"To make Liyue prosperous... Hmph, perhaps." The Damselette's expression changed, and she finally said indifferently.
Stelle looked at her with some confusion. She felt as if this Damselette seemed to have some opinions about the Please Immortal Ceremony.
Her attitude was completely different from other Liyue people when discussing the Please Immortal Ceremony.
"The current prosperity of Liyue Harbor is like a magnificent sandcastle built on a beach, but humans cannot decide if the tide will rise at some point in the future." The Damselette seemed to notice Stelle's confusion and spoke proactively.
"You mean..." Stelle blinked. The Damselette's words were somewhat unexpected.
"This might sound rebellious, but have you ever considered what would happen to Liyue if Rex Lapis no longer fulfilled this duty one day?"
"Will something like that happen?" Stelle frowned slightly.
Before coming to Liyue, she had heard many things about Rock God Morax. This information was brought by Lumine from Venti.
It was said that Rock God Morax was the oldest of the Seven Gods; Barbatos could only rank second, and the other Seven Gods had long since been replaced.
Would Rock God Morax, who had protected Liyue for thousands of years, suddenly stop fulfilling his duties as Rex Lapis, or suddenly fall?
"I don't know, but Rex Lapis has protected Liyue for a thousand years. But will it be the same for the next thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years?" The Damselette's expression became somewhat somber, unsure if she was asking Stelle or herself.
"That's true, nothing lasts for eternity; even gods have a day when they fall... Perhaps this sounds unpleasant, just take it as the ramblings of me, a foreigner."
If the time span was stretched to this extent, it was indeed hard to say what the future would hold.
After Stelle finished speaking, she was silent for a moment, then shifted her gaze from the Damselette to the storyteller not far away.
Even existences as strong as the Star Gods could fall; could the gods of this world compare to the Star Gods?
"No..." The Damselette also shook her head, then looked at Stelle carefully again, and only after a long while did she blush and look away.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have discussed these things with you." The Damselette apologized to Stelle.
After all, Stelle was a foreign guest who had traveled a long way to see the Please Immortal Ceremony, and she had inadvertently started talking about political matters with her, which was truly inappropriate.
"It's alright, I'm new here and don't know much about Liyue yet. I'm very happy to meet someone as unique as you." Stelle quickly said.
Although she hadn't met many Liyue people, this Damselette indeed gave her a very different feeling.
Not just compared to Liyue people, but different from anyone she had ever met.
She liked it very much.
"Unique, huh..." The Damselette smiled slightly, "I should leave now. Perhaps we'll meet again."
"Eh? Aren't you going to finish listening?" Stelle asked in confusion.
"I still have things to do; I just stopped here to rest my feet." The Damselette explained.
There was also something else she didn't mention: she had actually heard this part countless times and knew it by heart.
"My name is Keqing. If you encounter any trouble in Liyue, come find me." The Damselette finally told Stelle her name.
"I'm Stelle, it's a pleasure to meet you, Keqing."
"Mm, likewise, it's a pleasure to meet you."
---
"So that's it, her name is Keqing..." Lumine lay on Stelle, her cheeks flushed, as if she had just gone through a trial.
As soon as Paimon finally fell asleep, Lumine immediately ran to Stelle's bed.
After a storm, she listened to Stelle recount what happened during her evening stroll.
"Is she pretty?"
"P-pretty..." Stelle answered somewhat guiltily, then rolled over and embraced Lumine while lying on her side.
"Then, are you tempted?" Lumine chuckled softly, gently tapping Stelle's chest with her finger.
"Cough, my heart is always moving, otherwise, wouldn't I be dead?" Stelle's answer was evasive, but there was no need to answer such a question.
It was impossible to say she wasn't tempted, but Stelle hadn't planned to make a move on her so soon.
She had already decided that she needed to exercise restraint in Liyue; if she really couldn't control herself, then that would be another matter.
"Speaking of which, the name Keqing sounds a bit familiar..." Lumine didn't pay attention to what Stelle said; instead, she was curious about the Damselette.
"Have you heard of her somewhere?" Stelle looked at Lumine in confusion.
"Hmm, it seems like..." Lumine buried her head in Stelle's chest, hugging Stelle's waist tightly.
It seemed to help her recall.
A moment later.
"Ah! I remember!" Lumine suddenly lifted her head from Stelle's embrace.
"After you left, I chatted with the inn's attendant about the Please Immortal Ceremony. He told me that the person who respectfully requested the Imperial Oracle at last year's Please Immortal Ceremony was Yuheng Star Keqing of the Liyue Seven Stars."
"Yu-Yuheng Star!?"
No wonder she felt that Damselette was different from ordinary people. Her luxurious clothes might suggest she was a Demoiselle from a wealthy family, but the sharp aura about the Damselette was something no wealthy young lady could possess.
"I never imagined such a young Damselette would be one of the seven most powerful people in this country." Stelle couldn't help but exclaim.
Her luck was truly extraordinary; she could just go for a stroll and meet the Yuheng Star.
"That attendant also told me that at last year's Please Immortal Ceremony, Yuheng Star asked Rex Lapis a very rebellious question."
"What?"
"Something like, 'Rex Lapis has protected Liyue for a thousand years, but will it be the same for the next thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years?'"
"Ah, this..." Stelle remembered that Keqing had just said the exact same thing to her.
"It seems Rex Lapis didn't give her an answer, did he?"
Otherwise, Keqing wouldn't have shown that expression just now.
"That's right, it's said that Rex Lapis left a meaningful laugh and didn't answer..." Lumine nodded.
Thinking about it, such a question is actually very difficult to answer, isn't it?
If he said no, it would definitely be a huge shock to the people of Liyue.
If he said yes, but for such a distant future, who could say for sure?
"Will she be the one for this year's Please Immortal Ceremony too?"
"Probably not, it seems to be Tianquan Star this year."
"Tianquan Star... I wonder what kind of person she will be." Stelle remembered that Qín said Tianquan Star exchanged letters with her and would ask her to take good care of her.
However, she hadn't seen any sign of that Tianquan Star yet.
Keqing was so unique; would that Tianquan Star be a similar type?
"She's supposedly a great beauty too, you know." Lumine suddenly whispered into Stelle's ear.
"Huh? I don't care if she's pretty or not..." Stelle snapped back to reality and lightly patted Lumine's perky little butt.
"Really? I don't believe you." Lumine pouted, somewhat displeased, and snuggled into Stelle's embrace.
Actually, if she thought about it carefully, if Stelle could get the Yuheng Star and Tianquan Star to fall for her sooner, wouldn't the matters of the Please Immortal Ceremony become much simpler later on?
After all, even for Liyue people, without status or position, it would be absolutely impossible to speak with the Rex Lapis at the Please Immortal Ceremony.
Let alone foreigners like them, whose origins were unclear.
Lumine's eyes darted around, and she had a few ideas.
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