Cyno asked, "Where are the prisoners?"
Rahman said, "I'll take you there."
After just a few steps, they encountered two people dressed in Akademiya uniforms.
Alhaitham said, "These must be the criminals who kidnapped the Village Guardians."
The two recognized Alhaitham and shouted excitedly, "Scribe!"
[Lumine: They look like they've seen a savior.]
[Paimon: Too bad. He's not their savior—he's on our side.]
[Dehya: They're pitiful in a way. They thought they saw hope, but it's about to be crushed in an instant.]
[Paimon: Hmph! They deserve it for doing bad things.]
[Ningguang: They are indeed pitiful—just low-level soldiers following orders, not the masterminds.]
[Cyno: The masterminds should receive harsher punishment.]
[Paimon: Yes. The masterminds won't be let off either.]
Alhaitham spread his hands. "No need to shout. No one can help you."
Paimon said angrily, "It's all because of you that we had to run back and forth through the desert."
Cyno said, "That's right."
When the two Akademiya men saw Cyno, they were terrified and immediately begged their captors for mercy. "No, no! Don't kill me, you bandits!"
Paimon said to Lumine, "They look at Cyno like they've seen a ghost."
Cyno said coldly to the two culprits, "You should have been prepared to be found by me."
[Wriothesley: Even the inmates in my fortress aren't this scared of me.]
[Alhaitham: Cyno is very skilled at extracting confessions. Those who fall into his hands often meet a particularly grim end.]
[Cyno: That's true. But they deserve it.]
[Alhaitham: You seem to enjoy using torture before the full truth has been uncovered. I find that to be a contempt for the rules as well.]
[Cyno: ...]
Akademiya underling, Morghi: "It's not our fault! We were just following orders! You should know—this couldn't possibly be the work of just a few individuals!"
Akademiya underling, Judar: "No! I don't want to be handled by Cyno! I'll end up like a hunted animal—dead in some horrible way!"
Cyno: "Perhaps worse than a beast."
Morghi crouched down, covering his head in fear. "Please... please don't hurt us."
Cyno: "It's fine. Even if you don't talk, I have my ways."
Alhaitham asked directly, "So, what was the purpose of all these orders from above?"
Judar stammered, "It was... it was just to extract Divine Knowledge Capsules."
Alhaitham said, "Don't play dumb. You know what I'm asking. After extracting Divine Knowledge Capsules—what's the next step?"
[Paimon: Using humans to extract Capsules—that's absolutely despicable.]
[Lumine: I wonder if those who were extracted suffer greatly?]
[Alhaitham: Yes, they do.]
[Furina: No deity would ever do this to their own people. Yet the Akademiya dares...]
[Lumine: The Akademiya treating people as tools isn't something new.]
Morghi: "I... I don't know how to say it."
Paimon said angrily, "Hey, show some respect, or we won't be so nice."
Dehya crossed her arms. "Yes. Don't bring trouble upon yourself."
Lumine said, "The Sages want to create a god, don't they?"
Cyno was shocked.
Alhaitham was also shocked.
Dehya stammered, "Wait—that wasn't a metaphor just now, was it? You're serious?"
Morghi stood up. "How... how did you know?"