While people had arrived, the real challenges were just beginning.
Things like establishing a monetary system… and converting Miori Shiba's family fortune into the currency of this new world.
All of that gave Takumi a headache.
Right now, he sincerely wished he could borrow a few capable individuals to help.
Thinking of that, Takumi turned to the group chat and called out to Zhongli.
Takumi:
\[@Zhongli, old man, lend me Ganyu for a while\~!]
He wanted Ganyu—the efficient and reliable secretary of the Liyue Qixing.
If she helped out, Takumi believed things would go much smoother.
Zhongli, who was still sipping tea at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and hadn't gone to bed, blinked when he saw the message.
Zhongli:
\[Ganyu?]
\[That shouldn't be a problem.]
\[But you'll have to provide the cost yourself.]
\[I can help bring her over.]
\[In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing your world myself.]
He was curious about what kind of world Takumi had built.
A personal inspection, if you will.
What had become of that world?
Takumi checked his remaining credits.
He still had one "World Travel Talisman" worth of funds left.
After a brief moment of consideration, he agreed.
Takumi:
\[Sure!]
\[You go ahead and arrange it. No objections here.]
\[Just let me know when you're coming.]
Zhongli's visit would need coordination—after all, Ganyu was always busy, possibly working overtime at that very moment.
Zhongli:
\[Wonderful\~!]
\[Mind if I bring a few old friends along too?]
If he was going, might as well bring a whole entourage.
Maybe even the other Adepti.
Takumi:
\[No problem!]
\[You're always welcome!]
\[You could even bring Hu Tao if you wanted!!]
The more, the merrier. Why would Takumi refuse?
Zhongli:
\[Let's leave Hu Tao out of this…]
\[She's working on a huge contract right now.]
There was no way he'd bring her along.
If she found out about his real identity, things would get complicated.
So Zhongli shut that idea down immediately.
The two agreed on the plan.
Fujwara Chika:
\[I wanna come too! But I'm broke!!]
Sagiri:
\[Me too!! No credits either.]
Akeno:
\[If possible, I'd love to visit as well.]
Everyone in the group seemed interested in checking out Takumi's world.
His world openly welcomed people from other universes.
If they ever found themselves without a place to stay, they could always go live with Takumi.
That alone made them curious.
Though no one was considering full-on immigration just yet.
Unlike Miori Shiba, who came from a post-apocalyptic world, they had no real pressure to relocate.
Miori Shiba:
\[Mr. Zhongli is coming?]
\[Welcome, welcome\~!]
Soaking in a bath, Miori Shiba checked the chat.
Surprised by the discussion, she quickly chimed in.
So Takumi was bringing in Zhongli to help set up a proper system?
And Ganyu?
Seeing the chat history, she understood immediately.
If it was Ganyu, there'd be no problem at all.
If Takumi could get the entire Liyue Qixing, that'd be even better.
They chatted for a while until midnight, then all signed in and logged off for the night.
Takumi also went to bed.
Meanwhile, Zhongli sent messages to the other Adepti to prepare for a cross-world trip.
He told Granny Ping to bring the Teapot and planned to appear in Ganyu's dream later to grant her a short vacation.
She was likely still working overtime, so it'd have to wait until she slept.
Whether or not he slept himself didn't matter.
Zhongli often drank tea alone through the night, reminiscing.
Or he'd wait until Hu Tao came home.
It had become his routine.
Ganyu would probably fall asleep around 3 or 4 AM.
Everything was in order.
...
After signing in, Takumi went to bed.
The next day, after having lunch with Miori Shiba and the others, he took them into the city.
"Let's take a little tour. Get familiar with the place."
"Soon, some people will arrive to help us build out the administrative system."
"When that happens, Holy Empress, I'll be relying on you."
The Holy Empress twitched at his words.
So this was why she'd been brought here— to manage the city?
How helpless.
But she had no choice now.
Hopefully, her abilities would prove useful.
Though inwardly nervous, she said nothing.
Kisara and Kayo remained silent too, simply walking behind Takumi and taking in the new world with curiosity.
No signs of Gastrea.
"So… did you already wipe out all the beasts in this world?"
Miori Shiba asked, interested.
She was genuinely curious.
Had Takumi already destroyed the monsters responsible for humanity's downfall?
Kayo and the Holy Empress perked up.
Beasts? This world had those?
"Pretty much."
"Most of them were converted into Honkai beasts."
"The ones still roaming the wild aren't dangerous."
"The cursed children could easily handle them, even two or three at a time."
"I didn't convert all of them, though. I left some behind for training."
He explained the situation plainly.
The remaining monsters weren't a threat.
They could even be used as food.
Miori Shiba nodded thoughtfully.
"That's actually great."
"We could assign people to hunt them down regularly."
"You said the meat is edible, right?"
"Wasn't the porridge we had this morning made from beast meat?"
"I feel like my psychic energy even went up a bit."
Their breakfast had included meat porridge.
Where had the meat come from?
Obviously, the beasts.
It wasn't like Takumi could summon meat from thin air.
"Exactly."
"If you're interested, go ahead and hunt them."
"Once our systems are in place, people will need to find ways to earn money anyway."
"By the way, about your gold— we'll need to convert it into this world's currency."
"I'm planning to issue you ID cards."
"Integrated identity and bank cards."
"With just a smartphone, you'll be able to access everything."
"The new currency will be backed by gold."
Takumi began laying out the plan he had brainstormed the previous night.
It was finally time to bring it to life.