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One Ei, one Raiden Ei, and then there was the Shogun.
Why did all three of them look exactly the same?
Kamisato Ayaka stood there, dazed, trying to process the sheer impact of the scene. Were there truly so many secrets hidden within the gods of Inazuma? She had already adjusted to the existence of the puppet, but finding two identical versions of the same person was another matter entirely.
"So that... Ei?" Ayaka gestured toward the woman playing chess against Su Ran.
"That is my sister."
The Shogun's sister? Ayaka blinked. Was Inazuma really this formidable? Three deities. First, a pair of twin gods, and then one of them had gone on to create the well-known Shogun. In truth, Inazuma possessed three divine beings. Was this not leagues ahead of the other six nations?
As the match deepened, Ayaka watched the board, her brow furrowing tighter with every move. Su Ran smiled, intentionally leaving an opening. Raiden Ei, however, refused to take the bait. He made another move, and looking at the board, which was now devoid of any hope for victory, Raiden Ei suddenly felt the urge to flip the table.
How could it already be over? She was a god who had lived for a millennium, a deity known for her intellect. How could she lose so completely in a game like this?
"Another round!" Raiden Ei refused to accept it, desperate to turn the tables in a second game.
Ayaka realized that this god, known as Ei, had fallen into the same trap she had earlier. The more one desired to win, the less likely victory became.
Ei had seen this many times before. Back at the Grand Narukami Shrine, her sister would often play against the Kitsune Saiguu. In those days, she only needed to sit to the side and enjoy her sweets. Chess was never her specialty. But there were no sweets here, so Ei let her gaze drift toward the two containers of Dango Milk her sister had packed.
"What are you doing?" Raiden Ei's sharp gaze landed squarely on the hand reaching toward the snacks.
"I... I was just looking."
Startled by her sister's intensity, Ei sheepishly pulled her hand back. That look in her sister's eyes felt as if she were truly about to give her a stern scolding. Ei could not understand why her normally gentle sister was looking at her this way.
"That is not for you!"
After delivering the warning, Raiden Ei refocused on the match. It was ridiculous, she thought. She was already a mother, yet she was still competing with her own child for gifts. The first game's defeat had been so swift it left her feeling incredibly frustrated, so she played the second game with absolute focus.
"If you don't like the view from there, why don't you sit next to me?" Su Ran patted the space beside him.
Ayaka had been watching the match for a while, clearly fascinated by the sight of gods at play. However, hindered by Raiden Ei's status, she hadn't dared to get too close and struggled to see the board clearly. Sitting beside him would certainly offer a better vantage point.
"Ei, go sit over there!"
"Me? There's no need... I understand."
Ei, who had initially intended to decline, saw the look in her sister's eyes and obediently took the seat next to Su Ran. She could not shake the feeling that her sister was acting strangely.
"There is an empty seat on my other side, too."
Although Ei had occupied one spot, Su Ran noted that both sides were free. Ayaka, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, walked straight over and sat down beside him.
Watching Ei remain indifferent, Raiden Ei seethed in silence, cursing her sister for being so unassertive. Did everything have to be fought for by her, the sister? Was that child hers and his, or hers and his?
"Miss Ei, you shouldn't get distracted during a match," Su Ran noted, catching the look on the older woman's face.
He didn't quite grasp why Raiden Ei was so desperate to pair him up with Ei. Did she harbor feelings for him and feel too embarrassed to say so, asking her sister to play wingman? He cast a suspicious glance at Ei.
"What are you looking at?"
"I was just thinking that you look quite beautiful."
"Do I?" Ei touched her own face. It was the first time anyone had ever complimented her appearance.
"Mr. Su Ran, you shouldn't get distracted during a match," Raiden Ei countered, throwing his own words back at him.
Despite the jab, she felt a sense of relief. She had been terrified that this might be a case of him favoring the new over the old. Seeing Ayaka speak to him earlier, she had feared Ei was being cast aside.
"It is fine. I am a genius. As everyone knows, a genius cannot be compared to ordinary people, so even if my attention is split, it does not matter."
He was a man who lived by his own rules. If others used double standards, he wouldn't allow it, but when he used them? That was perfectly fine.
"Mr. Su Ran is quite confident, I see."
Half an hour later, Raiden Ei stared at the board with a grave expression.
"Miss Ei, do you need me to let my mind wander for a while longer?"
The mocking tone in his voice was enough to push even this gentle god to her breaking point. While chess was merely a game, it was not always a pleasant experience, and sometimes it could be even more suffocating. That was exactly how she felt now.
"That is not necessary."
It was only a game of chess, yet Raiden Ei found it as exhausting as the days of the Archon War. At least during the war, she had had Ei to rely on. But looking at her sister now, lost in her own thoughts, and then at Ayaka on the other side, who was proactively feeding Su Ran fruit, she felt only more tormented.
She truly could not carry this sister of hers. Why was helping her sibling find happiness harder than fighting a war of gods?
"Mr. Su Ran, what is your view of my sister?" Raiden Ei decided to take the offensive.
Her initial goal in challenging him to a match had been to assert some dominance. He was her savior, yes, but even a savior could not be fickle. Raiden Ei did not oppose him taking multiple wives, but abandoning her sister because of it would be a grave mistake. She hadn't been able to win the game, so the intimidation attempt had failed, but from what she had seen, their relationship wasn't bad—they just didn't talk much. She assumed there was some misunderstanding between them and wanted to resolve it now.