The Akademiya could not tolerate Karkata. They wouldn't merely halt the experiment and withhold support—they would destroy all research reports on mechanical life, and Karkata along with them.
But fortunately, Tighnari was here. He would find a way to handle these issues.
Akademiya rules didn't apply to him—he was the Forest Ranger Captain of Avidya Forest.
Tighnari reminded the Traveler not to mention the mechanical life research to the Adventurers' Guild.
This was to prevent leaks—the fewer people who knew, the better.
Readers misunderstood; they didn't realize Tighnari truly ignored Akademiya rules and thought Karkata would be dismantled if discovered.
Readers wiped their tears. This was bad—now all of Teyvat knew.
Done for! Would the Akademiya destroy Karkata?
Quick! Let's raid the Akademiya again! Avengers! Assemble!!
But calming down, no—we already did. The Akademiya has new leadership now; we can relax.
In the story, Tighnari told the Traveler to leave first and report to Katheryne. The Ley Line effects here hadn't fully dissipated; he worried about the Traveler's health.
[Tighnari: "Why are you still here?"]
["I'll handle things here. Go report to the Adventurers' Guild first, then rest."]
Readers thought carefully—Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild seemed to show signs of becoming mechanical life too?
If Lucian later wrote a knife about Katheryne, readers really wouldn't hold back—they'd turn these knives into blades and mail them to Lucian.
No special reason—just because through all these stories, they'd interacted with Katheryne so much; she was practically family.
Knifing Katheryne would be unbearable—like losing an old friend.
Though readers usually tuned out Katheryne's "Ad astra abyssosque," hearing it gone would feel wrong.
Readers had learned self-inflicted knives. Good thing this story had none. The next day, the Traveler went to find Tighnari to plead for Karkata.
Arriving at Tighnari's small courtyard, they found him studying plants—while Karkata was right there in the yard.
[Paimon, puzzled: "Y-you didn't dismantle Karkata?"]
[Tighnari, puzzled: "Why would I dismantle it?"]
["I'm not in the Akademiya—those rules don't concern me. On the contrary, as a forest ranger of Avidya Forest, I have a duty to protect the lives in the forest."]
If the Akademiya would destroy it upon discovery, then simply don't let the Akademiya discover it.
Tighnari: We agreed not to mention that place.
Though not from Amurta, Tighnari had taken Amurta electives—his electives matched others' majors. He was fully capable of repairing Karkata.
Faruzan was the same—from Spantamad, she only knew a little about Amurta—just slightly, a tiny bit.
Readers rejoiced. Great—Karkata wouldn't just be safe; it had found a new home. Quick, say thank you, Tighnari.
In fact, one reason this story was so moving was Karkata itself.
It was too adorable—like a little puppy that readers loved. That's why its final "sadness" left everyone unsettled.
Karkata's own parts were aging, yet it never cared—giving the best to Abattouy. Yet it didn't understand why, with new parts, he still didn't wake.
It didn't understand, but tears came first. It didn't understand why it wanted to cry, didn't understand why a machine could cry.
Humans cry with water; machines cry with electricity. The moment its core flashed electric light, the whole world knew it was crying.
At the same moment, readers looking at the illustration—Karkata's curled body, the parts fallen from Abattouy—felt overwhelming sorrow.
Karkata's "hand" touched Abattouy, yet its mechanical body could sense no temperature.
Before, Abattouy had always stroked its cold frame. Now it was its turn.
Like a child crying and digging at his father's grave—he doesn't understand why Father is buried, why Father won't open his eyes, yet somehow he senses something, unable to stop the tears.
Precisely this desperate futility made readers acknowledge Karkata as a "life."
[Tighnari: "Every life born into this world has meaning. It is no exception. Since it exists, it should not be casually abandoned or destroyed."]
Raiden Ei felt as if she were being criticized. Hopefully it was just her imagination.
Tighnari himself wasn't very interested in mechanical life topics, but a certain sweet girl was—though that's a story for later.
The story's very end was simply a photograph—a picture of Abattouy and Tighnari together.
In the photo, Abattouy laughed brightly, hands on hips—the spirited young man in his prime.
In the past, Tighnari had been dragged into photos by juniors. He said he didn't like it, yet he kept every one.
["Though I'm not interested in photos, I wouldn't throw them away. I just put them in a box somewhere."]
["After returning yesterday, I searched and found Abattouy's old photo, then gave it to Karkata."]
Yes—Tighnari had searched through the night upon returning.
[Usually serious Tighnari's tone softened: "It's probably happy about that…"]
[Finally, a gentle chuckle: "…That's enough."]
"A Question with No Answer · End"
Only when the story ended did readers understand the title's meaning—so this was the question with no answer.
The unanswerable question: whether Karkata truly possessed "life."
From a mechanical perspective, it made decisions against "instinct" and "directives"—clearly defying fixed programming, more intelligent than even the Raiden Shogun.
Yet from a life perspective, it seemed to lack some spirituality—not as human as the Raiden Shogun.
But readers were naturally willing to regard Karkata as life—and because of this story, they grew fond of Tighnari.
He truly was the perfect blend of rationality and sensitivity—thinking rationally while making sufficiently emotional choices, considering others' feelings.
Being with him would feel very reassuring—he seemed capable of anything.
Yet he wasn't cold; he noticed your emotions and made soft-hearted decisions. Simply perfect.
That's why we love grass men the most.
Even Liyue people praised him: not bad—has three-tenths of the Lord's aura.
In Liyue, surrounded entirely by Rex Lapis's "gravitational field," having even three-tenths of his aura was extremely high praise.
In reality, Paimon praised Tighnari: "Tighnari, so amazing!"
Tighnari smiled faintly. "I didn't do much."
Cyno nodded and said: "Tighnari is more than amazing. You don't know how the rangers in Avidya Forest address him."
Tighnari: "..."