"Ember, calm down. No matter what, do not conflict with the Raiden Shogun."
"I can go out and talk to the Raiden Shogun! Resolve this misunderstanding."
Hearing Ember's words about wanting to confront the Raiden Shogun head-on, Kujou Sara immediately shivered.
She frantically advised Ember, urging him to avoid a direct confrontation with the Raiden Shogun if possible.
"You seem to have an inexplicable confidence in the Raiden Shogun," Ember said, glancing sideways at the anxious Kujou Sara.
"It's not just Sara; I also advise you not to do this."
"It's not a matter of confidence; it's that the Raiden Shogun's power is too immense for us to fathom."
Kujou Masahito also began to persuade Ember, "Historically, the Raiden Shogun has only acted a few times, but each instance involved her decisively resolving a calamity."
"No matter how desperate and suffocating a calamity might seem to us ordinary people, it's merely a single strike from the Raiden Shogun."
Kujou Masahito's expression was solemn. Even if the Raiden Shogun truly made a mistake, it should be addressed through indirect means.
Using force to oppose the Raiden Shogun wouldn't even be a last resort; it would be suicide.
"But you can't fathom me either, can you?" Ember rested his arms on the table, adopting a profound demeanor.
This immediately silenced the spitting Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito. As Ember said, they couldn't fathom the Raiden Shogun, nor could they fathom Ember.
"Besides, I'm not alone. Aren't you two with me?" After his profound statement, Ember switched to a cheerful tone, addressing Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito.
Before they could say anything, Ember extended his palm and began to count off, as if ticking off cherished possessions.
"Besides you two turncoats from the Kujou Clan, there's a whole bunch of people from the Kamisato Clan, and I reckon the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine is also stirring. Not to mention the residents of Yashiori Island, who utterly despise the Shogunate."
"And the resistance... well, let's forget about the resistance for now. Let them do their main job of tying down the Shogunate Army's main force here. I'd be sad if they won."
In a mere few breaths, Ember had listed a large number of Inazuma's potential rebel forces.
"Not only that, I can bring in the Fatui. And, if all else fails, I can call in a whole crew of people."
By the end of his list, Ember found that his fingers were almost insufficient.
He looked up in surprise, exclaiming with a shocked tone, "Damn, you don't realize it until you count it!"
"Gentlemen, you are currently sitting on a powder keg. This powder keg, do you think it's better to dismantle it now, or wait for it to explode?"
Ember suddenly felt that his intervention was a good decision. Inazuma was clearly a powder keg, just waiting for someone to light the fuse.
He looked left and right at Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito, but received no answer for a long time.
"Don't stay silent! You don't need to go to heaven in such a way, do you? Just tell me, and I'll immediately send you both flying up; no need to wait for everything to explode before you fly."
Ember saw their silence and quickly reminded them. He wasn't bluffing; if not handled carefully, Inazuma could truly be sent flying.
Ember felt that the Raiden Shogun definitely couldn't handle such matters. She only knew how to cut, cut, cut, and was clueless about everything else.
At that time, if rebel forces rose throughout Inazuma, all under the Raiden Shogun's banner, he wondered what that rigid puppet would do.
She could, if she dared, cut down everyone in Inazuma from south to north, but Ember doubted the Raiden Shogun would do such a thing.
"Allow us to ponder this," Kujou Masahito's face was filled with worry after Ember finished speaking.
Many of the things Ember mentioned were completely unknown to him, and his mind was still reeling, let alone anything else.
And Kujou Sara, beside him, was naturally no different; her shock was no less than Kujou Masahito's.
"You just said that the Guuji and the Kamisato Clan Head have disloyal intentions; you weren't just making that up, were you?"
Kujou Masahito's gaze shifted; his eyes were fixed on Ember, as if trying to find a flaw in his actions.
He didn't care about other individuals or forces, but if both the Grand Narukami Shrine and the Yashiro Commission had other ideas about the Raiden Shogun, then he would have to seriously reconsider.
Because these two families, combined, possessed power no less than that of the Tenryou Commission and the Kanjou Commission together.
The Grand Narukami Shrine and the Yashiro Commission, one responsible for rituals and exorcism, the other for cultural activities, were arguably the most beloved forces among the people of Inazuma, besides the Raiden Shogun.
If these two forces were to rally, the Shogunate Army wouldn't even need an external attack; half of their own people would turn their weapons and run to the Grand Narukami Shrine and the Yashiro Commission.
"What kind of talk is that? What do you mean 'disloyal intentions'? Your Guuji and the Kamisato Clan Head are merely dissatisfied with the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree. How did that become 'disloyal intentions' in your words?"
Ember waved his hand, quickly correcting Kujou Masahito's error in speech. Hearing him, one might mistakenly believe that the Grand Narukami Shrine and the Yashiro Commission were preparing for a dynastic change.
"My apologies, I spoke out of turn!" Kujou Masahito immediately covered his mouth. Not only that, he nervously looked around, afraid that someone might have overheard what he just said.
"So? Are you in or out?" Ember leaned close to Kujou Masahito, shook his fist at him, his tone full of temptation.
"In or out?" Kujou Masahito's eyes were filled with struggle. To be honest, he didn't want to get involved in this mess.
But considering Kujou Takayuki's previous order to attack despite the power imbalance, and the current undercurrents in Inazuma, he gritted his teeth and nodded vigorously at Ember.
"I'm in!"
No matter how he looked at it, his father had made too many enemies. If the Raiden Shogun's grand plan for eternity succeeded, given his father's strong support for the Vision Hunt Decree, the Kujou Clan's status would undoubtedly soar, surpassing the other two Commissions.
If it didn't succeed... then he could at least ensure the Kujou Clan wouldn't fall to the level of common folk.
As for being discovered, Kujou Masahito felt that having the Kamisato Clan Head and the Guuji as companions in death would make his life worthwhile.
Moreover, his father would surely see the power vacuum created by purging the Yashiro Commission and the Grand Narukami Shrine more clearly than he did, and would act more ruthlessly than anyone else.
In a way, if this rebellion were exposed, the benefits to the Kujou Clan might even be greater than if the Vision Hunt Decree proceeded normally!
In a mere few breaths, many considerations flashed through Kujou Masahito's mind. But after they flashed, they were all hidden deep within his heart, invisible to anyone.
"Wait, that's not right? It seems to make no difference whether you're in or out? You currently hold no official positions, so you seem useless." Ember's belated words were like an arrow, directly piercing Kujou Masahito out of his brainstorming session.
Now, both of them were under house arrest, at best just skilled warriors. What great use could they be?
"Cough, cough, cough..." Kujou Masahito choked on Ember's words. He patted the table and said:
"Father is not a cold and frosty political animal. We are his eldest son and eldest daughter; he wouldn't do anything to us."
"At most, he'll just keep us under house arrest for a while, to display the Kujou Clan Head's supreme authority."
The people of Inazuma held the concept of "family" in extremely high regard.
As the eldest son and eldest daughter of the Kujou Clan, Kujou Masahito and Kujou Sara were undoubtedly highly valued by Kujou Takayuki.
After all, even setting aside family affection, Kujou Masahito and Kujou Sara were the best candidates to project the Kujou Clan's influence.
So, whether out of paternal affection or the influence of the Kujou Clan, Kujou Takayuki would not truly sideline Kujou Masahito and Kujou Sara.
"As long as we show a little submission, our stripped official positions can be reinstated." Kujou Masahito smiled and shook his head, lamenting how easily his official position was lost, and how even more easily it could be regained.
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