The light of the Dawn Device shined over the bustling Marmoreal Market, setting the smooth marble pavement ablaze with shimmering reflections.
The air was thick with a unique blend of spices, baked flatbreads, cooked foods, and crystalline dust. The clamor of the crowd and the calls of vendors intertwined into a vibrant symphony of daily life.
Phaethon walked through the crowd with a light step. The aching soreness that had once plagued him was almost gone, and his gait showed barely a trace of his former injury.
Beside him, Hyacine, carrying several exquisitely packaged gift bags, had soft pink hair that seemed especially fluffy in the sunlight, a faint, barely perceptible blush on her cheeks.
"Miss Hyacine, thank you for taking care of me these past two weeks. I feel my leg is much better now," Phaethon stopped and expressed his gratitude sincerely to this dedicated nurse and teaching assistant.
"O-oh, it's nothing?" Hyacine waved her hands dismissively, "Healing the injured is my duty as a nurse. I should be the one saying that you've spent too much, Phaethon sweetie, buying me all these gifts."
She lifted the clearly expensive bags in her hand, which contained delicate crystal ornaments unique to Okhema and soothing aromatic incense.
Phaethon chuckled warmly and waved his hand. "Not at all. These gifts aren't just for healing my leg, but also for your care as a teaching assistant towards me, Phainon, and Castorice."
"If it weren't for you, we'd have been even more lost in Professor Anaxa's classes. Please accept them without worry, Miss Hyacine."
He mimicked Anaxa's signature icy tone, deliberately lowering his voice: "*The core of Nousporism is not the accumulation of knowledge, but the honing of a single ability—'Doubt*.'"
*"Doubt what you see. Doubt what you hear. Doubt what you believe."*
*"Doubt those 'truths' held as sacrosanct and beyond question... The world is not as stable and reliable as it appears...*" He paused, shrugged, and returned to his normal voice, "Honestly, if you hadn't helped us untangle all those convoluted logics and provided background notes after class, all of us would be tearing our hair out over the coursework."
"How could we possibly have become the most 'outstanding' students under Professor Anaxa?" He emphasized the word "outstanding" with a teasing grin.
"Pfft!" Hyacine burst out laughing at his exaggerated imitation and self-deprecation, her sun-like smile brightening her face again.
"Phaethon sweetie, you're so funny. The most 'outstanding' students? Does that mean the ones who challenge Professor Anaxa the most in class?"
"Phainon's question yesterday about 'whether the very existence of the Dromas is worthy of doubt' nearly made the professor's temple vein pop!" Remembering the scene of Professor Anaxa barely containing his displeasure while trying to counter Phainon with an even more complex logical chain, she couldn't help but laugh again.
"Alright, alright," Hyacine finally managed to stop laughing and shook the gift bags.
"I should thank you again for the gifts, Phaethon sweetie. I'll be going now? I have a nursing report to finish tonight." Hyacine blinked deliberately, as if hinting at something.
"Mm, goodbye, Miss Hyacine." Phaethon smiled as he watched Hyacine's graceful figure merge into the flow of people, her pink hair soon disappearing among the colorful stalls.
After saying goodbye to Hyacine, Phaethon didn't leave the market. Instead, he changed direction and headed purposefully deeper into the market, towards the smithy of the 'Great Craftman' Chartonus. He walked at a relaxed and slow pace, his gaze casually sweeping over the dazzling array of stalls and the jostling crowds.
A very noticeable sight caught his eye: many students wearing the distinctive robes of The Grove were moving through the market.
Some, in small groups, were curiously examining local Okhema handicrafts and snack stalls, while others, holding a book or two, sat on the ground in relatively quiet corners, immersed in reading or low discussions.
This was a stark contrast to the past, when Grove students rarely set foot on the streets of Okhema.
As for the reason? A faint, proud smile tugged at the corner of Phaethon's mouth.
Aside from today being The Grove's scheduled rest day, the biggest contributor was the several stably operating Infinity Gates he had set up between The Grove and the Okhema Life Garden.
Initially, it was just for his own convenience—to easily return to Okhema to visit Cyrene, or to help Teacher Tribbie use the Infinity Gates.
But once, a few sharp-eyed classmates discovered his secret method of "smuggling" himself across. These students, usually stifled by heavy coursework and The Grove's relatively closed environment, immediately acted as if they had discovered a new world.
They came to Phaethon with pleading or ingratiating smiles, even offering carefully prepared small gifts, begging him to "ferry" them.
"Junior Phaethon, please help! I just want to go to Okhema to try that legendary 'Stardew Honey Roll'! I'll even bring one back for you, how about it?"
"Classmate Phaethon, this is a specialty from my hometown. One round trip in exchange?"
"Please! I urgently need a copy of that rare historical document from the Okhema library!"
Phaethon found it amusing at first and helped a few times. But he couldn't handle the increasing number of requests, with people even starting to form lines.
While accepting the "bribes," he also found it troublesome. So he decided to go all the way. On rest days, he would stabilize several small Infinity Gates at an inconspicuous but conveniently located fork in a branch along The Grove's main walkway, and in a secluded but safe corner of the Okhema Life Garden.
Then, he set up a table next to the gate on The Grove's side, and placed a sign next to it with clear writing: "Express Passage to Okhema. Single Trip: 3 Balance Coins. Monthly Pass Available!"
This move initially caused an uproar among The Grove's mentors.
Several conservative senior scholars were deeply dismayed, calling it "polluting the sanctity of the academic hall with the stink of copper" and "diluting the pure seeking knowledge atmosphere the Grove should have with messy worldly temptation." They even jointly petitioned Professor Anaxa to intervene.
Professor Anaxa's reaction, however, was different from what other s expected.
He merely, during a faculty meeting, used his usual cold tone to pose a few questions:
*"Is forbidding students from interacting the real world itself a form of escape from 'Truth'?"*
*"Does forcibly separating 'Knowledge' from 'Life' belong to the 'traditional dogma' that needs to be questioned?"*
*"Could the students' experiences in Okhema become 'variables' that trigger them to question existing perceptions and spark new thinking?"*
A series of soul-searching questions, combined with his intensely oppresive gaze, quickly silenced the opposition.
After that... perhaps because it was genuinely too convenient, or perhaps people got used to this "paid convenience," the matter was eventually dropped.
Now, The Grove's students had long grown accustomed to spending a few Balance Coins on rest days to easily pass through the Infinity Gates, coming to Okhema to relax, hunt for food, shop, or even engage in some "informal" academic exchanges.
Okhema's Marmoreal Market had thus gained many new figures from The Grove, carrying an air of scholarly curiosity.
*(Hah, the biggest reason is probably right here, isn't it?)* Phaethon chuckled inwardly, his gaze sweeping over the lively student figures around him, a sense of accomplishment quietly blooming in his heart. He quickened his pace, heading towards the depths of the market.