"The Ley Lines?"
Makoto and Ei exchanged glances at Lora's question, then both shook their heads.
"We haven't noticed anything unusual," Makoto replied.
"Nothing at all?" Lora fell into thought.
"What exactly is going on?" Makoto asked, puzzled by her expression.
"Oh... it's a long story, so I'll give you the short version."
Lora came back to herself and told everyone about her conversation with the Failsafe.
"You mean reviving Sophia caused the divine energy within the Ley Lines to awaken?" Zhongyue asked with a frown.
Lora nodded. "Yes, exactly."
"They are merely a handful of gods. Should they dare oppose me, I will destroy them," Apep declared, clearly unconcerned about the gods who were about to awaken.
As a first-generation Dragon Sovereign, she might not have regained her ancient authority, but dealing with gods who had failed to survive the Archon War should not require much of her power.
"It may not be that simple. The gods awakening from the Ley Lines this time have been affected by the Abyss. On top of that, the laws governing Teyvat have already become incredibly fragile. They'll be far stronger than they were in the past."
Lora shook her head at Apep. "There's a real possibility that even you won't be able to defeat them."
Apep fell silent.
Makoto then asked, "Have you told Zhongli about this?"
"Yes. I spoke to him about it in private on the day we returned to Liyue," Lora replied with a nod.
"If this is why Venti summoned us here, then I can understand why his invitation sounded so serious." The smile faded from Makoto's face as she spoke.
Ei was silent for a moment before saying, "This would be no different from the beginning of another Archon War."
Even the most carefree deity would grow serious when faced with something like this. To gods, the Archon War was anything but a pleasant memory.
"If another Archon War really begins, that might be kind of interesting."
Scaramouche sounded almost excited as he spoke from the side.
"Since the Anemo Archon invited me as well, that proves I'm powerful enough to take part in an Archon War."
Lora, Makoto, and the others all turned to look at him.
Without saying a word, the Shogun reached out and struck him on the head.
"With that attitude, you would not survive even a year in the Archon War."
"You..." Scaramouche glared at the Shogun and tried to argue, but everyone present was stronger than him. Any retort he could offer would have sounded painfully weak.
"The Archon War was unimaginably brutal. You shouldn't be looking forward to it," Lora said with a sigh.
"It'll be fine!"
Zhongyue climbed onto a chair, bringing some much-needed energy back into the increasingly somber room.
Everyone turned toward her.
"Back during the Archon War, all Seven Nations fought on their own. That was why everything was so difficult. It was the same when Zhongli and I were fighting to secure our territory. But things are different now!"
Zhongyue crouched down, took a drink to wet her throat, then stood back up and continued.
"Just look at the situation now! Mondstadt... actually, forget Mondstadt. We have Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine! Our four nations are united! The gods of those nations are practically joined at the hip at this point. Add a walking cheat like Lora, and another Archon War would be easy!"
"Why doesn't Mondstadt count?" Makoto asked.
"Why are we joined at the hip?" Lora followed up.
Zhongyue: "..."
"Are you two deliberately trying to pick a fight?"
"Just tell me whether it's a valid question!" Lora spread her hands.
"Mondstadt... how should I put this? That nation..." Zhongyue scratched her head and thought for a long while. "Judging by the strength they currently have available, they're honestly... a little hard to judge."
"It would be a different matter if Grand Master Varka returned with the expeditionary force," Lora added. "Besides, if Venti really has discovered this problem, he'll probably give Jean some instructions."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"In any case, we should wait for Venti to explain everything himself," Lora continued. "I'm also curious to see what kind of gift he has prepared for me."
...
Early the next morning, Makoto, Ei, and the others went to visit Sophia's group.
Lumine and Paimon set out on their mission, taking Gaming with them toward Yilong Wharf.
Meanwhile, Xianyun summoned Jiehu and Houzhang to her home and gave them a few instructions on how to act.
Only then did the two realize that Xianyun had already assigned them roles without consulting them.
"This is unacceptable! We are both adepti. How could we possibly lower ourselves to playing thieves?" Houzhang frowned and shook his head.
Jiehu nodded in agreement. "Absolutely not! If word spread that we had disguised ourselves as thieves, it would be most undignified."
"Come on. Just think of it as doing a good deed for the people of Liyue," Lora said as she stood beside Xianyun and tried to persuade them.
Jiehu and Houzhang looked at her. "A good deed?"
"A very good deed."
Lora leaned closer to the two adepti.
"Think about it. If you can help Gaming reconcile with his father, wouldn't that be an incredible act of virtue? Surely both of you want the people of Liyue to live peaceful and happy lives, right?"
She paused before continuing.
"And yet, during Lantern Rite, a festival meant for families to be together, a son might fail to reconcile with his father simply because two adepti were too concerned about their dignity. How are people supposed to judge that?"
"That would be pretty hard to judge, wouldn't it, esteemed adepti?"
That final sentence dealt the decisive blow.
Jiehu and Houzhang exchanged glances.
"Houzhang, what Lora said does make some sense," Jiehu admitted.
"Some sense? Every word I say makes perfect sense!" Lora interjected.
Jiehu looked at Xianyun, then at Lora, before finally nodding.
"Very well! We shall help this once. Consider it our contribution to the people of Liyue during Lantern Rite!"
"Excellent. Go and prepare yourselves, then." Xianyun nodded to them. "I'll go find Shenhe."
It took Lora a moment to process the second half of that sentence.
"Wait!"
"Hm? What is it?" Xianyun turned toward her in confusion.
Lora stared at her.
"You're planning to ask Shenhe to act out a warm and joyful family reunion with you?"