"Lord Scarlet King, lend me a few dozen men."
"For what?"
"To dig for petroleum."
"What is petroleum?
Why dig for it?"
"It's the stuff that will, a thousand years from now, let us wear a cloth on our heads and be the richest in all of Teyvat."
"Fine. Although I don't understand, what are your requirements?"
"I think that dog-head guy looks pretty good..."
"That's... my High Priest."
"He must have a son, right? He probably wears a dog head too."
"...He does, but..."
"That's the one. Just give me a few other random people, and we'll be set."
...
Rowan looked at the little dog-head's speechless expression, completely unbothered.
"Move out!
Look for any place with black soil. Notify me immediately if you find it!"
"Yes... (in a listless voice)" the people around him replied.
Rowan's group crunched their way through the desert, exploring, and found a series of strange things.
A scorpion?
It's huge!
This thing's a monster!
Roast it!
Peterpan, note down the location. And the taste.
A Fennec Fox?
So cute!
This is too adorable!
Capture its entire family and bring them back!
!
!
It's letting me pet it!
It's letting me!
How did we end up digging up an ancient tomb?!
!
!
Well, we're already here. It would be rude to leave empty-handed.
What the!
We even struck water in the desert!
!
!
What are you all cheering for?
A new water source?
Did I just excavate primitive human ruins?
Why are there so many ancient tombs in the desert?
They look pretty nice. I should definitely get one for myself in the future. Where should I be buried?
We found a jade vein! But what's the use of this in this era?
It's too heavy even for jewelry. Forget it. Maybe Mom will like it. Take everything we can carry. We're heading back.
...
Late at night, after several hard days, Rowan finally returned to the oasis.
"Forget it. Petroleum isn't very useful for the next few hundred years. I'll stop looking for now."
Rowan *rua*'d (petted) the newly acquired Fennec Fox, wondering how to make it sentient. When he couldn't figure it out, he let it go and looked for a place to bathe.
Rowan remembered there was a bathhouse in the palace. He walked to the entrance and saw lights flickering inside.
"Someone's in there?" Rowan was puzzled. He looked for a gap to peek at the scene inside.
His gaze passed through the crack in the main door. The scene inside made Rowan's jaw drop.
"Your Highness." Peterpan tapped Rowan, wanting to ask him what he was doing.
Rowan instantly felt cold sweat break out!
!
!
He turned his head.
"Where did you pop out from?!
!
!"
"Your Highness, haven't I been following you this whole time?" Peterpan scratched his head, feeling baffled.
Rowan looked at Peterpan and breathed a small sigh of relief. *He probably doesn't know yet, since I was the only one peeking.* But he still couldn't calm down.
"Old Peter, one must have a healthy body. Starting tomorrow, you will work out every day. I'll set a small goal for you: train until you have one hundred thousand abs. Not one less."
Peterpan was stunned.
"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me!
What did I do wrong? I'll change!"
"You did nothing wrong. I just want you to train your body."
"Your Highness, I could train my whole life and never get a hundred thousand abs! I'm an ordinary person! Please, spare me!"
"It's fine. You still have your son. And your son will have grandsons. Generation after generation, you'll train together. You'll reach the goal eventually. You can do it."
...
The sun rose and set, repeating this hundreds of times. Rowan's problem grew more and more severe. He often sat in the tree, staring blankly at the sun, sometimes for an entire day, thinking about who-knows-what. He stopped farming; after all, the people were living well now. He was too lazy to participate in any activities, feeling they were meaningless. He felt that if this continued, he would literally die of boredom. He wasn't a natural comedian, nor did he enjoy messing with others. Sigh!
"Your Highness!
Today is Lady Rukkhadevata's birthday! You are invited to attend the banquet!"
"Alright." He should at least attend his mother's birthday. *Those two will probably be there, right? What a headache.*
"Rowan, you're here." Rukkhadevata was very happy to see her son attend her birthday. Her child's emotions were growing colder and colder, which baffled her. Even if it was erosion, it shouldn't be this fast. He was only a few decades old. Why was he so listless? She hoped he would participate in more group activities, to absorb some human emotion, but he just said he was lazy!
*Well... at least 'laziness' is still an emotion.*
A handmaiden filled a cup with fine wine and presented it to the Prince. But Rowan only sniffed it and didn't drink. He didn't like drinking. To Rowan, this was a waste of grain. Some people didn't even have enough to eat, yet here they were, wasting grain to make wine. He felt like his heart was bleeding with every sip. The taste in the mouth was sharp, but the pain was in his heart.
Rowan looked at the surrounding environment. It wasn't an overly extravagant atmosphere, so he could accept it.
Rowan became invisible, but the banquet's atmosphere was still very joyful. At this moment, the Goddess of Flowers suddenly stood up.
"I wish to offer my clumsy dance at this banquet, in hopes that the wise Rukkhadevata will enjoy it."
"The Dance of the Flower Goddess! How many people have longed for this in vain (yes, pure-love warriors, I'm talking about you)."
The Flower Goddess's lithe figure slowly unfurled. Beneath her feet, Padisarahs bloomed one after another, deeply attracting Rowan's gaze.
But it wasn't the flowers that attracted him.
It was...
*The fine silk ruler measures, cutting four fen short,*
*Slender jade bamboo shoots wrapped in light clouds.*
In human terms... her perfect feet...