"What's so bad about a young man serving as a sage or elder? I'm not that much older than the rest of you," Idris said, clapping Kaveh's shoulder with a grin. "And yet here I am—the Grand Sage."
Kaveh froze, then hurried to flatter him. "N–no, not at all! How could I compare? Someone like Grand Sage Idris only appears once in five hundred years of Sumeru's history!"
Idris waved the praise away with a chuckle.
Back then, the elder sages had elevated him for one reason—greed. The post of Grand Sage took all the blame. They'd hoped to hollow out his authority so he'd bear the infamy while they pocketed the profits. A neat little scheme.
Shame some people just don't live long.
If you're all dead, your conspiracies will have to wait for the next life.
But that was then.
Watching Kaveh hesitate now, Idris suddenly had an idea. "Kaveh, from that look on your face, you do want an immortal pill, don't you?"
Kaveh swallowed. He knew this was his superior assigning a task. "No problem, Grand Sage! Name it—I'll get it done to your satisfaction!"
"Protecting the soldiers who fought and the people working logistics is just as important," Idris said. "You must've seen the giant mech sitting outside like a statue."
Kaveh nodded. A thing that big was hard to miss. After asking around, he'd learned it was the God of Pure Reason—a divine automaton completely under Idris's control.
To an architect like Kaveh, it was the coolest thing imaginable.
"In the slugfest with Valuka, the God of Pure Reason picked up several cracks," Idris continued. "They'll be a hidden danger if we keep using it. I hear you're the best builder in your discipline. How about you take charge of repairs? If you succeed, I'll pay you with an immortal pill."
"How's that?"
Kaveh lit up. "Yes! Absolutely! Please rest easy, Grand Sage—I'll do everything I can to fix that big guy!"
To a hands-on architect, getting to climb the mech and repair it himself was irresistible.
Pleased by Kaveh's genuine enthusiasm, Idris nodded and turned to go. "I'll be waiting for good news."
As Idris's back disappeared, Kaveh thought of how Alhaitham had flashed his Return-Life Pill in his face earlier. He burst out laughing. "Ha! Alhaitham, what else do you have to brag about now? Once I get my pill and swap it for mora, I'll have enough to move out—and pay back part of what I owe Big Boss Dori!"
Alhaitham didn't miss a beat. "Plenty. I'm leading the portable music player project now—the pay is excellent. And last night's battle was exhilarating. You missed a lot while you were away… want me to list it all?"
"Shut it!" Kaveh snapped, then exhaled and softened. "Still… I get it now—why the whole nation trusts Grand Sage Idris. His personal charisma is the greatest I've seen in any leader. With him here, Sumeru has nothing to fear."
Alhaitham nodded. That was the one point he couldn't refute.
—
Meanwhile, Idris pressed on with work. The war that stabilized Sumeru was over, but his to-do list was not.
First: fully integrating the Gilded Brigade and the desert folk under Sumeru's governance. Absorbing groups once outside the rainforest could unlock enormous potential—or spark unrest if mishandled.
Fortunately, Idris carried the statecraft of five millennia of human kings from Blue Star in his head. He knew where to start: standardize the axle gauge, standardize the script—subtle, subconscious unification.
Second: alchemy. He still owed thousands of pills. He dumped the drudgery on his now-recovered black and white avatars—monotony wasn't for him.
Third: diplomacy. Fontaine aside, the only neighbors without restored ties were Natlan and across the sea, Inazuma. Natlan's situation was… complicated; no rush there. Inazuma had ended its isolation, so relations would resume soon enough. As an island nation, it couldn't avoid Liyue Harbor or Sumeru's Port Ormos for foreign affairs.
In any case, he'd wait for them to come to him.
By the time the paperwork stack ran dry, it was afternoon. With the wisdom of ancient kings, Idris blitzed through approvals. Yet he hadn't sensed Nahida's presence all day. He knew exactly where she was. Once he finished, he left the Akademiya and headed for the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Inside, Nahida sat cross-legged on the central dais, breathing evenly. Idris walked over and poked her cheek—the one with the very nice feel.
"Eek—! Oh, it's you… Wait, what are you doing?"
Seeing it was Idris made her jump; realizing what he'd done turned her face several shades of pink.
"You looked plenty bold last night," Idris teased. "What's with the shy act now?"
"Don't you dare bring that up again!" Nahida shook a tiny fist, mortified. She hadn't erased his memory—of course he remembered. To escape, she switched topics with righteous indignation.
"Instead of teasing me, shouldn't you—a newly crowned king with zero royal consorts—be choosing a few women who like you? Among humans, the first order of business for a king is to, ahem, form a proper harem."
She squinted at him. "Why pick on me—don't tell me Grand Sage Idris actually likes girls my size?"
Well, she wasn't wrong about mortal kings. Even on Blue Star, history had… examples.
Idris ignored the last jab and glanced around. "Seems you really are used to living here. Even free, you're still in the Sanctuary."
Nahida shrugged, smiling. "Someone took all my divine authority, so besides serving as your secretary, I can only meditate here. All right, Grand Sage—I know you don't visit without business. You're here about that, aren't you?"
"Mm."
At that, Nahida drew a steadying breath and laid a small hand over her chest. Two chess-piece-like Gnoses rose into the air—her own, and the Raiden Shogun's.
She began merging their power and said, "I'm going to enter Irminsul's inner space to witness the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's final memories. We may face combat in there. Be careful."
"No problem."
He'd already beaten Valuka. A few corrupted thought-beasts in Irminsul wouldn't scare him.
Reassured, Nahida reached out her hand. "Sit, or I won't be able to reach."
When he settled beside her, her blushing face tilted forward until her forehead touched his.
Idris blinked. "Huh… I remember you only needed to hold someone's hand to pull them into Irminsul."
In the original story, Nahida had simply taken the Traveler's hand. This was… more than that.
"You think I want to?" she huffed, even redder. "Entering Irminsul safely requires physical contact as a medium. I don't yet control all its permissions, so this is safer."
"Oh…"
Idris smiled and said nothing. Nahida could only glare and then channel the twin Gnoses.
The world reeled; Idris felt his consciousness spin, then steady. He opened his eyes atop a colossal Ark—the Consciousness Ark. With the Irminsul polluted, this was the safest way to sail into its depths.
Not entirely safe, though.
No sooner had he arrived than several hound-shaped monsters lunged from the shadows.
"Careful, Grand Sage—monsters!" Nahida cried.
"Heh. For this level of trash, your warning's wasted, Princess."
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