A misunderstood person

I don't need to answer to him. Even if I'm technically a civilian, I'm still from the Shrine.

But when Ei looked at me, I answered.

"No. A few people refused to surrender it, and obviously, I'm not going to go to the Resistance to get instantly pierced by their arrows" I seriously replied.

"Then the Tenryou Commission will collect the rest" Ei ordered, and I received her unvoiced dismissal.

"What are you going to do with the few merchants here?" ignoring her dismissal, I asked her.

"What do you mean?" she calmly asked.

"When you so genially locked the nation, which was amazing by the way, the few merchants stupid enough to come to Inazuma were unable to go back and I don't think that's a good idea. As I told you, I don't know who will win, but your clash with an angry dragon will kill all of us powerless humans" I explained with a few thorns in my words.

Ei looked pensive at that, and I suddenly got scared.

I don't think she is stupid or suicidal, but why is she thinking about something this obvious? You can only let them leave.

"I will make the storm stop for a few days for them to go back to their nations" she finally said and I let out a relieved sigh, one that earned her displeasure.

"And what about the people who want to leave?" I asked again before she could kick me out.

"People want to leave?" she asked calmly, but I felt her confusion and pain. 

Maybe she thought that people were not trusting her orders, or she felt that people were abandoning her.

As much as I think that there is an error in communication here between her and the people, there is not much I can do now.

"Did you think they wouldn't want to?" I asked back with a sigh. I think she is just oblivious to how normal people think.

"How many people want to leave?" she asked, and I could feel her nervousness despite her impassible exterior.

"I don't know" I said with a tired expression. "But a lot".

"How many?" she asked again.

"From what I've seen, a lot of businesses who won't be able to make a living without exporting, a lot of people who don't trust the Tenryou Commission and the Fatuis, a lot of people who are indignant about the Decrees, a lot of people who are scared of the future, and a lot of people who are convinced by their family" I explained. That was the feeling I got during the past hours of speaking with people.

"How many?" she repeated, and I could feel clearly her sadness with my answer.

"Almost half" I regretfully said.

"Absolutely not!" shouted the leader of the Kanjou Commission.

The Kanjou Commission manages not only money but also food and commerce in general. Losing half of our population is going to cripple Inazuma, in a few years, we will starve.

"We can't let that amount of people leave Inazuma!" he shouted again.

"Maybe I could use this moment to say something" Ayato spoke with a blank look. "The Yashiro Commission is going to buy some things for the Festival next month. We don't have a lot of people, so with great sacrifice on our part, my mother and sister will leave for Liyue to buy those things".

"And I don't think they will come back" darkly said Kujou Takayuki, Sara's adoptive father and the leader of the Kujou Clan.

"Of course they will, they need to bring back the ornaments and materials for the Festival, but it will take them a few weeks to buy anything at a good price, we are going to need every single Mora after all. I can only hope the storm is still being stopped by then" Ayato replied with a bored look.

Of course, if the storm hasn't started again, Aunt Kayo and Ayaka will 'miraculously' lose a deal because the merchant 'betrayed' them, so they will need to look for another one.

Putting it simply, they won't come back.

And everybody in this room realized it, but they couldn't say anything. How the Yashiro Commission manages the festivals is their authority, and they can't speak. It's fun because it's the only thing the Yashiro Commission can do.

The only one who can speak about it is too distracted right now.

"What will you do?" I asked the Shogun. Depending on her answer, I will need to contact the Resistance or not.

But she didn't answer, and I could feel her inner conflict. If those people leave, Inazuma will slowly die, but she doesn't want to imprison her own people here.

She stood there thinking for a while, and nobody spoke. Ayato had the same bored look, his family was going to leave safely no matter what the Shogun said now.

"How many people can we afford to allow to leave?" she asked to the Kanjou Commission.

"Around 50" he answered without hesitation.

"Lie" I said, using the same word I have been using in this room for years.

Ei looked at me in surprise, and later at the Kanjou leader with narrowed eyes. When she was controlling the body things got a lot more difficult for these bastards.

"M-Maybe 100" the liar said with a trembling voice.

"What will you do with the other 1700?" I asked. Narukami had around 3500 people, and around 1800 wanted to leave, that's more than half.

And 400 of the 1700 people who stayed were from the army, leaving 1300 civilians who will stay.

And with my ability, I could see that around 200 were too angry to be normal. They will probably leave for the Resistance, leaving 1100 civilians in the city.

Around 200 were children and elderly people who won't be able to work, which leaves 900 citizens capable of supporting the country.

From 3100 to 900. Now tell me how were we going to survive? Not even a third will remain.

And I don't know how those 900 will react once the food starts to run out. Maybe they will try to leave, maybe they will go to the Resistance, or maybe they will just keep working.

Summarizing, we are fucked.

"100 people...." Ei muttered, pondering about something.

"There are more than 150 children there, how will you-"

"Inazuma is not a warzone that needs to be evacuated" she sharply interrupted me.

I raised my hands in surrender with a sigh.

"Then how will you choose those 100? The rest are not going to be happy. They may even revolt" they won't, because I will take them out of Inazuma.

She fell silent, and Takayuki, the Kujou head and the leader of the Tenryou Commission spoke. 

"The army will return to Narukami to suppress any threats to our nation" he proudly said.

"You must be confused because the Army is not under your jurisdiction" I couldn't speak like this anymore as I wasn't a part of the ruling people, but Ayato picked up the ball for me. "That's your adopted daughter's role, and despite your relation the General has an independent authority. At least it should be" he added with a smirk.

"Don't worry about that, the Army will act always in the interest of Inazuma" Sara coldly said looking at Ayato.

Even if she was a very serious person, I knew how much she respected her father, and that adoration may be influencing her decisions, even if she doesn't realize it.

"Then unleash the army on civilians, I'm sure the people will thank you for it" Ayato scoffed.

What the hell Ayato, you changed too much. The once gentle and cunning Ayato has turned into this caustic and sarcastic man.

I like it.

Sara couldn't answer that, she was going to do it after all. She probably knows how fucked up it is, but she needs to obey the Shogun.

"What do you suggest?" the Shogun asked with a frown at the leader of the Kanjou Commission. She didn't forget that he just lied to her.

"Maybe send the people who can't work, that way we will minimize our losses" he nervously answered.

The Shogun nodded and was about to speak when I interrupted her.

"So you send elderly people and children in the end" I nodded sagely and Ei looked at me with narrowed eyes. "And you will send them alone to another country, alone without their families to support them. What is a child going to do when he arrives at Liyue?".

This only confirms my suspicions about Ei. In a war, you send away the people who can't fight, and that is the correct choice and there are no children in the war, so all people sent back are adults who will return to their homes.

But now we are not in a war, so people who leave won't return to their homes but to a strange place.

Ei is a Commander or a General, whatever you want to call it, but not a ruler.

"That..." the Kanjou head couldn't answer. Even he realizes how stupid it is.

"Suggestions" said the Shogun out loud.

"Don't let anyone leave, we will protect them like we have always done, and with time they will realize that they are safe here and that the Decrees are the best for them" said Takayuki slowly.

"That's not your choice. They will think what they want, not what you tell them to think. We have no right to imprison them here, as they will not be citizens but prisoners. And a country of prisoners is not what Inazuma is supposed to be. I propose to let anyone who wants to leave do just that. If we have to starve because of it is because we failed as rulers" said Ayato disinterestedly. He realizes that what he thinks doesn't matter after all.

"I think we should explain to them what the Decrees are, and how we are trying to make the country better. And after that, we should let them leave if they want. But I will obey your Excellency's decisions" added Sara with a determined look. I think her proposition is the most sensible one but is doomed to fail.

I of course stood silent, it was not my job anymore.

The Shogun turned to me, and I don't know what she saw on my face because she frowned.

"What do you think?" she asked tersely.

"That Kujou's suggestion is tyranny, Hiiragi's suggestion is non-viable, Ayato's is the correct one from an ethical point of view but also non-viable for the nation, and Sara's is the most sensible one" I replied honestly.

"Then why are you wearing that bored look" she sharply said.

I didn't even realize I had that expression. Maybe I should be thankful that's all my face is showing.

"Because Sara's suggestion will end up with the same result. People have already seen how I had to collect Visions, and how sad and devastated the Vision bearers were. They know that the Sakoku Decree is pure madness and that we won't have money to eat. People smell bullshit, and they don't trust the Shogunate. Maybe if you personally make an appearance a few of them sill stay out of pure respect and adoration, but around a thousand will still leave" I explain.

"And even then, the rest will have doubts. When food starts to run out, they will be furious about the lies the Shogun herself said, and that will make matters even worse. Honestly, all I see is a dark future ahead, because of starvation or because there will be no people here" I concluded.

"They will not be hungry, we have a deal with the Fatui" the leader of the Kanjou Commission said sharply after hearing me.

"A one-sided deal that they will be able to take back whenever they want. A deal they may use to put a leash around our neck. A deal that will make the rest of nations wary of us who are collaborating with criminals. That deal?" I asked with a raised eyebrow at the dumbass who thought the Fatui were trustful.

We fell silent as the Shogun thought.

I'm trying to think from the viewpoint of a General to understand her, but it's not going well. I have no idea of military tactics.

But what I know is that no matter what she chooses, it's going to be a bad one. There are no good options after all.

"What do you suggest?" I could feel her pride taking a hit.

She needed to ask a person she had fired up because of her own inability.

Maybe it's not about that, but it's a fact that she was asking someone who didn't belong to the ruling body, a citizen for all intents and purposes, how to govern the nation.

"I can offer a few suggestions" I said with a nod.

"If it's not going to be an insult, speak" she said with a warning voice. She is probably still pissed off about my Eternity Decree.

"First, avoid the need to choose" I said raising one finger. "Abolish the Decrees, that way there will be no problem".

She didn't speak, and I took that as a no.

"Second, alter them or abolish some. The Vision Hunt Decree is making people extremely angry, while the Sakoku Decree is scaring the cultured people who know about our economic situation, the majority of the population still don't know how it will impact the future. With my company and those criminals we now have a deal with, we may keep the boat afloat". She was still not speaking, making me sigh.

"Third, you face this decision head-on. Inazuma will lose no matter what, it only matters how much. I would personally choose Ayato's suggestion. If people wanted to leave, it was the ruler's fault for not being able to care about their subjects. If you don't find that idea agreeable, I would pick Sara's. If even then you don't find it a good idea, Hiiragi's suggestion, while moronic, is the least bad among the remaining ones as leaving some people is better than none. And I would choose to raze Inazuma to the ground before taking Kujou's suggestion, his idea in nothing more than tyranny"

I said everything I had to say, now the only thing we need to do is to wait and see how deep the blade is going to cut us.

Minutes passed in silence, and nobody talked, we just waited for the Shogun to make the decision.

While the rest were anxiously waiting, except Ayato who didn't care, I was observing the Shogun's soul.

I could feel her anguish and confusion, probably at being forced to make this choice. I'm sure for her this is a situation she didn't understand. Why are my people leaving my nation?

I only want to protect them, and confiscating Visions is the best way, why are they escaping?

It's honestly heart-breaking seeing how Ei's good intentions are repaid like this, but her choices are not.....the best ones.

If I had to compare it, it's almost as if you were chilling in the sun, and a soldier comes up to you and says 'Duel me or die'. Yes, exactly like that.

The Shogun wouldn't feel confused by that. She was a warrior, so she would answer the challenge without any trouble. But normal people would think 'What the hell is wrong with this guy'.

That's the situation the Shogun was in now. She doesn't understand how she arrived here.

But Ei's personal traits are eliminating any chance of us helping her understand it. She is too stubborn, and she won't listen to anybody, not even Yae.

So the more time passes, the deeper she is sinking not knowing why, and the more stubborn she gets.

It's pure madness, and the worst part is that the people are suffering because of it.

It's a ridiculous situation where nobody is at fault.

Ei is trying her best but she doesn't understand the people.

The people don't understand Ei, and they are suffering because of the Decrees so they are not even trying to.

Well, maybe the Fatuis and these bastards are at fault.