In the world of MC, roughly 300 kilometers away from the forest cabin, nestled within a remote mountain ravine...
Keqing was leading Lumine and Paimon on an expeditionary mission.
"I wonder how Aqiu is doing... Is he even eating properly over there?"
"You're worried about him? For all we know, he's probably surrounded by women, living the good life."
"Hah... I'd already come to terms with that possibility a long time ago. Love is beautiful, yes—but it doesn't last forever. Given our long lifespans, in time our bond will evolve into something beyond mere romantic affection... Something more enduring than ordinary kinship."
Lumine was a bit surprised.
"He told you that himself?"
"Mm-hmm. I didn't quite understand it at first, but after seeing how you two interact... I think I'm starting to get it."
Lumine let a smile tug at the corner of her lips.
"Interact? There's barely any harmony between us. If we're not sabotaging each other, it's already a good day. And speaking of long lifespans... You've noticed it too, haven't you? That you're no longer fully human."
Keqing nodded.
She summoned a subsystem interface unique to "maids"—a system much like the one Gongqu used.
"The gatekeeper and those villagers are subjects of the gods and kings. As for me... I'm more of a divine attendant. It's a little like being one of the Adepti of Liyue. I'll probably live a very, very long time."
"You're mistaken," Lumine corrected her. "Aqiu is on par with the Heavenly Principles. You, as his attendant, are more akin to someone like Morax."
"If you go back to Liyue carrying this aura of divinity, don't be surprised if that so-called 'retired troublemaker' names you the next Geo Archon on the spot!"
Lumine chuckled behind her hand, clearly joking.
But Keqing seriously imagined herself as Ningguang's boss for a second.
Damn! That's kind of tempting...
In front of a dense row of newly built homes...
Gongqu was greeted by the gatekeeper, Sebas, who was overseeing construction.
Sebas had already spotted the group from afar—a man riding atop a juvenile dragon, accompanied by two seemingly normal villagers.
"Welcome home, Creator."
"Sebas, where's Keqing?"
"Her Majesty the Divine Consort is currently expanding the map with the Imperial Concubine, on the eastern front."Sebas' posture and etiquette were impeccable—as usual. But his over-the-top flair for dramatic titles remained unchanged.
"I swear, I really do want to reset your language AI one of these days."
"Your humble servant shudders at the thought! If I have offended the Creator in any way, please—do not hesitate to punish me!"
"Whatever. I brought my... girlfriends here to check out the local specialties. Just go do your thing. Don't mind us."
He shamelessly dropped the word girlfriends as he glanced at the four young women with him.
Fortunately, they had all more or less come to terms with becoming his wings—at least for now.
Aside from a few flushed cheeks, there were no strong objections.
And Klee?
She hadn't moved an inch ever since seeing the massive waterfall crashing into the lake.
"Please, pretty please! Klee wants to play! Just for a little bit!"
Gongqu gave up and let her go blow up some fish.
A few minutes later, Gongqu led the group into a lush green field.
"This is the wheat farm Keqing and I started together."
Hands clasped behind his back, he walked between the raised earth beds, gesturing at the sprouting crops.
"This is wheat—the main ingredient in bread. As people from Mondstadt, you should be quite familiar with this."
Jean nodded.
"Yes, we have similar crops in Mondstadt, but due to the abundance of monsters in the wild, only large powers like the Knights or Dawn Winery can manage large-scale agriculture. That's part of why our population has never really grown."
"In that case, this wheat should suit your people's needs perfectly."
Gongqu opened his pack and, with a flourish, pulled out a fresh loaf of bread—seemingly from thin air.
"This was made from that wheat. Go ahead and try it."
Jean divided the bread into four equal parts, handing pieces to Lisa, Eula, and Amber.
Lisa gently pinched a piece, examining its texture.
"Dense yet soft... and when crumbled, it falls apart like silk thread. A fine loaf of white bread indeed."
Eula side-eyed her.That's totally my line. Fits my noble persona better...
She let it slide and took a bite instead.
"Not bad. Quite filling. Would be perfect for long missions in the field."
Amber opened her mouth to speak—only to realize everything useful had already been said.
That was my scout knight line! Even if it fits a guerrilla knight too...
Face turning red, she blurted out:
"Tastes great!"
"Haha, don't worry about analyzing it too much. I just wanted you to see that our two worlds have more in common than you'd think."
Gongqu gently wiped a crumb from Amber's mouth and continued.
"Right now we've got 50 farmers. Once the workforce scales up, we could develop up to 100 acres. This wheat matures every five days, yielding about 67 tons per harvest—around 400 tons a month."
"Thanks to this world's unique rules, we'll eventually hit monthly yields in the thousands—even tens of thousands—of tons."
"Eventually?"Jean picked up on the word immediately.
Gongqu didn't mind having his sales pitch called out.
"Yeah, eventually. I don't actually have that much wheat yet. Look—what you see growing here is all we've got."
"Seriously..."
Jean fell silent. She was glad she'd come to see things for herself.
If she'd launched a proposal based on false assumptions—only to find out Gongqu had no actual stock—it would've been a disaster. Especially coming from her own boyfriend.
She shot him a slightly resentful glance.
"Fine, I admit it. I may have been trying to spin a few golden lies. But hey, I didn't expect our relationship to progress this far either! It's normal for business partners to hold a little something back, right?"
"You call that holding something back?"
"C'mon, by the time we sign contracts and work through the red tape, it'll be a month or two. That's more than enough time for the harvest."
Jean pursed her lips.
Try as she might, she couldn't come up with a proper rebuttal.
Seeing her frustration, Gongqu clapped her lightly on the back, offering reassurance.
"Don't worry. Mondstadt's inefficient administration isn't your fault—it's that lazy bard Barbatos who never does his job. You, on the other hand, always put the people first. You're already a model Grand Master."
"Don't talk about Lord Barbatos like that! He's... he's done a lot for Mondstadt!"
"Alright then, here's a question. If I were drowning in one part of the lake and Barbatos in another... who would you save?"
"Wha—?! That's such a loaded question!"
Jean instantly froze, torn between divine loyalty and romantic dilemma.
See? That's how you comfort a girl.Pay attention, boys. This is quality content.