Seeing that Lumine's mood had taken a turn for the worse, her faithful companion, Paimon, hurried over to comfort her.
"Lumine, don't overthink it."
"Look!"
"Your brother willingly helped the Aranara."
"If he really had bad intentions, wouldn't it have been easier for him to just stand by and do nothing?"
"As for the Yaja Fruit..."
"The light screen already said it can save people who have been corrupted by the Withering."
"So maybe..."
"Someone close to your brother needed it."
Hearing that, some of the light returned to Lumine's eyes.
But a moment later, another thought surfaced.
"Then what about..."
"'I ran away'..."
"And..."
"'I hope you won't hate me'?"
"Uh..."
"W-Well..."
Paimon froze.
She scratched her head helplessly.
But who was she?
The Traveler's best companion!
She had to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Frantically searching through her memories, inspiration suddenly struck.
"Ah!"
"I've got it!"
She excitedly clapped her hands together.
"Lumine!"
"You once told me what happened to you and your brother!"
"You were trying to leave Teyvat together..."
"But you were stopped by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, remember?"
"I bet..."
"The 'running away' refers to that!"
"And as for..."
"'Don't hate me'..."
"That's simple!"
"He left without saying goodbye."
"He didn't even leave his name behind."
"So..."
"He hoped his friends wouldn't resent him for disappearing."
Having finished her explanation, Paimon secretly gave herself a big thumbs-up.
Amazing.
I actually figured that out.
I'm so smart!
"Hehe~"
Lumine fell silent.
At first glance, Paimon's reasoning sounded plausible.
But...
Only at first glance.
Lumine knew her companion well.
Paimon might be a little silly at times—
but she wasn't stupid.
Likewise...
Lumine wasn't fooled that easily.
Deep down, she still felt there had to be more to the story.
Otherwise...
Aether wouldn't have left behind words like those.
Still...
Paimon's comfort had worked.
At the very least, the knot in her chest had loosened.
Taking a deep breath, Lumine smiled softly.
"Thanks, Paimon."
"Hehe~"
"We're partners!"
"You don't have to thank me."
Paimon rubbed the back of her head bashfully.
Lumine smiled before turning toward Nahida, who had been quietly lost in thought.
After a moment's hesitation, she spoke.
"Nahida..."
"I don't know what happened five hundred years ago."
"I don't know whether Aether really did something that hurt Sumeru..."
"...or the Aranara."
"But if he really did..."
"When I finally find him..."
"I'm going to beat him up first..."
"And then drag him here to apologize."
To Lumine...
One was her only family.
The other...
Had become one of her closest friends.
Although she hadn't known Nahida for very long—
she had already accepted her wholeheartedly.
She didn't want the two sides to become enemies.
Nor did she want their friendship to be torn apart because of someone else's actions.
Nahida slowly emerged from her thoughts.
Looking at Lumine's guilty expression, she smiled gently.
"First..."
"We still don't know whether your brother actually did those things."
"So you don't need to blame yourself."
"And secondly..."
"There's an old saying from Liyue."
"Judge deeds, not intentions. Judge intentions, and no one is without fault."
"Regardless of his motives..."
"As the light screen said..."
"Objectively speaking..."
"He truly helped Sumeru."
"A great deal."
"Without him..."
"Even if Sumeru hadn't fallen completely..."
"It would have suffered unimaginable losses."
"And the Aranara would have paid an even heavier price."
She placed a hand over her chest.
"And finally..."
"Even if..."
"Even if your brother truly intended to harm Sumeru..."
"He's him."
"And you're you."
She looked directly into Lumine's eyes.
"You are the great hero who saved Sumeru."
"You are my very first Sage."
"You are the person I trust the most."
"So..."
"I will never judge you because of your brother."
"You'll always be my best friend."
"As for your brother..."
She smiled faintly.
"One day..."
"I'll visit him together with the Aranara."
"And we'll hear his explanation."
"I'd like to know..."
"How Nara Varuna intends to face the friends who once trusted him with all their hearts."
Lumine's eyes instantly became misty.
"Nahida..."
Without another word, she wrapped Nahida in a hug.
Then shamelessly rubbed her cheek against Nahida's face.
An utterly shameless Lumine, as always.
Nahida and Paimon exchanged helpless smiles.
Lumine really never changes...
Meanwhile — Transcendent Chat Group
Everyone regarded Lumine as both a friend and a benefactor.
Usually, teasing her or bringing up embarrassing stories was harmless fun.
But this...
This involved her brother.
And possibly Sumeru's history.
No one wanted to speculate without evidence.
So, almost by mutual agreement, everyone quietly changed the subject.
Instead...
They began talking about the Aranara.
[Transcendent Chat Group]
[Barbara]:
"Earlier, I couldn't remember a single Aranara name besides all the 'Ara' sounds."
"But now I can!"
"Aramuhukunda!"
"Aradasha!"
"Aralaji!"
"Arayama!"
"Aramaha!"
"They're all heroes of Sumeru!"
[Keqing]:
"Without the Four Seals they established..."
"The Withering would likely have spread far further across Sumeru."
[Yae Miko]:
"They're rather like Inazuma's yokai five hundred years ago."
"They silently sacrificed everything during the Cataclysm."
[Navia]:
"What adorable little heroes..."
[Tighnari]:
"For the past five hundred years..."
"Little Lord Kusanali disappeared from the world's sight."
"The Aranara did the same."
"And yet..."
"They've quietly protected Sumeru all this time."
[Collei]:
"Master Tighnari's right!"
[Cyno]:
"We should do what the other nations have done."
"We need to restore the Aranara's rightful place in history."
[Alhaitham]:
"They deserve to be remembered."
[Nahida]:
"I think that's a wonderful idea."
Elsewhere...
Aether quietly watched the discussion.
His expression grew increasingly complicated.
One memory after another resurfaced.
Fighting monsters alongside the Aranara.
Cooking with them.
...Although, admittedly, their cooking wasn't exactly delicious.
Telling them stories about his younger sister.
Celebrating the Utsava Festival together.
And finally...
Receiving the Yaja Fruit from Village Chief Aralila.
That final scene...
Would forever remain etched into his heart.
Watching the chief lose every memory of him...
No matter how desperately Aether tried to remind him—
No matter how many stories he recounted—
It changed nothing.
To an Aranara who had already forgotten...
Those memories had become nothing more than stories.
Tears quietly rolled down his cheeks.
"...Aralila..."
"...Aranaga..."
"...Aranaga..."
Below the throne, the Abyss Order had been enthusiastically discussing the light screen.
But noticing their Prince's tears...
The room gradually fell silent.
None of them understood exactly what their Prince had experienced.
But they all remembered the destruction of Khaenri'ah.
One by one...
Heads lowered.
Some quietly wiped away tears.
Before long...
A heavy sorrow filled the Abyss.
Villa
Sensing the audience's emotions, Luo Chen paused to give everyone time to collect themselves.
After a while, he resumed.
"Working together..."
"The Aranara finally succeeded in halting the spread of the Withering."
"But..."
"Their homeland had been devastated beyond repair."
"They could no longer live there."
"So the surviving Aranara built a new home."
"The place we now know as..."
"Vanarana."
"This time..."
"They built it inside dreams."
"So they could protect themselves."
"As for humans..."
"The Aranara came to believe that the Cataclysm had ultimately been caused by humanity."
"And..."
"To some extent..."
"They weren't wrong."
"From then on..."
"They gradually grew fearful of humans."
"And no longer approached them as they once had."
"Around that same period..."
"The Akademiya developed the Akasha Terminal, using the Akasha System as its foundation."
"It harvested the dreams of Sumeru's adults."
"Which is why..."
"Only children could still see the Aranara."
"Adults could not."
"And when those children eventually grew up..."
"They first lost their innocence."
"Then..."
"They lost the ability to dream."
"And so..."
"They slowly forgot the little friends who had once accompanied them."
"Leaving behind only..."
"A faint feeling..."
"That someone precious had once been there."
At those words—
The people of Sumeru finally understood.
So that vague childhood memory...
The friend they could never quite remember...
Had been an Aranara.
The Akademiya had stolen their dreams.
Reality had stolen their innocence.
And together...
Those two things had stolen their dearest childhood companions.
Hatred.
Regret.
Guilt.
All three emotions filled their hearts.
Thankfully...
There was still hope.
The Akasha could be dismantled.
Dreams could return.
Whether everyone would remember the Aranara again...
No one knew.
After all...
Many had already lost their childlike hearts.
But even the slightest possibility...
Was worth pursuing.
No one wanted to forget someone truly precious.
Villa
Luo Chen continued.
"And so..."
"Time reaches the present."
"Although the Withering had been sealed beneath four layers of protection..."
"Centuries gradually weakened those seals."
"Eventually..."
"The Withering broke free."
"It spread rapidly throughout the rainforest once more."
"The Aranara, however..."
"Had spent so long living within dreams..."
"That they never noticed."
"And then..."
"She arrived."
"That's right."
"Our greatest professional problem-solver..."
"The Traveler, Lumine!"
"After cleaning up one crisis after another in Inazuma..."
"She finally came to rescue Sumeru."
"Of course..."
"She had absolutely no intention of doing any of this."
"She wasn't even accepting commissions."
"She simply wanted to find the Dendro Archon..."
"And ask about Aether."
"But fate has a funny way of working."
"On the road to Sumeru City..."
"She casually rescued a girl named Rana."
"And from that moment..."
"The gears of destiny began turning."
"...Well."
"That's a bit dramatic."
"But meeting Rana truly marked the beginning of Lumine and Paimon's journey to resolve the Withering."
"And let me tell you..."
"It wasn't a short journey."
"The amount of time it consumed..."
"Was equivalent to more than ten ordinary commissions."
"I wonder..."
"After finishing everything..."
"Whether those two ever regretted stopping to help someone by the roadside."
[Transcendent Chat Group]
[Lumine]:
"More than ten commissions?!"
"Seriously?!"
[Paimon]:
"If one commission takes three days..."
"That's over a month!"
[Alice]:
"First she saves Inazuma."
"Then she spends over a month helping Sumeru for free."
"She really..."
"I'm crying."
"No wonder she's Teyvat's greatest professional helper."
[Venti]:
"No, no~"
"According to the light screen..."
"It wasn't Lumine choosing the adventure."
"It was Inazuma..."
"And Rana's wish..."
"Summoning the blonde big sister!"
[Zhongli]:
"A strong wish calls forth someone willing to help."
"A reasonable conclusion."
[Yae Miko]:
"Our blonde heroine is simply too kind!"
"Everyone!"
"Say thank you to the Traveler!"
[Makoto]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Ei]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Ayaka]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Kokomi]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Nahida]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Collei]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
[Nilou]:
"Thank you, Traveler!"
Lumine and Paimon both rested their chins on one hand.
Looking utterly depressed.
Listening to Luo Chen's explanation...
They suddenly felt less like heroes—
And more like two spectacularly unlucky people.
They had only wanted to search for Aether.
Instead...
Problems kept finding them.
Helping someone by the roadside had somehow turned into over a month's worth of work.
Where was the justice in that?
Of course...
If they met Rana again under the same circumstances—
They would still save her without hesitation.
Villa
Luo Chen laughed.
"Although the journey was extremely long..."
"It can be summarized fairly simply."
"Rana collapsed after being corrupted by the Withering."
"The Aranara saved her life."
"But only temporarily."
"To truly cure her..."
"They needed a Yaja Fruit."
"After learning this..."
"Lumine and Paimon traveled to Vanarana."
"There..."
"They ended up retracing the exact same path Aether had once walked."
"They repaired the damaged Varuna Contraption."
"They cooked together with the Aranara."
"They celebrated the Utsava Festival."
"But after completing everything..."
"They discovered that the Ashvattha Tree had itself been corrupted by the Withering."
"It could no longer bear a Yaja Fruit."
"With no other choice..."
"Arama and Lumine journeyed to Old Vanarana."
"There..."
"They defeated the Withering Tumor."
"And sealed it away once again."
"Afterward..."
"Just as Aramuhukunda once had..."
"Arama transformed himself into a new seed."
"He grew into a new Sarva Tree."
"And finally..."
"Bore a new Yaja Fruit."
"Saving Rana's life."
"And in the end..."
"Rana earned the recognition of the gods."
"Receiving a Dendro Vision."
He paused.
Then smiled.
"So..."
"In other words..."
"The Story of How I Saved a Little Girl by the Roadside... and Ended Up Watching Her Receive a Dendro Vision."
The people of Teyvat:
???
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