After taking a shower, I stepped out of the bathroom and began to get dressed. I had never worn a kimono before, so Ei had to guide me, telling me the order and how I was supposed to put it on. Even though it was uncomfortable knowing I was being watched the entire time, it was something I could tolerate. Still, the process felt endless.

“How can a single piece of clothing have so many layers?!”

I exclaimed at some point, frustrated. I felt Ei’s long, heavy sigh echo in my mind as I followed her instructions to braid my hair. My hand–eye coordination was so poor that I felt like an old woman trying to thread a needle.

Finally, after what felt like centuries, I finished the whole process. I stood up and let out a sigh of relief.

“Finally!”

I said after spending almost two hours trying to make a simple braid.

“…I’ll keep my opinion about your motor coordination to myself.”

Ei commented in her neutral tone, though it was obvious she was struggling not to laugh.

“Please do.”

I replied, rolling my eyes before opening the door and stepping into the hallway. The heels felt strange to me, and with this new body—which was already quite tall on its own—I felt as if I were walking on stilts. With every step, I felt clumsier. God, Ei, you’re basically a giraffe, I thought.

“…I advise you to refrain from comments like that. I can sense what you’re thinking.”

Ei’s indifferent voice echoed in my mind.

I sighed heavily. “Great… on top of being a constant camera, you’re also a thought recorder. This just keeps getting worse.”

I thought as I walked through the long corridors of that unfamiliar place.

“Now turn right.”

Ei instructed, guiding me step by step.

“You know? You remind me of a GPS now.”

I commented with a small sigh, turning the corner to the right as she had told me.

“What is a GPS?”

Ei asked, to which I simply sighed.

“Nothing, forget it.”

I replied, not in the mood to explain the technology of my world.

I kept walking until I reached what looked like a main hall. As I stepped out into it, a man who looked like a samurai saw me and, with a deep bow, asked:

“Oh, almighty Shogun, what has led you to leave your residence?”

I froze, my mind completely blank. I had no idea what to say.

“Repeat after me, child: I have stepped out due to a confidential matter. Because of this and other external factors, I am heading to the Grand Narukami Shrine.”

Ei said indifferently in my mind, giving me instructions with calm firmness.

I took a deep breath and tried to make my voice as serious and detached as I could, though I ended up stuttering slightly:

“I-I have stepped out due to a c-confidential matter. Uh… because of this and other things, I am heading to the Grand Narukami Shrine.”

In my mind, I heard something like a dull thud, as if Ei had facepalmed. The samurai looked at me with a mix of confusion and concern.

“Shogun, are you feeling well? You’re stuttering.”

I panicked internally, but I tried to keep my composure.

“Yes, yes. My mind… is elsewhere. I apologize.”

I said quickly, with a nervous smile, trying to hide my unease.

The guard nodded slowly. He looked even more confused now, still wearing a somewhat perplexed expression, but he said nothing else. I walked away as Ei sighed in my mind.

“By the Archons—no, by my divinity—I don’t know how he believed you.”

I laughed softly, more out of nerves than anything else, and kept walking. This had only just begun, and already I felt like I was walking on a tightrope.