Everybody was assembled once again in the largest house the following morning. The reason was because Nahida had called them, and she didn't need to insist to anybody because the motive of her calling was related to the children. Besides the relatives of the three comatose children, there were also Mihikah and her parents. Arakom, who had been there for the whole night, keeping Nahida and the children company, was now standing on the windowsill of the room, invisible and imperceptible to the adults.
Everybody present was quite uneasy about the reason for Nahida's calling. Despite this, nobody dared to ask, because the Archon's expression seemed to bode ill: she was sad, downcast. They were afraid to receive the worst possible news. However, Nahida said nothing either, and in the room a silence which became more oppressive with each second reigned. It was Iosaphat, the father of Kavus and Sudabeh, the one who finally decided to take the initiative and ask the question that ate away everybody so much:
"Why are you looking so serious, Lesser Lord Kusanali? Did something happen to the children?"
Nahida reacted as if she had just been daydreaming. "Oh? No, nothing of the sort. It is just…" She waited for a moment. "They are already here."
Before anybody even began to assimilate what Nahida had just said, they heard the front door opening. Everybody turned at the same time. They must be the ones the Archon meant. A few seconds later, Sucrose and Collei arrived at the room. Both were panting and sweating.
"Did you run all the way here?" Nahida asked.
She already knew that Sucrose wasn't wearing glasses, but, for the time being, she opted not to mention it. Sucrose nodded as she finished catching her breath.
"We wanted to deliver the potion as soon as possible," she said.
Then, from one of her pouches she pulled out a flask with a mixed green and violet liquid. She gave it to Nahida. Nahida observed the flask on her hand closely. She smiled and nodded happily.
"I need somebody to bring three spoons, please," she asked.
"Lesser Lord Kusanali?" Iosaphat spoke in befuddlement. "What is that for?"
Nahida gazed at everybody present with a broad smile. "The time has come," she announced. "We are going to awaken the children."
Everybody was flabbergasted by what Nahida had just said; all of them thought that they had heard wrong. Nonetheless, seeing each other's dumbfounded faces, as well as their Archon's joyful expression, made it quite evident that they had not. Then, all eyes turned towards Sucrose. She could feel everybody's gaze on her, and was becoming quite anxious. Amadhiah approached Nahida in order to see the flask better.
"Are you sure that this will work, o Lesser Lord Kusanali?" he hesitated, looking at the flask.
"Utterly," Nahida replied proudly. "I have complete confidence in my assistant. I only ask you to believe, if not in her, at least in me."
Sucrose still wasn't quite convinced of playing the role of assistant, especially because it reminded of her time as an actual assistant back in Mondstadt, which made her feel homesick. At the least, she felt relieved knowing that she had Nahida's full support. From the door she could watch everybody looking at each other, and also Arakom waving at her from the windowsill. She waved back at him very discreetly. At last, everybody looked at Nahida. They nodded.
"Thank you very much," Nahida said happily. "Now then, can somebody bring three spoons, please?"
"Here I have them!" Collei announced while entering back in the room.
Apparently, everybody had been so focused on the potion that nobody noticed that Collei had gone to get the spoons.
Everything was prepared. Beside each child stood an adult with a spoon, waiting to receive a dose of the potion: Iosaphat, with his son Kavus; his wife, with their daughter Sudabeh; and Mihikah's father, with Iotham, since the pulse of the child's stepgrandmother was trembling uncontrollably.
Sucrose had the flask in her hands. Truth be told, she would have preferred staying on the sidelines and watching rather than being the focus of all gazes. However, she was the only one who knew how to properly handle that potion, since she was the one who had synthesized it. She was a bundle of nerves, and she had difficulty in moving her feet forwards. But, if she didn't move forwards, she wouldn't be able to administer the potion. She had to take those steps, for the children who she wanted to cure, and for the adults who had already suffered enough. Even so, she was scared to move forwards; she was scared to…
Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see whom did that hand belong to. It was Collei, who looked at her with a warm, pleasant smile. Collei nodded. Even though she had used no words, Sucrose understood what she was telling her:
"The potion will work."
Of course it would. It had worked in herself, and it had worked in Collei. Why would it not work now? Collei believed in her, and so did Nahida. All she needed to do was to believe in herself as well. She breathed in and gathered her courage. She moved forwards.
She approached the closest adult, Iosaphat, and filled the spoon he was holding with potion. Then, she did the same with the two other people. After she finished, she stood at the window, beside Arakom. She saw that the three adults had waited until everybody was ready, herself included. Once everything was set, they administered the children the potion at the same time.
The next few moments felt like they were never going to end. The ones in charge of administering the potion stared at the children fixedly. Iotham's stepgrandmother clung tightly to Amadhiah. Mihikah hugged her mother. Nahida held her hands together. Collei pressed her lips together. Arakom climbed onto Sucrose's head and grabbed onto her headscarf. And Sucrose felt like her heart could jump out of her mouth at any time.
Then, it happened. The three children began to move their heads. They clenched their eyelids and twisted their mouths. Very slowly, they opened their eyes. They blinked repeatedly. They sat up and looked around. Everybody was stunned, and looked at them with wide eyes, including Nahida and Sucrose herself. In a matter of just a few seconds, the three children were as if nothing had happened.
"What are we doing here?" Kavus asked.
"Weren't we playing in the forest?" Sudabeh added.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Iotham wondered.
In just a few instants, a considerable ruckus of joy broke out in the room, quite the opposite from barely a few minutes ago. Kavus and Sudabeh's parents hugged their children tightly. Iotham's stepgrandmother hurried to do the same with her grandson. And Arakom almost fell from Sucrose's head on two occasions: first, because of Mihikah's tackle when she rushed to hug Sucrose; and then, because of Collei's, which almost knocked all four of them to the ground. Both of them were weeping for joy, joy which was beginning to infect Sucrose.
She had done it, she had cured the children. Once again, she had used her alchemy to help other people. And how! She had never got to do something similar back in Mondstadt. She felt once again that same odd, yet warm and pleasant feeling which she had felt when she was thanked for helping in fixing the palace garden. And watching the immense happiness of the children's relatives in tears, having them safe and sound in their arms, intensified said feeling. She couldn't help but be overcome by emotion, and tears also came to her eyes. She hugged back both Collei and Mihikah.
Amadhiah shook Nahida's hand passionately while showering her with gratitude. Just like everybody else, he also shed tears.
"Thank you! Thank you, o Lesser Lord Kusanali!" he repeated over and over again.
Nahida didn't know what to do, or what to say; therefore, she just let her hand be shaken while smiling. She thought it best to wait until everything had calmed down before saying anything.
A long while later, everybody was gathered outside the house. Everybody had already calmed down, and they felt the need to have some fresh air, mostly Sucrose and Collei, for having remained with so many people in a closed space had already begun to overwhelm them.
Just like in Sucrose's case, none of the children remembered anything about the attack they had suffered. Furthermore, thanks to Sucrose's potion, they were as fresh as daisies and full of vitality, and they burned with desire to go to play. However, the adults were against it. They not only were concerned about their safety after their recent attack, but also they feared a possible relapse in them. Nahida interceded in the matter.
"There should not be any trouble, as long as they stay inside the village," she said.
The adults reflected on it. Once they had reached an agreement, Iosaphat spoke in the name of everybody:
"All right," he accepted. "Did you hear, children? No leaving the village!"
The three children nodded at the same time and ran downhill towards the lower level of the village.
"I'm going, too!" Mihikah exclaimed.
She ran after the other children. Her parents, although they were glad to see that she was finally in high spirits, they, like the other relatives, couldn't help but feel worried about their daughter. Nahida, however, smiled as she watched the children running.
"I think we should keep them unaware of this menace whilst we watch over them," she opined. "I know that this is no different from keeping them inside a bubble, yet I do not want them to live their lives conditioned by fear."
Sucrose thought about what Nahida had just said. Did she mean that she wanted to keep the truth hidden from the children for fear that they would panic? She had pretended to do the same with her, although she had slipped it up, and the result was precisely Sucrose panicking. Therefore, although she didn't quite think that that was the right choice, she more or less understood her decision. More or less.
Nahida continued speaking. "We still do not know much about this new Withering; be that as it may, I promise I will do everything in my hand in order to discover its root."
Every adult nodded; everybody had much faith in their Archon. And said faith came from experience: they knew that Nahida wasn't saying empty promises; she was truly going to give her all, not only to find the cause of the new Withering, but also to solve it.
"We are really fortunate to have you as our Archon, o Lesser Lord Kysanali," Amadhiah thanked. "As for you, young lady…"
He turned towards Sucrose, and he approached her until he stood at barely a few steps from her. Sucrose got nervous; she didn't know what he was going to say, and she was afraid that it might be something bad. The old village chief, however, had a smile from ear to ear.
"I think we haven't thanked you properly for what you've done for our children," he said. "Your name is Sucrose? Thank you very much for your help."
He made a formal movement typical of Sumeru. The other adults followed suit. Sucrose blushed. She was still embarrassed to be the center of attention, but she also felt that pleasant tingle on her chest again. She smiled happily.
"You're our savior, Sucrose. We can never repay you for your favor," Iosaphat said gratefully. "Still, if there is anything you want, you need only ask."
"No, it's okay, really. I didn't do this expecting a reward," Sucrose replied embarrassedly. "Besides, you may not believe this, but you have already done something for me."
Everybody looked at Sucrose in befuddlement, Collei included. Nahida chuckled, as if she knew what Sucrose meant.
"Is that so? Well, if you ever change your mind, just let us know," Amadhiah laughed. "Anyhow, Sucrose, I swear to our Dendro Archon, right here with us, that you will always be welcome in Vimara Village. Once again, thank you very much."
Sucrose, blushing deeply, struggled to contain her emotions, and discreetly covered her ears to ensure that they weren't noticed despite their intense wiggle. Nahida made a wry face.
"I thank everybody for believing in us. Now, I think it is time for us to return," she suggested. "We have much to investigate about this new Withering, especially now that we have found a cure for those affected."
"Of course. We won't hold you up any longer," Iosaphat said. "Have a safe trip back, and take care."
"Perhaps there will be some day in which you stop feeling ashamed of your ears…" Nahida implied while they descended towards the lower level.
"Some day…" Sucrose repeated with a sigh. "And you, when do you plan to get off my head?"
"Are you talking to Arakom?" Collei asked. "How long has he been there?"
Of course, after a good night's sleep, albeit short, Collei had returned to normal: she could see the Aranara by herself no longer. She felt somewhat sad about it, yet she stood firm to her promise with Nahida and didn't bring the subject up. Even so, Nahida looked sad after Collei's questions, and none of the other two girls knew why.
"Nahida, is something the matter?" Sucrose worried.
"I'll tell you later," was Nahida's answer. "For the moment, there is something I would like to ask our little friends."
She meant the children. They were in the shade on the riverbank, drawing little boats in the dirt with sticks. Arakom jumped off of Sucrose's head and ran towards them.
"Hi, Nara friends!" he greeted them. "Arakom is very happy to see you well!"
Arakom hugged each of the four children like he hugged Sucrose, except without jumping at them. Sucrose couldn't contain her curiosity and asked Collei what that scene looked like from her point of view. Collei answered with a laugh that it seemed like the children were playing charades, hugging thin air. Nahida was saddened even further. She turned her face away so they wouldn't see her, and tried to calm down and set her emotions in order. In the meanwhile, they had already arrived where the children were playing. Collei took an interest in their drawings.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
The children looked smilingly at Collei.
"Since we can't go outside the village…" Kavus began.
"We're building a fleet for exploring the river," Sudabeh continued.
"Now we just need to name it," Iotham finished.
Collei praised their idea and their 'fleet'. The children were very happy. Sucrose looked at how Collei smiled while she talked with them. It was quite clear that she had no trouble socializing with them. She was glad for her.
Nahida had finally managed to calm down and approached the children. "Sorry to interrupt you, but there's something I'd like to ask you."
Said question was whether they remembered something odd before they awoke in the room. The three children shook their heads at the same time. They explained that they were playing peacefully in the forest, and that right after they were inside that room with their families.
"There was nothing odd," Kavus insisted.
"Nothing at all," Sudabeh repeated.
"I only saw a fungus," Iotham pointed out.
"A fungus?" Mihikah asked.
"Yes, it was one of those big blue fungi that flutter around. It had nothing special, and it was far away from us."
It didn't seem like there was anything useful in what the children had said, and they didn't know anything else. However, Nahida was mulling something over; it was evident from her posture and her pensive expression. Then, said expression changed into a broad smile, and she nodded repeatedly.
"That's enough. Thank you very much for your help," she said, keeping her smile.
Both Sucrose and Collei were bewildered. Had she perhaps already found the cause? That soon? Were that the case, no wonder why she was the God of Wisdom, because neither Sucrose nor Collei had still the slightest idea with such little information. Nahida gazed at Arakom, and a few seconds later, the yellow Aranara gamboled while waving his arms. Arakom turned towards the children.
"Arakom needs to go to Vanarana for a moment," he said. "Arakom asks Nara friends to wait for him; Arakom won't be out for long."
Just then, he jumped into the ground; he had set off to Vanarana. Sucrose guessed that Nahida must have told him something via telepathy, although she didn't understand why she wanted to tell him that way.
"Well then, we'll be taking our leave," Nahida announced then. "Have a safe journey with your Nadvala Fleet, and be sure to listen to your parents."
"We'll be good!" Kavus promised.
"Hey! That's the name we were going to give it!" Sudabeh said in amazement.
"Thanks! You have a good trip back too!" Iotham bid farewell.
Nahida began to walk towards the exit of the village. Sucrose and Collei waved goodbye to the children and left along with Nahida. As they were about to leave the village, Sucrose, who was going last, felt a tug on her cape. She turned around to see what it had snagged on. It was Mihikah; she had grabbed it. It seemed like she wanted to say something.
"Thank you so much for saving my friends."
"You're welcome," Sucrose smiled.
However, Mihikah didn't let go of Sucrose's cape. There was something else, something which she had difficulty in putting into words.
"Do you think…? Do you think that I'll ever be like you?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I too…" Mihikah wavered. "I too want to help other people, just like you have helped us! I want to make them happy, like you do!"
Now that she had managed to say it, Mihikah looked at Sucrose full of resolve. The young alchemist was so impressed by her statement that she even forgot to blink. Then, Sucrose relaxed her expression into a smile. She crouched down to be level with Mihikah, and caressed her snowy hair.
"I'm sure that, if you really set your mind to it, you'll be able to fulfill whatever you decide and overcome any obstacle you may find in your way," she encouraged her. She unfastened an empty test tube from her belt and gave it to her. "Don't let yourself be daunted by hardships. If you never lose sight of your dream, you'll eventually reach it; all you need to do is believe in yourself."
Mihikah gawked at the test tube in her hands, and then at Sucrose, who was looking back at her with a soft, warm smile.
"Sucrose!" Collei shouted from a distance when she noticed that she had fallen behind. "What's wrong!?"
"Nothing! I'll catch up soon!"
Sucrose caressed Mihikah's head one last time and bid her farewell before running off to join Collei and Nahida, who were waiting for her. Mihikah also returned to her friends. The little albino girl had a smile on her face, a dream in her soul, and a present in her hand.
Once they had left the village quite a distance behind, Nahida asked Sucrose and Collei to follow her. She left the road and went into the thicket. The two girls went after her. After walking for a few minutes and going around several trees, Nahida stopped.
"We should be fine here."
"Why did you bring us here, Lesser Lord Nahida?" Collei asked.
"So it's Lesser Lord Nahida now?" Nahida commented in surprise. "Oh well, it's a work in progress."
She just then cleared her throat, trying to prevent their conversation from going astray. She looked at the two girls in earnest.
"There is something that I must tell you both, and it's extremely confidential," she revealed. "Here we won't have to worry about passersby."
"Is it related to the root of the new Withering?" Sucrose guessed.
"No. Although I suspect that the fungi have a lot to do with it, since in all four cases, the Withered Monsters were fungi," Nahida explained. "Moreover, that blue one that Iotham saw had the same shape as the one which attacked them. And lastly, we have the mass fungi migration to Mawtiyima Forest. Too many pieces for it to be mere coincidence."
For that reason, she had sent Arakom to warn the other Aranara to keep the few remaining fungi in the rainforest under watch, and notify her should they discover any anomalies.
"What I want to tell you is something else."
She put her hands to her chest, closed her eyes, and breathed in slowly. Then, just as slowly, she breathed out.
"I owe you both an apology," she confessed, and bent her head forwards. "I am so deeply sorry."
Both Sucrose and Collei were completely baffled and disoriented. None of them had the slightest idea what the Archon was referring to.
"When Arakom returned last night, telling me that you had got the pollen, I couldn't help but pry into what you were doing. Then, I saw everything," Nahida related. "What occurred to Collei is my fault."
"Your fault? You mean that her frenzy was caused by what you had done to her?" Sucrose deduced.
"Indeed. You're right on the mark."
Then, Nahida told them everything. She had used her powers in order to grant the ability to dream to Collei's eyes, which allowed her to see the world the same way as the children, and Sucrose. However, that was nothing more than an additive, or a patch: in reality, she had never returned her said ability. Therefore, Collei's mind, which did not dream, confused its own perception of reality with the new interpretations received thanks to the dream power, causing side effects.
Over time, both interpretations begin to intertwine. At first, the subject suffers only mild dizziness, which later develops into vertigo. But as the condition progresses, their interpretation of reality begins to twist, causing delusions, hallucinations, and even schizophrenia. In order to avoid such effects, it's sufficient to go to sleep before they begin to develop: a short sleep is enough for the mind to rearrange itself and the dream power to fade away.
"The first symptoms take several hours to appear, so I was expecting that nothing would happen to you," Nahida admitted. "However, it seems that the stress you were under when you faced the Jadeplume Terrorshroom greatly accelerated the process."
"So, when I reacted because Sucrose tried to touch me…"
"Yes, you were already suffering the first side effects then, and your reaction pushed you to the last stage," Nahida confirmed. "Luckily, you fainted soon thereafter due to the overstress you were suffering from. Had it not been for that, who knows what could have happened…"
Nahida bent her head forwards until she almost touched her hands on her chest with her lips. Sucrose already knew that behavior of hers: Nahida was trying to suppress her urge to cry. Nahida began to tremble, and the two girls could hear her whimper.
"It's my fault that you had to endure such hardship," she groaned. "And it's also my fault that you attacked Sucrose."
Then, she felt a hand caressing her hair. She raised her head and saw Sucrose before her. Far from being angry with her, Sucrose looked at her with a soft smile.
"Nahida, you told me yourself that nobody can know the future for certain, remember? It was impossible for you to know what was going to happen," she pointed out. "Besides, you did it with your best intention: you wanted Collei not to feel left out during our expedition, right?"
Nahida nodded while she tried to stifle more whimpers. Tears began to appear in her eyes.
"But if I had known that stress hastens the side effects―"
"That doesn't matter," Sucrose interrupted. "You didn't know before, but you do know. And that's what really matters."
"Sucrose's right. You can't blame yourself for not being able to predict the future," Collei agreed. "I sure don't, and neither does Sucrose."
Collei knelt down beside the little Archon and gently gave her a hug. "I admit that I felt terrible when I found out that I had attacked Sucrose. But she never blamed me. And, if I think about it now, I even feel a little happy, because we know each other better."
"I know, but…" Nahida wavered. "What about you, Sucrose? You must be having trouble without your glasses."
"I'd be lying if I said that I'm fine," Sucrose admitted while rubbing her eyelids. "But at least I can see. And if I have to give up my glasses to make a friend like Collei, I'll gladly do it again, if I have to."
Collei blushed deeply, yet she also smiled. Nahida was speechless. It wasn't common that the God of Wisdom was left without knowing what to say, even despite her social ineptitude. In fact, said ineptitude usually caused the opposite result: she often said what she was thinking without taking the feelings of others into account. However, this time it was different: she was placing Sucrose and Collei's feelings before any rational argument.
"Very well," she desisted. "If the two of you have decided to put this behind you, then I shall do the same."
Although it didn't seem the most logical decision to her mind, her heart told her that that was the right thing to do. She didn't understand such discrepancy, and yet, she felt relieved. Was that perchance part of the great intricacy that was social relationships? She ought to delve into it a little further whenever she had the chance.
With one hand, Nahida caressed the one Sucrose had on her head; and with the other, she softly hugged Collei back.
"You two are really good girls," she praised them. "I hope that you two keep helping each other and never lose that kindness which characterises you."
Neither of them knew how to react to Nahida's sudden praise. Blushing, they looked away, and didn't say anything else. Although Nahida had no chance against their resolve, she at least had the last word.
They returned to the main road, and resumed their journey back home. However, Sucrose and Collei, instead of taking the side road towards the Palace of Alcazarzaray when they reached the split, they stayed on the main road in the direction of Sumeru City. When she saw them do so, Nahida stopped.
"You don't need to see me all the way home," she said.
"No, we don't need to," Sucrose agreed. "We just want to do it."
"Do you not want to be with us, Lesser Lord Nahida?" Collei asked in worry.
"Of course I do. I just didn't want you to feel obligated."
The three of them smiled, and carried on towards the city. Nahida was happy that Collei wasn't feeling overwhelmed by her presence anymore, although she still needed some more time until she would be on familiar terms with her. Nevertheless, Nahida found that term which Collei was now addressing her with, Lesser Lord Nahida, somewhat curious.
After they crossed the bridge over a river before the city, they walked close to a caravan which was about to set off. Sucrose stopped to look at the Stumper Beasts.
"What is it, Sucrose?" Collei asked.
"I know that I can't trust my eyes much without glasses," Sucrose said, "but if they're not deceiving me, these Stumper Beasts are Dori's."
"And they aren't!" a voice from one of the beasts confirmed. "These Stumper Beasts are, indeed, mine!"
Sucrose gawked at the Stumper Beast that had just spoken. From behind it Dori appeared. She felt a little silly: how could a Stumper Beast talk? Dori approached them. She was carrying a small, rectangular box in her hand.
"Well, well! Fancy you running into me here!" She greeted them in her usual teasing manner, which then dropped. "So, may I presume that the potion has been a success?"
"Indeed. Sucrose did a wonderful job," Nahida nodded smilingly. "And, since you are here, I would like to discuss business with you and Sucrose. Would any of you mind if we did so right away?"
Both Sucrose and Dori could guess what Nahida wanted to talk about, and both were fine with it. Dori told the employees of her caravan to leave without her, and to notify the palace about their delay. She also told Collei that she could go with them if she wanted; however, Collei chose to stay.
"Now, before we move to a quieter place to talk," she continued, "I have something to give you, Sucrose."
She reached the box in her hand towards Sucrose. Sucrose took it and opened it. Inside there was a new pair of glasses. They were round, and they only had rims under the bottom, just like her old ones. However, these ones were navy blue, matching her headscarf. Sucrose put them on. They felt even more comfortable than the others, and those used to be just like a second skin to her.
She blinked several times, and turned her eyes in every direction. Regardless of where she looked, the rims weren't in her sight's way, nor did she have any line of sight outside of the lenses, even though these ones were a little smaller than the others, they didn't stand out as much as the others did. She looked at everything around her as the last test of her new glasses. She saw perfectly, both near and far.
"They look great on you, Sucrose!" Collei said excitedly.
"Indeed, They suit you lovely," Nahida agreed.
Sucrose was embarrassed by their compliments and blushed. She was glad to have new glasses; however, she also felt somewhat homesick when she thought about her old glasses. They were the last thing she still had from Mondstadt, because her old clothes never appeared, and she had already given them up for lost. With everything that had happened, it hadn't crossed her mind until now. Nevertheless, she didn't feel sad. Even though there were times in which she missed Mondstadt, she was very happy with her new life in Sumeru.
"So, how much do I owe you for them, Dori?" Nahida inquired.
"I'd also like to pitch in," Collei said.
"Oh? In that case, how about we pay a third each?" Dori proposed. "In your case, Collei, I will deduct it from your payment. How does it sound?"
Sucrose suspected why Nahida and Collei wanted to pay for her glasses. She insisted to them that it was fine, that they didn't need to pay anything. Besides, she could pay for them herself just fine.
"You're right, we don't need to," Collei replied. "We just want to do it."
"You can consider them a little thanks from us to you, for your help in curing the children," Nahida added.
"Just accept them, Sucrose," Dori shrugged. "There is nothing wrong with us giving you a present, is there?"
No, there was nothing wrong; thus, Sucrose conceded and accepted their gift. She was happy; more accurately, she was grateful to them. And grateful that they were there for her. She thought about this feeling; was this how the others felt when she had helped them? Did her own, odd feeling of satisfaction originate from the feeling of gratitude of others? Was that perchance the happiness she was looking for? She didn't have it quite clear yet; however…
"Um, girls? Could you listen to me for a moment?" she asked. "I have something to say."
The other three looked at Sucrose with attention and curiosity. Sucrose's gaze was full of determination.
"I've decided that, from today on, I'm going to use my alchemy to help others," she proclaimed. "I want to do whatever I can to make people happy."
She had a clear path to follow; a new approach in order to reach the paradise of her dreams. A flowery paradise in which everybody could be happy because they could rely upon each other. By helping others in need, she could make them happy. Mihikah had helped her realize that. And the satisfaction she felt when she saw the happiness of others coming from their gratitude was proof of this. She was determined. And all three of them, Dori, Nahida and Collei, with a broad smile, expressed her their full agreement and support.
"But you won't do it for free, will you?" Dori made sure. "Because charity, unfortunately, isn't a way of life."
"Uh, no… I guess not…"
Although there were still some matters to sort out.