The Traveler and Paimon arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine and met Yae Miko.
Just as Ye had said, Yae Miko immediately agreed to help them deal with the Raiden Shogun and even gave the Traveler special training to prepare for the battle.
To be honest, facing those moves again made the Traveler feel a bit uneasy. But fortunately, the Traveler's combat skills were already quite high, so she passed the training without much trouble... although the training itself felt somewhat pointless.
"Whether we can defeat the Raiden Shogun in the end doesn't depend on whether the Traveler can counter her moves, but on whether the Traveler can successfully gather the power of a hundred Visions, right?"
After the Traveler finished her training, Paimon couldn't help but complain to Yae Miko.
Yae Miko raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did Ye tell you that directly? That's right. This training is just to let the little one get familiar with Ei's moves so she won't be instantly defeated when facing her. But no matter how familiar she becomes with Ei's moves, it won't matter against her martial prowess. To defeat Ei, we still need to rely on the power of the Visions on the Statue of the Omnipresent God."
"But don't worry about that. I have a way to help the Traveler obtain that power. It's just... we need the right timing, location, and people."
"Telling you about it now wouldn't help and might even backfire. In any case, I have a plan. When the time comes, everything will fall into place."
Paimon shrugged and sighed. "Ye, you, it feels like you both love speaking in riddles. Can't you just tell us your plans directly?"
"Ahahaha, alright, I'll tell you about my next plan."
Yae Miko chuckled lightly.
"Let's go back to the Grand Narukami Shrine. I've invited someone. To gather the right timing, location, and people, we need to convince this person first. After all... to get the resistance fighters who have lost their Visions to stand before the Statue of the Omnipresent God and face the Raiden Shogun, we first need to dismantle the Tenryou Commission."
The person Yae Miko was referring to was Kujou Sara, the general of the Tenryou Commission.
Although Kujou Sara was only an adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan, her strength was extraordinary, earning her a high position within the Tenryou Commission.
More importantly, Kujou Sara's loyalty to the Raiden Shogun was second only to Sen'emon. Because of this, she could be persuaded.
—Unlike Sen'emon, who saw herself purely as a blade, executing her master's will without hesitation, no matter where she was directed.
Kujou Sara, while equally loyal to the Raiden Shogun, had her own will. She could hesitate, and thus, she could be persuaded.
As expected by Yae Miko, after speaking with Kujou Sara, the Traveler spent three days gathering evidence of the Tenryou Commission's deceit and successfully shook Kujou Sara's resolve. Kujou Sara then stormed into the Tenryou Commission to confront Kujou Takayuki, the head of the Kujou Clan.
As Kujou Sara ran off, the Traveler immediately prepared to follow.
"Wait, Traveler. I have something else to tell you."
Yae Miko suddenly called out to stop the Traveler, who turned to look at her.
Yae Miko spoke seriously, "Do you remember the first time you entered the 'Plane of Euthymia'? You need to find a way to recreate that scene—before the Statue of the Omnipresent God, make the Raiden Shogun 'open her heart' again. If you can do that, an opportunity will surely arise."
The Traveler seemed to understand and nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best."
Yae Miko smiled and took out something that looked like a charm—or rather, it was a charm.
"Take this with you as a parting gift. It's an omamori from the Grand Narukami Shrine. They've always been very effective. I saved this one especially for you."
The Traveler nodded and accepted it. "Thank you. I'll treasure it."
"Ahaha, when you encounter a difficult crisis, take it out and look at it. The crisis might just resolve itself." Yae Miko chuckled lightly, as if joking. "Of course, you can also take it out when you miss me. Who knows? I might suddenly appear to see you."
Paimon couldn't help but sigh. "Don't tease the Traveler at a time like this, Miss Fox."
"Ahahaha... Sorry. Well, my foolish friend is in your hands now."
With these parting words, the Traveler and Paimon quickly left to catch up with Kujou Sara.
As the Traveler left, Yae Miko lowered her head and began to calculate.
"The timing is just right."
"La Signora of the Fatui is currently meeting with the Raiden Shogun due to the Fatui's recent troubles in Inazuma."
"Kokomi should have received the message by now. The resistance forces should be marching toward Narukami Island and will likely reach Tenshukaku (the Statue of the Omnipresent God) in time."
"Ye is currently blocking the entrance to the Asada Clan's estate. Even if Sen'emon gets the news, she'll be held back by Ye."
"Everything is going very smoothly. Almost too smoothly."
The only thing to worry about was whether the Traveler could successfully lure the Raiden Shogun to the Statue of the Omnipresent God. This would depend a bit on luck and whether La Signora would cooperate, but based on the timing, it shouldn't be a problem.
Even if there were issues, Yae Miko had a backup plan to ensure the Traveler's safety.
As for Ye, while it seemed like the most worrying part of the plan, Yae Miko wasn't actually concerned.
Yae Miko knew exactly how strong Sen'emon was. To be honest, though it might sound disrespectful to Ei, in Yae Miko's eyes, Sen'emon's strength might already surpass Ei's. If Ei didn't use her trump card, her chances of winning against Sen'emon wouldn't be great.
As for Ye... generally speaking, no one would believe that the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine could rival the power of the Seven Archons.
While the Supreme Bishop was rumored to have godlike strength, what truly made him famous wasn't his power but his intellect—the kind of intellect that could outmaneuver anyone, making them dance in the palm of his hand no matter how they struggled, only to realize their efforts were futile. That was what truly made the Supreme Bishop feared by the world.
Over the past five hundred years, it had become widely accepted that only those with absolute power could stand against the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine.
For example, the Geo Archon of Liyue could make the Supreme Bishop back down, and the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya could also make him yield... In short, in the eyes of the world, only beings on the level of the Seven Archons could counter the Supreme Bishop's mind.
At the same time, this also meant that, in the world's common understanding, the Supreme Bishop's power was inferior to that of the Geo Archon or the Raiden Shogun.
So, in Yae Miko's eyes, could Ye really hold his own against Sen'emon, who was stronger than the Raiden Shogun without her trump card?
—Only a fool would believe he couldn't.
Or, to put it another way, only a fool would believe the words of a man who had made lying and manipulation second nature.
Yae Miko had once been that fool, but she wasn't foolish enough to still believe it now.
That man claimed he wasn't good at combat, yet he effortlessly caught Sen'emon's "Soul Cleansing" barehanded.
That man claimed he wasn't skilled in swordsmanship, yet he could fight Sen'emon to a draw while controlling a puppet.
Sen'emon herself had said that she sensed a sword stronger than her own within the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine.
That woman, devoted to the sword, would never lie about such a thing.
Could the Supreme Bishop hold his own against Sen'emon?
Yae Miko never doubted it.
The most stable part of the entire plan was Ye's role.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Ei's situation was more critical, Yae Miko would have loved to see just how much of that man's true strength Sen'emon could draw out.
"Well, no rush. Once everything is settled, I can ask Sen'emon and find out."