Dehya said that she was just a mercenary who only cared about money, that her employer was her only faith, and that as long as there was profit to be made, anyone could be her friend.
Neither the readers nor Dehya's friends believed her words—after all, earlier she had even sold her own greatsword just to fulfill Dunyarzad's dream.
Dunyarzad was not very satisfied with this kind of statement; she didn't like Dehya always belittling herself and asked Dehya not to do it again in the future.
Dehya could only smile and agree; she did indeed belittle herself—not just to achieve her goals, but also to lighten her own burden.
In fact, the reason she slightly belittled herself was precisely because she had high aspirations.
It was because she had high aspirations for herself but felt she hadn't reached them that she would 'self-deprecate' to reduce some of the psychological pressure.
It wasn't self-deprecation due to inferiority or anything like that.
But since Dunyarzad didn't like it, she wouldn't do it anymore—though this habit might not change overnight.
However, there was one thing Dehya said that wasn't meant to belittle herself: 'Her employer is her only faith.'
Right now, her employer was Dunyarzad, so naturally she listened to her.
With the turn of a page in the book, that group of dozens or even hundreds of mercenaries was lying on the ground—these guys were no match for the Traveler and Dehya.
After mocking Zaki a couple of times at the end, Dehya went up and knocked him out with a kick.
This group of mercenaries wasn't just inferior in martial strength; their brains and information weren't up to par either.
It could only be said that Dehya was really smart—she appeared to be a brute-force type, but in reality she was a strategist who calculated her enemies perfectly.
It had to be said that Dehya's various performances truly surprised everyone; it turned out she wasn't just quick-witted—she was this skilled at schemes too.
When they first met her, everyone thought she was 'Sumeru's Tartaglia.'
Now they couldn't help but fall in love—Sister, don't kick him, kick me instead!
Leaving aside those somewhat unhinged readers, at the very least this matter was perfectly resolved.
Delavar and Engur were both captured, and even Zaki—who usually hid the deepest—was caught along with them; it saved a lot of trouble.
In the end, only Jebraili was left, but there was no need to worry about him because:
[Dehya: "Jebrail is one of the villagers you visited—the one who said he wanted to treat Isak and his grandfather to a meal."]
The Traveler had actually noticed this, so back in Aaru Village they wanted to ask Dehya about it, but Dehya stopped them with a look.
But the readers hadn't noticed—to be honest, for everyone, this guy was just a fleeting passerby; with such a brief appearance, readers really hadn't remembered his name.
Now they'd learned their lesson—from now on, when reading prophecy books, they had to properly memorize the names!
Jebrail cried out in frustration—this clarification came too slowly; I already got beaten up.
It took a lot of effort to explain it clearly to his wife and start reading again, only to find the explanation later.
As for his wife, she had quite the temper—if she had just held back a little, he wouldn't have gotten beaten.
But in the end, Jebraili was just an unlucky fellow; no one cared about his misfortune because everyone's attention was drawn to Paimon's question.
[Paimon asked: "So… were the things you said earlier true?"]
["Mercenaries only care about money, and as long as there's profit, anyone can be a friend… that kind of thing."]
Everyone could tell this was fake—why couldn't little Paimon see it?
It wasn't because she was dumb; it was because concern causes confusion.
She already regarded Dehya as a friend, so when Dehya said that anyone could be her friend as long as there was profit, little Paimon panicked.
She was worried that their friendship was merely based on interests.
Fortunately, the Traveler directly dispelled Paimon's worries—sister Lumine said that Dehya wasn't that kind of person, because at this moment Dehya had no employer.
It had to be said that the Traveler's brain worked very well too—it's just unclear why they didn't use it normally.
Paimon trusted the Traveler unconditionally; since the Traveler said so, Paimon breathed a sigh of relief and asked the next question:
[Paimon asked: "Dehya, do you hate the Dendro God like the other desert folk?"]
Now it wasn't just ordinary readers who were curious—even Nahida was watching with rapt attention; multitasking paused for a moment.
[Dehya answered: "…You two are really perceptive. Indeed, I don't detest the Dendro God like the other desert folk do."]
Seeing this sentence, Nahida let out a sigh of relief and revealed a sweet smile—happy~.
Dunyarzad even patted her chest lightly in relief—great, if Dehya really hated the Dendro God, she wouldn't know how to get along with Dehya.
After all, Dunyarzad was the Dendro God's number-one fan—the kind who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning the Dendro God; whenever she had free time, she would tell Dehya about the good things the Dendro God had done.
If Dehya really hated the Dendro God, wouldn't she be dancing on a minefield?
[Dehya continued: "I've heard a lot about Lesser Lord Kusanali from Dunyarzad. I've seen her piety and gratitude with my own eyes."]
What Dehya meant was: Dunyarzad is a good person, so if she says the Dendro God is a good god, then she's a good god.
Dunyarzad hadn't expected that the things she usually told Dehya would become the key to changing Dehya's impression of the Dendro God.
This was the 'transformative effect' that interpersonal relationships bring to people—relationships, environment, and public opinion can influence a person's judgment of something else.
Dunyarzad smiled happily; Dehya really had been listening to what she said, and she really believed her.
In fact, even Dunyarzad herself knew that others wouldn't easily believe that dream-like experience, but Dehya unconditionally believed her anyway.
[Dehya continued: "Dunyarzad is at most an ordinary person. If a god truly lacked a heart that loves people, there would be no need to put on a show time and again for insignificant individuals."]
Dunyarzad nodded frantically—yes, yes! Exactly!!
Remember the question Dunyarzad once saw from Dainsleif: 'Between Vision bearers and ordinary people, which is more important to the gods?'
In Dunyarzad's view, the answer was obvious—both are important!
Whether ordinary people or Vision bearers, to the gods they are all their people—all 'ordinary people.'
From the story, it was clear that Nahida would never abandon a single ordinary person—whether from the rainforest or the desert, whether they had a Vision or not.
After reading these prophecy books, it was hard for anyone—whether from the desert or the rainforest—to harbor even a trace of hostility toward Nahida.
She had been too good to everyone, yet it felt like we owed her so much.
At this point, it was time to mention Dehya's next statement:
["Recent events have made me realize even more that it was the sages of the Akademiya who caused all of this. The radicals who superstitiously worship the Scarlet King and view the Dendro God as an enemy are merely deceived."]
Translated, Dehya's words meant: It's not the Dendro God who's wrong—it's the Akademiya.
This sentence had the whole world nodding along—the Akademiya was infuriating enough to make people explode.