Aether watched Morax and Cloud Retainer chatting and laughing over there.
Suddenly, he felt a little regretful about coming along with Morax.
It kind of felt like he was a third wheel.
But it wasn't a big deal.
They could discuss whatever they wanted.
Aether, meanwhile, used the Authority of Manifestation and directly conjured up a table beside him. Then he placed a plate of Sweet Madame, a plate of Golden Shrimp Balls, a plate of Almond Tofu—
and several other small dishes.
In an instant, the entire table was filled with rich, mouthwatering aromas.
Aether sat down in front of it, poured himself a cup of Coca-Cola, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and began his glorious routine of eating and slacking off…
What is that smell?
"Lord of Geo, do you smell something?" Cloud Retainer asked suddenly, mid-conversation about mechanisms. A tempting—tempting-for-birds—fragrance had drifted over.
A smell?
At the mention of aroma, Morax turned his head toward Aether.
Sure enough, at some point this fellow had set up a table on the spot, manifested a spread of delicious-looking food, and started eating by himself.
Cloud Retainer also turned to look.
"T-These mortal dishes… they're actually this enticing."
She was completely drawn in by the scent.
Perhaps noticing their gazes, Aether lifted his head, looked at Cloud Retainer and Morax, and waved with a grin.
"Cloud Retainer! Morax!"
"Want to come enjoy some good food with me?"
As he spoke, Aether quickly manifested two chairs at the empty spots—"One chair was engraved with 'Cloud Retainer sits here,' and the other with 'This seat belongs to Morax".
"To think that mortal food could be made this delicious."
"Today, following the Demon God of Manifestation truly broadened my horizons," Cloud Retainer said with a smile.
Morax corrected, "The mortal realm does not possess such delicacies. These are foods manifested by Zennos."
"Perhaps one day, mortals may achieve such flavors, but it is not so at present."
As a demon god who cherished humanity, Morax understood the hardships of mortal life all too well.
For people of this era, being able to eat and drink their fill each day was already a blessing. They had no leisure to consider how to make food taste better.
As long as they could fill their stomachs, that was already something worth celebrating.
"Haha, Morax is right. One day, mortals will rely on their own wisdom to accomplish what seems impossible," Aether said with a smile.
As someone from Earth, Aether naturally understood humanity's potential.
But humans in this era—
they were closer to primitive times.
And with demon gods restricting them, sheltering them, they had little chance to learn how to use their own wisdom to truly stand on their own.
Aether's words differed greatly from Morax's view.
Morax had faith in human potential, yes, but in the present, humans lacked the ability to grow independently.
They still needed to survive beneath the shelter of his wings.
"So, Morax—how is it? These dishes were all carefully selected by me. Countless experiments went into them before I finally reached this result~!"
Aether spoke while eating Golden Shrimp Balls, grinning at Morax.
As for "countless experiments," that was completely made up.
These dishes already existed in Teyvat's future.
Aether had simply imagined their flavors and used his Authority of Manifestation to bring those delicacies into reality.
As a Earth Xia Nation native, he naturally took food very seriously.
Heh~!
"Mm. They are indeed excellent," Morax said.
Only someone like Aether would "run countless experiments" for the sake of food…
"T-Then, um… Lord Demon God of Manifestation, do you have more of these dishes?"
"I'd like to bring some to the other adepti of Jueyun Karst to try. Would that be acceptable?"
Cloud Retainer looked toward Aether.
Since she'd even called him Lord Demon God, Aether couldn't exactly refuse.
Aether waved his hand with a laugh.
"Oh, so there are other adepti in Jueyun Karst as well."
"But it's just food—nothing worth mentioning, nothing worth mentioning."
"Please convey my greetings to the other adepti."
Then Aether used the Authority of Manifestation and conjured up twenty portions of lavish delicacies—each one packed to the brim.
He didn't know how many adepti there were.
But in this ancient era, before the Demon God War began, there should be plenty of adepti still around.
Still, the adepti who were close to Cloud Retainer probably wouldn't exceed twenty.
After all—she was the very "eloquent" Adeptus.
"This Adeptus thanks Lord Demon God of Manifestation!" Cloud Retainer said, smiling brightly.
Aether smiled back. "Just call me Aether."
"Mm. Aether—thank you," Cloud Retainer replied with a smile.
Aether chuckled softly.
Cloud Retainer still wasn't nearly as "eloquent" as she would become in the future.
Time truly was a mighty force.
It could smooth everything out—and it could change everything too.
He wondered what he himself would become after a few thousand years.
Probably a slacker like Venti, or a washed-up social recluse like Zhongli.
Hahaha!
But as the Demon God of Manifestation, at least he wouldn't ever lack Mora.
After leaving Cloud Retainer, Aether returned to Liyue with Morax.
Perhaps because Aether had spent so much time over the past month roaming around the borders of Liyue, using monsters to build up combat experience,
the number of threats capable of endangering Liyue had sharply declined.
During the time Aether and Morax were away visiting the adepti, the barrier Aether had set over Liyue was never once triggered.
After returning, Aether immediately withdrew the barrier.
After all, maintaining it constantly would continuously drain his power.
The days that followed were calm, much like before.
Training and accumulating combat experience, working hard to strengthen his authority, thinking up more tasty foods—
and teasing Morax whenever he got the chance.
"Good day, Lord Zennos!"
"Mm, hello. Don't mind me—I'm just taking a walk."
Aether smiled as he strolled through the human settlement of Liyue.
Because he often did this, the mortals had long since grown used to the presence of this demon god.
At first, they had been terrified of him, nervous and cautious, afraid to behave improperly.
But after enough contact, they came to understand what kind of demon god Aether was.
His temperament was a bit strange, but he was approachable, close to mortals, and didn't care about formalities—he even asked them to ignore his presence as much as possible.
Winter was approaching.
Every household was busily preparing food for the cold season.
In Liyue, food was still mainly obtained through gathering and hunting—an early, primitive structure of survival.
There was some planting, but it wasn't widespread.
Mostly berry bushes and fruit trees—nothing that could truly serve as a staple crop.
Wheat and rice didn't seem to have been discovered yet.
"Please… can you take us in?"
"A minor desert demon god unknown to history...!"
"You ask why we ran? Because we couldn't survive anymore! Under the Wind and Sand Demon God, the skies are shrouded in wind and sand all day long."
"People don't live past thirty-five—too much sand gets into their lungs, and they suffocate to death."
"And now that winter has come, we don't know what happened to the Wind and Sand Demon God, but the sandstorms suddenly grew even worse. We… we truly can't live like this anymore!"
"Otherwise… otherwise we wouldn't dare commit such betrayal against a god."
Walking along the muddy street, Aether saw a crowd gathered ahead, noisy and agitated.
He caught a few words that piqued his interest.
So he headed over.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/MythArcStudio