A game must have a player, otherwise it has no meaning.
And the player— Considering what Ren said, this player should be him, right?
Being both the player and the Lord of the World, no wonder he said her current body is also his property.
After all, according to this theory, the entire world is his property.
But she, Amber, isn’t anyone’s private property; she is a free Mondstadter.
No one can treat her like a caged bird; flying freely is one of her core beliefs.
For freedom, the people of Mondstadt fear nothing!
“For now, let’s eat first.
Hmm, how about making some honey-glazed carrots and meat first?” Well, unless room and board are included.
“ヽ(￣▽￣)و” Amber readily agreed, especially upon hearing that honey-glazed carrots and meat—her favorite dish—was on the menu.
For a moment, it was as if her rabbit-ear hair accessory stood straight up.
She even turned around and pulled Ren down from the high platform above the fountain, heading straight for Sara’s Good Hunter.
Any thoughts of ‘never being a slave’ were not worth mentioning in the face of honey-glazed carrots and meat.
“Sara, Sara!
Give me an order of honey-glazed carrots and meat!
Oh, and whatever today’s recommendation is, bring one of those too!” Just like she usually did to reward herself after returning from a hard scouting mission outside the city, Amber skipped up to Sara and skillfully ordered her food.
Unfortunately, as an NPC, Sara could only reply with a few fixed, repetitive sentences.
After fussing for a long time and failing to order anything from Sara, Amber felt a bit discouraged.
With her rabbit-ear accessory drooping, she turned back and looked piteously at Ren.
“Sara only sells Mushroom Chicken Skewers, Teyvat Fried Eggs, and Fisherman’s Toast here.
Everything else we have to make ourselves.” As he spoke, Ren walked over to the side where a stove seemed to be Burning eternally and crouched down.
“How is that possible?
Sara has so many delicious things here—ugh, fine, your world, your rules.” Amber’s first instinct was to argue; she knew exactly how many delicacies Sara’s Good Hunter had.
But on second thought, just like the shrunken Mondstadt and the shrunken crowds, Sara’s shop had probably been simplified too, right?
After all, creating such a complete world must be an enormous undertaking.
If he had truly replicated Teyvat perfectly, then he wouldn’t just be an immortal, but the legendary Celestia where the gods reside.
Amber nodded to herself as she filled in the blanks, then watched as Ren threw three identical pieces of raw meat, two carrots, and two unopened bottles of sugar into the steaming cauldron.
This is cooking?
Setting aside the fact that you didn’t even slice the meat or the carrots…
You even threw the glass bottles of sugar in there!!!
Watching Ren fold his hands as if in prayer, even our Outrider Miss Amber found her train of thought stalling for a moment, tilting her head in confusion.
What made Amber’s brain overheat even more was that before she could even process it, she heard a ‘ding.’ Then, Ren pulled a plate of perfect-quality honey-glazed carrots and meat out of the cauldron.
Yes, truly perfect—it was even glowing with light.
WTF!
How many seconds just passed?
Five seconds?
Six?
In that time, you wouldn’t even be able to slice a carrot!
Amber covered her forehead, speechless.
Having watched Ren’s entire cooking process, she was starting to understand the concept of a game world.
“I think I really need to get used to the laws of this world.” Ren, still crouching by the stove, didn’t look up as he focused on flipping through the menu to choose the next dishes: “There’s plenty you need to get used to.
For now, your job is to set the table.” “Yes, sir!” Amber reflexively gave a knight’s salute, then stuck her tongue out once she realized what she’d done.
Carrying the honey-glazed carrots and meat, she suppressed the urge to sneak a bite and took the plate away.
In probably less than five minutes, Amber stared numbly at the table before her, which was now filled with a feast of rich dishes.
How many hours would it normally take to make such a large spread?
One?
Two?
Maybe half a day.
But now, it only took less than five minutes.
And most of that time was wasted by her setting the table.
Looking at the feast before her, Amber’s mind had become somewhat numb due to the information overload she’d experienced in such a short time.
Only these delicacies could still stir Amber’s heart slightly.
The honey-glazed carrots and meat was placed right in the center, surrounded by many dishes she could and couldn’t name.
What was that golden dish in the clay pot?
Could it be the legendary Adeptus’ Temptation?
That was a top-tier dish she had only heard her grandfather brag about before.
She heard that just the preparation alone took several days.
How long did it take to make just now?
Two seconds?
Three?
And what was that white, bright, square-shaped thing?
Ah, this looks delicious too.
Can I eat it?
Can I?
Although the dishes on the table each had their own merits, they all shared one thing in common: they were all shimmering with starlight.
“Is this actually edible?” She felt like this entire table of food appearing was a bit too fantastical.
“That’s just how this world is.
You’ll have to get used to it.
At the very least, compared to dishes that make your clothes explode with one bite or emit a blinding golden light when you lift the lid, these shimmering dishes are child’s play.” Huh?
So this was actually considered relatively normal?
Amber didn’t understand, but she was shocked.
Ren spoke earnestly, then picked up a piece of meat and took a blissful bite.
Mm, to be honest, perfect-quality dishes from the game were unexpectedly delicious after being somewhat realized in this world.
The only downside was that they were all uniformly delicious.
No matter when you ate them or how many times you made them, as long as they were prepared the ‘game way,’ they all tasted exactly the same.
While perfect, one could imagine that after many years, Ren might get tired of them.
But just as the real Amber had suddenly visited his world today, who knows what other surprises the future might hold.
In any case, Ren had suddenly become quite open-minded.
“How could such dishes exist?
You’re teasing me, right?” As she spoke, relying on her love for honey-glazed carrots and meat, Amber overcame the discomfort of having personally witnessed Ren throwing entire bottles of salt, jam, and sugar into the pot.
She closed her eyes, picked up a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, and went silent.
“It’s…
it’s too delicious!
How can there be such perfect honey-glazed carrots and meat?!
W-what will I do if I can’t eat this anymore in the future?!” As she spoke, Amber’s chopsticks moved so fast they left afterimages.
The plate of honey-glazed carrots and meat was soon empty.
Ren took the opportunity to make an offer: “It’s simple.
Just come back again in the future.
I’d actually quite welcome you using this NPC body.” “Hmph, nice try.
Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting—I am a formal knight, after all, not some naive little girl.” Especially with a best friend like Eula who came from an aristocrat background, Amber had heard plenty about those decadent and corrupt matters.
After a plate of meat, Amber was surprised to find that she didn’t feel very full.
You had to realize that was a huge plate of meat, yet her stomach didn’t even bulge after eating it.
Amber attributed this to the magic of the dream world and began to direct her chopsticks toward the other dishes.
Ren put down his chopsticks and elegantly wiped his mouth.
He only needed one bite of each dish; he’d eaten them so many times he was almost sick of them.
“Stop it.
Klee is also a formal knight; do you think she knows a lot?” “In Klee’s case, well, that—that’s a special case—wait?!” Amber seemed to suddenly realize something.
She jerked her head up and looked at Ren with suspicion and uncertainty.
“Y-you didn’t replicate Klee into this world too, did you?” Amber was too embarrassed to say, “You didn’t lay a hand on Klee too, did you?” but the meaning was clear.
Ren rolled his eyes, utterly speechless.
“I’m not that depraved yet.
I dote on Klee like a daughter.
My tastes are perfectly normal, okay?” “Well, okay.
I don’t know whether to be relieved or have a headache.” Amber patted her slightly rising chest, feeling a bit more at ease.
It was good that he hadn’t touched Klee, but that meant that while she was unaware, her own body had already been— Well, he did say from the start that he had explored it inside and out.
“Don’t worry, you’ve seen it yourself.
With the rigid settings of an NPC, they don’t cooperate at all.
Aside from the very beginning when I was still quite interested, later on, I just found it too cumbersome.
At most, I used it as a body pillow or something.” Anyone who has collected dolls probably knows that even a doll weighing only a dozen pounds feels more tiring to handle than a real person.
The reason is that they are inanimate objects and won’t cooperate.
So after the initial novelty wore off, Ren really didn’t have much interest.
At most, because of his OCD, he helped the character level up to the maximum.
Of course, Amber really didn’t want to understand these things, but for the same reason as before—having a best friend from the mountains like Eula—to her shame and indignation, she basically understood Ren’s words instantly.
“So, should I thank you then?” Amber was speechless.
She almost wished she hadn’t understood Ren’s words.
Ren nodded as if it were obvious.
“Exactly, you really should thank me.
Because I’m going to tell you about the problems Mondstadt is about to face, and I can even help you solve them.” At this point, Amber’s expression turned serious as she looked solemnly at Ren.
“And the price?” Although he really wanted to say “Everything~” well, Ren was now the GM and could do whatever he wanted, so he just said it.
“Everything!” “Eek!” Amber covered her chest with both hands and scooted her chair back a few steps.
“What are you covering?
I’ve measured them myself.
Honestly, yours are on the small side.” “I’m still in my growth period!” Amber roared.
After some banter, Amber actually felt a bit closer to Ren.
The restraint and distance she felt earlier when facing someone she considered an immortal-like existence had mostly vanished after Ren’s recent words.
And— Amber looked at the easygoing Ren.
She had an intuition that she shouldn’t refuse this young man who seemed to come from Liyue.
Just like the day she obtained her Vision, she felt at this moment as if she had finally encountered “something only she could do.” From his words, Amber learned that the recent anomalies in the outskirts of Mondstadt had a cause, and there was a conspiracy behind them.
Furthermore, Mondstadt would face great trouble in the near future, which even involved the esteemed Lord Barbatos.
The responsibility inherited from her grandfather, the burden of wanting to prove the significance of the Outriders to others, and the desire to do what only she could do.
Different emotions intertwined, making Amber’s gaze turn firm.
She couldn’t run away, even if the other party might, well, have some ill intentions toward her.
To gain something, one must give something in return; Amber still understood this principle.
In short, as the ‘Central Air Conditioner’ of Mondstadt, Amber was confident she could become normal friends with him and, through normal means, not only save Mondstadt but also help him.
In an instant, that familiar vitality and vigor seemed to surge from the fiery-red girl, and she was suddenly full of energy.
As for being captured by him and having unspeakable things happen before they even became friends— Amber tilted her head.
She took a careful look at him.
Well, it didn’t seem like she’d be losing out too much; she could just treat it as finding a boyfriend in a dream.
Anyway, her family line was a single succession; she would have to find a boy to inherit the family business eventually.
“In any case, I’ll do my best!” The girl, who believed that things would work themselves out, cheered herself on.
“Well, in any case, sit on my lap and feed me first!” Ren said casually.
“—Hey, no matter how you look at it, that’s a bit too fast, isn’t it?” Ren shrugged and said nonchalantly: “It doesn’t seem fast to me at all.
After all, we’ve done even more intimate things.” “Ugh, fine.” Amber’s momentum lasted only about five seconds before the red rabbit-ear bow on her head drooped, and she obediently shuffled over.
After a strange meal, Amber was a bit reserved at first, but she became more and more proficient afterward.
It might have something to do with the self-hypnosis she kept whispering: “This isn’t my body, this isn’t my body.” Having eaten and drunk their fill, Ren took Amber for a stroll through this familiar yet strange Mondstadt.
It was familiar because Amber knew this was Mondstadt; whether it was the architectural style, the names of the shops, or the names floating above the heads of those so-called NPCs, everything told her this was Mondstadt.
It was strange because, well, Amber still felt that this Mondstadt was a bit too small, and the proportions of the various buildings were also a bit off.
For one thing, the area occupied by the Anemo Archon statue was a bit too large compared to the real Mondstadt.
Also, the fact that all the residential areas of Mondstadt combined weren’t as large as the Mondstadt Cathedral made Amber feel quite disoriented.
As for small issues like being unable to go up to the second floor of the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Amber didn’t pay them much mind.