Everyone ate candy again, but in the end, the Grand Sage put a stop to it.
The next morning...
At the same time and place, Lumine guessed the flavor of the candy in each box.
Vigard: Ah... wait, how did you know?
Paimon: Huh? Lumine, when did you get this ability?
Vigard: This definitely can't be explained by luck. How is this possible? I packed these boxes this morning, and they haven't been opened. There's no way you could have known in advance.
Qixuan: (Cough cough, it's your turn.)
Nahida: (I know, just a moment.)
Nahida used her clearance to create a clone to attract Lumine's attention. Just then, Lumine seemed to see something.
Lumine: (Is that...)
Then Lumine chased after it.
Paimon: Eh? Lumine, why are you running!
Paimon also hurried to follow. Nahida said that it wouldn't last long, and it would be better for him to go himself, so he asked Qixuan to make an excuse.
Lumine and Paimon ran all the way to a small farmhouse in the fields, with Qixuan-jie close behind.
Paimon: Hmm... what exactly are you looking for? Why did we come here? Eh? Qixuan-jie, where's Nahida?
Qixuan: He suddenly said he had classes at the Akademiya and left first.
Paimon: Alright, I really want to eat Nahida's honeyed dates again.
Paimon saw Lumine still in a daze and called out again. Then Lumine saw something else and ran off again.
Qixuan: ...Seriously.
Finally, they stopped in front of a wooden house. Lumine and Paimon stood opposite a petite (loli) girl.
.........
Suddenly, Paimon saw someone lying on a nearby bed.
Paimon: This... this is Dina! Wasn't she already cured by Qixuan-jie? Eh? Speaking of Qixuan-jie, where is she?
Qixuan: (Nigeluda yo, ran away).
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): You already know this isn't your first time attending The Sabzeruz Festival, don't you?
Lumine: (Alert).
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): You'll use this, right?
Nahida took out a Canned Knowledge.
Paimon: Canned Knowledge? Where did you get it? What's inside?
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): And you too, Paimon.
Paimon: Ah... you, you know me?
Lumine: Let's do it together, Paimon.
Paimon: Hmm... Although I'm still a little uneasy, and Qixuan-jie isn't here, I trust you.
The two absorbed the Canned Knowledge together.
Paimon: This... this is, for us, today is actually the twentieth? Oh no... thirtieth? fortieth? Is it already countless Sabzeruz Festivals?
Are we trapped on this day? If you hadn't helped, we wouldn't even have noticed...
Lumine: So... what exactly is this Canned Knowledge?
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): Your memory is still a bit chaotic, isn't it? Try to recall carefully, this isn't our first contact. I explained this a long time ago.
Paimon: Oh... let me think... Ah, it means this Canned Knowledge is just a 【form of expression】, and it actually helped us awaken our memories through the contact just now...
Lumine: (I feel like I'm growing a brain.)
Paimon: Since that's the case, why only help the two of us? We still have one...
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): Don't worry, your friend wasn't affected. On the contrary, she can ignore my 【clearance】.
Lumine: (It's a world where only I get hurt again.)
Paimon: Wait... you said 【clearance】? Are you...
Nahida (Lesser Lord Kusanali): Yes, it's as you think. I am the current deity of Sumeru, the Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Lumine: I guessed it when I first saw you, but... what's going on with Dina over there?
Nahida: As you can see, she's very weak. You should have also noticed that the Dina around you recently is different from 【the original her】.
Paimon: So that means the one Qixuan-jie treated was fake?
Nahida: You can't say that. She has indeed recovered, but the her here is also 【her】, a part of 【her】. In 【the dream】, her illness wasn't cured, so 【her】 time is running out.
Lumine: So to break the current situation, the first step is to wake Dina? But it seems we're also in a 【dream】, right?
Nahida: It seems you've sorted out your mind. By the way, my name is Nahida.
Lumine: Hmm?
Paimon: Ah? Could it be... that little girl...
Nahida: That's right, test passed.
Paimon: I feel like my brain isn't big enough.
Nahida: Heh heh, all things in the world, cycle and repeat... this is called 【reincarnation】. You and I, everyone, seem to be trapped in this day's 【reincarnation】... and the truth... you can only find it yourselves. If you realize the truth not by yourselves, but by being told by others... your minds will suffer a huge shock, and I can't guarantee the consequences.
Lumine: (What's going on? Could it be that what Qixuan-jie left in my head after that one use isn't working anymore?)
Nahida: I will provide some knowledge-based help and some subtle hints, and for the rest of the time... I will be here doing my best to alleviate her worsening condition.
Paimon: Dina really looks like she's in a bad state. It seems that every time The Sabzeruz Festival passes, Dina's condition gets a little worse.
Nahida: If she can break free from this 【Flower God's Festival cycle】, she might be able to fully recover.
But in the current situation, she's like a bird with a perfect outer appearance, but her heart is trapped in the moment of illness and torment. All I can do is alleviate her pain.
Paimon: Nahida still likes to use these strange metaphors.
Nahida: Metaphors are wonderful tools that allow us to understand unknown knowledge using known knowledge~ Alright, speaking of which, so far, how have you judged the 【truth】 of the cycle?
Lumine: Brainstorming initiated.
Paimon: Uh...
After the cerebrum replaced the cerebellum, the left brain replaced the right brain, and the left and right brains wrestled with each other... Lumine finally figured it out.
Nahida: 【Time loop】? I'm afraid that's incorrect.
Paimon: Still wrong? I thought it made perfect sense... Hmm, it feels like time is just looping on the same day.
Nahida: A simple time loop isn't enough to explain some phenomena. You must be missing many clues, but unfortunately, I can't give you any more hints...
Dina (Dream): Cough cough...
Paimon: Ah... this.
Nahida: Although every day is The Sabzeruz Festival, we don't have countless Sabzeruz Festivals to waste. Hurry and find the truth before today's festival ends.
.........
Paimon: Let's first think about the current situation... To save Dina, we need to find a way to escape from the 【Flower God's Festival cycle】... To escape, we first need to figure out what exactly happened... Hmm.
While Paimon was still thinking, a crimson feather floated in front of Lumine's eyes.
Lumine:! I thought it was broken.
Feather of Dawn: Alright, alright, I had to give you some trials, otherwise what kind of adventure would it be?
Paimon: Is that Qixuan-jie? Seriously, just leaving us here.
Lumine: What do we do now?
Feather of Dawn: Think carefully, the 【dream】 cycle is mainly manifested in the 【dream】, like a main body affecting other individuals. As long as you find the 【main body】 then...
Paimon: If she wakes up, everything will be fine!
Lumine: Don't celebrate too soon, we don't even know who this person is.
Paimon: Oh... right.
Feather of Dawn: That's up to you. Good luck! I believe in you. I've already cured Dina's body. I'll be waiting for you outside.
After saying the last sentence, the feather disappeared.
Paimon: In that case... we can only start with the people we've met.
Lumine: Hmm, let's go check out those stalls first.
The two arrived at the 【Fruit Stall】.
Paimon: Hello, Uncle!
Amar: Oh, you're back again. Where's that knowledgeable young lady? Eh? It seems you're missing a few people.
Paimon: Ah, a few of our friends had something to do. That young lady... she... she's not feeling well.
Amar: Is that so? Are you back to buy some goods? I guarantee you, my produce is absolutely fresh, picked from the forest just yesterday.
Lumine: Haven't you felt strange lately?
Amar scratched his head and said confusedly: "Huh? Why do you ask? I rushed back from the forest yesterday and am selling goods today. I don't feel anything strange?"
Paimon: Hmm... I should say, think carefully, was 【yesterday】 really 【yesterday】? Did you really just come back from the forest yesterday?
Amar: Is this some kind of philosophical question? Are you daydreaming?
You should know, right? Sumeru people don't dream. You should go somewhere else to find someone to dream with you, hahahaha...
Paimon and Lumine left the fruit stall.
Paimon: Uh... what do we do next?
Lumine: He said it himself...
Paimon: Hmm, indeed, the fact that Sumeru people don't dream is a curious phenomenon. Someone else said that too, I think.
Lumine: If it were a simple dream, we would have woken up already. Let's continue to ask around.
The two then went to the fortune-telling stall.
Qimiya: Eh, is that you? Could it be that my fortune-telling was too accurate, and you came specifically to praise me?
Lumine: It is indeed related to your fortune-telling.
Qimiya: Oh oh oh! As expected! I knew the gods' fortune-telling was effective, you just haven't figured it out yet, hahahaha...
Paimon: Hey, why are you so excited... So we came to you to help us figure it out.
Qimiya: Uh... for me to figure it out... this, this isn't my area of expertise.
Paimon: Hmph, just admit you're a half-baked.
Qimiya: So, what exactly happened to you?
Lumine: Actually, we've had you do countless fortune-tellings for us.
Qimiya: Huh? Wait... I thought what you encountered was losing your wallet or being scammed or something... Were you serious about what you just said? Is it something that can happen in reality?
Paimon: I knew you wouldn't believe it.
Qimiya: How strange. Thinking back, the content of the fortune-telling I did for you... 【Moon】, 【Illusion】, and 【Lie】. It really feels like a premonition.
Paimon: Oh, right, it's not impossible to connect them that way. Can you interpret anything else?
Qimiya: I think... the 【revelation】 given to us by the gods will only be vague hints. To clarify the specifics, that's the gods' domain. The book only says that as long as you trust your intuition and overcome the fear in your heart, the sun will surely rise.
Paimon: Is that so? As expected, fortune-telling is just fortune-telling... it seems like no progress. Is there anyone else we can ask?
Lumine: Should we go find Dehya again?
Paimon: Eh, I remember there were a few days in the cycle when we went to find him, but he always thought we were messing with him. Will it be the same result?
Lumine: He cares a lot about Dina.
Paimon: Indeed... With Dehya's sense of responsibility, he will definitely take it seriously. Moreover, their relationship... *cough cough*, at this time, it should be when we helped Dehya defeat those kidnappers, not long after. Let's go find him.
The two went to find Dehya. Dehya was talking to Dina.
Dehya: I'm fine, Miss, just a scratch...
Paimon: He's here, as expected.
Dehya: Paimon and Lumine, you've come at a good time. Listen to me, it was very dangerous just now...
Lumine: Just now, some kidnappers were waiting in ambush.
Dehya: Oh? So you saw them. Why didn't you show up sooner? With someone protecting the young lady closely, I can fight more freely. Can you help me now?
Paimon: You want to scout the surroundings for any accomplices while asking Lumine to take Dina to rest, right?
Dehya: How did you know... that's exactly what I meant.
Paimon: (Whispering) Just one more decisive statement...
Lumine: Your injury is because the greatsword is awkward.
Dehya: ...I shouldn't have told anyone about this, not even the young lady. There's no way you could have known. And just now, you were also rushing to say what I wanted to say. What's going on?
Paimon: Listen to me, this is what happened.
Paimon briefly explained what happened.
Dehya: For me to believe what you're saying is a bit... Let me tell you, most of us in the Desert might not be very knowledgeable, but we still have basic common sense...
Lumine: Haven't you noticed something different about Dina?
Paimon: She's very quiet, uninterested in everything, and seems very pessimistic...
Dehya: Indeed, it's a bit different from before, but... I heard from the young lady's parents that she was like this at the very beginning.
Paimon: Huh?
At this moment, Dina said somewhat flatly: "I don't quite understand what you're saying. I'm going to rest on that bench over there."
Dehya: Miss... you're not angry, are you...
Unfortunately, Dina ignored Dehya.
Lumine: Since you don't believe us, then come with us to a place.
Dehya: ...Alright, the young lady is safe too, so let's be quick.
.........