Re:Zero: Starting the Sabzeruz Festival from Zero?

"Beep--"

All connections have been ensured, and a highly stable architecture has been built.

The "plan" has entered its most critical phase, with power extraction beginning from #K$v*.

"Traveler, today is the Sabzeruz Festival, let's hurry and find Dunyarzad to meet up!"

Inside the Sumeru guest room, Paimon slowly flew up and spoke to Ying, who was stretching lazily.

"Let's go, let's have a good time at the Sabzeruz Festival."

Ying stretched leisurely. "Let's go, it's a rare celebration, let's take a good look around today and have a great time."

Xingsu stood alone on the street, seemingly lost in thought as she gazed at the bustling crowd; beside her, Dunyarzad quietly looked into the distance, her eyes filled with anticipation for the grand event.

"Dunyarzad, what do you think of this Sabzeruz Festival?"

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Xingsu. I have been looking forward to this Sabzeruz Festival for a long time. This must be the grandest Sabzeruz Festival I have ever seen. It is so lucky to have met Lesser Lord Kusanali like you."

Xingsu's heart clenched painfully.

He suppressed the complex emotions swirling within him and spoke softly, "... It's what I should do."

"Xingsu! Dunyarzad! We're here!" Paimon waved eagerly and ran forward with Ying.

Hearing the familiar voice, Xingsu looked up and hurriedly greeted, "Traveler, Paimon, good morning, how did you sleep last night?"

Good morning! I slept really well last night, I even overslept a little... Sorry, hehe.

"And the Traveler? How have you been lately?" Xingsu Su stared intently at the Traveler, as if yearning for an answer.

"Everything's been going well lately, thank you for your concern," Ying replied with a smile.

"... That's good." Xingsu suddenly fell silent for a moment. "Traveler Paimon, why don't you take Dunyarzad to the Sabzeruz Festival first? I still have some things to take care of at the celebration."

"Alright then, once you're done with your work, make sure you enjoy the celebration!"

"Yes, I will." Xingsu didn't say anything more, turned around and left.

"Let's go, Dunyarzad, let's go for a walk."

"Hey? There's food for sale over there, let's go check it out."

"This is... a stall selling offerings for the ' Seven Sages' Table '!" Dunyarzad immediately recognized it.

"Oh my, this young lady recognized it at a glance!" The stall owner smiled in surprise. "I didn't expect anyone to remember the intricacies of the Seven Sages' Table!"

Paimon stared at the ingredients on the stall, his cheeks puffed out, and asked in confusion, "Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms... all kinds of mushrooms! It's all mushrooms! By the way, what exactly is this ' Seven Sages' Table ' for?"

"This is also a custom on the day of the Sabzeruz Festival," Dunyarzad explained slowly. "In the past, every household would set out seven dishes on the table. Generally, the most common ones were Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's Sacred Body Mushrooms, Philanemo Mushroom, Inspiration Mushroom, Ice Mushroom, Timid Mushroom, Giant Spray Mushroom, and Sunshine Mushroom, etc. These seven mushrooms correspond to the seven virtues of the gods."

"Oh~ so the Sabzeruz Festival is a day for eating mushrooms?" Paimon asked.

Something seems off.

Ying listened quietly, but a subtle sense of unease quietly rose in her heart.

Philanemo Mushroom... those are clearly fungi native to Mondstadt, how could they appear in the Seven Sages' Table custom of Sumeru?

"What are you thinking about?" Paimon urged Ying to go over. "There are still many stalls ahead we haven't visited."

Ying shook her head, temporarily putting those questions aside, and followed.

The group continued walking and soon stopped in front of a simple little handicraft stall.

"Hello, what do you sell here?" Paimon asked.

Freminet sat behind her stall, still somewhat awkward in front of the group, her fingertips slightly clenching the hem of her clothes. She answered softly, "Yes, yes... these are all little handicrafts I made myself."

"Wow! I recognize it! It's a toy figurine of the Sumeru Desert Crocodile! It's so exquisitely made!" Paimon picked up a small plush crocodile with great interest and played with it, gently pinching the doll's head with his fingertips.

Just then--

"Chaos will follow!"

The doll suddenly made a sound and then took a big bite.

"Ugh! The crocodile bit me! How can this toy attack people?!" Paimon was startled by the sudden sound and movement, and frantically flapped his arms in the air.

Fortunately, it was just a soft plush toy, and the force was gentle, causing no harm whatsoever; it was just a bluffing little contraption.

Freminet panicked instantly, her whole body tensing up, her eyes reddening, and she hurriedly bowed her head to apologize, her voice trembling with tears. "I'm so sorry! I... I forgot to explain the mechanism's effects beforehand, I'm so sorry..."

Seeing the boy's guilty and flustered appearance, Paimon felt instantly embarrassed and quickly waved his hands to comfort him, "It's okay, it's okay! It doesn't hurt at all! My hand is perfectly fine! Please don't cry!"

Ying stood to the side, quietly watching the familiar yet unfamiliar scene before her.

What exactly is wrong...?

She lowered her eyes slightly, rested her chin on one hand, and pondered silently, trying to grasp this strange feeling that was both familiar and incongruous.

"Traveler? Traveler!" Paimon shook Luminous, who was deep in thought. "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well? You seem to be spacing out all day."

Before Ying could think further, a clear, crisp cry came from the street in the distance, instantly attracting their attention.

"Alchemy and divination! Want to give it a try?" The shouts of vendors in the distance drew the attention of the group.

"Wow! Alchemy and divination! That sounds amazing!" Paimon immediately became interested and pulled Ying forward. "Come on! Let's join in the fun!"

She stared at the unique fortune-telling booth, her eyes full of curiosity. "Fortune-telling using alchemy? How exactly does this work?"

"It's very simple. The customer just picks two items, and I perform an alchemy ritual. Based on the result, I divine their fortune."

"Traveler, let's give it a try!"

Paimon, in high spirits, casually took out the festive snacks he had just bought and placed them generously in the center of the divination table.

After a series of operations by the stall owner, a shape slowly appeared on the synthesis table.

"Let me see, the result is... the moon!"

"Um... but why does it look like a piece of the pancake I just gave you has been broken off?"

"Please wait a moment." The stall owner took the pancake back and turned around.

"Okay, the result is... the sun."

Paimon looked at him with suspicion. "... Are you sure you didn't put that piece of pie that was broken off back in?"

"Don't worry about those details," the "sun" usually means... means... wait a minute! The man turned around and started flipping through the book again.

"Hey, Traveler... is he flipping through a book? He doesn't seem very reliable to me."

"Ah, I found it! Oh no, I remember now! The moon symbolizes 'success' and 'happiness'."

"Wow, that's a great result! But... this sun... didn't you put it up yourself just to make us happy?"

"I already told you not to worry about these key points. The book says that as long as you trust your intuition, you will definitely get the results you want!"

Paimon sighed and facepalmed. "... You're not even trying to hide the fact that you're flipping through books anymore, are you?"

Déjà vu... Déjà vu...

There's a problem... where?