Leaving aside Dehya's matter, readers actually had another question they were quite curious about: Where did Alhaitham go?
They hadn't seen him since they parted ways back then—not even during the analysis and discussion just now. Could it be that he was disliked, so no one called him?
Alhaitham wasn't disliked; the moment the Traveler left the village chief's house, they discovered Alhaitham sitting outside reading a book.
Just imagining Brother Hai lurking outside, pressed against the wall eavesdropping on the people inside analyzing—readers couldn't help but want to laugh.
Though they knew it was probably impossible, who cares—since we didn't see exactly what happened, let's just assume that's how it was.
[Paimon said: "It's been so long since you appeared, and suddenly you're here using your brain—it's too weird! Where have you been all this time?"]
[Alhaitham silent: "…"]
[Paimon dissatisfied: "Hey, why aren't you talking?"]
[Alhaitham answered: "You seem to never think before asking questions; I was giving you time to make up for it."]
Alhaitham hadn't left Aaru Village—so where else could he have gone? He must have been investigating in Aaru Village, so saying Paimon didn't think before asking was indeed spot-on.
But how to put it—he was still too harsh on Paimon. She hadn't gone to school; what could she think about? It was already good that the kid could ask questions.
Seeing this line, readers instead felt a bit attracted to Alhaitham.
How to say it—this man's words clearly carried a 'keep people at arm's length' distance, yet it didn't make people feel repulsed; instead, it was very charming.
The reason was as mentioned before—he truly had the capital to act cool, so seeing him like this only made people think he was handsome, not pretentious.
Moreover, Alhaitham's line here could be considered a famous quote, though Ayato didn't quite agree.
For a 'political strategist,' even 'nonsense' inquiries were very important—perhaps something useful could be gleaned from the nonsense.
But Alhaitham was a scholar, not a politician; he had no interest in nonsense.
Unlike smart people who have their own subjective thoughts, whether the real-life Paimon or the in-story Paimon would only get angry—because she wasn't smart.
["You…! Ah, you're making me so mad—I'm going to give him an ugly nickname!"]
That's what the in-story Paimon said; the real-life Paimon was much more honest, only daring to grumble secretly in the Traveler's ear, not letting Alhaitham hear.
Though the in-story one thought of giving a nickname, unfortunately she couldn't come up with one in the end—the reason being Alhaitham had no distinctive features.
This made Venti scratch his head—so I have a nickname because my feature is 'bard'? It was both amusing and exasperating.
Anyway, from the story it was still clear—Paimon got angry for a moment but didn't explode; between feeling aggrieved and angry, she chose to sulk aggrievedly.
If I had to say, just call Alhaitham 'Sumeru B King'—perfectly fitting.
If that feels uncivilized, there are others, like 'Cold-Faced Little Ash-Hair' or something.
No more joking—Alhaitham is calling us back to the main topic.
[Alhaitham: "Back to the main topic. You plan to leave Aaru Village and continue pursuing the truth, right?"]
In fact, Alhaitham came to 'stop' the Traveler and the others from leaving the village to investigate.
The reason was—he found other clues in the village. Yes, about that lying girl 'Shani' from before.
[Alhaitham: "Later, I'll take you to meet someone. But first, you need to realize the other party's position."]
[Alhaitham asked: "What do you think the people of Aaru Village's attitude is toward what we're doing?"]
["In other words, do you think the information you've inquired about is all true?"]
Blind monk, you've discovered a library!
No—Watson, you've discovered a blind spot!
To the people of Aaru Village, the Traveler is a genuine outsider, and Aaru Village—this desert village—isn't 'hospitable Mondstadt.' Would the villagers really speak freely?
No—they wouldn't even pat your head; that would already count as friendly.
In fact, most villagers hadn't deceived the Traveler because they truly knew nothing.
But one person knew something yet didn't say it, because:
[Alhaitham: "Because… for those who want to live peacefully, any external factor could be a variable."]
This line actually had something in common with Candace's words: 'Even if it's hard and exhausting, we just want to maintain our current lives.'
Those were Candace's original words, and also the thoughts of most people in Aaru Village.
Who could be sure that telling information to the Traveler would bring what kind of unknown changes to their lives?
The vast majority of people were neither radicals nor conservatives—they just wanted to live their days—so Jebrail's wife was so angry when she learned Jebrail had 'joined' the radicals.
In this situation, withholding something was normal.
But fortunately, Alhaitham was a genius of the School of Semiotics—he was extremely sensitive to matters of language and text.
His sensitivity was comparable to the Traveler's 'sister Lumine shiver'—the kind that trembles all over even if you blow in her ear.
Others didn't spot issues in Shani's few sentences, but Alhaitham could.
He noticed Shani was very afraid of Cyno's martial strength and status, and also noticed the contradiction: she said she went to bed early yet saw something that happened late at night.
As expected of a linguist—analyzing so much information from just a few simple sentences.
Since Shani knew some intelligence, naturally they needed to go ask her.
However, Shani still remained vigilant—at least the Traveler needed to prove their stance before she would reveal what she knew.
What stance? The Traveler and Paimon were a bit bewildered—do we even have a stance?
Isn't it because we have no stance that we became the best tool—I mean, the best sixth man—in the previous nations?
What stance do we need now? Would saying 'Hail Hydra' work?
It wouldn't go that far—Shani just wanted to ask the Traveler a few questions to confirm.
[Shani: "Do you think… the Scarlet King's revival can really bring a turning point to Sumeru?"]
["Traveler, do you think our lives in Sumeru will get better?"]
These words were asking the 'Traveler,' but when they appeared in the prophecy book, it seemed they weren't just asking the Traveler anymore—she was asking 'everyone.'
Shani's worries were very normal—the current Akademiya was indeed a pile of dog shit, but who could guarantee the next ruler would be a good person?
Ordinary people didn't understand little Dendro God, and weren't even clear who would have the last laugh.
What if it was that group of desert radicals? If they became the rulers, would Sumeru really get better?