"This plan is overly straightforward."
During the deciphering process, Rama kept the eavesdropping device active but temporarily disabled the reception of signals.
Mishal's plan was simply to play both sides—taking advantage of the [Corps of Thirty] while colluding with the desert tribes.
This crude but workable plan would eventually find its opportunity as long as it had value.
The [Deshret's Relics] clearly had such an opportunity.
"But this way, the plan can be even more refined."
This could tie into what Babel said. Rama was not one to handle affairs; he only cared about his own strength.
The core was, of course, himself, followed by the war machine forces, and lastly, the tribespeople.
"If it weren't for the gods choosing humans as the main beings of this world, you wouldn't have chosen humans at all, right?"
The young scholar following him rolled her eyes.
"I never promised Mishal anything, yet he knows he could become an elder." Rama's tone was calm. "Guess whose promise that is."
"A promise can also be a lie, something not meant to be fulfilled." Faruzan pursed her lips. "They might not have betrayed you."
"Heh."
Rama chuckled without further argument.
"People change their minds, which is why you trust the war machines more."
Faruzan puffed out her cheeks and sighed.
In this aspect, Rama wouldn't lie to her. Compared to power itself, authority was just a tool for Rama.
He wouldn't casually grant the tool of governance to others, but he wasn't completely inflexible either.
Mishal wouldn't easily believe such a promise unless it came from someone with sufficient status.
So, who were Mishal's collaborators?
Naturally, the elders of the tribes.
They had already begun to unite and were doing things Rama wasn't aware of.
"Individual combat power, loyalty, group warfare, and cost." Rama chuckled lightly. "Compared to machinery, the only thing I can trust is humanity and miracles themselves."
Machinery doesn't believe in miracles; winning is winning, and failing is failing.
But emotional beings can occasionally create miracles, just like Dehya's father, Kusayla.
Mishal couldn't understand why a cripple could burn the archives while being protected by others. The importance of this place was self-evident. There was a possibility that the guards were negligent due to the [Deshret's Relics's] power, but Kusayla's condition was equally poor.
He had leg problems, no Vision, and was at most half an ordinary person.
Yet, this half-cripple dug a grave for the [Deshret's Relics].
Rama couldn't understand either. Besides believing that a father and leader's sense of responsibility drove Kusayla, he couldn't find any reason to support Kusayla's successful counterattack.
"Miracles don't happen to ordinary people," Faruzan's face was pale. "My escape from the ruins after being sealed for so long was a minor miracle."
"If any scholar of my time fell into the same situation, they might not have made it out."
Surviving and escaping after a hundred years of deciphering work was indeed a miracle.
More likely, they would have gone mad.
Faruzan's survival and her encounter with Rama were due to good luck and a miracle.
But miracles are neither free nor cheap.
"It's okay, just give them a little time and let events develop for a while."
Rama touched the girl's cheek. "Those things are in the past."
Faruzan had refused to return to the Akademiya as a spy. She didn't want to do nothing, so she chose to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
Rama didn't force her.
Since Nahida had taken a stand, Faruzan no longer needed to choose.
Upon learning that the Six Sages had imprisoned a god and Nahida had chosen Rama, the story's direction changed.
Indeed, Nahida's imprisonment had stripped her of divine dignity.
But it also meant that the Akademiya had no god to rely on.
"If you choose the Akademiya, it makes sense. After all, I haven't given you anything. On the contrary, you've enjoyed many benefits from the Akademiya."
This was why Rama didn't consider persuading Cyno or Alhaitham.
In the future, they would stand by Lumine because the Sages targeted Sumeru people, not because of Nahida.
A god who hadn't appeared for five hundred years and you claim to rebel against the Akademiya that has given you everything for that god?
You must need something from the god; otherwise, it doesn't make sense.
Alhaitham and Cyno's choices were because the Akademiya Sages saw them as threats first.
The Sages knew their nature and anticipated they wouldn't tolerate the plan, so they preemptively moved to eliminate the trouble.
For self-preservation and their beliefs, they naturally aligned with Lumine.
"But if you choose me, that works too," Nahida reasoned. "My divine position comes from the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Sumeru owes nothing to me, but you all owe everything to the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
Unlike Nahida, the Greater Lord had only given and never taken.
But she was dead. The same logic applies—the Scarlet King and the Flower God were dead, and their faith would only remain in the hands of those seeking to manipulate [divine power].
A dead god usually isn't considered in the equation.
No matter how much you extol their deeds, power, and spirit, it's evident how they act in practice.
The gods have spoken; whether you support them or choose the Akademiya, they understand and won't blame you.
Faruzan decisively chose to follow Rama and Nahida.
"Give me a little more time." Faruzan forced a smile. "I can't even imagine returning home to find it's inhabited by different people."
Rama nodded without further persuasion.
"Are you really going to implement your... [tyrant plan]?"
After a moment of silence, Faruzan paused her work and casually asked.
"Are you concerned about this?" Rama raised an eyebrow. "Say you care, and I'll explain. Say you don't, and I won't."
"Show some respect for your elders, you rascal!"
Faruzan shook her fist. "I'm a bit concerned. What's the plan?"
The plan wasn't the key; it was the need for a wicked consort to become a tyrant.
"It's simple. When the tribes and Mishal's plan reach a critical moment of encirclement, I'll 'just learn of it and unhesitatingly reject it.'"
"The tribes will never accept the [Deshret's Relics] joining the desert regime because Candace's dear friend's father was killed by them."
"I must choose a moment when Mishal can still cooperate with the [Corps of Thirty]."
Faruzan mused, "You just want him to betray. The reason doesn't matter, but you want to involve Candace."
Rama smiled without a word.
There were too many fish to catch, uncertain how many would bite such obvious bait.
It should be quite a few.
After all, he's just a desert barbarian.
(End of the Chapter)