Cyno continued, "That was when I realized—in the Grand Sage's eyes, the Mahamatra are nothing but tools for the Sages to control knowledge."
"The original oath of the Mahamatra, the principles we've upheld to this day—all of it seemed meaningless in the current Akademiya."
[Nahida: As long as someone still upholds those principles, they hold meaning.]
[Dehya: Yes. There must still be people in the Akademiya who stand by the Mahamatra's principles. Cyno, perhaps that is your strength.]
[Cyno: I'm used to working alone. As a General Mahamatra, as the leader of the Mahamatra, I'm unqualified... In the future, I may step down from this position.]
[Keqing: That's true. As the head of a department, the most important skills are management and leadership—turning the entire department into your strength and making the Mahamatra an extension of your ideals.]
[Paimon: As expected of a Liyue Qixing. You always speak with such insight.]
Lumine asked, "So you chose self-exile?"
Cyno nodded. "I thought it was the wisest move to escape before the Sages could take measures against me. That way, I could also slip out of their sight. I will never give up investigating this matter. I don't need anyone to grant me authority—I will judge in my own name."
Paimon said, "It seems Cyno's position aligns with ours—we're both investigating the Sages."
"And now he's no longer the General Mahamatra. He doesn't sound as intimidating anymore."
Lumine remained cautious. "We still can't fully trust him. What if it's just a fabricated story?"
Paimon asked Cyno directly, "Then why did you target Alhaitham?"
Cyno answered bluntly, "Because while investigating at the Akademiya, I happened to see Alhaitham meeting with a Sage."
"The Sage told you to investigate a blonde Traveler, didn't they?"
[Paimon: Ah, so Alhaitham works for the Grand Sage...]
[Alhaitham: That was a very ill-considered statement. I have no intention of explaining myself.]
[Lumine: Why do you say that?]
[Paimon: Why do you say that?]
[Alhaitham: Because the future me will explain it. So the current me doesn't need to...]
Paimon's eyes widened.
Cyno continued, "That mission also had no record, and with your connection to the Divine Knowledge Capsules, it's your turn to explain."
Alhaitham answered directly, "I can admit that. I did indeed receive a mission to investigate this Traveler."
"After all, the reward for that mission was astonishing—no scholar could refuse it. The Sage said that upon completion, I could witness divine knowledge. Unfortunately, the Sages don't understand me. The Grand Sage's words revealed one important piece of information—that divine knowledge does indeed exist. Knowing that alone was enough for me."
[Nahida: The divine knowledge from the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata has already been contaminated by forbidden knowledge. Witnessing it would inevitably lead to madness.]
[Paimon: Like the mad scholars?]
[Nahida: Yes. And possibly even more severe than their madness.]
"The Sages aren't trustworthy in my eyes. Think about it—they were so willing to offer divine knowledge as a reward. That's rather strange, isn't it? So I began investigating along the trail of divine knowledge. In the end, I'm glad I did, and I'm glad I didn't trust the Sages."