Chapter 633: Entering the Akademiya

Since the words had reached this point, there was no need to continue. Anyway, the report was done—time to adjourn.

As for saying something to boost morale, that definitely wasn't something Alhaitham could bring himself to say. Better to go find Nahida—she's very good at encouraging people.

But the current problem was that everyone was about to go rescue Nahida. How could Nahida encourage them to rescue her before she was saved? It was a dead loop.

Without Nahida, among those present, there was a reticent scribe who didn't like talking, a talkative General Mahamatra who didn't like talking during work, and a mute Lumine.

The ones who loved talking the most were left with Paimon and Dehya, but neither of them was particularly skilled at boosting morale. Instead, they were urging the Traveler to say something inspiring.

How could the Traveler do that? The scene fell into silence for a moment. The awkward feeling could even be felt through the screen. Fortunately, the person they were waiting for finally arrived.

[Nilou: "Huh? What are you all gathered here for?"]

Nilou arrived at just the right time. She wasn't here to disrupt the team—she was here to join it.

In fact, the reason Alhaitham held this inexplicable meeting was partly to report the situation, but another reason was to "arrest" Nilou.

That's why the meeting place was chosen at the Grand Bazaar. With a few familiar faces gathered here like this, Nilou would definitely come over to ask when she saw them.

Then Alhaitham informed Nilou of the plan. There was no worry about Nilou leaking it, because "artists" and the Akademiya had no possibility of cooperation.

Moreover, Nilou was a die-hard fan of the Dendro Archon, just like Dunyarzad. In her heart, she only wanted the Dendro Archon… the God of Grass. So even if she didn't want to help, she wouldn't leak it.

When Alhaitham told Nilou the plan, Nilou's little face turned red.

It wasn't from shyness—it was from excitement. This plan was too bold!

Deep down, Nilou wasn't someone afraid of adventure. Otherwise, after being directly reprimanded by the Grand Sage during the previous Sabzeruz Festival, she wouldn't have immediately thought of holding one elsewhere.

But Nilou's blushing and excited appearance piqued the audience's curiosity.

So what exactly was the plan? Even now, we didn't know what the plan was. Were we really from the Akademiya's perspective?

If it was the Akademiya's perspective, then so be it. Anyway, tomorrow was when they would carry out the plan—at that time, we would finally know what it was.

Rest well today. Everything would wait until tomorrow.

[Alhaitham quietly complained: "…Fortunately, I've been home alone lately. It's been very peaceful."]

If someone else said this, Kaveh might not understand, but when Alhaitham said it, he immediately got it.

Wasn't this just complaining that I'm noisy? Wasn't the subtext saying that if I were home, I'd disturb your sleep?

Kaveh really wanted to argue with Alhaitham, but since everyone was watching the movie together, causing a ruckus wouldn't be good. So he held it in—for now, until they got home.

In fact, Alhaitham and Kaveh had argued before, and their relationship had been "bad" for a while.

But Alhaitham genuinely treated Kaveh as a friend. After the argument, he had actually been thinking about how to reconcile and kept paying attention to Kaveh's movements.

Then Alhaitham found an opportunity. He appeared during Kaveh's lowest point in life, and the two "made up."

Alhaitham's care for Kaveh was also recorded in Kaveh's story. Not many people could make Alhaitham treat them this way—Kaveh was truly one of a kind.

But caring in his heart was one thing; the mutual roasting between the two never lessened.

After a night of rest, everyone gathered again. Now it was time for the "final battle"—the key mission: liberating the Dendro Archon.

The technology imprisoning the Dendro Archon wasn't invented by humans. It was the technology the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata used to isolate herself from the outside world during meditation, only modified by the previous Grand Sage into a state that couldn't be opened from the inside.

And to open this device, perhaps only the Grand Sage's console could do it.

Of course, if you were Raiden Ei or Morax and the like, you could ignore this rule.

Alhaitham and the others chose to act today because today was Sumeru's "Jnagarbha Day." During this time when scholars were busiest, it was the best opportunity to blend in.

But this was only the plan on the surface. Naturally, the device to release the little Dendro Archon couldn't be approached just by "blending in." As for the plan in the dark, it would be set aside for now.

Alhaitham and the Traveler headed to the Akademiya together. They entered very smoothly. Only one student tried to stop the Traveler, this unrelated person, but was completely fooled by Alhaitham.

[Alhaitham said: "Unrelated person? How did you arrive at such a conclusion? Groundless reasoning—it truly shames the Vahumana school you belong to."]

Paimon: Why does it feel like he's calling my name?

["As a senior of Vahumana, I believe you should possess a certain level of thinking ability."]

The student who was sharply critiqued by Alhaitham didn't get angry—instead, he really started thinking about the issue.

[Viraf: "I-Is that so… Wait a moment, let me think. Don't tell me the answer yet!"]

["Could it be… that the sages aren't looking for you, but this Traveler from the beginning? And the reason you left the Akademiya for so long was because…"]

Viraf thought he had the "answer." At that moment, he seemed to shine with the light of "wisdom."

Paimon had seen this light before—it often appeared on Mona.

But every time it appeared, it was when facing Lucian. It didn't seem very wise.

[Alhaitham hushed: "Shh—alright, alright. As expected of Vahumana's top student. I think you've guessed correctly."]

A simple conversation completely fooled the other party. The key to successful fooling is not to tell the other person your thoughts, but to guide their thoughts and then agree with them.

This was Alhaitham being kind—if not, they'd be fooled into "I kill myself."

Even Paimon was confused. What exactly did that scholar just understand?

[Alhaitham replied: "I don't know either. Whatever reason he just thought of, he convinced himself anyway."]

Alhaitham continued his sharp critique: This is the pride of scholars. To make themselves look smart, they always make some self-conceited guesses.

More importantly, they believe their own guesses very much—perhaps because those who pretend to understand when they don't are the most confident. After all, how could they keep pretending without confidence?

In the end, their pretend-to-understand guesses only expose their stupidity.

Sweating profusely—Furina's body was even trembling.

Although Alhaitham wasn't talking about her, it really felt like she was being stabbed everywhere.

Pretending to be a god when surrounded by gods—my confidence is really hard to maintain, okay! Do you think pretending to be confident is easy? Apologize!

===✧✦✧===

Character Voice Lines · Mona: About Being Fooled

"I already said I wasn't fooled! He must have thought that way—he was even amazed that I guessed it!"