Chapter 156. I Can't Stay Any Longer
News of Futsu Mitama acquiring the abilities of Time Stop and Space-Time Travel quickly spread among the Chat Group members.
For this, everyone in the Chat Group discussed it at length, as it was a major event—the power to control time, a power possessed by the unspeakable, taboo existence.
Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei also shared the details of Futsu Mitama's experiment, and asked Venti how to effectively enhance this power.
After all, Venti was the one in the Chat Group directly related to Istaroth.
After a brief moment of thought, Venti stated that it wasn't that complicated; using the ability more often would effectively improve it.
Practice makes perfect, after all!
But Venti also warned Futsu Mitama not to use the Time Stop ability for nefarious purposes.
Seeing this, Futsu Mitama expressed his regret, saying he wouldn't do such a thing.
Aila stepped forward to confirm, stating that her young master had no need to do so at all.
After some lighthearted banter, Futsu Mitama successfully returned to Sumeru. When he arrived back in Sumeru, and returned to the Great Sage's office.
Inside the office, not only were Aila, Black Aila, Kuki Shinobu, Sangonomiya Kokomi, and Layla present, but Nahida was also there.
After Raiden Makoto's revival and the creation of the special husk doll by Raiden Ei, Nahida naturally emerged from the Irminsul.
Nahida had been liberated, but not entirely, as she, the Lesser Lord Kusanali, still needed to handle all the various affairs of Sumeru.
So, Nahida, having just returned from the Irminsul, immediately rushed to the Great Sage's office to begin dealing with various matters.
"You're back?"
Nahida looked at the returning Futsu Mitama, a hint of joy flashing across her small face.
Since Futsu Mitama had returned, he would probably help with some things. Nahida, having just returned from the Irminsul, was somewhat overwhelmed by the myriad of tasks awaiting her in Sumeru.
Even with Aila and the others assisting, she was momentarily at a loss.
"Yes." Futsu Mitama nodded, and seeing Nahida's expression, he smiled and said.
"Then, it's time for me, the Acting Dendro Archon, to retire. Nahida, I'll leave these matters to you. I'm going to help Aila over there."
With that, Futsu Mitama instantly teleported between Aila and Black Aila, and ostentatiously picked up a document.
"?!"
When Nahida saw Futsu Mitama's attitude, the smile on her face vanished instantly.
At that moment, she suddenly realized the harshness of the world, and the 'responsibility' that a Archon must bear.
But Nahida quickly composed herself, for as the second Dendro Archon, she knew this was an inevitable process.
She couldn't rely too much on Futsu Mitama; he would leave Sumeru sooner or later. Moreover, he had already helped her resolve the most troublesome issues.
Thinking this, Nahida encouraged herself, determined to become a qualified Archon!
With this thought, Nahida began to quickly handle all sorts of matters. The knowledge she had acquired in the Akasha was now rapidly put to use.
It must be said that Nahida's speed in handling matters was far, far greater than Futsu Mitama's.
In a very short time, she categorized all the various tasks and assigned them to Aila, Kokomi, Kuki Shinobu, and Layla to handle.
And so, one pending matter after another was easily resolved.
The day's workload was also completed at a visible pace.
—
In the evening, after all the day's tasks were done, Layla took her leave first; she needed to eat and rest.
Nahida told her to rest well, as Layla's state of potentially falling asleep at any moment was indeed concerning.
Inside the Great Sage's office, Futsu Mitama saw such a clean desk for the first time. Looking at Nahida, he couldn't help but praise.
"Indeed, you are much stronger than me, this Acting Dendro Archon. When I was the Dendro Archon handling these things, I never saw such a clean desk; instead, there were countless documents piled on top."
Hearing this, Nahida also smiled and slowly said.
"You flatter me. By my own strength, it would be impossible to handle so many things. It's all thanks to everyone."
Kokomi and Shinobu nodded. They also felt that Nahida was several times better than Futsu Mitama at handling these matters.
But this was also normal, as Futsu Mitama was inherently more skilled in martial arts than in scholarly affairs.
Although Nahida's strength was weak, she had studied in the Akasha for five hundred years for this very day.
Even though she only learned theoretical experience in the Akasha, having theoretical experience was better than having none.
Coupled with Raiden Makoto and Maha Rukkhadevata occasionally sharing their experiences in governing the mortal realm within the Chat Group, Nahida also secretly remembered them.
And even more importantly, Aila, Black Aila, Kokomi, Shinobu, and Layla were all adept at handling affairs.
With them working together wholeheartedly, Nahida was naturally much, much more relaxed.
Nahida naturally understood this point, and she also knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, these capable assistants would soon leave Sumeru.
After all, the 'special husk doll' had been created by Raiden Ei, so there was no need for them to continue staying in Sumeru to help her clean up the mess left by the Akademiya.
Knowing this, Nahida still couldn't help but ask.
"Will you stay in Sumeru for a little longer?"
"No, we'll probably be returning to Liyue in the next two days."
Futsu Mitama 'coldly and mercilessly' shattered Nahida's illusion; he didn't want to stay in Sumeru for another moment.
He wanted to return to Liyue as soon as possible. He had worked for Sumeru for over three months, and if he continued to stay here—
He would probably have to keep helping Nahida deal with the Akademiya's mess. While Nahida was indeed cute and adorable—
These matters couldn't always be handled by them.
After all, in the Great Sage's office, Futsu Mitama, Aila, Black Aila, Kokomi, and Shinobu were five Inazuman people.
If Faruzan had been there earlier, adding Layla would make two Sumeru people.
Now that Faruzan was busy with matters in the Desert, only Layla remained as a Sumeru person in the office.
Now, with Nahida, there were two Sumeru people and five Inazuman people handling Sumeru's politics.
Was this appropriate? Clearly not.
Three months had passed since the Great Sage's trial. It was time for Nahida to officially assume the role of Dendro Archon and train her own excellent subordinates.
If Futsu Mitama, the next Raiden Shogun, continued to temporarily hold the Dendro Archon's position, the Akademiya's higher-ups might not say anything, but the people of Sumeru would still have reservations.
Leaving Sumeru as quickly as possible was not only good for Futsu Mitama's group but also good for Nahida.
After all, Futsu Mitama could already clearly feel that the power of faith coming from Sumeru was growing stronger and stronger.
If he continued to work for Sumeru, Nahida might face an extremely awkward situation.
That is, even though she was doing the right things, the power of faith would go to Futsu Mitama, the people's cheers for Futsu Mitama would be strong, and the Lesser Lord Kusanali would again be ignored.
There was no other way; in the three months after the Great Sage's trial, Nahida had not appeared even once.
The Akademiya's higher-ups knew that the Lesser Lord Kusanali was dealing with the Irminsul crisis with Maha Rukkhadevata, but the common people did not know.
This was also why Futsu Mitama decided to leave quickly. Not only did he want to leave, but he also wanted to openly tell the people of Sumeru that he, the Acting Dendro Archon, was leaving Sumeru.
After he, the Acting Dendro Archon, left, all eyes would then focus on Nahida.
Nahida understood this truth, but she also understood one more thing; that if Futsu Mitama and his group left, she would definitely not be able to handle things as easily and comfortably as she did today for a while.
It was precisely because she knew this that Nahida was particularly reluctant, but she also knew that this was an inevitable part of the process.
"Then, when you're ready to leave, I'll see you off."
Nahida quickly composed herself. She decided to see Futsu Mitama and his group off when they left.
"Alright."
Futsu Mitama naturally wouldn't object. He looked at Nahida and continued.
"However, since we're temporarily leaving Sumeru, we should still say goodbye to Cyno and the others before we go. Although they're also incredibly busy right now."
In the past three months, all the Scholars of the Sumeru Akademiya had been busy from top to bottom.
Cyno was either maintaining public order or keeping an eye on those Scholars who disagreed with the 'reforms'.
Tighnari, after being brought from Gandharva Ville by Futsu Mitama, was busy with greening efforts in the Desert.
Even Alhaitham, who usually slacked off, had adopted an early morning to late night work schedule.
He didn't want to work so hard.
But after being targeted by Futsu Mitama, Alhaitham, no matter how unwilling, had to work hard, because it concerned his future peaceful life.
So, before leaving Sumeru, Futsu Mitama still needed to say goodbye to them.
At the very least, he had to tell Faruzan and Tighnari, two good friends, that he was leaving Sumeru.
"Temporarily leaving?"
Nahida caught the keyword. She smiled and said.
"Then I look forward to your next visit. When you come next time, you will definitely see a brand new Sumeru, not like it is now..."
Futsu Mitama smiled. He naturally wouldn't deny Nahida's abilities. Even if her management was relatively just begun, she had Maha Rukkhadevata's hands-on guidance.
How bad could it possibly be? Moreover, even if half of Sumeru's talents were killed, wasn't there still the other half?
With Maha Rukkhadevata's methods and Nahida's gradually growing abilities, Sumeru's future would certainly be prosperous.
It's just that this prosperity would take time to accumulate.
—
After a few brief words, Futsu Mitama and his group left the Great Sage's office and prepared to leave the Akademiya.
On the way out of the Akademiya, many Scholars passing by showed complex and reverent expressions upon seeing Futsu Mitama and his group, then bowed.
Currently, the Akademiya Scholars felt both love and hate for Futsu Mitama and his group.
Because of Futsu Mitama and his group, their stable lives were disrupted, and the once high-and-mighty Akademiya Scholars were now pulled down from their pedestals.
All their previous privileged benefits were stripped away. They now needed to rely on their own hands and wisdom to obtain funding, so they could carry out their own experiments and research.
Some Akademiya Scholars could not tolerate this situation, so they chose to withdraw from the Akademiya and become ordinary Sumeru people.
But the Scholars who remained gritted their teeth and persevered, believing that the future would be even better.
Facts proved that the Scholars who stayed did not make the wrong choice. The Akademiya's reforms in the past three months allowed these remaining Scholars to see sights they had never seen before.
Many Scholars whose experimental research projects had stalled due to various reasons seemed to have a burst of inspiration in these three months.
Not only did their experimental projects achieve new breakthroughs, but they also gained a deeper understanding of 'wisdom'.
If it were one or two people, it could be understood as an exception, but this was a group of people suddenly experiencing a burst of inspiration.
Was this a sign, indicating that Sumeru's 'wisdom', which had been stagnant for five hundred years, was beginning to slowly advance?
Because of this possibility, the Akademiya Scholars' attitude towards Futsu Mitama and his group was now very complex.
But Futsu Mitama didn't care about these emotionally complex Akademiya Scholars. Their interactions were not deep. For him or them, coming to Sumeru was merely to fulfill Maha Rukkhadevata's commission.
Now that the commission was complete and everything was done, they should return to their daily lives.
Futsu Mitama and his group strode out of the Akademiya and headed towards the inn.
On the street, the people of Sumeru City also bowed when they saw Futsu Mitama, their faces showing very happy smiles.
Some of the more fervent Sumeru City residents even directly called Futsu Mitama "Lord Dendro Archon."
This prompted Futsu Mitama to immediately state that he was the Acting Dendro Archon, not the true Dendro Archon, and that the true Dendro Archon was the Lesser Lord Kusanali, not him.
But the people seemed not to hear him, still praising and cheering for him.
The reason was simple: the changes in Sumeru City over the past three months were visible to the naked eye, and this Acting Dendro Archon had a great deal to do with Sumeru's significant transformation.
Three months ago, Sumeru City was not as lively as it is now, because the Akademiya's power was so great that entertainment was severely restricted.
Coupled with the God Creation Project, Sumeru City once fell into its lowest state, and ordinary people could feel the heavy atmosphere in the air.
The Thirty constantly patrolled, checking others, the Fatui came and went, and the Akademiya Scholars were arrogant.
Now, three months later, entertainment has been liberated, the Thirty no longer randomly check others, the Fatui have completely disappeared, and the Akademiya Scholars treat people kindly.
What next Raiden Shogun of Inazuma? This is clearly our Sumeru's Dendro Archon!
Fortunately, members of the Thirty patrolling Sumeru City noticed that the situation was not right and quickly came to disperse the crowd.
This allowed Futsu Mitama and his group to successfully escape from the enthusiastic crowd.
"They're too enthusiastic, aren't they?"
Back at the inn, Futsu Mitama wiped sweat from his brow. He hadn't expected the people of Sumeru City to be so fervent.
They even called him "Lord Dendro Archon."
If Raiden Ei were to hear this, she would probably sulk again.
"Normal."
Shinobu, however, found it quite normal. People on the continent of Teyvat had always held an unimaginable fanaticism and enthusiasm for Archons.
Moreover, Futsu Mitama was doing the right thing. In the past three months, whenever something in Sumeru required his intervention, he would intervene from afar without hesitation, resolving the trouble.
Compared to Nahida, who only performed a miracle during the Great Sage's trial—
The methods Futsu Mitama displayed made people more clearly aware of the power of a Archon.
And the series of things he, the Acting Dendro Archon, had done, could be said to have both established the majesty of a Archon and allowed the people of Sumeru to feel the gentleness of a Archon.
"Forget it, we should hurry and rest. After saying goodbye to Tighnari and Faruzan in the next few days, we need to return to Liyue quickly."
Futsu Mitama truly didn't want to stay in Sumeru for another moment. The citizens were so fanatical towards him.
This would be even more disadvantageous for Nahida's future, so it was better to quickly escape to Liyue. The Rite of Descension there was less than two months away.