This Narukami was a clone.
Reisen Riou had expected as much. In his mind, Raiden Makoto wasn't the type to sit through endless paperwork, but he'd follow protocol regardless. Disrespecting her clone would be a grave mistake.
How'd he know it was a clone? Simple—neither Torachiyo nor Raiden Ei was nearby, so it couldn't be the real Makoto.
"Present your report," the clone said.
"Here's the briefing, as discussed with Lady Narukami," Reisen Riou said, handing it over. "It covers the past month's affairs between the Tenryou, Kanjou, and Yashiro Commissions."
Makoto's clone flipped through the briefing.
Reisen Riou explained, "The first thirteen items are urgent—foreign visits and large-scale military movements needing prompt action. The next seventy-four are secondary, mostly civil security and local shrine youkai matters. The final fifty-five are minor, like Yashiro Commission festival requests and Tenryou patrol reports."
"Detailed documents are filed in the Fifth Scribe's Office, ready for review."
"Bring the third and fifth items," the clone said, not to him. A Tengu warrior appeared, placed the documents beside Makoto, and withdrew.
Nodding after review, the clone seemed satisfied. If Reisen Riou recalled, those were Liyue diplomatic escort requests.
"I've noted it. Here's how to handle them. Stamp and deliver to the Okuzume outside," Makoto said, producing a stack of documents.
Like Reisen Riou, she etched text with Electro sparks. Demon god speed, he thought, taking the papers to stamp.
Stamping was a trusted role, but amusingly, Makoto's processing took just over fifteen minutes, while his meticulous stamping—requiring precision to uphold Shogunate dignity—matched it. Each stamp had to be perfect, checked thoroughly.
He organized the documents and handed them to an Okuzume. They'd be copied, returned to the Fifth Scribe's Office, and archived in the Tenryou Commission's vast document warehouses.
Inazuma's clear governance shone under Makoto's oversight. Ei and youkai envoys rooted out corruption. Even the Tri-Commission played within rules. The Grand Narukami Shrine controlled faith, with junior mikos inspecting regions. Local magistrates and samurai had minor issues, but Inazuma's unity, backed by the Seven Nations, marked a golden age despite external threats.
…
Reisen Riou had no interest in bonding with mortal colleagues. As a long-lived youkai, he differed from the Shogunate's thirty enforcers, nearly hundred clerks, and five scribes. He was the newest, the Fifth Scribe.
The other four, elderly and from scribe-lineage families, were skilled but resistant to change. Their influence didn't touch the Fifth Scribe's Office, staffed with less-favored clerks from other offices.
Makoto's personal summons from Ritou signaled her dissatisfaction with their work. The old scribes knew the political weight of this.
Word of Reisen Riou's briefing format spread. His clerks, unbound by secrecy for such a simple concept, shared it. Unaware and unbothered, Reisen Riou knew the briefing wasn't why Makoto summoned him.
After work, he relaxed at the Yuna Hot Springs, then headed to his new Inazuma City fief—a private plot like the Yashiro Commission's Komore Teahouse, immune to Tenryou searches unless critical. Smaller than Komore, it had a house and a small courtyard, specially granted by Makoto, likely knowing his plans.
Day one, he put the courtyard to use.
"You two, buy bedding, tatami, and daily necessities at the market. I've got work here," he told his two enforcer escorts.
While they shopped, he began crafting a signal receiver and transmitter. To link with Ritou, it had to be big.
When the enforcers returned, a massive base stood in the courtyard. Reisen Riou, sprawled atop it, tweaked the machine, aligning and installing components.
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