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Chapter 100: The Supreme Bishop: It’s a Secret
🕑 Added 2025-04-11 04:00:12 +0000 UTCAfter activating the Statue of the Seven, Elysia continued with the main quest, following Thoma to the inspection station for registration and then to the Foreign Affairs Agency to complete her residency procedures.
"This is so shady!"
Seeing the "processing fee" drop from 2 million Mora to 400,000, and then to a mere 600 Mora after a few words from Thoma, Elysia immediately caught on.
"This quest perfectly showcases the corruption in Inazuma right now!"
Sure enough, Thoma soon revealed that the so-called "processing fee" was entirely a private scheme by the Foreign Affairs Agency. No matter how much was paid, it would end up in the pockets of the inspectors—it was just a matter of how much they could squeeze out.
The problems in Inazuma aren’t just due to the Raiden Shogun’s isolation decree. Her governance is a complete mess!
Elysia shook her head.
The fact that such blatant corruption went unchecked spoke volumes about Inazuma’s current political environment. The Kanjou Commission, Inazuma’s main administrative body responsible for finance, was likely rotten to the core.
Could things really deteriorate this badly in just a few years of isolation?
No, this wasn’t an overnight issue. Inazuma had already been sinking into the mire long before the isolation decree.
If this were a mortal nation instead of a god-ruled one, such conditions would be a clear sign of impending collapse.
The gods watch over all—but in Inazuma, many in the upper echelons seem to have lost their reverence for the divine.
Or, to be more accurate, it wasn’t that they’d lost their reverence for the Raiden Shogun—no one in Inazuma could afford to disrespect her.
But the Raiden Shogun didn’t care about such trivial matters—and this mindset had undoubtedly spread among Inazuma’s ruling class.
If the Raiden Shogun had simply remained a lofty deity, exerting her divine authority while leaving governance to mortals like in Mondstadt and Liyue, Inazuma would be in a far better state.
Doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing—what a classic example of a foolish ruler!
Though Elysia thought this, she didn’t voice her criticism. After all, this was the character’s established personality, and it was necessary for the story. Even without knowing the plot, Elysia understood that if the Raiden Shogun weren’t like this, the upcoming events in Inazuma wouldn’t happen.
Character serves the story, and the story serves the character—this was only natural.
When faced with such a character, one shouldn’t focus solely on her flaws but also appreciate her strengths. For example… what’s the big deal if such a beautiful and adorable girl makes a few mistakes? Huh? What’s the big deal?
A beautiful and adorable girl can be forgiven for anything!
Other details don’t matter—beauty is enough.
Recalling the scene in the PV where the Raiden Shogun drew her sword from her chest, Elysia’s urge to criticize vanished, replaced by sheer admiration.
This model is based on Mei, and she’s even voiced by Mei. In other words, this is Mei drawing a sword from her chest—slurp!
Just thinking about it made Elysia feel like drooling.
Fortunately, she remembered she was live-streaming and quickly refocused, continuing to push the story forward. Following Thoma’s instructions, she headed to the International Trade Association to help them resolve their issues, hoping to gain a way to meet the Raiden Shogun through Thoma’s connections.
Turning a corner, Elysia found Kurisu, the head of the association.
Kurisu: "Oh? Friend, are you here seeking the protection of the International Trade Association? Did the Foreign Affairs Agency bleed you dry?"
Lumine: "Luckily, I have friends."
Kurisu: "That’s good, that’s good. Sigh… Just don’t lose all your capital right away."
Paimon: "Is the association facing any difficulties lately?"
Kurisu: "Difficulties? Sigh… Caught between a rock and a hard place, hitting walls everywhere—we’ve gotten used to it."
Paimon: "The isolation decree has really made things tough for everyone from abroad."
Kurisu: "The root of the problem isn’t the isolation decree. Even with restricted movement, life could still be manageable. What’s truly squeezing us foreign merchants dry is… the Kanjou Commission’s profit-driven schemes!"
Paimon: "Hmm, that’s the commission managing Ritou, right? I remember."
Kurisu: "Exactly. Exorbitant taxes, unreasonable regulations—those aren’t even the worst of it. Recently, a new tax law was enacted, requiring taxes to be paid not in Mora but in a material called ‘Crystal Marrow.’"
Paimon: "Crystal Marrow…?"
Kurisu: "Before the law was announced, most merchants in the association hadn’t even heard of this material. It wasn’t until an old merchant from Liyue identified it as something he’d transported to Snezhnaya in his youth."
Kurisu: "Reluctantly, everyone scrambled to gather Crystal Marrow and paid it as taxes."
Kurisu: "But later, we realized this was just a stopgap. As the demand for Crystal Marrow grew, so did its price…"
Kurisu: "Until eventually, only one merchant had any stock left, and it became impossible to buy elsewhere…"
Paimon: "Hmm… Usually, this kind of situation is called a monopoly, right?"
Kurisu: "You’re quite knowledgeable. That merchant kept raising prices, but under the pressure of the law, we had no choice but to buy… The vicious cycle has pushed taxes to the point where they’re almost exceeding our profits… If this continues…"
"The root cause is still the isolation decree," Elysia explained to her viewers. "If such unreasonable laws had been enacted before the decree, these foreign merchants—and even domestic ones—would have fled to other nations. But under the isolation decree, they’re trapped in Inazuma, forced to endure this tyranny."
As she spoke, Elysia glanced at the dialogue options.
『This is outrageous.』
『What if we negotiate with the Kanjou Commission…』
Elysia thought for a moment and chose the second option. The first seemed like mere venting and wouldn’t yield useful information, while the second… Well, aside from Hangout Events, Genshin Impact’s dialogue choices rarely mattered anyway.
Kurisu: "We’ve tried negotiating with the Kanjou Commission about the law… But in this land of thunder, who would listen to the cries of merchants in dire straits?"
Kurisu: "Sigh… In this foreign land, even the Hydro Archon cannot protect us!"
Lumine: "The Hydro Archon? Are you from Fontaine?"
Kurisu: "Sigh… If we were in Fontaine, under the Supreme Bishop’s governance, no one would dare pull such stunts! But alas… If only we were in Sumeru. But this is the land of the Raiden Shogun. Even the Supreme Bishop cannot intervene from thousands of miles away."
—The moment Kurisu finished speaking, a cutscene suddenly played.
At the same time, a voice that didn’t belong to any of the three present interjected.
"One should always hold onto hope and have a little more faith in your Supreme Bishop. Who says he can’t intervene in Inazuma from thousands of miles away?"
Lumine, Paimon, and Kurisu instinctively turned toward the voice, and the camera followed.
A black-haired man in luxurious robes slowly ascended the steps.
Seeing him, Paimon shrank back in fear. "Ah! It’s you!?"
Lumine took a step back, raising her hands defensively, her expression wary.
Kurisu, on the other hand, looked both shocked and overjoyed. "You… you… the… the… Supreme—"
"Shh…!"
The man—the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine—raised a finger to his lips, silencing Kurisu with a gentle smile.
"It’s a secret."
