[Kimiya: "I think… the 'revelation' given to us by the gods would only be vague hints. To figure out the specifics would enter the domain of the gods."]
Mona scoffed disdainfully. The domain of the gods? They hadn't reached that point yet.
The mastermind behind the scenes was merely the Akademiya. Mona could fully calculate something as minor as this.
However, Mona still maintained ample curiosity, because while she could deduce who the mastermind was, she couldn't figure out their purpose.
For Mona, matters involving gods only gave her a vague outline. Coincidentally, the Akademiya was trying to create a god.
But whether it was a god or a mortal, Mona was very proud—she never believed that humans couldn't reach the domain of the gods.
Yet ever since meeting Lucian, she had truly begun to wonder if Lucian himself belonged to some 'domain of the gods.'
Lucian's method of prophecy, the content of his prophecies, and their clarity and scope—all of it was incomprehensible to Mona. She wasn't even sure if her own master could achieve such feats!
However, after actually 'touching' Lucian, Mona confirmed that he was just a human.
This instead ignited her competitive spirit. She was determined to figure everything out, to become a top astrologer who surpassed Lucian!
In the story, the divination young man clearly didn't have such grand ambitions. To him, the domain of the gods was untouchable.
The divine hint was: 'Overcome the fear in your heart, and the sun will surely rise.'
He couldn't help with anything beyond that. Kimiya could only wish the Traveler good luck.
The Traveler chose to go ask Dehya about the situation, arriving just after the point where she had encountered a group of bandits.
Without wasting words, the Traveler directly pointed out everything Dehya had just experienced, making her believe that they could 'foresee' events.
[Dehya: "Oh? So you saw it, huh? If you saw it, you should've shown up earlier. With someone protecting the young lady up close, I could've fought with even fewer restraints."]
Look at that—Dehya was quite the materialist. She didn't entertain any convoluted ideas and simply assumed the Traveler had been present at the scene.
The Traveler could only helplessly continue by revealing Dehya's future plans, hoping to make her alert and take it seriously.
In the story, the Traveler fell into thought, considering what could serve as a decisive blow. It had to be something very important to Dehya that no one else but her knew.
[The Traveler said: "The reason you got injured is that your greatsword doesn't feel right in your hands… The previous greatsword was sold to fund the festival."]
This time, Dehya was shocked. She had never mentioned this information—how did the Traveler know?
In a panic, Dehya's first reaction was to cover the Traveler's mouth, then observe Dunyarzad's reaction. Fortunately, the other showed no response, and she let out a sigh of relief.
The readers knew that the current Dunyarzad was fake, which was why she showed no reaction after hearing it.
In reality, Lumine began swaying her body, inexplicably feeling happy and proudly smug.
How should one put it? In this story, she suddenly felt like a prophet, knowing everything about others.
Revealing someone's future and secrets, then watching their astonished expression—it turned out to be such a satisfying thing!
Was this how Lucian usually felt? Knowing what others were going to say before they even spoke felt amazing! Watching their stunned faces was exhilarating too!
So this was what it felt like to have a brain!
The corners of Lumine's mouth curled up as her body swayed—anyone could tell she was extremely pleased with herself right now.
But it was still so troublesome. If Lucian were here, he'd probably already know the truth and be leading her straight to the mastermind.
Oh no, she was already starting to become unable to function without the 'brain' that could carry her through everything quickly. Was this what they called strategy dependency?
Back to the story: the Dehya in the book also sensed something was off, but since she wasn't well-read, she feared being tricked and continued to question it.
The Traveler had no choice but to bring out the final trump card—Dunyarzad.
Dunyarzad, standing nearby, listened to the conversation between the two yet showed no reaction at all. This was clearly strange—how could Dehya, who knew her so well, not notice?
The Traveler thought this would be the decisive 'verbal bullet,' but unexpectedly, in Dehya's memories, Dunyarzad had always been like this—her memories had been tampered with!
In reality, Dehya angrily slammed the table. Who was this despicable mastermind? They actually altered her memories!
Memory is the foundation of a person's emotions. Having one's feelings toyed with felt awful, especially for someone as sentimental as Dehya—she was furious.
After a moment of thought, who in Sumeru could do something like this besides the Dendro Archon or the Grand Sage?
Since the Dendro Archon also wanted to break this 'dream,' the answer was obvious.
Dehya began considering the possibility of infiltrating the Sumeru City prison.
Even the less-educated Dehya could think of this possibility, so naturally, other Sumeru residents could too.
Everyone was already angry enough at the Grand Sage, and now they were so furious they felt their brains congesting with blood.
Not only did he ignore the issue, but he loved stirring up trouble!
Maybe they should just 'judge' the Grand Sage every day? Let him experience the 'reincarnation' of judgment too—otherwise, this grudge would be hard to quell!
People outside Sumeru hadn't yet guessed the mastermind, mainly due to an information gap. They only listed the Grand Sage as the prime suspect, without the same certainty as the Sumeru residents.
This was a good thing—at least the blood pressure of those outside Sumeru hadn't spiked yet.
Everyone could still calmly continue reading the story to gather more information.
In the story, the Traveler successfully recruited Dehya. In fact, Dehya was quite indulgent—even if not fully convinced, she was willing to 'play along' with the Traveler.
The Traveler brought Dehya to where Nahida was, hoping that seeing it with her own eyes would make Dehya understand the 'truth.'
Unfortunately, this didn't work either, because aside from the Traveler's sensitive constitution, no one else could see Nahida.
Not only could they not see Nahida, but even Dunyarzad, who was being protected by Nahida's power, was invisible to them.
This really stumped the Traveler. Every method had been tried—why wasn't anything working? Dehya might really think she was playing some strange religious game.
If they can't see her, could they at least touch her? Maybe let Dehya try touching.
Unexpectedly, although Dehya couldn't see her, she could sense her presence—no need to touch after all.
Dehya possessed beast-like intuition, which made her quite sensitive in this regard.
If comparing, the Traveler was the type who couldn't handle even a whisper in the ear, while Dehya was the type who couldn't handle a single touch—there was still a difference.
Anyway, as long as she believed, they could now discuss the current situation.
After a round of discussion among everyone, Paimon summarized it.
[Paimon: "…So you suspect it's the work of the sages?"]
It's you again! Grand Sage! You're behind every 'crackdown'!
Now the Grand Sage had gone from prime suspect to confirmed culprit.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice Lines · Nahida: About the Dehya in the Story
"Truly astonishing sensitivity—like the skin's reaction when cold winter wind blows up your pant leg."