Keqing lightly bit her lower lip, her dewy pink eyes looking at Ken in shy frustration.
She never expected even Ken would tease her.
As the Yuheng of the Qixing and scion of a noble house, Keqing might be unceremonious while working, but nicknames that were weird like this always felt like a bone stuck in her throat.
"It's fine, Keqing. I even get called 'Emergency Food.'"
Seeing the flustered Keqing, Paimon offered solemn comfort at her side—though she was actually a little gleeful inside.
Great, great… finally someone else has a ridiculous nickname like her.
"Are you sure you'll buff Keqing?"
Keqing gritted her teeth and stared at Ken.
Anyway, nickname can't be changed—after all, it came from her voice lines, and that slogan was something she liked shouting all the time; changing it wouldn't make sense.
That was the lesson Keqing had gleaned from bickering with Ningguang these days.
Though she disagreed with many of Ningguang's ideas, Keqing felt some of Ningguang's traits were worth learning.
For example… thick skin!
Sometimes a thicker skin was really useful in arguments—and at work.
"Really. I'll look for the right opportunity to buff Keqing," Ken said unhurriedly, smiling as he looked at her.
A little kitty with fur all puffed up was indeed very cute.
As for buffing Keqing—when Nahida shows up, that'll be just the time.
"But I don't know how to make beef stew."
Keqing pouted as she ate Golden Shrimp Balls.
Lumine raised her hand instantly. "I'll search recipes later and show you how to make it."
"Okay!" Keqing suddenly became very breezy. Her big eyes looked at Ken and the others. "Then don't leave tonight, okay? Whatever I make, you all have to eat it, okay? Eat it all!"
She didn't know how to cook anyway; if it tasted bad, that'd be normal, right?
Even if it tasted bad, she'd make them finish it all!
Keqing pressed her lips together with a sly smile, then hurried to rein it in, returning to her usual serious look as she ate elegantly.
…
After the meal.
Ningguang went back to Liyue Harbor. She had come for the matter of Beisht to begin with—once that was handled, she would have no further worries, could begin implementing plans against the Northland Bank, and the opinion war could make its entrance.
Now that she had Ken and little Klee's help, Ningguang headed back satisfied.
Lumine stayed with Keqing in the room, continuing to coach her on using the computer, sipping milk beside her.
"You ate quite a lot just now—how can you still eat?"
Smelling the fragrance, Keqing asked curiously.
She had never cared much about palate pleasures; seeing Lumine eating again after a meal was unexpected… That should be Paimon's style, right?
"Ahem… this isn't just some snack. It has… well, the effect of turning strawberries into apples."
Faced with Keqing's curious eyes, Lumine unconsciously straightened her back.
If it were anyone else, Lumine might feel awkward bringing it up; but Keqing wasn't too big either, so Lumine felt at peace—same boat.
Keqing didn't get it at first, but with Lumine's deliberate hinting, she immediately understood.
"I didn't expect you to pursue something like that."
Keqing's cheeks reddened; she quietly lowered her head to look at herself.
Her wasn't big, but not too small either; however, her butt seemed perkier than Lumine's.
"Lumine is a woman in love, of course she cares more now."
Paimon flew in from outside, hands on hips. "Before, Lumine didn't care about these at all; now she often huddles with Director Hu to research this and that!"
Director Hu?
Thinking of the quirky Hu Tao, Keqing couldn't help but picture that distinctly Hu Tao's flat area.
Mm… Hu Tao certainly needs to drink more.
"But does this really work?"
Keqing was a little tempted.
Though she never entertained such little thoughts while working, they were on Blue Star now… at Ken's house.
With a bit of red strings tugging her heart lately, Keqing suddenly had some vanity—wanting to perfect herself a bit more, to stun everyone.
"This is homework Hu Tao and I did online."
Rather than a labored explanation, Lumine simply opened the browser and typed a line into the search engine:
[How to enhance bust size.]
A flood of info appeared at once, the most frequently mentioned entry being papaya milk.
"Wow."
Seeing the instant results, Keqing's eyes went wide; she didn't expect that entering one line could bring up so much information.
And based on the data, papaya milk seemed really effective.
Keqing felt a little tempted, but was too shy to ask.
"Miss Keqing, want some?" Lumine asked with a grin, seeing Keqing's look.
Keqing pursed her lips, hesitating. "Ahem… I…"
"I get it, I get it." Lumine read her like a book. Without waiting for Keqing to finish, she turned and took out two bottles of papaya milk. "Drink up; maybe we'll both glow up one day."
Keqing accepted, face red, and covertly glanced at herself.
She felt her scale was decent—at least better than Hu Tao's.
"Lumine, if I type what I want to search here, I can find it?"
Sipping milk, Keqing's attention returned to the computer's search engine.
Lumine nodded. "Yup. Ken said that aside from classified information, most things can be found here."
Keqing bit the straw and typed with her head lowered, laboriously.
Unlike others who relaxed upon arriving on Blue Star, Keqing never forgot her identity.
She knew Blue Star was governed by people, so she wanted to read its history.
That way she could learn more about people's rule and absorb useful knowledge.
But when the search engine loaded the results page, Keqing's eyes suddenly went wide; she even forgot to sip the milk. "I didn't expect Blue Star to have so many countries!"
The vast Teyvat continent only had seven nations.
But Blue Star had over a hundred.
In particular, the country's developmental history was longer than Liyue's.
Keqing soon realized that some ancient era styles of the country were very similar to Liyue's.
Aside from that, what shocked Keqing even more was war.
There had been so many wars in the country's history.
Yet despite countless brutal wars, the country remained prosperous today.
This was what she long sought as people's rule.
Only when the people of Liyue left the Archon's shelter, learned to rely on themselves, to keep growing, exploring, and pulling together as one rope, would Liyue have a better future.
She truly hoped that one day, Liyue Harbor would have nuclear weapons.
Thinking of nuclear weapons, Keqing suddenly snapped out of her emotions—she recalled a key difference between Teyvat and Blue Star.
Blue Star had no monsters and no elemental powers; everyone relied on themselves, enriching and strengthening themselves.
In a sense, people's thoughts and power levels weren't so different.
Teyvat wasn't like that.
First, Vision bearers were innately stronger than ordinary people; gods could move mountains and fill seas—things normal people couldn't do.
So while Keqing was fired up, she also felt a little uneasy inside.
She believed she was right to insist on people's rule—but when it came to monsters and such, she truly hadn't found a better solution.
"What's wrong, Keqing?"
Watching Keqing go from excited, to thoughtful, to slightly lost now, Lumine was puzzled.
Wasn't she fired up just now?
Keqing pursed her lips. "I want to ask Ken something."
Ken was a true Blue Star native and knew Teyvat like the back of his hand—maybe he could answer the question she couldn't sort out, knowing both cultures.
As she spoke, Keqing got up and headed downstairs. Her slender figure swayed with her steps—very captivating.
Lumine and Paimon glanced at each other and shrugged, a bit helpless.
Keqing was a workaholic—even on Blue Star, she thought about work-related matters. The two of them couldn't help much.
…
Downstairs…
Ken was misting a huge potted plant in the living room with a watering can.
"Where's Ningguang and the rest?"
Keqing came down the stairs, saw only Ken there, and asked instinctively.
"Ningguang went back to Liyue. Klee and Yaoyao are in the room watching cartoons." Ken kept spritzing, then glanced at Keqing. "You need something?"
Keqing bit her lip and nodded. "Mm… I have something I want to ask you."
"Hm?" Ken turned to look at her.
"I just read through a lot of Blue Star's development history on the computer. Despite many wars, Blue Star still reached today's prosperity. I believe Liyue can grow like the country on Blue Star."
She paused. "But Blue Star and Liyue are different, because Blue Star has no monsters or gods. So I suddenly… suddenly feel a little lost about Liyue's future."
People's rule was always Keqing's pursuit.
Now Liyue had finally moved toward it, yet Keqing suddenly felt a bit anxious—would Liyue really be better without the Geo Archon?
Ken listened quietly, then looked at her.
Keqing's state was normal—like a child who longed to be free from parents' control; when the wish was finally granted, a bit of anxiety naturally arose.
"There's a saying on our Blue Star that might help you."
Ken put down the watering can and sat on the sofa.
Keqing sat opposite, eyes filled with hope.
"Truth exists only within the range of the cannon. The Geo Archon is Liyue's cannon."
He had always understood Keqing's thinking.
She simply didn't want the people of Liyue to grow into giant infants under the Archon's protection; she wanted humans to grow on their own and develop their nation.
The intention wasn't wrong.
But often, Keqing's perspective was a bit extreme.
After unlocking the Vortex Gate, Ken finally came to know the real Teyvat.
Compared to reality, the Genshin game was already beautified.
The real Teyvat was far more dangerous.
Monsters roamed the wilds; Abyss Mages were everywhere; all kinds of dangers lurked.
These were hard for ordinary people to resist.
Even Visions, which were tied to the gods by nature, were essentially within the realm of divine power.
Besides that—
Relations between nations sometimes required a powerful god as a backer. Knowing the Geo Archon still existed, even if other countries had designs on Liyue, they wouldn't dare act rashly.
So Ken felt that Liyue moving toward people's rule wasn't wrong.
But the existence of gods was also indispensable.
Like nuclear weapons—we can refrain from using them, but we must not be without them.
So it is with gods for Liyue.
"Truth exists only within the cannon's range…"
Keqing murmured, her eyes brightening from confusion to clarity.
"I understand." Keqing smiled. "I understand the Geo Archon's painstaking intention in withdrawing this way."
When Morax had informed her in a dream, Keqing was happy the Archon hadn't fallen—but that was out of respect and gratitude to a god.
The Archon had protected Liyue for 3,700 years; such service and achievement should be remembered by every Liyuean.
So at the time, while happy, she didn't think further.
Yes… the Archon's existence is akin to the country's nuclear weapons.
Precisely because there are nuclear weapons, other nations do not easily go to war with each other.
And the Geo Archon is Liyue's nuclear deterrent.
"We've passed the Archon's trial, and Liyue is starting a new journey—but his existence remains our strongest backing."
Keqing's inner confusion dissipated completely; she felt refreshed.
The issues that had troubled her seemed to vanish.
As Ken said, people's rule wasn't wrong—but that didn't mean people's rule must completely cast off the gods.
Keqing realized how extreme her earlier thoughts had been; once enlightened, many knots dissolved at once.
She looked at Ken and curved her lips. "I'll go prepare the dinner."
Watching the Yuheng's light steps, Ken shook his head. With Keqing's intelligence, it wasn't that she couldn't figure it out.
Now that she understood, she could let go at once.
In a dangerous world like Teyvat, pure people's rule was simply unrealistic—for now, at least.