"Little Lucky Grass King?!"
Tighnari and Cyno stood up in shock and confusion.
Even though they didn't know much about her, she was, after all, the deity of Sumeru.
Proper respect was only natural.
Alhaitham sighed lightly and said in a calm voice,
"So, Mr. Ryen… you destroyed the Akademiya to stand up for the Little Lucky Grass King, and now you've brought her back."
"That's the core reason, yes."
Ryen nodded with a carefree smile.
"Then your return this time…"
Alhaitham looked at Ryen with a slightly complicated expression, seemingly guessing something.
Ryen took a sip of tea and gently stroked Nahida's head.
"You people from the Akademiya like to conduct experiments—so I decided to run one of my own."
"I released zombies, and as far as I know, the Grand Sage is already infected.
Those are creatures from another world, carrying a virus that will turn anyone infected into a zombie."
"Normally, only I can undo it. But since you call yourselves a nation of wisdom, I'd like to see whether he can solve it—now that he no longer has divine knowledge to rely on."
"Of course, the main reason I returned was to bring Nahida back to visit her home."
As he spoke, Ryen's gaze grew cold.
"Our Nahida, from the moment she was born five hundred years ago, longed to become a great god like the previous Dendro Archon—Greater Lord Rukkhadevata—
To guide the people toward a better life."
"But sadly, your Akademiya believed she lacked the wisdom to match the Great Lord.
So you used the remnants of her divine power to imprison Nahida for five hundred years."
"You never gave her a chance to become a great deity—so I will not give Sumeru the chance to become a great nation."
"Isn't that fair?"
Alhaitham fell silent for a while before finally sighing.
"…I apologize. But I only just learned that the Little Lucky Grass King was imprisoned…"
"It's true—both the Akademiya and Sumeru have wronged her."
Ryen waved it off casually.
"It's fine. Everything the Akademiya did to Nahida, I'll return to them one by one."
"If the people of Sumeru refuse to acknowledge Nahida's existence, then I'll flatten this place and find her a new people who will."
"The only thing I care about, from beginning to end—
Is Nahida."
With that, Ryen stood up calmly, taking Nahida and Klee by the hand and walking toward the door.
"Thank you for the tea. It was quite good.
We're continuing our journey now. Of course, you're all smart people—I believe you know what you should do."
"Until fate brings us together again."
With those words, Ryen and the others vanished from sight.
Tighnari rubbed his forehead, clearly troubled.
"What a headache… if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have brought you two to Gandharva Ville today."
Alhaitham, however, seemed indifferent.
"Whether we came or not wouldn't have changed the outcome of today's events."
"In fact, thinking about it carefully… this might actually be a good thing for us."
Noticing Cyno and Tighnari looking his way, Alhaitham explained in a low voice:
"The moment we met Mr. Ryen, we were already drawn into his so-called 'experiment.'"
"For me, that's an opportunity I don't intend to waste."
"You've all seen the corruption within the Akademiya with your own eyes.
Don't you want this massive, stagnant institution to finally change?"
"This is the best chance we've ever had."
Tighnari sighed deeply.
"I only hope this doesn't affect Gandharva Ville…"
Cyno fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice,
"I need to know—what exactly is Azar doing? Do you know anything?"
At that, Alhaitham's expression darkened slightly.
After a long pause, he finally said in a quiet tone,
"He's conducting an experiment involving defiance and blasphemy.
At first, I couldn't be sure, but after speaking with Mr. Ryen today… I'm certain now."
"If he actually succeeds in that experiment, all seven nations will rise to destroy Sumeru.
It'll be another disaster like the one caused by Khaenri'ah."
"This is a forbidden experiment—one that crosses the ultimate taboo…"
Alhaitham looked up at Cyno and Tighnari and pronounced each word carefully:
"Azar… wants to create a god."
"WHAT?!"
…
Ryen had no idea what the three were talking about behind his back—and honestly, he wasn't very interested either.
Although he didn't know them personally, Ryen could tell they weren't like the corrupt scholars entrenched in Sumeru City.
As he had said earlier, they were smart people.
And smart people knew best how to protect themselves and when to act wisely.
Ryen was confident that once they understood Azar's true plans, they would make their move.
Since that was the case, there was no need for Ryen to dwell on it any further.
With Ganyu and the others, he soared across the skies of Sumeru on the back of a dragon.
Nahida had already forgotten the earlier unpleasantness.
She cheered joyfully, her eyes sparkling.
This was her homeland—but every blade of grass and tree was something new to her.
Those five hundred years should've been her time to roam freely across Sumeru, to admire every part of its landscape.
But instead… she had only known a long, endless dream of darkness.
She had seen nothing.
Now, Ryen was determined to make up for everything she had missed.
They had all the time in the world. There was no need to rush.
…
Meanwhile, atop the Jade Chamber.
Compared to Ryen's carefree travels, things were much more hectic for Ningguang and the others.
Zhongli and Venti were both present.
Ningguang, Jean, and the rest sat nearby.
And across from them sat a woman in an extravagant robe, her expression frosty and calm.
Beside her sat Tartaglia and Rosalyne, both upright and proper in their demeanor.
This woman—was the Cryo Archon.
Her expression was calm as she quietly flipped through a stack of neatly organized documents before her.
Ningguang and the others couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
Everyone said the Cryo Archon was the most mysterious of the Seven.
She represented the coldest winter.
She was also the one Venti had once described as: a god who would never love again, nor be loved by anyone.
But…
Truthfully, after spending just a short time with her, Ningguang personally felt—
The Cryo Archon… was simply cold in elemental power.
~~----------------------
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