Nahida said, "Just like how after a disastrous rainstorm, puddles on the ground can sometimes mirror the sky."
Paimon said, "Only Nahida could come up with such a subtle metaphor."
Nahida said, "I wasn't trying to gain trust just now—I just wanted to make it easier to understand."
[Paimon: Nahida's most distinctive trait is her skill with metaphors.]
[Nahida: Metaphors are a wondrous power.]
[Ningguang: Paimon, if I were being impersonated, how would you tell?]
[Paimon: That's easy! Just start talking about business. Even though I wouldn't understand it either, a fake Ningguang definitely wouldn't be able to keep up.]
[Lumine: Identifying Furina is also simple—just give her a topic and have her improvise a performance.]
[Furina: No one would ever impersonate me anyway.]
[Lumine: What if?]
Paimon said, "Alright, alright, we get it. Nahida, tell us what happened after we left. How are the citizens?"
Nahida said, "At the time, I was focused on repairing all the citizens' consciousness. Fortunately, what Dottore described as 'projecting information into the subconscious' wasn't etched into their brains—it was just creating illusions in their minds. With my current abilities, I was able to resolve it."
"Just as he was about to take control of me, I finished repairing the citizens' consciousness and successfully escaped using consciousness jumping."
Paimon nodded. "Good, good. Dottore's move was certainly unexpected, but thank goodness we had Nahida."
Nahida said softly, "It wasn't that good. While I was repairing the citizens' consciousness, Dottore had already figured out my true identity. We've lost another trump card."
"Moreover, since he has the ability to modify the Akasha Terminal, it's only a matter of time before he captures my consciousness."
[Paimon: I'm so angry.]
[Tartaglia: I don't know why Her Majesty the Tsaritsa recruits these shady people.]
[Pierro: Sometimes, to achieve our goals, sacrifices must be made.]
[Paimon: You're not much better, Tartaglia. You released a god.]
[Tartaglia: At the time, I was fairly certain about Zhongli's fake death.]
[Paimon: And you also stirred up conflict between the adepti and the Qixing.]
[Tartaglia: Stop, okay, I get it. I'm the bad guy.]
[Paimon: You've always been one. Arlecchino and Signora are the good, kind-hearted diplomats.]
[Arlecchino: I didn't expect to receive such high praise.]
[Lyney: Well said, little Paimon. When you come to Fontaine, you can come play with me.]
Paimon asked, "So you can no longer freely jump between consciousnesses? What do we do now? He's at the Akademiya and could continue tampering with the Akasha."
Lumine said, "We need to hurry now. Things might get even more passive from here."
Paimon said angrily, "Damn it. It feels like we're being toyed with. What a troublesome opponent."
"And apparently, Dottore could hold his position as the Second Seat on pure combat strength alone."
[Lumine: This opponent is unexpectedly powerful.]
[Keqing: I wonder how he compares to the Overlord of the Vortex?]
[Dottore: The Overlord of the Vortex? I don't know the answer. But from what I've seen in the video, Cloud Retainer is no match for me.]
[Cloud Retainer: How dare you! Disrespecting an adeptus! Come to Liyue and see how I teach you a lesson.]
[Dottore: By then, I'd probably be facing a siege of many adepti.]
[Cloud Retainer: You underestimate my pride. I would never stoop to ganging up on an opponent.]
Nahida shook her head. "Now is not the time to lose hope. Let's think of another way, find a breakthrough."
Paimon then asked, "By the way, Nahida, how did you know we were coming here? Were you waiting here in advance?"
Nahida nodded. "Yes. I can sense the elemental energy on the Traveler. I deduced your direction by following its movement."
"You two didn't come here sightseeing, did you? Did you find any clues?"