Inside Aaru Village, the Grand Scribe of Sumeru, the Chief Scribe, the Fontaine Diplomat, and the Traveler from another world sat in chairs, staring at each other.
In layman's terms—they were locked in a staring contest.
"Hey, Kanti, what are those guys doing?"
The speaker was Dehya, who had just arrived in Aaru Village. Her words were directed at Kanti, the guard of Aaru Village.
The two beauties, one blue and one red, stood there, a feast for the eyes.
But no one in the room paid them any attention.
Kanti shook her head slightly, her heterochromatic eyes filled with endless confusion.
"The village chief said that they've been like this ever since they entered,
These four seem to be maintaining a delicate balance."
The strange scene made Dehya feel uneasy.
They were all sitting together, why couldn't they just talk it out?
Did they have to hold it in?
Were they going to have a competition to see who could hold in the biggest one?
The eerie scene was quickly broken by the first voice, it was Si Xuan.
However, he didn't address the three people opposite him, but Kanti.
"Miss Kanti, have the supplies Fontaine sent to aid the desert arrived?"
Thinking of the children and the elderly who were overjoyed when they saw the supplies,
Kanti laughed from the bottom of her heart.
"Everything is in place, food, water, books, clothes, and toys for the children,
The people in the village are very grateful to you."
With Si Xuan leading the way, others also broke their silence.
"If I'm not mistaken, the money used to support Aaru Village should have been research funds for the Akademiya."
As the Akademiya's Chief Scribe, data recording was Elhaysem's job.
This year, the research funding for the Akademiya scholars hadn't arrived.
But suddenly, there were a lot of supplies in the desert. The value of these supplies was roughly the same as the funds provided to the Akademiya.
Dehya snorted with a cold laugh: "It's their money, they can give it to whoever they want.
Can you even ask for it back? Besides, Mr. Si Xuan sends a large amount of supplies to the desert every year.
This time it was just a little bit more."
Elhaysem didn't have any intention of arguing with Dehya, so he simply kept quiet.
The room fell silent again.
Lumine and Paimon looked at each other. They were still confused about the situation.
"Why don't you say something to liven up the atmosphere? I feel weird."
Paimon nudged Lumine with her elbow.
She thought that as a Traveler who dared to talk bad about the Anemo Archon, eat the Geo Archon's food, and fight the Electro Archon,
She should make the scene more lively.
Lumine immediately understood that it was her time to shine.
So she coughed, attracting the attention of the others.
Her small mouth slightly opened...
"Uh...have you guys eaten?"
Paimon was immediately furious and stomped her feet in the air.
"Hey, that's not what I meant."
Lumine looked at her companion in confusion.
"Didn't you tell me to liven up the atmosphere?"
"I meant...no...it's...uh...anyway, you do whatever makes you happy."
Their conversation made Si Xuan laugh uncontrollably.
"Hahaha, don't all frown, you're all in the same boat now that you're here.
Feel free to say whatever you want, ask whatever you want, but I'll only answer one question for free."
Sano just opened his mouth, but Elhaysem stopped him.
"Wait a minute, you know Si Xuan's personality, we need to think about this question carefully."
The two, who had been arguing just now, seemed to be in sync.
Elhaysem closed his eyes and reviewed the recent events.
He thought of a crucial question.
"What is the Akademiya's ultimate goal?"
The reason why these few people could gather in Aaru Village was all because of the Akademiya.
Only by understanding the Akademiya's ultimate goal,
Could they possibly work together.
"Using the Void, the God-罐装 knowledge, and the stolen God's Heart from Inazuma to create a god,
The vessel is Scaramouche, the sixth Fatui Harbinger, also known as the Balladeer."
Si Xuan concisely stated the Akademiya's goal.
Elhaysem showed no reaction on the surface,
But in his heart, a huge wave was crashing.
Were those Akademiya guys crazy?
Sano, who also had a poker face like Elhaysem, wasn't calm either.
The actions of the sages had seriously violated Sumeru's laws.
Moreover, it was the most serious law, they deserved to be sentenced to death directly.
No god in Sumeru? Who gave these few people the right to show off?
Lumine and Paimon, on the other hand, weren't surprised at all.
Because in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida had already told them about the Akademiya's plan.
Although it was just a guess,
Si Xuan's words confirmed Nahida's speculation.
The sages' goal was clear, but how to proceed needed to be discussed.
"Now that the sages' goal is clear, the next step is to choose sides.
I don't want to get involved in the sages' business, but their actions have crossed the line.
Sano, as the Grand Scribe, what is your choice?"
Elhaysem didn't ask Lumine.
From the sages' attitude towards them, they would definitely be on the opposite side of the sages.
Even if he asked, it would just be pointless.
As for Si Xuan, there was no need to find him if he didn't have money.
What mattered now was Sano's attitude.
But based on Elhaysem's understanding of Sano,
This Grand Scribe, who wouldn't tolerate any speck of dust in his eyes, would definitely not collude with the sages.
"The sages must be stopped. I will personally arrest and try all sages involved in this plan."
Sure enough, Sano made a choice that was very favorable to Elhaysem.
"Now that we have a consensus, we need to discuss what to do next.
The Akademiya sages...they're a very powerful force."
At the mention of this, everyone except Si Xuan fell into deep thought.
Although they had many talented individuals in their group,
They were too few in number.
The Akademiya controlled vast resources, and even had a Balladeer whose strength was no less than that of an Archon.
Compared to them, their team was at a definite disadvantage.
At this time, the great wise Paimon made a suggestion.
"I think our priority right now is to release Nahida."
Si Xuan stroked his chin and agreed with Paimon's suggestion.
"That's a good idea. Their strongest force is a fake god, you guys need a god on your side."
Si Xuan's words instantly attracted everyone's attention.
"You guys? Hey, don't you want to join us?"
Paimon flew to Si Xuan's side, crossed her arms, and her face was round with anger.
"I'd love to, but ask them if they want me to join."
Paimon looked at the two. Elhaysem took out a book from somewhere and started flipping through it.
Sano was straightforward and uttered two words.
"No money!"
Si Xuan spread his hands towards Paimon.
"You see, I really want to join, but I can't."
Si Xuan's appearance made Paimon even angrier. She stomped her feet in the air several times.
"I'm so angry, I'm going to give you a nickname, just...just."
"Before you give me a nickname, you should think carefully. Randomly giving Fontaine officials nonsensical names
will get you locked up in the Château de Merlopet for three days. You guys just set foot in Fontaine's territory
I can have the Knights of Favonius arrest you immediately."
Paimon was really scared this time, she hid behind Lumine.
"I can't argue with him, you go."
As a good friend, Lumine would naturally step up at this time.
"Just grab her directly when you go to Fontaine, it's none of my business."
"Hey~~"
The three of them bantering and joking lightened the heavy atmosphere.
Lumine clearly wanted Si Xuan's help.
"How much Mora do you want to join?"
Si Xuan immediately perked up. Wasn't this a business opportunity?
"My appearance fee isn't expensive. Dealing with the Akademiya is 3 million Mora, dealing with the fake god is 10 million Mora."