Chapter 142
After being captured, Alhaitham swung his arm away from Cyno and then kicked Cyno with his leg.
"Hmph, I didn't expect you to be hiding such strength!"
Cyno looked at Alhaitham with a serious expression. He had a friend who, although also a scholar of the Akademiya, was a ranger who always worked in the forest and had to deal with all kinds of Fungi and even Fatui, so his combat ability was quite good, which was not a problem.
But how could a clerk of the Akademiya, a guy who spends all his time in the library or coffee shop, possess such strength? That's suspicious. In short, there's something wrong with this Alhaitham!
"Why are you hiding your strength? What is your purpose in hiding in the Akademiya? What are your hidden motives?"
Cyno's three consecutive questions left Alhaitham speechless.
"Grand Disciplinary Officer, although I don't know what strange misunderstanding you have about me, I, Alhaitham, just want to live a peaceful life."
"A peaceful life? Fine, come live with me in jail!"
Cyno swung his spear and thrust it at Alhaitham quickly dodged and retaliated with his sword.
Why? Why is the disciplinary official arresting me? What does he know that makes me his target? What happened in a place I don't know about?
While Cyno and Alhaitham were fighting, the Disciplinary Officer that Cyno had previously sent out also rushed over after hearing the commotion.
Looking at the Disciplinary Officer gathering around him, Alhaitham knew that if he didn't leave now, he would miss his chance.
He forcefully pushed Cyno away, then jumped off the wall next to the cafe, rushed to the harbor, dove into the water, and disappeared instantly.
"Hmph, you can't escape!"
Cyno looked at the rippling water, snorted coldly, and then, with the Disciplinary Officer in tow, began searching along the shore.
Alhaitham, who had dived into the water, surfaced again after a period of underwater swimming and climbed ashore. Fortunately, he swam in the opposite direction to the direction of the search by Cyno, so he didn't have to worry about being caught.
After climbing ashore, Alhaitham caught his breath and looked at the bustling Sumeru City in the distance, his brows furrowing.
"What on earth happened that made the Grand Disciplinary Officer lead a group to surround and attack me?"
235. Aisen, the newcomer to the Fatui (Bonus chapter 4/4 in March)
Li Yue and Nahida witnessed the entire process of Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno leading his men to arrest Secretary Alhaitham. They were watching the confrontation between the two from a high vantage point. Sumeru City was built on the Sacred Tree, making it a highly three-dimensional city, allowing for easy observation of the situation below from above.
"So, that's how we determine that someone isn't a member of the Dark Akademiya."
Li Yue pointed to the Alhaitham that was floating up from the shore in the distance and explained to Nahida.
"This Alhaitham did not yield to being arrested, which shows that he understands what would happen to him if he were arrested. Moreover, he believes that he is innocent, so he is unwilling to be arrested. If he were a member of the dark faction, he would choose to be arrested first and then wait for his superior to bail him out."
"Yes, that's true."
Nahida nodded affirmatively.
"Moreover, this scribe Alhaitham Elhesen is not only a scholar, but also the holder of the Dendro element Vision. Judging from his confrontation with the Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno just now, his strength is also quite good. He was able to fight the Disciplinary Officer who specialize in combat, and the leader of the Disciplinary Officer, the Grand Disciplinary Officer, to a standstill. His strength should be very good."
Nahida was quite fond of this man named Alhaitham. He was a scholar, Dendro element, and had excellent abilities. This scribe might be able to help her manage Sumeru!
"Then came the Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno."
Li Yue then pointed to Cyno, who was leading his men to search along the shore.
"This Grand Disciplinary Officer arrived at the scene immediately after the incident, and after investigating and collecting evidence, he immediately began to arrest people. He is a man of action. Although it is impossible to determine from his previous performance whether he is a member of the dark faction, after seeing Alhaitham jump into the water to escape, he still personally led a team to search along the shore. Such a person is rarely found in the dark faction."
"So, he's not a member of the dark faction either?"
When Nahida asked, Li Yue shook her head.
"That's not certain. Very few people like that will fall into darkness, but that doesn't mean they won't. Some who fall into darkness may even be more self-disciplined, more ambitious and goal-oriented than those influenced by so-called justice. Compared to some so-called righteous partners who only shout slogans, those who fall into darkness and have clear goals may perform better."
"Therefore, we also need to test whether this person is a member of the dark faction."
Li Yue withdrew her finger from Cyno and crossed her arms.
"Do you understand, Hinagiku?"
"Okay, I understand."
The reason Alhaitham became a murderer was naturally because Li Yue directly demonstrated it with Kyōka Suigetsu. Although both are called Kyōka Suigetsu, Li Yue's dream power has images. Unlike Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, which simply hypnotizes people and makes their five senses feel illusions, the Akasha Terminal has no five senses. It is just a machine.
Therefore, the illusions projected by Li Yue's dream powers can even deceive machines like the Akasha Terminal!
If Li Yue can do it, Nahida can certainly do it too.
"However, before testing Cyno, we can first make contact with that Alhaitham."
As Li Yue spoke, she jumped down in the direction Alhaitham had gone, and Nahida, seeing Li Yue jump down from the Sacred Tree, followed suit.
The two landed on the ground one after the other and began walking in the direction Alhaitham had left.
Alhaitham's route was planned. He did not leave Sumeru City, but instead circled around, intending to return to Sumeru City from Sumeru northwest entrance.
As a scholar and a scribe, Alhaitham had his own principles, which was to live a relaxed and peaceful life.
He owns property in Sumeru City and has savings, so it's unlikely he'll just run away.
Especially since he previously had a stable job as a clerk, he didn't want to lose all of that.
So he had to return to Sumeru City to investigate why the Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno had suddenly attacked him!
Everything that happens has a traceable pattern. Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno is not someone who randomly arrests people. As a clerk, Alhaitham believes that his job has given him a lot of information, so he has a certain understanding of Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno. This former student of the Akademiya and now the head of the Disciplinary Officer will not arrest people randomly without evidence.
In other words, the other party's sudden move to arrest him means they have evidence of his crimes!
When and what did I do that made the other party feel that I had violated the discipline of the Akademiya, and thus they wanted to arrest me.
And...
Alhaitham pulled out his weapon and held it with one hand. He clearly remembered that it was after he pulled out his weapon that Cyno suddenly identified him as a criminal and prepared to arrest him. What did this have to do with his weapon?
Especially the certain expression on Cyno's face after seeing his weapon—could it be that his weapon is key evidence in the case? So, after seeing his weapon, Cyno believes he is the criminal he is looking for?
That shouldn't be happening!
Alhaitham considered himself a weak civil official. Although he was a muscleman, he usually avoided taking action whenever possible, or rather, he rarely chose to fight and kept his strength hidden.
His weapons are rarely seen in public, so why would Cyno use his weapons to accuse him of being guilty?
With these questions in mind, Alhaitham ventured deeper into the forest.
Although his goal was to return to Sumeru City, he was being pursued by Cyno, so he needed to conceal his appearance and change his clothes. Therefore, he needed to go into the forest to borrow a set of clothes from the Fatui there before returning to Sumeru City.
After a friendly exchange with a three-person Fatui, Alhaitham received a set of clothes and immediately went into a bush to change.
After changing his clothes and putting on an eye patch, the muscular Alhaitham blended perfectly into the Fatui's environment. His muscular physique made him look just like a desert mercenary.
From now on, his name is Aisen, a mercenary of the Fatui!
With his new identity, Alhaitham emerged from the forest and headed towards Sumeru City.
However, just as he was about to enter the city, he saw the two Inazuma people he had spotted on the street before.
One was wearing a black kimono with a white haori, and the other was only wearing a black kimono. This man and woman, one big and one small, blocked his way into the city.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, I need to get into the city."
Although these two people were mysterious and looked like troublesome, Alhaitham tried his best to avoid trouble.
But Li Yue wouldn't give him a chance to escape. He pushed up his glasses and spoke softly.
"Oh? So you're going into the city to find out why you're wanted by the Grand Disciplinary Officer, Secretary Alhaitham?"
236. Alhaitham, you don't want Sumeru to be destroyed either, do you?
"As expected, there's something wrong with you!"
Although his identity was exposed, Alhaitham was not in a hurry. Instead, he became more determined to stick to his previous ideas.
These two Inazuma people who had been following him before were definitely suspicious!
He didn't rush to reveal his weapon, but instead cautiously sized up the two people in front of him.
"Who exactly are you people?"
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Aizen Sousuke."
Liu Yue pushed up her glasses.
"A man who seeks the throne of heaven."
The name didn't matter, but when Alhaitham heard the last sentence, he immediately sensed trouble.
The Throne of Heaven? Alhaitham didn't connect it to Celestia or anything like that.
In Alhaitham's view, those who pursue the throne of heaven are simply pursuing some perverse ideals or are extremely persistent. Alhaitham has seen too many such people in the Akademiya. The more knowledge those scholars acquire, the more they want to explore, especially the unknown. In the process of exploration, they can cause all sorts of trouble.
The existence of Disciplinary Officer is precisely to obstruct this type of scholar.
Unexpectedly, there were such guys not only inside the Akademiya, but also outside of Akademiya, and they even came from Inazuma.
Being entangled with such a guy is what gives Alhaitham the biggest headache, because you never know what such a person will do for their own purposes.
"If you want to pursue the throne of heaven, I think you can go to the Akademiya and find the six sages. They may be able to give you more help."
Alhaitham responded coldly.
"No, they can't respond to me. It's you, Alhaitham, who can help me."
Alhaitham didn't want to argue with Li Yue about this, so he chose to change the subject.
"Putting aside whether I can help you, what I care more about is why you know that I'm going to investigate the Grand Disciplinary Officer's warrant for my arrest."
"Oh? As expected of Alhaitham, very perceptive."
Li Yue smiled and raised her right hand, and then, right in front of Alhaitham, a green single-edged sword suddenly appeared in her right hand.
"Um?"
Alhaitham stared at the familiar one-handed sword for a moment, then immediately drew his own weapon.
If your weapon is in your own hands, then what is the opponent's weapon?
Alhaitham immediately thought of a possibility.
Did you do this?
"No, to be precise, you did it."
As Li Yue spoke, she transformed into Alhaitham's appearance, with short, gray hair, a strong body, a cold expression, and the weapon in her hand—she was clearly another Alhaitham.
Now Alhaitham understood why Cyno was so determined to capture him.
The man in front of her had transformed into her likeness, used the exact same weapon, and done something against the rules, which was why Cyno had taken action to arrest her.
"Why?"
Alhaitham already regarded Li Yue in front of him as an enemy.
Although it's unclear how the other person could so easily transform into other people's appearances and weapons, the fact that they deliberately impersonated me to cause trouble, resulting in me becoming a wanted criminal, suggests that they must have had their own motives.
Why did you do that?
Do you want me to explain why I did this?
Li Yue smiled and asked in return.
So are you willing to tell me?
"What you said is fine. After all, I've already taken this thing. You no longer have the chance to make me tell the truth and then use that truth to clear your name."
As Li Yue spoke, she raised her free left hand, revealing an Akasha Terminal in the center of her palm.
"When!"
Alhaitham touched his ear and found that his Akasha Terminal was gone; clearly, the other party had his Akasha Terminal.
In other words, the plan was intended to provoke the other party into revealing their true intentions, but the plan recorded using the Akasha Terminal was exposed by the other party.
No, it should be said that the other party made preparations in this regard from the very beginning, and took away the Akasha Terminal without our knowledge. How did they do that?
Transforming into one's own appearance is one thing, stealing the Akasha Terminal without one's knowledge is another. With such abilities, wouldn't it mean that the other party could easily disguise themselves as anyone and do anything?
Alhaitham even began to imagine the other party becoming Grand Sage, entering the Akademiya, and then conducting various researches by controlling the Akademiya.
"Why did you choose me?"
After realizing the danger posed by the other party, Alhaitham was puzzled. If the other party had the ability to infiltrate the Council of the Akademiya, it would be very easy for them. There was no need for them to cause him any trouble. He was just an ordinary scribe, not Grand Sage in the Akademiya. It didn't make sense for them to target him like this.
"Because I need some people to help me."
Li Yue opened her arms.
"This country is corrupt, and the corrupt Akademiya rules this country. However, as a research institution, the Akademiya has no idea how to govern this country. They simply hold power in their own hands and are incapable of bringing any future to this country."