It seemed that this period of time was rather unfortunate for the Mashriq scholar Aksham-Sadin.
The story began when he planned to leave the Janik Beylik a while ago. Having just finished his intensive studies deep in the mountains, he had intended to leave the Janik region and travel to the Ottoman Sultanate, which he had heard much about. However, he unexpectedly discovered that Janik, where he resided, had somehow gotten into a conflict with a group of Romans Christians from north of the Black Sea, and had been completely overrun despite the support of fellow Muslim states like Ottoman and Kandar. As a result, the Muslims, including himself, had their movements restricted, making it difficult to leave the area. Even though Aksham-Sadin was a moderately famous jurist, he couldn't find a way to leave the area quickly and safely.
If he couldn't leave, then he couldn't leave. For the sake of his life and property, Aksham-Sadin ultimately chose to temporarily stay in Pontus, observe the situation, and do what he could for his fellow believers.
The turning point likely occurred a few days ago. That day, several jurists he only knew approached him unexpectedly, urging Aksham-Sadin to help them encourage the lower-class fellow Islam believers whose situation was unclear. To this, he, also known as Gourani Molla in the Islam world, naturally agreed without much hesitation.
Then he was inexplicably drawn into this incident and directly arrested by the Christians. As for whether he genuinely participated in the rebellion, it's hard to say…
If he truly participated, he had no idea what his fellow Muslims were genuinely busy with during this time, having neither deeply participated nor understood the specific process; yet, if he was completely unaware, he had vaguely deduced from their movements that they must be doing something detrimental to the infidel monarch, and based on this, he guessed and tried to incite the believers around him to cooperate with the work of other clerics.
By this reckoning, in the eyes of the so-called Bosphorus Caesar and other Christians, he should be considered to have known but not reported, right?
The more he thought about it, the more Aksham-Sadin, now imprisoned, felt his future life was bleak. Never mind, although it was still somewhat unclear, if he died because of this, perhaps it could be said that he had completed the martyrdom mentioned in the scriptures. When he considered this, he became quiet in the prison. In any case, he would become a corpse eventually, so it was better to follow the scriptures and appear more composed before then.
However, to Aksham-Sadin's surprise, his life did not end there. About three days after he was arrested and held in Theodore's local prison, a group of neatly dressed Bosphorus soldiers came before him, telling the Muslim scholar that, by superior order, they would take him to another location. The location was temporarily kept secret, but he could rest assured that he was not in any immediate danger, and might even be released if possible.
"So, what is the reason you Romans are doing this to me, a Muslim who has committed treason?" Aksham-Sadin felt little joy at the prospect of being released. Based on his impression of the newly governing Bosphorus during this time, it seemed that easily letting go of infidels was not their style; moreover, he always felt that this matter was not only sudden but also quite strange.
"To be honest, we don't know the inside story. But according to our officers, it is a personal order from our esteemed Caesar. According to the officers, Caesar, besides saying he intends to meet you, also said that if you refuse, you will be treated no differently from other Muslims and dealt with the same way. That's about it." To Aksham-Sadin's question, the Bosphorus soldiers gave a very straightforward answer, though the reply seemed somewhat vague and cold.
Faced with such an ambiguous and threatening response, the scholar became even more vigilant. Nevertheless, he ultimately chose to accept the suggestion that Bosphorus Caesar implicitly offered through his soldiers, deciding to meet this Roman monarch.
After he agreed, these Bosphorus soldiers, following their superiors' orders, properly settled the Muslim scholar into the carriage they had prepared for him. About half a day later, he was safely taken to a secluded castle within Trabzon city, where he was about to meet the young monarch, who was rumored to have a formidable reputation.
And the other party did not make him wait long. Less than a quarter of an hour later, Manuel, accompanied by his Commander of the Guard, Badars, stood before him, dressed cleanly and simply, with a steady smile on his face.
Although he didn't want to admit it, this attitude still earned Aksham-Sadin's deep admiration. After a discussion of religious doctrines that seemed abstruse to outsiders, both parties quickly got to the point.
"So, Manuel, what do you want from me?" Aksham-Sadin asked Manuel in stiff greek, looking very confused.
"Well, I hope to start from your side." Regarding the question posed by the weathered Mashriq scholar, Caesar did not answer him immediately. Instead, like a riddle-solver, he wore a mysterious smile and spoke some irrelevant words.
"?" Although he completely failed to understand what the other party intended, upon hearing this, the scholar's guard, which had just relaxed due to the other party's appropriate attitude, rose again.
"Aksham-Sadin, also revered as Gourani Molla within the Islam. Born in Mesopotamia, he once studied under local jurists and is now spreading his teachings in Asia Minor. It is said that you originally intended to go to the Ottoman Sultanate to instruct the Ottoman Sultan. To be honest, I truly admire your devout attitude."
Listening to the other party recite his life's overview like reading a book, Aksham-Sadin immediately felt uncomfortable, "Manuel, I only hold such devotion for Allah."
"I know," Manuel said, switching his self-reference back from "I" (royal we) to "I" (personal), "and I don't like to do useless work, so you needn't worry about your faith being defiled by infidels or anything like that.
"I requested to see you personally, not only because I wanted to converse with a knowledgeable Islam scholar, but also because I have an idea, an idea that will not defile our doctrines at all.
"I am willing to secretly fund your journey to preach within the Ottoman Sultanate, and in return, I hope you can do a small, insignificant thing for me." As he spoke of his purpose, Manuel's smile grew even more amiable.
"However, I refuse. Unlike those monarchs entangled by worldly affairs, as a devout follower of Allah, I will not harm my fellow brothers for a Christian." Aksham-Sadin didn't even finish listening before he unhesitatingly rejected the other party's proposal.
"I haven't even said what I want to do yet," Manuel tried his best to maintain his expression, "Never mind, this was also within my expectations. In that case, I shall add some weight to this scale.
"Using the Muslims of Pontus as the weight."