"This sandstorm couldn't have come at a worse time," Tartaglia muttered, retreating from the fray to stand beside Angie.
Dehya shielded her face with her hand, peering through the gaps between her fingers.
"Tch... another sandstorm? What's with all these lately..."
"Hey—you over there! Over here, over here! Come take shelter here quickly!" A woman stood at the entrance to Aaru Village, waving urgently at the group.
Paimon grabbed Lumine's hair; floating in the air, she felt the full force of the wind.
"Someone's calling us! The wind's so strong I feel like I'm about to get blown away! Let's go take shelter first!"
Chu Xi quickly grabbed Paimon from behind, forcing her to release Lumine's hair. Lumine glared at Paimon with a massive eye-roll.
Paimon felt a pang of embarrassment. She had been too panicked; Lumine just happened to be beside her, and she had reacted without thinking.
Dehya peered toward the village entrance through the sandstorm. Visibility was poor, but the voice was unmistakable.
"That sounds like Candace..."
Dehya led Lumine and the others forward, while Cyno cast one last glance at Tartaglia before leaving.
"Little Sister, what do we do?"
"What do you mean, 'what do we do'? We follow them, of course."
"But... they didn't invite us."
Angie rolled her eyes. "You fought with them! What makes you think they'd invite us? Even if they don't invite us, we just go in. We have nothing to hide; we just need to clear the air."
"Fair enough. Let's go then."
Tartaglia led the way, with Angie and Ailina following behind.
With Ailina shielding her from the wind, Angie barely felt its force.
The greatest danger in sandstorms isn't the wind itself, but the sand, which can easily clog airways. Larger storms can bury a person alive in mere minutes.
-
Aaru Village, inside a certain room.
Lumine, Alhaitham, and Dehya sat, while everyone else stood.
Lumine's group occupied one side of the room, while Angie's trio stood on the other.
Paimon leaned in to whisper in Lumine's ear. "The atmosphere... it's so awkward! The people who nearly came to blows just moments ago are now forced to face each other in this tiny space..."
"Ugh... the air feels so heavy, I can barely fly anymore..."
As Paimon spoke, her body slowly floated down until she was nearly touching the ground.
On one side were the Fatui, and on the other, the Sumeruans. Within the Sumeru group, Dehya, Alhaitham, and Cyno were also at odds. Lumine and her companions, caught in the middle, felt a headache brewing.
Paimon thought she was whispering, but everyone in the room could hear her perfectly.
Angie decided to remain silent, at least until Alhaitham and the others resolved their conflict.
Besides advancing the plot, Angie's other purpose for coming was to expedite the story.
To be honest, Jiang Mumu found the Sumeru storyline compelling, but she couldn't deny that some parts dragged on needlessly. The Aaru Village segment in the Desert, for instance, felt particularly tedious. She planned to take everyone directly to King Deshret's Ruins, of course, without forgetting about the mercenaries.
Not everyone enjoys such drawn-out plots. To prevent players from abandoning Genshin Impact, Jiang Mumu maintained a rapid update schedule, prioritizing getting past these unnecessary segments quickly.
Candace finally opened the door and entered the room. She glanced at Angie and her companions standing near the entrance, nodded in greeting, and then walked toward the table.
"I'm truly sorry, everyone. This is the home of Aaru Village's Village Chief. Until the sandstorm passes, you'll have to make do here. Allow me to introduce myself—I'm Candace, the village guardian."
Paimon: "Ah, finally, a savior has arrived...! I'm Paimon, nice to meet you, heh heh... Thanks so much for bringing us here, Candace!"
Lumine and Chu Xi also offered their thanks.
"Heh, during natural disasters, helping each other is only right. No need for such formalities."
Paimon: "Wow, this lady is such a kind and gentle person! She's completely different from those others over there..."
"Alright, enough pleasantries. Now, as a guardian, I've been observing your conflict from a distance before the sandstorm arrived to ensure it wouldn't endanger the villagers. Now that you're all inside Aaru Village, eliminating any potential threats is my duty."
"Please have an honest and open discussion, and strive to resolve your hostility... Under this roof, if anyone dares to cause trouble again... I'll leave them to the beasts in the sandstorm."
Paimon: "I... I take back my previous evaluation..."
Cyno glared at Tartaglia and the others. "Before we proceed, these Fatui agents should either state their purpose or leave. I don't believe they have any right to eavesdrop."
Alhaitham and Dehya remained silent, their thoughts mirroring Cyno's.
The Fatui had never been associated with good deeds. Their shadow loomed behind the Akademiya's recent schemes—no mere shadow, but rather a firm grip on the institution.
Candace also turned her heterochromatic eyes—one golden, one purple—toward Angie and her companions, their gaze carrying a palpable weight.
Candace's eyes were strikingly beautiful, a rare heterochromia shared only by her and Furina.
Angie leaned against a pillar. "No matter. We'll just step out for now. Once you've resolved your internal matters, we'll come back in, and I'll explain everything then. That will be much more convenient."
With that, Angie opened the door and stepped out.
Candace hurried after them, leading the trio to another room.
Once Candace returned, the group resumed their discussion.
First to speak was Cyno. He had been investigating the Akademiya's ongoing projects when he encountered persistent obstruction. From top to bottom, the Akademiya officials were deliberately avoiding him. The Sages' actions had rendered the title "Matra" meaningless, stripping it of all value. Thus, he had chosen self-exile.
Cyno refused to be manipulated by the Akademiya, and moreover, distancing himself from their informants would facilitate his ongoing investigation.
Cyno pointed out that Alhaitham had once met with an Akademiya Sage and that the Akademiya had tasked him with investigating Lumine and Paimon.
Alhaitham explained that while he had indeed been assigned to investigate Lumine, he had no intention of doing so and planned to simply wander around and return. However, he happened to encounter Lumine and Paimon in Port Ormos. As for taking the Canned Knowledge of the Divine, he claimed it was only because it was too dangerous.
Cyno remained unconvinced by Alhaitham's explanation, but the tension between them had eased somewhat.
Finally, Dehya declared herself a mediator, albeit one with rather extreme methods.
Dehya had only arrived in Aaru Village today. Dunyarzad's family forbade outsiders from entering their home, which was why she had returned.
With their matters resolved, Candace went to call Angie and her companions back.
Upon returning, Angie glanced at the group, who were all staring at her, and stated calmly:
"To put it simply, we came to retrieve the Electro Archon's Gnosis that Scaramouche stole, and to take the Dendro Archon's Gnosis while we're at it."
Behind her, Tartaglia's expression was one of utter bewilderment:
"???"
Little Sister, are you itching for a fight or what?