Lumine said, "A Kamera… true, we should really take more pictures at a time like this. But I always carry mine with me. Dunyarzad, why don't you use ours instead?"
Paimon helpfully suggested this, but Lumine unexpectedly refused. "Using her own Kamera is more meaningful. Since it's still early, we can go get it together."
This matter wasn't important at all…
Victor Wang also carried a Kamera, but seeing Lumine deliberately refuse to lend hers to Dunyarzad, he vaguely guessed she might have already sensed the loop of the Sabzeruz Festival, so he didn't say anything.
The group headed back toward Dunyarzad's lodging, and just as they were about to arrive, a group of Eremites suddenly leapt out from the roadside greenery.
The one in the lead pointed at Dunyarzad, shouting angrily, "What kind of young lady are you supposed to be? Getting up so early—because of you we waited all morning for nothing!"
His companions chimed in, "Exactly! We'll make the Homayani family pay for the psychological damages once we catch you!"
Initially startled by these burly men acting so strangely, Paimon relaxed noticeably once she understood the situation—but she still found it baffling. "So, they're just kidnappers? To think you'd try kidnapping our friend right in front of us… Do you even know who you're dealing with?"
They had fought Stormterror.
They had fought a Fatui Harbinger.
They had fought the Overlord of the Vortex.
They had fought the Raiden Shogun.
And now… a roadside mugging?
Paimon wanted to say more, but Lumine stopped her. "We have a professional here."
Sure enough, Deyha—who had been following behind them—stepped forward.
Standing at the front, she exchanged a few mocking lines with her fellow mercenaries. Then she turned back and said, "Take Miss Dunyarzad and go ahead."
"That's unnecessary—we still need to help her get her Kamera."
Lumine refused again. She planted her hands on her hips, took a slightly theatrical stance, and declared to the Eremites, "Let me offer you a song—'The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring.' May you understand what it means when a single melody shatters the heart, and nowhere across the world can one find a true soulmate."
"…?"
Behind her, Victor Wang—who had just pulled out a two-stringed erhu—blinked in confusion. But moments later he cooperated, bowing the instrument, producing a mournful tune capable of drawing tears. At the same time, sword aura rained down on the Eremites.
Several among them truly were skilled enough to produce sword aura of their own, but standing before Victor Wang's sword aura, their abilities were utterly outmatched. Clang clang clang—their weapons were knocked away, and then the remaining sword aura swept across them, shredding turbans and headscarves into scraps.
The intimidation was sufficient. Victor Wang asked, "Now do you understand what it means when a single melody shatters the heart, and nowhere across the world can one find a true soulmate?"
The Eremites nodded frantically.
"Good. Try something like this again, and next time, the 'shattered heart' won't be metaphorical."
The Eremites fled as if granted amnesty.
"What was that song? It sounded so sad."
"It's called 'The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring.'"
"Huh?" Paimon stared suspiciously at Lumine and Victor Wang, unable to understand when something had happened between the two that she didn't know about.
"Don't look at me. I also want to know how Lumine knew what I intended to say." Victor Wang shook his head vigorously, tossing away the suspicion.
Lumine's gaze swept over Dehya, Dunyarzad, Paimon, then Victor Wang. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again… yet in the end said nothing. "It's complicated. I can't tell you directly. And it's almost over anyway. Let's just continue enjoying the Sabzeruz Festival."
So, the loop had already occurred this many times?
Victor Wang immediately understood.
The other three were still confused. Apart from Paimon feeling slightly resentful that Lumine now had secrets she wasn't sharing with her, Dehya and Dunyarzad didn't mind much.
"I'll go get the Kamera, then we can hurry back to continue the festival. If the float gets too far, it'll be hard to catch up."
"No need to rush. The float will stop at the city gate for a while. Take your time—too much exertion can worsen your condition."
"My… condition…"
Dunyarzad froze. In her memory, she had never once told Lumine she suffered from Eleazar.
Lumine smiled. "Go on."
The group took their time following the float's route. Soon, they found the float and the many people following it all stuck at the city gate.
"Why won't they let us out of the city? What is the Akademiya doing?"
"Don't ask. This order came directly from the Grand Sage. Whatever it is, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow… The Sabzeruz Festival ends tomorrow."
"It's not like any of you are actually driving to Port Ormos. Just turn around and go back."
"But our plan was to leave the city here, stay outside until afternoon, then return from the other side… Even if it's just for show, you're not even letting us do such a simple performance?"
Playing the Knight of Flowers, Vihar argued with the guards; perhaps they'd already been arguing for quite a while.
The float team and the crowd following them were numerous. Sensing trouble, the guards had summoned many reinforcements to block them. Add to that the bystanders coming to watch the commotion—an enormous crowd blocked the entire gate.
Someone attempted to negotiate. "We all understand how hard it is to run the float parade. We barely get to see it once in so many years. It's not like they must leave the city—but the Akademiya is being unreasonable. No prior notice, no explanation, and suddenly no one can leave?"
But the guards remained firm. "No means no. If you've got a problem, take it up with the Akademiya."
"The Akademiya, the Akademiya… If they were willing to cooperate, they wouldn't have abandoned the Sabzeruz Festival in the first place! Maybe they're intentionally ruining it! How infuriating. We accepted funding from Miss Dunyarzad and Mr. Victor Wang, and we promised Nilou we'd do this properly—I can't let them down…"
Unable to reconcile the sudden prohibition with their promise to Nilou, even the gentle Vihar was at his limit.
Lumine called out to him, since he hadn't noticed their arrival. "Don't be angry. Ask Dunyarzad and Victor what they think."
"Mr. Victor Wang… Miss Dunyarzad?" Vihar turned and was startled before scratching his head awkwardly. "Ah… sorry, a few problems came up…"
"I think everything looks pretty good so far," Victor Wang said, and Dunyarzad agreed.
"I heard you funded this hoping to see a grand Sabzeruz Festival… but we failed to fully emulate the float parade across Sumeru City…"
"Heh… let's put my research aside for now. I did put in money, but the float parade wasn't created to perform for me. What matters is that everyone is happy."
"…I see. You're a good person." Vihar regained his spirit and told the float team, "Then we won't leave the city. We rest here and return along the same route this afternoon."
The moment the decision was announced, the overwhelmed gate guards sighed in relief. The float team and those supporting the parade nodded quietly, gaining respect for Victor Wang—and resentment toward the unreasonable Akademiya.
After taking a few pictures of the float and the crowd, Dunyarzad suddenly had an idea. "Since the float is stopping here for a while, I have a proposal. We can let the interested children wear flower crowns and climb onto the float to take pictures imitating the Dendro Archon. This gift, this memory—it'll be priceless."
"This is a wonderful idea, Miss Dunyarzad. Truly, having both you and Mr. Victor Wang sponsor this year's Sabzeruz Festival has been a blessing."
===BREAK===
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