After entering Mondstadt, the Astral Express crew's outfits looked strange and novel, but they did not attract too much attention.
They were not famous people, after all. After a couple of glances, everyone simply went back to what they had been doing.
"How should I put it… this place is a little too peaceful. Even the Xianzhou doesn't feel like this." March 7th was slightly uncomfortable with the atmosphere.
When the Xianzhou was not in the middle of war, it was peaceful too, but the feeling it gave people was a little strange, like the calm before a storm.
"That's easy enough to explain. First of all, the Xianzhou's ships are artificially built. No matter how faithfully they recreate a natural environment, there will still more or less be a sense that it was manufactured by human hands," Koji said.
Everyone accepted that explanation. The Xianzhou's sky-faring vessels truly were products of advanced technology.
"Besides, each nation here worships a single god, while the Xianzhou may look peaceful on the surface, but whether its internal factions are actually chaotic or not… you've all heard about that, haven't you?"
"And the Hunt Aeon isn't stationed on the Xianzhou itself. The distance between them is extremely far."
Dan Heng fell silent. He had come from the Xianzhou himself, so it could be said that he understood this better than anyone.
Although the Xianzhou was the representative faction of the Hunt, and although the Xianzhou could call for Lan's aid when facing an enemy they could not handle, Lan never interfered in the Xianzhou's internal governance.
Unless internal strife actually sank one of the Xianzhou ships, Lan would remain completely uninvolved.
Here in Teyvat, however, the gods basically stayed within their own nations. Minor disturbances were no big deal, but anyone with ulterior motives would still fear the gods and would not dare go too far.
The people of the Xianzhou were not of one mind. The Xianzhou generals were not figures who could simply command absolute obedience either. Some departments were perfunctory even toward the generals, such as the Ten-Lords Commission or the Vidyadhara.
If civil unrest truly broke out, it could be suppressed by the general's Emanator-level combat power, but the damage would still be severe.
Welt had once been the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, so he understood this kind of situation as well.
It was unrealistic to expect every single person in an organization to be of one heart and one mind. If the leader was not capable enough, then fragmentation was almost inevitable.
"My, my, more guests from another world have arrived. Welcome, welcome."
Venti walked over holding a wine bottle, already drinking heavily in broad daylight.
"?"
Welt adjusted his glasses. That voice sounded a little familiar.
Then he remembered.
Durandal.
The resemblance was quite high.
His instincts told him that this little green fellow was anything but ordinary.
"Venti, you're back?" Koji said, somewhat surprised.
Venti had been wandering all over the world lately, sampling all kinds of wine with different flavors. It could truly be said that he had been having so much fun he almost forgot Mondstadt existed.
"After being away for so long, of course I had to come back and take a look," Venti said casually.
He was Mondstadt's Anemo Archon. Even if he was a bit too free-spirited, he could not forget his roots.
"Let me introduce him. This is the Anemo Archon," Koji said.
"Hello there. Just call me Venti. Keep it low-key, though. If other people find out, I probably won't be able to drink in peace anymore," Venti said with a grin, without the slightest trace of divine dignity.
The members of the Astral Express crew were immediately amazed.
This was the Anemo Archon?
What a peculiar god.
They could not really feel divinity from him at all. His humanity was far more obvious.
"If you drink this much, shouldn't you be the God of Wine instead?" Stelle complained.
Venti did not get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "A God of Wine, huh? That actually sounds pretty good. But Teyvat doesn't have a divine office like that."
He liked drinking, after all. A wine god really did suit him.
Stelle opened her mouth, then closed it again. It felt like punching cotton. This guy really was impossible to deal with.
"I'll be off, then. May the Anemo Archon protect you. Have fun."
Venti headed toward the tavern. He was almost done with the bottle in his hand, so it was time to buy some more.
"What a weird guy," Stelle muttered.
"'May the Anemo Archon protect you'—is that a blessing?" March 7th asked.
"You could say that. In Mondstadt, people who believe in the Anemo Archon basically all say that phrase. It's become such a habit that it's engraved into daily life itself," Koji said.
"The amount of faith also affects the power of a god. And over here in Mondstadt, if a dog could talk, it would probably throw out a 'May the Anemo Archon protect you' too."
That was not even an exaggeration. Even though the Anemo Archon rarely performed miracles in public, the number of Mondstadters who believed in him had never gradually decreased.
"This is ridiculous. Even a drunk like that has people worshipping him," Stelle said, fully slipping into the role of the group's snark machine. She felt like she could become a god too—she would be called the God of Trash Cans.
He had no airs about him, and he was very easy to get along with.
But still, no matter how you looked at it, he did not seem like a god.
A god traveling among mortals—this god played the role so well that he looked exactly like an ordinary person.
"…Still, if you don't have anything urgent to do, then don't listen too closely. That phrase can also evolve into 'May the Anemo Archon fool you,'" Koji reminded them.
"That's right. The Anemo Archon can come up with things that sound a little reasonable at first, but the more you think about them, the more wrong they feel."
Unique and utterly unconventional.
That was the Astral Express crew's evaluation of Venti, the Anemo Archon.
He had a bit of Aha's flavor to him, but compared to the Aeon of Elation, he had more limits. He would not pay any price whatsoever just for the sake of amusement.
"I'll take you to meet the Acting Grand Master of the Knights first. I imagine whenever you trailblaze into a new place, you usually meet with the local higher-ups," Koji said.
"Thanks for the trouble."
With someone leading the way, Himeko and the others naturally had no objections. As outsiders—and not even people from this world—it only made sense that they should meet the local authorities.
The Knights of Favonius.
"Mondstadt welcomes you, guests carried by the wind." Jean placed a hand over her chest, her etiquette flawless.
"I am the Acting Grand Master, Jean."
"Uh… hello. My name is Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express." Himeko gave a slight bow.
Her expression was a little strange.
Jean's voice sounded a lot like hers.
Welt and the others felt the same way. Jean's voice really did sound a lot like Himeko's. The only differences were the tone and overall flavor of their speech.
"..."
After hearing Himeko's voice, Jean fell into thought.
It gave her the strange sensation of hearing herself speak.
"Acting Grand Master? Then where's the real Grand Master?" Stelle asked curiously.
That voice really did have a very motherly feel to it.
That was right.
Jean really was the type.
"Grand Master Varka led an expedition out of Mondstadt years ago. At present, I serve as Acting Grand Master."
Jean said it directly. A lot of people already knew about it, and it was not some secret that could not be spoken of.
"If you need anything, you may tell the Knights. If it is within our ability to resolve, we will do our best to help you."
Himeko thought for a moment, then asked, "Can gold be exchanged for this world's currency?"
Since this was a planet even Akivili had never visited, credits were definitely useless here. And since they were obviously going to need to spend money, the only option was to exchange hard currency like gold for local money.
(End of Chapter)
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