"Perhaps I'd given you all too much freedom…"
"Effective immediately, the entire nation of Mondstadt shall no longer embrace freedom. And I shall no longer be the God of Freedom."
The people of Mondstadt were bewildered.
Some were terrified, others were at a complete loss!
But!
In a certain sense.
A flexible moral compass is a form of freedom.
Changing the national polity, the system of government, the state religion… on a whim, that too is a form of freedom.
Venti, of course, had never truly changed.
But he understood perfectly well that the Heavenly Principles held many grievances against Mondstadt.
If it couldn't change, wouldn't it just remain a thorn in their side? If you're looking to die, there are better ways than that.
Freedom is about recognizing the circumstances and adapting brilliantly.
If one couldn't even grasp this, then dying would be a pointless waste.
And so.
In this hurried manner, he began to advocate for Order.
Emphasizing that 'nothing can be accomplished without norms and standards.'
He reorganized the entire structure of Mondstadt from top to bottom.
He even decreed that every person must work eight hours a day, rest for two hours at noon, and that alcohol could only be consumed after work.
This point alone.
Almost killed the spirit of the Mondstadt people.
But!
Some failed to read the situation clearly.
They protested! They shouted! They held demonstrations…
They thought Barbatos would concede, but would he? Could he?
With the nation at stake and the Heavenly Principles watching, both emotionally and logically, Barbatos would not show any weakness.
Cutting the Gordian knot swiftly had always been his way.
He led by example, showing everyone that a god can exist without a nation, but a nation cannot exist without a god.
Compared to other places, these policies were already quite lenient.
Yet you all act as if you've suffered some great injustice.
Barbatos, conversely, truly began to feel that excessive freedom had indeed distorted the very meaning of freedom. This wasn't what he wanted either.
The formerly loose, sand-like system began to gradually centralize.
Personally taking charge, he pushed everything through with a firm and resolute attitude.
The Knights of Favonius were purged of their corrupt elements.
The Church of Favonius.
Even all the other various social strata!
Everything radiated out from Mondstadt City itself, spreading in all directions, being rectified and reformed.
"The Heavenly Principles have awoken!"
"I will face this new era together with you all!"
In fact.
Many in Mondstadt speculated that Lord Barbatos's complete one-eighty in attitude was likely due to the Heavenly Principles.
They didn't know exactly what the Heavenly Principles were, how supreme and exalted they stood.
But those familiar with Venti, seeing him tackle serious work as if it were a form of torture, understood the severity of the situation.
Lord Barbatos must have his profound reasons for acting this way.
Thus, many clever individuals promptly began to offer their support.
Whether it was faith in freedom, or the upholding of order.
Sometimes, many nobles didn't particularly care about these things either.
As a result, Mondstadt changed with each passing day. Very quickly, it became completely revitalized.
'See? You can do it if you just put in the effort!'
--+--
Meanwhile, in Liyue.
The impending age of human governance, which hadn't even properly begun, was rolled back.
The adepti couldn't even maintain their previous reclusive lifestyles anymore.
They were forced to emerge from seclusion and become active again.
The Liyue Qixing couldn't comprehend it, but! Whether they understood or not, they had to accept it.
They knew the Emperor had not truly perished.
Behind all this was the Emperor's genuine command.
The Emperor, the God of Contracts, was willing to breach the contract itself to reverse the course of human governance. Why would he do this?
They couldn't help but ponder this deeply.
"A nation cannot go a single day without a god."
"We have found the imperial edict left by the Emperor, anticipating his own end, designating his successor!"
Ganyu, along with the Liyue Qixing and all the illuminated adepti, acted swiftly, announcing the news to the people in Yujing Terrace.
"The second Geo Archon shall be Mr. Zhongli, consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, who will assume the position."
She declared clearly.
Beside her, the faces of the Liyue Qixing and the other adepti all held subtle, complex expressions.
The Emperor, using his identity as the Emperor, had forged an edict arranging for the second Geo Archon to be… himself.
'Why am I having such a dream?'
Because of the contract, he had to abdicate.
But since he had to retake the position… he could only bypass the contract this way?
'Okay, okay~'
'Morax is dead, what does that have to do with me, Zhongli?'
'Morax passing the position to me, Zhongli, is there any problem with that?'
Actually, this was the only way Morax could manage it!
Did you think he wanted to scrap his ordinary mortal persona, Zhongli? Of course not! But he had no choice!
The Heavenly Principles said, 'If you don't want to be the Geo Archon anymore, you can retire. But there must be a god.'
So Zhongli looked around, but didn't see anyone suitable to become a god.
He could only hold his nose and accept it.
'Just have to endure a while longer.'
Fortunately!
The young lady Kiana had repaired the world, and naturally, the eroded laws were also revoked.
The world could now comfortably support the current era.
Thus, there was no longer any need to use erosion to gradually phase these gods out of the historical stage. Right?
Without erosion, Morax could naturally take things easier.
His previous urgency to abdicate, his feeling of weariness, were largely due to erosion.
However!
It was quite obvious!
After experiencing a period of human governance, many felt it was quite good while many others missed the earlier era of divine rule.
But to suddenly revert back so abruptly…
Everyone was bound to feel uncomfortable.
Zhongli explained the reasons to the Qixing and the adepti.
They, for their part, could understand.
After all, this generation of the Liyue Qixing, while holding power, did not have desires for it that reached uncontrollable levels.
Everything, absolutely everything, took a back seat when the nation was concerned.
With that level of awareness, they were naturally qualified.
Liyue began to methodically readjust its governance structure.
But it wasn't a complete reversion either.
"I, Zhongli!"
"From this day forward, assume the great lineage and ascend to the divine position!"
A hasty ascension ceremony was held.
Everything was kept simple.
This was also Zhongli's request.
He said, "From this day forward, the Geo Archon, along with the adepti, will assume a supervisory role. How the nation operates and functions will still be fully entrusted to the people. The path forward is for you to decide."
Having a god and adepti watching over them, like a blade suspended three feet above their heads, naturally helped avoid the pitfalls of purely human governance and prevented the desires of the upper echelons from expanding excessively.
The Liyue Qixing and others naturally had no objections to this and accepted it willingly.
--+--
Over in Inazuma.
The Hiiragi and Kujou families, who thought the matter was settled and everything was over, found themselves dispatched to the remote borders by a single official document from Makoto, beginning a life of hardship in the cold frontiers.
It was only then that everyone realized how much Inazuma had truly been through in the past.
They hadn't always had just this one Shogun.
There had been three in total, sequentially.
The original Electro Archon had been resurrected.
The second, Ei, and the third, the Shogun puppet, would naturally not defy her will.
She drastically reformed the Tri-Commission system, abolishing the rule of specific families managing the Commission agencies.
Just like that.
The Hiiragi and Kujou families got their just deserts.
Yet even the Yashiro Commission's Kamisato Clan, which had not only been faultless but even meritorious, couldn't escape this major upheaval and was similarly affected by the sweeping policy changes.
Whether they were willing or not, they had to accept it!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.