"Greetings, Knight King."
"I was sent by Lady Ningguang to invite you to attend Liyue's annual Rite of Descension."
"It will be held one week from now."
The visitor bowed deeply in respect.
Rite of Descension?
Right, it was almost time for that festival.
In the original plot, after resolving the dragon disaster in record time, the Traveler had rushed straight to Liyue to attend the Rite of Descension.
Only a handful of days passed in between—at most, it had been under a week, or at the very longest, a month.
So Ningguang inviting him to Liyue now to attend the Rite of Descension made perfect sense.
Rowan nodded and accepted the invitation.
Only then did the envoy leave the palace in high spirits.
"My king, are we really going to Liyue?"
"It seems like this is the first time Liyue has invited us to the Rite of Descension, isn't it?"
Seamus hesitated. Something like this had no precedent.
What exactly was Liyue aiming for, inviting Rowan to attend their Rite of Descension?
This was something that needed careful thought.
"There's no need to overthink it. They're probably looking to deepen our cooperation, that's all."
"Right now Mondstadt is changing with each passing day, and no one understands our development better than Liyue."
"Wanting to continue working with us is perfectly normal."
"Don't make such a fuss."
Rowan waved his hand, completely unconcerned.
He understood Liyue's way of doing things better than anyone.
If others did not offend them, they would not offend others.
If someone did cross the line, Liyue would pay them back a hundredfold.
At present, Mondstadt and Liyue were in a honeymoon phase.
Inviting the Knight King to attend the Rite of Descension as an honored guest was nothing strange.
What Ningguang could never have predicted, however, was that the Geo Archon would fake his death during this very Rite of Descension—
turning the grand ceremony into an all-out battlefield.
"Seamus, is the power grid in Mondstadt City fully rolled out yet?"
"Once it's ready, extend it to Springvale."
Rather than worrying about what Liyue might do, Rowan felt it was better to settle Springvale's affairs first—
especially the issue of selling their fresh meat.
At this point, the amount of fresh meat in Springvale had grown so large they were struggling to sell it all.
"Understood."
Seamus could hear that Rowan didn't want him to keep harping on about Liyue, so he dropped the subject.
Rowan wasn't wrong either.
They hadn't even fully gotten their own house in order yet—what were they doing worrying about Liyue's plans?
With Rowan's current strength, even if Liyue did want to stir up trouble, there wasn't much they could actually pull off.
The likes of them fretting over that was pointless.
Thinking of Springvale made Rowan crave some of Diona's cocktails.
That little girl had been blessed by the spring fairy since childhood, gifted with a blessing that allowed her to create delicious drinks no matter how recklessly she mixed them.
Thanks to that blessing, Diona had become the signature bartender of the Cat's Tail tavern.
And because of it, her cocktails alone could rival the famed Angel's Share run by Diluc's family, Mondstadt's undisputed king of the wine trade.
Yet, for all that she was a renowned bartender, Diona hated drunkards.
Or rather, she despised people who drank themselves into a stupor.
Her greatest dream was to bring down Mondstadt's alcohol industry.
The reason was simple: in her eyes, alcohol had turned the father she once saw as brave and reliable into a useless drunk.
He had even nearly lost his life once because he messed up while drunk.
So Diona didn't hate alcohol itself.
She hated alcoholics.
They were two very different things.
Rowan would occasionally go to the Cat's Tail to drink the cocktails the little cat-girl mixed.
At first, Diona was quite hostile toward him.
But after seeing that he only drank a single glass before heading off to play a few rounds of Seven Saints Summoning, her opinion of him changed.
Later, when she learned who Rowan actually was, her attitude shifted a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
Because Rowan's reforms had made travel between Springvale and Mondstadt City much more convenient, the hunters of Springvale could get their game to market faster than ever before.
This had greatly improved Springvale's economy, and naturally, Diona came to like Rowan quite a bit—
especially since he didn't overindulge in alcohol, merely sipping enough to taste.
Seamus quickly finished his report and took his leave.
Rowan straightened his clothes, got changed, and left the palace.
He was planning to go take a look at Springvale.
At that moment, on the outskirts of Springvale…
A blue-haired young girl and Lumine were lying side by side in a thicket, spying on a herd of forest boars in the woods, their mouths practically watering.
The girl's eyes were shining, and drool was practically dripping from the corner of her lips.
Lumine couldn't help feeling speechless.
Just how long had it been since this girl had eaten anything good?
She was so hungry that even an uncooked boar was making her drool.
She was practically more Paimon than Paimon.
"Keep it down, I'm hunting right now."
"I've always heard Mondstadt has amazing ingredients, and now that I'm here, it really lives up to its reputation!"
Lumine studied the stranger's unusual outfit. She didn't look like a Mondstadter at all.
Curious, she asked, "Are you a hunter?"
"How come I've never seen you in Springvale?"
Over these days, while she waited for news of her brother, Lumine hadn't just sat around doing nothing.
She took on commissions whenever she could to support herself and Paimon.
Because she was constantly traveling between Springvale and Mondstadt City to earn money for that bottomless pit, Paimon,
she had more or less gotten familiar with the locals.
But she had never seen this girl before.
The girl shook her head hurriedly.
"No, no, I'm a chef—a chef determined to travel the world and hunt down the most exotic ingredients!"
"My name's Xiangling. I came from Liyue Harbor. What about you two?"
Lumine suddenly understood.
No wonder Xiangling's outfit had looked strangely familiar yet unfamiliar.
She'd seen plenty of traders from Liyue passing through lately, and their clothes were similar to Xiangling's in some ways.
"I'm Lumine. Nice to meet you."
"Hi there, I'm Paimon!"
Seeing that Xiangling seemed friendly, Paimon took the initiative to introduce herself.
What she didn't expect was for Xiangling's eyes to light up the instant she heard her name, staring at Paimon like she'd just discovered a rare delicacy.
"Paimon?"
"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Paimon clasped her hands behind her back, utterly confused—
right up until Xiangling's next words nearly made her fall out of the air.
"What a fascinating little creature. I wonder… can this be eaten?"
"Of course it can!" Lumine replied, hands on her hips, sounding very proud.
"No it can't! Paimon is not food!"
"And I'm not emergency rations!"
(End of Chapter)
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