Ei's Holding My Hand!

(A new book is here ovo)

(A place to leave your brains and underwear)

(I'm a novice author, so please don't flame me for writing badly qwq)

(If you enjoy it, could you follow me? qvq)

(Any strange-looking text is due to content review requirements)

(The plot of this book doesn't follow the original game's storyline. I just write whatever comes to mind.)

(To be clear upfront, this book is a derivative fan work, not the original. If you want the original characterizations, please leave. Thank you for your cooperation.)

(The beginning of this book may be rather rough because it's my first time writing one. Please bear with me qwq)

(Everyone in this book is an adult! Everyone in this book is an adult! Everyone in this book is an adult!)

"Drip."

The cool touch of a drop of water landing on his nose jolted Baichen awake. He instinctively reached for the phone beside his pillow, only to grab a handful of damp moss.

"What...?"

Baichen slowly opened his eyes, utterly bewildered by the sight before him.

The branches and leaves of towering ancient trees intertwined like a giant green umbrella, blocking out most of the sunlight.

Only a few scattered spots of light filtered through the gaps in the leaves and fell on the ground.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth, seemingly mingled with a kind of sweet floral fragrance. It felt both strange and familiar to him.

Baichen struggled to sit up, only then realizing that he was lying on a rock beside a stream.

The stream babbled along with a clear, pleasant sound, as though telling its story.

He looked down at himself. His pajamas were soaked through and clung tightly to his body, making him somewhat uncomfortable.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Baichen's right ankle, and he couldn't help sucking in a breath.

He carefully rolled up his pant leg and found a noticeable scrape on his right ankle, with tiny beads of blood seeping from it.

The skin around the wound was a little red and swollen. It looked like he had been injured only recently.

"How did I..."

Memories came flooding back.

The previous night, Baichen had been up all night in his dorm playing Genshin Impact, collecting Electroculi on the Inazuma map.

When his character touched the trickiest Electroculus at the top of Tenshukaku, the screen had suddenly erupted in a blinding purple light...

"Rumble-"

Thunder in the distance interrupted his thoughts.

Baichen looked up. Through gaps in the treetops, he could just make out a majestic city standing atop a distant mountain.

The familiar architecture sent a jolt through him: eaves decorated with the Electro Mitsudomoe, tier upon tier of vermilion torii gates, and the unmistakable Tenshukaku...

"Inazuma City?!"

His voice sounded especially jarring in the silent forest.

Almost at the same time, a dry branch snapped behind him.

"Who's there?"

Baichen instinctively turned and saw a purple figure standing in the shade of a tree ten paces away.

Long purple hair reaching her waist, a kimono embroidered with the Electro Mitsudomoe, and purple eyes that seemed to contain thunder itself...

"Ei... Raiden Shogun?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them a little.

But unexpectedly, she did not strike him down with divine punishment.

Her amethyst eyes narrowed slightly, as if stung by the morning sunlight, or perhaps as if she were sizing Baichen up.

There was an inscrutable look in those deep eyes, as though she were pondering something, or perhaps investigating.

Her gaze moved slowly, finally settling on Baichen's soaked pajamas and injured ankle.

In that instant, Baichen felt as though her gaze had pierced right through him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

"Outlander."

Her voice was even colder than it was in the game, each syllable seemingly carrying a faint electric current.

"Those who trespass into Inazuma shall be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts."

Cold sweat instantly soaked Baichen's back.

But the next second, she abruptly changed tack. "But you... bear no trace of elemental power."

She approached at a measured pace, her wooden sandals making almost no sound on the damp earth.

As she drew closer, Baichen noticed that she was even taller than he had imagined-at least 175 centimeters. He had to tilt his head up slightly to meet her eyes.

"Name."

"B-Baichen," he stammered.

"Baichen." She repeated it, as though savoring the sound of the name. "Where are you from?"

The moment she asked, Baichen froze.

He couldn't very well say, "I'm from another world. I don't know any of you," could he?

Just as Baichen was racking his brains for an answer, Ei suddenly reached out and grasped his chin.

Her glove was cool and soft, carrying a faint metallic scent.

"No Vision."

Her thumb brushed gently against his skin. "Interesting."

Suddenly!

[Ding! Love Treasure System activated!]

The sudden electronic voice exploded in Baichen's mind, nearly making him jump.

[Five-star character "Raiden Ei" detected. Initial quest issued]

[Raise Raiden Ei's affection to 10%. Reward: Electro resistance (beginner)]

[Current affection: 3% (interest stage)]

Baichen bit down hard on the tip of his tongue to keep from crying out. Ei seemed to notice something was wrong and tilted her head slightly. "What is it?"

"N-nothing!" He hurriedly shook his head. "My foot just hurts a little..."

The excuse was unexpectedly effective.

The Shogun's gaze fell on his bleeding ankle, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Tsk... troublesome."

She suddenly released his chin.

"Take my hand."

Baichen froze. Ei, the ruler of Inazuma, actually wanted to hold his hand?

"I do not like repeating myself."

Her voice grew colder, as though she would leave at once if he didn't respond the next second.

Trembling with apprehension, Baichen took her hand.

Up close, he smelled the faint scent of sandalwood in her hair, mingled with the distinctive scent of Electro.

"Hold tight."

Before he could react, the scenery around them suddenly blurred-Ei had used elemental teleportation!

Wind howled in his ears, and purple lightning flickered around them. In only a few seconds, they were standing in front of Tenshukaku in Inazuma City.

When the Okuzumeshuu guards saw the Shogun appear holding Baichen's hand, they were so shocked that they all fell to their knees and bowed, not daring to raise their heads.

"Inform Sangonomiya that today's meeting has been postponed."

With those words, Ei led Baichen straight through one portico after another.

Baichen secretly looked around. Tenshukaku's interior was far grander than in the game. Purple wisteria formed from Electro coiled around the towering pillars, and exquisite Electro lamps lined both sides of the corridors.

At last, she stopped outside a Japanese-style room and gently pushed the door open.

A low table stood in the center of the room, with several scrolls of documents spread across it.

A screen in the corner depicted Inazuma City amid a thunderstorm, and beside it was a tea set that looked expensive.

Ei led Baichen to a cushion, then knelt on another across from him.

She produced a medicine box from somewhere and deftly took out ointment and bandages.

"Foot."

Baichen obediently held out his injured right foot.

As Ei removed his slipper, he noticed that she had taken off her gloves. Her slender fingers were softer than he had imagined.

"Bear with it."

She applied a purple ointment to the wound, and a burning sting immediately shot through it.

Baichen sucked in a breath and instinctively tried to pull his foot back, but she held his ankle firmly.

"Don't move."

A faint purple light suddenly glimmered in her palm, and a tingling, numbing sensation replaced the pain.

Baichen watched in amazement as the wound scabbed over at a speed visible to the naked eye.

[Ei's affection +2%, current: 5%]

[Note: desire to care for a fragile creature]

"Th-thank you, Shogun," Baichen said, awestruck and apprehensive.

The Shogun didn't respond. She merely stared thoughtfully at his foot for a while before suddenly asking, "Did you fall from a height?"

"How did you know?"

"The way your ankle was sprained, and..." Her fingertip lightly touched a bruise on his lower leg. "The scrape marks here."

Baichen swallowed.

This ruler was more observant than he had imagined.

"I... I did end up like this because I fell from a height." That wasn't a lie.

Ei's gaze suddenly grew deep. "You survived those circumstances without a Vision. Your body... seems rather special."

As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, revealing a small patch of snow-white skin at her collar.

Baichen hurriedly looked away, only to hear a soft chuckle.

"Are you shy?" Her tone was somewhat teasing. "You dared to call me by name just now. And what about now?"

Baichen flushed red, unsure how to respond.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Shogun!" a familiar female voice called. "The Shogunate Army at the front..."

The sliding door was yanked open, and sure enough, Kujou Sara appeared in the doorway.

She was wearing her Tenryou Commission uniform, and the wings on her back had yet to fully fold away.

But when she saw the scene inside the room, her words came to an abrupt halt.

Baichen would never forget the expression on General Kujou's face at that moment: first shock, then confusion, and finally a complicated emotion that was difficult to describe.

"Who is this?" Her gaze swept back and forth between Baichen and the Shogun.

"Baichen," Ei answered calmly. "He is under my supervision for the time being."

Kujou opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to ask something. In the end, she decided to report the military situation first. "Shogun, the Shogunate Army was ambushed by the Resistance on Yashiori Island. We lost three warships."

Ei's expression instantly turned cold.

She rose, Electro stirring restlessly around her. "Prepare a ship. I will go personally."

"And him...?" Kujou looked at Baichen.

The Shogun pondered for a moment, then suddenly took a purple token from her waist and tossed it in front of him. "You may move freely within Tenshukaku. If you dare to run..." She didn't finish, but the Electro crackling in the air had already made the consequences clear.

[Raiden Shogun's affection +1%, current: 6%]

[Note: perhaps preliminary trust has been gained]

With a flash of lightning, Ei and Kujou vanished at the same time.

Baichen let out a long breath, only then realizing that his back was now completely drenched.

He carefully picked up the token from the floor. It was engraved with the Electro Mitsudomoe and felt heavy in his hand.

Just then, the system's electronic notification sounded once again:

[New quest detected: explore Tenshukaku (0/3)]

[Reward: mastery of the Inazuman dialect]

Baichen struggled to his feet. His ankle didn't hurt much anymore.

He pushed open the sliding door to find a long corridor outside.

The shadows of patrolling Okuzumeshuu fell across the paper doors on either side, but when they saw the token in his hand, they all bowed respectfully and stepped aside.

Tenshukaku was even larger than he had imagined.

After rounding several corridors, Baichen came to a terrace.

From here, he could look out over all of Inazuma City. Vermilion torii gates rose in tiers along the mountainside, Ritou was faintly visible in the distance, and farther still lay a stretch of sea shrouded in thunderstorms.

"Is this your first time seeing a view like this?"

The sudden voice made him jump. He turned to see a shrine maiden wearing a fox mask standing behind him. He hadn't noticed when she had arrived.

"Yae Miko?" he asked tentatively.

She chuckled and removed her mask, revealing long pink hair, sly foxlike eyes, and her unmistakable Kagura's Verity.

"Oh my, you know who I am, little one~" Yae Miko tilted her head as she studied him. "Do you know that the Shogun never brings people to Tenshukaku, much less a man...?"

Her gaze suddenly fell on the token in Baichen's hand, and her pupils contracted slightly. "She even gave you the 'Electro Sigil'? Interesting."

[Five-star character "Yae Miko" detected]

[Initial affection: 2% (curiosity stage)]

Miko suddenly leaned closer and sniffed gently at his neck. "No scent of a Vision, yet there are traces of travel through time and space... Little one, where did you come from?"

Baichen froze on the spot. The tip of her nose was almost touching his skin, and her breath carried the sweet fragrance of sakura.

"I..." He was suddenly at a loss.

"Never mind. It's all right if you don't tell me now." Miko suddenly stepped back and winked mischievously. "We'll definitely see each other again anyway."

She turned to leave, then looked back as if she had suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. I'd advise you not to go to the library on the west side, no matter what~ The Shogun placed a barrier there, and if anyone trespasses... Pop!" She mimed an explosion at him, then turned and left.

[Yae Miko's affection +1%, current: 3%]

[Note: Interested in an amusing toy]

After Miko left, Baichen continued exploring the place.

In the kitchen, an old woman warmly pressed a skewer of tricolor dango into his hand; in the courtyard, he nearly ran into a squad of Okuzumeshuu who were training.

Finally, he came to a secluded little courtyard filled with purple Electro flowers.

"So this is where you are."

The familiar voice made Baichen shudder.

He turned around and saw that Ei had returned without his noticing. The hem of her kimono was still slightly damp.

"The fighting... is it over?" he asked cautiously.

"A mere handful of Resistance fighters are nothing to worry about," she said lightly. Her gaze fell on the tricolor dango in Baichen's hand. "Do you like sweets?"

Baichen nodded and, on an impulse, held out the skewer in his hand to her. "Would you like to try one?"

Ei was visibly taken aback.

Just as he was regretting his rashness, she actually lowered her head slightly and bit one of the dumplings off the skewer in his hand.

Her soft lips brushed his fingertips by accident, sending a tingling jolt through him.

"... Passable."

[Ei's affection +3%, current: 9%]

[Note: Acceptance of the gesture]

The last rays of the setting sun cast a golden outline along her profile, and emotions Baichen couldn't understand flickered in her purple eyes.

At that moment, he vaguely felt that this lofty deity seemed to possess a trace of human warmth as well.

"You'll stay in the side hall tonight." Ei turned and left, her voice drifting away on the evening breeze.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet someone."