The City of Liyue

A bit of a smaller chapter with not too much happening, but hope you enjoy.

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

『System/Persona Speech』

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Ayato was looking around with wonder in his eyes as the city of Liyue had brought great interest to him. He had arrived not too long ago, probably around ten or so minutes ago. Though, upon entering the city and getting a closer look at everything, he was amazed by its design.

Liyue seemed to resemble China, though not modern China, perhaps maybe resembling China during the Qing Dynasty or something like that. He wasn't the most brightly-minded when it came to history, he was more a mythology, geography and science fanatic than he was a historian.

Not only that, the attire that he saw the people wearing were also typically belonging to those who lived in China, some wearing similar clothing to Huai'an back at the Wangshu Inn. Besides that though, he had also noticed that they were all talking in English, which further made him believe that English was just a universal language here in this world.

Just like when he first arrived at the Inn, he had a few people staring at him due to his clothing, but eventually shrugged it off and continued on with their business. Considering this type of world, he doubted that his current modern clothes stood out that incredibly.

"Hmm, what should I do first...?" Ayato muttered as he held his chin in thought, all the while still walking. He still had the request Xiao asked of him, though considering how Xiao didn't really sound that urgent when making the request, he could probably hold off on it until later. "Man, I need something to eat..."

His trip here from the Wangshu Inn was all in one go, he didn't stop to have much of a proper filling lunch. Liyue wasn't actually as far as he initially thought it would be when looking at the map he was given, Verr having told him that it wasn't even much more than ten or so more kilometres.

While that sounded like a lot, with his newfound strength and also Dagda's training, the distance was covered in decent time. Anyway, since he didn't eat anything through that trip aside from a few fruits he plucked from a tree, he was seriously getting hungry and wanted something in that stomach of his right now.

"That place looks good."

Ayato took notice of what looked to be a relatively small looking restaurant just across the street up ahead, and from the looks of it, a good number of people were either sitting inside or eating outside. Some were also finished eating and left soon after.

Anyway, he could smell a rather delicious scent originating from that very same restaurant, so that just made it more tempting. Without wasting any more time, Ayato walked on over towards the restaurant where he could now see a man standing at the front area behind the counter.

"Welcome to Wanmin Restaurant!" The male voiced with a genuine politeness as he saw Ayato approaching the front counter. "I am the chef here at Wanmin, my name is Mao. Nice to meet you. I don't think I've seen you before, are you new here?"

"Yeah, just arrived not too long ago actually." Ayato smiled as he gave a small bow to the man. "My name is Kuragasaki Ayato, just call me Ayato. A pleasure to meet you, Mao-san."

"Ayato? That sounds like a name from Inazuma..." Mao widened his eyes when he heard Ayato's introduction. Ayato blinked when he heard this, was that one of the other nations? He had only read about Liyue and Mondstadt, nothing on top of that. From his knowledge, Inazuma was a word meaning lightning. "I'm surprised you could get here, considering the Vision Hunt Decree from what I've heard."

'The Vision what now?' Ayato stared blankly at Mao when he heard the man speak. Also, what in the world did he mean by that he was surprised that he could get here? He just decided to push it off to the side for later. "Y-Yeah... So, what would you recommend, Mao-san?"

"San...? Eh, well I'd personally recommend our Jueyun Chili Chicken and our Crystal Shrimp. Those have been rather popular as of late." Mao suggested as he had a thoughtful look on his face. "Why don't you give them a try? I'm sure you'll love them!"

"Sure, why not? Then I'd like to order your Jueyun Chili Chicken and Crystal Shrimp."

"Of course, please take a seat and I'll bring it right out to you!" Mao smiled before heading off towards the kitchen at the back. Ayato nodded before looking around before spotting a two-seater table set up at the front of the restaurant, so he quickly began walking over towards it before taking a seat. 'He sounded pretty confident. I wonder if he's as good as mom is...'

While his mother had a great talent for singing, she was the one that taught Ayato how sing after all, she shined more through her cooking. Ayato learnt everything he knew about cooking from his mother, and it was interesting to learn how to make all kinds of different food items from across the world.

Anyway, away from that, Ayato looked around at the people walking by as he couldn't help but sigh a bit at the atmosphere here. It was quite refreshing to be in such a peaceful and relatively quiet city. He's lived in both London and Tokyo, and they could prove to be rather loud places, so it was nice having such a change.

There is only so much you can take of the city before you go insane...

'Eh...?' Ayato suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over him as he narrowed his eyes and glanced around the area. It was a strange feeling, kind of like warm yet cold air covering one's body. He soon locked onto someone who was sitting down at another solitary table like him. 'This feeling reminds me of Xiao-kun...'

『I'm surprised you can even feel it, kid. Maybe you've been around that brat for too long』Dagda suddenly voiced as Ayato blinked in confusion. The person he was looking at appeared to be a young girl who appeared to be his age. Looking closer, she appeared to be eating a place of rice and... fruit? He couldn't see too well.『While she doesn't have that negative karma, I can sense that other source of power that the demon brat had』

'You mean... Adeptal Energy?'

『Yep, that means that... goat woman?』Even Dagda seemed a bit unsure as the girl did appear to sport a pair of goat horns in her blue hair. Her outfit really stood out as well, it was very much unlike anyone else's outfit he had seen so far. Not including Xiao and himself.『Is most likely an Adeptus』

'Interesting...' Ayato thought to himself. From what Xiao explained to him, the Adepti were basically a collective group of both deities and magical beings. He was told that they could take many forms, such being beasts, humans, and such. This girl looked to be a mix though. 'How strong is she?'

『It's hard to tell, but I wouldn't put her above Xiao. If anything, she seems to be at our level currently at least, though she's probably holding back』Dagda explained as Ayato mentally nodded. He understood that Adepti weren't your run of the mill entities, they were strong in their own right.

As of the current time, Xiao was no doubt still stronger than Ayato, especially if the guy decided to go all out with his current power. Despite his power apparently being significantly weaker than it was hundreds and hundreds of years ago, his power was still enough to kick Ayato's ass right now.

The only reason why Xiao didn't always just use all of his current power was that it brought harm to him the more power he used. The karma was having a greater toll on Xiao than Ayato had first thought, and he was honestly amazed that the guy could hold on as long as he has.

Shaking his head, Ayato turned his attention away from the girl as he didn't want to seem rude by continuing to stare at her. It would be kind of awkward if she ended up turning towards him and noticed him just staring at her, he'd probably end up looking like an absolute creep.

Though, he was curious. He had already met two Adepti now, well seen two. That made him curious about whether or not there were others within the city or around the area as well. From what Xiao stated, Adepti had much longer life spans compared to humans, so there might be a high chance of encountering another one.

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Ayato had to admit, the food that he had eaten was quite good. He wasn't a food critic, that was for sure, nor was he an expert when it comes to food, he just knows his way around the kitchen and all that. But, those two dishes that he bought were quite delicious.

He could tell that Mao took his job seriously, the food he served spoke volumes of that.

Anyway, aside from the food. Ayato quickly paid for all the food before continuing on his way. At the current time, he was both looking around for a place like Wangshu Inn for him to stay at, while also looking out for that Bubu Pharmacy place Xiao wanted him to check out.

Ayato sighed as he had found no sign of any of those, so perhaps he'd just ask someone passing by. He was going to hold off on asking someone for directions as he wanted to see if he could do so himself, didn't really work out too well. Well, at least he got to explore the place a good bit.

"Excuse me."

"Hm? Are you in need of something?"

The person that Ayato decided to ask directions from appeared to be a rather tall man who was about to pass by him, the male had long hair tied into a ponytail and a rather interesting set of brown attire. Ayato had to admit too, the guy had a strange pair of amber eyes, the strangest he's ever seen.

"I was wondering if you knew where any locals inns are around here. If so, could you point me in the right direction?" Ayato asked politely as he looked up at the male. "Also, if you know of the location of Bubu Pharmacy, that would also be very much appreciated."

"Locals inns? Hmm, there should be one if you continue walking down this road. It shouldn't be too far from here." The male responded as he pointed down the road the man was walking up from. "As for Bubu Pharmacy, if you continue down the road, you'll come across a bridge. Go across and you should find a staircase leading towards your destination."

"I see, thank you for the help, sir." Ayato smiled and bowed politely before quickly walking in the direction he was told. The man just stared for a second before smiling as he continued walking in the opposite direction to Ayato. "I hope the inn will be as good as Wangshu was."

『Haha~! You're brave, kid. Talking to someone like that so casually』

'Huh?'

『That brat you just passed by was a god, kid. I could feel the divinity rolling off of him』

'Wait, what?!' Ayato quickly stopped his walking and spun around and looked around for the male. He frowned as he noticed that the person was no longer in sight. Seeing this, Ayato slowly turned back before walking again. 'Are you serious? He was a god?'

『Indeed. Unlike that bear with that other brat that you fought with against that robot, that brat just now was a pure deity. From what I could sense, that god was by far the most powerful person we've met since arriving here. Don't even think about trying to fight him as you are now, you'd stand no chance even with me. Maybe if you got stronger, a lot stronger I mean』

'Noted... If that's the case, do you think that guy might be the Archon of this place? I do remember that the book said that the Archons were the gods that look over the nations that they rule. If he's as powerful as you say, that might be a fair shout.'

『Most likely the case. The divinity rolling off him far exceeded that of the bear, though it's strange. Most of the divinity I could sense was concentrated mainly inside of the brat. Almost as if it is being contained or is a catalyst for something』

'Do you think he's as strong as you?'

『Hmph, he far exceeds me in my current state. However, if I was in my previous status like I was back in my own world, then that brat's power is nothing more than a speck of dust in an endless desert compared to my own』

'Yeah, not surprised...' Ayato mentally deadpanned as he knew just how powerful the gods from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise were, they were the legitimate gods after all. 'Also, about what you said about Guoba-san. Why did you say that he wasn't a pure deity? What does that even mean?'

『Listen, kid. There are three kinds of gods out there, the ones that are born with divinity, others who gain divinity from outside source, and those who gain their powers through worship. The last one can grant an individual great power if they have enough followers, but in the end, the power they gain isn't truly raw divine power. That's why we pure deities typically refer to that power simply as False Divinity』

'So, Guoba-san isn't an actual divine being?'

『Pretty much. Not a pure one at least』

'But, if worship is all you need to gain incredible power? Wouldn't people like kings and queens have power like that as well?'

『Not necessarily. For a being to gain power like that bear through worship, you'd first have to be recognised by an actual god, take me for example, that you are worthy of being called a god. Also, the people worshipping you must also praise you for being a god, not as a king, not as a queen. They have to truly believe you are a god』

'I get it...' Ayato nodded his head in understanding when Dagda explained. Honestly, he just thought that gods were that, gods. He didn't think there were different classifications for divine beings aside from the kind of god they are... 'What about that other god I passed by? Where does he fit in?'

『Judging by what I felt from that brat, he fits into the second classification. While I don't what from where, that brat is definitely getting his divine power from another source. On top of that, I can sense the Adeptal Energy flowing through him behind that divinity』

'So, that guy was an Adeptus on top of being a god.' Ayato couldn't help but think in surprise as he glanced behind himself once more. That just further explained the power the guy had according to Dagda's words. Definitely not someone he'd provoke any time soon, if ever. 'Hm, Liyue's more interesting than I first thought...'

Pushing the topic about the gods away, he refocused himself on his current objective. Booking himself a place at the inn and checking out that pharmacy.