33 33. Archons And Ideals

When the clock on the system interface struck two o'clock, Ryūhei immediately got off and headed to the kitchen to cook. The reason he cooked his own food was naturally that it was more economical than buying food outside. He didn't want to cook any complex dishes since cooking those was too troublesome. So, he cooked two portions of fried rice.

After Ryūhei finished cooking, he called Atsuko for a break as she was probably tired of serving the customers who had been coming to the shop since morning.

Of course, it was Ryūhei who replaced Atsuko to look after the shop temporarily because he couldn't leave the shop without someone to look after customers.

Even though customers were running low that afternoon, some came and asked when the next volume would be published. Besides that, the manga was also starting to be known by many people who come from other nations. This was evident from the notification list that mentioned foreign names. From Mondstadt, Fontaine, Sumeru, and Snezhnaya.

As he sat down casually on a chair in front of his shop, he spotted a man surrounded by negative emotions sluggishly walk up to the counter where Katheryne was serving the adventurers completing their commissions.

"Hmmm, I smell trouble. Well, as long as it doesn't threaten my shop, there's nothing to worry about."

An hour later after Ryūhei finished his meal, he took out the two-tier keyboard he bought earlier and placed it inside the shop alongside the sound system.

After that, he tuned the keyboard and sound system to give him the right sound for the music he wanted to play. And not long after, the electric keyboard was ready to be played.

Ryūhei picked a chair and placed it in front of the keyboard as he was ready to play the Coffin Dance.

"If I remember correctly, the notes are A A+ A# D C F G. And it's not that complicated to play that song."

It started slowly as his fingers seemed to caress the keyboard, then the tempo suddenly jumped. The upbeat tempo was so endearing and addictive. The rhythm was quite rocking as well. The melody could change the mood into happy and jovial, as well as make the people sway to its tune.

The sound from the sound system was quite loud, so almost everyone around the Manga Impact shop stopped walking while listening to the song that made them want to dance. Some of them even have their heads swayed following the rhythm of the music.

And after he finished playing the music, people who heard it immediately flocked to the store to see who was playing it. It was their first time hearing techno music, so they were really interested in how it was played.

They saw the instrument as similar to a piano, but they couldn't get at how Ryūhei's piano could give off such a unique sound.

When they asked, Ryūhei simply replied, "The concept is the same as the electric guitar." And they know the electric guitar could make a different sound than a regular guitar or an acoustic guitar. So, all of them believed his words.

After that, some asked to play, some asked to be taught how to play, and some even asked Ryūhei to play good songs.

However, Ryūhei replied.

"If you ask me to play, I will play. But if you want me to teach you, sorry I don't have time. Mastering this instrument is much more difficult than the guitar. So I can't spend time teaching because I also have to draw my manga."

And after saying that, Ryūhei started playing one song from Dream Theater that he once covered, and it was exactly 24 minutes long.

And since the song was so enchanting, a lot of people, especially musicians who passed by, were attracted by it.

— — — —

The next day when Ryūhei was about to do his morning routine, someone from the Adventurers' Guild called out to him.

"Excuse me! I believe you are Niwa Ryūhei, right? Miss Katheryne from the Adventurers' Guild called you."

Ryūhei was surprised to hear a woman wearing a standard female uniform of the Adventurers' Guild calling out to him as if she was waiting for him to come out of a shop. He thought she was queuing at the Wanmin restaurant because of her position between his shop and the restaurant. But, to his surprise, the Adventurers' Guild needed his help.

"You are?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. My name is Yingzhu. I heard from Miss Katheryne that you're sensitive with ley lines, so she asked me to fetch you up."

"Fetch me up? I didn't remember I had an appointment."

"Uh, but Miss Katheryne said you'd be willing if there was a commission on the ley lines."

Ryūhei forced a smile after hearing that. He really didn't want to take on the commission because he wanted to peacefully draw the manga in the next few days.

He exhaled his deep breath before saying.

"Sorry, but I'm busy. Is it urgent?"

Yingzhu shook her head.

"Miss Katheryne didn't say anything."

"Then let me apologize and tell her that I'm busy. After all, investigating a ley line disturbance or something like that can't be done in a day. What's more, I can't let my employee run the shop alone yet."

Atsuko was still considered a stranger to Ryūhei. Even if he trusted her at work, that didn't mean he could entrust his secret on how to print his manga to her.

If he took the commission that needed him to be away from his shop for a few days, he needed someone he could trust. And what in his mind was Xingqiu. However, due to Xingqiu's standing and reputation in public, Ryūhei couldn't let him take care of the shop. Or… the easiest way was to close the shop. Of course, the main reason was it was too troublesome. He knew how much his strength was after he got Gojo's bloodline and Rikugan. Thus, unless trouble threatened his shop, or an ancient god's remains for example, he would not make a move.

Because of what Zhongli said to him the other day, he needed at least to try if he could absorb ancient gods' negative emotions or not. If he could, that would benefit him a lot. Moreover, ever since the drawback of his eyes disappeared, his control over negative energy was subtler and more profound than before.

However, having not heard of any emergency, he thought that the problem from the Adventurers' Guild wasn't that serious.

Ryūhei walked in the direction of Mt. Tianheng. After seeing that no one was in his sight, he immediately teleported to the top of Mt. Tianheng.

When he arrived at that place, he was surprised.

He saw Zhongli on top of Mt. Tianheng. At first, Ryūhei thought that Zhongli had observed Liyue Harbor or observed him. But, the direction he was looking for was toward The Chasm.

"Mr. Zhongli?" Only after Ryūhei called out Zhongli's name did he notice Ryūhei's presence.

"Oh, you're here?"

"What are you doing here?" Ryūhei asked.

"Hmmm, it's nothing. Are you doing a morning routine like always?"

Ryūhei raised his brows for a moment before sighing.

"You seem to know everything, Mr. Zhongli. It's as if you're keeping an eye on all of Liyue. Are all the Archons like you?"

Without looking at Ryūhei, Zhongli answered.

"I observed Liyue not only as the Archon, but I also studied people's daily life because I had the intention of revoking my identity as the Archon. On the other hand, not all of the Archons are like me. Take the Archon of Mondstadt for example, unless the city of Mondstadt was threatened in its freedom, he would not butting in its development."

Ryūhei was amused by what Zhongli said. Even though he had often heard that Mondstadt was a city of freedom, he didn't expect its own Archon to be too free either.

"It seems Archons are unique on their own."

Just as Zhongli valued contracts more than anything else, the Archon of Mondstadt also valued freedom more than anything. Their goals were also quite clear. The contract made Liyue a famous nation with a thriving economy. The freedom allowed people in Mondstadt to get freedom in almost anything even though they were bound by the law so that everyone could live peacefully. However, Ryūhei didn't understand the Electro Archon's ideal. Why would she pursue "eternal" if she made her nation in chaos?

At the very least, Ryūhei believed that she wouldn't do something pointless since she was an Archon. And there must be a reason why she did that. Well, he needed to find out later. Besides, he had to settle a score on her after he nearly died from her lightning. Though, he wasn't that confident because his current strength was too low to go against a deity. But, who would know in the future?