Ningguang rubbed her forehead, a little tired.
Liyue had formally entered the era of human governance, yes—but in truth, the schemes of the gods would still inevitably affect Liyue.
Still, it wasn't anything catastrophic. Just something to settle over the negotiation table.
"Ryen, what about you? Will you join us tomorrow?"
Ningguang turned to look at Ryen, who gently shook his head.
"Did you forget? I promised Nahida I'd take her back to Sumeru for a short visit."
"You all can handle things here. After all, I don't belong to any faction. Once you reach a conclusion, just let me know."
"What I need… is more manpower to expand exploration of the other world."
Lisa chuckled and teased him:
"In other words, you just don't want to get involved in these complicated negotiations."
"Well, I suppose you're also giving them a bit of time to recover—so they can come back fully focused."
Ryen smiled lightly and replied:
"Nahida and I won't be gone long. If everything goes smoothly, we'll be back in a day or two."
"That should give you all enough time to sort out the matters here and regroup—then we can go slay dragons again."
"After that, it'll be time to activate the new module."
As he spoke, Ryen turned toward Jean and Lisa.
"You two don't need to enter the world these next few days either. If I've calculated correctly, the Knights of Favonius should be arriving soon—you should start preparing for that."
"What about the Qianyan Army in your world?"
Ningguang frowned slightly, looking at Ryen with concern.
He waved it off.
"It's no issue. They've already spent some time unsupervised there before. As long as you don't give them orders to explore, they won't move around."
"Besides, even while I'm in Sumeru with Nahida, I'll be checking in frequently."
Only then did Ningguang breathe a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Ganyu quietly tugged on Ryen's sleeve and whispered:
"Ryen, I want to go with you."
Ryen was a bit surprised.
"Don't you have work? We're negotiating with the Cryo Archon tomorrow—won't they need you there?"
"Not really,"
Ganyu shook her head.
"Since the Cryo Archon is coming in person, the negotiations will likely be handled directly by the Lord Emperor himself. I don't think I'll have any role."
"And once the Rite of Parting is over, I won't be busy."
Ningguang considered this for a moment but didn't stop Ganyu.
Although Zhongli's conversation with the Cryo Archon didn't require Ganyu to take notes, the Qixing meeting the day after tomorrow would still need her presence.
But even that wasn't absolute.
Ganyu had worked tirelessly for so long—she deserved a long break.
Besides, Ningguang had already taken the reins in place of Ganyu for a while now. It was only fair to offer Ganyu a little time off.
"Ryen, this Hall Master is coming too!"
Hu Tao, standing to the side, suddenly chimed in, her eyes sparkling as she affectionately hugged Ryen's arm.
And with that, the little Klee, who had been sitting in Ryen's lap, got excited too.
She raised her hand happily.
"Klee wants to go! Klee wants to come too!"
Ryen couldn't help but laugh and nodded.
"Alright then—let's all go together. Go back and pack your things now. Tomorrow, we'll have Xiao send us over to Sumeru."
At the mention of this, Ryen felt a bit wistful.
His powers were indeed strong—so strong that he still hadn't found a clear upper limit.
However…
Ryen didn't have any convenient way to travel long distances or fly.
So whenever he needed to go somewhere far, he pretty much always relied on Xiao to carry him.
It wasn't that he couldn't run fast.
Like Saitama from One Punch Man, if Ryen really wanted to leap into the sky or sprint at high speed, he could do it.
But the problem was… if he leapt from the ground or dashed at full force, would he end up tearing the very land of Teyvat apart?
The modules currently available to him, to be honest, didn't really offer anything that allowed him to fly or move faster.
There were modern weapon modules that included cars, but he still didn't really know how to make those properly.
As the Rite of Parting ceremony below neared its conclusion, Ryen didn't linger any longer.
He said his goodbyes to everyone and returned to the small courtyard with Ganyu and the others to pack for the journey.
Meanwhile, Ningguang composed herself once more and, along with Jean and the others, made her way back up to the Jade Chamber.
Gazing out at the drifting clouds, they seemed no different from the day before.
But the land beneath her feet… had already transformed completely.
From this moment on, it was truly a nation of humans.
After a brief silence, Ningguang raised her hand and gave instructions.
"Baiwen, prepare a banquet. Baixiao, go down to Liyue Harbor and invite a few people up."
Baixiao blinked in surprise and asked softly:
"Do you mean Mister Zhongli and the immortals?"
Ningguang nodded and added:
"And also Beidou. And the Fatui Harbingers—Rosalyne and Tartaglia."
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