Paimon, ever the Mouth of God, nodded solemnly. "A month-old briefing is fine. A whole country can't change that much in one month, right?"
The Sumeru-born adventurer hesitated, then relented. "All right. I'll tell you what Sumeru looked like a month ago."
She started light—tales of the rainforest, the adorable-but-not-to-be-underestimated mushroom beasts, the layered biomes and tangled ecology. Then came the thorns: Eleazar, that dreaded, untreatable illness; withering zones spreading like stains.
Ying listened, eyes bright. Paimon hummed along, already painting a picture of the green nation and its so-called God of Wisdom.
Inevitably, the adventurer reached the Akademiya—and the man who ran it.
Among Sumeru's ordinary folk, anyone not tied to the Akademiya or the foresters had long carried a chip on their shoulder about the sages. Adventurers were no exception. So when she spoke of the Grand Sage, a bit of her own ire bled in.
"…and so," she concluded, "our Grand Sage is… not a good person."
Paimon bristled. "They locked up the Little Lucky Grass King? And told everyone to worship a god who died five hundred years ago? That's not 'supervision,' that's prison!"
"Exactly. They housed her in the finest palace, called it 'protective custody,' but anyone who knows Sumeru knows what it really is," the adventurer said. "And sure, I heard they picked a new Grand Sage recently… but the last several all acted the same. Why expect different?"
Paimon folded her arms. "Sounds like a stiff, snobby old man to me."
The adventurer snorted. "That's… not inaccurate."
Ying exhaled through her nose. "If seeing the Little Grass God means crossing the Grand Sage, then so be it."
"Maybe," the adventurer said. "But I believe you two can do it."
Ying didn't look worried. Whatever luck and allies she'd needed in Inazuma, she had still crossed blades with the Raiden Shogun—and won. A human Grand Sage? How bad could he be?
Paimon pumped a tiny fist. "If that Grand Sage insists on standing against justice—and against us—then I… I mean, the Traveler… won't hold back!"
Ying nodded, a flicker of caution in her eyes—but resolve set like steel beneath it. If the rumors held, she was ready to act.
—
Akademiya, Grand Sage's Office.
Idris sneezed.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito