As a cosmic supercomputer, it was perpetually curious.
All the things Takumi had previously entrusted to Himeko had already been passed over to Herta's side.
Surely, the Aeon of Erudition had noticed.
If it wasn't curious, that would be the real surprise.
So a trip to Honkai: Star Rail was absolutely necessary.
Zhongli didn't comment further about it.
"When I'm done with all these matters, I'll need your help making a huge bracelet."
"If we're moving all of Teyvat, an ordinary Serenitea Pot won't be enough."
"Plus, you might have to make another trip."
"But all that can wait until I've settled things with the Seven Archons."
These decisions couldn't be made in a hurry.
He'd need some time to sort everything out.
Hearing this, Takumi nodded.
Naturally, it was no problem for him.
If another trip was needed, it would probably mean Zhongli would end up facing Celestiaand maybe the First Throne, too.
Zhongli was powerful now, but facing both the First and Second Thrones at once could be problematic.
If he got another power-up, he wouldn't need to fear anything.
He could just stand there and see who dared speak against him.
Zhongli's temper had improved a lot these days,
But that didn't mean he had no temper at all.
With enough strength, even facing Celestia wouldn't faze him.
He was, after all, Moraxthe god who fought his way through the ranks of Archons.
"Venti will be easy to deal with, but what about Ei?"
"She's still shut in with her depression."
Takumi looked at Zhongli with curiosity.
Lumine hadn't even gone to Inazuma yet.
Ei hadn't come out of her isolation.
Talking to Ei was going to be tricky, wasn't it?
Zhongli nodded.
"Just tell her that Makoto can be revived."
"Phanes could probably pull Ei back from the river of time."
"Besides that, there are a few of my old friends."
"With control over time, even events that already happened could be changed."
"If we bring Makoto back right at the moment of her death, it would be enough."
Zhongli's plan was simple.
For the First Throne, this should be easy to achieve.
So when the time came, Takumi would need to take charge.
"Emm..."
Straightforward and a little brutal.
Takumi didn't even know what to say.
Looked like the old man had thought everything through.
Reviving Makoto, huh?
That actually sounded like a great idea.
Makoto was a good administrator.
Takumi's world needed someone like her!
Guizhong would be great too.
At this, Takumi stroked his chin,
Already scheming how many people from Teyvat he could poach to help run his world.
Ningguang, Keqing, GanyuTakumi wanted them all.
When the time came, Old Man Zhongli probably wouldn't object to giving them even bigger responsibilities.
Saint Celestia was fine running cities for now,
But as things developed, she'd fall behind.
So Takumi needed even better people to help manage his world.
Takumi and Zhongli spent the entire afternoon having tea together.
In the late afternoon, Keqing came looking for them.
"Takumi, Mr. Zhongli."
"Ningguang has prepared a banquet, please join us."
Hearing Keqing, Takumi paused for a moment.
"Ningguang is treating us to dinner?"
"No problem!"
"Zhongli, let's go and feast at the big spender's table."
With that, Takumi stood up and headed out.
Zhongli quickly followed.
He deftly told the cashier,
"Send the bill to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
Keqing, listening to this, was speechless.
Neither of these two had a single mora to their name.
"I'll pay for it."
With that, Keqing stepped forward to settle the bill.
Zhongli said nothing about it.
Once the bill was settled, they all headed out together.
On the way to Yujing Terrace, Takumi and company met up with March 7th's group again.
Ningguang had invited them all as well.
"Takumi!!"
"We're getting a free dinner tonight!!"
March 7th was ecstatic.
Learning that Liyue's leader was hosting the meal, she couldn't be more excited.
"You all got invited too?"
"Let's go! Tonight we feast at the expense of the rich."
Takumi picked up his pace as he spoke.
Led by Keqing, the group took a floating Jadeite Stone up to the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang and Ganyu were already waiting.
"Mr. Takumi, Mr. Zhongli,"
"and our distinguished guests from afar,"
"Welcome to the Jade Chamber."
"The banquet is readyplease follow me."
With that, Ningguang led the way,
Inviting everyone inside.
March 7th and Xingmei were used to traveling through space.
They'd seen a lot,
So this floating city wasn't that impressive to them,
Though they were a bit curious about the stones that kept buildings afloat.
Lumine, having regained her memories, wasn't very interested either.
She and her brother had seen plenty during their travels in other worlds.
Only Paimon was utterly amazed by it all.
"Wow!"
"Lumine, look at this place, it's so luxurious."
"If you turned it all into mora, it'd be worth a fortune!!"
Paimon was beyond excited.
She wanted to turn everything here into mora and sell it all off.
"Shut up, Paimon."
"Don't act like you've never seen the world before."
Lumine rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Could she stop making a scene? How embarrassing!
Hearing Lumine's words, Paimon was instantly deflated.
"You've changed, Lumine!"
"You used to be just like this!!"
"Back when we first got to Mondstadt, you acted exactly like this!"
"That was because I've regained my memories!"
She was no longer the same person who had to fight hilichurls for food.
Now, she was a noble princess!
...
Hearing Lumine say this, Paimon felt a bit dejected.
They'd agreed to be country bumpkins together
Now Lumine had secretly seen the world first.
Paimon didn't even know how to complain anymore.
As Paimon and Lumine bickered,
Takumi's lips curled into a smile.
Those two really were something else.
Even Ningguang, walking ahead, couldn't help but be amused.
At this point, Hu Tao couldn't help saying to Paimon,
"Let me tell you, Paimon."
"Anything from the Jade Chamber can be sold for a ton of mora."
"Even a piece of paper."
"If the merchants below found out you brought something down from the Jade Chamber, they'd bid like mad."
Everything here was a treasure.
Just taking a few things down could make you rich.
Paimon's eyes turned into mora symbols at Hu Tao's explanation.
"Really?"
Paimon was thrilled.
"Should we check the trash bin?"
At this point, Xingmei spoke up.
The things in the trash bin must be valuable too, right?
Chapter 214: This is Slander, Pure Slander!!
Xing's words left everyone speechless.
"Please, don't!"
"Xing, you're so embarrassing!!"
"Stop always thinking about rummaging through trash cans!!"
March 7th was exasperated.
Why couldn't she break this bad habit?
Always thinking about digging through trash cansit was just too embarrassing.
Hearing March 7th, Xing pouted and said nothing more.
"Digging rummaging through trash cans or whatever,"
"Forget it!!"
Paimon refused outright.
There was no way Paimon would do something like that.
How could she possibly rummage through a trash can?
So that was that!
The group soon arrived at the banquet hall Ningguang had prepared.
Everyone took their seats.
Before long, the staff brought in the dishes.
"Everyone, please~!"
"Don't be shy, make yourselves at home."
Ningguang greeted everyone, then took the lead in picking up her chopsticks.
At the table, nobody discussed anything serious.
They simply chatted about daily life.
After all, Hu Tao was here.
Some things were just not appropriate to talk about.
Keqing had already explained to her that Zhongli didn't want to reveal his identity in front of Hu Tao.
To Hu Tao, Zhongli was just some immortalshe didn't know the details.
Because of that, Ningguang kept the conversation light.
Just some casual small talk was enough.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Ningguang led everyone on a tour of the Jade Chamber.
There were plenty of interesting things to see,
Especially Ningguang's collection.
It was the epitome of luxury.
Even Zhongli had to admit defeat at the sight of some of the treasures there.
Some of these things truly were piled up with mountains of mora.
Heaven knows how much money had been poured into it all.
Once the tour was done, Hu Tao and the others were the first to leave.
Takumi and Zhongli remained at the Jade Chamber.
Once everyone else had left,
Keqing, Ningguang, and Ganyu hurriedly bowed to Zhongli.
"Lord Rex Lapis!"
Hearing them, Zhongli replied,
"I am just Zhongli now."
"No need to call me Rex Lapis."
"Tomorrow at the Rite of Parting, I'll announce my journey to seek the land of ascension."
"From then on, all of Liyue's operations will be left in your hands."
"You need to handle all the immigration matters during this time."
Zhongli began instructing Ningguang and the others on what they'd need to do tomorrow.
Everyone listened intently, committing Zhongli's arrangements to memory.
Takumi watched quietly from the side.
Once Zhongli finished giving instructions, he looked at Takumi.
"A group of pioneers will head to your side first."
"I'll be counting on you to look after them."
Hearing this, Takumi smiled.
"Of course."
"Just lend Ningguang and the others to me for a while."
"I'll have them help manage the other cities."
"Whether it's Liyue, Hope City, or Gourmet City, I hope Ningguang can help oversee them all."
"Especially Gourmet City."
"It connects two worlds, and I'll need to set up a complete system there."
"So I'll be needing your help, Ningguang."
"When it comes to business, no one does it better than you."
Takumi made sure to bring up the matter.
Zhongli, hearing this, felt a little helpless.
This guy had his eyes on the Liyue Qixing from the very beginning.
When he first started building his own civilization, he was already scheming.
"You'll have to discuss that with Ningguang."
With that, Zhongli said no more,
Leaving the conversation to Takumi and Ningguang.
Ningguang was surprised to hear Takumi and Zhongli's conversation.
She hadn't expected Takumi to think so highly of her.
"Mr. Takumi, could you tell me more about your situation?"
Ningguang wasn't very familiar with Takumi's world, so she wanted him to elaborate.
Faced with Ningguang's inquiry, Takumi nodded.
He began describing his world in detail,
And also had Prometheus transfer information from his terminal to Ningguang.
Takumi had seen her playing with the terminal,
So he just had Prometheus send everything over.
After receiving the data, Ningguang browsed through it all.
Once she got the gist, her eyes lit up.
"This is really challenging."
"You've already merged several worlds?"
Ningguang was genuinely excited after understanding Takumi's situation.
This really was a challenge!
She was already thinking about how Liyue might profit once they moved in.
"You can look through it carefully."
"When you get to my side, I'll let you be my chief administrator."
Ningguang couldn't help but smile at that.
"It would be my greatest honor!"
She couldn't possibly refuse,
Especially since Rex Lapis didn't mind at all.
Teyvat would be moving, and Liyue would have a huge advantage.
Other nations would have to fall in line.
So she had no choice but to take on the job Takumi offered.
Zhongli shook his head.
Looked like the Liyue Qixing would be disbanded in the future.
Takumi sat with Ningguang for a while.
When night fell, he and Zhongli finally left.
Ningguang thoughtfully arranged a guest house for Takumi and company.
She wanted to make sure they had a place to stay.
Takumi didn't refuse.
Ningguang really was flawless with these little details.
That night, Zhongli naturally returned to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor,
So Takumi parted ways with him.
As for March 7th and the others, Takumi had no idea where they went.
Maybe they slept on the street with Lumine, or just stayed at a hotel?
Either way, it wasn't something Takumi had to worry about.
And with Hu Tao around as a local, there was really nothing for Takumi to stress over.
Takumi settled into the guest house Ningguang had arranged,
And spent some time chatting in the group chat.
Takumi:
[Popping up!]
The chat group members were instantly curious to see Takumi's message.
Fujiwara Chika:
[Finished chatting with Ningguang and the others?]
[You didn't shamelessly move into the Jade Chamber, did you?]
Fujiwara Chika immediately suspected this otaku would do something like that.
Seeing his waifu in real life would surely get him overexcited.
Takumi:
[(??Ў) Nonsense!!]
[That's slander, pure slander!!]
[I'm staying at a house Ningguang arranged, alright?]
[Stop slandering me!!]
Takumi hurried to defend himself.
Though, of course, he kind of wished he had done just that.
But a man needs some restraint!
Especially a gentleman!
Fujiwara Chika:
[Tsk~!]
Miori Shiba:
[When are you coming back?]
[IGO's people came over today.]
Shima Miiro got to the point.
IGO had visited Takumi's world, but since Takumi wasn't there, they just wandered around on their own.
Chapter 215: The Young Lady in Free Fall Joins the Chat Group
Seeing Miori Shiba's message, Takumi raised an eyebrow.
IGO's people have already arrived?
Takumi:
[I'll be back tomorrow night.]
[Hmm, let's see if I can lure Ningguang over!!]
[Then I'll have her negotiate with them.]
Takumi made up his mind to ask Ningguang if she wanted to come along when the time came.
Zhongli:
[If you need to, you can take her with you for now.]
[Ganyu can handle things on the Liyue side.]
[And bring a few more people over with you, too.]
Zhongli was also watching the chat.
Since Takumi needed help, he had no problem letting Ningguang go for a while.
There was a lot of business involving Alice's world and Takumi's world, after all.
There was a lot at stake here.
Yes, Zhongli thought it was a good idea for Ningguang to go first.
