"Just your personal style, perhaps?"
"Who... who is he, Alhaitham? You said he's the General Mahamatra?"
Paimon tensed up. Cyno was incredibly powerful, and they had just escaped Sumeru City. Could he be here to arrest them?
"Yes, the Commander of the Matra, the General Mahamatra Cyno. To the Academic Criminals, he's a relentless hunter, a name that strikes fear into their hearts," Alhaitham explained.
Cyno retorted, "You seem to trust Alhaitham completely, even intervening to protect him. If I were you, I'd never side with him. I wouldn't believe a single word he says."
"This Scribe has been my quarry for a long time. Choose your side carefully before interfering. You'll only make trouble for yourselves."
Hearing these words, Paimon breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he wasn't here for them after all.
Lumine: "We don't trust him that much, but we won't stand idly by either."
Chu Xi stepped beside Alhaitham, making her stance clear.
Silaya's teacher can't be a bad person... Wait, if anyone was bad, they'd probably already be branded as such by the Akademiya.
Paimon: "What exactly did Alhaitham do? He doesn't seem as bad as you make him out to be."
Cyno: "I don't want to waste my breath. Alhaitham, I noticed during our earlier exchange... Hand over the Canned Knowledge of the Divine you're hiding. Or do I have to take it myself?"
"As expected of a Matra, your sense of smell is indeed keen."
Alhaitham produced the Canned Knowledge of the Divine.
Lumine and Paimon stared in surprise. They had assumed the Akademiya's Matra had confiscated it long ago. They never imagined it was still in Alhaitham's possession.
Challenged by Cyno's suspicions, Alhaitham countered by pointing out the inconsistencies in Cyno's actions:
"You tracked me alone into the Desert. Given that the Akademiya's Matra have been discussing recent disappearances, and considering your authority and resources, if I were truly your target, you could have simply exercised your power within the Akademiya to pass Judgment on me."
Cyno frowned. Alhaitham was proving to be a formidable opponent indeed.
Just as the two were locked in a standoff, another voice cut through the tension.
"Ahem... Quite the heated standoff, you two."
"Eeeh, eeeh?! Dehya! What are you doing here?! Great, Lumine! Finally someone trustworthy has arrived!" Paimon exclaimed, delighted. Dehya had proven herself reliable during their samsara at the Sabzeruz Festival, helping them uncover crucial truths.
"Dehya, please help! Otherwise, these two are going to start fighting again..."
Lumine and Chu Xi also pinned their hopes on Dehya, hoping she could break the impasse.
Dehya crossed her arms, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Ah, yes, the two 'big shots' from the Akademiya are about to throw down again. How thrilling."
"Clutching their self-righteous philosophies, spouting empty Akademiyan rules and morals... How dare you drag your petty squabbles into Aaru Village, this sacred haven?"
"Looks like someone needs to knock you flat on your backs and force you to respect the ground beneath your feet!"
Cyno: "..."
Alhaitham: "..."
Neither man was distracted by Dehya's arrival, each still poised for an opening.
Exasperated, Dehya snapped, "Hey, hey! Are you two even listening to me?!"
Lumine watched the trio, feeling the situation spiral further into complexity. Still, three people... I might just be able to mediate this.
"Well, well, looks like we arrived just in time."
The unfamiliar voice instantly drew everyone's attention. Even Alhaitham and Cyno, who had been locked in their own standoff, turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
"Childe and Angie?!" Paimon exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.
As Lumine's group had approached, Angie, Tartaglia, and Ailina had been slowly walking toward them.
The camera first lingered on Tartaglia, with a brief introduction flashing across the screen.
Fatui Harbinger, Eleventh Seat: Childe, Tartaglia.
The screen then shifted to Angie.
Fatui Harbinger, First Seat: The Captain, Capitano's Adjutant, Angie.
Finally, Ailina appeared.
Mirror Maiden, Ailina.
-
[Ugh, Tartaglia didn't even need an introduction.]
[First Seat?! Why is the reveal so dramatic?]
[Adjutant?! I thought she was Sixth-Ranked! Adjutant?!]
[Didn't someone speculate that Angie's strength surpasses even The Fair Lady's? A mere adjutant of the Captain wields such power?!]
[First Seat—the title speaks for itself!]
[Wow, such a big gathering!]
[Their entrance screams "villain"! Are we about to see a fight?!]
[The Fatui are here! Now Alhaitham and Cyno will have to unite against a common enemy.]
[Angie... sniff Snezhnaya's half-day holiday...]
[Angie and the others aren't villains! She fell in battle against the Abyss—she's a hero!]
[We're doomed. Knowing what Angie will do later, I'd feel she's a good person even if she beat me up...]
Alhaitham's expression immediately turned cold, a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor with Cyno.
"The Fatui..."
Cyno aimed his spear at Angie and her companions, while Dehya summoned her Claymore.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! If you want to fight, that's fine, but we didn't come here looking for trouble," Tartaglia stepped forward. Though his sister was the stronger fighter, he was the elder brother—it was his place to take the lead in this situation.
Cyno: "There's nothing to discuss. The Fatui have already caused enough chaos in Sumeru."
Alhaitham remained silent, but his tight grip on his weapon spoke volumes about his intentions.
Dehya drew her Claymore. "So, you're Childe, the Fatui Harbinger ranked last. What about the other one? Which seat do you hold?"
Angie waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not a Harbinger."
Cyno had no patience for words. Without another word, he charged forward, spear aimed at Tartaglia.
Dehya joined the fray, flanking Tartaglia alongside Cyno.
"Tsk, I told you we're not here to fight."
Tartaglia said this, yet his weapon was already in his hand.
Alhaitham didn't move, his gaze fixed warily on Angie.
Lumine and Paimon had been about to approach, but with Tartaglia already clashing with Dehya and the others, and their lack of familiarity with Angie and her group, they could only watch anxiously from the sidelines.
Tartaglia's talent was exceptional, and his progress had been rapid. He was no longer the same fighter he had been during the battle at the Golden House.
At the very least, his Foul Legacy Transformation's endurance had greatly improved.
In just a few exchanges, Tartaglia, Cyno, and Dehya all recognized the formidable strength of their opponents. Just as Tartaglia prepared to unleash his Foul Legacy Transformation to end the fight quickly, a sudden sandstorm erupted.