【"The Tree Garden has always welcomed seekers of knowledge. Celsis would send tender leaves on the breeze and extend branches to form paths as a sign of welcome. But now... both the Tree Garden's messengers and the Nautiluss seem completely indifferent."】

【"Has the Tree Garden closed its doors to guests?"】

【Castorice shook her head: "It shouldn't... be. After all, Miss Hyacine didn't mention anything about this."】

【Trianne said with a smile: "Maybe everyone is just sleeping in because classes haven't started yet! They closed the doors because they don't want to be disturbed."】

—

Genshin Impact.

"The Grove of Epiphany doesn't have a single student... As an academy also built on a giant tree, it seems our Sumeru's Akademiya is miles ahead in terms of academic atmosphere."

After making such a comparison, Kaveh actually felt a bit proud.

"Indeed, miles ahead." Alhaitham expressionlessly flipped a page in the book he was holding. "So far ahead that the Sages can withhold research funding at will, support their favorite projects, and suppress those they aren't interested in. So far ahead that students from the desert and the Rainforest are divided into different classes, with educational resources tilted... These are all the best proofs that our Akademiya's academic atmosphere is miles ahead—after all, without a sufficiently lax academic environment, it wouldn't be possible to produce an outstanding graduate like 'the Great Architect Kaveh'."

"Hey, Alhaitham, why do I feel like you're insulting me?"

Alhaitham raised an eyebrow. "Not at all. Are you not 'the Great Architect Kaveh'?"

"You should just drop the 'Great'. Hearing you praise someone is even more painful than hearing you insult them." Kaveh curled his lip and turned his gaze back to the Celestial Screen. "But then again, an academy without students... don't you find it strange?"

"Of course it's strange. Only you would relate such a bizarre situation to academic atmosphere." Alhaitham said indifferently. "Do you remember that Fontaine horror film we watched before?"

"Film? What film?"

Alhaitham let out a nearly imperceptible "tsk." "The one you insisted on watching that night, and then were so scared that you wailed and refused to sleep unless the lights were kept on—"

Kaveh hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt. "Fine! I get it! Can you stop talking about that in public?"

"According to the plot of those films, an overly quiet setting often foreshadows a major event, just as dark clouds become exceptionally still before a storm."

Kaveh felt a chill down his spine. "Hey, hey...! Alhaitham, I'm telling you, don't bring those movie tropes into reality. Are you suggesting that some pitch-black ghosts are going to crawl out of the Tree Garden and commit crimes?"

"Are ghosts really a rare species in Amphoreus? Can't Castorice ferry the souls of the dead?" Alhaitham's gaze darkened, his expression becoming uncharacteristically serious. "...I'm just afraid there's something even more terrifying than ghosts hiding in the Tree Garden."

—

【Using Janus's Secret Path, the group quickly arrived at the Garden of Benevolence near the Tree Garden.】

【But even after going this deep, Castorice still didn't see a single soul. This time she was certain something had happened to the Tree Garden; the surroundings were hauntingly quiet.】

【"Maybe... they really are just sleeping?"】

【Castorice shook her head: "Unlikely... in my memory, the sound of debates in the Tree Garden never ceased."】

【"Is—any—one—there—?"】

【Seeing this, Tribbie also raised her voice and shouted toward the Tree Garden, but the only response she received was an endless silence.】

【"..."】 Tribbie still had a smile on her face. 【"No one!"】

【Castorice borrowed the golden spindle from Tribbie and placed it in her palm: "Remember? Lady Aglaea said: within the territory of the Tree Garden, the threads it draws can outline all things, formed or unformed... This is because the Tree Garden is not just where Celsis's roots lie, but also the place where the 'Golden Cocoon' manifests—"】

【After speaking, Castorice held the spindle in her palms, closed her eyes, and chanted softly:】

【"O Mnestia! Sealing the oath with 'Leading the Weft,' I make my wish—may your golden threads and love entwine around me!"】

【Stelle felt goosebumps all over: "Who came up with these lines? They're so abstract..."】

【Castorice was also a bit embarrassed: "This... it's recorded this way in the Mnemosyne Priest's Manual... If I'm not mistaken... we should be able to draw power from this chrysalis using the golden threads."】

【Seeing that nothing happened, Trianne also questioned: "Hmm, there doesn't seem to be a reaction... Did it not work?"】

【"How can that be? It shouldn't be..."】

【Mimi suddenly shouted excitedly, her short arms gesturing for everyone to look ahead: "Eh, everyone look, over there—something is emerging!"】

【Not far away, a humanoid blue phantom floated in mid-air, responding to the group with silence.】

【"Is this... a Dryad?"】

—

Ling Cage.

"I've been wanting to ask this for a while. I feel like Celsis and Mnestia have a very unusual relationship. One's a Rational Nautilus and the other's a Romantic Nautilus; could they be dating?"

"Holy crap, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Even through the mask, Shanda seemed to be able to see Xu Tong's teasing expression, and said grumpily, "What, did you guys already know?"

"I started guessing when Castorice first introduced the Warp and Weft Path, and when she recited that prayer, I became even more certain."

Compared to the Strife between the Nautiluss and the Chrysos Heirs, Xia Dou was clearly more interested in the love, hate, and personal gossip between the Nautiluss. As soon as the topic of romance came up, her eyes lit up instantly. "Tell me, since Mnestia and Celsis have such a good relationship, and Mnestia's Ember went to Aglaea, will the Chrysos Heir who receives Celsis's Ember in the future inherit those feelings and fall deeply in love with Aglaea?"

After all, Aglaea was so beautiful, a total intellectual beauty. Even if the demigod who inherited the Rational Ember was completely smitten, it would be perfectly normal.

"But Aglaea's humanity has already begun to fade, so she must be very indifferent to emotions. The feelings of that Rational Demigod might not be reciprocated, and then—"

Xia Dou put on a tearful expression. In less than two minutes, she had already imagined all sorts of unrequited and complicated love-hate entanglements between Aglaea and that yet-to-be-seen Rational Demigod.

"Don't you think your delusions are going a bit too far?" Xu Tong intentionally placed his hand on Xia Dou's forehead. "How are you so good at guessing? For someone like Aglaea, emotions are definitely a weakness. Although she's a Romantic Demigod, she's probably the least romantic and most cold-blooded of the bunch. Even if she had any sparks of emotion, they were probably extinguished long before she became a demigod."