"My fault, huh..."
Hearing Fanseti's words, Nahida couldn't help but feel a little melancholic.
However, she didn't dwell on it too much.
If you follow the enemy's steps during negotiations, you'll fall into their trap.
Although Nahida had been imprisoned for five hundred years, she had never stopped learning. She wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
"I'm very familiar with your Supreme Bishop of Fontaine. I know he always has his reasons for what he does, and I also know he has his own boundaries."
Nahida spoke softly:
"Fontaine wanting to copy all the books in the Akademiya isn't an issue. Knowledge is meant to be learned, and people from other nations have just as much right to seek knowledge. I won't refuse anyone who seeks to learn."
"And I believe your Supreme Bishop will make good use of Sumeru's knowledge. That must be the true purpose behind his three-hundred-and-fifty-year plan."
"However, on the other hand, I also hope you understand that your Supreme Bishop has his own boundaries."
"Over three hundred and fifty years ago, he destroyed Sumeru's economy, but he also secretly provided aid, ensuring no one in Sumeru died as a result. I remember that very clearly."
"Don't you think your current actions violate your Supreme Bishop's boundaries?"
Nahida's words almost made Fanseti want to applaud.
"Well said. You've hit my weak spot perfectly. As expected of the God of Wisdom. However, there's one small correction I need to make."
Fanseti smiled gently:
"Preventing Sumeru from falling into complete ruin wasn't the Supreme Bishop's boundary—it was Lady Furina's, the Hydro Archon of Fontaine. The Supreme Bishop's boundaries aren't quite that high."
"You're quite skilled at negotiations."
Nahida smiled. Despite her youthful appearance, she exuded a mature, maternal aura.
"Let's stop beating around the bush. What are your conditions?"
"My condition—or rather, the Supreme Bishop's condition—has always been one thing: the knowledge accumulated by the Akademiya over thousands of years. Beyond that, we have no other demands. However, I'm not sure if the Grand Sage of the Akademiya can make the right choice."
"I understand. Tomorrow, go negotiate with the Grand Sage again. As I said, the right to seek knowledge belongs to everyone equally."
With that, Nahida's figure slowly faded, and Fanseti opened her eyes, waking from the dream.
It's done.
Fanseti thought to herself.
While this was somewhat expected, there had still been risks involved.
The risk lay in the fact that the current generation of Sages and the Grand Sage of the Akademiya were clearly not in their right minds. Even Ye couldn't predict how they would react under such pressure.
Ye could accurately predict the behavior of a rational person, but the actions of a lunatic were impossible to foresee. You could never understand how their minds worked.
The Sages and the Grand Sage of the Akademiya were undoubtedly intelligent, but their intelligence was limited to academia. In other areas, they were typical lunatics.
Ye couldn't even gauge how far their lunacy went. After all, based on what they did in the original storyline, anyone with half a brain wouldn't have done such things.
—That's why, from the very beginning, Ye had only been predicting Nahida's actions.
Whether the Akademiya agreed or not didn't matter. As long as Nahida agreed, that was enough.
Before Dottore came to Sumeru and stirred up trouble, the Akademiya couldn't resist Nahida's will because they were still using the Akasha System.
Even without the Akasha System, Nahida, with her authority over dreams, could easily brainwash the entire Akademiya if she wanted to.
Nahida's dream authority had nothing to do with whether people wore the Akasha Terminal or not.
After all, the power that imprisoned Nahida was Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's. The Sanctuary of Surasthana was a place where Greater Lord Rukkhadevata meditated. Why would she seal her own authority while meditating?
The Sages of the Akademiya could modify the Sanctuary of Surasthana to only open from the outside—that wasn't difficult. But they clearly couldn't add a function to seal a god's authority. If they could do that, they wouldn't need a god in the first place.
When Nahida said in the original storyline that she had been too lenient with the Akademiya, she wasn't just blaming herself out of guilt. It was her responsibility, and she truly felt remorseful.
It must be acknowledged that while the Akademiya bore the greatest blame for the events of the original storyline, Nahida's responsibility couldn't be ignored either. It was her excessive leniency as a god that led to such an outcome.
If Furina had been in her position, such a result would never have occurred. Nahida's situation was infinitely better than Furina's!
She had everything she needed—except confidence as a god.
However, aside from her lack of confidence, Nahida was a genuine god.
Unlike Furina, who had to rely on bluster to convince her people of her power, Nahida truly possessed strength that mortals could never rival.
Thus, when Nahida decided to intervene and make a decision, the matter was settled. The choices of the lunatics in the Akademiya no longer mattered.
Ye felt relieved and then logged out of the Fanseti account, returning his consciousness to his own body.
The matter in Sumeru was temporarily resolved. The books in the House of Daena were not few in number. Even if Fontaine used robots to copy them, it would take at least two years to complete. This was also to smoothly integrate Fanseti into the Sumeru storyline of version 3.0.
Next, it was time to handle the next matter.
Shanhai Jing.
This was a region completely distinct from the original game, entirely constructed by Ye.
However, Ye had only created a rough framework, designing the terrain and residents. The finer details still needed careful adjustment.
For example, the backstory of each NPC, the quests they could give to players, how to arrange the main storyline for the region, where to place treasure chests, what kind of puzzles to design, and what style of background music to use—Ye had to consider all of this alone, essentially doing the work of an entire development team.
Otherwise, should he expect Kiana to handle it?!
Forget it. She could just be a tool and follow Ye's designs, directing the team to implement them. Ye had no higher expectations for her.
—Thinking this, Ye suddenly felt a pang of resentment.
Am I destined to work for others?
Here I am, racking my brains, while Kiana is in another world, using my ideas to show off and becoming a legendary game developer. Is there no justice in this world?
Even if the Heavenly Principles are asleep, you can't just ignore them like this, can you?!
No, I can't swallow this grudge.
I'll do the work tomorrow. Tonight, I'll sleep and take out my frustration on Kiana first.