Genshin Impact: Towards Godhood

What else could Shahzaman want to do?

In Sumeru City, under the heightened vigilance of the Akademiya, gathering many friends surely wasn't to hand himself over.

"You're right, that's exactly what I've been worrying about," Shahzaman said with a bitter smile. "There's nothing more to say; back then, I did indeed receive Kusayla's favor when he and his Blazing Beasts saved my life."

"Before Kusayla went to do that thing, he specifically wrote to me, asking me to take care of Dehya."

A disaster out of nowhere.

The cause and effect of the incident were no longer a secret among them.

With Ramar's crazy proclamation that day, all the secrets about that past event had long been deeply dug out.

Including why the [Deshret's Relic] declined, what Kusayla did—these matters had long been laid out in everyone's intelligence systems.

So, what role did Shahzaman play in this?

A scapegoat.

He was initially lucky. After all, after being imprisoned, he met Kusayla, who saved him and his family from danger.

In most cases, surviving a life-threatening situation can be considered lucky, especially since Shahzaman hadn't paid any unbearable price for it.

Until today, when the situation changed dramatically.

The incident remained the same, but the identities of the people involved had changed, altering the nature of the whole matter.

This was an unforeseeable issue.

Shahzaman's expression was sincere. "I was saved, and although it was by desert folk, I couldn't refuse to repay the favor."

"So, Kusayla went to the [Deshret's Relic] stronghold and burned down the archives."

"And I supported Dehya's newly established Blazing Beasts, giving them some simple but lucrative tasks to help Dehya, in return for Kusayla's life-saving grace."

"That's all there is to it, nothing more to investigate."

"But Dehya's identity has changed, and my situation has become very dire."

As Shahzaman spoke, his tone even carried a hint of gritted teeth.

"It is indeed quite bad."

Whether out of schadenfreude or genuine sympathy, they acknowledged this statement. "But given the current state of the Akademiya, they're unlikely to take the time to slowly determine your innocence."

A disaster out of nowhere was true.

But no one cared whether you were innocent.

Shahzaman's life and death had an impact, but it was very limited.

The biggest impact was that everyone, as outsiders, realized that just being suspected by the Akademiya could lead to death—a notion alarming enough on its own.

Moreover, it happened to someone they knew.

This was Shahzaman's only reason for staying alive.

Dying just because of suspicion was too brutal a reason.

Everyone knew the Akademiya suspected Shahzaman and wanted to kill him.

Because so many people knew, the Akademiya couldn't kill him and then look for evidence—they had to present evidence first to make the matter seem reasonable.

Their gathering here was also a statement to the Akademiya.

We know you want to kill Shahzaman and don't intend to verify his innocence. 

But you must provide a suitable reason.

If today, you can kill Shahzaman without anyone stopping you just because of suspicion, the Akademiya's actions will only become more unrestrained.

Some things must be done.

If you don't stand up, when your interests are harmed, there might be no one left to stand up for you.

"My daughter, Dunyazard, has always been physically weak due to Eleazar and unable to attend the Akademiya."

"But she has a strong desire to understand the outside world."

"So, I plan to let my daughter attend the Akademiya. Fortunately, we have some family assets to support Dunyazard's education."

Shahzaman, like a concerned father planning for his daughter's future, expressed his intentions. "However, her frail health might not support long-term activities at the Akademiya."

"That's not a problem. I'm sure the sages of the Akademiya wouldn't mind accepting a bright scholar as a student," one of Shahzaman's old friends nodded reassuringly.

This was a compromise of interests.

Using Dunyazard and the Homayani family's assets as leverage to show loyalty to the Akademiya.

If Shahzaman was indeed as harmless as he claimed, he had already shown sincerity in this unexpected disaster.

After all, the Akademiya wasn't in an advantageous position. In recent confrontations, they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Given their disadvantage, they urgently needed to suppress dissent within Sumeru City.

Eliminating dissidents was the basic task, but another part was to rekindle the confidence of those Sumeru nobles who were disappointed in them.

Within any faction, there are always those who surrender and those who fight.

For those who have already chosen to surrender, you must destroy them with thunderous means, using the fate of traitors to deter all who plan to betray.

But for those who merely find the Akademiya untrustworthy and are looking for new partners but haven't made a decision, you can't use violence to intimidate them.

Because this is your own problem.

You lost the victory on the battlefield, losing the credibility that a regime should have. It's you who became untrustworthy.

It's like when the Northland Bank loses its credibility and customers want to withdraw their mora.

A crisis of trust isn't the customers' problem; it's Northland Bank's problem. The bank must make amends, not lock everyone's mora and tell them, "Friends, you can't withdraw your money; it must stay in our vault."

That's not how it works.

At times like this, if you intend to use violence to coerce everyone, the only outcome will be everyone betraying you.

Shahzaman and his peers were such people.

The Akademiya lost first; they lost their deterrent power. These people doubted the Akademiya's ability to protect their assets. Out of basic self-preservation, they sought to protect their wealth.

Using violence against them would only drive them faster into the arms of the desert regime.

After all, whether the desert would seize their wealth was still uncertain, but if you use violence, you've already started seizing their wealth.

Most people will resist violence and oppression. Normally, the Akademiya could suppress dissent.

But at the crucial moment of the desert's rise, their confidence wasn't that strong.

This is the value of the [Deshret's Relic]. With competition, something that was once insignificant suddenly gains high value.

(End of Chapter)