"Rea, were you in Liyue before?"
"Yes, I was suddenly summoned by the Supreme Bishop... though I think the Supreme Bishop meant to summon my sister."
As they walked, Paimon asked Astrea, who replied in a soft voice.
"To pull you all the way from Liyue to Inazuma is incredible. You didn't even use a Teleport Waypoint."
"Although I didn't use a Teleport Waypoint, I do have a tracking mark."
Astrea explained, then turned around, pulling aside her cloak to show her back to the Traveler and Paimon.
On her snow-white back, a Hydro symbol tattoo caught their attention.
"This is the 'Mark of Justice,' personally engraved on me by the Supreme Bishop. This mark allows for tracking, and when combined with the Supreme Bishop's power, it can create a temporary spatial tunnel between him and me. The same applies to others with the 'Mark of Justice.'"
"Huh? But we went directly to Komore Teahouse earlier, right? There wasn't anyone with the 'Mark of Justice' there, was there?"
"The 'Mark of Justice' is mainly for tracking. In short, it allows the Supreme Bishop to summon us Knights of the Sacred Order to his side or come to us. Creating a spatial tunnel is part of the Supreme Bishop's own power—meaning if he's familiar with the destination's location, tracking isn't necessary."
Astrea let her cloak fall back into place and turned around, speaking in a hushed, secretive tone:
"Actually, besides the Supreme Bishop, Fanseti can do this too."
"Fanseti... Oh! I remember! The one who came to capture you last time, right?"
"Yes, her. Fanseti is very powerful."
"Um..." Paimon suddenly hesitated. "Rea... about you being a puppet made by Ye... maybe I shouldn't have asked?"
The Traveler couldn't help but facepalm at Paimon. If you knew you shouldn't ask, why bring it up? When will your emotional intelligence improve?
"It's okay. Actually... I don't really have anything to hide. It's just that explaining it is too complicated, so I never mentioned it. I should apologize for keeping it from you all this time. I'm sorry, Big Sister, Paimon."
"It's fine! These things are hard to talk about!" Paimon sighed in relief, then waved her hands frantically. "But it's still so unbelievable. You say you're a puppet, but both you and the Raiden Shogun look completely human... Oh, the Raiden Shogun is a god."
"..."
Astrea didn't know how to answer that. After some thought, she whispered:
"I don't really feel any difference between myself and humans."
"For us Knights of the Sacred Order, the Supreme Bishop isn't so much our creator as he is our 'father' or 'mother'—the one who brought us into this world."
"That's why everyone both fears and reveres him, but also loves him."
Paimon couldn't help but tease: "But you seem to only fear Ye."
"That's not true! I love asking the Supreme Bishop to tell me stories, and he really does act like a father, patiently telling them to me."
Astrea refuted, then lowered her head, looking dejected:
"But this time, I must have disappointed him greatly. The Supreme Bishop had high hopes for me, hoping I could become the Hydro Archon's guardian knight and take on the responsibility of protecting her, but..."
"I don't think that's your fault. Ye deliberately let you make mistakes, wanting to..." At this point, Paimon suddenly paused, then turned to the Traveler. "Why do I suddenly feel like we've been tricked by Ye all along? Could it be that everything happening in Inazuma has been under his control the whole time?"
"You only realized this now, my little Paimon!"
Elysia couldn't help but look at Paimon with pity during her livestream of this part of the story.
"Personality determines destiny. Whether human or god, your personalities have already determined your choices. So, as long as I understand your personalities and know your choices, I can naturally foresee your future."—A man who could say such things and, in practice, predict the future with godlike accuracy, was undoubtedly someone who could deceive others.
And this man didn't just deceive others—he even deceived himself.
Whether it was what he said or what he thought, not a single word from him could be trusted.
"That's why a man like the Supreme Bishop can only be handled by someone like me!"
"She still loves the Supreme Bishop so much."
"She still can't forget the Supreme Bishop."
"I hate to say it, but is this love? She's just lusting after the Supreme Bishop's body!"
"I'm lusting too. When will the Supreme Bishop finally be playable?"
"Such fickleness, always wanting more. Can't Sen'emon satisfy you all?"
"He can, he can! My only worry now is not having enough Primogems!"
"True, with Ayaka, Yoimiya, Sen'emon, and Kokomi, and now the Supreme Bishop and Raiden Shogun in version 2.2—MiHoYo is really going to drain us dry!"
"I don't care about that. I just want to declare war on Elysia. The Supreme Bishop is mine!!!"
"Hmph."
Elysia ignored the chat and continued happily pushing through the story.
The following part of the story was relatively uneventful.
First, the Traveler interrupted Paimon and Astrea's conversation, signaling them to hide as they eavesdropped on two Shogunate soldiers. Unsurprisingly, they were now wanted.
At the same time, they also got some information about the resistance.
After some trouble, they finally encountered a soldier from the resistance—or rather, the Sangonomiya resistance.
The soldier, Teppei, brought them to the resistance's general, Gorou.
Then, the Traveler presented the letter of recommendation Ye had given her. After reading it, Gorou allowed her to join the resistance.
—And so, the Traveler began her life as a resistance fighter.