"Rios?"
"Lord Pyro Archon?!"
Upon hearing the voice that rang in their minds, everyone present looked up and scanned their surroundings, yet they couldn't spot any trace of Rios.
"The one who just spoke was the Lord Pyro Archon?" Little Paimon said in surprise. "But we can't see him anywhere."
"Maybe he's not here," Lumine analyzed.
"You mean, like the immortals in Liyue's stories, the Lord Pyro Archon used a thousand-mile sound transmission on us?" Paimon asked.
"Maybe that's it," Lumine said, though she wasn't entirely sure, the truth was probably something along those lines.
It couldn't be that the Lord Pyro Archon had sneaked over to speak while they weren't paying attention, then sneaked away again, right?
He wasn't a vampire with time-stop abilities whose first act after using time stop was to carry someone down the stairs—the Lord Pyro Archon of Natlan surely wouldn't be that bored.
"Lord Pyro Archon, if you say that, it'll put me in a difficult position..." The staff member at the registration desk said awkwardly.
"If it's difficult, then don't do it," Rios's voice rang out once more in everyone's minds. "I never agreed to resuming the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night."
The final words carried a hint of threat.
"I... I understand," the person at the registration desk immediately surrendered after the threat. "I'll handle the registration for the Travelers."
In principle, the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night did not allow out-of-towners to participate.
But alas, the Lord Pyro Archon himself was Natlan's true principle.
"Great! We can participate in the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night too."
Hearing the conversation between the Lord Pyro Archon and the staff member, Paimon said happily: "Although this Lord Pyro Archon is very overbearing, he spoke up for us—he's a good person."
Compared to the delighted little Paimon, the golden-haired girl was slightly furrowing her delicate brows, her face showing no joy, as if she had some doubts.
"Traveler, what are you worrying about?" Seeing the girl's odd expression, Paimon asked curiously.
"I just feel like the Lord Pyro Archon really wants us to participate in the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night." That was the part that felt strange to Lumine.
She had never met the Lord Pyro Archon before, yet he had proactively helped her join the activity, even using a god's authority to intimidate his own people for it.
"You're right," Paimon tilted her head, pondering in confusion. "The Lord Pyro Archon's attitude toward us has indeed gotten a bit better."
[He doesn't treat us like criminals anymore and even helps us join activities—his attitude toward us really has improved.]
[It's just a shame we didn't actually get to see the Lord Pyro Archon. I thought it'd be like in Fontaine, where we meet the god pretty soon after the start.]
The players were somewhat surprised by the Lord Pyro Archon's appearance in voice form, but at the same time, a bit disappointed.
If Rios had appeared directly in front of them without any buildup, they definitely would have been scared out of their wits.
"Traveler, no need to overthink it."
"I just think that if you participate in the competition, you'll definitely make this Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night even more interesting."
Rios's voice came again.
But this time, it was slightly different from before.
"Do you feel like the Lord Pyro Archon's voice this time sounds much more natural compared to before?"
Little Paimon scratched her hair: "It feels like this voice is coming in through the ears, not directly ringing in the brain like before."
"Is there a possibility that I'm right nearby, speaking these words to you in person."
"Wh-who's speaking?!"
Paimon jumped in fright and instinctively looked toward the source of the voice, only to see a red-haired, golden-eyed boy about the same build as Mualani, Kinich, and the others appear before her eyes.
"Rios!"
"Lord Pyro Archon."
Seeing Rios appear, Mualani and Kachina widened their eyes in surprise, while Kinich was calmer, though a flicker of unexpected emotion still flashed across his face in an instant.
"He's Natlan's Lord Pyro Archon?" Paimon subconsciously opened her mouth wide. "He really looks so young."
"Indeed," Lumine sister said as well.
Though they had seen the loli Grass God and the teenage Anemo Archon, those two only appeared young on the outside—their actual ages both exceeded 500 years, and every gesture carried the weight of accumulated years and a maturity beyond their appearances.
But the impression Rios gave was different; he truly exuded a vibrant energy, just like the rising sun.
"Mualani, long time no see." To avoid awkwardness, Rios proactively greeted his childhood friend. "I've actually gone to the 'People of the Springs' to look for you a few times, but you happened to be away each time, so we only meet again today."
Likewise to avoid awkwardness, Rios then turned his gaze to Lumine: "Traveler, I've heard of your heroic deeds in other nations and know your strength is extraordinary."
"For Natlan's warriors, being able to clash with a powerhouse like you is an honor."
"If we can't face you in combat because of some so-called rules, that would be the real loss for Natlan."
In just a few words, he had Paimon floating on air from the praise.
"Hehe, who would've thought our popularity in Natlan is pretty high," Paimon said with squinted eyes and a smile. "Even the Lord Pyro Archon thinks we're amazing and hopes we can train his warriors."
Lumine nodded, while thinking to herself: "So the Lord Pyro Archon values me for my potential to train Natlan's warriors, which is why he proactively arranged for me to join the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame Saint's Night—that way, I can relax."
Learning that the Lord Pyro Archon had no ulterior motives, Lumine sister's furrowed brows relaxed, her little face turning toward Paimon before breaking into a smile.
Finally, she could experience the local activity.
"I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you all any longer."
Rios's body turned into flames, gradually dissipating into the air.
Before fully dissipating, he bid farewell to the white-haired girl from the 'People of the Springs': "See you later, Mualani."
After saying that, Rios completely vanished from everyone's sight.
[Whoa, elementalization!]
[Did this Lord Pyro Archon eat a Devil Fruit? He can actually elementalize his body.]
[He's the Lord Pyro Archon—doing that is totally normal, right?]
Seeing Rios's method of departure, many players immediately thought of the Logia Devil Fruit users from the neighboring anime—those characters could also elementalize their bodies, and they were surprised that Rios could do the same.
However, they quickly realized that Rios was the Lord Pyro Archon, after all—turning his body into fire was perfectly normal, wasn't it?
At most, what they needed to worry about was whether a sun god would appear later, claiming the sun's power surpassed fire's, and then punch the Lord Pyro Archon into oblivion with one fist.
But considering Teyvat's world view, a sun god definitely wouldn't exist, so there was no need to worry about the Lord Pyro Archon's safety.