Those two memos told Idris everything he needed: Sumeru's current calm was only skin-deep. The storm front was already on the horizon.
The first note—from Liyue's envoy Ganyu—puzzled him most. Diplomacy? From Liyue? Sumeru's standing among the Seven had long scraped the bottom; even Inazuma, for all its isolation, had a god who could punch the table. Sumeru? Weak nation, weak god, and a line of leaders who mistook hauteur for competence. So why would Ganyu request an audience?
Sensing his confusion, Nahida drifted out of the shadows and floated before his desk.
"Grand Sage Idris, a rumor has been burning through Liyue," she said softly. "They stamped it out quickly, but you should hear the gist: 'Among the Liyue Qixing, even Ningguang is inferior to Sumeru's Grand Sage.'"
Idris blinked, then snorted. "Liyue must be very well fed if people have time to invent that kind of rumor."
Nahida smiled, just a touch tart. "The very fact it spread far enough that the authorities had to squash it… is already a testament to your recent work. And Ningguang is, well, a talent more or less acknowledged by the former Geo Archon."
Idris arched a brow. "Jealous?"
"Irrelevant," she sniffed. "The Tree King's last Grand Sage and my first Grand Sage are not mutually exclusive titles. Idris—your alchemy is miraculous, and Eleazar is no longer a dead end, but you won't slip out of my palm that easily."
He let the little grass god posture without rising to the bait, and turned to memo two:
Inazuma field report: "Blond traveler defeated the Raiden Shogun. Vision Hunt Decree abolished; isolation to be lifted immediately. Maritime trade to resume."
So the blond had cleared Inazuma. Next stop, the Chasm—and then Sumeru. Sure, sea routes were open, but a completionist traveler wouldn't boat past unopened chests.
He clicked his tongue. The report didn't even specify which blond—brother or sister. It would come out soon enough. What mattered more was the corollary: if the Shogun had fallen in a duel, Scaramouche should already have the Electro Gnosis in hand. Which meant he would be heading to Sumeru soon.
And when he arrived? He'd climb into the "Divine Machine" the Akademiya had nearly finished building before Idris ever took office. The core was all that was missing—and Scaramouche fit like a key.
As a self-aware villain, Idris wasn't opposed to a God-Creation Plan on principle. Provided the god served him.
Nahida studied his face. "You're plotting something frightening. That expression doesn't belong to a 'good person.'"
"It's nothing," he said, tone dry. "Just considering how to receive Liyue's delegation without groveling or slighting them. Hosting foreign guests is an art."
His eyes narrowed, a plan crystallizing. He'd need the right front—the right person to set the tone the moment Liyue stepped into Sumeru.
And Idris had just the candidate in mind.
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