"Sigh, Rowan, you're going to Liyue to attend the Rite of Descension too?"
"That's great! Then let's go together!"
Paimon flew right up in front of Rowan, hands pressed together in a fawning little plea.
Since Rowan was also heading to Liyue, they'd have company on the road.
And as the Knight King of Mondstadt, Rowan would definitely have his own special ride, or at least some kind of better method of travel.
It had to be faster and more comfortable than the two of them walking on their own two feet.
Paimon absolutely did not want to spend a whole week under the blazing sun and freezing wind, trudging to Liyue Harbor with Lumine.
Besides, having more people traveling together made for better company anyway.
When it came to tiny little schemes like this, Paimon's mental abacus was clacking away loud and clear.
Lumine's eyes also lit up a bit when she heard Paimon's words.
Right—since Rowan was going to Liyue, they might as well go together.
Compared to Paimon's desire to enjoy the trip, Lumine was thinking about safety.
She had never seen Rowan's true strength with her own eyes.
But just from the way he spoke to Venti, the Anemo Archon, and from what she'd heard from Mondstadt's citizens…
Rowan's power was terrifying.
Apparently, he'd once gone head-to-head with the entire nation of Snezhnaya all by himself.
And the Fatui were currently the strongest force on the surface of Teyvat.
Especially their Eleven Fatui Harbingers.
Lumine hadn't met a single one of them yet, but just from their reputation in other nations, there was no way they were weak.
For Rowan to dare stand alone at Snezhnaya's gates, his combat strength needed no further explanation.
So if they could travel to Liyue together with Rowan, their safety would be absolutely guaranteed.
Facing Paimon's and Lumine's hopeful gazes, Rowan glanced sideways at Venti, who was blatantly enjoying the show from the sidelines.
He sighed helplessly.
"Yeah, I'm going to Liyue too."
"If you want to come with me, then sure, let's go together."
Originally, Rowan hadn't really planned to travel with Lumine.
Mainly because his departure time wasn't the same as hers.
With his current methods, he could summon Dvalin, or ride the Golden Ark Vimana.
Every Noble Phantasm Gilgamesh had ever used, Rowan had already forced himself to fully project through sheer stubbornness.
Because of that, he'd collapsed onto the ground more than a few times.
Thankfully, Istaroth had always replenished his mana in time, letting him recover.
It was also then that Istaroth finally understood why Rowan had suddenly ambushed Jean last time.
Turned out he'd been restoring his magic power.
The Golden Ark Vimana was Gilgamesh's exclusive mount—a golden ark that could soar freely through the sky.
At Vimana's speed, it would only take an hour or two to reach Liyue.
So even if Rowan only left Mondstadt on the day of the Rite of Descension itself, he'd still make it in time.
He just hadn't expected Venti to sell him out on the spot, making Paimon and Lumine both look at him like they wanted a free ride.
Speaking of rides, Rowan suddenly thought that maybe he could also project a motorcycle or a sports car to mess around with.
After all, the Gate of Babylon could store anything, and the cement roads were already paved.
So driving all the way to Liyue in style wasn't impossible at all.
Even though some of Liyue's roads weren't completely finished yet…
Right now, Liyue's main routes were basically done.
Especially the main road from Stone Gate to Liyue Harbor.
As for why construction had gone so fast, it was because they'd chosen to work on multiple sections at the same time.
And because Venti had once tricked Zhongli badly, Zhongli had hauled him over to Liyue to work as a free, full-time wind dryer.
Thanks to that, roads finished one day could be opened to traffic the very next.
The speed was, in fact, even faster than Mondstadt's.
After all, Venti didn't dare slack off at all. He was terrified that if he slowed down even a little, Zhongli would jab a spear into his backside.
Zhongli had truly been traumatized by Venti's antics.
He was Morax, the God of Contracts, the victor of the Archon War, and the mightiest of the old gods.
Everyone who saw him would respectfully call him "Emperor."
Yet whenever he ran into Venti, not only was he tricked nonstop, he even got publicly embarrassed.
It was his first time traveling abroad, and he'd been tricked by Venti straight into a prison cell.
Who was he supposed to complain to about that?
After Zhongli was finally released, he'd spent a long time doing mental self-counseling before giving up on the urge to skewer Venti with a single spear thrust.
Mondstadt wasn't his jurisdiction anyway. If he really did spear Venti to death, he could even call it "removing a public nuisance" for Mondstadt, couldn't he?
Unfortunately, in the end Zhongli still softened.
He decided not to do it personally, and instead just had Venti work off his debt through "labor in exchange for forgiveness."
"Really?"
"That's awesome! Lumine, let's go together…!"
"Hehehe~~"
Paimon cheered and twirled circles around Lumine in midair, arms spread wide in pure joy.
Lumine smiled too. She hadn't expected Rowan to agree to their request so easily.
It really was great.
"So, when are we setting out?"
"Tomorrow?"
"How are we going? Are we taking some special carriage?"
After riding her wave of excitement for a while, Paimon finally calmed down a bit. She floated over to Rowan's side and asked curiously.
"Tomorrow?"
"Why go so early? I was planning to head over the day before the Rite of Descension."
Rowan shook his head in response.
"Huh?"
"But, but, Mondstadt is over thirty thousand miles away from Liyue Harbor!"
"Even if we set out right now, we'd only just barely make it in time for the last day!"
"If we leave on the day before, how could we possibly make it?"
Paimon was dumbfounded, staring at Rowan in total disbelief.
Just taking a carriage from Mondstadt to Stone Gate would already take more than a full day. And from Stone Gate to Liyue Harbor was even worse.
Along the way, they would have to cross the vast Guili Plains, then pass through Tianheng Mountain, before finally reaching Liyue Harbor by the sea.
Liyue's territory was much larger than Mondstadt's, and the roads were rugged, filled with monsters.
Even though the Qianyan Army had cleared out a lot of monsters for the sake of road construction…
That could only work for a while. Once a week or so passed, and the ley lines cycled again, hordes of monsters would crop up once more.
Traveling under those conditions, just making it there safely was already something to worry about.
And he still wanted to leave the day before? Was he trying to get them killed?
Lumine didn't know exactly where Liyue was, or how far.
But judging from Paimon's expression, reaching Liyue Harbor in a single day on foot was completely impossible.
So what was Rowan thinking?
She looked at him, utterly puzzled, silently begging for an explanation.
Venti, on the other hand, suddenly thought of something, and his face immediately fell.
"You're not planning to ride Dvalin there, are you?"
If they went by Dvalin, then even getting to Liyue in an hour would be a piece of cake.
Flying through the sky was on a completely different level of speed than traveling on the ground.
"You guess."
(End of Chapter)
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