"But a madman tries to impose it upon all of reality, twisting everything at any cost to prove his obsession. I still consider myself a rational scholar."
"Is that so?" A childish yet dissatisfied voice cut in.
Trianne, who had been rolling around in the distance, had somehow rolled over nearby and caught the last few sentences.
Her little face fell. With her hands on her hips, she glared at Anaxa, her round eyes full of disapproval.
"What, does Miss Trianne have an objection?"
Anaxa lowered his head to meet the puffed-up little girl's gaze. There was no fear on his face—if anything, he seemed amused by the idea of teasing a child.
"Aren't you perfectly fine now? [Destruction]'s plan failed, and everyone is doing well."
"If we were to strictly judge whose actions came closer to crossing the line into 'madness'..."
His tone shifted as he raised his chin toward Phainon, who was trying to rescue the last slice of cold pizza from Cipher on the other side of the bar.
"Shouldn't Phainon over there be held more accountable than I am?"
At that moment, Phainon was completely focused on fighting Cipher for the pizza. Hearing this, his movements suddenly froze.
He quickly turned around, his face still wearing the intense concentration of someone battling over food.
"Ahem... Professor Anaxa, you can't put it like that. I was just... doing what I had to do."
"Bleh, bleh, bleh~" Trianne turned her little head toward Anaxa and stuck out her pink tongue at him with all her might.
"Xiao Bai did it to save the world! He did it for everyone! You're not allowed to slander Xiao Bai!"
Watching the exchange between the two, Hysilens revealed a knowing smile.
"...I think I understand what you mean, Professor."
"It's like... well,