Sumeru City.
The Akademiya.
Ever since Azar and his faction were dealt with, Alhaitham, Cyno, and the others had barely slept for two straight days.
Documents passed before their eyes one after another, an endless stream without pause.
Of course, the bulk of this work fell on Alhaitham and Tighnari. As for Cyno, his role was more straightforward, constant deployments to arrest and audit scholars.
Those who were all reputation and no substance were removed entirely. Those involved in fraud or crimes were dealt with decisively.
The Akademiya's manpower was drastically reduced, but as a result, overall efficiency increased instead.
The Akasha Terminal had also been temporarily shut down. Whether it would be reactivated would be discussed again after Nahida's return.
Setting aside another document, Alhaitham rubbed his temples with a headache.
The dark circles under his eyes were already pronounced.
In theory, with his constitution, going without sleep for several days shouldn't have been a problem.
Unfortunately, this wasn't merely sleeplessness, it was continuous, high-intensity mental strain.
Even for someone of his caliber, this level of mental overexertion was unbearable.
Tighnari mechanically handed a set of documents to Alhaitham, then picked up another to review.
This had originally been the work of Naphis, the Sage of the Sumeru Akademiya. However, Naphis claimed that since he had only just been rescued and hadn't fully recovered, he had asked Tighnari to handle it in his stead.
In simple terms, since Tighnari had rarely returned to the Akademiya, not making full use of such an outstanding disciple would have been Naphis's dereliction of duty.
As for what Naphis had been doing these past few days…
Either mingling with the Eremites, or mixing with the Grand Bazaar and ordinary citizens of Sumeru.
He had only one task: figuring out how to exact revenge on the other four former Sages, especially Azar.
Thanks to the powerful effects of Life-Recovery Potions, Azar and the others were still very much alive.
They were currently restrained at the entrance of Sumeru City. Every day, passing citizens would stop to beat them up.
At first, some people still felt a bit reluctant.
But when they saw an Eremite toss a slab of raw meat to Azar, who devoured it like a wild beast,
Everyone became convinced that Azar truly had turned into a man-eating demon.
From that point on, people stopped holding back.
Watching Tighnari continue to process work in a mechanical daze, Alhaitham sighed softly.
"There's no need to rush. The work isn't going anywhere, we won't finish it all at once. If you collapse from exhaustion, that would be a real problem."
Tighnari snapped back to awareness, sighed, and temporarily set down the documents in his hands.
"That's exactly why I said I didn't want to come back to the Akademiya!"
He complained with clear displeasure.
"Wouldn't it be better to stay in Gandharva Ville? Besides, the Withering in Avidya Forest still hasn't been fully resolved. Leaving Collei there alone, who knows if it's dangerous?"
"Collei's Eleazar has already been cured. You don't need to worry so much."
Alhaitham took a sip of tea and continued calmly:
"These past few days, all the completely useless research projects in the Akademiya have been suspended, especially everything related to Azar's god-creation plan."
"That alone has saved a considerable amount of Mora."
"However, because of Azar, Liyue had been charging the Akademiya extremely high trade tariffs."
"Now that Azar has fallen, we still need to renegotiate this matter with Liyue."
Tighnari rubbed his ears.
The Akademiya was noisy and irritating, far too unfriendly for someone with keen senses like his.
"Is it really that urgent? The Sabzeruz Festival will begin in a few days. Once Lesser Lord Kusanali returns and the alliance is formed, the Akademiya's problems should resolve themselves."
Alhaitham shook his head.
"Don't be overly optimistic. Snezhnaya has joined the alliance, but the Fatui are still being targeted."
"That's because the Fatui have poor relations with every nation, frankly speaking, there are grudges everywhere," Tighnari replied casually.
"Snezhnaya joining the alliance doesn't mean the Fatui are included. The Cryo Archon came personally and deliberately separated herself from them."
"Also, I've heard that back in Snezhnaya, the Fatui are now controlled by the Jester and the Doctor, and no longer obey the Cryo Archon."
Alhaitham nodded slightly.
"That's part of it. Still, the negotiations must be done. It's a matter of attitude."
"Joining the alliance doesn't mean everything becomes automatically justified."
Tighnari glanced at Alhaitham and asked quietly:
"Who do you plan to send?"
Alhaitham didn't answer, simply looking at Tighnari in silence.
Tighnari froze for a moment, then immediately resisted.
"Don't look at me. I don't have time. I still need to deal with the Withering. Helping out here already isn't easy."
Seeing how resolute Tighnari was, Alhaitham sighed and didn't push further.
"Then I'll go myself. After the Sabzeruz Festival ends, I was planning to visit Liyue anyway."
"But that means I'll need to finish a long backlog of work in advance, more all-nighters."
Alhaitham shook his head and was about to resume working when Cyno suddenly pushed the door open.
After checking who was present and seeing that it was only Alhaitham and Tighnari, he took out a letter and handed it to Alhaitham.
"Dehya sent a letter. She's asking us to dispatch a group of elite scholars to Liyue to assist the alchemy master Albedo with research."
Alhaitham's interest was piqued. He read the letter and looked surprised.
"New mod… magical products…"
"It's a pity. If I weren't stuck in Sumeru, I'd like to go see it myself."
After a moment of silence, Alhaitham picked up the scholar roster and examined it.
"How about sending a hundred people?"
"A hundred? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Not at all."
Alhaitham shook his head and explained calmly:
"Our people aren't familiar with that world. Once there, they'll mostly be assisting."
"The main purpose is to ease Albedo's workload and, incidentally, gain early exposure to that world."
"If they can't participate as primary researchers, then as assistants, more people is better."
Cyno thought for a moment, then said:
"That's your call. Give me a list, and I'll find the people."
"No rush. I need to think this through carefully."
Alhaitham picked up his pen and began marking the list.
"This trip to Liyue will likely mean long-term residence for those scholars."
"They'll have to sign contracts with Liyue, and their responsibilities will only grow over time."
"So we can't be careless with personnel."
"This will also be our first real contribution since joining the alliance."
As he spoke, Alhaitham looked up at Tighnari.
"Are you interested in going?"
Tighnari immediately refused.
"I just want to go back to Gandharva Ville. And there's still so much unresolved work here."
"You don't need to rush. You don't have to go with the first group."
"After the Sabzeruz Festival, you can go with me."
"You'll be interested in that world."
Tighnari sighed helplessly and spread his hands.
"I don't think I will. A new world is fascinating, sure, but I have a duty passed down through generations."
"I must guard Avidya Forest and watch over the Withering."
Alhaitham put on an exaggerated look of regret.
"I see… what a shame."
"I thought an outstanding graduate of the Spantamad school like you would be interested in something like a Time Tree."
Time Tree?
Tighnari's heart jolted. He instantly became alert.
He knew Alhaitham was baiting him.
But,
This was an open scheme.
One Tighnari couldn't refuse.
As an exceptional scholar of biological theory, mysterious plants were precisely the kind of research subject he found impossible to resist.
Pressing his lips together, Tighnari hesitated for a long moment before finally asking:
"A Time Tree?"
The corner of Alhaitham's mouth curved upward. He looked at Tighnari silently.
Irritated, Tighnari said in a low voice:
"You win. I'm very interested. Just tell me, and afterward, I'll go with you."
Alhaitham replied calmly:
"This is the best decision you could've made. Trust me, you won't regret it."
"Now you can tell me about the Time Tree, right?"
Tighnari ignored him and stared straight at him.
Alhaitham shook his head.
"I don't know."
"…?"
"Don't look at me like that."
Alhaitham said helplessly:
"I only know that they truly have Time Trees, divine trees that can accelerate the flow of time within a certain area."
"Besides that, there are Transformation Trees that can change the biome of a region into a special ecosystem."
"And there's also a magical bean that, when planted in fertile soil, grows straight into the clouds."
"I haven't seen any of these myself."
"But Miss Lumine said they already possess two Time Trees."
"They're currently in Albedo's laboratory, undergoing research, but no results yet."
"You should understand. Time itself is hard to grasp."
"A tangible Time Tree that affects temporal flow only makes experiments harder to define."
"Even observation is difficult, let alone research."
Seeing Tighnari's disappointment, Alhaitham added casually:
"That's all I know. Of course, if you don't want to go, that's fine."
"After all, there's no guarantee Time Trees will yield any meaningful results."
"…."
Tighnari stared at Alhaitham in silence before speaking softly:
"Has anyone ever told you that your provocation tactics are terrible?"
"Terrible?" Alhaitham chuckled lightly. "As long as they work."
"These past few days, thanks for working overtime with me."
"After the Sabzeruz Festival, you can hand things over to Naphis, and then we'll go to Liyue together."
Tighnari didn't refuse. He nodded and returned to his work.
Off to the side, Cyno suddenly felt displeased, as if he had become invisible in this academic 'family.'
Unable to help himself, he raised his voice slightly:
"Hurry up and give me the list. I'll go find the people and send them to Liyue."
"No rush. I need time to investigate."
"Come pick it up this evening. They'll depart tomorrow and arrive in Liyue within three days."
Cyno nodded reluctantly and said nothing more.
He turned and left the office, there was still plenty of work waiting for him.
For example, dealing with the remaining cases of academic fraud.
But just as he reached the door, Cyno paused and spoke somewhat awkwardly:
"After the Sabzeruz Festival… I'm going to Liyue too."
Alhaitham rolled his eyes internally.
Still, he waved a hand and replied:
"That's fine. As long as you can arrange the Akademiya's affairs."
"That place could use strong combat power."
Cyno didn't respond and walked straight out.
Alhaitham increasingly felt like an unnecessary presence in this academic household.
If Lumine were here…
She'd probably be happily shipping Cyno × Tighnari again.