Sumeru.
Among Teyvat's Seven Nations, Koji felt that Liyue and Mondstadt had the most comfortable climates. Sumeru's rainforest was hot and humid, while the desert region was dry and scorching.
Venti always claimed he didn't have much power, but in truth, he used his divine authority to continually regulate Mondstadt's region—keeping its weather mild, with steady winds and timely rain all year round.
"Nahida—she's currently in the desert doing on-site fieldwork."
Inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, only Nahida looked properly "official" as she worked at her desk. There was no sign of Rukkhadevata or Nabu Malikata.
So that was it: the two of them had gone to the desert for a survey. For the sake of future governance, they had already been away for several days.
"Nahida, how does it feel to manage Sumeru as the Dendro Archon?" Koji asked.
Nahida thought for a moment, then said, "It's… okay. It's just that there's so much to do. I can barely keep up."
In fact, before leaving, Rukkhadevata had already handled a great deal. It was just that Nahida lacked experience—many matters took her a long time to weigh and consider, which wasted quite a bit of time.
"If the Anemo Archon saw how serious you are, I wonder if he'd feel ashamed."
Koji couldn't help laughing. The Anemo Archon's "management style" really was ridiculous.
"Senior Venti?" Nahida's expression turned strange. That senior Archon acted with no regard for conventions, but he did count as a free-spirited, dashing senior among gods.
"Where in the desert are Rukkhadevata and Nabu Malikata doing their research?"
"At Aaru Village. A lot of people live there. Other than the sandstorms, water resources are actually fairly easy to obtain," Nahida said.
Koji nodded. After saying a brief word to Nahida, he took Skirk with him and headed for Aaru Village.
Nahida lowered her head again and continued processing various documents.
…
"So hot. It's really hot."
Aaru Village. Nabu Malikata walked barefoot on the scalding sand, and even her alluring, charming face looked a little wilted.
Too hot. I'm melting.
As the Goddess of Flowers, she didn't like desert regions. There were no flowers, and the climate was so harsh.
It wasn't to the point of threatening her life, but the way it felt was genuinely miserable.
Just like Neuvillette, the Hydro Dragon King—he also really disliked environments as hot as the desert.
"Nabu, you've said that already. Can you be quiet for a moment…?" Rukkhadevata said helplessly.
"But it's really hot," Nabu Malikata pouted. She felt like she was going to get sunbaked until she dehydrated.
"Stop being so dramatic."
Rukkhadevata knew exactly what Nabu Malikata was thinking—she just wanted an excuse to slack off. Sumeru's temperature wasn't low, but the Sanctuary of Surasthana had cooling devices.
"Rukkhadevata—if Nabu Malikata won't behave, you can just whip her," Koji said, appearing with Skirk and offering his highly "practical" suggestion.
"How can you say something that cold-blooded?"
Nabu Malikata stared, dumbfounded. With a mouth that was 37 degrees warm, how was he saying something this icy?
…Although, if Rukkhadevata did it personally, that might not be so bad.
"If you want to 'feel the heat,' that's not impossible. We can go 'drive' right now," Koji said, teasing her with a playful look.
Nabu Malikata was a veteran driver—she instantly understood what Koji meant, and her face flushed.
Are you trying to leave some kind of liquid inside me?
"Sure. The two of us can go right now," Nabu Malikata said, giving him a seductive smile as she licked her lips.
"Stop."
Rukkhadevata watched Nabu Malikata brazenly "driving," and the corner of her mouth twitched. Honestly… not a single one of them was serious.
"And this is…?"
Skirk's presence drew her attention. She wasn't from Teyvat—and that was Abyssal power, wasn't it? From Skirk's limbs, an extremely dense Abyssal aura seeped out.
As the God of Verdure and guardian of Irminsul, Rukkhadevata's existence surpassed the vast majority of gods.
"Skirk was let in by Alice," Koji added.
Rukkhadevata nodded. If that woman had let her in, then Skirk probably wouldn't cause any serious impact on Teyvat.
Alice was often absurd and unreliable on the surface, but when it came to serious matters, she didn't mess around. As a guardian of the boundary, Alice was remarkably responsible.
"Rukkhadevata—are you familiar with the Dendro Dragon King, Apep?" Koji asked.
Skirk had heard of Dragon Kings—and had even seen them. Ancient existences born on this planet.
"Apep… I suppose I know it," Rukkhadevata said with a headache. "A stubborn, paranoid dragon. Whether it's humans or gods, it carries nothing but hostility and hatred."
Five hundred years ago, she had tried to form an alliance with the Dendro Dragon King, but it didn't even deign to respond—arrogant to an extreme.
As one of the original Dragon Kings, it was the proudest of the dragon race.
"What, you want to see it?" Rukkhadevata asked.
"Make it Sumeru's combat power. Do you want that or not?"
"Huh?"
Rukkhadevata blinked, completely confused. Apep simply couldn't become Sumeru's combat power—the barrier between them couldn't be erased.
"You have a way?"
If it could truly be done, Rukkhadevata had no objections. A Dragon King's combat power could crush the combat power of the overwhelming majority of gods.
"I do. Apep is currently suffering from the pain of Abyssal corrosion. I can purify Abyssal power. If it still refuses after that… I also happen to know a little fist-and-foot."
Koji spread his hands, speaking with a straight face.
"…"
Rukkhadevata went slack-jawed. She'd been expecting some brilliant method. Who knew it would turn out to be… pure physics.
"That method is actually pretty good. For the stubborn and unrepentant, forcing it down with physical strength works better," Skirk agreed.
Because for that kind of existence, reasoning was useless. Even if you spoke yourself hoarse, if it absorbed even a single sentence, that would already be impressive.
First use physics to make it willing to listen to reason—now that was the clever move.
"Fine. If it works, that's best. If it doesn't, we lose nothing," Rukkhadevata said, nodding as she accepted Koji's plan.
"The Dendro Dragon King… I remember that back then, the Scarlet King also wanted to work with it," Nabu Malikata said thoughtfully, recalling the past.
Toward an existence like a Dragon King, she was still wary. Its racial talent was undeniable, but most of the time it relied on brute strength—and it was very hard to communicate with.
Teyvat's earliest natives were the ancient dragons. When Descenders arrived in Teyvat, the dragon race gradually ceased to have any "regular army," and humanity became the main force driving Teyvat's development.
Most ancient dragons with intelligence couldn't be called "close" to humans. The fact that many of them didn't go mad and launch revenge against humanity already counted as fortunate.
"Nabu Malikata—does that matter have something to do with you?" Rukkhadevata asked suspiciously.
The things the Scarlet King did back then were inseparable from the Goddess of Flowers.
"Now you're misunderstanding me. Don't think of me as that capable," Nabu Malikata said, rolling her eyes.
Where's the trust between gods, hm?
Is that old friendship really something we can never go back to?
(End of Chapter)
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