After listening to Lumine and Paimon's account, Thoma began to analyze. "I see. Kujou Sara didn't attack you. It seems she's not completely unreasonable."
"I wonder if we could try to make contact with her, to glean more information?"
Kamisato Ayaka analyzed, "I think it would be very difficult. Kujou Sara is the enforcer of the Vision Hunt Decree. She only follows the orders of the Raiden Shogun. To her, Master Masakatsu wasn't a direct threat to the Decree, which is why she was willing to let him go."
"But if we exposed ourselves, she would show us no mercy."
Thoma: "True. But Master Masakatsu's rescue is still a win for us."
"This time, it's all thanks to Yoimiya and Lumine. We've taken another step towards our ultimate goal. Somehow, you seem even more reliable than we imagined?"
Lumine: "Thank you."
[Ningguang: I share that sentiment. The Traveler is a very reliable person.]
[Keqing: In the footage, the Traveler has completed every assigned task excellently.]
[Zhongli: A partner truly worthy of reliance.]
[Furina: Really, that aggressive momentum in the courtroom was quite intimidating.]
[System: The Traveler has never lost on the judgment seat.]
[Venti: Recognition from the System itself.]
[Nilou: I wonder, Traveler, if you could help us? To complete the Sabzeruz Festival.]
[Lumine: The Sabzeruz Festival? What's that?]
[Nilou: It's the birthday of Lesser Lord Kusanali. But the Akademiya, and most people in Sumeru, have forgotten this day.]
[Zhongli: I recall that Lesser Lord Kusanali is the Archon of Sumeru.]
[Lumine: How can a deity's birthday be forgotten?]
[Nahida: I... I am an unworthy deity. I possess neither transcendent wisdom nor sufficient power.]
[Paimon: But... they shouldn't forget your birthday.]
[Nilou: Lesser Lord Kusanali never appears before the people. Over time, they simply forgot her.]
[Furina: So, the Dendro Archon is a shy girl?]
[Nahida: I very much want to be with the people, but I have no way to leave the Sanctuary of Surasthana.]
[Paimon: Why is that?]
[Nahida: Because... I am imprisoned within the Sanctuary of Surasthana by the Akademiya.]
[Lumine: You're saying your own people have imprisoned you?]
[Nahida: The people of Sumeru are unaware of this. It is the Sages of the Akademiya who imprison me.]
[Ningguang: I remember the Sages of the Akademiya hold a position similar to the Liyue Qixing. This reminds me of the rumors about the Qixing assassinating Rex Lapis. It seems such things have occurred in Sumeru.]
[Tartaglia: That's just too strange. How could a group of mortals possess the power to imprison an Archon?]
[Nahida: Archons are merely more powerful beings. And as a newborn, my power is very weak.]
[Venti: It's fine. Lumine will resolve everything.]
[Lumine: Venti, can't you intervene?]
[Ningguang: If Mondstadt's Archon entered Sumeru and subdued everything, where would that leave the Dendro Archon?]
[Venti: Actually, the real reason is... my power isn't sufficient.]
[Paimon: That's just an excuse, isn't it?]
[Zhongli: I believe the Traveler will resolve these matters.]
[Lumine: ...]
Faced with Thoma's praise, Paimon waved her hands shyly. "Hehe, it's really not that amazing."
Ayaka then followed Thoma's lead. "This time, without Lumine's help, the rescue wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"However, to oppose the Vision Hunt Decree, what we've done so far is far from enough. We must begin planning for the future."
Thoma waved his hand. "No need to be so tense, my lady. At least for now, everything is moving in a positive direction. We successfully rescued someone from prison, and our number of allies has grown."
"Oh, I also heard the Tenryou Commission seems to be preparing a festival recently. Or some kind of ceremony? Anyway, there are fewer samurai patrolling the streets now. It's a time of peace."
[Ningguang: I have a premonition this festival is related to the Vision Hunt Decree.]
[Furina: Ah? I can't see anything at all.]
[Lumine: Why do you say that?]
[Ningguang: It was mentioned before that festivals are the responsibility of the Yashiro Commission. Why is there no news from the Yashiro Commission about this festival?]
[Paimon: Why is that?]
[Ningguang: Because of the Vision Hunt Decree. The Yashiro Commission has repeatedly proposed rejecting it. For a ceremony related to the Decree, the Tenryou Commission naturally wouldn't involve the Yashiro Commission.]
[Paimon: What Ningguang says makes a lot of sense.]
[Furina: What Ningguang says makes a lot of sense.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: So, you mean the Vision Hunt Decree is likely to intensify?]
[Thoma: My lady, while that's possible, let's not be pessimistic. Everything will work out.]
[Lumine: Thoma seems like a rather optimistic person.]
"A ceremony? Why would it be given to the Tenryou Commission?" Kamisato Ayaka fell into thought, as festivals and ceremonies were the Yashiro Commission's domain.
Thoma: "I'm not sure either. But it probably has nothing to do with us. In any case, they've been very busy lately and shouldn't have time to bother us."
Ayaka: "Hmm, that's a fair point. We've been so tense recently; staying on edge would just add to our fatigue. A proper rest would be good. Thoma, any suggestions?"
Thoma: "It's just the right time for a celebration feast. How about we all have a hot pot meal? To be honest, I recently learned about a new hot pot game that's really fun."
Paimon grew excited at the mention of food. "Hot pot game? What's that? Sounds like it involves eating."
Thoma explained, "Simply put, everyone prepares different ingredients to put in the pot. Then, we close our eyes, take turns fishing food out of the pot, tasting it and guessing who put it in."
[Ningguang: If the participants are from many nations, it would be a chance to sample delicacies from multiple countries at once.]
[Keqing: Speaking of multi-national cuisine, I'm feeling a bit hungry now.]
[Zhongli: When it comes to the sophistication of cuisine, among the nations, Liyue should rank at the forefront.]
[Klee: Yummy food, yummy food, Klee likes it too.]
[Paimon: The variety of Liyue cuisine is endless.]
[Madame Ping: Cuisine is one of the sources of happiness. On the path of pursuing happiness and joy, people innovate and contemplate, and thus cuisine becomes ever more diverse. However, the preferences of people in different nations still differ noticeably.]
[Paimon: The hot pot game sounds really fun. I wonder what kind of delicacies we could eat?]
Thoma continued explaining eagerly. "If you guess correctly, you get to go again. It's said the person with the highest score in the end receives the blessing of the Hot Pot Deity! Sounds fun, right? I can't wait. In fact, I've already prepared all the ingredients."
Paimon put her hands on her hips. "Just how eager are you to play?"
"But, Lumine, let's prepare some ingredients too. What do you think we should put in?"
Lumine: "I think I'd choose a dark cuisine combination."
Paimon rested her chin on her hand. "Let me think... Devil-level Jueyun Chilies, super-salty ham, Mist Flower corollas... Feels like it would become a terrifying hot pot."
[Xiangling: Ah? These... these are considered delicacies too?]
[Keqing: Hearing those dish names, I feel my stomach is instantly full.]
[Ningguang: And to mix them all together... I think even during my years of enduring hunger, I would have been somewhat averse to tasting such food.]
[Furina: It's simply a smear on the very words 'delicious food'!]
[Zhongli: Generally speaking, the hot pot game indeed has two modes: one for sharing delicacies, and one for sharing suffering.]
[Ningguang: I can't imagine how painful it must be for the one sharing delicacies to eat those dark creations.]
After the hot pot meal, Thoma wore an expression of agony. "My stomach hurts... It feels like there are fireworks going off inside."
Paimon scratched her head, looking embarrassed. "I didn't expect Thoma to end up with the highest score. He ended up eating almost all the strange ingredients. Thoma, are you okay?"
Thoma shook his head miserably. "Salted mackerel, unripe Lavender Melons, and something that freezes your tongue... I think I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes. Goodbye, everyone."
Ayaka laughed. "It serves you right, Thoma. You put in a lot of strange things yourself and kept fishing out your own ingredients."
Paimon added, "But Ayaka also put little cakes in the hot pot! And Lumine ate them!"
"Hot pot boiled cake... Ugh, just imagining the texture."
Ayaka apologized, "S-sorry, I thought it would taste good."
After resting for a long time, Thoma, who suffered the most, finally recovered.
[Furina: So, all three of them prepared nothing but dark cuisine?]
[Zhongli: It is indeed an unexpected turn of events.]
[Ayaka: I truly didn't know cakes boiled in hot pot would taste bad. This was my first time trying it.]
[Zhongli: Generally speaking, many dark cuisine creations originate from such innovative attempts. However, innovative attempts can also yield new delicacies.]
[Paimon: So you're saying dark cuisine is a byproduct of culinary innovation?]
[Zhongli: Hmm. Indeed.]
[Furina: I want to play the hot pot game too.]
[Paimon: Furina, you're not thinking of some new trick to play on people, are you?]
[Furina: I-I am not!]
[Lumine: This kind of game can easily backfire on oneself too.]
[Paimon: Yeah, just imagine the pain of eating your own dark cuisine creation. And it puts you in a dilemma: do you guess wrong or right?]
[Lumine: If it's dark cuisine, guess wrong on purpose. If it's a delicacy, try your best to guess right.]
[Paimon: True. Seems like guessing wrong is easy, but guessing right would be harder.]
Paimon weakly sputtered, "Actually, Thoma, you didn't have to try so hard. You could have just guessed wrong a few times and passed the turn to Ayaka or Lumine."
Thoma rubbed his head. "Hehe, I just felt my luck had been bad lately and needed the Hot Pot Deity's blessing to turn it around."
"Before I knew it, I got a bit too carried away. But it's fine, I'll treat it as a form of training."
"I can feel that after all this toss, my bad luck has been used up. Alright, I declare today's hot pot game concluded. The victor is me!"
Afterwards, everyone decided to take advantage of the lull to rest for a while, waiting for circumstances to change.