Original God, But Chat Group

Lisa was in the middle of answering when she suddenly caught herself. Jean also froze, then looked a bit awkward.

"Ah... sorry, I forgot. It was just instinct."

In Mondstadt, whenever there was talk of a disturbance, the first person Jean thought of wasn't anyone else—it was Klee, entrusted to Mondstadt by Alice. This Mondstadt bomber was practically the culprit behind countless incidents in the city, and she never learned her lesson! It gave Jean a massive headache.

"Alright, let's hear it. What's going on this time?"

Lisa asked the knight who had come to report, taking over for Jean.

"Grand Master Jean, many of the knights patrolling Mondstadt City have fallen asleep standing up, and we can't wake them."

"Fallen asleep standing up? And can't wake them?"

A string of question marks popped up over Jean's head. What was this now? Confused, she looked over at Lisa.

Lisa rested her chin on her right hand.

"Sorry, dear, I have no idea this time either. As far as I know, no elemental power could do something like this."

"I see. Kaeya just left for Gazing Star Cliff, so it'll be a while before he's back. I'll go check it out myself."

The overworked Acting Grand Master sighed helplessly, stepped out from behind her desk, picked up her sword, and headed to the scene.

As for the culprit behind all this chaos, he had already returned to his hotel in Mondstadt. As for Nahida using the patrolling knights in the city to practice her dream powers, Li Yue-kun couldn't care less. The remaining Knights of Favonius were pretty useless anyway—Jean handled everything. Letting them have a nice dream was a good thing.

The famous Goth Grand Hotel had been booked out by the Fatui, so outsiders couldn't stay there. Li Yue-kun had to settle for the hotel next door.

Leaving Nahida to play on her own for a bit, Li Yue-kun turned his attention to the Chat Group. He hadn't been active in a day and wondered what Aizen and Kasumigaoka were up to.

Meme Lord: Hey, my dear group members, what are you all up to?

Five seconds after the message was sent, Aizen's reply appeared.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Studying the Durin heart I brought back.

Kasumigaoka didn't reply—probably busy and not paying attention to the group chat.

Meme Lord: Yifu, found anything from studying the heart?

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: I've found some things, but the results aren't quite what I expected.

In Aizen's lab, he looked up at the massive heart pulsing in the red liquid as he replied to Li Yue-kun.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: The alchemy in Li Yue-kun's world is a technique focused on matter and life. After studying it, I've found that this alchemy has very high requirements for the base materials. You could say the raw materials for alchemical synthesis determine the final product's performance and ceiling.

Meme Lord: That's true. I don't know much about alchemy, but every alchemy I've seen works by synthesizing basic materials into more advanced ones.

Albedo was one of the highest-grade products of alchemy. Ordinary materials could never create an artificial human as excellent as him—his basic material was Chalk Soil. So Teyvat's alchemy had very strict material requirements.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Everything in my world is based on Reishi. Humans in the Human World are just vessels for souls. Control over Reishi is entirely in the hands of the Bleach, or rather, the noble families of the Soul Society. This alchemy is almost the complete opposite.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Especially one material in this heart, brimming with life force. That's probably why this heart still beats to this day. Starting from materials full of life, and then generating its own soul after synthesis—what a fascinating science.

Reading Aizen's words, Li Yue-kun guessed what that life-filled material was. Chalk Soil, a very precious alchemical material in Teyvat.

Meme Lord: So it's not much help for your research, Yifu?

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Indeed, in the short term, it's not helpful for my research. My main focus is still on Reishi—the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and even the Human World are all worlds built on Reishi as the foundation. But for my future self, this is something very useful.

Meme Lord: You mean after you overthrow the Soul King?

Li Yue-kun immediately understood Aizen's meaning. In the world of Bleach, everything was made of Reishi. Now that Aizen had the Chat Group and knew the Soul King wanted to die, he would definitely overthrow the Soul King, become the new king, and create a new world. Then Aizen would establish his own rules.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Exactly. I will change this boring world! And when I do, this alchemy will provide me with enough help.

Meme Lord: Looks like Yifu already has a solid plan. Then I'll look forward to the day you recreate the world! When you become the king of that world, I'll be the crown prince! Roughly speaking, once you kick the bucket, I can just inherit a whole world from you!

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: ...

Isn't that a bit too much? I haven't even taken over the world yet, and you're already thinking about what happens after I die?

Aizen was speechless. He knew Li Yue-kun was joking—someone like him would never want to manage a world—but he still found it exasperating.

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: A real man stands tall between heaven and earth—how could he stay under someone else's thumb forever! Pervert-kun, didn't you say you wanted to work hard to be able to say that line? When Aizen takes over the world, just make your move directly. Waiting for him to die would take who knows how long.

Kasumigaoka suddenly appeared, surprising Li Yue-kun. But that nickname—"Pervert-kun"?

Meme Lord: Senpai's right. When Yifu recreates the world, I'll just make my move. With his abilities by then, unless he wants to die, he could probably live for millions of years. How could there be a crown prince for millions of years! I'll reluctantly see Yifu off on his final journey!

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: ...

In the lab, Aizen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Li Yue-kun, whatever makes you happy.

Meme Lord: Speaking of which, Senpai, you're back from the publisher?

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: Yeah, just got back. The first thing I see is you trying to usurp Aizen's throne.

Earlier that morning, Kasumigaoka had said she was going to the publisher to discuss the release of her new volume. Now it was nearly evening, so naturally, she was back at her apartment. As soon as she got in, she started chatting in the group.

Meme Lord: I mean, who could stand being a crown prince for a million years? Even in those ancient costume xianxia idol dramas, there's no crown prince that long.

Aizen simply stopped replying and went back to his research.

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: Sorry, I don't really get what you mean by "ancient costume xianxia idol dramas," Pervert-kun. By the way, you didn't even try to argue against that nickname.

Meme Lord: Of course not. This is Senpai's term of endearment for me, just like how you used to call Akise Tomoya "Ethics-kun." This is my victory, Li Yue-kun's!

Meme Lord: Speaking of which, when I saw Senpai earlier, she called Akise Tomoya by his full name instead of "Ethics-kun," but used a nickname for me. Isn't that a kind of... I knew letting Venti give me a Blondie was the right choice!

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: ...

Kasumigaoka was speechless too!

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: Pervert-kun, whatever makes you happy.

When a person is perverted enough to ignore everyone's stares, they become invincible!

59. Draw a Funeral Portrait for La Signora

After silencing both group members in the chat group, Li Yue sat comfortably by the hotel window, sipping the juice the hotel had delivered while watching Mondstadt City under the sunset, feeling a sense of peaceful tranquility.

"Hm?"

While enjoying the view of Mondstadt, Li Yue caught movement from the Goth Grand Hotel next door out of the corner of his eye.

The Goth Grand Hotel, taken over by the Fatui, had practically become the Snezhnaya embassy in Mondstadt. At the embassy's entrance, two Debt Collectors pushed the door open and immediately stood at attention on either side.

A few seconds later, a figure stepped out.

La Signora, the Eighth Harbinger of the Fatui, a former Mondstadt native now an honorary Snezhnayan, strutted arrogantly out of the hotel.

Watching La Signora emerge, Li Yue suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his phone, which he'd bought but never used, and snapped a picture of her. The resolution wasn't great, but zooming in gave a decent enough view of her face.

"Yeah, that's enough."

Li Yue nodded in satisfaction at the photo on the screen.

After La Signora came out, the two Debt Collectors closed the door behind her and followed her toward West Wind Cathedral.

Not only that, but Li Yue spotted Blondie and Emergency Food in the distance, also heading toward the cathedral.

Was this Venti about to hand over his Gnosis?

After all, La Signora's setup, along with Blondie and Emergency Food, looked exactly like the scene in the story where Venti gave up his Gnosis.

Venti was planning to reveal his identity to Blondie, huh. Blondie, as the Traveler, held a special position on the Teyvat continent—a recorder of events. That's why Zhongli and Venti, two old-timers among the Seven Archons, treated him pretty well.

Li Yue had no intention of stopping La Signora from taking Venti's Gnosis. He wasn't interested in that kind of thing anyway.

Besides, trying to hide and watch the show right in front of Venti would be tough. Venti had the Thousand Winds, an EX-level clairvoyance ability, especially in Mondstadt City, where he kept a close watch. So Li Yue didn't plan to go to the scene—that would just reveal he knew Venti was the Anemo Archon, and where's the fun in that?

Even though Li Yue couldn't see what was happening on-site, he'd noted La Signora's Reiatsu when she set out. In Mondstadt City, aside from Li Yue himself, Venti, and Nahida, La Signora had the strongest Reiatsu. Li Yue could close his eyes and pinpoint her location easily.

Before long, in Li Yue's perception, La Signora's Reiatsu converged with Venti's. Within a minute, La Signora's Reiatsu left West Wind Cathedral and moved straight toward the city gates. It seemed she'd gotten the Gnosis and was preparing to withdraw. She didn't even bother with the remaining Fatui in the Goth Grand Hotel—exactly fitting Li Yue's stereotype of a Fatui Harbinger!

Li Yue also noticed that La Signora wasn't moving fast. She seemed confident that even if her actions were exposed, the Mondstadt people wouldn't stop her. So she planned to walk boldly out through the main city gate.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Mondstadt's really pitiful. After the Grand Master led the expedition, it's fallen to such a sorry state."

Li Yue sensed La Signora's Reiatsu leave Mondstadt City, then felt Venti's and Blondie's Reiatsu follow suit, probably heading to the great tree at Windrise. After revealing his identity, Venti would surely want to have a good talk with Blondie.

But that's none of my business.

Li Yue stopped sensing and let go of Venti's affairs. He turned around, finished his juice, took Nahida downstairs for dinner, then came back and crashed straight into bed. Nahida, held in his arms like a pillow, could only sigh at how well young people slept.

The next morning.

"Li Yue!!"

Bang, bang, bang—

"Li Yue!!"

Bang, bang, bang—

Li Yue was woken by the sound of someone knocking on the window. Yes, not the door—the window.

Sitting up in bed, Li Yue stared at Venti outside the window, completely speechless. Dude, this is the third floor! You climbed up here at the crack of dawn to bang on my window?

He tossed Nahida, his pillow, aside, got up, and kicked the window open, sending Venti, who was clinging to it, flying. Venti hit the ground with a yelp.

"Ow~ Li Yue, what the heck~"

"I should be asking you that."

Li Yue leaned out the window, glaring at Venti, who was rubbing his butt on the ground.

"First thing in the morning, are you out of your damn mind?"

"I was just waking you up!"

Venti scrambled to his feet, grinning as he looked up at Li Yue.

"On such a beautiful morning, isn't it a waste not to get up early and start a new day?"

Li Yue looked at Venti, who seemed incredibly energetic, showing no signs of having had his Gnosis taken. Instead, he gave off the vibe of someone who'd finally gotten rid of a nagging problem and could just slack off completely.

"So, what do you want?"

Venti cleared his throat lightly.

"Ahem, Li Yue, my friend, I just wanted to ask—my wine is arriving today. Could you trouble yourself to pick it up for me?"

So that's what you're after.

Li Yue stared at Venti in disbelief. Unlike those big appliances, the wine Kasumigaoka bought for Venti was from Amazon, so the delivery was fast—arriving the next day, which was today. So this guy gave away his Gnosis yesterday, and the very next morning, he's already obsessing over his otherworldly online-ordered wine?

"No need for the past—when the time comes, I'll just hand it to you right here."

The items were Kasumigaoka's to collect, but Li Yue didn't need to open another Portal to Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend's world to pick them up. For simple deliveries, he could use red packets in the Chat Group to transport supplies across worlds quickly. Once Kasumigaoka received the goods, she'd just send a red packet back—same for the electronics he'd bought.

"Oh? So that's possible?"

Venti's eyes lit up.

"No need to go to another world to get booze from it? That means..."

Seeing Venti like that, Li Yue knew exactly what he was thinking and shut it down on the spot.

"No, no, no—I'm not doing personal shopping. I'll grab this batch for you, but if you want more later, go drink with your good buddy Kuroda yourself!"

"No problem, as long as you open the door for me, Li Yue!"

At the mention of his good buddy Kuroda, Venti shot out a thumbs-up, looking even more like a thumbs-up guy than Bennett. Come on, that was a brother who owned a bar—who knew how many kinds of booze he had!

"Opening the door's fine, as long as you can really call Dvalin out for a spar with me."

"No problem—Dvalin's had two days off, that's enough. I can call him out right now and let him spar with you!"

Venti didn't hesitate to throw Dvalin under the bus. Even Li Yue was stunned by his decisiveness.

Dvalin, did you ever think your god would sell you out just to go drink in another world?

"No rush. Early morning's not good for intense exercise, and I need to head to the mountain first."

Li Yue shook his head, rejecting Venti's offer. He had to find Albedo first.

Albedo had come down from Dragonspine and returned to Mondstadt City earlier, grabbing painting supplies before heading back up to work on his art—finishing Li Yue's commission. This time, Li Yue was looking for him to add one more painting on the fly.

But this time, the subject wasn't Kasumigaoka and the others—it was La Signora, whose photo he'd just taken with his phone.

Thinking about how La Signora would leave nothing behind after her death except an empty cenotaph, Li Yue felt she was too pitiful. Dying like that, in a few years, no one in Snezhnaya would even remember what she looked like.

So yesterday, he'd deliberately snapped a picture of La Signora, planning to commission Albedo for a portrait of her—in black and white, no less. He'd send it to Snezhnaya later. That way, even though she was dead, she wouldn't just have an empty coffin—she'd have her own portrait! Looking at it, the Fatui would feel like her voice and face were still with them!

Yeah, I'm way too nice.