At the summit of Tianheng Mountain,
Taro's figure appeared.
"Yo, Taro-bro, you're here. Come, sit, sit~"
Already seated, Venti sprang to his feet and lifted the wine gourd in his hand to pour.
Threads of pale-green liquor flowed into the cup, faintly glowing with specks of light.
"Here, Thousand-Year Drunk, a special fruit wine Alice brought back from outside."
"Heh-heh, I really did her a huge favor this time, that's the only reason I managed to get a bottle out of her."
"…"
Hearing that, Taro raised an eyebrow.
As expected, the three of them really had gone to the border together.
Helping Alice with something?
Fending off the Abyss, or repairing the world's barrier?
"Venti…"
Taking the cup from Venti, Taro slowly sat down.
"Zhongli and Azhdaha aren't back yet?"
"They're not planning to just stay out there forever, are they?"
"No way~"
Venti waved his hand with a laugh.
"The three of us had it rough on this trip."
"Those two got worked up, so once they cool down a bit they'll naturally come back."
"What were they fighting?"
Taro looked at Venti with mild curiosity.
For something to get both Zhongli and Azhdaha so riled up, it clearly wasn't some ordinary nuisance.
"Tch~ what else could it be?"
Venti took a small sip of the liquor, his face full of bliss.
"It's all Rhinedottir's fault, that woman. The 'beasts' she bred with Abyssal power ended up having their will hijacked by the Abyss."
"Most of what's outside the border these days is that kind of thing."
"It's basically like a factory, churning them out nonstop."
"Fortunately they're degraded versions and easier to deal with. Otherwise Teyvat would've been torn to shreds long ago."
Torn to shreds?
That wording…
"Golden King Beasts… a whole legion?"
"A bunch of those guys, not only 'kings' among them, but even an 'emperor'?"
In an instant, the answer formed in Taro's mind.
Just a single one, or even a few dozen, obviously wouldn't be enough to make Zhongli and Azhdaha go all out.
Only a full-scale army would warrant those two taking things seriously.
"Exactly."
Venti nodded, a bit helpless.
"Those things can very easily tear open space, slip past the border, and charge straight into Teyvat, so they've always been one of our primary targets."
"This time, the old man and Azhdaha went charging out for a good round of smashing, and ended up luring out the emperor of that whole brood."
"Azhdaha wasn't paying attention and accidentally stepped on it three times."
"Then, well, his temper flared."
"And the result is… they still haven't killed to their heart's content."
"…"
Taro instantly understood.
No wonder a huge chunk of experience had dropped into his account yesterday.
So those two had wiped out the enemy's nest.
Mm, not bad. Keep up the good work!
"Eh, hold on~"
Taro turned his head to look at Venti, his gaze turning a bit strange.
"So while the two of them are sweating it out on the front lines, you slipped back home all by yourself?"
"I couldn't help it~"
Venti shrugged.
"Don't be fooled by how easygoing the old man looks on the surface."
"When his temper really flares, calling him 'decisive in slaughter' doesn't even begin to cover it."
"I don't have power on his level."
"All I can do is clean up the ones they miss around the edges."
"Once there's nothing left to do… well, I might as well come back, right?"
"And besides… heh-heh…"
At that point,
Venti chuckled twice and flipped his palm over.
An irregular, amber-like stone fragment floated in his hand.
"Here, take a look."
"I sensed this inside the remains of one of those beast emperors."
"This thing from beyond is pretty rare. There's some very special power inside it, something even the Abyss can't corrode."
"My guess is that it's a fragment from some powerful structure."
"I had a feeling you'd like it, so I brought it back for you."
A structure fragment?
On reflex, Taro used his appraisal ability, and the corner of his eye twitched.
It really was a structure fragment.
Appraisal result: scrap fragment from a Gravsource Baseplate.
Taro subconsciously covered his face.
Last time, Madame Ping had given him a small surprise.
Now Venti had brought him back an enormous surprise.
Well then~
With Teyvat's coordinate system, plus this piece of Gravsource Baseplate scrap, and the fragment Madame Ping had given him last time…
He could now perform full three-point triangulation.
"Taro-bro, you actually recognize it?"
Seeing Taro's expression, Venti looked like he'd just seen a ghost; even his tone became a bit urgent.
"Taro-bro, be honest with me— you're not from the place this thing came from, are you?"
The power on this fragment was, beyond any doubt, from a higher plane.
No matter how faint the residual power inside might be—
It was still power from a higher level.
Gods' authorities couldn't even reach a fraction of it.
If the thing weren't so special, the three of them wouldn't have bothered to come back at all; they'd have kept fighting outside.
Venti definitely hadn't come back purely of his own accord.
"Nope~"
Taro shook his head as he looked at the fragment on the table.
"But the intel I can share is… I know what this thing is."
"And I know what kind of world it flowed out from."
"Over there, planets like Teyvat, full of life, number in the countless."
"…"
The corner of Venti's eye twitched. He stared woodenly at the fragment.
Planets like Teyvat… countless?
Seriously?
They had gone through so much effort, spent so much blood and sweat, to protect Teyvat.
They'd poured their hearts into it.
And then, with just one turn of the head…
What do you know— in that other world, planets like Teyvat were as common as pebbles.
Venti lowered his head and thunked his forehead straight onto the stone table, producing a muffled thud.
Thud.
The next second, he lifted a hand to rub his forehead.
"Ow… that hurts~"
"If it hurts, good. Pain means this isn't just a dream."
Taro let him settle his emotions, then looked at him with a complex expression.
"Venti, the place this fragment came from… can you get there?"
Go to where this fragment originated?
Taro stroked his chin and thought for a moment.
"Hmm~ before, I wasn't sure. I only had about a thirty-percent chance."
"Now that we've added this piece… I'd say the odds are around sixty to seventy percent."
"Really?"
The moment he said that, Venti lit up.
Literally lit up.
"What now?"
Taro narrowed his eyes.
"You're not thinking about putting the crown back on, are you?"
Wear the crown again?
Absolutely not.
The light around Venti snuffed out in an instant.
He hurriedly sat down and took another sip of wine to calm himself.
"Nothing of the sort!"
"Heh-heh, I just got a little excited…"
Excited your head.
Taro gave Venti a sidelong glance.
"Even if I had a ninety-percent chance of getting there, that would still only be me going."
"And we have no idea what the situation is like over there."
"Where I'd actually land is anyone's guess."
"If I accidentally dropped right next to a black hole, I might be toast on the spot."
"So all those little schemes you're dreaming up? Snuff them out right now."
The moment this guy got excited, Taro already knew exactly what he was thinking.
But like he said: no way.
Why do you think, after Madam Ping gave him that fragment last time, he never acted on it at all?
Was it because he couldn't go?
No— it was because he flat-out didn't dare go, alright?
Who knew exactly where the coordinates he anchored would deposit him?
He was very fond of staying alive.
Unless he was forced into a dead end with no other options,
There was no way he'd use this final unknown escape route.
Let alone use it for anything else.
(End of Chapter)
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