Lumine and Paimon couldn't help sharing the same thought.
Ever since they'd entered Sumeru, every woman they'd met seemed to have some connection to Idris—especially those with Visions.
Dehya, oblivious to the conclusions the two travelers were jumping to, waved them into Aaru Village with her usual warmth. To make their coming operation smoother, Lumine and Paimon began gathering intel in the village and casually asking after the Grand Sage. But the desert was as closed-off as old, isolationist Inazuma; rumors contradicted rumors until they had no idea which to trust.
Before long they finally met the first Vision-holder here who hadn't personally met Idris.
"Welcome to Aaru Village," said the tall woman with the calm, sea-blue eyes. "I'm Candace, the village guardian. I hear you're here on a commission. Don't worry—we've already set the stage. Soon, the big desert factions will gather near a King Deshret ruin to 'verify' the revival rumor."
She smiled as if to reassure them. "And fortunately, it is only a rumor. If the King truly returned, it wouldn't be good for a quiet place like ours. Desert or rainforest, all of this is Sumeru. One land shouldn't have two kings—nor two gods—unless fate has some special design."
Paimon bobbed in the air. "Thanks! That helps a lot!"
Candace shook her head. "No thanks needed. This was all arranged by Grand Sage Idris. If any other Akademiya sage had asked, I'd have ignored it. But Idris… he's the finest Grand Sage Sumeru has had in five hundred years. I'm happy to do my part."
Paimon and Lumine both froze.
"H-Huh? The best in five hundred years?" Paimon squeaked. "Weren't all the recent Grand Sages supposed to be, uh… awful?"
Lumine patted Paimon's head and murmured, "Let it go. Folks here are… gentler. And Idris at least helps them earn a living. For Aaru's people, maybe he really is the right Grand Sage. We should respect their lives."
"Ohhh," Paimon whispered, mollified. "I thought you meant he was actually amazing."
Whatever the two muttered, Candace and Dehya didn't catch it—or didn't care. Dehya moved them along, laying out the plan.
"Step one," she said, "is fanning the rumor that King Deshret will use anything to return. That pulls the desert's big-name clans to the ruin. Candace handled the groundwork."
She shrugged. "As guardian, she can't leave Aaru. I planned to go alone, but the Grand Sage called it risky, so I hired help through the Guild." She eyed Lumine with a grin. "Didn't expect you to pick it up."
Candace chuckled. "You've changed, Dehya. You used to hate staking your name on these… political jobs."
Dehya snorted. "Yeah, well. Never thought I'd be the Akademiya's hired blade either. But Idris's… different. He's so capable it almost feels like we're wasting him as Grand Sage."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged another bewildered look.
What is happening? Before coming to Sumeru—and even upon arriving—the only firsthand source they'd met was Haibasha, who'd painted Idris as a tyrant. Yet everyone else they'd met since praised him.
Is it us? Or is it the whole country that's weird?
Soon, under Candace and Dehya's arrangements, Lumine and Paimon stepped back outside.
"Safe travels," Candace said, lifting a hand. Dehya added, "Hustle up. Idris posted a summons: in five days, any Vision-holder in Sumeru who's confident in their strength should gather in Sumeru City for a major operation. The rewards will be generous. If we clear this ruin fast, we might make it back in time to join."
"A summons?" the pair echoed, startled. What was Idris planning that required every strong hand in the nation?
One thing Lumine had to admit: the man's execution was terrifying. His fingerprints were everywhere—policies, inventions, orders rippling across the land. She'd only seen that kind of reach from gods—and Idris had been in office barely a month.
Whipped forward by another long-distance directive from the Grand Sage, Lumine, Paimon, and Dehya soon reached the hidden entrance to a Deshret ruin. Leaders from multiple desert tribes had already surrounded the site, turning as Dehya arrived.
"Flame-Mane," one of them sneered, "you're the last to show. What, a few trips to Sumeru City turned you into a polite little lapdog for the Grass God?"
Dehya's laugh was all teeth. "If you want to test that theory, I can cut off a hand to help you count."
A grizzled elder stepped between them. "Enough, Dehya. We didn't come to bicker. Is the talk of Deshret's revival true or false?"
Dehya shook her head. "Who knows? Ears lie; eyes don't. That's why we're here—to see."
She jerked her chin toward Lumine and Paimon. "These two aren't the Grass God's faithful, nor Akademiya dogs. She's a traveler—an adventurer—and my partner on this. Any objections?"
Lumine and Paimon stepped up beside Dehya.
"As long as they aren't the Grass God's or the Grand Sage's mutts, fine," the elder—Rahman—grunted. "We've no love for either."
Dehya chuckled. "Don't like him? Then tell me what he's done wrong. And strictly speaking, Idris is Sumeru's first to defy the Grass God—he still hasn't released Lesser Lord Kusanali from the Sanctuary. That's further than most of you ever go with your talk."
Rahman fell silent, then nodded slowly. "We dislike him for reasons of faith. But in ability and character… having such a man govern Sumeru is this country's luck." He exhaled through his nose. "If the King truly returned, he'd recruit Idris as his hawk."
"His execution is frightening," another elder admitted. "Orders given in the morning shake the desert by dusk."
"Uh… what?" Paimon blurted. "Aren't you supposed to hate the Grand Sage? Why do you all sound like his fan club?"
Rahman's dark, weathered face twitched. After a moment's hemming, he sighed. "I don't want to admit it. But Grand Sage Idris is the most accomplished we've seen in five centuries—policy, action, results. I'd wager even if King Deshret returned, he'd keep the man close."
Around them, other clan leaders grunted agreement. Dislike was one thing; refusing reality was another.
Lumine and Paimon stood there, stunned.
Even the opposition praises him? In Teyvat there was no higher accolade than an enemy's respect. For Idris, it seemed almost… effortless.
The desert chiefs, however, had no time for the travelers' astonishment. Their attention had already shifted to the yawning dark of the ruin entrance below, where the truth—or another lie—waited to be dragged into the sun.
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