Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

Rosalyne noticed the Tsaritsa’s despondency; she understood her better than anyone.

Snezhnaya had joined the MC World shortly after Mondstadt. The gap between their entry dates was less than a month. At the time, the Tsaritsa had thought that even if they couldn’t catch up to Liyue’s pace, they could at least keep up with Mondstadt.

However, Mondstadt had long since stabilized. With a massive mobilization of manpower, their progress had skyrocketed. Now, on this continent, Mondstadt possessed the second-largest number of city bases, trailing only Liyue.

They had stationed over six thousand people. Not only did they have a city nearing completion in the Overworld, but they also possessed eight large-scale bases and a Totem of Undying farm. They even maintained long-term outposts in the Nether and the End.

In contrast, Snezhnaya was struggling.

They were on the verge of being overtaken by Inazuma, who had joined much later. Even Sumeru, whose main force was still in training, had easily dispatched fifteen hundred people to the MC World: a number equal to Snezhnaya’s entire total population in this world. Once Sumeru finished their desert reclamation projects, they would likely send even more.

While everyone else was advancing by leaps and bounds, Snezhnaya alone was developing at a snail’s pace.

The Tsaritsa knew she couldn’t blame her soldiers; they worked incredibly hard. But the labor shortage was an objective, crippling defect. With a grand total of fifteen hundred people, two hundred were assigned to the Twilight Forest, three hundred were guarding the Nether, and fifty were stationed in the End for the long-term collection of Dragon Eggs. Another five hundred were responsible for base construction, while the final five hundred handled resource gathering.

Their manpower was stretched to the absolute breaking point. They couldn’t even manage basic world exploration, let alone complex projects like a Totem of Undying farm or a dedicated Redstone research team.

When they lacked funds, Liyue was willing to support them for the sake of the alliance: but when they lacked people, there was simply no solution. Though the Tsaritsa remained stoic, seeing the other nations surge ahead while her own development stalled caused her immense private grief.

It was one thing that no one had started researching the Witchery mod yet, but others had already begun the mass production of Iaito. Snezhnaya, meanwhile, was still stuck on the material collection phase.

The Tsaritsa hadn’t slept well in a long time. Every time she thought about it in the middle of the night, she would sit up and curse under her breath.

”Pierro... Dottore... damn you both!”

If those two hadn’t consolidated the main body of the Fatui forces for their own ends, how could Snezhnaya have fallen into such a pathetic state? She also blamed herself. If she hadn’t delegated so much power in the beginning, she wouldn’t be struggling just to mobilize an army now.

Seeing that everyone was about to begin large-scale construction and development after the Lantern Rite, Snezhnaya’s fifteen hundred people wouldn’t even be able to join the festivities. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, and she let out a faint, involuntary sigh.

Rosalyne noticed this. She turned to Aether and spoke softly.

”Mister Aether, there is a matter where we require the assistance of the Abyss Order.”

Aether turned to look at Rosalyne and the Tsaritsa. After a moment of silence, he replied: ”Pierro?”

”Exactly.” Rosalyne nodded. ”Is the Abyss Order collaborating with Pierro and Dottore?”

Upon hearing this, the others in the room instantly narrowed their eyes at Aether.

Aether felt a jolt of anxiety; he wanted nothing more than to slap Rosalyne away. The other Khaenri’ahns also looked at her with suppressed fury. Wasn’t she just looking for trouble for them? During their time in the MC World, they had learned exactly how much everyone wanted Dottore dead. Mentioning the Doctor was enough to turn anyone into a public enemy.

Rosalyne insisting on mentioning a collaboration between the Abyss and them was a massive headache. If he admitted to it, they would be targeted from all sides, which would be disastrous for the restoration of their kingdom.

”I have no idea what you are talking about.” Aether stared coldly at Rosalyne, his eyes full of warning. ”Perhaps long ago some individuals had private contact with Pierro and his lot, but I am not aware of it. I would never allow the people of Khaenri’ah to collaborate with such inhuman beasts!”

Lumine blinked. Sensing the sudden hostility toward Aether, her heart filled with mischievous joy. How could she pass up such a perfect opportunity to trouble her brother?

Looking perfectly innocent, Lumine said: ”That doesn’t sound right, Aether. Back when you sent someone to trade enchanted weapons with me, didn’t that Abyss Lector say it? He said you had a partnership with the Doctor, so you couldn’t withdraw the Power of the Abyss from Snezhnaya.”

The other Khaenri’ahn subjects turned pale. They looked at Lumine with grievance. This Princess was a blood relative of Aether; why did she have to drag them all down just to mess with him? If this was confirmed, Khaenri’ah would be in for a rough time. No one present could tolerate a collaboration with Dottore.

Diluc and Scaramouche, in particular, were already looking at them with extreme malice.

Aether glared fiercely at Lumine. ”Nonsense! What proof do you have?”

”I have plenty! Cyno and the others heard it too!” Lumine smiled at the flustered Aether.

Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly tense, Aether quickly added: ”I am not entirely clear on the details. It must have been some individuals acting on their own. I will investigate upon my return. If I find anyone collaborating with the Doctor, I will execute them immediately! Khaenri’ah will never allow anyone to participate in the taboo of human experimentation!”

Seeing that Aether was truly reaching his limit, Lumine pursed her lips and stopped teasing him. Collaborating with Dottore was indeed a taboo. She only wanted to prank Aether, not make him the enemy of the entire world.

Scaramouche cast a frigid glance at Aether and said coldly: ”It better be so... anyone connected to the Doctor is a dead man.”

Aether didn’t respond. He gave Endis a subtle look, signaling him to return immediately and destroy all records regarding the collaboration with Pierro and Dottore.

The Abyss Order had indeed collaborated with Pierro in the past. But it was only with Pierro; Dottore was just someone Pierro had brought along. They hadn’t cared about Dottore back then since he wasn’t Khaenri’ahn. As for his human experiments... they knew about them, but they hadn’t cared, though it was true they hadn’t participated.

But the others didn’t care about the nuances. If a close collaboration with Dottore was confirmed, Khaenri’ah would never have a peaceful day again.

Feeling the surrounding gazes soften, Aether let out a quiet sigh of relief, then glared coldly at Rosalyne. She had nearly turned Khaenri’ah into a target for everyone; he would remember this grudge!

Rosalyne, however, didn’t care. She simply pressed her lips together and spoke softly.

”Mister Aether, since you also view the Doctor as an enemy, could you help Snezhnaya by restraining Pierro and Dottore? We need some time to mobilize our personnel.”

Aether, still fuming, snapped back: ”Why should we help you?”

Rosalyne froze, her expression turning sour. But Lumine chirped in again: ”Why not help? Everyone is a partner in developing Ryen’s world. They even let you go to Snezhnaya to gather Khaenri’ahn citizens. If you won’t help with such a small favor, does that mean you really are in league with Pierro and the Doctor?”

Aether fell silent, glaring at Lumine again. This ”rotten” sister of his never missed a chance to roast him over a fire.

Taking a deep breath, Aether forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. ”It was a joke... Pierro was once a Khaenri’ahn Royal Mage, so we do have some contact with him, but only with him. Furthermore, we find his methods dangerous and contrary to our path. As for helping... we will do what we can in passing.”

After saying this, Aether’s face looked as though he had swallowed a mouse. He closed his eyes and sat on the sofa without saying another word.

Rosalyne looked at Lumine with a complex expression. If Lumine hadn’t provoked Aether, he likely would have refused to help and then looked for ways to retaliate against her. Rosalyne wasn’t stupid; she knew her earlier slip of the tongue had nearly made Khaenri’ah a public enemy. It was only natural they would hold a grudge. However, she hadn’t expected Lumine, who usually disliked her, to step in and help.

Quietly noting this favor, Rosalyne turned to the Tsaritsa. ”Your Majesty, while Khaenri’ah helps delay Pierro, we should have Pulcinella and the others mobilize our people as quickly as possible and send them here to Liyue.”

The Tsaritsa sighed. ”We can try. But after Dottore was killed once in Sumeru, he has become wary. We need a solid plan.”

”If needed, I can help you restrain him. If it involves killing the Doctor, I will help.” Diluc spoke up casually, and the Tsaritsa gave a forced smile.

”We will discuss it later... thank you, everyone.”

Regardless, having a chance to bring in more manpower was a good thing. If they played their cards right, Snezhnaya wouldn’t lack the labor needed to develop the world for at least a year. As for a year from now... who knew how many new modules Ryen would open? Every new module required a massive amount of development staff. The personnel required for the MC World, much like this infinite universe, would never truly have an end.

Having watched the entire farce, Ryen chuckled and spoke with a pointed tone.

”Since everyone is developing in this world, regardless of alliances, you are all partners. Since you are partners, some enemies should be considered common enemies. Don’t you agree, Aether?”

Aether gave a strained smile and nodded. ”Mister Ryen, we truly have no collaboration with the Doctor. We can see that such a cold-blooded, inhuman creature is dangerous to work with. He is not worthy of collaborating with Khaenri’ah. As humans, we must maintain a firm stance of hatred toward human experimentation. The Doctor is our enemy as well.”

Ryen nodded with a smile. ”That’s for the best. Everyone here has some blood on their hands to one degree or another, but that doesn’t matter; it’s all for survival. However, there are some things that are bottom lines that must never be crossed: such as cannibalism, or human experimentation.”

Aether nodded in silence, internally adding Dottore to his list of grudges. He cast a sideways glance at Lumine. There was a long time ahead; once the kingdom was restored, he would have plenty of time to contend with this ”insufferable” sister of his!

Ryen looked away and spoke softly. ”There’s nothing else for now. These next few days should be our most relaxed time, so feel free to move about. Organize your people for the Lantern Rite battle training, or do whatever else you wish. Also, Miko, you can go and revive the Kitsune Saiguu now.”

”Hanachirusato is indeed an independent entity, but she is ultimately a collection of the Kitsune Saiguu’s memories. She possesses her fragments of consciousness. Through her, you can revive the Kitsune Saiguu while also allowing Hanachirusato to continue living.”

Upon hearing this, Yae Miko was overjoyed. She quickly stood up.

”That’s wonderful! I’m going to revive Lady Kitsune Saiguu right now!”

Without even waiting to say goodbye to Ryen, she hurried out of the room, pulling Makoto and Ei along with her.