T/N: Honestly not the biggest fan of this loli stuff, tried to change it but uh.. cant really do that when this chapter is more direct with it
When Jesse and his group swaggered into Sumeru City, the anticipated gawking, screaming, or vigilance did not occur.
The people of Sumeru merely gave them a curious glance, their eyes lingering for a few seconds on their peculiar combination (especially the four talking Hilichurls), and then... they went back to their own business?
The coconut seller continued to hawk his wares, scholars continued to debate academic issues, and children continued to chase and play, as if they were just ordinary tourists.
"Huh? They don't seem to be afraid of us anymore?"
Paimon scratched her head, a little unaccustomed to this "cold shoulder."
Everyone: "..." (Have our deeds already become old news?!)
One must know, their reputation resonated throughout Teyvat—purifying the Dvalin in Mondstadt, drinking and carousing with the Adepti in Liyue (and incidentally demolishing a few streets), in Inazuma, punching the Raiden Shogun, kicking the Fatui, forcibly lifting the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree... which one of these, taken alone, isn't outrageous enough? Not eye-catching enough?
But soon, they understood why.
The casual chat of two scholars by the roadside drifted into their ears:
"Did you hear? Yesterday, a few clueless merchants tried to pass off shoddy goods to the Palace of the Sumeru Sage's procurement, and guess what happened?"
"What happened? Were they caught by the matra?"
"No way! It was that 'Supreme Being' adult! He just happened to be passing by! Although he didn't say anything, he just 'looked' at that pile of shoddy goods! And guess what? That pile of stuff directly 'poof' into ashes right before his eyes! Not even dregs were left!"
"Hiss—! The Supreme Being is mighty! This is a warning! Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys!"
"Exactly! Who would dare to show even a shred of disrespect to the Dendro Archon now? If we were to displease the Supreme Being, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger; one look from him and we'd all be collectively cremated!"
Mercenaries at another table, drinking coffee, were also whispering: "Hey, tell me, why is the Supreme Being so good to the Dendro Archon? Is it really just as the announcement said, that he couldn't stand the Grand Sage bullying people?"
"I think there's more to it! My second uncle's neighbor's third uncle works odd jobs at the Akademiya, and he said he personally saw the Supreme Being use those... uh, skeleton hands, very lightly, very carefully, to hand candy to the Dendro Archon! That scene, tsk, both terrifying and... a little harmonious?"
"Could it be... that kind of relationship?"
"Shh!! Do you want to die! How dare you gossip about the Supreme Being! But... now that you mention it, it really does have a bit of a... 'Death Lord and his runaway little Dendro Archon wife' vibe?"
"Pfft—! You shut up! I still want to live a few more years!"
Listening to these increasingly outrageous rumors, everyone exchanged glances, their expressions complex.
Good heavens, it turns out it wasn't that they were old news, but that Sumeru's local news was simply too explosive, completely overshadowing their "heroic deeds"!
Their own deity crying to a great demon king from another world about being bullied -> The great demon king, in a fit of rage, caused rivers of blood -> Then everyone was resurrected collectively -> Except for the culprit -> Finally, the great demon king personally sat in supervision with his army -> Fearing that his little Dendro Archon would suffer even a little grievance... This plot, even novels wouldn't dare to write it like this! In comparison, their "great achievements" were practically just appetizers!
More importantly, all Sumeru residents had now reached a consensus: whoever dared to upset the Dendro Archon, that terrifying skeleton boss who clearly had the power to instantly destroy a nation, would genuinely unleash another massacre!
As for the Fatui? Heh, in front of a boss who can resurrect tens of thousands of people at will, what's a Harbinger?
At this moment, the Tsaritsa, who was drinking tea in the Snezhnaya Palace, inexplicably shivered.
Momonga, who had gathered this information in his temporary fortress, was full of question marks, his skeleton face almost contorting into an expression.
What? What kind of image do I have in your eyes?
Am I a world-destroying demon who slaughters at the drop of a hat?
Although that child Nahida is quite cute, sensible and smart, and soft to hold, I really don't have that kind of perverted protective urge of "whoever makes her frown, I'll wipe out their entire clan"!
I'm just an ordinary... uh, Ruler of Death!
You're making me so awkward! How am I supposed to maintain my cool and aloof persona in the future?!
Momonga was on the verge of tears (unfortunately, he had no tear ducts), and dejectedly walked into his dark fortress, which he had casually built with magic, in an extremely Nazarick style.
The fortress was built on the large pit where The God of True Mechanism had appeared; since the area was large enough, one spell from him took care of the foundation, walls, defensive magic arrays, and interior decoration (Gothic horror style), with extremely high efficiency.
The only headache was... the space was too big! Being alone made it feel especially empty, lonely, and cold.
He even considered summoning a few low-level undead to clean, just to make it seem a bit livelier.
"My masters..."
Momonga said to the quartet who had come to "inspect," his voice filled with grievance.
"Your plan is complete, Nahida is in power, but my reputation... it's completely beyond saving... Now all of Sumeru thinks I'm a psychopathic control freak demon king who kills without batting an eye and then resurrects people just to kill them again!"
Jesse awkwardly touched his Hilichurl mask: "Uh... well... plans change. At least the plan succeeded, right? And look, Nahida's safety is absolutely guaranteed now! We've also discussed it, and we'll have you temporarily stay by Nahida's side, as her... mm, 'Ultimate Deterrent Strategic Guardian'!"
Momonga sighed and waved his skeletal claw: "Fine, I quite like that child anyway, so watching over her isn't a big deal."
"Then we're off! To explore Sumeru City! To see if there are any new delicious foods! Bye-bye!"
After Jesse finished speaking, he quickly pulled everyone away, afraid that Momonga would complain again.
Paimon was still reluctantly clinging to an "Otherworld Burger" on the table, specially made with Liyue-imported Flour and Snezhnaya sausages, when Lumine forcefully dragged her away.
"Oh, right, this is for you."
Zane, who was walking last, seemed to remember something, turned around, and tossed a small, shimmering, seven-colored gem to Momonga.
Momonga instinctively caught it and looked at it with detection magic, puzzled: "This is...?"
"A small trinket, it can temporarily simulate physiological structures, allowing you to eat normally."
Zane explained.
"Even as a skeleton, you can taste flavors and even feel full.
Consider it... a small compensation for you."
With that, Zane also left.
Momonga stared blankly at the small gem in his hand, then at the half-eaten burger on the table that Paimon had bitten... A few seconds later.
"!!!!"
A powerful magical fluctuation suddenly erupted in the huge fortress! Momonga, with lightning speed, pressed the gem into his chest cavity, then snatched the burger!
Trembling, he slowly brought the burger to his mandible... then, carefully took a bite!
!!!
A long-lost, incredibly familiar aroma and warmth of fried food instantly filled his "senses"!
The crispy crust, the juicy patty, the sweet and sour sauce, the refreshing vegetables... every flavor was so clear! So delicious!
"Ah... mm..."
Momonga let out a satisfied, tearful moan (though he couldn't make a sound, his soul was crying out).
If skeletons had tear ducts, he would definitely be shedding tears of joy right now!
Hundreds of years! It had been hundreds of years!!
He finally tasted food again! No longer false signals simulated by magic, but genuine taste!
The immense emotion and happiness instantly dispelled his worries about his reputation.
"Oh, right!"
Momonga suddenly remembered the news his undead subordinates had reported earlier.
"They said the Sumeru's Festival of the Flower God is about to begin!"
He looked at the half-eaten burger in his hand, then imagined the dazzling array of Sumeru specialty snacks at the festival... "That child Nahida has also been working hard lately (even though she's only worked for an hour and probably hasn't even finished three documents), it's not good for her to always be cooped up in the office."
"It's decided!"
Momonga suddenly stood up, flames of "appetite" (mistakenly) Burning in his skeletal eyes.
"I'll take her to the festival! And... eat some delicious food!"
As for work?
Let Alhaitham handle it for now!
After all, nothing is more important than the Supreme Being taking his "delicate" little Dendro Archon to experience the hardships of the common folk (sampling delicious food)! Yes, it must be so!