"I don't know anything..."
The Traveler just replied like that.
The players, on the other hand, were laughing like crazy.
[I'm dying, the pure love warrior has mobilized]
[So the last continuation event has a follow-up]
[Furina: Charlotte, you broke the CP I was shipping—prepared to take a seat in the Fortress of Meropide?]
[Sit, as in sit in prison]
[Actually, Charlotte didn't break the CP; she just added a few more people to this CP]
[I'm here to join you.jpg]
Fontaine is huge.
By the time Rios and the others finished playing in Fontaine and arrived in Liyue, the timeline had almost reached version 5.3.
Liyue was preparing for the Lantern Rite at this time, and the facilities in Liyue Harbor were all decked out in red, looking exceptionally lively.
It's just a pity that the Lantern Rite hadn't started yet; the games for people to play weren't prepared, and they needed to wait a bit longer.
"This is Wanmin Restaurant?"
Mualani entered the shop and looked at the guests around her dressed in various styles, her eyes widening slightly as she said, "Diners from all countries are eating here; it looks like this place's food is really good."
"Of course," the girl who couldn't be bothered to get too excited walked over, holding a small notebook for tallying orders in her hand. "We named it Wanmin Restaurant because we hope to make food that everyone likes. Your clothes look a bit exotic, guests. Could you be from another world?"
"Huh? No, we're from Natlan; we're not from another world or anything," Mualani said.
Natlan people rarely traveled to other countries before, so even Xiangling, who had seen many foreign tourists, couldn't immediately recognize that Mualani and the others were from there.
"Natlan?!" Xiangling was slightly startled. "I've only heard of a country called Natlan before; I haven't seen Natlan people with my own eyes yet."
"Now you have," Rios said.
"Yeah." Xiangling squinted her eyes and smiled, then asked curiously, "I heard that Natlan has all kinds of dragons; I wonder what their meat tastes like..."
"Miss Xiangling, the people of Natlan have a partner and comrade relationship with the dragons; it's best not to ask these questions."
Before the girl could finish, Rios spoke up to avoid unnecessary awkwardness.
Although there were still bad dragons that weren't kind to humans, overall, Natlan people and dragons got along harmoniously.
"Oh oh, sorry, sorry—I just thought of Natlan possibly having new ingredients and got a bit excited for a moment," Xiangling reacted.
If they were partners, then they really couldn't be eaten.
Just like how she never treated Guo Ba as an ingredient, and the Traveler never treated Paimon as food.
Partners couldn't be eaten.
"Rios, how do you know her name?"
Mualani elbowed Rios.
"I saw it in the newspaper," Rios said. "I'm pretty interested in food news from other countries."
"I didn't realize our Wanmin Restaurant was so famous in other countries." Hearing Rios's words, Xiangling was both surprised and delighted.
Then, she fell into distress: "This is my first time hosting guests from Natlan; I don't know what flavors you like."
As she was pondering, suddenly someone leaned close to her neck and blew a cold puff of air at her.
"Wah!" Xiangling jumped in fright. After seeing clearly who had blown at her, she immediately furrowed her brows and said somewhat angrily, "Hu Tao, you scared me again!"
The one who had pranked Xiangling just now was naturally Hu Tao.
"Xiangling, don't be mad," Hu Tao said with a gentle smile. "I just saw you looking all worried and wanted to help change your mood, that's all."
"If you've run into some trouble, hurry up and tell this very talkative friend of yours about it."
Hearing that Hu Tao wanted to help, Xiangling said, "Actually, I'm just thinking about what flavors the guests from Natlan like."
"Natlan?" Hu Tao lightly raised her brows and looked toward Rios and the others sitting at the dining table. "This is my first time seeing travelers from Natlan; it's really rare."
"Hu Tao, do you have any ideas?"
"That stumps this Hall Master," Hu Tao thought for a moment, then said. "Our consultant is also coming to Wanmin Restaurant for a meal; he's just a bit slow on foot."
"Our consultant is well-traveled and knowledgeable; there doesn't seem to be anything he doesn't know."
"Once he arrives, we can go ask him."
"Mr. Zhongli is indeed well-traveled and knowledgeable; he might be able to resolve our doubts," Xiangling nodded lightly, feeling there was no issue.
At that moment, Rios said, "Chef, we came here this time to experience Liyue flavors; just make the dish that best captures the taste of Liyue—no need to consider our preferences."
"Is that so?" Xiangling's eyes lit up. "Then let's do our signature dish, Braised Black-Back Perch."
"Uh..." Rios paused. "Besides seafood, are there other dishes to choose from?"
"Of course there are," Xiangling said proudly. "Whether it's things that fly in the sky or run on the ground, we have the ingredients."
"Even if you want Slime, guest, I can provide it right now. It's just not on the menu; it's my special dish."
"Please use regular dishes, thanks."
Rios looked to the rock loli beside him: "Kachina, what do you want to eat?"
"I can eat anything," Kachina said. "As long as the portions aren't too big; otherwise, it'd be wasting food."
"So I can let loose and get creative? Guaranteed to satisfy you."
After Xiangling left for the kitchen, Mualani teased, "Rios, you still hate eating fish so much."
"The elders in the tribe said that being picky is no good."
Rios raised a brow: "Don't you also dislike eating vegetables, as well as poultry and lean meat?"
"This isn't me disliking it," Mualani defended. "I'm just thinking that when eating a seafood feast, there shouldn't be other things to avoid affecting the ocean's deliciousness."
"Then you can go eat nori."
"?"
Mualani, as usual, couldn't understand what Rios was saying.
Hearing their conversation, Hu Tao blinked: "Wow, you two guests—your likes and dislikes for food are reversed, yet you still eat together so often."
"I can eat anything, but Rios can't eat it at all," Mualani said with a smile.
"In that regard, it's just like our consultant," Hu Tao sighed. "Our consultant doesn't seem picky, but he also doesn't like seafood much—such a coincidence."
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Rios echoed.
After all, they had been colleagues.
Whether the Geo Archon or the Dendro Archon, for various reasons, they both didn't like eating seafood.
What did that mean?
It meant this was the bond of the divine!