Candace's expression was a little strange.
Was Dori being serious?
The first words out of her mouth were about the Akademiya's schemes, the Dendro Archon's power, and such.
To be honest, Candace only wanted to quietly serve as the guardian of Aaru Village. As long as her people lived in peace, she cared little for the rest.
And yet here was Dori, barging in and spouting alarming talk.
"What does any of this have to do with me?" Candace asked.
"Ah, friend, you're too young!" Dori gave her a look of mock sympathy and said, "Think about it—if you knew the future, wouldn't it be easier to guide Aaru Village's growth? If you could avoid the pitfalls ahead, wouldn't that save hardship? Even if you don't care for business, perhaps some of your villagers do. And in many cases, information is profit!"
Candace had to admit—Dori wasn't wrong.
"But… two hundred thousand mora…"
If it truly concerned the future, perhaps that wasn't such a high price. But Candace also knew of Dori's other reputation.
"They say it all the time: you can't lose, you can't be cheated buying from me!" Dori insisted with a sly glint in her eyes. "Most of Teyvat already has its gaze fixed on Sumeru. The Akademiya is brewing a plan that could spell its ruin. The power of the little Dendro Archon is in question… don't you want to know how the future will unfold? What if the rainforest's disaster spreads to the desert?"
"You're exaggerating," Candace muttered.
Dori truly was a crafty merchant. For a bit of mora, she'd spin any tale.
"No, no, no!" Dori waved her hands. "This isn't exaggeration. Do you know about the Sabzeruz Festival?"
Candace thought for a moment before answering, "The rainforest people's holiday? If I recall, it's more than half a year away."
"You do know." Dori crossed her arms. "But what if I told you the people of Sumeru will live through that same festival dozens of times in an endless cycle?"
"What do you mean?" Candace frowned.
"Exactly what it sounds like." Dori smiled mysteriously. "Fine, since you don't care much for what happens beyond Aaru Village, I'll even give you a discount."
"You'd actually give a discount?" Candace asked, surprised. "I thought you'd double the price instead."
Of course, it had already been doubled many times over. Dori smirked inwardly, but outwardly kept a serious face.
She sighed dramatically, looking as if she carried the weight of Sumeru's fate. "I want everyone to use cellphones, to access the net, to learn the truth! At such a perilous time, Sumeru must unite. The more who stand together, the stronger we'll be. Only then can we overthrow the Akademiya with our own strength!"
The more she spoke, the more impassioned she became. If Candace's resolve weren't so firm, she might have been swept up in that fiery rhetoric.
But after listening for a while, Candace pieced it together.
Dori's meaning was simple—she wanted to use the Akademiya's schemes as an excuse to sell more goods. She'd profit handsomely, while others might at least learn the truth.
From a narrow view, Dori was just making money. But from a broader one… she wasn't wrong. If the Akademiya really was plotting something that threatened Sumeru, then mass awareness could spark far more than words of dissent.
"I want to buy at a fair price," Candace said calmly. She wouldn't be swept up in Dori's talk. To her, the value of the goods themselves mattered more than the pitch.
"Tch, fine, fine." Dori pouted. "Alright, listen. This one's fifteen thousand, that one's also fifteen. My exclusive channel brings them in at ten thousand each, so adding a little margin… forty thousand mora. I'll sell them to you at cost."
Candace chuckled. Any merchant who claimed to sell at cost was lying. She guessed the true cost was sixty or seventy percent of that—Dori would still pocket the rest.
After a moment of thought, Candace didn't haggle further. "Will you show me how to use it?"
"Simple." Dori waved her hand. "I'll activate the AI for you later. Just pay up first."
"So eager?" Candace asked, amused as she handed over the money.
"Of course!" Dori nodded. Much of what she'd said earlier was true. Her people were spreading these devices across Sumeru. After watching Lumine's livestream, she knew disaster was coming. If people stayed ignorant, they'd be helpless when it struck.
"Let's hope everyone truly unites," she sighed, then began showing Candace the basics.
Afterward, Dori packed up to find her next customer. Candace, meanwhile, entered Lumine's stream.
"The future, huh…" she murmured.
On screen, Lumine had just finished the Sabzeruz Festival arc and was entering the third act of the Sumeru storyline.
Candace glanced at the faint light in the eastern sky. Dawn was approaching. Yet, after hearing what Dori had said, even the brightest morning seemed clouded with shadow.
What exactly was the Akademiya doing?
By six in the morning, a headline titled "The Endless Loops of the Sabzeruz Festival" exploded across Teyvat's networks.
Charlotte had stayed up all night in Lumine's stream, monitoring every development, and now her article was soaring in clicks. The story of Sumeru's looping festival was sensational, and the popularity was sky-high—just the kind of explosive news she craved.
Though her body ached from lack of sleep, Charlotte was elated. Her reputation as a journalist was climbing rapidly.
"I have to see it myself," she decided. Just watching the stream wasn't enough.
By dawn, she was packing her equipment. For fifty thousand mora, she secured a ride to Sumeru's outskirts—aboard a supersonic transport, faster than fast.
Meanwhile, Collei's spirits had been high. Her condition had improved, and she rose early to wash, eat, and prepare for her AI-assisted lessons. But when she noticed a trending stream, curiosity made her click.
Lumine was streaming. Collei knew that, but hadn't kept up with her progress.
The viewership startled her—over two million by seven-thirty in the morning! Were these people newly awake, or had they stayed up all night?
She turned her gaze to the screen. Lumine sat before a computer, glasses perched on her nose, eating breakfast while watching the unfolding plot. Paimon, yawning beside her, rubbed at her face in a losing battle against sleep.
Collei's eyes sharpened as the scene reached the Akademiya's gates. Citizens gathered joyfully, awaiting Lumine's arrival—and among them stood the Fatui Harbinger, the Doctor.
"Dottore!"
Collei's hands shook so violently she nearly dropped her phone.
When she was young, her mother had believed Dottore could cure her illness, and sent her into his care. But what awaited her was not healing, but cruel experiments. The injection of a god's remains had left her in unending agony. The memory clung to her heart like a shadow that never lifted.
Fear surged through her, and from it, hatred.
She hated Dottore with every fiber of her being. If she had the strength, she'd repay him in kind.
"Collei, what's wrong?" Tighnari stepped in from the next room.
"I saw Dottore!" she hissed between clenched teeth.
Tighnari's brow furrowed. Of course he knew the man—an exiled scholar, infamous for his vile experiments. And he knew Collei's suffering was directly tied to him.
He glanced at her screen. "In the Sumeru storyline, then… Dottore is at the Akademiya."
His frown deepened. The Akademiya's collusion with the Fatui was already suspected, but to see it confirmed in this way… troubling.
Their true aim was the Archons' hearts, and given the Dendro Archon's frailty, taking hers might not prove difficult. Yet Dottore lingered—likely using the Akademiya for some darker experiment.
"Stay calm," Tighnari warned. "At least we haven't faced him directly yet."
"Don't worry, Master. I understand," Collei nodded firmly. She yearned to kill Dottore, but she wasn't foolish enough to throw her life away blindly. Survival came first. Vengeance could wait.
Relieved, Tighnari returned to his room.
Elsewhere, Cyno watched the same stream, fists clenched. "Too weak…" he muttered bitterly. He longed to drag Dottore before judgment, but even he couldn't yet grasp the man.
In Fontaine, Arlecchino and her companions also watched.
"His reputation will sink even further after this," Lyney remarked.
"As if it could sink any lower," Arlecchino replied coldly. She already despised the Doctor, especially after he had suggested she send the children of the House of Hearth to him. To her, it was no offer of cooperation, but a demand for sacrificial lambs. She'd rather kill him herself than allow it.
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, Diluc stared grimly at the screen.
Dottore.
He had long since uncovered the truth of his father's death—that Dottore had planted the device that lured the drake Ursa to attack their convoy. His father, Crepus, had wielded a Delusion to fend off the beast, only to be consumed by its backlash.
It had fallen to Diluc, his eyes brimming with tears, to end his father's agony.
That night haunted him still. He had been just a boy, powerless against a Harbinger. His vengeance had failed, and only a secret network's intervention had saved his life.
Now, seeing Dottore again, Diluc set down his glass.
"Sumeru…" he whispered, slipping on his coat.
"Where are you going?" Kaeya asked, having dropped by early as usual.
"To avenge our father," Diluc answered flatly.
Kaeya froze. He too had seen the stream. Hearing Diluc speak the words aloud struck something deep in his chest.
Though adopted, Crepus had treated him as his own son, never showing favoritism between the brothers.
After a long pause, Kaeya set down his wine. "Then I'll go with you."
"You too?" Diluc raised a brow.
"I don't want to make another wrong choice and lose a brother." Kaeya shrugged.
"You don't need to go. You're not that strong," Diluc said, though the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. Kaeya's words meant more than he'd admit.
Kaeya scowled. "Ungrateful as always. I offer to fight by your side, and you tell me I'll hold you back?"
"I can handle it alone," Diluc said, shaking his head.
"Fine, fine, you're oh-so-powerful, I get it." Kaeya rolled his eyes.
Still, the truth was plain—Diluc's strength was now among the finest, enough to rival even the gods.
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T/N:
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