I, the Geo Archon Morax with 2.1 Billion Mora, Have Joined a Chat Group [264]

“Will you be coming with us?”

After a brief, three-way silence, Zhongli turned to Ariel and asked calmly.

“No. I have to return to the Demon Tribe’s capital. After all, I am the Demon Lord,” Ariel replied. Though clearly interested in what Zhongli was about to do, she still declined his invitation to travel together.

“However… if you’re willing, Mr. Zhongli, perhaps you could accompany me to the Demon Territory instead.”

Naturally, Zhongli declined as well.

In truth, it didn’t matter where he was on this planet—he could analyze the planetary skill system from any location. So following Ariel to her domain wouldn’t have been a problem.

But ultimately, he had been summoned here by Kumoko. It made the most sense to stay with her.

Besides, he could very clearly sense that the illusionary trick he had used to deceive the system had already begun to arouse Evil God D’s suspicion. At most, she’d descend upon this world within a day or two.

That, he knew, would be the true challenge awaiting him in this world.

After all, if he was being honest, the one who came here wasn’t even his true self—it was merely a single drop of his blood formed into an avatar. Compared to Evil God D, who ruled over the Underworld of this world, he was at a definite disadvantage in raw power. If he wanted to win… he’d need to play his cards carefully.

With that thought in mind, Zhongli turned to Kumoko and asked gently, “By the way, Kumoko—you never told me. What did you want to exchange with me in return?”

Kumoko blinked, caught off guard.

But her quick-thinking brain kicked in almost immediately. She frantically waved her two scythe-like forelegs.
“N-Nothing! It’s fine! Mr. Zhongli, the fact that you helped me deal with my mother’s attack is already more than enough to fulfill the summoning contract. Whatever you want to do next, I have absolutely no complaints!”

“No,” Zhongli shook his head slightly. “This contract isn’t fair.”

“To you, this was your first time hosting a mission from someone outside your world. You’ve never entered another world, nor summoned anyone from another world before. To you, the chat group is just a tool to talk. You’ve never had a reason to question whether the people inside are lying, posturing, or telling the truth.”

“Who’s to say the chat group isn’t secretly a gathering of malevolent beings waiting for a newbie to expose their world’s coordinates—so they can launch a full-scale invasion and annihilate your planet?”

“And then I suddenly pop in, asking to enter your world? That alone adds enormous risk.”

“So you see—your risk and my cost aren’t equal. This contract isn’t fair. I need you to name one more condition so we can restore balance to this exchange.”

The more Kumoko listened, the wider all eight of her eyes became.

When Zhongli mentioned the risk, her mouth fell open slightly—caught between surprise and confusion.
—Wait, that’s a thing?? That’s actually possible?!

After a long pause, she finally sighed and gave up trying to process it.

“Well… when you put it like that, Mr. Zhongli, I really do feel kind of spooked. But thankfully, you turned out to be a righteous god. Still, you’re being so insistent about me making a request, I don’t even know what to ask for…”

Kumoko crossed her front legs and sank into deep thought.

Then—after a while—one foreleg popped up as her head tilted, and all eight eyes lit up with a flash of realization.

“I got it! Remember when Evil God D called earlier? She said that besides me, other classmates and even our teacher had reincarnated too, right? But unlike me, they’re all still babies. So I was wondering—could you help me find our teacher?”

“If we run into any classmates along the way, sure, I’d like to help. But if we can’t, that’s okay. But the teacher… I really want to find her. I want to protect her.”

“Then...”

Zhongli’s pale golden eyes gleamed softly.

He reached out, gently brushing his hand across Kumoko’s chalk-white carapace.

“Your request is heard. I will help you.”

“First, let’s help one of your classmates.”

“…Huh?” Kumoko blinked again.

“Roughly twenty kilometers ahead,” Zhongli said, “if I’m not mistaken, one of your classmates should be there.”

“…Huh?? That’s way too convenient!”

Kumoko’s curiosity immediately ignited.
While she didn’t have much of a bond with her classmates, the thought of unexpectedly running into one of them after surviving all this time… still brought a little joy to her heart.

“Indeed.”

A faint smile appeared on Zhongli’s lips.

“And if we don’t go… there’s a chance your classmate might not survive the day.”

“…Huh?”

Kumoko tilted her head in confusion.

Zhongli didn’t keep her in suspense.
“She and her family are currently being attacked by bandits. Oddly enough, it seems these bandits have a specific target in mind.”

“Then let’s go right now!”

Kumoko was instantly fired up.

Even if she didn’t particularly care for her classmates, if someone she knew was in danger, of course she was going to help.

“Then I suppose this is where we part.”

Kumoko turned to Ariel.

“Very well.” The cold-blooded Demon Lord gave a small nod. Then she added, “Since we’re allies now, you should cancel that skill of yours.”

“…Huh? What skill?”

Kumoko tilted her head a third time.

“You know—the weird, unkillable spider soul things,” Ariel said with a snort. “They don’t hurt me, but they’re still hanging around inside my soul, and it’s starting to feel like they’re trying to merge with me.”

“…Eh???”

Kumoko’s jaw dropped.

“You were using them to devour the Queen Taratect’s soul, right? And once they sensed my presence, they followed the soul-connection between me and the Queen—straight into my soul.”

Ariel explained with clear irritation.

“Just cancel the skill already.”

“Uh…” Kumoko mumbled sheepishly, “…I don’t actually know how.”

“That’s a skill I used unconsciously. It’s not even part of the system. I don’t know how to undo it.”

“…What??”

This time, it was Ariel who looked deeply troubled.

After a long moment, she let out another sharp snort, took a single step forward—

—and launched herself into the distance like a cannonball, vanishing from sight.

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This is a fan translation of 我，21亿岩王帝君加入聊天群 by 大一统. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!