Inside a side chamber off the Grand Bazaar, Idris had the Matra sweep for ears and stand guard at the doors. This next part was politics—meant for closed rooms, not a crowd.
Once they were seated, Ningguang spoke for the trio. "Grand Sage, even your welcome left us impressed. 'Most outstanding in five hundred years' seems no exaggeration."
Idris waved it off. "You flatter me. Also—gifts for the three of you. Please accept them."
He set three lacquered boxes on the table. Nestled inside each lay a pearl-smooth, jade-white pill.
Ganyu leaned closer. "What are these, Grand Sage?"
"The beauty-preserving pills I mentioned," Idris said.
"What?!"
For a heartbeat, the unflappable Ningguang, Ganyu, and Beidou lost their composure. They recovered quickly, but Ningguang still had to swallow once before asking, "Why give us something so rare?"
"Because it won't be rare for long," Idris replied. "Once the Alchemy Faculty is formally open, these pills will go to market. You'd simply be first in line anyway. I'm only… moving the line up."
They still looked grateful. Even Ganyu—less tempted than most by agelessness—kept glancing at the pill.
"Also," Ganyu added after a beat, "though Yuheng Xing Keqing couldn't come, she's heard of your deeds—and approved of them. In particular, the moment you faced down disloyal guards with a spear through your own shoulder… she flushed just hearing it." Ganyu coughed softly. "So… about one more pill…?"
"Afraid not," Idris said, unblinking. "My alchemy hours are finite. I don't have extras."
From the rafters of the room where only he could sense her, Nahida's whisper thinned into his mind. You're fibbing again. That furnace of yours spits out eight pills a batch. You've only given one to Nilou…
Little God of Grass, Idris answered silently, you're still imagining people as kinder than they are. Give one more and she'll ask for ten; give ten and she'll wonder why not twenty. Open the door once and greed pours like a river. Three pills, clearly defined, also make better advertising when they go home. Scarcity speaks louder than any pitch.
"…Oh." Nahida fell quiet, chastened—and, privately, a little dazzled by the lesson. Politicians are terrifying…
When the glow of surprise had settled, Ningguang slid a document across the table. "Because of your results, Liyue will formally restore diplomatic ties with Sumeru. As for the blocked Chasm between us—we've engaged a certain traveler who accomplishes nearly anything asked. We expect the route to reopen soon. When it does, we'll expand overland trade and movement to deepen cooperation."
They went point by point through the terms: mutually beneficial, practical, and—Idris noted—swift. Still, what caught his ear was the traveler.
"This 'nearly-anything' traveler," he asked lightly, "blond?"
Ningguang didn't hesitate. "Yes. A young woman who helped us resolve… a rather delicate crisis in Liyue. She's become a trusted friend."
Idris nodded once, lips quirking. "Ah. So it's Ying."
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