Yes, Lady Funina!

This situation is not an isolated case. Holders of the Eye of God also gather in front of the embassies of the other five countries, just not as many as those at the Fontaine embassy.

After all, it's obvious to everyone that the Inazuma government has a good relationship with Fontaine. They even made an exception for Fontaine in the chain order. Who knows, the Eye Hunting Order might also be given a chance online because of the Fontaine embassy.

Of course, they knew that the possibility of this was extremely low, but it was the only option they could take. These desperate holders of the Eye of God could only try their luck at the Fontainebleau embassy.

“Ms. Lynette, what do you think…” the staff member said, then looked at Lynette, waiting for her to make a decision.

After all, among all the Fontainebleau embassy staff present, Linette held the highest position and had the most special status. Linette's decision largely represented the opinion of Mr. Richard, the highest-ranking member of the delegation.

"What did Inazuma say?" Linette didn't rush to give orders, but instead asked about Inazuma's attitude.

"We've already sent someone to inquire, but we haven't received a reply yet," the staff member said.

As early as when this group of people gathered in the open space in front of the embassy, ​​the staff of the Fontainebleau embassy had already sent someone to inquire with the Inazuma authorities about how to handle the matter. However, strangely, they have not received a definite answer until now.

“I understand. What are their demands?” Linette nodded and asked calmly.

"They hope we can lend a helping hand and provide them with temporary shelter to prevent the Eye of God from being confiscated."

"We cannot directly oppose the Inazuma government."

Although Lynette felt great sympathy for those people's plight, it did not mean that she would fight against the Inazuma Shogunate for their sake.

Ultimately, this is Inazuma's internal affair, and the Fontaine Mission, as guests from afar, has no reason or standing to interfere.

However, since Inazuma had not yet given any confirmation, Lynette was in no hurry to drive these people away from the embassy.

“Tell them that as long as it doesn’t interfere with the normal operation of the embassy, ​​they can rest in the open space at the entrance for the time being.” Linette thought for a moment and then added, “Have the kitchen prepare some food and water, but don’t give them to them directly. Let them buy it with money. Don’t sell it at too high a price; just sell it at the market price.”

"Yes, Ms. Lynette."

Under Lynette's instructions, the staff arranged the 'refugees' at the entrance to be placed in an open space not far from the embassy gate. Then, they brought out a food cart from inside the embassy, ​​which was loaded with bread and water, all with prices marked.

With the supply of food and water, the holders of the Eye of God, who were originally terrified by the Eye Hunting Order, were temporarily appeased.

The actions of the Fontaine embassy quickly spread to other embassies, and the embassies of the other five countries followed suit, settling the refugees in the open spaces in front of their respective embassies.

Anyway, there weren't many people, and it was easy to settle them. The number of God's Eye holders who came to the embassy for refuge was less than thirty.

After all, there aren't many holders of the Eye of God to begin with, and even fewer who live in Inazuma Castle and don't have official duties.

This Eye Hunt Order is primarily aimed at those who possess the Eye of God and are currently living among the people of Inazuma. The shogunate does not appear to have any intention of confiscating the Eye of God holders under its control.

"Also, send someone to Narukami Shrine to report the situation here to Lord Richard and ask him to return as soon as possible to take charge," Lynette continued, assigning tasks.

The civil servants who were having lunch inside the embassy also heard the commotion outside. Faced with this unexpected situation, they had to temporarily stop eating and return to their posts.

Richard, who had received the news, quickly returned to the embassy. Looking at the Eye of God holders who had gathered in front of the embassy to "take refuge," Richard first praised Lynette's handling of the situation, and then issued several additional orders.

First, set up a simple tent in front of the gate. Second, continue to send people to the General's Mansion to inquire about the situation. Third, strengthen the security of the embassy.

Faced with this situation, the Inatsuma Shogunate has yet to take any action, which must mean that some unforeseen event has occurred that has diverted most of the Shogunate's attention, leaving them with no time to deal with the holders of the Eye of God gathered in front of the various embassies.

Richard could roughly guess what had happened; it must have been something wrong on Haio Island.

When the isolation order was issued, the island expressed strong dissatisfaction, but they tolerated it for the time being due to Narukami's authority. However, this dissatisfaction has not disappeared with the passage of time.

On the contrary, as the isolationist policy was gradually implemented, the lives of the island's inhabitants, who lost foreign trade as an important source of income, became increasingly difficult. The more difficult the people's lives became, the deeper their resentment towards the shogunate grew.

To begin with, Umi-o Island didn't feel a strong sense of belonging to Inazuma. Coupled with the troubles brought to Umi-o Island by the isolation order, the seeds of rebellion were quietly sown. Just when it seemed that the isolation order was about to be lifted thanks to Yae no Miko's intervention, they suddenly came up with some kind of 'Eye Hunting Order'.

This order was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely shattering the people of Hai'o Island's confidence in the lifting of the isolation order. Having lost all hope, Hai'o Island decided to no longer endure it.

With the mindset that "if you won't let me live, then you won't have an easy time either," the people of the island decided to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and launch a magnificent rebellion against the shogunate.

As a result, the resistance army was born.

In fact, this resistance army had existed for a long time, but it had always been developing in the shadows and had not been brought into the open.

With the issuance of the Eye Hunting Edict, the islanders finally realized that simply giving in would not improve their lives, and decided to devote themselves entirely to the great cause of resisting the tyranny of the shogunate.

Sure enough, on the third day after the Fontaine mission arrived in Inazuma, they received news from the shogunate.

The Coral Palace on Sea Island officially announced the formation of a resistance army to oppose foolish government decrees such as the 'Eye Hunting Order'.

This officially marked the start of the Inazuma Civil War.

In fact, the rebels had already clashed with the shogunate army on the Nashii Beach yesterday. Because the incident happened suddenly, the shogunate army was clearly at a disadvantage and was once attacked by the rebels to the Fusabura Sand, approaching the Kujo Jinya.

Of course, the shogunate army was not to be underestimated either. With the subsequent deployment of troops, they finally stopped the rebels' offensive. The main battlefield is now located near Futsuna.

"Is the safety of our technical personnel at the Taman Satamahagane Forging Plant currently guaranteed?" Richard asked Kujo Sara, the active-duty general of the Tenryo magistrate, as he sat at the negotiating table.

The sudden appearance of the resistance not only disrupted the situation in Inazuma, but also threw the Fontaine mission's original itinerary into disarray.

The meeting with Ayato Sato, the head priest of Inatsuma Shrine, was postponed indefinitely. Richard, as the head of the Fontaine mission, also came to Kujo Jinya to initiate diplomatic negotiations with the shogunate army regarding the matter of becoming a technical advisor for the Tatsumata Steel Factory.

"I'm sorry, we can't guarantee that." Faced with Richard's questioning, Kujo Sara did not choose to cover it up or be evasive, but instead readily admitted the matter.

In Kujo Sara's view, Tatsumara is currently in the midst of war, and Tatsumara's Tamahagane factory is located near the war zone. Under these circumstances, she really cannot guarantee the safety of the Fengda technical advisor.

Kujo Sara's straightforwardness surprised the Inatsuma and Fontaine officials who were accompanying him. They had not expected that this unusually young general would admit so directly that the shogunate army could not guarantee the safety of the Fontaine technical advisors.

No, even if that's true, you could at least use a more tactful way of saying it.

Richard's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "In that case, how do you intend to ensure that our interests are not harmed?"

After a moment's thought, Kujo Sara replied, "We will send a special rescue team to the Tatara Sand Factory to carry out a rescue operation."

"What if the rescue operation fails and our personnel suffer casualties?" Richard continued to ask, clearly dissatisfied with Kujo Sara's proposed solution.

“If that happens, we will provide you with appropriate compensation,” Kujo Sara said.

Richard was not satisfied with this statement. He stared into Kujo Sara's eyes and said, "I need to remind you that life is priceless, Lord Kujo Sara."

“I have no intention of interfering in Inazuma’s internal affairs, but in my opinion, the current war is entirely avoidable. Since the rebels’ demand is to lift the ‘Eye-hunting Edict,’ why doesn’t the shogunate grant their request and end this farce before things get out of control?”

“That’s impossible, Mr. Richard.” Kujo Sara shook his head. “The shogun issued the ‘Eye Hunting Order,’ and only the shogun can revoke it. All we can do is carry out Narukami’s will.”

“To carry out the will of Narukami…” Richard looked thoughtfully at the tengu general before him. “The will of the gods is always difficult to fathom. How do you know that the ‘Eye Hunt Order’ is definitely based on the will of Narukami, and not on the selfish desires of some people?”

"What do you mean?" Kujo Sara frowned.

"It's nothing. I was just wondering if the appearance of the 'Eye Hunt Order' was the result of certain people or groups deceiving the heavens. Some people interfered with your general's judgment, causing him to make a misjudgment."

Kujo Sara's pupils contracted, then she asked in a cold voice, "Mr. Richard, do you have any evidence?"

"These are just my personal speculations; there is no concrete evidence."

"Since there is no evidence, please refrain from making unfounded speculations, Mr. Richard."

"In short, we will resolve the safety issues of your technical personnel as soon as possible, but please do not bring up the revocation of the 'Eye Hunt Order' or the unfounded accusations and conspiracy theories mentioned earlier."

After saying this, Kujo Sara got up and left the room, thus ending the negotiations.

Richard shrugged as he saw this. Although the negotiations ended badly, he had already achieved most of his purpose in coming here.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will naturally take root and sprout after a period of time.

After concluding negotiations with Kujo Sara, Richard returned to the embassy in Fontainebleau. Compared to the raging war in Tassa, Inazuma Castle seemed much the same as usual, except that the streets were a bit quieter.

A few days later, good news came from the front: under the leadership of Kujo Sara, the shogunate army successfully recaptured Futsuna and pushed the battle line back to the vicinity of Nashiina.

Meanwhile, the Fontaine technicians who were at the Tatara Sand Steel Factory returned safely to Inazuma Castle. After all, the purpose of the resistance was to fight against the tyranny of the shogunate, and there was no reason for them to make things difficult for the technicians from Fontaine.

After all, doing so would only create an enemy for the resistance and bring no real benefit.

With all the technical personnel returning safely, the Fontaine delegation had no reason to continue interfering. Richard had been staying quietly in the Fontaine embassy these days, occasionally strolling around Inazuma City to visit the Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed Statue that had been erected in front of the General's Mansion.

You can see that the base of the statue has been inlaid with the Eyes of God, but there are not many, only about ten.

It is worth mentioning that since the emergence of the resistance army, the holders of the Eye of God who had gathered in front of the embassies to "take refuge" have gradually dispersed, with only a few people remaining at the embassy gates to avoid the pursuit of the Shogunate army.

Among those who left, some joined the resistance, while others surrendered their Eyes of God after being persuaded by their families.

The confiscated God's Eyes were then inlaid one by one into the Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed God statue in front of the General's Mansion.

Richard noticed that there were many more eyes on the statue today compared to yesterday, which should mean that the pressure on the front lines had eased a bit, and now the shogunate army could finally spare the energy to carry out the Eye Hunt Order.

As the number of God's Eyes increased, Richard could clearly feel that the Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed God statue had become somewhat different. The elemental power around it was becoming increasingly dense, and Richard also sensed the presence of another force within this elemental power.

He had only moved slightly closer to the statue when he heard a cacophony of voices around him, which became clearer the closer he got to the statue.

Because of Richard's identity, and because he had been coming to see the statue for the past few days without ever making any extreme moves, he even successfully stopped a criminal who intended to damage the statue.

Therefore, the guards responsible for watching over the statue did not stop Richard as they would have stopped others, but allowed him to reach out and touch the base of the statue.

The moment Richard touched the statue, he knew what those voices were.

It is someone else's [wish].

When many wishes come together, they become a special force. This force is not very destructive, but it can influence people's hearts.

Richard will tentatively call it the power of will, which all comes from the holders of the Eye of God who have been confiscated.

This reminded Richard of a saying that when a person's desire becomes strong enough, the gaze of the gods will be cast upon him, and the eye of the gods represents that person's desire.

In retrospect, this claim is not entirely unfounded.

It still has some degree of reliability.

Richard had a strange intuition that when these wishes reached a certain level, perhaps even the will of the gods would waver.

If that's the case...

That night, the official in charge of the Eye Hunting Order was woken up from his bed by his subordinates, who said that dozens of God Eyes had appeared out of nowhere at his doorstep. After examination, they were all confirmed to be genuine, and the patterns on the God Eyes indicated that they all belonged to the Inazuma region and that God Eyes from other countries were not used to make up the numbers.

Upon hearing this, the official immediately dressed and rushed to the scene. Gazing at the mountain of God's Eyes piled up on the open ground, he muttered to himself, "So, there really are such good things as pie falling from the sky?"

Family members, who knows?

I woke up to find that not only had all my work targets been met, but I even had a surplus!

This is an incredible achievement!

The official trembled with excitement, not caring where these Eyes of God came from. Pointing at them, he ordered in a trembling voice, "Quickly, quickly inform the craftsmen! We must inlay these Eyes of God onto the Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed God statue tonight. After it's finished, I will report to the head of the family and request credit for you!"

Upon hearing that they too would receive credit, everyone present perked up. After a night of hard work, they finally managed to embed all the "eyes of the gods that fell from the sky" into the Thousand-Handed Hundred-Eyed God statue before dawn.

The official in charge of the 'Eye Hunt Order', carrying a specially leaked divine eye, jogged into the Tenryo Magistrate's residence and met the current head of the Tenryo Magistrate's family—Kujo Takayuki.

That afternoon, news came from the general's mansion.

A few days later, General Thunder will hold the "Eye Hunting Ceremony" for the hundredth Eye of God in front of the Thousand-Handed and Hundred-Eyed God statue, to prove the progress of the Eye Hunting Order.

The news caused an uproar among the upper echelons of Inazuma.

How long has the Eye Hunting Order been issued, and yet they've already collected a hundred God Eyes?

Isn't this a bit too fast?

It should be noted that the main force of the shogunate army had been tied down by the rebels for some time, and could only spare a small number of people to advance the 'Eye Hunt Order'.

However, even under such difficult conditions, they were able to collect one hundred Eyes of God so quickly. The Heavenly Commander is truly a hidden master.

Just as everyone was marveling at the efficiency of the Heavenly Territory's administration, some people also noticed that the holders of the Eye of God who had gathered in front of the embassies of various countries had all disappeared.

Nonsense, the Eye of God has already been stolen, what's the point of leaving it in front of the embassy?

Those who had joined the resistance and possessed the Eye of God were also somewhat bewildered; their Eyes of God had vanished before they even reached the resistance camp.

Where did my huge Eye of God go?

In response, Mr. Richard, who does good deeds anonymously, said that the Eye of God will not disappear, but it will be transferred. Look, it has been transferred from you to the idol.

However, Richard is not a devil. Since he 'borrowed' these people's divine eyes, he will definitely return them. It just takes them some time.

Now Richard doesn't even need to wait for the spy he planted with Kujo Sara to activate; he can try to directly pry open the door to Isshin Sodo and pull that willful guy out of his closed world.

When Yae no Miko of Narukami Shrine heard that the 'Eye Hunting Order' had successfully collected one hundred God's Eyes, the image of a certain person immediately popped into her mind.

"What is he doing? Why isn't he following the plan?"

Regarding Ying's autistic symptoms, Dr. Yae Shinko had already planned a treatment plan for him and selected a chief physician for him.

However, it seems that the attending physician chosen by Dr. Yae Shinko has his own ideas.

Although Yae Miko had great faith in the abilities of the attending physician she had chosen, just in case, she decided to speed up the original plan and shorten the time required to match Richard's timeline as much as possible.

With a two-pronged approach, attacking from both sides, how could any patient not be cured?

Thinking of this, Yae no Miko first wrote a letter and sent it to the rebel army's headquarters—the Coral Palace on Sea Island. She also mobilized the spies she had planted in the Heavenly Territory Envoy and the Survey Envoy in her early years, and asked them to prepare the evidence they had collected over the years and be ready to act at any time.

After explaining everything, Yae no Miko quietly descended the mountain and sneaked into the Fontainebleau embassy that night, preparing to have a late-night talk with a certain permanent secretary-general.

——————

That night, the bright moonlight shone on the ancient land of Inazuma, as if the entire city was draped in a soft veil.