When Ye finally finished his "vacation" at the Fortress of ropide and stepped out, the Genshin Impact 1.5 update had officially gone live. While players were happily enjoying the Windblu Festival, Ye returned to work, heading to Inazuma to submit a light novel to Yae Publishing House.
Charlotte's relentless reminders had sparked an idea in Ye, giving him a way to get closer to that sly fox. The Traveler's arrival in Inazuma wasn't far off, and Ye needed to start preparing.
So, it was ti to et Yae Miko.
Of course, if it were just a simple eting, Ye could have visited her anyti. However, for now, he had no intention of revealing his identity.
Not to boast, but Ye was sowhat famous across Teyvat. If word got out that Fontaine's Supre Bishop had arrived in Inazuma, it could put the entire nation on high alert. The Raiden Shogun herself might even co knocking at his door to cut him down.
For the Raiden Shogun, the Traveler was a variable, but not one she paid much attention to. The gap in power between the Traveler and the Shogun was too vast for the Traveler to pose any threat to her vision of eternity. It was precisely this mix of disdain and curiosity that allowed Yae Miko to manipulate the situation and carry out her plans.
But Ye was a different story.
First, in terms of power, while Ye might not yet match the Raiden Shogun, he was far from being soone she could underestimate. That alone would be enough to make her want to eliminate him, not to ntion his reputation.
Ahem, not that Ye's reputation was bad, per se… but it was, well, slightly less than stellar in foreign nations. He was self-aware enough to admit that.
Of course, let's not misunderstand—it was only slightly less than stellar.
In any case, to avoid unnecessary risks, revealing his identity was out of the question.
See? Not having his photo publicly available had its uses. When Ye personally went to Yae Publishing House to submit his manuscript, no one recognized him.
Safe.
And almost imdiately, his novel landed in Yae Miko's hands.
"This is truly an exceptional light novel!"
Yae Miko couldn't help but be impressed after reading it.
Just the opening, which directly fabricated an entirely different world, was enough to delight her. It reminded her of Fontaine's Supre Bishop.
Many light novel authors in Inazuma—or even across Teyvat—were limited to using Teyvat as their setting. Very few attempted to create entirely fictional worlds, and even those that did often had vague settings and unengaging plots, failing to gain popularity.
But the Supre Bishop was different. All three of his novels that had made their way to Inazuma were set in entirely fictional worlds, completely unrelated to Teyvat. Each one had a ticulously crafted world, and the stories were filled with fantastical elents that drew readers into these unfamiliar realms.
As a result, his works were wildly popular.
Even now, with Inazuma's borders closed, rchants still smuggled his novels into the country. That alone spoke volus about their success.
Over the years, many light novel authors had tried to emulate the Supre Bishop's style, creating their own fictional worlds, but the results were, at best, passable.
It was a matter of ingrained assumptions. When authors designed power systems, they couldn't escape the fundantal truths they'd grown up with in Teyvat. For example, because elental energy existed, they struggled to imagine power systems that didn't rely on it.
These limitations made it incredibly difficult for authors to create truly original fictional worlds. While so tried, their works always bore traces of Teyvat, making them feel derivative.
Only the Supre Bishop had managed to effortlessly craft several distinct worlds and weave captivating stories within them.
—And now, soone else had done the sa.
This novel opened with a portrayal of gods entirely different from those in Teyvat, imdiately setting a grand stage. Both the setting and the plot were utterly engrossing.
To most people in Teyvat, gods were omnipotent, lofty beings—utterly beyond the reach of mortals.
But in this book, the gods relinquished their omnipotence, choosing to live as humans and even experiencing hardship. To survive in the mortal world, they bestowed upon children a power called "Divine Blessings," forming Familia with them and co-writing myths of gods and mortals. To the people of Teyvat, this setting could only be described as mind-blowing.
Beyond the setting, the story itself made Yae Miko's eyes sparkle.
Unlike the formulaic light novels currently at Yae Publishing House, this one took a refreshingly unique angle. The final battle between the protagonist and the minotaur left her feeling exhilarated.
Thes of fate and destiny were gradually layered onto the battle, making it impossible not to feel moved by the protagonist's transformation. Particularly striking was how, after being saved by the heroine in a previous encounter, the protagonist now refused her help, instead choosing to stake his life on a solo fight against the minotaur. Despite being just a teenage boy, he truly embodied courage in that mont.
Unfortunately, the novel ended there.
Yae Miko wanted to keep reading, but this volu was all there was.
Though, to be fair, this volu was quite substantial—enough for most light novel authors to split into three separate books. In fact, from a plot perspective, this was three volus' worth of content, just condensed into one.
"Interesting. Is this an attempt to make a grand entrance?"
Indeed, Yae Miko had to admit that releasing all three volus together would have a much greater impact than releasing them one by one.
But… what confidence.
And then there was the author's pen na…
Yae Miko smiled, glancing up at the lightning-streaked sky.
The current state of Inazuma was beyond her ability to change. While she wished to intervene, without a significant variable, there was little she could do. The eternity the Raiden Shogun had painstakingly crafted wasn't so easily shattered.
Yae Miko had been waiting for this variable for centuries—not just since the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, but since the day she last saw Ei. She had waited for hundreds of years.
She was well aware of the situation outside Inazuma, but her decision remained unchanged: she would continue to wait. There was no better alternative.
However… she had a feeling that this variable was finally approaching.
Reading this light novel only strengthened her intuition.
"Ye… the Supre Bishop of Fontaine's Grand Cathedral…"
"Is this just a coincidence, or has the Supre Bishop truly written a book in Inazuma under his own na?"
"If it really is him, what's his purpose?"
"Does he want to catch my attention and have a conversation? With his power, why go through such roundabout thods? He could just co directly."
"Then… is it that he doesn't want to reveal his identity but still wants to know he's arrived in Inazuma?"
Yae Miko pondered as she descended the mountain.
"His goal doesn't matter."
"What's important to now is that he's a significant enough variable."
"It doesn't matter what he wants to use for, as long as I can use him in return."
"That's fair."
"And as long as it's fair, there's no problem."
"But of course, before that, I'll need to confirm for myself… whether this is just a coincidence."
With that thought, Yae Miko suddenly smiled, her expression radiant.
"Heh, how interesting."
Well then, let's see whose thods are more cunning.
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