The person who walked in from outside was a young man with strikingly large ears on his head.
His hair was black, and he wore a hooded outfit that was colorful and uniquely styled—though it looked rather ordinary overall.
He looked at Nolan and the others with a smile and said:
"You must be the famous Travelers. I've heard all about your exploits—what a surprise to meet you in person today. Welcome to Sumeru!"
"Hehe, Paimon didn't expect people in Sumeru to know about us too!" Paimon, floating next to Lumine, looked thrilled.
"Hello, Mr. Tighnari. Miss Nasrin and Collei have already told us a bit about you. You're quite the renowned scholar, aren't you?"
Nolan returned the greeting with a polite smile.
"Please, you flatter me. I'm hardly that exceptional,"
Tighnari said with a shake of his head before continuing:
"It's getting late—do you all have a place to stay? If not, I'd be happy to arrange something for you."
"Miss Nasrin actually asked us about that earlier. But don't worry, we've already found a place to stay—no need to trouble yourself,"
Nolan replied with a good-natured chuckle.
"I see."
Tighnari nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Then… are you here to see me?"
Seeing that they didn't need his help settling in, he seemed a bit puzzled.
"Yes, that's right, Mr. Tighnari. Allow me to explain,"
Nasrin stepped forward and gave a brief account of what had happened earlier that day.
Tighnari didn't seem particularly surprised when he heard about how Nolan and the others had cleared the Withering Zone.
After all, they were legendary adventurers, famous throughout Teyvat.
However, when he heard they might be able to _cure_ Eleazar, that caught him off guard.
He instinctively felt a bit skeptical.
After all, many scholars in Sumeru had spent years researching Eleazar, yet there had been little to no progress.
Even he had only managed to develop herbal treatments that mildly alleviated symptoms.
So hearing that some foreigners claimed they could cure it—well, that naturally raised suspicions.
Even if those foreigners happened to be the very heroes so often praised by bards.
Nolan noticed the doubt in Tighnari's eyes. After thinking it over, he decided to clarify everything, to avoid any misunderstandings:
"We used spiritual probing to investigate and discovered that Eleazar is caused by an external energy source.
"That energy closely resembles the power of the Abyss. And since we happen to be well-versed in Abyssal energy, we're confident we can help Collei treat her illness."
"The Abyss…"
Tighnari frowned. While he could also project his spiritual energy, it wasn't strong enough to detect any energy from Eleazar.
He hadn't expected it to be connected to the Abyss at all.
"Exactly. In fact, the life-draining energy of the Withering Zones is also deeply tied to the Abyss,"
Nolan continued.
That sinister energy within the Withering Zones—Tighnari _had_ sensed it before. But it was clearly different from the Abyssal energy used by the Abyss Mages.
So during his research on the Withering, he hadn't considered that connection.
Even now that he knew it might be linked to the Abyss, he had no way of addressing it—he'd need to go back to square one and begin a whole new round of experiments.
"Master, don't worry. They're friends of my friends—they wouldn't lie to me. And I don't want to give up hope of curing Eleazar either.
"Even if it doesn't work out, that's okay. I'm already prepared for the possibility of failure."
Collei's dark skirt swayed slightly as she spoke, her expression firm and resolute.
"Sigh..." Tighnari held his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Come to think of it, everywhere these Travelers have been, they've had a positive impact on the local people.
"Maybe... just maybe, they really _can_ bring hope to those suffering from Eleazar."
He nodded slightly, signaling his agreement with Nolan and the others.
After all, this concerned his own student, so Tighnari naturally had to be cautious. But now that he understood the situation clearly, and considering the reputations of these renowned adventurers, he chose not to interfere further.
"Mr. Tighnari, are you familiar with the green seeds that grow in the Withering Zones?"
Nolan asked, seeing that the earlier misunderstandings were cleared up and the mood had relaxed.
He had taken quite a liking to those little seeds that gave off a fresh, green glow. Since Tighnari was here, it didn't hurt to ask.
"You mean the ones inside the Withering Zones—the seeds that naturally suppress Withering Tumors? Yes, I've studied them before along with some other botanists.
"We tried to cultivate them in hopes of producing more, to help cleanse Withering Zones more efficiently.
"But in the end, we found out those seeds aren't ordinary plants. Once removed from the soil, they wither away very quickly, even if we constantly channel Dendro energy into them—it's useless."
Tighnari didn't know why Nolan was asking about the seeds, but he shared everything he knew anyway.
"I see. That's a shame. I was hoping to transplant them into my portable space... that way, if we ever ran into a Withering Zone, I could just take them out and use them on the spot."
Nolan said, visibly disappointed.
In truth, his main goal was to collect them for himself—but of course, he couldn't just say that out loud.
Saying it was to cleanse the Withering made it sound far more noble.
"Haha, you're not the only one who's had that idea. If it _did_ work, it would definitely boost the efficiency of cleaning up the Withering.
"But those seeds really aren't ordinary flora. Even as a botanist, I can't figure out what makes them tick.
"Maybe they're a blessing from Lesser Lord Kusanali herself to protect the forest. If you ever get the chance to meet her, you might want to ask her directly.
"As the Dendro Archon, I'm sure she'd have the answer."
Tighnari paused to think before replying.
"Ask the Dendro Archon, huh?"
Nolan nodded lightly. That did sound like the most reliable path forward.
Conveniently, he was already planning to infiltrate the Akademiya to steal the Gnosis—and while he was at it, he could rescue the imprisoned Lesser Lord Kusanali, just like in the original story.
If he managed that, then whatever questions he asked her afterward, she'd probably be more than willing to answer in full.
"To treat Collei, you'll likely be staying in Gandharva Ville for a while, right? If you've got some free time, I'd like to request your help with something."
Tighnari said as he gestured for them to take a seat.
"Heh! Taking on commissions is what adventurers like us do best—go ahead and tell us what you need!"
Paimon patted her chest proudly.
"I knew you were the right people for the job—that's exactly why I brought it up."
Tighnari chuckled, then got down to business:
"Lately, the Withering Zones have been appearing more frequently in the rainforest. It's getting overwhelming for me to handle on my own, and the other Forest Rangers can't stay in those zones for long.
"So, I'd like to request your help in clearing out as many Withering Zones in the rainforest as you can."
(End of Chapter)
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