I'm Nahida, the Dendro Archon!

Sumeru's wise men began putting their minds to work, considering Sumeru's true circumstances.

In the video, hearing Nahida explain in a low voice did not diminish Childe's anger in the slightest. Instead, he interrupted her outright.

"Cut the crap! I'm asking when exactly you used your authority over dreams!"

Faced with Childe's questioning, Nahida, of whom only the lower half of her face was shown, calmly asked a question in return.

"Then let me ask you something, too-"

The camera angle rose at just the right moment, settling on the invincible Nahida's face. Her eyes were lowered, her expression indifferent, as though she was mocking him, or simply did not care.

Nahida slowed her speech, as if taking pity on these fools who still did not understand their situation and giving them time to react.

"When did you start laboring under the illusion that I wasn't using my authority over dreams?"

Quite a few viewers in front of their screens instinctively swallowed.

For the first time, Azar began to confront a fact: since the Akademiya of five hundred years ago had confined the newborn Dendro Archon in a meditation device, how long had it been since they had checked on her growth?

A god who had roamed unrestricted through the Akasha, which held all of Sumeru's knowledge and wisdom, growing unchecked for five hundred years-and a god renowned for wisdom, at that-was she really still so weak and powerless now?

"We should go check, but take precautions. Tsk, why didn't we realize this problem before? Was this part of your calculations too, Lesser Lord Kusanali?!"

[Lumine: Hiss, so classic. This is way too classic-the classic charming, highly intelligent villain archetype.]

[Yae Miko: Mm, very good indeed. The authors at Yae Publishing House should all be watching too, right? Study this carefully. You'll need it for our next writing contest~.]

[Furina: I've found inspiration too! Hehehe, look forward to my next great masterpiece!]

[Nilou: Though this Lesser Lord Kusanali is a little different from what I imagined, but, but I think this version of her is so cool too!]

[Faruzan: Now that you mention it, she really is.]

[Kaveh: That line gave me goosebumps. It feels so familiar somehow...]

[Kaveh: Ah, I remember now. Alhaitham is exactly that kind of terrifying person.]

[Alhaitham: Calling our god terrifying-has your brain finally broken?]

[Kaveh: I wasn't calling the Dendro Archon terrifying. I meant you, you bastard!]

Unexpectedly, this villainous portrayal of Nahida actually sent quite a few people into raptures.

Question marks literally appeared over Nahida's head as she "watched" a considerable number of Sumeru's people fervently express their support for this version of the Dendro Archon through the Akasha.

People were not frightened by the Dendro Archon toying with her enemies in the video. Instead, they felt reassured by having such a powerful god.

This was completely different from what Nahida had thought before.

"So this is the kind of god people long for? Not one who simply loves people, but one powerful enough to protect them, even if she uses any means necessary..."

Nahida fell into thought.

Fortunately, just as the young god Nahida was about to get stuck in a mental rut and grow in the wrong direction, someone in the discussion temporarily pulled her thoughts back.

[Candace: This feeling of elemental power... Lesser Lord Kusanali, have you been watching over us all along?]

[Dehya: ???]

[Candace: Quite a few mad scholars have always been exiled to Aaru Village, but lately, the villagers have given them another name.]

[Candace: Village keepers.]

[Candace: As far as I know, during this time, there has been more than one instance of a mad scholar suddenly protecting Aaru Village's residents when they were in danger.]

[Nahida: Yes. I'm still very weak right now, so this is all I can manage.]

[Cyno: How ironic. People forgot their god, yet our god has always been beside us.]

[Tighnari: I feel like I need to go back to Sumeru City and take a look.]

The viewers did not form any negative opinions because Nahida acted like a villainous final boss in this fan-made video. After all, everyone was rational, and even if they had harbored doubts before, after hearing Candace talk about the village keepers...

Even the suspicious Alhaitham had to admit it.

Lesser Lord Kusanali was a respectable god, absolutely no less worthy than Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who loved and cared equally for all her subjects in Sumeru, whether in the rainforest or the desert.

Even for Aaru Village, far away in the desert at the very edge of the Akasha's coverage, Lesser Lord Kusanali expended her own power without regard for the cost to protect the desert people who worshipped King Deshret.

A god who could do all this without anyone knowing was certainly not a bad person.

Now they were actually somewhat relieved that today's fourth video, the one about Sumeru, was a fan creation rather than a so-called official video or actual gameplay footage.

After all, unlike Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma, whose gods were themselves very powerful, their own god was indeed still somewhat young and weak.

With the Fatui certainly plotting to obtain the Gnoses of the various nations' gods, the less information exposed about their Dendro Archon, the better. That would leave them room to maneuver against the Fatui's threats and schemes.

Their god had already done enough. Next, it was their turn to protect her.

In the video, hearing Nahida's overwhelmingly oppressive question, Childe's pupils trembled violently. He was clearly frightened.

Scaramouche landed on the ground holding the grievously wounded Shouki no Kami. As he listened to the terribly weakened Shouki no Kami murmur his name, his eyes filled with disbelief.

[Scaramouche: Hmph, boring. As if I'd ever make that face.]

[Yae Miko: My, my, it suits you rather well, doesn't it?]

[Yae Miko: I still remember when you were little, just after you were "born." I even dressed you in girls' clothes.]

[Scaramouche: Huh???]

[Scaramouche: Impossible! There are no such memories in my memory banks!]

[Yae Miko: It was before you were activated~.]

Well, now even Scaramouche himself was unsure whether it had happened.

Had this sly fox woman done all sorts of things to him when he had just been made and was still asleep?

If anyone else had said it, Scaramouche would merely have laughed it off, but this pink-haired fox...

No matter how he thought about it, it felt like exactly the sort of thing she would do.

Now even Scaramouche, who always looked down his nose at everyone, began to break into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Kujou Sara jumped in just then, giving Scaramouche a chance to brush Miko's words aside.

[Kujou Sara: You villain who offended the Shogun, don't let me catch you.]

[Scaramouche: Heh, children should stay quiet when adults are talking.]

[Kujou Sara: What did you say?!]

[Scaramouche: I said you're too green. Shout louder, or I can't even hear you!]

[Kujou Sara: Damn you. If you dare come to Inazuma, you'll pay for it.]

[Scaramouche: What a coincidence. As it happens, I'm in Inazuma right now.]

[Raiden Ei: Oh? Where? Let's hear it.]

[Scaramouche: ...Beelzebul, do you think I'm stupid?]

Scaramouche's scalp tingled.

Though he was keen on stirring up little disturbances throughout Inazuma, smugly believing he was making trouble for Raiden Ei, when it came to actually facing his creator right now, Scaramouche knew his fucking limits.

If he encountered her, death was absolutely certain.

But seeing that rigid tengu grow arrogant in the discussion after Raiden Ei spoke, Scaramouche gritted his teeth.

One day, I'll cut you down.

But for now...

Scaramouche sensed something wrong in Raiden Ei's unusual initiative in asking his whereabouts. Without another word, he immediately abandoned his plans to stir up trouble in Inazuma this time. Having just disembarked, he went straight back aboard and, ignoring the Fatui captain's confusion, ordered the ship to depart Inazuma immediately.

Aboard the ship, Scaramouche stared at the screen, which could be seen clearly even underwater. There was absolutely no mistake in what he had sensed: the version of himself on the screen definitely possessed the Heart of the Electro Archon he had dreamed of day and night.

In the future, he had finally obtained the Heart of the Electro Archon. He finally had a heart of his own!

He was the ultimate victor!

Yae Miko? Beelzebul? Hadn't he still won in the end? Hahahahaha-

[Question: After Raiden Cannon and Buer fought for three hundred rounds, he ultimately lost the Heart of the Electro Archon he carried in a despicable sneak attack by the Traveler, suffering a bitter defeat. The Dendro Archon, who intended to claim the throne high above the heavens, finally possessed two Gnoses. Which of the following Fatui Harbingers turned the tide, at the cost of nearly perishing and surrendering valuable secrets, not only recovering the Heart of the Electro Archon but also leveraging the Dendro Archon's wariness to trade for the Heart of the Dendro Archon?]

[A. La Signora]

[B. The Maiden]

[C. The Knave]

[D. Childe]

[E. The Doctor]

[F. The Captain]

[System: This question is high difficulty. Answers will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to users rated three stars or higher. The countdown begins now: 5, 4...]

Fuck!

Scaramouche stared at the screen in disbelief.

So in his actual future, just like in this fan creation, he had lost his Heart of the Electro Archon?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

For a moment, Scaramouche seemed possessed by yesterday's Childe.

The other star-rated users knew nothing of Scaramouche's current shock. Their attention was all on the new question.

[Lumine: Damn it, how dare it call me the "despicable Traveler"? I'll remember this grudge!]

[Eula: ...???]

[Tighnari: I keep getting the feeling that whatever is behind this screen really has some sort of issue with Sumeru. It's not just my imagination, is it?]

[Faruzan: Judging by the wording of this question and the parody video earlier, that should be right. But why, exactly?]

[Lumine: Uh, you might be overthinking it. It's a mistaken impression caused by different perspectives. I think these two videos are probably just a case of Teyvat's locals not getting the jokes.]

[Lumine: Though it's possible they do have an issue with Sumeru. I'm wondering, could this screen be acting this way because Sumeru's script was changed?]

[Nahida: ???]

[Lumine: This happens all the time. A game clearly starts off well, but the further it goes, the less its developers and writers know their own limits.]

[Lumine: Especially some game companies. Under the influence of capital, who knows what madness gets into them, but they insist on fighting their players.]

[Lumine: So I'm guessing, did the development team for this game, "Genshin Impact," suddenly undergo a major overhaul during Sumeru, and then...]

[Lyney: Uh, according to that earlier Footprint promotional video, Fontaine comes after Sumeru, right? I have a bad feeling about this.]

[Lumine: No, things might actually be better for you, because big changes to a game's planning and writing like this are also capital testing whether players will accept them.]

[Lumine: If Sumeru's chapter performs badly and players don't buy it, capital will teach those pretentious artsy developers a lesson. So if the later Sumeru storyline's reputation goes down the drain, the quality of your Fontaine chapter might actually improve.]

[Alice: All right, let's thank Miss Traveler for sharing this utterly useless otherworldly Forbidden Knowledge with us.]

[Cyno: Hmm (alert), Forbidden Knowledge?!]

[Tighnari: All right, you can take a break now.]

[Kaveh: But which Harbinger in this question ultimately took the two Gnoses back from Lesser Lord Kusanali?]

[Dori: Waaaah! Th-they were clearly treasures that looked worth so much Mora! Eeeee! And they were traded for just a few secrets.]

[Layla: I feel like knowledge is more important than Mora. After all, my thesis has been weighing on me so much that I haven't slept well for days. If I could, I'd really like to trade all my Mora for the data I need for it.]

[Faruzan: As a senior from the Akademiya, I have to remind today's young people not to try buying theses with Mora. If the Matra catch you, your life will be ruined.]

[Layla: Eek?! Th-then may I ask, I have a friend who hasn't spent any Mora, but every time she falls asleep, she wakes up to find her projects and theses all finished. H-how would that count?]

[Faruzan: All right, @Cyno.]

[Layla: Eeeee??? Why are you tagging the Great General Mahamatra?]

[Faruzan: Based on my experience as your senior, your situation calls for the Matra's involvement, whether from the perspective of academic discipline or your personal safety.]

[Layla: Is it already that serious?]

[Faruzan: Of course. Just trust your senior!]

[Layla: O-okay.]

[Kaveh: So, haven't we gone off topic?]

[Scaramouche: Hmph, it's only because I'm not among the choices. Otherwise, it would definitely be me turning defeat into victory.]

[Kaeya: All right, Your Harbinger Excellency above, whose mouth would be the only stubborn thing left after cremation, instead of spending your time being so stubborn, why not generously tell us who you usually partner with?]

[Scaramouche: Ha, you think I'd tell you?]

[Nahida: The Doctor.]

[System: Correct answer.]

[Kaeya: ???]

[Lumine: ???]

[Kaveh: ???]