After a series of precise formula calculations, Miss Ei felt like everything had become clear.
[Mei] is my sister! It absolutely has to be! It absolutely has to be, indeed!
As for why she wouldn't admit it, it was probably because 'reincarnation' would lead Teyvat's lives down entirely different paths. Although this destined them to still have a connection, just like "she is she, but she is no longer her," it wasn't strange to not acknowledge past connections with oneself.
Based on Ei's understanding of Makoto, this was indeed something her very preachy sister was capable of doing.
Furthermore, from a certain perspective, her sister was definitely being considerate of her feelings.
After all, she had already died in her arms once. And seeing her 'reincarnated self,' although it was indeed a joyous occasion, and Ei was incredibly happy about it.
But, she would also feel sad.
After all, even if it was still the same person, after completing 'reincarnation,' [Mei] could no longer be the Makoto she knew.
Of course—Ei didn't really care much about this.
As an Archon who wasn't particularly clever and was extremely emotional, 'reincarnated' or 'not reincarnated' didn't make much difference in her eyes—as long as it's my sister, I can accept it!
Of course, Ei also didn't want to disappoint 'Makoto ([Mei])'s' good intentions. She knew her sister was, in some aspects, surprisingly considerate of others' feelings.
As the saying goes, see through it but don't say it!
Thinking this, having already decided that [Mei] was the 'reincarnation' of her sister Ei, Ei's originally somewhat unwilling and annoyed gaze quickly transformed, becoming as gentle, soft... and obedient as a fawn.
If an acquaintance were to see this, even Yae Miko would probably be astonished—after all, even as her retainer, in the past thousands of years, she had never seen her old friend show such an expression.
After all, no matter how 'naive and sweet,' Ei was indeed a rather 'fierce' warrior.
Adjectives like gentle, soft, and obedient simply didn't fit her.
"How should I address you..." Although she had already decided the other was her sister and didn't plan to expose it, when the soft-spoken Ei wanted to chat with the other, she realized that, up until now, she didn't even seem to know her sister's new name after 'reincarnation.'
"Hmm... well, as for the current 'me,' you can call me 'Mei'~" Mr. Jiang Qiao, unaware of Miss Genius Ei's thought process, was as skilled as when using any other vessel.
He had always been so dedicated; whatever 'vessel' he used, he would 'see it through to the end.'
Of course, this was merely a habit. After all, in Jiang Qiao's view, a name was just a 'symbol' or 'mark' used for differentiation and to carry expectations.
"Mei..."
Muttering this name, Ei felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, even though she had barely encountered this name in the past.
However... Pondering the meaning behind the name—in the ancient language of Inazuma, Mei also meant new shoot, or seedling.
The past had already died, and what was planted was a new seedling.
No longer 'Makoto,' but the 'seedling of the future.'
Ei, based on her understanding of her sister, tried to think from her perspective and found it... 'exactly the same'!
This undoubtedly further convinced her that the [Mei] before her was the 'Makoto' of the past.
"Alright then, I'll take the liberty of calling you 'Mei'." Very happy, very excited, yet still maintaining a rather calm demeanor. Honestly, Ei, who was used to it, found it very difficult to change from calling her 'sister'... If possible, she even wanted to call the other 'Mei-neesan.'
But after thinking about the other's intentions, Ei could only reluctantly restrain this habit.
"Of course, no problem."
"Can I call you Ei as well?" [Mei] smiled, and the next moment, Ei grabbed her hand. "Of course, you can! Absolutely!"
That's it, that's it! Sister is definitely like this! Familiar voice, familiar feeling... familiar 'Ei'.
It all matched up!
If the other party had used a more formal address, Miss Ei would have felt rather disappointed and anxious.
"Uh... If that's the case, then, what do you think of my suggestion?"
"I'll listen to you." Ei said without thinking. "Whatever you say goes."
Ei had absolutely no thoughts on this—in fact, she chose 'Eternity' precisely because she, being unskilled in governance, had no idea how to avoid Khaenri'ah's future.
Did she not know that Inazuma couldn't remain stagnant forever? Of course, Ei knew.
But she couldn't help it.
After her sister, who was very good at governance, was gone, she had no idea how to do the work. So, after some thought, she simply decided not to meddle, leaving the Raiden Shogun to manage things outside, and all of Inazuma's work to the Tri-Commission.
She herself retreated into the Plane of Euthymia to contemplate Inazuma's future.
Unfortunately, Ei was really too foolish.
Even after five hundred years, she still didn't know where Inazuma's future lay.
So, she could only clumsily do what she was capable of and knew how to do, using a 'simple and crude' method to halt Inazuma's development, like it was crawling... no, this could already be called inching along.
And these few centimeters of movement weren't due to internal reforms in Inazuma, but entirely because reforms in the other six nations had spread to Inazuma, driving its development.
The Sakoku Decree was born to completely stifle this influence.
And the subsequent Vision Hunt Decree—because those who possessed Visions were precisely the group among Inazuma's citizens most dissatisfied with its current stagnant state. While Visions marked these progressive individuals seeking change, it also gave the Shogunate a relatively direct way to suppress them.
There was no need to execute them; simply confiscating their Visions could stifle their drive for change, making them lose their 'ideals.'
Various policies were all aimed at stopping Inazuma's progress, trapping it in 'Eternity.'
But, as Ei also knew clearly, this was a last resort.
Because she absolutely did not want her beloved Inazuma to become like Khaenri'ah, she would resort to any means, even if it was cruel, even if it caused unbearable suffering to Inazuma's citizens.
This was her love for Inazuma.
But now, this last resort could end.
After all... Sister is back!
Ei looked at [Mei] quite happily.
Honestly, she didn't want the position of Raiden Shogun at all.
She was just a Kagemusha, a fighter. You want me to wield swords and fight, no problem. You want me to manage a country, you must be trying to make things difficult for me!
She only accepted this mess out of necessity after Makoto's departure.
Now that Inazuma's original 'Raiden Shogun' had returned, of course she would listen to her sister!
Things like the Vision Hunt Decree, the Sakoku Decree, whatever! Sister calls the shots!
[Mei] was somewhat speechless—Ei's 'lie flat and let you do whatever' attitude was actually making things a bit awkward for him.
Although I did indeed defeat you, you don't have to kneel so quickly, do you?
And this shirking of responsibility...
What do you mean, I call the shots?
You're the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, okay!
You foolish god who has a wife-material face but can't cook at all, take some responsibility!
Although surprised by Ei's sudden, exceptionally pliant demeanor, since his goal was achieved, he naturally couldn't stay cooped up in the Plane of Euthymia forever.
Furina and Elysia were still waiting outside.
However, when Ei went out, Furina was directly startled. "Two... two Raiden Shoguns?!"
"Could it be... like me...?"
"She is the true Raiden Shogun, Raiden Ei."
"As for that one..." Ei took over [Mei]'s words, glanced at the 'Raiden Shogun' on the dais, and explained to Furina, "That is a puppet I created to act as Shogun in my stead during my seclusion—the Raiden Shogun you know."
"Eh... letting a puppet fill in." Furina, of course, understood this. But after understanding, she looked at the Shogun, then at herself, and fell into thought. "It can be done like this?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No... nothing." Facing Ei's confusion, Furina twitched her lips. But the next moment, she started complaining to Focalors, the other part of herself that had now merged back but still had a slight distinction, "Why didn't you learn from her!"
Both were 'substitutes.' If it was just her, Furina would have reluctantly accepted it. But Inazuma's... making a puppet substitute—comparing it to her own embarrassing situation five hundred years ago, Miss Furina instantly felt a bit unbalanced.
To this, Focalors sounded somewhat exasperated and helpless. "Do I look like someone who knows how to make puppets?"
Of course—not having enough technical skill to create a puppet as powerful as the Raiden Shogun was one thing. More importantly... she hadn't thought it could be done this way.
Ultimately, she wasn't an extreme hikikomori like Raiden, nor did she have experience picking up trash in Khaenri'ah.
"Besides, didn't I leave you behind?"
"Are you even human?" Furina huffed.
"I'm a god." Focalors blinked.
"Besides, we're one person. Suffer a little yourself, and I'll take the blame."
At this, Miss Furina instantly lost her temper. She couldn't very well scold herself, could she?
Moreover, although she had suffered a lot, this restless Focalors hadn't had good intentions either. After tricking her for five hundred years, she planned to just pat her butt and self-destruct... Furina, with puffed cheeks, was very angry, even having thoughts of splitting up.
Except they were one person and couldn't split.
So annoying!
The angry Furina fumed for a bit.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. See, even though we can't make puppets, we can get work done."
"Look at Inazuma's Raiden Shogun, she clearly doesn't look like someone who can get work done."
Furina, comforted by Focalors, instantly felt much better—though she felt like something about that statement wasn't quite right.
Although she wanted to figure out what exactly was wrong, clearly, she made no progress.
However, another sentence from Focalors caught her attention. "Hey, have you noticed, the way the Raiden Shogun looks at Qiao is a bit... off?"
"Is something wrong?" Furina said dismissively, glancing casually. "Looks normal to me..."
She paused. She looked at Ei staring at [Mei], her gaze incredibly tender and affectionate, as if threads were about to be pulled. She instantly fell silent.
Hold on—you go in for a bit, and Inazuma's Raiden Shogun gets her hands on you?
"You don't need the Raiden Shogun anymore?" [Mei] looked at the Raiden Shogun, somewhat puzzled.
Although the Shogun was a puppet Ei made, she was also the vessel for Ei's external form.
Running out directly like this was fine; after all, even without her true body, Ei, as an Archon, could still manifest freely.
However, abandoning her vessel so rashly still surprised him somewhat.
Ei shook her head at this.
—The Raiden Shogun was indeed a puppet she created, but she was more than just that.
Regardless, she was already the 'Raiden Shogun'—the Shogun herself also possessed her own will, the will Ei had instilled in her at her creation.
The principle named [Eternity].
Therefore, the Raiden Shogun was the defender of this principle.
If one day Ei wavered, the Shogun would rectify the situation, stepping forward to defend the principle of [Eternity].
In this aspect, the latter was more resolute and unshakable than the former.
And [Mei]'s—'Makoto's'—appearance, however, made it impossible for Ei to continue maintaining that 'Eternity.'
After all. If even her sister chose to sow a 'new shoot'—'Mei'—then how could she remain stagnant?
She had to respond to her sister's expectations.
Of course, it wasn't just her sister's expectations.
After detaching from the Shogun, Ei found that those things previously obstructed by 'Eternity' were faintly emerging. Although they were incredibly weak, they were indeed things she needed to explore.
If so, then it was necessary for her to temporarily abandon the 'Raiden Shogun,' to view everything in Inazuma as Ei, and thus arrive at her own answer.
"When I return, I will tell you my answer." Ei looked up at the Raiden Shogun, speaking calmly.
The latter also tilted her head slightly, nodding indifferently. "I will wait for your return."