After returning to the living room with Sayu, Yuuko fell into deep thought and whispered:
"Lately, Yae Miko comes to visit me every day. It seems the recent events are indeed very serious."
"Mmm…" Sayu nodded, though in reality, her mind was still preoccupied with hiding under the blanket earlier.
"And the Shogun has been missing for so many days without a single update. I'm really worried. What do you think, Sayu?"
"Mmm…" Sayu nodded again.
In reality, she was still thinking about the method of 'how to hide under the blanket, attract Yae Miko to come over, and ultimately not be discovered.'
Yuuko noticed her absentmindedness and waved his hand in front of Sayu:
"Sayu? Are you listening to me?"
Snapping back to attention, Sayu quickly replied, "Mmm! I'm listening!"
"Speaking of which, Sayu, you're a ninja, right? Do you have any clues about the Shogun's disappearance?"
Sayu was silent for a moment, then shook her head: "Sayu doesn't know either…"
"Is that so." Yuuko sighed softly. "That complicates things."
In fact, Yuuko had also searched around Narukami Island these past few days, but failed to find any trace of Raiden Ei.
To say he wasn't worried would definitely be a lie.
Afterward, Yuuko mused, "Judging by Yae Miko's reactions lately, she probably received news related to the Shogun."
While searching for Raiden Ei, Yuuko also realized something.
Recently, Yae Miko had also been searching for Raiden Ei.
Based on Yae Miko's recent behavior, he felt that she had very likely already received news about Raiden Ei.
"How about we try... following Yae Miko? What do you say, Sayu?"
"Sayu?"
"Mmm…" Sayu was distracted.
Her mind was still entirely focused on the method of 'how to hide under the blanket, attract Yae Miko to come over, and ultimately not be discovered'... Meanwhile, after Yae Miko left the house, she didn't even have time to head to the shrine.
She noticed a figure already waiting for her not far ahead.
Seeing that figure, Yae Miko raised an eyebrow, feeling utterly surprised.
She walked toward the figure.
Looking at the figure, who was clad in light blue and resting with closed eyes, she spoke uncertainly:
"Your Majesty the Tsaritsa, are you waiting for me here?"
The Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya opened her eyes, glanced at Yae Miko, and said displeasedly:
"Beelzebul's familiar, you made me wait for a long time. I clearly said yesterday that I would come looking for you today."
But you never told me in advance that you would be waiting outside, and I didn't even know when you would arrive... Yae Miko complained internally.
Of course, the scum woman would not voice these thoughts aloud.
Prioritizing the bigger picture, Yae Miko still lowered her head toward the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya and offered an apology:
"My apologies, I was impolite."
The Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya shook her head: "Never mind, let's move on. Now, let's go help Beelzebul."
Yae Miko nodded, her expression immediately becoming much more serious.
Because this matter not only concerned her close friend Raiden Ei, but was also closely related to the entirety of Inazuma.
However, before leaving, a major doubt remained in Yae Miko's heart.
Given the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya's personality, she shouldn't have been able to wait patiently outside for her... With the temperament of such a fanatic, shouldn't she have just broken the door down?... Yae Miko couldn't help but speak:
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty the Tsaritsa, you could have just entered the house directly. There was no need to wait outside…"
As soon as she said this, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya's delicate body suddenly trembled, as if startled by something.
Her expression became extremely strange... After a moment, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya cleared her throat, regaining her cold demeanor, and said:
"Since I am going to cooperate with Inazuma afterward, I will not commit any discourtesy toward Inazuma."
"Is that so." Yae Miko still found it very strange.
Just as Yae Miko was about to say something more, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya suddenly changed the subject:
"Let's go. Beelzebul's situation is not optimistic. We must hurry."
"You're right, let's go." Yae Miko nodded.
The most important thing right now was to check on Raiden Ei's condition.
Afterward, Yae Miko and the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya, this strange pair, walked together.
They left Inazuma City together and headed in the direction of Mt. Yougou.
Seeing the direction the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya was leading, Yae Miko's expression turned utterly surprised:
"This direction... Does this mean Ei has actually been at the shrine all along?"
The Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya laughed:
"You could say she is near the shrine, but Beelzebul is not actually *in* the shrine. Currently, Beelzebul is likely in a consciousness space, and that consciousness space has a certain connection with the sacred sakura tree at the shrine."
Hearing this, Yae Miko rested her chin in her hand and pondered. After a moment, she tentatively said:
"Could it be... that Ei is in Makoto's space?"
Raiden Ei has a consciousness space like the Plane of Euthymia.
The late Raiden Makoto also had one.
"Makoto? Oh, you mean Baal. If nothing unexpected happened, Beelzebul is indeed currently inside Baal's consciousness space."
"Is that so." Yae Miko nodded, then sighed softly:
"I never thought Ei would be in that location. I've been sending people to search other places this whole time, yet I neglected my own surroundings…"
After speaking, Yae Miko looked at the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya with a strange gaze:
"But why do you have so much intelligence on Ei and Makoto…"
Logically speaking, very few people should know about Raiden Makoto's consciousness space.
Yet the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya knew.
This already explained many issues.
It suggested that perhaps Snezhnaya's influence had already infiltrated the interior of Inazuma a long time ago... "Heh heh, I possess most of the intelligence regarding the Seven Nations of Teyvat," the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya said proudly.
Yae Miko fell silent again.
She understood that the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya's statement was primarily a threat.
Afterward, the two traveled onward and finally arrived at a certain cave beneath the shrine.
This cave was extremely hidden, and normally sealed off by an Electro Barrier.
Under normal circumstances, no one could enter.
Looking at the barrier before her, just as Yae Miko was about to do something to remove it.
The Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya beside her first let out a cold snort, then gave a sweep of her hand.
The temperature of the surrounding space dropped rapidly, and the Electro Barrier reacted violently to this absolute low temperature.
After the reaction subsided, the barrier disappeared.
Having effortlessly accomplished all this, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya stepped into the hidden cave.
"Let's go. You are Beelzebul's familiar, right? To reach Beelzebul's correct spatial coordinates, we need your sensory connection to Beelzebul."
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