any consequences.

What truly prompted Yae no Miko to seek help was naturally the matter concerning the current Narukami—Barzebu.

Despite Yae no Kamiko's silver tongue, when faced with Kage, who had locked herself away in the Pure Land of One Heart, our wise and beautiful Yae no Kamiko clearly had no good solutions.

The only solution that can be thought of is to use someone to lure the shadow out of the Pure Land of One Heart. If the contradictions and conflicts that Inazuma is facing now are the bait, then Richard is the bait on the hook, in order to catch this big fish that likes to lock himself up.

As for Richard himself, the bait, he was aware of Yae no Miko's thoughts and volunteered to act as bait, but only during his visit to Inazuma.

Once the time is up, he won't wait in Inazuma indefinitely.

The Fontaine envoy ship quickly sailed to the Inazuma Sea. After passing through a natural barrier formed by thunderstorms, Richard finally set foot on this land again after a century.

However, Richard is not now entering this country as a ruler, but as a foreign envoy representing Fontaine in this land of thunder.

Led by staff on the outlying island, the mission quickly completed a series of formalities. Although they were on the territory of the Kanto-bōshō (a local government), Richard and his party did not encounter any difficulties.

On the contrary, the staff here were very polite to them and tried their best to meet their requests. They even arranged separate accommodations for each member of the mission.

"So we can't go directly to Narukami Island today?" Lynette asked the diplomatic official in charge of negotiations with the Inazuma government.

"Yes, Lady Lynette. They said the paperwork needs to be sent to the General's Mansion, and only after receiving permission can the envoy ship enter the waters near Narukami Island. However, this process shouldn't take long; we should receive news around tomorrow."

Lynette glanced at Richard, who nodded slightly, and then said to the diplomatic officer, "In that case, let's rest on the island for a day and replenish the ship's food and water."

After the diplomatic officials left, Lynette immediately said to Richard, "They did it on purpose."

As this diplomatic visit was scheduled several days in advance, the formalities should have been prepared long ago. There's no reason to make the guests wait an extra day.

The magistrate on the grounds couldn't possibly be unaware of this, but he still told them they needed to stay on the outlying island for a day.

Lynette wondered why she had to wait an extra day. Could something big happen during this extra day?

However, the next day, Richard and Lynette received news that the "Eye Hunt Order," personally signed by General Inazuma Raiden, would be officially implemented at 8:00 AM that day, and that the "Heavenly Commander" would be dispatched to begin the work of confiscating the God's Eyes from the people of Inazuma.

The news caused an uproar throughout Inazuma. Interestingly, compared to the public's commotion, the governor of the outlying islands remained remarkably calm, as if he had known this would happen all along.

Combined with the fact that they were deliberately asked to stay for a day yesterday, Richard roughly understood what the Commissioner of the Imperial Secretariat wanted to express.

That is, they welcomed the arrival of the Fontaine delegation, but did not want the Fontaine delegation to get involved, or rather, not to be so hasty in siding with Yae no Kamiko.

Although Yae no Miko and his group had the upper hand before, the situation was instantly reversed after the 'Eye Hunt Order'.

The Kansei and Tenryo magistrates somehow persuaded Raiden, who now commands Inazuma, to issue the "Eye Hunting Order." This action also sent a signal to the outside world that they had not "fallen out of favor" with the shogun; on the contrary, they were highly trusted and entrusted with important responsibilities.

As a result, the forces that had previously favored Yae no Miko were forced to reconsider their allegiance, and the situation, which was gradually becoming clearer, began to become unpredictable again.

"These are turbulent times," Richard remarked.

From Richard's perspective, the "Eye Hunting Order" was undoubtedly an even more outrageous decree than the "Isolation Order."

They confiscated all of Inazuma's Eyes of God and cast them into a statue called 'Eternity'. What a ridiculous idea of ​​theirs.

Richard was certain that this decree would not only fail to bring about stability, but would even lead to internal strife or rebellion.

"Should we also make some preparations?" Lynette asked. There were also several people with the Eye of God in the Fontaine delegation.

Now that Inazuma has issued an eye-hunting order, although it is said to be aimed at the local residents of Inazuma, who knows if it will end up being confiscated from them as well.

After all, the right to interpret everything belongs to the Thunder General in the General's Mansion. If the other party really wants to confiscate the God's Eye of the Fontaine Delegation, they really don't have any better way to deal with it.

"Don't worry." Richard shook his head. No matter how much Inazuma swung his sword, it was impossible for it to hit their heads.

Instead of worrying about whether their own Eye of God would be confiscated, it would be better to go and meet Yae no Miko to hear her plans.

After leaving the island, the delegation's subsequent itinerary went exceptionally smoothly. Within half a day, everyone was settled in the embassy in Fontainebleau, and the staff responsible for the investigation and research also successfully met with the technical advisor who had previously visited Inazuma.

To Lynette's surprise, Yae no Miko was not seen in the procession that Inazuma was welcoming the delegation.

Just as Lynette was wondering what Yae no Miko was up to, a girl dressed as a shrine maiden came up to Richard.

"Mr. Richard, Lord Yae no Kami requests your presence."

Linette recognized the girl speaking in front of her; she was the close shrine maiden who had served Yae no Miko. If she remembered correctly, the girl's name was... Inashiro Hotaru, right?

While Lynette was observing Inashiro Hotaru, Inashiro Hotaru was also observing Richard.

Inashiro Hotaru was deeply impressed by the tall and handsome man before her. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and the only woman who could make Yae no Kyoji reveal his true feelings.

In addition, Lord Yaegami was dressed especially formally today, even wearing the ceremonial robes he usually wore when praying to the Thunder God...

All factors indicate that Lady Yae no Kami (儀宮偠) dressed up specifically for the man before her, though it's unclear why it's a ritual dress.