After returning to the Snezhnaya Palace, Dottore went to see Tsaritsa and handed her the Dendro Gnosis.
"As for the two Gnoses in the hands of the God of Justice, I doubt anyone can make her hand them over," Dottore added after presenting the Dendro Gnosis.
"There is no need to concern ourselves with the Gnosis in her possession. I believe I have a fair idea of what she intends to do."
The Tsaritsa spoke in a calm voice. After putting away the Dendro Gnosis, she said to Dottore, "You made the right choice by not clashing with her. These First Archons are not merely gods."
"Should I inform 'The Knave'? If I remember correctly, she is heading to Fontaine soon, isn't she?" Dottore asked.
The Tsaritsa thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No need. The situation in Fontaine is very complicated, and it directly involves 'Heavenly Principles.' It would be best for us not to get involved."
"I understand. Then I will take my leave." Dottore nodded, bid farewell to the Tsaritsa, and left the Snezhnaya Palace.
The Tsaritsa looked around the now-empty Snezhnaya Palace and murmured to herself, "Egeria, until the matter in Fontaine comes to an end, no one from the Fatui will disturb you. I hope you do not disappoint me..."
...
At Akademiya, Lora was walking outside with Lumine and Paimon.
Ever since Nahida had taken personal charge of Akademiya, she had become increasingly busy. On top of that, not all of the Sages had been selected yet, so most official matters could only be handled by Nahida and Alhaitham themselves. As a result, she had far less time to go out.
Lora, on the other hand, was completely free. Before the appointed time arrived, she was in no hurry to return to Fontaine.
As long as the time foretold by Heavenly Principles had not arrived, the events in the prophecy would not happen. Even if she went back now, it would serve no purpose.
She had felt the same way when playing the game.
Whether the Traveler controlled by the player reached Fontaine or not, everything in Fontaine would still happen. The Primordial Sea would rise, some people in Poisson Town would die, and the Hydro Archon would be put on trial. All of it was already destined. Whether she went or not, it would happen all the same.
As Paimon flew along, she said to Lora and Lumine, "That's why Paimon said we should have found more people to help Nahida! But now, it's only her and Alhaitham doing all the work..."
"Tighnari and those two sages are helping too," Lora added.
"But the hardest work is still being left to Nahida and Alhaitham. That's why Nahida has no free time now!"
Paimon grumbled, "Paimon knows it's exhausting for a deity to govern personally, but why do human affairs all have to be handed over to a deity to solve? Paimon secretly looked through some reports, and the problems written there didn't need Nahida to handle them at all! But they still sent them to Nahida anyway!"
"After the Akasha was shut down, many people in Sumeru lost the ability to handle problems on their own. It will take some time before everything gets back on track. By then, Nahida might finally have it a little easier," Lora said softly from the side.
The three had just walked out of Akademiya when they heard arguing up ahead.
"Huh? Why are people arguing at the entrance of Akademiya? And the students nearby are just watching. It doesn't look like anyone plans to stop them." Paimon was a little surprised when she saw it.
Lora noticed that one of the people arguing was Faruzan.
Lumine pulled a scholar aside and asked what was going on. The scholar explained the situation to them, and only then did Lumine and Paimon understand what had happened, as well as some of Faruzan's circumstances.
Seeing that the bystanders were afraid to step in and mediate, Paimon said, "That won't do. We can't just let them keep arguing! We have to go talk to them."
So Paimon and Lumine headed over. In the eyes of everyone watching, the two of them looked like heroes.
"Hey, hey, isn't that the Traveler? As expected of the legendary Traveler. She actually dares to interfere in Madam Faruzan's business!" a scholar whispered.
Lumine and Paimon ignored the whispers around them. They stepped in to stop Faruzan, who was still arguing with someone. Paimon scratched her head and said to Faruzan, "Um... this is Akademiya. Isn't it kind of inappropriate to argue so loudly here?"
"This is not arguing loudly! I am merely discussing a matter with this staff member of Akademiya!" Seeing the two approach, Faruzan crossed her arms and asked, "So, who are you two?"
"I'm Paimon, and she's Lumine," Paimon introduced herself and Lumine.
"Oh, so you are the famous Traveler and her white Specter companion." Faruzan came to a realization, then continued, "Although you have made tremendous contributions to Akademiya, according to proper etiquette, shouldn't you also call me Madam Faruzan?"
"Huh? We have to do that too?" Paimon was surprised by Faruzan's words. "But you're not even older than us..."
"How disrespectful! I am a senior Dastur of Akademiya!" Faruzan crossed her arms, emphasizing both her age and her status in Akademiya.
However, she had no idea that the people standing before her were some of the least status-conscious individuals in all of Teyvat.
Paimon said, "But Lumine is older than you."
"Hm?" Faruzan froze.
Paimon pointed at Lora behind her and said, "She's older than you too."
"No! I'm eighteen!" Lora immediately retorted.
"..."
The moment Lora said that, everyone around them fell silent.
Please. After everything that had happened, anyone even slightly well-informed knew that Lora was an Adeptus from Liyue, ancient and powerful. Eighteen? That might fool someone like Faruzan, who had spent all this time shut away from the outside world, but no one else.
Ignoring everyone's silence, Lora suddenly came up with a good idea. She smiled at Faruzan and asked, "Hey, do you think you're pretty amazing?"
"Do I need to think that myself? Compared to a hundred years ago, today's Akademiya has indeed fallen far behind!" Faruzan looked at Lora and spoke in a measured tone.
"So you don't actually want to be trapped in this position as an instructor at Akademiya, doing boring academic research?" Lora asked.
Faruzan replied, "That's right. I think the instructors at Akademiya today have gone completely off track when it comes to academic matters! They have never even considered why scholarship is done in the first place. And now they have rules about producing a certain number of academic results within a fixed period of time. It's absolutely absurd!"
Lora clapped her hands together and smiled at Faruzan. "Listen, Faruzan. No, Madam Faruzan! I happen to have a good job here. Would you be interested in joining us?"