"Never expected you to be so easy to talk to." Havria smiled faintly.
During the Archon War, the strongest god in Liyue, the Warrior God Morax, turned out to be such an amicable figure.
Zhongli did not respond. It was only after the war ended that he became easier to talk to—back then, he was hardly a person one could describe as "easygoing."
More often than not, Zhongli preferred action over words.
Havria was a prime example of this. Trying to reason with other gods only led to such an outcome. Only through force could one protect a corner of this fleeting world.
Though gentle and timid, Havria was no fool. Seeing Zhongli's silence, she understood—the title of "Warrior God" was not earned through a mild temper.
Havria changed the subject. "I really must thank Little Lucian for allowing me to 'rebirth' in this era."
This era was wonderful. Compared to the past, it could truly be called peaceful—though no one knew how long this peace would last.
"Little Lucian?" Zhongli chuckled. Wasn't that the Director's favorite nickname? Had it been stolen too?
"Young Lucian is indeed interesting. Even this stubborn stone finds himself tempted to carve a few more lines." Zhongli remarked.
Havria nodded. After her revival, her amnesia was quite severe. Currently, the people she felt closest to were Hu Tao and Lucian, who had been present at the time.
Or perhaps it would've been the same even if she hadn't lost her memory. Unlike Guizhong, she had never had any friends... Not even her own people had remained loyal to her...
Speaking of Guizhong, she remained seated sideways on the ground, just as she had been that morning. It was unclear whether she had changed her posture at all throughout the day.
Before her now was Ping. They hadn't stayed with Havria, as there were some stories unsuitable for her to hear.
"The Yakshas... So it really was like that." Guizhong sighed softly.
When she had seen only Xiao arrive earlier, she had already guessed this possibility.
But only when Streetward Rambler spoke of it did she finally let go of her last shred of hope that they might all be safe.
Naturally, she felt sorrow. But Guizhong's memories were damaged, and her recollections of the Yakshas felt distant. Her current state of mind was much like that of the other adepti.
Guizhong's mood was somber as she whispered, "Ping, could you play that song from back then? I'd like to hear it."
"..." Streetward Rambler fell silent for a moment. It had been so long since she last played the zither.
But her reason for not playing had been that her kindred spirit was gone. Now that Guizhong had returned, there was no reason to refrain.
"Very well." Streetward Rambler smiled faintly, taking out her zither and plucking its strings softly.
Guizhong listened quietly, discerning the emotions within the music. With a smile, she said, "It seems you're also quite grateful to Lucian, Ping."
Streetward Rambler froze, striking a wrong note. Guizhong was just as perceptive of her feelings as she had always been...
Meanwhile, Lucian, who was playing mahjong, received emotional value from someone's breakdown. But he couldn't help but wonder if it was because he was losing so badly—maybe he was the one breaking down.
Still, "reviving" the dead and then making them break down by telling them stories of what happened after their deaths... This move was truly one of a kind.
Now he'd really reached the point of not even sparing the dead—no reincarnation for you~!
"Two of Dots!" Lucian discarded a tile.
"Ron!" Furina cheered.
"Huh!? You won on the very first tile!?" Lucian couldn't accept it.
He'd been utterly crushed by Navia in fishing, and now he was getting demolished by Furina in mahjong too!
"Hehehe, Lucian, come here!" Furina beckoned to him.
Lucian sighed and walked over, only for Furina to draw a line on his face.
This was the punishment for discarding the winning tile. Currently, Lucian's face bore the most markings—not that he was losing on purpose.
It was just that, though he had taught these people how to play, their luck was inexplicably better than his.
Since it was just for fun, Lucian couldn't be bothered to use his unbeatable memory to strategize, so he was losing spectacularly.
"Perfect." Furina admired her handiwork. Her own face had two lines, giving her a little mustache.
"Come on, another round! I'm almost done drawing the Director's turtle!" Hu Tao urged.
While this group was having fun, the Traveler, over in Mondstadt's tavern, ran into Dainsleif.
"So, you're saying that prophet told you the Abyss Order is causing trouble in the Temple of the Falcon?" Dainsleif asked.
The Traveler nodded, and Paimon added, "Yep! That's exactly what Lucian said. He told us to go with you once we met."
Dainsleif fell silent. This prophet was truly formidable—to even predict the Abyss's movements... What level of skill was this?
"Traveling with you is fine, but I have three questions to ask you first."
...
Several days later, Guizhong and Havria had grown accustomed to their new lives. The two often strolled around Liyue Harbor together.
They rarely left the harbor, as both gods were currently rather weak.
Guizhong was slightly better off, but without her artifact, Havria couldn't even control her salt-based divine authority.
The good news was that Havria, relying on her "understanding" of salt, had successfully joined the "Silver Vault."
Guizhong, meanwhile, had taken up inventing with Cloud Retainer, finding something to occupy herself with.
Lucian greatly admired Guizhong's engineering skills, as he often asked her to create bizarre inventions in his spare time.
Lucian himself knew nothing about machinery—he simply had Guizhong replicate some of "Handy Geng's" inventions. To his surprise, she could actually make them, and with a bit of adeptal arts, they became slightly more useful.
"Pfft, Lucian, where do you even come up with these weird invention ideas?" Guizhong laughed.
Though Lucian's "inventions" were largely useless, Guizhong was happy to make them for fun.
"Hmph. Keeping these ideas from this adeptus—do you look down on my engineering prowess?" Cloud Retainer grumbled.
"I just didn't think you'd be interested," Lucian shrugged.
These past few days, Cloud Retainer had specifically instructed Lucian to address her as "Xianyun" while in the mortal world.
"Speaking of which, my new book should be out soon. Let's have Shenhe buy a copy for us."
Too lazy to go out himself, Lucian used the communication device he'd exchanged from the system to notify Shenhe.
"A new book? What's the story about?" Guizhong asked eagerly.
Lucian smiled. "With the Moonchase Festival coming up, it's a story about that."
"The Moonchase Festival!? I love it!" Guizhong was delighted—she adored lively festivals.
"This adeptus recalls that a Culinary Showdown is to be held this time. I've already prepared an automatic cooking machine to compete," Cloud Retainer interjected.
"Hehehe, that's right, that's the one! You'll love it," Lucian grinned.
Meanwhile, away from Lucian's group, Shenhe, upon receiving his message, used her adeptal arts to swiftly finish her current delivery.
She then headed to Wanwen Bookhouse to queue up. Her junior's book took priority.
Expressionless, Shenhe stood at the end of the line. By now, she had learned a bit about human society—at least enough not to consider eliminating everyone in front of her while waiting.
"Miss Shenhe?" A lively voice called out to her.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice - Guizhong: About Festivals
"I love festivals! The feeling of celebrating together in a lively atmosphere—isn't that also a form of 'peace' and 'prosperity'?"