"What a pain…"
As the Acting Grand Sage, Alhaitham had a splitting headache. Sitting in this position meant the work never ended, so he truly had zero interest in it.
For other scholars, becoming the Grand Sage would be like their ancestors' graves erupting with lava—so excited they'd probably climb straight to the top of the Sacred Tree.
But for Alhaitham, he preferred a relaxed, free position like a scribe. He had no desire for the Grand Sage seat at all.
"Alhaitham, Greater Lord Nahida-sama already said it—once a suitable person is found, you'll be allowed to go back to being a scribe," Tighnari said with a smile as he flipped through an ancient tome.
He was a sage now too, but his workload still wasn't as heavy as Alhaitham's.
"And what if that 'suitable person' shows up ten or twenty years later?" Alhaitham grumbled.
That was exactly what he feared. This Acting Grand Sage job—he genuinely couldn't endure even a single day more.
Tighnari could only sigh. He understood Alhaitham was just complaining.
Still… to be honest, once you became a sage, you weren't anywhere near as free as before. There was simply too much to handle—especially the mess the previous sages had left behind.
…
"Lisa, the Knights gave you time off?"
Koji ran into Lisa in Sumeru. She was wearing a dress styled like a Sumeru scholar's outfit—less of that rose-like allure, and with a sharper, more capable academic vibe instead. It was striking.
"Mm-hmm. Jean gave me a pretty long break," Lisa said with a smile. "Perfect timing to come back and see how Sumeru has changed."
With the effects of her constellation gone, she could use her power freely now. She felt more energetic—more alive.
"And? How does it feel?"
Lisa thought for a moment, then sighed with feeling. "As expected of Greater Lord Nahida-sama. In such a short time, the academic atmosphere has already changed. It's far more lively than before."
She had once been famous throughout the Akademiya—the genius witch who appeared only once every two hundred years. Her theoretical foundations were exceptionally solid. Her mentor valued her greatly, and if she'd simply followed the standard path of research, she would have had a real chance to become the youngest sage in the Akademiya's history.
Earlier, she'd met with her junior, Cyno, and learned what had happened in Sumeru recently. Even though she didn't keep close ties with the Akademiya anymore, seeing this kind of change still made her feel relieved.
"Then have you ever thought about staying here in Sumeru?" Koji asked with a grin. "Greater Lord Nahida-sama would definitely welcome a genius like you. A sage seat would absolutely be waiting for you."
Lisa didn't hesitate at all. She shook her head. "No. I'm already used to Mondstadt. I have no intention of returning to the Akademiya."
A title like "sage" held no appeal for her.
"Want to take a walk together?"
"Sure."
Koji took Lisa's hand and started strolling through Sumeru City.
Feeling the warmth of his palm, Lisa narrowed her eyes with an amused smile. "Pervert?"
"She's out scouring the land and opening treasure chests."
Koji really couldn't understand why Lumine never got tired of treasure chests.
They weren't short on money anymore, but when it came to opening chests, Lumine could be said to have never forgotten her roots.
Every time before opening one, she had to ask her big brother-in-law whether he'd already opened it here—she'd run into too many "secondhand treasure chests" before.
"Treasure chests, huh… that's a pretty unique hobby," Lisa said, amused.
For ordinary people, chests in the wild were hard to find, and they were usually in dangerous areas—guarded by monsters or tucked into treacherous terrain. Only adventurers opened a few from time to time.
Almost nobody would deliberately run all over the wilderness just for treasure chests.
Lisa had been famous back in the day. New scholars who had just entered the Akademiya might not recognize her face, but they had definitely heard the name "Lisa."
"Hm… this change to the Akasha is actually pretty good. Canned knowledge has been heavily restricted," Lisa said.
She tested the Akasha. People could still look things up, but using it to force someone to instantly learn a skill or have knowledge poured into their head had been locked down by the highest-level authority holder.
Maybe the restriction would be lifted in emergencies, but in normal times there wouldn't be any "cheating" opportunities like that.
For someone like Dori, a boss who profited from canned knowledge, that meant a lot less income.
"Akasha and canned knowledge are convenient, but learning without any effort at all isn't fair," Lisa said.
She understood this far too well: as long as you had money and the right channels, you could obtain all sorts of canned knowledge.
This new setup was much better. Humans needed to keep learning. If they relied entirely on canned knowledge, progress would slow to a crawl.
"But… wow. People have really gotten creative with the chat and messaging functions," Lisa said, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "I didn't expect those serious-looking scholars to be this lively online."
"Honestly, Teyvat's tech development really is kind of… lopsided," Koji said.
"How so?" Lisa asked, curious.
"Something like the Akasha would be absurdly overpowered even in other worlds, but in Teyvat it feels weirdly out of place," Koji said. "Think about the tech level of each nation, without even bringing combat strength into it."
"When you put it like that… you're right."
Lisa thought about it. In a nation like Mondstadt, "technology" wasn't really mainstream. Alchemy, mechanical arts, and so on were more common.
As for technology proper, Natlan and Snezhnaya had stronger reputations—but mostly when it came to weapons. Actual civilian applications were far rarer.
As for why… Lisa had her suspicions.
They'd endured the Archon War. They'd endured the catastrophe from Khaenri'ah and the Abyss five hundred years ago. Even if the Seven Nations hadn't vanished from history, they had to carry lingering fear of war. Developing war technology was meant to prepare for whatever crisis might come again in the future.
"Let's not talk about that," Koji said. "Lisa, do you want to go meet Greater Lord Nahida-sama?"
"Can I?" Lisa's eyes lit up.
As the Akademiya's former genius, never having met the Dendro Archon had always felt like a regret.
"Of course. She's not the kind of god who looks down on ordinary people," Koji said. "And you're not ordinary, Lisa."
He brought Lisa to the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Plenty of people wanted to meet Greater Lord Nahida-sama, but not everyone could. She had her own responsibilities—she wasn't a celebrity, and she wouldn't spend huge amounts of time on meetings like this.
"Lisa?"
Nahida recognized her at a glance. The Akasha had records—there was no need to consult Irminsul.
"An honor to meet you for the first time, Greater Lord Nahida-sama," Lisa said, offering a graceful, formal bow.
So this was the Dendro Archon… Lisa could feel boundless wisdom from her.
"A genius witch who appears only once every two hundred years," Nahida said, clearly intrigued. "Would you like to return to the Akademiya?"
Nahida's invitation was sincere.
"Thank you for your kindness, Nahida-sama. I'm honored," Lisa said softly. "But I already have attachments in Mondstadt. I'll still be returning there."
Lisa declined gently.
Nahida didn't seem upset in the slightest. She simply respected Lisa's choice.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]