[Dehya said: "Sigh… Got it, got it, Candace."]
["I count as a mediator too, only… uh, a bit more radical. Let the two from the Akademiya speak first."]
Readers burst out laughing—she actually said she's mediating.
Beating both sides to death also counts as stopping the fight, right? Did you and Shenhe take the same mediation course?
Chasca is watching with great enjoyment—no problem, this is indeed a form of mediation.
As a professional mediator, Chasca deeply understands one truth: in Teyvat where martial virtue is abundant, armed mediation is indeed more effective than lip service.
The difference is: Chasca uses force to threaten others not to fight, while Dehya uses force to personally beat them down—she's the mediator who jumps in and starts punching herself.
That's not as good as Chasca. Chasca's mediation style is like this:
Two groups start fighting, Chasca stops them, then says something like "If I can shoot the small branch on the halberd, you all stop fighting."
And she actually can. When others see her martial prowess comparable to the Lü Bu of the current era, they all behave themselves.
The ones who don't behave get a few hard shots from her big revolver and then behave.
In the end it becomes both sides "telling crosstalk in an ice cellar—moving mouths but not hands."
Back to the story: mediator Dehya doesn't need to say more, so Cyno speaks first.
[Cyno said: "Alhaitham said the Matra of the Akademiya don't know where I went, but that's not because I'm carrying out some 'shady mission'."]
["…It's because I chose 'self-exile'."]
This actually makes readers feel good toward Cyno—so you're also against the Akademiya!
As long as you're against the Akademiya, we're brothers from different mothers and fathers.
You just like telling jokes in the middle of the "three nines" winter? Tell them! Worst case we'll wear more layers!
By the way, Cyno is the General Mahamatra—a high-ranking position in the Akademiya. Even someone at this level "defected." The Akademiya really has standards.
As for why Cyno left the Akademiya: he discovered something fishy about this "project."
Cyno investigated the project and found that the relevant information was personally handled by Grand Sage Azar.
All the information and physical evidence cleverly avoided Cyno—clearly intentional.
Cyno wanted to dig deeper, but his investigation request was rejected by the Grand Sage with the reason:
["'The power of the General Mahamatra is granted by the sages. You have no right to judge us.'"]
Blatant abuse of power—this is why Cyno left the Akademiya.
Moreover, the Grand Sage kept saying "we" and "sages," as if it was a collective decision by everyone.
But in reality it wasn't—there were opponents inside, but the opponents were secretly imprisoned by him.
[Cyno: "At that moment I realized: in the Grand Sage's eyes, the Matra are nothing more than tools for the sages to control 'knowledge'."]
["The original oath of the Matra, the principles I've upheld until now, have become completely meaningless in the current Akademiya."]
Cyno's meaning: he understood he was just a weapon for the authoritarian.
And to uphold his original oath, he would rather abandon the position of General Mahamatra and become a "fugitive" than stay in the Akademiya.
["…I will never give up investigating this matter. I don't need anyone to grant me power—I will judge in my own name."]
Because we are Matra.
Cyno's speech won a lot of goodwill, especially from other Matra who now see him as a senior role model.
But for people who know Cyno well, he feels a bit unfamiliar right now.
So cold, so calm, so detached—usual Cyno is not like this.
Cyno is extremely serious in work mode, but when he's with friends he's not like this. This side of him is actually not common to people outside "criminals."
Probably when he's with friends, all that "coldness" turns into the cold jokes he tells.
So you really have to tell cold jokes, or your heart will turn cold.
Anyway, based on Cyno's speech, readers have already classified him as an ally.
But in the story the Traveler still remains vigilant, worried that Cyno is making up a story.
How to put it—the Traveler's vigilance goes up and down: sometimes overly cautious, sometimes pure like a college student.
But vigilance is not a bad thing. For example, right now Cyno publicly reveals one of Alhaitham's secrets—a secret that seems enough to question Alhaitham's credibility.
[Cyno: "While I was investigating in the Akademiya, I once caught Alhaitham meeting with a sage."]
["The sage said at the time: you were to investigate a blonde Traveler… right, Alhaitham?"]
So Alhaitham appearing in Port Ormos was actually a planned approach?
Then the "chance" encounter with the Traveler at Caravan Ribat—was that also part of the plan!?
Lumine: I despair at this world full of brains. This world has rejected me.
Readers furrow their brows. Honestly, no one believes Alhaitham is on the Akademiya's side.
No particular reason—just because he's too pretentious.
Someone this pretentious always feels like he's hiding some secret, has his own plans, and doesn't seem like the type to be used as a gun by a low-tier like Azar.
If he really were on the Akademiya's side, it would actually make him lesser. A king of pretentiousness like this should stand on his own side. It only makes sense for him to have his own independent faction.
[Alhaitham said: "I can admit this point. I did indeed receive the task to investigate this Traveler."]
It's normal for Alhaitham to accept this task. He didn't know the Traveler at first, so receiving an order from above to investigate is completely normal.
Moreover, his superior offered him a condition no scholar could refuse.
["After all, the reward for that task was astonishing—no scholar could refuse it. The sage said: 'After completion, I can let you see divine knowledge.'"]
For Sumeru scholars, this condition is indeed tempting. Haypasia became like that just to see divine knowledge.
The risk is huge, yet so many Sumeru scholars keep trying one after another—shows how tempting it is.
[Alhaitham: "Unfortunately, the people of the Akademiya do not understand me."]
["The Grand Sage's words revealed one crucial piece of information: divine knowledge does indeed exist. Knowing that alone is enough for me."]
From this you can see how good Alhaitham is at gathering intelligence from others' words. He did the same with the Traveler.
Even though the Traveler said nothing, her denials and non-direct answers all became sources of information for Alhaitham.
He didn't see the divine knowledge, but he learned plenty from the Traveler.
Lumine: Alhaitham, I have already ascended to godhood.