After leaving Port Ormos, everyone returned to the Grand Bazaar.
Paimon: You're here! Dina, we're back.
Dina: Oh, you're back! You're truly punctual. It's wonderful that you could make it back to celebrate Lesser Lord Kusanali's birthday together. Eh? Who is this little girl?
Nahida: Hello, Dina. Just call me Nahida. I'm also a worshiper of the Grass God and wanted to attend the Grass God's birthday party.
Dina: Mm-hm, welcome, welcome. (Why does this little girl feel so familiar?)
Lumine: After all, it's an important festival.
Dina nodded and said, "Hehe, that's right. Tomorrow is the festival. After preparing for so long, I can't help but feel a little nervous."
Nahida: (Dina is already so grown up. That's wonderful. It's just... her illness.)
Paimon: Don't be nervous~ Lesser Lord Kusanali will definitely feel everyone's intentions!
Qixuan: Perhaps Lesser Lord Kusanali is watching from somewhere. She'll surely be very happy to know that Miss Dina is holding a birthday party for her.
Dina: It's everyone's effort, really. Thank you all for coming. I hope you all have a good time at The Sabzeruz Festival as well. Oh, by the way, did you go to Port Ormos? Did you find anything there?
Paimon: Of course we did! And we ran into a lot of things...
Lumine: Unfortunately, there was no information about Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Dina: Ah, I see. It sounds like you had another enviable adventure. If there's another chance, I'd really like to...
Just then, Dehya walked over and said, "Ah, Miss, if you were to go to Port Ormos in your current condition, it wouldn't just be a little trouble for me."
Nahida: (Sigh... If only I had the ability...)
Paimon: Dehya! You were eavesdropping!
Lumine: You were even watching us!
Dehya: ...Hey, it's 【covert protection】! Monitoring all intelligence around the employer is part of the job, of course.
Dina: Alright, Dehya, I just said 'I'd really like to' go. I'm well aware of my own condition, hehe...
Qixuan, meanwhile, took out a jade pendant and said, "Miss Dina, this is a jade pendant I obtained after seeking an adeptus in Liyue. They said it has the effect of nourishing the body. I hope your illness gets better, so I'm giving it to you."
Dina: Eh? This is too valuable, I... I can't accept it.
Qixuan said nothing and simply placed the jade pendant in Dina's hand.
Paimon: Hehe, don't worry, Qixuan-jie has more of these... (Mmm-mm, Lumine, why are you covering my mouth again?)
Dina hung the jade pendant on her waist, and an invisible light flowed into Dina's body.
Dina: Alright, thank you. By the way, Dehya, tomorrow is the festival. You should relax a bit too. I've troubled you so much all this time, but I'll be fine.
Dehya: Hmm... Even if Miss Dina says so, it's still...
Dina: Don't worry, my Guardian Knight.
Qixuan & Lumine: Oh~~~ Guardian Knight.
Paimon: You two!
Dehya: Tsk... Alright, alright, just for tonight. Tomorrow is the main event. Many people with ill intentions specifically target festival days.
Paimon: (Yawns...)
Dina: Ah, you must be very tired from rushing back to the city from the port, aren't you? I'm sorry I just noticed. I've prepared rooms for you in advance. Come with me.
Paimon: Wow, I want to go, I want to go!
Dina led everyone to a house. The house as a whole met the accommodation standards of Sumeru.
Dina: This is it. It's also very close to my current temporary residence.
Paimon: It looks really good!
Lumine: You went to a lot of trouble, Dina.
Dina: Hehe, not at all, not at all. When we have a chance later, just tell me more of your adventure stories.
Paimon: I'm good at that! Next time, I'll tell them.
Qixuan: You mean good at bragging, right?
Paimon: Waaah! I'm mad!
Lumine: About tomorrow...
Dina: Oh, if you don't mind, why don't we explore together tomorrow? After all, my friends all have work to do at the festival, and Dehya insists on providing 【covert】 protection...
Paimon: Indeed, especially Dehya. If he's constantly by your side, being suspicious, the atmosphere will become tense, right?
Lumine: Then it's settled.
Dina: Then we'll meet at the nearby market tomorrow morning. You all get some rest early.
Paimon: Mm, good night, Dina!
Dina: I'm afraid I'll be too excited to sleep, hehe. See you tomorrow.
Then she left. Qixuan had already led Nahida into the house.
Paimon: Hehe, I seem to be especially looking forward to it too. Will there be delicious food at The Sabzeruz Festival? Uh... no, no, if I keep talking about it, I'll get hungry and won't be able to sleep. I need to go to sleep quickly. Let's go inside.
At this moment, inside Qixuan's house... Nahida asked, "That jade pendant you gave Dina... is it...?"
Qixuan: Huh? Oh, that. It does have some slight effects (it's a direct cure, alright). What's wrong?
Nahida: Nothing. Thank you. I've watched Dina grow up since she was little. She's a very good child, thoughtful of others, and has a kind heart. It's just that my abilities aren't enough to help her... It's the simplest dream, but for her, it's a 【shackle】.
Qixuan: Alright, alright, why think so much? She's destined to face this tribulation, but hasn't she met us now?
Nahida: Yes, you're right. Oh, and I'm also very interested in your adventure stories. Can you tell me about them? And what are the other gods like?
Qixuan: Now I have a lot to say. Listen to me...
...
The next day...
Paimon: (Yawns)---Did we get up a little late? Are Qixuan-jie and the others not up yet? They should be waking me up by now.
Lumine stretched and said, "Who's like you? Eat and sleep, sleep and eat."
Paimon: That's called being healthy!
The two walked to the front hall and saw Nahida preparing breakfast.
Paimon: Good morning, Nahida! I didn't expect you to be up earlier than us. Eh? Where's Qixuan-jie?
Nahida: Good morning, Paimon, Lumine. Qixuan is still sleeping. I'll go wake her up.
Then Nahida woke up Qixuan, who was still dreaming, and they had breakfast. After breakfast.
Paimon: Let's go meet Dina!
Everyone then set off for the agreed location.
Grand Bazaar Market...
Dina: You're here.
Paimon: Good morning, Dina. We seem to have overslept a little, hehe.
Dina: No, I came too early. Phew---this day has finally arrived. Every minute and every second is as precious as gold. Oh, by the way, thank you, Qixuan, for your jade pendant. Ever since I started wearing it, I feel much lighter.
Qixuan: It's good that it helps you.
Paimon: After all, Dina put in so much effort for this day, so you have to cheer up and enjoy it!
Dina: Hehe, exactly! Shall we go then? Let's go browse the stalls over there first. Many vendors came to The Sabzeruz Festival on their own to set up stalls and refused subsidies. Let's go support them first.
Paimon: Refused subsidies? It seems these vendors don't only care about money.
Everyone walked and chatted.
Dina: They all said it's a rare opportunity to celebrate Lesser Lord Kusanali's birthday, and the atmosphere is more important than money, hehe.
Nahida: It's really lively.
Dina: Of course, various vendors came from far away, so they sell all sorts of things.
Paimon: Eh! It looks like they're selling food over there! Let's go check it out!
Lumine: Didn't you eat enough breakfast?
Paimon: Hehe, it's already digested!
Dina: Hehe, since Paimon is hungry, let's go take a look first.
Everyone walked to the stall.
Dina: This is... a stall selling 【Seven-Course Meal】 dishes.
Amar (Boss): Yo-ho, you recognized it at a glance! I thought not many people knew about it nowadays.
Paimon: Mushrooms, flowers, various fruits... how come... they all seem to be vegetarian? A little disappointing...
Qixuan: Aren't you hungry? Eat. It's good for losing weight too.
Paimon: Hmm... I'm not fat to begin with, alright! So what is this 【Seven-Course Meal】 Dina mentioned for?
Nahida: Paimon, this is a custom of The Sabzeruz Festival.
Dina: Yes, in the past, families would set out seven dishes on their dining tables... Generally, the most common ones include Sumeru Rose, Padisarah, Nilotpala Lotus, Sunsettia, Kalpalata Lotus, Harra Fruit, and Zaytun Peach, etc.
Paimon: So The Sabzeruz Festival is a vegetarian day?
Dina: Hehe... It doesn't mean you can only eat vegetarian food. These seven dishes are just to symbolize the seven virtues of Sumeru's god.
Paimon: Hmm, I'm thinking... if the god of the Grass Nation, Sumeru, is symbolized by various vegetarian dishes... will the festivals in the Pyro Nation, Natlan, all be roasted Fowl, roasted meatballs, Steaks, and the like...? Lumine, why don't we move up our trip to Natlan!
Lumine: (Speechless look).
Qixuan: No, it's missing a roasted 【Paimon】.
Paimon: Ugh... hehe.
Dina: Hahahaha... I hope your wish comes true, Paimon.
Paimon: Alright, shall we go check out other stalls?
Everyone then walked to a fortune teller's stall.
Qimiya (Boss): Would you like to try 【Alchemy Divination】, ladies and gentlemen?
Paimon: 【Alchemy Divination】? Sounds like a strange combination.
Qimiya: Right? I thought so too when I first encountered it. Legend has it that Lesser Lord Kusanali invented it, and it's full of profundity.
Nahida: ...
Qixuan: (Is this unofficial history?)
Paimon: So... how exactly does this work?
Qimiya: The process is simple. Please pick two items from your person that can be used as alchemy materials, and then I'll perform an alchemy at random.
Paimon: That's really random. If it's that random, won't the alchemy definitely fail?
Qimiya: Failure is the point. This method of divination is based on interpreting the appearance of the dust after the alchemy fails.
Lumine: It just feels... very unreliable.
Dina: Hmm... In Lesser Lord Kusanali's view, everything in the world is interconnected. All things can point to 【fate】. This is also an ancient wisdom.
Paimon: How come when Dina says it, it sounds much more reliable? You two are in cahoots, aren't you?
Qimiya: Oh, so there's such a deep meaning. This young lady knows a lot. How about it? Do you want to try it?
Qixuan: Why not give it a try?
Lumine: Let's try it then.
Paimon took out a flower she picked in Liyue, while Lumine took out a crescent-shaped flower.
Qimiya: Alright, please wait... Hmm: It's... 【the moon】.
Paimon: Let me see too... Is it? Why do I feel like it's a pancake that someone took a bite out of?
Qixuan: Sure enough, everything in Paimon's eyes turns into food.
Lumine: A true 【foodie】.
Paimon: You two!
Qimiya: Hmm... 【The moon】 generally means... wait a moment...
Then Qimiya turned around and started flipping through something.
Paimon: Is he secretly flipping through a book...?
Qimiya suddenly turned around with a look of realization and said, "Oh, I remember now. It means 【illusion】 and 【lies】."
Dina: 【Illusion】 and 【lies】... It sounds like it's not a good outcome...
Qixuan: (Is he a true Prophet? Did he just reveal the themes of Sumeru and Fontaine?)
Nahida: Hmm... Does this mean what's going to happen next?
Qimiya: Hmm, but the book says that as long as you trust your intuition and overcome the fear in your heart, the sun will definitely rise.
Paimon: ...He's not even trying to hide the fact that he's looking at a book anymore.
Lumine: I paid money for this? Six hundred sixty-six, he didn't even bother to add salt.
Dina: ...Indeed, fate only ever shows you the surface. You still have to reach the 【ending】 yourself, hehe. Thank you very much, I'll keep it in mind.
Qimiya: Ah... not at all, not at all. I'm just learning as I go, haha...
Paimon: It seems pretty interesting too. Let's go to the next stop.
Everyone left the stall.
Dina: Speaking of which, a long, long time ago, The Sabzeruz Festival used to be very lively. There would be super-sized floats parading through the city, and people along the way would throw flowers, candies, and wine. The floats would then go all the way to Port Ormos...
Paimon: Dina's eyes are sparkling!
Dina: Hehe, I'm a little wistful, but I believe Nilou's Dance of the Flowers will not be inferior to that scene.
As they talked, everyone walked to another stall... only this stall had many children in front of it.
...
(Here, I'd like to ask for the opinions of all Honkai fans. If we get to Honkai Impact 3rd, which time period do you hope the story starts in?)