Lumine covered her face with one hand. "Just imagine it—it's absolutely mortifying. The audience's reactions would probably be very strong."
Katheryne rested her chin on her hand. "I see. So this commission doesn't suit your taste. How about convincing the Eremites to do some odd jobs at the children's welfare home?"
Paimon put her hands on her hips angrily. "What kind of commission is that?"
Lumine said, "The vibe between mercenaries and a children's welfare home is just too mismatched."
[Furina: That doesn't sound like a suggestion any normal human would come up with.]
[Paimon: Exactly, exactly! Is that something a normal human would suggest?]
[Ningguang: Children would inevitably be a little scared of mercenaries. And most blunt, straightforward mercenaries wouldn't know how to handle children either.]
[Layla: This request sounds a lot like the experiments in the Akademiya—combining various conditions or drastically changing one factor to see the effect on the outcome, in order to explore the world and gain new knowledge. But most of the time, the experiments fail.]
[Xiangling: I have experience with that too. When I cook, I often do that kind of research, altering ingredient ratios to develop new dishes.]
[Nahida: Exactly. This is an experiment on humans, after all. But what you're trying to get is human reactions.]
[Layla: I recall that in similar experiments, humans are the biggest variable. Even if all conditions are identical, a different person can produce vastly different results.]
[Nahida: Yes, that matches my daily observations. Humans truly are the most complex creatures in the world.]
Katheryne nodded. "That's right. So the mercenaries' reactions are also quite interesting."
Paimon rested her chin on her hand. "May I ask who posted this commission?"
Katheryne chuckled softly. "The client? Well, actually, I just wanted to see you do these things."
Lumine said, "You're Nahida right now, aren't you?"
Then Katheryne's voice shifted rapidly. "You already figured it out? I was hoping you'd actually accept the commission. Such a good opportunity to observe humans."
Paimon said, "So it's Nahida. I knew Katheryne wouldn't make such strange jokes. When did you enter Katheryne's consciousness?"
[Xiangling: Ah, so that person is Nahida?]
[Alhaitham: Isn't that obvious?]
[Paimon: It's not that easy to notice!]
[Yae Miko: It's still quite easy to notice.]
Nahida said, "From the very beginning, when I said 'To the stars and the abyss.'"
Paimon waved her hands angrily. "That's literally from the very start!"
"So, you've rested up already, Nahida?"
Nahida nodded. "Yes. Since we last parted, I've been sleeping non-stop. I even had a very long dream."
Lumine asked, "What did you dream about?"
Nahida said, "It was another Sabzeruz Festival dream—but a beautiful one."
"I dreamed I was sitting in the middle of a flower bed, and everyone in Sumeru City was holding hands, circling around me again and again. Everyone looked so happy."
"I even rode on a giant float. Farris the Knight of Flowers lifted me up high, high into the air, and I kept scattering Arda candies to the children."
[Paimon: The interlude—"Nahida, Happy Birthday"—what we saw earlier was that Nahida's dream?]
[Ningguang: The power of the livestream is truly amazing. It can capture anything it wishes to show.]
[Navia: Ah, when you think about it like that, it's actually quite frightening. I wouldn't dare take a bath or change clothes at night anymore. What if I'm seen?]
[Furina: You don't need to worry about that. The livestream doesn't just show the present—it shows the past and future too. Even if you never bathe in the future, it could still show you from the past.]
[Livestream System: Warning. The system is not that perverted.]
Paimon said cautiously, "Nahida, the Sabzeruz Festival should have been just like your dream—people happily celebrating your birthday together."
Lumine said, "Yes. But in reality..."
Nahida looked puzzled. "I was clearly describing a very happy dream. Why do you both have such expressions? Is this what they call sympathy?"
Paimon quickly waved her hands. "No, no—sympathy would just make it even sadder. As long as you yourself aren't feeling sad, Nahida, that's all that matters."
[Furina: It's not sympathy—it's anger. You deserve all the good things in the world.]