Returning Home
"Are you sure about this? You can still come with us..."
With her head nestled against Paul's chest and a gentle smile on her face, Fischl nodded and softly replied, "It's okay, Paul. Amber, Diona, Betty, and I have all agreed to form a Party. I'm not alone anymore..."
"Haaa..."
Following one final sigh, Paul reluctantly released Fischl from his embrace. She had clearly made up her mind before including herself in the circle, so pressing any further would be tantamount to spitting in the face of her resolve.
"See you around, Mein Prinzessin..."
With a smile that pierced directly through Paul's heart, Fischl squinted her eyes and replied, "Make haste, Mein Champion. So that you may return to me even one second sooner..."
Unwilling to contain himself, Paul rewarded Fischl's words with a kiss. In the process, he seriously considered simply abducting her but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he punctuated their embrace with a pinch on the butt before running away as she glared at him with an insincere pout...
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"See what I mean? Having me along isn't so bad. At least you needn't feel so sad~"
"If you're going to keep rhyming, I'm throwing you off..."
"Ehehe~"
After climbing atop Ganyu and giving her permission to depart, Paul was prepared to crouch low and cling tightly to her incredibly soft fur. Instead, there was virtually no wind pressure as Venti casually controlled the wind to flow around them. This allowed Ganyu to speed up drastically, but Paul was still a little upset as Venti was, at the very least, partially responsible for Fischl being left behind.
Despite her 'disarming' appearance, Venti was practically a Succubus in the bedroom. She could manipulate the Anemo Element within her body to create literal suction with her vagina, so doing her was like having sex and getting a monster blowjob at the same time. It was one of the most pleasurable things Paul had ever experienced, but he couldn't help feeling as though Venti had cheated the other girls out of a chance to accompany him...
"Try to look on the bright side. With me in your Party, our travel time has been cut in half. You also have the greatest Bard in all the lands to regale you with tales of heroism and serenade you with songs of love. And if that isn't enough, I can also..."
As she was seated immediately to Paul's left, Venti moved her hand along his thigh with an upturned expression on her face. This would typically be more than enough to put Paul in the mood, but the truth of the matter was that Venti had been on him like a rabbit in heat ever since her summoning. The girl was a literal nympho, so much so that she had given birth to three Seelies in the span of five weeks...
Grabbing Venti's wrist, Paul's expression morphed into a deadpan as he flatly declared, "We're not having sex on Ganyu's back..."
Clicking her tongue audibly, Venti retracted her hand before adopting a radiant smile as she said, "That's a shame. It's not every day you get the opportunity to do it while flying through the sky. I suppose we'll have to wait until we touch down then..."
Though Venti's 'confidence' made him a little annoyed, Paul didn't refute her words. As much as the buxom Archon annoyed him, she was currently the woman he looked forward to fucking the most. Something about her 'honest' nature made her nearly impossible to resist as she didn't even try to put on pretenses. She just enjoyed fucking and fooling around together.
Seeing Paul remain silent, a soft chuckle emanated from Venti's throat as she nestled closer to him. Her behavior earned her stares from the other girls, but she didn't particularly mind. They could have sat next to Paul if they really wanted, but they were trying to be considerate of the girls that wouldn't be able to squeeze in. Venti didn't believe in such sentiments, so she readily took advantage of Paul's empty flanks to snuggle up next to him. His warmth made her feel relaxed, and it sure as heck beat flying in silence...
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With Ganyu being able to pick up speed to nearly 300km/h, it took less than an hour for Paul's group to reach the fortress linking the Strife Zone and the Milbots Region through a spacious underground tunnel.
Paul had initially expected the underpass to be like the escape tunnels his father had made him practice running through as a child. Instead, he was greeted with a perfectly smooth and cylindrical tunnel that resembled the subway tunnels of his past life. There were multiple railways present, and, according to Ganyu, it was an average of 14m wide and 283km long...
Though she had to reduce her size and be careful not to scrape the roof with her horns, Ganyu was able to run through the underground railway system after getting clearance from the growing community of Dwarves maintaining it.
Since the Dwarves had been corralled into a single stretch of the Blue Dragon Mountain Range nearly 400 years prior, Ningguang was able to convince the Ore God to send over more than sixty skilled artisans and metalworkers in exchange for allowing them to establish a settlement in relative secrecy. She had used her life as leverage in the contract, so he eventually agreed after seeing how quickly Zhongli could create tunnels and erect entire buildings in seconds.
Though he had been apprised of her plan to establish Liyue on the coast, Paul was unaware that Ningguang was planning to convert the Strife Zone into a haven for all races. Paul had once given her an idealized description of his home country, the United States, so she had promptly decided that if she were going to create a nation, it might as well incorporate elements of the Seven Major Nations and the US. That way, everyone could feel at home even when they were entire worlds apart...
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After a mere three-hour journey, Paul began to notice familiar landmarks despite being hundreds of meters in the air. He was briefly tempted to ask Ganyu to land but knew he could always take in the scenery once he had met with his parents, siblings, and, most importantly, his kids.
Feeling a faint trembling in Paul's body, Venti's expression softened as she squeezed his hand and whispered, "It'll be fine. Things might be a little awkward initially, but the bond between parent and child is one of the most powerful. You never willfully abandoned them, so you need not feel guilty for missing the first few years of their life..."
Though he could have done without Venti's final remark, Paul returned a smile as he stared off toward the horizon. It was still a little difficult for him to reconcile the fact he was the father of two kids, but he believed everything would work out so long as he made an effort...
With such thoughts on his mind, Paul did his best to appear calm even as a familiar estate came into view a few minutes later. A loud ringing sound began to echo as the sentries stationed around the region took notice of Ganyu's approach, but there was no way they could shoot her down with conventional bows and weapons. A Saint-Ranked Mage tried to scare her away with a violent bolt of electricity, but it completely missed its mark as she flew over the defensive line and left them well in her wake.
As if more than a few seconds of silence would kill her, Venti adopted a cheeky smile as she playfully inquired, "Think we should have written a letter to inform them of our arrival~?"
Though he actually thought it was a pretty good idea, Paul rolled his eyes before saying, "We're about to land. Things should settle down once they realize who we are, but I'll be relying on you to create a barrier to ward off any stray spells or arrows.
"Sure, sure, leave it to me~!"
Since Paul had been supplying her with an abundance of 'energy' these past few weeks, Venti felt like she could even produce a hurricane if she pushed herself. She would never perform such a destructive act willfully, but it didn't change the fact she could.
As Ganyu drew closer to the ground, a luminous green tempest began to swirl around her. There were no attacks incoming, but Venti continued to channel more energy into the barrier as it was a convenient excuse to get Paul to pamper her once things settled down. He might act standoffish at times, but she knew he liked spending time with her.
Due to the invisible barrier surrounding the Estate, Ganyu was forced to land outside the fortress-like walls. Qilin's actually possessed the innate ability to pass through such obstructions, but the same couldn't be said for the people riding on her back.
The moment Ganyu landed, a group of soldiers began firing ballista at her while those with more superhuman attributes charged over with the intent to encircle her. Paul immediately spotted Sword Saint Earhart, his father's personal bodyguard, amongst the group, so he promptly called out to the man, shouting, "Sword Saint Earhart! Dual Saint Paul Greyrat and his Party have come to pay respects to the Lord of the Region. Stay your hand...!"
Though he didn't immediately recognize Paul due to the rather extreme changes in his appearance, Earhart raised his hand to compel his men to stand down. The presence of Ganyu made him more than a little nervous, but Paul's group had yet to actually attack. That was enough of a reason to, at the very least, hear them out.
As the barrier around Ganyu dissipated, Paul held up the sword his father had given him what now felt like a lifetime ago. It had been reforged twice since then, but the scabbard and, more importantly, the engraved seal of House Notos was still intact.
Furrowing his brows, Earhart tentatively approached Paul to get a better look at the seal. He had recognized the sword and scabbard the moment Paul held them up, but there was still a chance it was a forgery. The thing that settled the matter was the seal's reaction to the ring hanging around Earhart's neck.
Resisting the urge to kneel and immediately apologize, Earhart forced a frown as he narrowed his steely blue eyes and said, "You appear to be telling the truth...very well, I shall inform the Lord and Lady of your arrival. Whether or not they will see you, however, is up to them..."
Though he knew there was absolutely no chance of his Lord turning Paul away, Earhart still had to pretend to treat him coldly. Paul might not have been chased out of his home, but he was still an exile. If they gathered to celebrate his return like a hero, word would quickly reach the Captial. The King probably wouldn't care, but the First Prince would invariably make a big deal out of it.
Understanding what was going on, Paul simply nodded his head and said, "The my companions and I can only hope the Lord is in favor of receiving guests. Before that, I imagine your people will wish to process us? I don't particularly mind, but please inform them to keep their hands honest..."
Looking past Paul, Earhart noticed that every member of the former Lordling's entourage was among the most beautiful women he had ever seen. It wasn't difficult to imagine some of his less exemplary men trying to take liberties with them, so Earhart quickly nodded his head and said, "We'll have a group of Maids conduct their search. Rest assured, no harm will befall them under my watch..."
Though it didn't quite reach his eyes, Paul returned a friendly smile as he proffered forth his decoy sword. He knew Earhart would do his best, but Ningguang had informed him that there were at least twenty-three plants among the Estate's guards. They were mostly footsoldiers and choreboys that weren't allowed on the Estate grounds, but they were still loyal to the First Prince.
"That's great to hear, Sir Earhart. After all, even my weakest ally is a Fire Saint-Ranked Mage. I wouldn't want your men to lose their lives or limbs over a 'misunderstanding'..."
As the rumors of Paul's Party being comprised entirely of Saints had long reached the Milbots Region, Earhart didn't doubt the former's words in the slightest. Thus, after accepting Paul's sword, he quickly ordered someone to send for a specific Maid, a young, maroon-haired woman that Paul was intimately familiar with...
"Lilia..."
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