While both came to visit Ei, Yae Miko's method of arrival differed from Lucian's. Lucian appeared out of nowhere, while Yae Miko strolled in on foot, essentially skipping work.
The guards, seeing Yae Miko casually walk in, naturally didn't stop her.
In the story, Yae Miko gave the Traveler a token. With this token, the Okuzumeshuu guards wouldn't block her either.
In short, Ei had handed over the management of her "QQ Space" account to Yae Miko, and now Yae Miko had granted Lumine access privileges.
When the Traveler arrived at the Tenshukaku, the Okuzumeshuu guards performed a classic act of initial arrogance followed by deference, allowing the Traveler to enter.
Inside the Tenshukaku, the Raiden Shogun was wandering back and forth like a "wild monster."
Then, this "wild monster" spotted the Traveler. For a "player" entering her attack range, the "wild monster" naturally initiated an attack.
[Raiden Shogun: "How did you trespass here?"]
["Intruders in this place should be eradicated immediately!"]
["No, using force is a prohibited action."]
As it turned out, the Raiden Shogun, this "hostile wild monster," had her programming tweaked by Ei, turning her into a "neutral wild monster." As long as you didn't attack her, she wouldn't attack you.
The Raiden Shogun immediately stated that her inner self needed to rest quietly. Aside from using force, handling governmental affairs was also a prohibited action.
No wonder her surname is Raiden. Though she spoke little, she was the type to answer every question—and even answer when unasked. A Raiden family tradition.
It was because Ei had noticed a "bug" in the Shogun's handling of governmental affairs. However, Ei's own governance skills weren't exactly commendable, and she didn't know how to fix it, so she simply left it disabled for now.
When a function's repair method is unclear, the best course is to disable it entirely.
But Ei had disabled a bit too much this time, restricting the Shogun from so many tasks that even basic conversation was somewhat impaired.
Fortunately, Ei was awake at the time. She wasn't keen on going out but hadn't entered a meditative state, so she noticed the Traveler's arrival and skillfully pulled them into her "QQ Space."
[Paimon exclaimed, "You scared me to death! Don't just pull us in so suddenly…"]
[Ei, puzzled, said, "It's not your first time. What's there to panic about?"]
As a mature older sister figure, Ei seemed to forget that while she and Lumine had indeed done this before, it was Paimon's first time.
In Ei's view, the Traveler's first entry was a bit rough—she had used too much force, knocking the Traveler out.
But the second time, the Traveler was clearly more adept, going toe-to-toe with her. Now, on the third visit, why was she still panicking? Especially since they didn't even have to fight this time.
In the story, Paimon worried whether the Raiden Shogun outside had malfunctioned.
Ei clarified that she hadn't. She had merely disabled some of the Shogun's functions temporarily because she was still pondering Inazuma's "eternity."
Ei was mainly concerned that while she was reflecting, the Shogun's operations might develop another "bug" and make mistakes, so she restricted many of the Shogun's actions.
Paimon, confused, asked why she didn't just shut the Raiden Shogun down entirely.
Ei explained that when she created her, she never considered including an off switch.
Because Ei was a genius, she had foreseen that her future self might be affected by "wear and tear" and shut the Shogun down, which would clearly be detrimental to eternity.
So, the genius Ei opted not to include that function at all. Clever, right?
Now, this state was a classic case of "being too clever for one's own good."
[Ei said, "For me, before I fully understand the form of 'eternity,' temporarily disabling certain functions is more effective than directly altering the puppet's protocols."]
Her point was that disabling functions outright was far easier than fixing "bugs."
[Paimon realized, "Oh, I get it now. The chaotic thunderstorms over Inazuma's outer seas are because some of the Shogun's functions were disabled, right?"]
[Ei, puzzled, responded, "Chaotic thunderstorms? This is the first I've heard of it."]
I love Ei's line: "Do you think so little of me? I know matters concerning 'eternity.'"
Yet, after all that, Ei didn't even know about the chaotic thunderstorms over the outer seas.
The people of Inazuma had assumed those thunderstorms were the embodiment of the Raiden Shogun's will, the manifestation of "eternity."
After listening to Paimon and the Traveler's account, Ei nodded.
["Hm, the thunderstorms you mentioned—I see…"]
["An operational error, it happens. I'll adjust the Shogun later."]
[Ei, slightly embarrassed, said, "Don't look at me like that. I've never done this kind of operation before. The Shogun's structure is very complex. Adjustments are bound to cause issues."]
[Ei emphasized, "Yes, I'm not making excuses. That's just how it is."]
Regardless, Ei had at least convinced herself.
The people of Inazuma fell silent. Why did their Shogun seem to be getting more foolish? Why was she becoming oddly adorable?
They had thought the Shogun was a cold, majestic, emotionless, and invincible "Triple-Nothing General."
Now they realized she was a brainless, socially inept, and invincible "Triple-Nothing General."
Speaking of which, in the story, the Traveler asked Ei about her thoughts on "eternity."
Ei admitted she still hadn't figured it out. Though she saw a path forward, contradictions remained.
[Lumine invited, "Come with me to clear your mind. How about going out for a walk?"]
[Ei replied, "For me, that's not necessary. But with your invitation… a change of mood might not be bad."]
Ei blinked. In reality, it was Lucian who had invited her, and she wondered if this outing would differ from the one in the book.
[Paimon, puzzled, asked, "Huh? But what we're seeing now is Ei's consciousness, right? Can a consciousness leave this place?"]
[Ei nodded, "I have my ways. I'm not about to willingly imprison myself."]
Though she said she wouldn't imprison herself, her actions weren't far from it.
The most obvious proof was that Paimon suggested acting as the guide for this trip.
A god of Inazuma touring Inazuma needed a foreigner as a guide!
Even Nahida, the radish, didn't need a guide after being imprisoned for five hundred years!
Zhongli and Venti, those two old-timers, even secretly acted as guides themselves. Especially Zhongli, who, fearing the Traveler wouldn't know Liyue Harbor, personally took them running around.
In the book, the Traveler led the purple eggplant on a tour of Inazuma. Though the other was Inazuma's god, the Traveler now seemed more like the host.
In Liyue, the god guided the tour. In Inazuma, they were guiding the god.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Raiden Ei: About Slashing Yae Miko
"I only meant to scare her a bit, but I didn't expect her to pull out tricolor dango… You don't think I stopped because I didn't want to damage the dango, do you?"