In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

"That Setare, huh?"

Speaking of Setare, Rod glanced at her: "She's here seeking an opportunity."

"Chance? What chance?"

Dixia was taken aback: "What opportunity is she, a scholar from the Order of the Church, looking for in Aru Village?"

This goes against common sense.

Aru Village has indeed changed a lot compared to before, but it still can't compare to the Church Council.

Moreover, aren't scholars always focused on the pursuit of knowledge?

Speaking of chance...

The opportunity must be found within the Order Academy! What opportunity could one possibly gain by coming to the under-construction village of Aru?

"Because she saw the Red King's miracle in me."

Rhodes summarized Setare's words and actions as, "She's a traitor who tried to replicate me."

"traitor?"

Dixia couldn't understand again.

"Don't worry about these things for now, I'll explain them to you later."

Setare was right there, and since they were all newcomers, it was only right to extend some hospitality, so Rhodes couldn't possibly spell everything out right there.

After telling Dixia about this, he arranged for Dina and the others to rest first.

There are a lot of people.

His house isn't big enough.

So Adbay's empty house was requisitioned to serve as temporary accommodation for Farusan and her three companions in Aru Village.

at night.

Candice and Kavi did not go back. Tadella, who had met Rhodes at the village entrance earlier, also came. Together with Desia and Rhodes, everyone busied themselves preparing a sumptuous dinner. Those who could cook showed off their skills, so the table was filled with all sorts of dishes, both familiar and unfamiliar.

same.

The people who come to Rod's house for dinner are all very talented.

The guardian of Aru Village, the Fiery Mane Lion of the Fiery Light Hunting Beast, the falcon trained by the Tanit tribe, the leader of the Gilded Brigade Ahmar's Beard, the genius architect of Sumeru, the scholar exiled by the Church, the Church senior who disappeared for a hundred years and then returned, and the patient of Demonscale Disease who suffered from human experimentation.

Of all the people at the table, Shazaman, the businessman, and Setare, the scholar, were the most unassuming and unpretentious. Apart from Dina Zede, everyone else possessed unique skills, which truly broadened Setare's horizons.

What made Setare even more uneasy was...

It's that line from Tadella, "My Lord, Messenger."

When this was said, only a few people who came from the rainforest area showed some curiosity and strangeness; the others seemed to tacitly accept the title.

Especially that guardian who always claimed to be a descendant of the Red King.

Setare could see it very clearly.

When Tadella addressed Rhodes as the messenger of the gods, her expression remained completely unchanged, as if she had tacitly accepted the title.

'Red King Divine Envoy? '

'Has he actually become the Crimson King's messenger?'

A fiery glint suddenly appeared in Setale's eyes.

If it were just Tadella saying it, it might be false.

However, since Candice, a descendant of the Red King, did not raise any objections, it means that Rhodes has indeed become the Red King's messenger, and is a messenger recognized by the Red King's descendants.

'The Red King's gifts are truly abundant!'

With this in mind, Setare immediately wanted to ask Rhodes about the matter again after finishing her meal.

But we just kept waiting.

Rhodes was busy the whole time, either helping to clear the table or talking to other people, so she couldn't find a suitable opportunity to ask him about it alone.

When it got late at night.

Rhodes and the others, who possessed divine eyes and were skilled in martial arts, were still full of energy. However, after several days of arduous travel, she was unable to continue and had no choice but to go to rest with Dina and the others.

I saw that Setare had finally left.

The smiles on the faces of Desia and the others, who had just been chatting and laughing, vanished as they all turned their attention to Rhodes.

All irrelevant people have now been cleared out.

The only one left here is Kavi, whose alcohol tolerance is only two and a half ounces but who was forced to drink nearly half a pound of liquor and is now fast asleep.

"Speak, why did you specifically have Tadra call you 'Divine Messenger' to your face?"

What's so special about Setare?

After closing the doors and windows, Desia adopted an interrogation stance and began questioning Rhodes about what had happened during the day.

Not many people know about the Red King's messenger.

There were only a few people in the room.

Then there are the falcons who were not present.

However, these falcons, led by Tadra, have undergone rigorous training since childhood. Even when faced with the threat of death, they will not reveal any secrets. Their mouths are even tighter than those of the village's guardians, so there is no need to worry about them leaking secrets.

This made Dixia and the others very curious.

Why did Rhodes reveal his identity in front of these people?

Shazaman and Dinazede are trustworthy; even if they know, they won't tell anyone. On the contrary, because of Rhodes' trust in them, the relationship between him and Aru Village will deepen.

They weren't familiar with Farusan, but Rhodes trusted her completely. Although they didn't know why Rhodes trusted her, since he said it was fine, no one could say anything more.

The only problem now.

It all started with Setare.

Why would she be worth Rhodes exposing his troublesome identity in the rainforest?

Rhodes quickly offered his own explanation.

“She is close to the Great Sage. I need her help to break the oppressive policies of the Church Council against the desert region.”

then.

Rhodes first revealed that Setare, despite being a desert dweller, had helped the Church of God oppress the desert dwellers. He then explained that Setare actually felt guilty towards the desert dwellers but had been avoiding the issue. Finally, he revealed his plan to use the Red King's Grace and the Red King's Messenger to bring her back to the desert camp.

"I need your help."

"However, you don't need to exaggerate the matter of the Red King's messenger like I have."

"All you need to do is play the victim and make reasonable demands."

Rod gave a few examples: "For instance, you could tell her about the tragic state of Aru Village in the past. Oh, and by the way, don't mention Kavi's father; that's a negative example."

"You can also talk to her about the practical problems we face, such as the shortage of teachers, doctors, and professionals in various fields."

“Especially regarding the shortage of teachers, you could let her go and teach the children herself, so she can experience it firsthand and know that there are ways in which she can be of use in the village.”

"You can also take her to see other ongoing projects in the village. Basically, let her try to discover what else in the village can be of use to her."

Say it.

After a moment's thought, Rhodes simply assigned them tasks: "Candice will be in charge of showing her around these things. You can take her to see the suspension bridge more often and tell the brothers guarding the bridge to play the victim and let her know how much the village has to pay to resist sandstorms."

"Dishia can tell her more about what I've been doing in the village, and also remind her not to talk about the Crimson King's envoy in the village, so as not to attract the attention of the Order Council. She can look at all of my experimental fields, except for the newest one."

"Tadella, just tell her about your training in the Tanit tribe and how I rescued you. You can make up whatever you want about the rest. Don't be afraid to exaggerate. Just say whatever you want."

“Uncle Kusela, your task is the simplest. Just say that you have witnessed the descent of the Red King’s miracle. Cole, you cooperate with Uncle Kusela and say that I suppressed your symptoms of Demon Scale Disease with the Red King’s miracle. She will definitely believe it.”

After arranging these things.

Everyone was pondering Rhodes' words.

Only Adebay, who hadn't been assigned any tasks, became unhappy: "What about me? Are you discriminating against me because I'm a useless person?"

"No, your job is the most difficult."

Rod chuckled, "You need to help me with my research project! The project I brought back, you'll be doing it all!!!"

"??"

A question mark immediately appeared above Adbay's head: "And you? You don't care at all? Is this the attitude of doing academic research?"

To such questions.

Rhodes didn't answer him, but instead instructed Tadella and Cole, "Adebay's hand is not convenient, so you two should help him when he's doing experiments."

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Adbay was a little angry.

He had previously given his research results to Rhodes voluntarily, and Rhodes used them without a second thought.

Now that Rhodes is capable of doing his own research, why should he still take full responsibility for it?

How can one conduct good research with such an attitude?

This is not the attitude a scholar should have!

But Rod still didn't answer him. Instead, he smiled at Cole and asked a completely unrelated question: "Cole, do you think I'm your teacher?"

"what?"

Cole was taken aback by the question, then immediately replied, "Of course."

Although the two never officially addressed each other as teacher and student, Rod had taught Cole diligently for over half a year, so calling him "teacher" was perfectly reasonable.

Cole was even secretly pleased that Rhodes was finally willing to admit that he was her teacher.

"okay."

Hearing Cole's answer, Rod nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Tardra and said, "Tardra, tell me, if I were willing to be your teacher, would you be willing?"

“It is my honor that the divine messenger is willing to be my teacher.”

Tadella's answer was even more straightforward; she directly acknowledged Rhodes as her teacher in front of everyone.