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"Thank you all for watching today's rehearsal. Tomorrow is the Sabzeruz Festival—let's meet again at the formal performance of the Dance of Sabzeruz!"
The stage of the Zubayr Theater slowly descended, and the audience—still full of excitement—left with eager anticipation.
Half an hour earlier, Lumine and Paimon had just returned from Port Ormos to look for Dunyarzad, and this was their first time seeing Victor Wang in Sumeru.
On the way out of the Grand Bazaar, Paimon sighed, "Not only did we hear the name Victor from Tighnari, but you, Dunyarzad, and Nilou actually all know each other. You even paid a huge amount of Mora to help prepare the Sabzeruz Festival. I heard you're writing a book about Sumeru?"
Since the lie had already spread this far, Victor Wang simply went along with it. "For gathering inspiration, it's necessary."
"Understandable. Oh right, you're looking for the Dendro Archon too, right? Any progress?"
"None."
"You didn't find anything either…"
Seeing how decisively Victor Wang answered, Paimon grew even more emotional. She shook her head dramatically and began complaining:
"Sigh, you don't know how much effort we put in to figure out how to meet the Dendro Archon. We really ran such a long way and asked so many people!
"We first came to Sumeru from Gandharva Ville, where we met Forest Rangers Tighnari and Collei. We asked them, but they didn't know how to meet the Dendro Archon.
Then we went to Sumeru City. We searched through the Akasha Terminal, but nothing. Rohawi, the person Tighnari introduced, didn't know. Katheryne and the 'Eremites' she introduced didn't know. Dunyarzad and Dehya didn't know either.
Then we followed the lead Dehya gave us all the way to Port Ormos and met Alhaitham, the Scribe of the Akademiya, and he also didn't know.
It's like no one knows how to meet the Dendro Archon. We're completely stuck at this point…"
Dunyarzad, standing beside them, comforted them:
"Do you remember the story I told you about the 'First Sage'?
The very first sage of Sumeru sought the Dendro Archon to help him escape a crisis. He went through countless hardships but never found the Archon's trace.
When the crisis finally came, he resolved it himself through the experience and wisdom he gained along the way.
Only then did the Dendro Archon appear as a bird on his shoulder: 'Seeker of the divine, do you now understand? You have already found me—and the path to wisdom.'
Maybe the Dendro Archon has already been by your side."
The speaker had no special intention, but Victor Wang intentionally glanced at Katheryne, who was still among the dispersing crowd.
Paimon quickly recovered her spirits. "You're right! The Sabzeruz Festival is about to begin. Let's not think about worries—let's enjoy the celebration!"
"Mhm! Tomorrow's Sabzeruz Festival will be much grander than usual. I'm so excited I might not even be able to sleep."
Joy written all over her face, Dunyarzad said to Lumine and Paimon—and also to Victor Wang: "Let's go around together tomorrow. I can tell you all about the Sabzeruz Festival."
Lumine nodded. "Sure."
Seeing that everyone had already left the Grand Bazaar but still hadn't parted ways—as if headed in the same direction—Dunyarzad asked, "Come to think of it, you just returned from Port Ormos. You don't have a place to stay tonight, do you?"
"Just follow Victor."
"Me?" Victor Wang looked confused.
Lumine spoke in a half-joking tone. "Let's go. Wherever you live, we'll stay across from you."
Victor Wang finally understood. "Heh… okay. The room across from mine happens to be empty."
Dunyarzad alone couldn't quite understand their logic. She had intended to help Lumine and Paimon find a room, but now she couldn't intervene.
As they approached the inn where Victor Wang stayed, Dunyarzad parted ways with them, becoming once again alone. From the shadows, Dehya emerged to follow her silently, staying alert.
No villains appeared, but suddenly a gust of wind blew past. Dehya tensed. "Why did it suddenly get windy…?"
Dunyarzad didn't think much of it. She felt the wind slipping through her fingers. "This breeze isn't cold… it's gentle."
Every time she left home, she had secretly snuck out. Especially for this year's Sabzeruz Festival, she had been slipping away far more often. Because of that, her parents hired Dehya, hoping Dehya would bring her home—but Dehya ended up being convinced otherwise.
With her parents watching her so closely, going home meant she likely wouldn't get out again. To avoid missing the festival, she had directly rented a temporary place nearby—coincidentally not far from Victor Wang's inn.
Fortunately, it wasn't far.
Any farther, and [Thousand Winds] would collapse from strain.
While leading Lumine and Paimon to their room, Victor Wang covertly locked onto Dunyarzad's residence. The anemo energy in the wind had almost been detected by Dehya, so he rapidly lowered its intensity until it was barely noticeable.
Finally, he returned to his own room. Inside was a little Aranara who had been too scared by all the Nara in the city to even step outside. Seeing Victor Wang, it calmed slightly.
"Relax. They can't see you at all. You can go wherever you want."
"Then… I want to return to Vanarana…"
"That's not possible for now. I'll take you to find the target Nara first. After that, you'll have to act alone. Do your best."
"I—I'll try…"
After placing Arama outside Dunyarzad's window, Victor Wang went back to his bed, put on the Akasha Terminal, and fell asleep.
…
"Victor, Lumine, and Paimon! I've been waiting for you!"
"Good morning, Dunyarzad. Looks like we overslept a little, hehe."
"No, I just arrived too early. I ended up losing sleep anyway…" Her expression grew tense as she lightly tapped her head. "I even thought I saw a big moving green fruit. I hope my body won't slow everyone down."
"A big moving green fruit?" Lumine exchanged a glance with Paimon, who asked, "Could it be an Aranara?"
"Oh, right… I've heard of the Aranara in legends. They're said to be the Dendro Archon's followers, but I've never known their true appearance. If that's the case, it really might have been one."
"Seeing a follower of the Dendro Archon on the day of the Sabzeruz Festival sounds pretty lucky!"
"Now that Paimon says that, I feel so much better! Let's go—I'll guide you around the Sabzeruz Festival! Every moment today is more precious than gold. We can't waste it!"
The two girls and Paimon were all filled with excitement. Victor Wang also wore a smile—but inwardly, he was regretting things.
I miscalculated.
He hadn't expected Dunyarzad to actually see the Aranara. Would Arama be too frightened to complete its task?
But Dunyarzad seemed perfectly fine, so for now, there was no need to—
…Wait. How many times had he already thought that?
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