After arriving at the Grand Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko gently set Zhong Baiye down.
She still wore that smiling expression as she spoke to him.
"All right, we're here. If you have any questions, ask them quickly. I have something urgent to attend to shortly."
At her words, Zhong Baiye recalled everything that had just happened. His questions were piling up one after another.
After a brief moment of thought, Zhong Baiye solemnly asked Yae Miko his first question.
"Can I go back down?"
What concerned Zhong Baiye most right now was how Keqing and Lumine were doing. If he could move around freely, he could go meet up with them.
Hearing his question, Yae Miko pointed at the shrine's gates.
"No. You can only move around inside the shrine. Don't even think about escaping, either. I've placed a barrier around this place. Even with your strength, you'd need at least ten minutes to break through it."
Her answer stirred no surprise in Zhong Baiye. If he really were free to go anywhere, Yae Miko would never have brought him here.
Seeing how troubled he looked, Yae Miko added another warning.
"You'd better stop thinking about escaping all the time. You should know I went to a great deal of trouble to get her to let you go. You'll be fine as long as you stay within the shrine grounds, but the moment you leave, she'll come straight over and drag you back."
Zhong Baiye knew that by "her," Yae Miko meant the Raiden Shogun. Yet even now, he still had no idea why the Raiden Shogun wanted to capture him.
He put that question to Yae Miko.
A playful look crossed her face when she heard it. Only after a long pause did she answer with a question of