"Hey! Everyone else has started working. Why are you just standing there daydreaming!"
Aether was deep in a reverie, imagining the great ancient nation of Khaenri'ah blooming back to civilizational glory in this world.
Without warning, a foot connected firmly with his backside.
Aether's expression darkened immediately. The Khaenri'ahn people around him were furious too, spinning around ready to demand an explanation.
One look at who it was, and every single one of them turned back around and found the sky extremely interesting.
Aether looked at Lumine with undisguised irritation.
"What was that for! Can't you see I'm thinking? No sense of occasion whatsoever. No wonder Ryen has no interest in you."
"What? Not interested in me, so he'd be interested in you instead?"
Lumine gave a cold laugh and crossed her arms.
"How much longer are you planning to stand there? Everyone is working. You're just standing around holding everyone back."
"Ryen left a lot of construction plans. The Lantern Rite is one week away."
"We still need to build plenty of Bed Wars maps and other recreational mode maps within that week."
"If it doesn't get done, enjoy getting beaten up by everyone."
Aether snorted.
"I don't need you telling me that."
"Hmph! Biting the hand that feeds you!"
Lumine shot him a triumphant look and walked away.
Whatever good mood had come from seeing the MC World's limitless development potential evaporated instantly.
Aether stared at Lumine's retreating back with an expression dark as charcoal.
"If I kick her off this sky island later," he said through gritted teeth, "someone remind me not to."
The Abyss Lectors exchanged uncomfortable looks. Agreeing wasn't right. Not agreeing wasn't right either.
On one side was Khaenri'ah's future leader. On the other was his own sister.
Khaenri'ah's princess.
The one they were counting on to stay close to Ryen and look after Khaenri'ah's interests.
This was genuinely an impossible position.
Aether gave a cold snort, deliberately took the long way around Lumine's route, and made his way toward Zhongli and the others.
These two siblings existed in a state where simply making eye contact was enough to trigger an explosion.
"What do you need help with?"
Aether said it tersely. Zhongli glanced at him and handed over five stacks of wool.
"Start building from the western edge. The first section, a twenty-meter stretch, needs a corridor two wool blocks wide side by side. The middle section, thirty meters, narrows to a single block wide corridor. The final section returns to twenty meters with two blocks side by side."
"Make sure to incorporate some elevation variation."
"Once that's done, build a thirty-by-nineteen platform on the other side."
"Use red wool blocks for the platform."
"The specific details are on this diagram. Once the basic structure is up, add some obstacles, then install a chest beneath the platform with some wooden blocks and twelve iron ingots inside."
Aether gave a nod.
"This is the Bed Wars map?"
Zhongli confirmed it.
"Yes. Today we also need to complete three more Bed Wars maps, then this evening build two parkour maps, and if there is time after that, one Sheep Wars map as well."
"Pick up the pace. Today's workload is heavy."
As he said it, Zhongli felt something quietly nostalgic.
Half a year ago, when he had first joined this world, Ryen had led him through building a sky island just like this.
Half a year later, and he had already grown comfortable enough with construction and design to do it himself.
Only half a year, and yet it felt like time had somehow passed at a different speed.
This world truly was something.
"If you run into anything you don't understand, watch what the others are doing."
As Aether turned to leave, Zhongli added:
"Learning through doing is the most direct way."
Aether gave a small nod and said nothing.
The other Khaenri'ahn people picked up their own wool stacks and followed him westward to begin building.
Not far away, Childe and Venti were in the main combat zone of the map, placing obstacle details and traps.
Seeing Aether finally moving, Venti waved a hand cheerfully.
"Hey! When you're building on the edge, remember to crouch while placing blocks, otherwise you'll fall off."
"The sea's below, so you won't die, but there are Drowned down there. Be careful."
Aether nodded and glanced at the Khaenri'ahn people beside him, each holding their wool with very serious expressions.
"Make sure your Totems of Undying are ready. Be careful. We don't have as many as these people do, so try not to waste them."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Aether turned back, crouched down, pulled out a wool block, thought for a moment, and tossed it.
The wool locked solidly into the air like it had always been there, connecting seamlessly to the existing structure, without the slightest gap, as though it had been placed by nature itself.
He clicked his tongue quietly.
Even watching people do this with his own eyes, it still seemed absurd.
You just toss a block and it stays?
Looking at it this way: once the Khaenri'ahn people were familiar with this, the first Khaenri'ahn city would only need four or five thousand people to put together a rough initial framework in a month.
The detailed interiors and architectural design could be left to Khaenri'ah's own craftspeople to figure out.
Which meant...
Getting all the Khaenri'ahn settlers immigrated in the first half of next year was actually not that daunting.
And then they could build sky islands, modeled on what Liyue and the others were doing.
The currency system would also need to be established from scratch. Daily work assignments for the people would need to be allocated.
Thinking through all of this at once, Aether suddenly felt a creeping mental exhaustion.
So much to rebuild from nothing.
But the restoration of a nation was never going to be a simple thing.
At the same time as large-scale construction was underway across the MC World, Ryen and the others had already passed their first full day in Inazuma.
It was approaching midday.
They had arrived at Mt. Yougou.
Yesterday had been spent in Inazuma City, but compared to Liyue and Mondstadt, present-day Inazuma didn't have a great deal to offer in terms of entertainment. Mostly scenery and fireworks.
Not particularly tiring, at least.
Ei still hadn't returned. She was apparently still searching for the soul fragments of the Kitsune Saiguu and the others, and it was unclear how many she had found.
Ryen did recall there being a shrine maiden called Hanachirusato.
But...
Could Hanachirusato be considered the Kitsune Saiguu?
She was formed from the Kitsune Saiguu's memories, but like Nahida, she was ultimately a distinct individual.
Ningguang, Ganyu, Hu Tao, and the others were being guided through the Grand Narukami Shrine by the shrine maidens.
Unlike how it appeared in simpler renditions, the Grand Narukami Shrine, as Narukami Island's most prominent sacred site, occupied the crown of Mt. Yougou with the Sacred Sakura at its center. It was considerably larger than any quick impression could convey. Even just visiting it, a full morning was only enough to see the general picture.
Since the lifting of the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, the Grand Narukami Shrine had recovered its former vitality. Visitors coming to draw fortunes numbered beyond counting.
But given that today was dedicated to hosting Ryen and his group, Yae Miko had cheerfully closed the shrine to the public for the day.
It was her territory. She closed it when she pleased.
Even if Makoto heard about it, the most she would do was make a mild complaint.
Beneath the Sacred Sakura, Ryen stood quietly looking up at it.
Magnificent and graceful, it carried the quality of a celestial fox raising its head to the moon.
Paired with the soft pink of the blossoms, whenever the breeze passed through, petals scattered and drifted across all of Narukami Island. Wherever you stood on the island, you could always find a falling petal.
A particular kind of identity.
"Do you like it?"
Without warning, Ryen felt something warm and soft settle against his arm.
That particular texture could only be Yae Miko.
He gave a small nod and smiled.
"It's beautiful. The coloring, the softness of it. Though it has been shaped by hand over the years, hasn't it?"
"Hmm hmm."
Yae Miko smiled with visible pride.
"Since it is my territory, and I have been tending it for five hundred years, naturally it has to carry some of my character."
"The Sacred Sakura needs to understand a little about how to present itself."
"Tell me honestly: how much of my elegance does the Sacred Sakura capture?"
Ryen looked away from the tree and gently pinched the tip of Yae Miko's nose.
"Perhaps one part. The charm of my Miko is not something a tree can fully express."
Yae Miko blinked her eyes and smiled.
"Nicely said. Then tell me, which is more lovely: me, or the Sacred Sakura?"
She tugged slightly at her shrine maiden robes and looked at Ryen with an expression full of unspoken things.
He raised an eyebrow, amused.
"We're still outside. You're not worried about being seen?"
"Don't worry."
Yae Miko pulled Ryen to sit with her at the base of the Sacred Sakura, their backs against its trunk, petals drifting down around them in a slow shower.
She settled into his arms, her naturally loose shrine maiden robes doing very little to conceal the lines of her figure.
"I've already told the shrine maidens. No one will come here today."
"So, whenever you're ready..."
She shifted, turning to face him, her voice soft as a breath.
"Whatever you want, I'll accept."
"Tell me now: me or the Sacred Sakura, which is more radiant?"
Ryen reached out gently. Yae Miko's eyes went half-lidded, her gaze softening like still water.
"You, without question."
He said it with complete sincerity, his eyes on her, and drew his arms around her waist.
"So. You deliberately sent everyone else away and brought me here. What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Yae Miko looked at him with a smile that knew everything.
"I've been rather direct about it."
"To give yourself to the person you love most, in the place you love most. I've said something like that to you more than a few times."
"Guess for me: where is the place I love most?"
Ryen smiled and lifted her gently.
"Are you certain you want it here? Not inside?"
Yae Miko made a small sound of mild exasperation.
"Do you want this or not? I even changed specifically for the occasion. Very convenient for you, I promise."
"Honestly, do I have to initiate even something like having little fox cubs?"
Ryen looked at her steadily, and drew her down slowly.
Yae Miko's whole body tensed. She bit her lip and closed her eyes.
Ryen was unhurried. He leaned back against the Sacred Sakura and settled her gently, letting time do its work.
After some while, Yae Miko drew a slow, deep breath.
"That really was something," she murmured. "But at least I've finally accomplished the last great goal of my life."
She wound her arms around Ryen's neck and said softly:
"You do love me, don't you? You won't leave me, will you?"
Ryen gave a quiet, warm laugh and nodded.
"You are my most beloved little fox."
"Good."
Yae Miko sighed with complete contentment.
"From now on, all of me belongs to you. I'm not as fragile as I look. As long as you're happy..."
At those words, Ryen understood: only one of them was walking out of the Grand Narukami Shrine today with any remaining dignity.
And that person was Ryen.
The call to advance had already sounded. Ryen sat at ease, like a general who had commanded countless campaigns, patient and settled, waiting for the precise moment when terrain, timing, and circumstance all aligned.
This was the read of a strategist who had guided armies through the full arc of countless battles.
Hundreds of millions of vanguard forces held ready.
Yae Miko's forces, by contrast, had no formation. The moment they charged, every unit committed at once.
A full frontal assault aimed at overrunning Ryen's position outright.
Regrettably, she had overestimated herself and underestimated him.
Within the hour, her forces had exhausted their momentum.
Ryen, never one to waste an advantage, raised his hand and brought his full army forward in a sweeping counterattack.
In an instant, offense and defense reversed. Yae Miko's forces crumbled on every front.
Ryen mounted up and drove forward, pressing deep into the heart of her formation.
Enemy forces broke and scattered. Yae Miko knelt before the Sacred Sakura, drained of energy, eyes unfocused.
The defeat had left her in a daze. No matter how Ryen pressed, she had entirely lost the capacity to resist.
Two hours later, the last remnants of Yae Miko's forces were annihilated. Ryen's hundreds of millions of elite soldiers advanced into the capital of the House of Yae.
Valley and mountain pass alike were filled to the brim with gleaming white. There were even soldiers still waiting outside for entry.
The Nation of Yae had fallen completely.