In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

As a result, he entrusted such an important thing to a mortal who had no connection with Liyue.

Then, a very serious question inevitably popped into Xiao's mind: "Why would the Emperor value a mortal so much?"

the other side.

Rhodes, of course, had no idea what Xiao was thinking about.

Honestly.

He did guess that Appepp wouldn't have any fear of the awakened Heavenly Principles. What he was originally going to say was that he wanted to use the Heart of God in exchange for Appepp's help.

That's it.

Rhodes never intended to threaten Apep into submission. His plan was to simply give the Heart of God to Apep, throwing this hot potato away and letting the Queen of Winter figure out how to make a deal with the Grass Dragon herself.

Use your precious divine heart to act when you are not facing an insurmountable danger.

This seems like a loss.

However, Zhongli gave him the right to dispose of the Heart of God, and since he couldn't use it anyway, and it would be troublesome to keep it, he thought it would be a good deal to use it to exchange for Apep's help.

But he never expected that before he could even say anything more, Appepp would be so happy.

What surprised him even more was...

Once Appepp finally managed to stop laughing, she readily agreed to help collect the remains, explaining that Rod's jokes were funny enough to have pleased her.

After saying that, she didn't give Rod a chance to speak again and immediately started doing it without any hesitation.

"."

Looking at Apep, who could collect a large number of corpses with a single wave of his hand, Rhodes, holding the Heart of God, was momentarily at a loss for what expression to make.

perhaps.

Would it be better to describe my current mood as "happiness came too suddenly"?

"Did the Emperor give you this?"

Xiao's doubts arrived as expected.

"Ah."

Rod smiled and said, "Consider it a deal between him and me."

Night Orchid and Dadalia also joined in.

After hearing Rhodes' explanation, Yelan, who did not recognize the Heart of God, was fine, but D'Artagnan, who did recognize the Heart of God, looked at him strangely.

He and the lady came to Liyue this time.

The main purpose was not for this scientific expedition or to recruit Rhodes.

They came for the heart of God.

However, when they met the Rock God before, the Rock God said that the Heart of God had already been promised to someone else, and if they wanted it, they would have to find that person.

But he wouldn't say to whom the Heart of God was given.

After confirming that the person Zhongli mentioned who had made a contract with him was not his own Ice Queen.

The lady and D'Artagnan then began to screen many people who might possess the heart of God.

They had guessed that it might be the Anemo Archon who also appeared in Liyue, that it might be the Seven Stars given to Liyue, and that it might be one of the many immortals of Liyue. But they never guessed that it might be Rhodes, the stranger who came here for some unknown reason.

"Have you made a pact with the Geo God?"

D'Artagnan, being straightforward, asked the question directly.

"To correct you, it wasn't me; I represented the Grass God in making the contract with him."

Another grass god?

D'Artagnan frowned.

If I remember correctly.

The Heart of the Wind God was also taken by Rhodes on behalf of the Grass God in a deal with the Wind God.

Could it be that the Grass God is also collecting the Heart of God?!

Think of this.

Tadalia's gaze toward Rhodes then became less friendly.

If the Grass God is also collecting the Heart of God, then in other words, an inevitable conflict will arise between her and the Ice Queen!

D'Artagnan can befriend Rhodes and is willing to consider him a friend.

Even though Rhodes so clearly showed his distrust of him, he could completely ignore it and call him "friend" all the time.

But all of this is predicated on the premise that Rhodes will not have a conflict of interest with him.

But now that it has been confirmed that the Grass God is also collecting the Heart of God.

This is a conflict between gods.

This will inevitably escalate into a conflict of positions between the two.

simply put.

It seems unlikely that they can remain friends, and it might not be long before they become enemies.

"Correction."

“Nasita has no interest in collecting God’s Hearts; this was given to me by the Rock King Emperor.”

Rhodes wasn't stupid; he could tell at a glance what was happening with D'Artagnan's emotional state, so he offered a brief explanation.

"The Rock King Emperor gave it to you willingly?"

D'Artagnan was taken aback.

Xiao was also taken aback.

Only Ye Lan, who was completely baffled, frowned.

But she didn't ask anything.

Since it involved matters between gods, she didn't want to get herself involved.

To avoid suspicion.

She even went to a place where they couldn't hear each other talking, making her attitude very clear.

"I helped the Rock King Emperor solve a very troublesome problem."

"So he gave me this as payment."

After a moment's thought, Rhodes spoke the truth, adding, "According to the contract, I am free to dispose of this thing as I see fit. Do you understand?"

talking.

Rhodes winked at D'Artagnan.

Such blunt truths left D'Artagnan somewhat bewildered.

Rhodes didn't mince words.

D'Artagnan understood exactly what he meant.

but

Can a mortal really arbitrarily dispose of the divine heart of a god?

Just as D'Artagnan hesitated about how to answer, Rhodes said to Xiao, who seemed to have something to say, "This is a contract I made with the Emperor. You don't think I would dare to joke about a contract personally drawn up by the God of Contracts, do you?"

Just this sentence.

Xiao, who had initially had some doubts, was rendered speechless.

Since it was a contract personally drafted by the Emperor, no matter how absurd Rhodes's words and actions may be, he can no longer raise any objections.

The three remained silent for a while.

After pondering for a long time, D'Artagnan finally came to his senses and said with a strange expression, "Name your price."

Rhodes has made it so clear to him.

Then what's there to be shy about?

Referring to the negotiations for the two Hearts of God last time, the final price paid was free industrial aid. The cost of exchanging the Heart of Geo this time may not be much smaller.

D'Artagnan never cared about these things.

But now that the Heart of God is right in front of him, even if he doesn't want to get involved, he can't just stand by and do nothing. He has to get a clear answer from Rhodes first, and then discuss with the lady how to negotiate a price after he leaves. If all else fails, he may have to report to Her Majesty the Queen for a decision.

As for whether or not to use harsh measures.

Considering that Rhodes is backed by three rulers, and an even more terrifying Grass Dragon King.

That's right.

D'Artagnan included Appepp in the list of Rhodes' protectors.

Maybe it's because the authorities are confused.

In any case, in Rhodes' eyes, Apep was a vicious person he would want to hide eight hundred miles away from if he saw him once. In D'Artagnan's view, if something happened to Rhodes, the Grass Dragon would definitely be the first to kill him.

This is not because he learned any inside information.

It's purely based on intuition.

D'Artagnan trusted his intuition, so he decided to first find out Rhodes's opinion before preparing for the subsequent negotiations.

Meanwhile, Rod stated his request: "I'd like to borrow someone from you."

"Who?"

"PhD."

"Huh? This?"

D'Artagnan was stunned once again.

Paying the price of a God's Heart just to borrow the Doctor?

It's not that it's impossible.