(F/n) came back to (Y/n)'s side, realizing that they had practically missed the whole conversation the group was having with Alhaitham about the missing Knowledge Capsule.
Paimon seemed to notice something and brightened. "Alhaitham, before you go! We actually bought Knowledge Capsules for ourselves, but we're not sure how to use them," she piped up.
Alhaitham stared at the group before him with a raised brow. "You four want to try using a Knowledge Capsule? Sure, I can teach you. Doing so right under the Akademiya's nose is a bit problematic, though. What do you say we head to the outskirts of town."
✧˖*°࿐
Alhaitham looked around his surroundings before nodding his head. "Alright, this place works. Show me the capsules you purchased," he ordered.
"Here," Paimon says.
The group held out the capsules they purchased.
Alhaitham looked over the contents of each capsule, taking in the fact that they were all about fighting techniques.
"Hm, Swordfighting Techniques VIII, Bow Techniques IX, along with Asmodeus's Catalyst and Polearm Techniques... Combat-class Knowledge Capsules. These classes are something of a rare find these days, since most have been taken by the Eremites to augment their battle capabilities," Alhaitham states despite feeling mutely shocked on seeing the capsule that (Y/n) had.
"Really? Aw yeah, what a great buy!" Paimon cheered.
Alhaitham looked at the group in front of him. "We can conduct a controlled experiment where you three fight two battles: one before using these Knowledge Capsules, and one after. While you fight, we can use an Akasha Terminal to monitor your various physical parameters. There may be variances in your physical strength between the two tests, as well as a disparity in your opponents' abilities... But don't worry, I'll run statistical analyses afterward to mitigate any confounding effects."
(Y/n) hummed lightly as he nodded his head, looking at the capsule he held in his hand with all his attention toward it.
His head felt scrambled and started to hurt. Hearing 'Asmodeus' over and over again was starting to make sense to him. But he was confused about one thing.
Who created him?
Whenever he tried to think of anything, an image of a young-looking woman would always appear before him with soft gentle glowing hair that had streaks of green in it. But he couldn't see a face due to it being blurred out.
It infuriated him even though he never showed it on his face.
A gentle nudge on his arm made him snap out of whatever he was thinking and saw the worried look that (F/n) was sending up toward him.
Alhaitham, Aether, and Paimon didn't seem bothered by his and (F/n)'s silence as those three talked to each other.
(F/n) looked at the capsule that (Y/n) had in his hands once more. They were flabbergasted to see that someone had recorded the male's old fighting style before he had died at the hands of some old friends.
But in a way, they were glad that this information was recorded. It meant that (Y/n) would be fighting like he used to.
"Alright, let's begin the test. Just fight as you all normally do," Alhaitham finally says.
✧˖*°࿐
Alhaitham stared at the trio after they were finished with the Knowledge Capsules that they had on them.
"Alhaitham, how's it going?" Paimon curiously asked.
"Well, the Knowledge Capsules you purchased improved their combat capabilities. During the second fight, their overall fighting increased by 0.073%," Alhaitham answered as he pointed at both Aether and (F/n).
(Y/n) raised a brow, wondering why Alhaitham didn't add him to the comment. He had a feeling that whatever the scroll he had gotten himself, though, did a lot more than it was supposed to be.
"Wait... how much?" Paimon questions in disbelief.
"0.073%," Aether answered.
Paimon huffed angrily. "Aaarrrgh! Dori's such a jerk! She totally scammed us! One million mora? This thing isn't worth a tenth of that amount!" She exclaimed.
Alhaitham shook his head. "Of course, this could be because he is so powerful that the capsules' contents were unable to produce a substantial increase. At the very least, this test allowed me to gain more insight into you four. Our deal seems increasingly worth my investment," he says. "I'm heading back to the Wikala Funduq. I await your response in two days' time. This is more for when you ask Dori for information. Pay her as much as she requests," he added before handing over a pouch of mora.
✧˖*°࿐
"Here, over here! Welcome back, my loyal patrons. What can I do for you this time?" Dori asked as she waved down the group. "You can name it! Canned Knowledge, supplies, or anything else you need, I'll find a way to get it... Where there's a waterfall of mora, there's a way."
"Can you really get us anything we want? Anything at all?" Paimon asked.
Dori nodded her head. "Aha! So it appears that Canned Knowledge alone is no longer sufficient for your opulent appetite? Then please, oblige me, tell me what you have in mind!"
"We'd like to buy information on the whereabouts of the missing Divine Knowledge Capsule." (Y/n) spoke up.
Dori hummed lightly as she brought a hand to her chin, nodding her head in understanding. "Oh, hehehe! I knew customers with pockets as deep as yours would undoubtedly crave something more profound than ordinary Canned Knowledge. But you know, that kind of information isn't going to be cheap. After all, I had to work really hard to weasel my way into the auction site. Not to mention that if anyone found out that I was the leaker, I would be in big, big trouble," she replied.
"But how can we be sure your information is accurate? Paimon's curious how you just happen to have this kind of info the moment we need it," Paimon points out.
Dori laughed. "Hehehe... Because to me, anything of value is what I consider to be my supply. Therefore, I must always be aware of what's hot on the market in order to secure more sales. As for the information's authenticity, well, you've no need to worry about that. I used a Kamera to take a picture of the transaction. That way, no one can dispute it," she says
Aether sighed. "Name your price," he finally piped in.
Dori smirked, naming the price just to get the exact price she was asking for. "It's always a pleasure doing business with such sterling patrons. Ahem, now that you've paid in full, here's the scoop: The Divine Knowledge Capsule was purchased yesterday by a certain Mizri, the leader of Ayn Al-Ahmar," she explained.
"Ayn Al-Ahmar? You mean the Eremites who worship King Deshret?" Paimon asked, surprised.
Dori clapped her hands with glee. "Ah, so you're already familiar with them. The group has done everything in its power to obtain the Divine Knowledge Capsule. After all, they believe it contains the power of King Deshret. That Divine Knowledge Capsule is unlike any other Canned Knowledge I've seen before. It was glowing bright red. The capsule is clearly visible in the picture I took. You can look for yourself," she states.
Paimon smiled happily. "Thanks for the info, Dori."
"Please, it's my pleasure. It's all thanks to discerning customers such as yourselves that my efforts yesterday were not in vain. Please, don't hesitate to contact me if you ever need anything else in the future — mora for Dori opens doors!" Dori replied.
✧˖*°࿐
"Alhaitham! We got the info you wanted!" Paimon shouted, waving her hand to grab the said male's attention.
"Really? Alright, let's hear it." Alhaitham says.
"It's in the hand of Ayn Al-Ahmar," Aether explained.
"Dori even gave us evidence to verify the Intel. Have a look!" Paimon exclaimed.
(F/n) held out the picture that Dori had given to the group to show as proof of who had bought i t
Alhaitham raised a brow at the photo. "Huh, look at that... clear as day. It must have taken some guts just to infiltrate the scene of the Eremites' transaction. But then to get close enough to take a picture like this... Bold move, Dori. Very bold move," he states. "Alright, the person in this picture is indeed Mizri, the leader of Ayn Al-Ahmar, and the glowing red capsule he's holding appears to be the Divine Knowledge Capsule. In which case, if we play out cards right when we confront them next week, we should be able to force them to show their hand."
"At first, Paimon didn't get why you were provoking these Ayn Al-Ahmar guys, but now it sorta of makes sense. Everything's playing right into your hands. After we defeat them, we can finally have a serious talk with their boss and get him to lend us the Divine Knowledge Capsule," Paimon piped up.
Alhaitham hummed lowly. "Thank you for your efforts. Take a few days off while I make some preparations. Let's meet up again on the afternoon of the arranged date, three o'clock sharp."
"We'll be there, don't cha worry." (F/n) beamed.
"See you then," Alhaitham says with a head nod before walking off.
✧˖*°࿐
A few days later had passed, and now the group of four could be seen waiting for Alhaitham.
"Alhaitham sure is taking his time. Where could he be? Oh, there he is!" Paimon pouted before brightening when she saw Alhaitham walking toward them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's head to the pier in front of Pharos Lighthouse," Alhaitham states.
"Yep, let's go!" Paimon agreed.
✧˖*°࿐
"Alhaitham... I knew you were crazy, but I didn't know you were crazy enough to actually show up," Tariq says when he sees Alhaitham come walking up to him.
"It was I who demanded that these negotiations take place. I was more worried that you might go back on your promise, but to your credit, it appears that you're sticking to your word. This is turning into quite an occasion. I also brought some backup — I assume you don't mind," Alhaitham states.
Tariq raised a brow. "Backup?" He looked over at the group of four, recognition appearing on his face. "Aren't you the brats from the restaurant the other day? You've come to support this lunatic because he helped you out? Hmph fine, your funeral. I'm not going to mince my words: once we're done with you, you'll be nothing more than fish food. Get 'em, boys!"
"Uh oh, here they come! Uh, good luck you four!" Paimon exclaimed.
(Y/n) immediately brought his polearm out, letting it manifest the second an attack from above was being sent at him.
(F/n) released multiple arrows toward the ground seeing as they just wanted to off-balance the Eremites without hurting them too badly. And plus, they didn't want to lose their arrows that easily.
Aether and Alhaitham could be seen fighting side-by-side as they fought against two Eremites.
(Y/n) ducked an incoming blow just to fall to crouch down, leaning on one knee as he stuck his foot out and swiped the eremite's feet from underneath them.
Before the fighting could go any further, Mizri decided to use the forbidden capsule on himself which caused him to go on a full-blown freakout.
However, he was tackled down after being shot in the back of the knee by (F/n) and taken away by the authorities.
"Huh!? What in Teyvat just happened? It's like that big guy suddenly lost his mind..." Paimon gazed out in horror.
"It looks like he used the Divine Knowledge Capsule," Alhaitham answered.
"You mean, the Divine Knowledge Capsule did that to him?" Paimon exclaimed in disbelief.
"Speaking of which, Haypasia did mention..." Aether trailed off.
Paimon immediately nodded as she landed in the hold of (Y/n). "Oh yeah, you mean how some researchers go insane after getting knowledge from Irminsul?" She questioned.
"I've heard of numerous incidents of researchers in Satyavada Life going insane. The state that man is now in suggests that this is a similar situation. This Divine Knowledge Capsule does appear to be linked to the gods, but beyond that, it doesn't seem anything like the rumors suggest. Possessing it doesn't grant you Divine wisdom or power. Did you hear what he said? "World... forget me..." What could that possibly mean?" Alhaitham replied.
Aether and (Y/n) looked at each other when they heard Alhaitham say the last bit.
'That's exactly what I heard before at Irminsul...' Aether thought.
'I was given a different experience...but from what I remember, the voice, the figure I saw made me think that they knew me personally at one point in life.' (Y/n) thought.
"If the matra took him away, then that means the Akademiya got the Divine Knowledge Capsule back, too. What a shame, we were so close..." Paimon sighed heavily in disappointment. "Still, Paimon didn't expect the Divine Knowledge Capsule would be so dangerous. Imagine if we'd tried to open it... Who knows what would've happened to us..."
"As things stand, there is no reason for me to remain in Port Ormos. I believe our collaboration has also reached its end," Alhaitham states.
Paimon turned toward Alhaitham in realization. "Oh, we were so busy trying to find the Divine Knowledge Capsule that Paimon forgot to ask you something! Since you're a member of the Akademiya, do you have any idea how we can go about meeting Lesser Lord Kusanali?" She asked.
Alhaitham shook his head. "Truthfully, I don't. Lesser Lord Kusanali appears to exist outside of Sumeru's entire administration. Most of the time, you wouldn't know she exists at all. Moreover, since the Akademiya possesses the Akasha, a symbol of our deity's wisdom, scholars have no reason to desire to make contact with the deity herself anyway..." He replied.
Paimon sighed. "Everything about Lesser Lord Kusanali is such a mystery," she mumbled in disappointment.
Alhaitham and (F/n) seemed to share a quick look with one another as if they were having a silent conversation with each other.
"I'm heading back to the Akademiya. How about you four?" Alhaitham finally asked, breaking the eye contact he had with the feline.
"Aah, it's almost the day of the Sabzeruz Festival! Maybe we should head back, too. We've been rushed off our feet over the past few days, so maybe a little rest and relaxation will do us good." Paimon points out.
"You have a point," Aether agreed.
"Then we'll part ways here, Alhaitham. Until we meet again!" Paimon exclaimed.
Alhaitham watched as the group walked away from him, which allowed the said male to pull out of the hidden Divine Knowledge Capsule he had snatched off of Mizri before he was taken away.
"Hmm... Now, do I deal with this thing first, or should I produce the report that the higher-ups require?" Alhaitham asked himself.
✧˖*°࿐
(F/n) finally decided to open the slip of paper they'd been given by Dori, just to freeze and stare at the information.
They had been looking for (Y/n)'s vision and catalyst that had been taken away from him a very long time ago, and seeing the words on the piece of paper made fear and relief run through their system.
It was information about an Anemo vision being held onto by one of the Sages. A vision that's supposed to be in Asmodeus's possession.
And with that thought in mind, (F/n) immediately knew that they had to get it back somehow. Even if it got them into so much trouble, it'd be worth it.