Victor Wang deliberately slept soundly in Sumeru City for the night, and only after daylight fully broke did he head to Dunyarzad's residence to pay a visit.
After introducing himself and having his name passed along by the servants, the person who eventually came out to meet him was Dunyarzad's father—Shahzaman Homayani.
"I've heard a bit about how you worked together with Dunyarzad to plan the Sabzeruz Festival. Because of her health, she has very few friends, so it was truly fortunate for her to meet you. However… ever since the Sabzeruz Festival, her condition has worsened, and she hasn't gone out at all. Dehya also lost her duties as a result and left for the time being. I don't know where she went."
"So that's how it is… Please convey my regards to Dunyarzad and tell her to take good care of herself. As for Dehya, I'll try looking elsewhere."
He soon took his leave. As for the rest of the time, Victor Wang wasn't entirely slacking off either—he sought out Nilou and explained Nahida's current predicament to her. After that… time quietly slipped by, and before he realized it, it was already 6 PM.
Arriving at Caravan Ribat right on time, the moment he saw Lumine and Paimon, he put on a dejected expression. "I couldn't find Dehya. I have no idea where she went…"
"Hey now, Dehya's right here."
"Huh?"
"Come with us!"
With Paimon leading the way, Victor Wang followed, along with Lumine, as the three of them turned into a narrow alley. Inside were Dehya, who looked slightly bored from waiting, and three bound Eremites.
Seeing Victor Wang, Dehya laughed heartily. "I heard you went looking for me in Sumeru City? That really was unfortunate timing—but in the end, we still met."
"What's going on here…?"
"Hehe, confused, aren't you? A lot really happened while you weren't around." Things had progressed quickly on their end, and Paimon looked rather smug. "Before we head back to Aaru Village, I think I should tell you everything. Let's talk while we walk!"
Victor Wang nodded blankly, looking like he was all ears, as he followed them away from Caravan Ribat toward Aaru Village.
"Hmm… let me think how to explain it. We met four companions in the desert: Alhaitham, Cyno, Dehya, and Candace. I'll go in the order we met them.
After arriving at Caravan Ribat, the first person we met was Alhaitham. He's the Akademiya's scribe, and we already knew him back when we were at Port Ormos.
He had actually accepted an assignment from the sages to investigate Lumine, but halfway through, he tossed that task aside and started pursuing the matter of divine knowledge capsules out of pure curiosity. Later, when he realized their source was in the desert, he came to Caravan Ribat.
Next was Cyno. He's the General Mahamatra of the Akademiya. On the surface, he had tracked Alhaitham down to the desert because he discovered Alhaitham was hiding divine knowledge capsules, so the moment he saw him, he wanted to fight.
But the truth is, he noticed that the project data under Grand Sage Azar didn't match real-world progress. When he proposed a verification, it was rejected. Realizing the Akademiya might take action against him, he left their sight ahead of time under the pretense of self-exile and began investigating on his own.
Don't let how calmly I'm saying this fool you—those two were practically ready to explode the moment they met! If Dehya hadn't stepped in to stir things up, they would've started fighting right there!
Though after Dehya showed up, it kind of turned into three people about to fight…
Dehya came to the desert for a very simple reason—she just wanted to return to Aaru Village for a visit and see her old friend Candace.
As for Candace, she's the guardian of Aaru Village. She's incredibly strong, but also a very gentle big sister type. When the first three were at a stalemate, we ran into a sandstorm. She was the one who led us into Aaru Village to take shelter.
After that, we learned some things in Aaru Village. Those mad scholars exiled by the Akademiya are called 'village keepers' there. Even though they're deranged, they can protect Aaru Village during sandstorms or earthquakes by drawing on Nahida's power.
So, it turns out Nahida has always cared about the Eremites too… sniff, she really is a good Archon. That's also why we thought this could be used as leverage to persuade the desert people to help us.
But recently, those village keepers started disappearing one after another. When we investigated, we found radical followers of King Deshret spreading rumors like 'King Deshret is about to be revived' and 'the mad scholars were chosen as sacrifices by King Deshret.'
So Dehya used a bit of provocation on those radicals. She deliberately said some unpleasant things in front of their informants and claimed she was leaving Aaru Village to gather information at the tavern in Caravan Ribat.
And then those three idiots followed us in secret, pretending to lead us to their base. They thought that with Candace and Cyno absent, they could defeat us. Heh."
After listening to Paimon finish, Victor Wang smiled and nodded. "Very good. Very good."
At this pace, if I'd come two days later, I wouldn't even be needed.
The desert environment was truly unfriendly. Even in the evening, once the heat faded, the sky was still filled with sand and dust. Things were fine just outside Caravan Ribat, but the moment they passed beyond the towering sand barrier, the air turned into a gray haze mixed with twilight and sand. Opening one's mouth was enough to swallow half a mouthful of grit, so everyone fell silent.
That was, until Aaru Village appeared before them—hidden among the mountains and spared from the ravages of the sandstorms.
Candace, with her amber-and-azure heterochromatic eyes, and Cyno, with his white hair and crimson pupils, were already waiting in the village. They had heard Paimon mention Victor Wang before, so after exchanging greetings, they were formally acquainted.
Dehya handed over the captured followers of King Deshret. "These are the culprits."
"Alright. Please wait for my news."
Paimon asked innocently, "Candace, do you need our help?"
Dehya shook her head. "Let the gentle big sister keep being gentle. If anyone's better suited to help, it'd probably be the General Mahamatra… For now, we can go discuss how to obtain the Eremite's support."
Finding a quiet spot, Dehya continued,
"Aaru Village isn't just the largest gathering place of Eremites in today's Sumeru Desert. Its name also carries special meaning—'Aaru' refers to the sorrowless ideal land King Deshret once promised his people…
Aaru Village is the final resting place of King Deshret's descendants. Legend says that every guardian of Aaru Village is someone who has received King Deshret's divine grace. So even though they have no real benefit ties to the village anymore, the Eremites who worship King Deshret still show Aaru Village a fair amount of respect.
If the village keepers' ability to protect Aaru Village truly comes from Lesser Lord Kusanali, then starting from that point, and clearly separating the current Dendro Archon from the former Archon they harbor hatred toward, we might be able to persuade some of them. But if we want to oppose the Akademiya, the outlook still isn't very optimistic."
Lumine pondered. "Back in Sumeru City, Setaria mentioned that… the news of King Deshret's revival was actually spread by the Akademiya. If we can expose that truth—that their faith was exploited by the Akademiya—King Deshret's followers should be pretty angry, right?"
"Hard to say. We'll have to wait for solid evidence and see what Candace can extract from those radicals…"
===BREAK===
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