Original God, But Chat Group

Venti pulled Li Yue aside and began explaining in a hushed tone.

It turned out that after Li Yue left, Venti had taken Nahida to cut loose. Though both were gods, Nahida was just a five-hundred-year-old child who knew nothing, so she naturally deferred to the senior Anemo Archon on how to act. And what kind of person was the Anemo Archon? Someone who would do anything except the things he was supposed to.

Even though this was another world, his innate social-butterfly tendencies meant he had no trouble at all.

First thing, he took Nahida to a bar, and even came up with a perfect excuse for it!

"Li Yue once said that taverns are the densest places for information exchange, where you're most likely to pick up news. It must be the same in another world!"

Young Nahida agreed that Li Yue was right! Then she followed Venti to the bar, hoping to learn about this world.

They did pick up quite a bit of news, but most of it Nahida couldn't understand.

"The head coach of the Japan Team is a total waste—couldn't even make the top eight!"

Top eight? Head coach? Was that some kind of competition?

"Honestly, discs are getting more expensive lately."

"Can't help it—everyone wants ultra-HD cameras for filming now. My friend said their new camera cost several million!"

Filming? Was that like a Kamera?

"Why hasn't Sony gone bankrupt yet? They've been saying they're losing money forever, so why are they still around?"

Sony? Was that a person's name? Or something else?

"Light novels are so boring lately—all otherworld adventures with almost the same settings. Don't these authors have anything else to write?"

Light novels? I know those—they're novels from Inazuma. Sumeru has them too, but the Akademiya seems to have banned them.

Nahida diligently used her abilities to keep gathering information about this other world, while Venti went straight to the counter to try conning someone into buying him a bottle of otherworldly liquor. Kasumigaoka's beer she ordered online wouldn't arrive for a few more days, and he couldn't wait any longer!

He ended up conning the bar owner himself—who turned out to be the yakuza boss Kuroda Masanori.

Kuroda Masanori was fretting over his daughter Kuroda Masaki's education, drinking alone at the counter. Venti just walked over and started shooting the breeze with him.

When Venti struck up a conversation, Kuroda Masanori was stunned. He was well-known in this area—basically everyone recognized him—and yet someone dared to just walk up and chat him up like that.

But as they talked, they actually hit it off. It turned out that because Kuroda Masanori's daughter Kuroda Masaki was the daughter of a yakuza boss, no one dared to play with her. This left the child very lonely, and she blamed her father for it, starting to rebel against him.

When Venti heard this, he knew exactly how to fix it! He dragged Nahida out and had her play with Kuroda Masaki. When Kuroda Masaki found a girl willing to play with her, she was overjoyed on the spot. Seeing his daughter happy, Kuroda Masanori cheered up too and started drinking with Venti like old brothers.

After hearing Venti's story, Li Yue was speechless.

"So you used my daughter to score yourself a free drink? Oh no, not just one—you scored yourself free drinks for who knows how many more times to come, right?"

"Ehe~ It's a fair trade, my friend. In Liyue's terms, this is a contract!"

Venti grinned, looking thoroughly smug.

"Nahida is happy to play with Masaki, and she can learn about this other world at the same time. As the middleman, getting a little benefit isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Learning about another world through Peppa Pig, huh?

Li Yue shot a speechless glance at Nahida beside him. Whatever—he'd planned to let this kid learn however she wanted anyway. Peppa Pig was fine, at least better than Pleasant Goat.

"It's not too much for a middleman to get a benefit, but why does my daughter have to be used as part of your deal? As Nahida's father, I'd be a much better middleman than you, wouldn't I? What do you think would happen to you if I showed up as Nahida's father myself?"

Nahida didn't need to be dealt with, but Venti definitely needed a good talking-to.

"Uh... you've got a point."

Venti caved immediately. Whether he could keep coming here for drinks depended entirely on Li Yue's goodwill. When in Rome, do as the Romans do—and he still wanted to keep drinking otherworldly liquor!

"Please, Li Yue, for the sake of all the times we fought together!"

But Li Yue just kept smiling at him.

Venti looked at Li Yue's expression and gritted his teeth!

"Li Yue, you said before you wanted to fight Dvalin to train yourself, right? One fight probably isn't enough. I'm close with Dvalin—I can arrange for him to fight you a few more times to really hone your combat experience!"

"Deal!"

Far away in Teyvat, Dvalin: ?

54. But she still has me!

Even though he wanted to taste the fine wines of another world, Venti knew he couldn't stay away from the Teyvat continent for long as the Anemo Archon. He still hadn't handed over his Gnosis, and he'd already been gone for a whole day and night. Time to head back—if he stayed a few more days, La Signora would get anxious. As for coming back later, he could just ask Li Yue to open the door.

With the generous support of ten thousand yen from Kasumigaoka, Li Yue took Venti and Nahida to play for another half day. After spending every last cent, making sure not to leave a single thread behind, he opened the door and returned to Teyvat.

After passing through the dark blue space door, Li Yue, Venti, and Nahida were back on Gazing Star Cliff.

Early yesterday morning, they'd set out from here to another world. After playing for a full day and night, they now returned to Teyvat brimming with excitement. Looking at the familiar golden scenery, Venti couldn't help but sigh.

"The other world's scenery isn't bad, but Teyvat's wind suits me better."

"The other world has no Elemental Power, and you're a Wind Spirit. Of course Teyvat is more comfortable for you."

Li Yue helped maintain Venti's cover as a Wind Spirit.

"Right, exactly!"

Venti nodded quickly, firmly nailing down his Wind Spirit identity.

"By the way, Li Yue, where did you go last night when you left on your own?"

After waiting all morning, Venti's curiosity could no longer be contained. His intuition told him that Li Yue had definitely gone to other worlds, and he was also very concerned about Li Yue awakening the Dendro element. That hidden power of his looked just like the dream authority that only the Dendro Archon possessed.

"I let you guys play in Kasumigaoka's world, then I went to another world myself."

So he really did go to another world! And he didn't take him along!

Venti looked at Li Yue with a gaze full of resentment.

"Come on, don't look at me like that. Not every world is as peaceful as that one. The second world I went to was extremely dangerous—there were a lot of monsters there that could devour human souls. You're a Wind Spirit, so it doesn't matter to you, but my daughter isn't. Are you saying I should take my daughter to a world that dangerous?"

Li Yue spread his hands, looking completely matter-of-fact.

"After I awakened this ability, I could access two worlds. The first one, I went alone first, confirmed it was safe, and then brought you all. The second one, I went alone, and then found out it was very dangerous over there."

"Alright, I didn't consider that. My fault."

Venti helplessly scratched the back of his head and lowered it in admission.

"But what's the deal with your Dendro element? Does that mean there are people from the Teyvat continent in another world?"

Venti was really bothered by the Dendro element Li Yue had shown.

"About that."

Li Yue glanced at Nahida, who was also staring at him with curiosity.

"Nahida, there are a lot of Cecilia flowers here. Could you trouble me to go pick some Cecilia flowers? As many as possible."

"Li Yue wants flowers?"

Nahida was a bit puzzled, but she still chose to follow Li Yue's request and pick the flowers right away.

But Nahida had her own ideas. On Gazing Star Cliff, there were many Cecilia flowers. For Nahida, picking flowers was simple—as the Dendro Archon, the Queen of Plants, she could directly obtain flowers from a distance. She didn't go far, just hid behind a large rock, then crouched behind it, secretly listening to the conversation between Li Yue and Venti. She also really wanted to know what was going on with Li Yue's Dendro element and why it was so similar to her power.

Li Yue naturally knew that Nahida hadn't left, because Nahida's Reiatsu was less than ten meters away, but all of this was intentional on Li Yue's part.

"Alright, Nahida has left now. You should be able to say it."

Venti also sensed that Nahida hadn't left, but he didn't expose it—after all, both of them were hiding their true identities from Li Yue.

"I had Nahida leave because I didn't want to make her sad."

A pained expression appeared on Li Yue's face.

"As everyone knows, Nahida is an orphan."

"Huh?"

Venti looked dumbfounded. Was this common knowledge? But Li Yue didn't care and continued explaining.

"When I tried out my own power, I accidentally ended up in Sumeru and discovered Nahida locked up. I saw her sorrowful expression, and then I understood everything!"

"What did you understand?"

Venti was very curious. He had already talked with Nahida and understood her situation, so he felt that Li Yue must have misunderstood something about the state of Sumeru.

"Over in Sumeru, there's an Evil Organization that goes around adopting orphans to conduct evil experiments, and Nahida was one of their victims."

Saying it that way didn't seem too off—there really was an Evil Organization that adopted orphans for experiments.

"After I adopted Nahida, I found that she was much smarter than ordinary children and also had power that ordinary children didn't have. That's probably why that Evil Organization locked her up and studied her."

I don't think that's right.

Venti muttered inwardly.

"So I adopted Nahida, wanting her to run free across Teyvat. But last night, when I was wandering through another world and wanted to come back to pick you all up, the door I opened didn't lead to your world—it led to a strange space."

"There was a huge tree there, but that tree had a curse on it, and there was a woman's voice echoing endlessly."

At these words, both Venti and Nahida were shocked, because the tree Li Yue was talking about was clearly the World Tree! As for the echoing voice, no need to think—it had to be Greater Lord Rukkhadevata! They never expected Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to be inside the World Tree!

"I used my power to peel that woman out of the tree, found that she had a curse on her, so I stripped the curse from her. After the curse was removed, the tree suddenly became a bit more radiant, but that wasn't the big deal. What surprised me was that woman—her appearance looked very similar to Nahida's. I guessed she was probably Nahida's mother."

Li Yue narrated the story he had made up with deep emotion.

"The curse on her made me realize that she had also been captured by that Evil Organization for research."

I don't think that's right. It's more likely that the Akademiya was studied by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

"And the reason Nahida was captured was probably because she inherited her mother's power. That only strengthened my resolve to protect Nahida and prevent her from being taken by that Evil Organization again."

No need for that!

"But why don't you tell Nahida about this? If she knew you found her mother, she'd definitely be very happy."

Venti asked, puzzled.

"Because even though I found Aci, I can't let Nahida see her."

Li Yue shook his head helplessly.

"Oh, Aci is Nahida's mother's name."

Aci, huh... That name really fits Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

"When I peeled Aci out of that big tree, she was already in a soul state, and because of my special circumstances, she was absorbed into my soul."

"Wait, absorbed into your soul?"

Venti stared at Li Yue in shock. That was the soul of a Demon God—how could anyone absorb it?

"That's right. My soul is special. It involuntarily absorbs souls with unique power and converts them into my own strength. I don't know the exact conditions, but after I stripped the curse from Aci's soul, she was absorbed by me."

"I went into my Inner World and had a brief chat with her. I learned her name and let her know that I'd taken in Nahida and that Nahida had escaped the clutches of that Evil Organization, so she could rest easy. Considering she's Nahida's mother, I suppressed my instinct to absorb souls and didn't merge her into myself. Instead, I let her live in my Inner World as an independent soul. That way, she can see Nahida through my eyes and watch her grow."

"I see. That's... not bad."

"Exactly. That's why I can use Dendro power. To thank me, Aci lent me her strength, hoping I'd use it to teach Nahida. Both Aci and her daughter Nahida awakened Dendro Visions, you know. I was wondering how to teach Nahida to use Dendro before, but now it's all sorted."

That's no Vision—that's the authority over Dendro itself!

Venti knew that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had sacrificed herself five hundred years ago to protect Teyvat. Everyone back then thought she was gone forever. To think she'd left behind a soul—even if it was just a soul, merged into Li Yue's Inner World, still able to watch over Teyvat in spirit form—that was remarkable. Everyone on the Teyvat continent owed Greater Lord Rukkhadevata a debt of gratitude.

The thought that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was now watching him through Li Yue's eyes softened Venti's expression. Meanwhile, Nahida, hiding behind a rock and eavesdropping, clenched her little fists. Li Yue had actually found Greater Lord Rukkhadevata—and she was watching her right now!

"But why can't you tell Nahida about this?"

"Because Aci can see Nahida, but Nahida can't see Aci. If I told Nahida about Aci, she'd be filled with hope at first, then utterly crushed. Knowing her mother is right there, watching her, but being unable to see her—that kind of pain is unbearable."

Li Yue shook his head helplessly again.

"So rather than give her hope only to shatter it, it's better not to tell her at all. To make it up to Nahida, I'll do everything I can, together with Aci, to give her a happy childhood."

Hiding behind the rock, Nahida listened to Li Yue's words and lowered her little head, deeply moved.

Thank you, Li Yue. Even though I know now, thank you for everything you've done for me.

"I'll make her understand—even if she doesn't have a mother, she still has me!"

Nahida, still touched, scratched her little head. For some reason, she felt like Li Yue's last sentence sounded a bit off.

55. I'm Just a Weak Wind Spirit, What Can I Do?

Not long after Li Yue finished telling Venti the story about Aci, Nahida walked back carrying a bunch of Cecilia flowers. She acted as if she knew nothing, didn't ask about Dendro again, and didn't question why Li Yue had sent her to pick Cecilia flowers. She just held the flowers up to Li Yue with both hands, looking up at him.

"Li Yue, I've brought the Cecilia flowers you wanted."

"Perfect. These are exactly what I needed!"