Chapter 190

The battleship soon returned to the shipyard.

At this time, the Death Omen had been left far behind by the battleship.

Back at the shipyard, Beidou glanced at the lagging Death Omen behind her.

Disgust was written all over her face.

The ship slowly entered the port.

At that moment, Takumi noticed someone in the shipyard.

"Did Ningguang come all the way here too?"

Seeing Ningguang, Takumi was a little surprised.

Did she come specifically to see the battleship?

At the same time, Ningguang was looking at the massive warship slowly approaching, her heart filled with amazement.

It was enormous, especially the gun barrels on the ship, which left her in awe.

She had seen the design before, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

The battleship slowly docked at the port.

Takumi and Beidou were the first to disembark.

Ningguang was a little surprised to see Beidou stepping off with Takumi.

"You're back?"

Beidou pouted at Ningguang's words.

"Of course I'm back."

"This time, I brought everything you wanted."

"And, I also brought back an astrologer from Sumeru."

"Takumi, you might be interested in her."

"That girl is quite poor."

"If you give her some money, she might just work for you."

Hearing this, Takumi was stunned.

"An astrologer?"

"You mean the girl on your ship?"

Using his abilities, Takumi had sensed a girl wearing a magician's hat aboard the ship.

At first, he thought she was just part of Beidou's crew, so he hadn't paid much attention.

But now, he realized—Beidou had brought Mona back with her?

Beidou nodded at his question.

"That's right!"

"Her name is Mona."

"I met her in Fontaine. That poor girl was nearly starving on the docks."

"After I saved her, she gave me a divination—it was quite accurate."

"Then, she said she needed to go to Mondstadt, so I brought her here instead."

Beidou openly shared how she met Mona.

After hearing the story, Takumi had a strange expression.

"Alright!"

"I'll meet her later."

"An astrologer, huh?"

"Maybe she could teach at the academy."

Takumi's school covered all sorts of subjects, including Teyvat's astrology.

Perhaps Mona could make a good instructor.

And the person she was heading to Mondstadt to see was Klee.

Hmm…

Maybe she could be convinced to stay.

If the salary was high enough, she would definitely stay.

Thinking about it, Takumi became eager to meet her.

"What do you plan to do with this battleship next?"

At that moment, Ningguang asked Takumi about his plans.

Now that the battleship was completed, what was next?

Would it simply stay at the shipyard?

"We'll start training."

"Train people on how to operate the battleship."

"And also begin forming a navy."

Takumi made his decision immediately.

They needed trained captains and crew.

Otherwise, no matter how many ships were built, they would be useless without trained personnel.

Ningguang nodded at his response.

"That makes sense."

"We'll select personnel to be trained here."

"Let them practice offshore."

"They can use pirates as target practice."

She approved of the plan and made an immediate decision.

However, Takumi shook his head.

"No."

"You handle the selection."

"Pick candidates from the Qianyan Army's reserves."

"Preferably those who are comfortable with water."

"And those who don't get seasick."

Letting him choose?

Not happening.

He had no interest in being involved in this process.

From the beginning, Takumi had only been responsible for creating things, not managing them.

The formation of the navy was someone else's problem.

Seeing that Takumi had no intention of handling it, Ningguang sighed but agreed.

"Fine."

"I'll take care of it."

With that settled, the three of them continued discussing the navy.

After some time, Beidou's ship finally arrived at the dock.

She immediately walked over and began directing her crew to unload the cargo.

This time, most of the goods she brought back were things Takumi needed—

Such as Electro Crystals.

There weren't many conventional goods this time.

So they quickly unloaded everything, ready for Takumi's people to collect.

If it had been ordinary cargo, Beidou would have sent the ship straight to the main harbor instead.

After taking care of the arrangements, Beidou called Mona over and brought her to Takumi and Ningguang.

Takumi looked at the girl before him and confirmed her identity.

"Are you from another world?"

Mona's first words upon seeing Takumi.

Hearing this, Takumi wasn't surprised.

The first time she met Lumine, she had also seen through her identity immediately.

She had probably just performed a divination on him.

"Hello!"

"I'm Takumi."

"Miss Astrologist Mona Megistus."

Mona blinked in surprise upon hearing Takumi call her full name.

He knew her?

Was he also an astrologer?

Meanwhile, Ningguang frowned slightly.

That name was quite a mouthful.

"Hello."

Mona greeted Takumi but kept observing him with curiosity.

She had come to Liyue for two reasons.

First, to fulfill her master's request.

Second, to find the person responsible for the great changes in Liyue.

And now, it seemed she had found that person.

Whether it was the battleship or the rapidly advancing city, everything pointed to the man before her.

Back on Beidou's ship, she had tried to divine Liyue's future.

Yet, all signs led to an unknown, unseeable force.

Her master had warned her about it before—

There would be someone in Liyue who could not be predicted.

She had attempted a divination.

But she saw nothing.

Now, standing before Takumi, she was certain.

She had found him.

Her master had also been cryptic before sending her here.

Telling her to simply stay in Liyue and that "someone will take care of you."

And not to worry about money for her research.

That had left Mona frustrated.

"Mr. Takumi."

"What do you think of Teyvat?"

"And how do you plan to change it in the future?"

Mona suddenly asked an unexpected question.

Hearing her, Takumi sighed.

"That's a difficult question."

"I don't have a concrete plan."

"I just take things one step at a time."

"Who knows what Teyvat will become?"

"After all, astrology isn't always reliable, is it?"

"The future isn't set in stone."

How was he supposed to answer that?

Should he tell her he planned to bring Honkai into this world?