Episode 195: The Mutation on the Bus, The True Master of the Sabzeruz Festival Samsara Dream
『 Paimon followed close behind, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, even if it's just a tiny clue, it's better than us searching for a needle in a vast ocean."
"This should be the place; there's no mistake. Although barging into someone else's home isn't very polite, the situation is special right now, so we have no other choice." Paimon looked around, searching for an entrance.
"Look, Traveler, that window over there isn't closed tight. I'll fly in and take a peek!"
Paimon slowly flew in through the window that wasn't properly shut. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "What a convenient ability, being able to fly at will." ]
[ Xingqiu (Genshin Impact): "Traveler, how did you and Paimon meet? That's too convenient. You'd never have to worry about forgetting things again." ]
[ Lumine (Genshin Impact): "Fished her out of the water." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Yeah, I almost drowned back then. Luckily, the Traveler found and saved me." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Ever since then, I've been the Traveler's guide!" ]
[ Saitama (One Punch Man): "Um, I have a small question." ]
[ Saitama (One Punch Man): "But can't you fly? How were you about to drown?" ]
[ Lumine (Genshin Impact): "I'm also very curious, but she won't say." ]
[ .....]
『 Not long after, she flew back out holding something, landed steadily beside Lumine, and handed over a notebook.
"Look, this room is just a temporary place for her to stay. There's almost nothing inside, just these few books on the corner of the table."
Paimon's tone held a hint of inquiry: "Should we open it and take a look?"
Lumine paused for a moment before finally deciding to open it and take a look. After all, there could be something valuable hidden inside… 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Sorry, Dunyarzad. We opened your notebook without telling you." ]
[ Dunyarzad Homayani (Genshin Impact): "It's okay, you did it to save me." ]
[ Dunyarzad Homayani (Genshin Impact): "Besides, didn't you already tell me now? Consider it made up for." ]
[ Dunyarzad Homayani (Genshin Impact): "Though, I am also quite curious about what exactly I wrote." ]
[ .....]
『 Immediately after, the two flipped through the pages of Dunyarzad's personal notebook, surprisingly finding it filled with records of various street gossip and rumors regarding Lesser Lord Kusanali.
This notebook clearly contained a great deal of Dunyarzad's painstaking effort; every page revealed her meticulousness and care.
"By the looks of it, these were all handwritten by Dunyarzad herself. It turns out she has always silently kept everything about us in her heart. Even during those days in Port Ormos, she never stopped collecting information."
"Reasonably speaking, she should have been incredibly busy preparing for the Sabzeruz Festival, right? Moreover, her health isn't good, yet she still managed to…"
"I think this notebook might be something she intended to give us personally on the day of the Sabzeruz Festival, as a memento of our time here."
"If we hadn't stumbled upon it today, we probably never would have known she did so much for us silently."
"But, even though we know about this now, we can't even say a single word of thanks to her face." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Thank you, Dunyarzad, for doing so much for us." ]
[ Dunyarzad Homayani (Genshin Impact): "It's fine. The future me did it; it has nothing to do with the current me." ]
[ Lumine (Genshin Impact): "No chance in the future, but there's a chance now. Making up for it in advance." ]
[ Dunyarzad Homayani (Genshin Impact): "Hehehe." ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "How nice. Very good." ]
[ Silver Wolf (Honkai: Star Rail): "Right, that's a very good friendship partner." ]
[ .....]
『 After reading this handwritten notebook, Paimon and Lumine were filled with emotion.
But regretfully, this realization seemed to come too late.
For some reason, regarding such an important matter, they only just now suddenly realized that she had been silently keeping track of all this.
After reading every word in the notebook, Paimon's sigh still echoed in Lumine's ears. She said nothing, simply turned around, and began to run in a certain direction.
Left behind, Paimon stomped her feet in frustration, then grabbed the notebook, leaped up, and followed closely behind.
She wondered secretly, where is the Traveler taking her on an adventure this time?
Before long, the two arrived beside that familiar bench.
There, the puppet of Dunyarzad sat quietly, as if enjoying a moment of tranquility.
Dehya was nowhere to be seen; she had likely gone to scout the surroundings.
"Oh my! That's Dunyarzad's puppet!" Paimon flew to Lumine's side, unable to hide her surprise.
After all, they were just talking about Dunyarzad.
Now, even meeting her puppet in this dream world felt incredible.
But Paimon was puzzled—why did the Traveler bring her to find this puppet?
"I feel that if I say it now, my heart will feel more at ease." Lumine looked at the puppet form of Dunyarzad. Even though the object of her address was a puppet that couldn't respond, she decided to express her gratitude.
Adjusting her emotions, Lumine solemnly thanked Dunyarzad:
"Thank you, Dunyarzad. Although you might not be able to hear it, I still want to seriously say thank you."
After saying this, Lumine seemed to unload a heavy burden and sat casually on the bench.
Floating nearby, Paimon quickly leaned in with concern. "Traveler, are you tired?"
Perhaps due to the recent battle, Lumine looked somewhat exhausted.
Paimon thought that was very likely.
"Come to think of it, we've been in this place for quite a while now," Paimon recalled the time the two had spent in this space and couldn't help but feel emotional.
"The days of chatting happily with Dunyarzad feel like they happened a long, long time ago."
The two immersed themselves in the memories of the time spent with the real Dunyarzad.
Recalling those bits and pieces, and everything that had seemingly never happened here—everything seemed ordinary yet so extraordinary.
What an ordinary yet precious day…
"I still remember, back then, the three of us were sitting right here. She mentioned she wanted to see Nilou's Dance of Sabzeruz. That longing look in her eyes… I still can't forget it."
Paimon looked at Dunyarzad beside them, her tone full of sentiment.
But Lumine shook her head helplessly, trying hard to search for fragments of that memory in her mind. "I can't remember what happened then very clearly anymore."
Just then, things took an unexpected turn.
The puppet Dunyarzad, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke words that only the real Dunyarzad would say: "Life is bound to have some regrets, but we live to leave as few regrets as possible, don't we?" 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "That… doesn't sound like something a puppet would say?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Could it be?" ]….
[ .....]
『 These sudden words seemed to foreshadow something, instantly attracting the attention of both of them.
"That sentence just now, Dunyarzad said it before. Could it be…"
For a moment, the two thought Dunyarzad had somehow returned to normal and quickly stepped forward to check.
However…
"What's wrong, Traveler?" When they got close to Dunyarzad, she simply turned her head calmly, still using that puppet-like intonation.
"It looks like she's still in that puppet state, but what was that just now?" Paimon was both disappointed and confused.
"To leave no regrets, let's go, Paimon." At this moment, Lumine seemed to have made a certain determination, turning to lead the way.
Confused, Paimon curiously asked for their destination.
Lumine simply uttered a location softly:
"Let's go see the Dance of Sabzeruz this time."
And so, harboring this thought, they returned to the site of the Sabzeruz Festival celebration.
There, they witnessed Nilou being severely reprimanded by two scholars.
This time, Lumine chose not to endure it any longer.
She stepped forward resolutely, interrupting the Grand Sage's lecture. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Huh? Just going up and interrupting the speech like that?" ]
[ Azar (Genshin Impact): "Outlander, you dare to refute me?" ]
[ Lumine (Genshin Impact): "Hmph, for trash like you, I can send you flying with one hand." ]
[ Aether (Genshin Impact): "Right, I'll take action too." ]
[ Stelle (Honkai: Star Rail): "What's wrong with that? Just smack them away with a bat." ]
[ Kiana (Honkai: Impact Third): "Exactly, exactly." ]
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "If I were there, I'd definitely teach you a good lesson too." ]
[ Kato Megumi (Saekano): "Is this a standard villain?" ]
[ .....]
『 "Oh my? Traveler, don't stick your neck out for us. He is a Sage of the Akademiya after all. If you get involved, things will get troublesome."
Nilou, who was feeling sad, suddenly realized Lumine had rushed forward to stop the dispute and quickly followed to mediate.
Even if the Sabzeruz Festival failed to happen as wished this time, there would be chances to salvage it in the future.
But if Lumine got dragged into trouble because of this, the consequences would be severe.
As a foreign traveler, Lumine was already in a delicate position in Sumeru.
Especially publicly challenging the Akademiya's highest leader—the Grand Sage—such an action was particularly sensitive.
Nilou, as a native of Sumeru, deeply understood the gravity of this matter.
Therefore, at this critical juncture, even though her heart was filled with sorrow, she still worried about Lumine's shocking statement.
But the scene that followed almost short-circuited little Nilou's brain.
"Traveler?" The Grand Sage, who was preparing to argue, was stunned by Lumine's words and seemed to fall into deep thought.
"Traveler, what are you doing all of a sudden?" Paimon was also startled by Lumine's sudden action. "If we get caught by the Akademiya, won't our efforts today go down the drain?"
Just then, following Lumine's gaze, Paimon looked sideways and suddenly realized, the Grand Sage's group, who had been thoughtful just a moment ago, was now standing motionless, as if deeply attracted by something.
"Eh? What happened? Why did they suddenly stop moving? Were they scared by our actions?"
But as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how ridiculous the idea was.
The opponent was the country's highest ruler; how could they be frightened by a single sentence from them?
Thinking about it this way, the scene appeared even more incredible. …. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Scared me to death. Turns out this Grand Sage is also a puppet." ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "When encountering something they haven't experienced, this puppet will go directly into a crashed state. Of course, as long as the day restarts, they can return to normal." ]
[ Dehya (Genshin Impact): "Good opportunity. You guys should beat this guy up properly; otherwise, it's not worth our losses." ]
[ Azar (Genshin Impact): "...…" ]
[ .....]
『 "Because, they might also be puppets…" Lumine whispered, as if she had gained insight into some truth.
Hearing this, Paimon immediately had an epiphany.
"I see. If this is the Sages' scheme, they definitely wouldn't put themselves in such danger."
"So, the ones here are likely just stand-ins."
At this moment, Lumine accidentally discovered a crucial item beside the stage and fell into deep thought. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Nilou (Genshin Impact): "Hmm?" ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Such a beautiful flower!" ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "So that's how it is." ]
[ .....]
『 Nilou, standing aside, was completely unaware of this. She looked at the motionless Grand Sage and his entourage nearby with a face full of curiosity:
"What exactly is going on? Why did the Grand Sage and the others suddenly stop moving?"
Lumine was still observing the object that had suddenly appeared, fully focused.
Driven by curiosity, Nilou followed Lumine's gaze.
Just then, she also noticed the brilliant Padisarah that had appeared on the edge of the stage at some point.
"Wow! That bright purple-red… isn't that the legendary Padisarah? I didn't even notice when it appeared. Did Dunyarzad help find it?" …..
Paimon also looked thoughtful. "But didn't we mention that this flower went extinct with the passing of the Goddess of Flowers? Could it be…"
She looked at Nilou again, her eyes full of disbelief.
"Yeah, what exactly is going on here?" Nilou stared at it all, equally confused.
Lumine suddenly suggested that Nilou try closing her eyes.
Although full of suspicion, Nilou did as asked and closed her eyes. Lumine told her to imagine a scene where the Grand Sages were not present.
Filled with doubt, Nilou did so, then slowly opened her eyes.
In that instant, the two Grand Sages standing dumbly in the distance gradually, silently, vanished…
"They disappeared! So the host really is Nilou! This is truly an unexpected harvest." Paimon clapped her hands and cheered excitedly.
"Purple Padisarahs no longer exist in the world. Only in Nilou's subconscious can they appear here to decorate the stage."
"This is just like the example Nahida gave. People involuntarily think that what's on the plate is food, and Nilou similarly believes that what's in the flower pot is the legendary Padisarah."
We originally just wanted to confirm something, but by a stroke of luck, we ran straight into the final target we were looking for.
"So the moment you saw those two pots of flowers, you were sure it was Nilou." Little Paimon looked at Lumine with an 'I knew it' expression.
"That's right." Although they found the key person, Lumine's expression showed a hint of worry:
"Just like we discussed before, to end the cycle, we have to make the host aware of their own existence. But how can we make her awaken her self-awareness?" ..
Finding the person was only the first step; the challenge that followed was equally arduous.
They had to make her realize she was in a dream without pointing it out directly; otherwise, it might backfire and put them at a disadvantage.
Just as the two were racking their brains, unable to find the next step, the dormant Nilou suddenly spoke.
"I… am I dreaming?"
This plain sentence instantly stunned both of them. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Nilou can actually figure out she's in a dream by herself?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "We couldn't even think of a good reason to tell you, since we can't directly say this is a dream." ]
[ Nilou (Genshin Impact): "It must be the story of 'The First Sage' that I heard about." ]
[ Nilou (Genshin Impact): "That was the story the Dendro Archon gave to the First Sage." ]
[ .....]
『 "How did you think of that?" Lumine asked Nilou curiously.
They had just confirmed that the person before them was Nilou and were pondering how to tell her the truth, but they didn't expect Nilou to bring up the possibility of a dream herself.
How could this not be surprising?
Even more incredible was that this young girl had been completely unaware that the world had gone through multiple cycles.
When Lumine and Paimon pressed her on how she knew the truth, Nilou's answer was shocking. ….
She stared at the purple Padisarah on the stage and muttered in a low voice: "Hehe, is that so? Could it be that we, who celebrate the Sabzeruz Festival so piously, have received a response from Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
Her tone carried a sense of sadness. …..
After all, for someone like her who longed for the Sabzeruz Festival to be a complete success, this world was far from beautiful.
"Although you guessed some things wrong, why were you able to know that everything happening today is a dream?" Paimon looked at Nilou with a puzzled face:
"After all, according to your knowledge, people of Sumeru aren't supposed to dream, right?"
Earlier, they had heard rumors that people of Sumeru, once they grew up, would not dream.
Although everyone knew very clearly in their hearts that the people from the Akademiya must be behind this, up to some shady business, Nilou, as a native of Sumeru, did not know the truth of this world. 』
『 .....』