It was a pity, really—few noticed the tender gleam in Nilou's eyes. Most were spellbound by her luminous dance… and by the "beauty-preserving pill" Idris had just mentioned.
After a long hush of shock, Ningguang cleared her throat, a hint of envy in her smile.
"Grand Sage, your alchemy truly defies expectation. To think you could refine a pill like that… I was foolish to assume your 'alchemy' had narrow uses. That was presumptuous—and short-sighted—of me."
As women, especially beautiful ones, very few present weren't intrigued by youth everlasting. Even Ganyu—half adeptus and ageless—couldn't help but be curious; eternal grace is still eternal grace.
Idris merely sipped his tea. "Alchemy does far more than that. It can cure illness, restore stamina and spirit, and even grant a short, sharp rise in power. If it didn't promise such vast benefits, I wouldn't risk breaking a five-hundred-year tradition to found a new faculty."
Eyes around the table sharpened and brightened. Idris's timing wasn't an accident—he was deliberately seeding support for the Alchemy Faculty. Let the old guard try to block that after tonight.
Beidou laughed, unvarnished and sincere.
"Sumeru's blessed to have you. I can't believe a nation changes this much just by changing its leader. No wonder some say you were born in the wrong country."
"Beidou," Ningguang chided, cutting her a sideways glare.
"Alright, alright—blame the wine," Beidou muttered, raising her cup in apology.
Ganyu looked like she might apologize as well, but Idris waved it off.
"It's nothing. You wouldn't be the first to say it. Birth and choice both follow the strange currents of chance. I only do what I can—and try to do it well."
That simple line moved the Sumeru onlookers to misty-eyed silence. Ningguang, watching their faces, felt a flicker of unease. Was he… using the moment to quietly raise his approval? Layers upon layers—his game ran deep.
They chatted a while longer. When the plates were mostly cleared and the last notes of music faded, Idris rose.
"Shall we find a quieter room and speak privately? Just the four of us."
(And one tiny eavesdropping god, still tucked just out of sight.)
Ningguang, Ganyu, and Beidou nodded, following him into a discreet chamber off the bazaar. With the principals gone, the square's energy dipped a degree.
Hidden in the rafters of shadow, Nahida watched the Grand Sage's hospitality from start to finish, etching each line into an invisible notebook.
"Governing—securing advantage for one's nation—really is made of a thousand layered moves," she mused. "A smiling surface, deeper motives beneath, and deeper ones still. Let them see your first layer; never the second. And diplomacy… is a performance of strength that makes you more valuable in foreign eyes."
She paused, a tiny, wry smile touching her lips.
"I'm the God of Wisdom… yet in statecraft, Idris could be my teacher."
This human, she decided, was a glorious anomaly.
Extended thinking
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