Hell’s House.
He noticed the name of this relay station with some surprise.
Not long ago, while observing that map that seemed to come from the explorer Quinto Praia, he had noticed that in the central-southeastern part of the Ashless Land, there was such a relay station.
But he had not expected that it would turn out to be the very place where Fredman’s travelogue mentioned the treasure map.
Someone had been selling treasure maps at Hell’s House?
Siles noticed the timing issue. This clearly had happened last year. Merchant Lanmere had also said that he encountered the badly injured Fredman in October of last year.
And now, one year later, news related to the “Non-existent City” was once again flooding the Ashless Land.
That strong sense of conspiracy once again filled Siles’s mind.
Why did a “Non-existent City,” which had already become legend and old lore ever since people began exploring the Ashless Land, still attract people after several hundred years?
Statues… he thought of that clue.
Fredman had told Lanmere that during his final expedition, he had seen human statues. Behind such statues, there was very likely a hidden connection to the believers of Huddokar.
A group of old-god followers.
…Siles hoped he was overthinking it. Otherwise, could the “Non-existent City” from beginning to end be nothing more than a conspiracy by a group of crazed old-god followers?
Besides these thoughts, Siles also noticed a subtle shift in Fredman’s tone in the translation.
He said that the treasure map was “very interesting.” He did not explicitly say why.
Yet Fredman had stayed in the Ashless Land for nearly ten years. That was an extremely long span of time, long enough for him to know the various rumors of the withered wasteland in great detail.
What on earth was on that treasure map that could make Fredman remark in such a way?
A… Non-existent City?
But if it really were the “Non-existent City,” Fredman should have been even more shocked. Besides, since he had already been in the Ashless Land for ten years, he should not have so casually joined that expedition.
His attitude when joining gave the impression that he was only going after wealth and did not believe it concealed any great danger.
Yet the result was far beyond his expectations.
Thinking of this, that sense of conspiracy only grew denser, as if Fredman and his companions had all been lured into that expedition.
Statues… Siles thought.
In a sense, there seemed to be more than one secret hidden within this.
The original map error and the Non-existent City. The tribal ruin discovered by Alfonso and the others. And the information surrounding statues—the travelogue manuscript Fredman left behind, the half-human half-statue that Doctor Chester encountered, and even the explorer Jules had once met.
Were they going to the same place? Or were these just a mass of unrelated clues tangled together?
Siles could not help sighing inwardly.
At that moment, the surrounding students’ chatter and laughter woke him from his thoughts. He raised his eyes to look at them.
There were fifteen students, and naturally they could not all be gathered around Herman. By now they had formed small groups of three or two, chatting among themselves and occasionally tasting some snacks.
In this era without the internet or mobile phones, Siles noticed that these young students were actually very comfortable with this tea-party style gathering. They naturally found topics, talked with one another, and never seemed bored or awkward.
That lively atmosphere made Siles feel a little dazed as well.
Suddenly, he noticed a few people who seemed out of place.
Angela Clayton, Millicent Austin, and Dorothea Grant. The three of them were sitting together, speaking in low voices. Millicent’s face was pale, while Angela and Dorothea both had tightly furrowed brows.
Their atmosphere was completely different from the others, who were chatting enthusiastically.
They were clearly encountering some kind of trouble.
So Siles walked over and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”
“Ah, Professor!” Angela said. She seemed to want to give Siles a signal, but Siles could not tell what exactly she was trying to convey.
At that moment, Millicent also looked at Siles.
Siles noticed the student’s condition—she seemed somewhat unwell. But then again, this frail-looking student had already seemed distracted for quite some time. Her midterm exam result had even been the lowest in the class.
Dorothea said, “Milli, maybe you should tell the professor about your family’s trouble. This is the professor’s club, and he can give some useful advice.”
Millicent’s family trouble? Siles listened with some surprise. In comparison, Dorothea being so familiar with Millicent did not surprise him at all.
Dorothea was clearly from a noble background too. It was not strange that she knew Millicent and Angela.
…Wait. Siles suddenly glanced at Dorothea.
Angela had once said that the reason she chose to go to the Historical Society was because a friend recommended it. Could that friend be Dorothea?
He made that guess in his mind.
At that moment, Millicent’s pale lips moved, and she said softly, “Professor… are you willing to listen?”
“Of course, Miss Austin. What happened to your family?” Siles asked.
Millicent was silent for a moment, apparently deciding where to begin.
Angela grew a little anxious, so she helped explain: “Professor, you may know that Milli’s father is acquainted with many merchants from the Ashless Land. At the end of September, one merchant gave Milli’s father a portrait…”
“Ever since he got that portrait, my father has become a little strange,” Millicent continued in a low voice. “He became irritable and gluttonous, eating much more than usual…
“In early October, one of the servants in our house suddenly died. I became frightened, so I asked my mother to find a detective to help investigate the cause of the servant’s death. But my father was never very cooperative, and he even refused to let the detective into my house.
“A few days ago, another servant died… the one responsible for cleaning my father’s collection room… I, I suspect…”
Her voice gradually weakened, and then she dared not continue.
Everyone who heard her understood what she meant, and they could not help looking at one another.
Angela quietly comforted Millicent.
Siles thought that in this group of four, probably only Millicent was not an Enlightener. He said, “You suspect the problem lies with that portrait?”
Millicent hesitated, then finally nodded. “Everything started after that portrait appeared.”
Siles thought for a moment, then said, “It came from the Ashless Land, right? You can try asking the Old Church for help.”
“We already suggested that to Milli,” Dorothea said from the side, “but her father absolutely refuses to let the Old Church’s investigators in, so the matter just stalled.”
Angela could not help saying, “Because Milli’s father is a great noble, so…”
Even the Old Church had to avoid crossing him?
Thinking of this, Siles also frowned.
He considered Millicent’s description: gluttony, irritability. That seemed to fit the descriptions of the god of Gluttony and Desire, Timiafa. And Siles had already strongly suspected that the believers of this god were secretly controlling Grayson Food Company, using it to plot something.
A great noble. Clearly that would help them.
So Siles asked, “Do you know the name of the merchant who sent the portrait, Miss Austin?”
“I… I’m not sure,” Millicent said. “I only happened to hear my father mention that person… It seemed to be, Bi… Bill, or something like that.”
Siles narrowed his eyes slightly, confirming at that moment that it really was a problem with Grayson Food Company!
Millicent seemed to understand something and asked eagerly, “Professor, do you know this person?”
Siles said, “Do you remember what happened at the Food Town?”
Dorothea looked somewhat puzzled because she did not know what had happened at Food Town. She only said thoughtfully, “The one in the southern suburbs… Food Town?”
Angela and Millicent’s expressions both changed slightly.
Siles nodded and said, “Yes, that place.”
Millicent’s face looked even paler. She almost anxiously said, “Do you mean… my father is shielding those criminals?”
Siles was slightly taken aback, not understanding why Millicent had reached that conclusion. Then he understood: she might think that the reason the events at Food Town ended so peacefully was because her father had helped from behind the scenes.
Siles could not say for sure either. In any case, he did not know much about what was happening in Millicent’s family.
“I’m afraid I can’t draw that conclusion, Miss Austin,” Siles said. “You just said that you and your mother found a detective and wanted to investigate the servant’s cause of death. Did the detective find anything?”
As he said this, he thought that the detective club joined by mystery writer Maynard Daves at the writers’ gathering was probably the one Millicent had asked for help.
…What a coincidence, Siles thought.
Millicent shook her head. “He couldn’t get into my house. He only went to look at the body. He said…”
Millicent suddenly stopped, her eyes trembling as she showed an extremely shocked and frightened expression.
Angela hurriedly asked, “What is it, Milli? What did you think of?”
“…The detective said,” Millicent’s voice trembled with fear, “that on the body… some… flesh had been cut away.”
She subconsciously covered her mouth, as if nauseated.
Angela instinctively wanted to say something, but her face also changed.
Dorothea frowned tightly and said in a slightly stern voice, “Don’t imagine things recklessly!”
Siles understood what Millicent was thinking, and for a moment he did not know what to say, because he actually thought it was very possible…
So the three of them were silent for a moment.
In the end, Siles said, “Miss Austin, in my view, this matter is not unsolvable. It’s just that your father’s power has obstructed the investigators’ involvement.”
Millicent nodded slightly as well.
So Siles said, “Is there any trustworthy noble more powerful than your father?”
As he said this, he looked at Angela.
Angela was a little stunned by the look. Then she seemed to think it over. Siles’s glance clearly hinted at something, and what channels could Angela have to help with this…
A trustworthy great noble? One strong enough to solve this matter?
Millicent said despondently, “My mother probably knows a few great nobles, but… can they really solve this?”
Angela had a flash of inspiration. “I know!”
The others all looked at her.
“I know who to ask for help. I know several important people over at the Historical Society. Professor, please rest assured, this should be solvable.” Angela said this and blinked.
Dorothea, beside her, also seemed to be recalling something thoughtfully.
Angela eagerly said goodbye to Siles, then took Millicent and Dorothea away. She did not say clearly whom she would ask for help, but Siles had some guesses.
He thought it was probably a member of the Historical Society’s Council of Elders?
Siles also let out a breath of relief.
This matter was not actually difficult to solve. That portrait was very likely a runaway time relic, and it would be enough to have a specialist deal with it, just as Siles had once asked the Old Church for help.
The only problem was that Millicent’s father refused to cooperate, and he was a rather powerful noble. Ordinary Enlighteners probably could not intervene.
Therefore, the best solution was to ask a noble of at least equal rank, preferably a powerful Enlightener, to deal with it personally.
As for Millicent’s father… a great noble, and two dead servants…
…Siles did not want to jump to conclusions. He would wait until the truth came to light before thinking further.
The club activity ended, and Siles said goodbye to the students before leaving the main castle.
He noticed that it was only a little after three, so after thinking for a moment, he left Lamifa University and walked all the way along Hayward Street. Not long after, he arrived at the Folklore Society.
The guard at the gate clearly already recognized Siles and asked, “Professor Noel, are you here to see Mr. Emmanuel? He is not here right now.”
“No, it’s not that,” Siles said. “I’d like to ask you about someone.”
In this era, a university professor—especially a full-time professor at Lamifa University—was respectable enough to be revered, so Siles’s way of speaking almost startled the guard.
He hurriedly said, “Please don’t be so polite. What would you like to ask?”
“Do you know Cabel?” Siles briefly described Professor Cabel’s appearance. “He may have come here a few years ago and wanted to find Mr. Alfonso Carte…”
As he said this, the guard showed a particularly shocked expression.
“You mean that crazy old man?”
Siles paused involuntarily.
Crazy old man?
Professor Cabel had clearly also once been a full-time professor at Lamifa University, and even had slightly senior qualifications compared to Siles. Why was the guard’s attitude so different?
The guard said, “So you’re asking about him. I remember him very clearly. Seven years ago, I had just started working here as a guard. You know, not everyone can enter this place.
“So when that guy first came, I wouldn’t let him in. He went crazy and insulted me at the gate, which really annoyed me. Luckily, others helped me drive him away.
“But that’s not why I call him a crazy old man. You should know, I’m not that petty. Working as a guard means you meet all kinds of strange people.
“I call him that because he came several more times afterward, each time more anxious, more frantic, until in the end he even started begging me. I felt sorry for him, but I still couldn’t just tell him how to get in here.
“Then he started insulting me again, even using some very nasty words… I usually live in the West City, but I’ve never heard West City people use language that filthy!
“After a while, he suddenly changed and became a university professor. He came swaggering over here, all pleased with himself, wanting to find… the very person you mentioned, Mr. Alfonso Carte.
“Since he was a professor, I naturally couldn’t stop him. So in he went. But not long after, he came storming back out, cursing at the gate, probably because he thought Mr. Carte had deliberately hidden something from him…
“At that point I thought, this was really a crazy old man. I even suspected he wasn’t actually a university professor at all—that he had fabricated the identity.
“After all… you may not know this, but we do get plenty of visitors here every day. But someone this crazy and rude is still very rare.
“…That’s about it. Do you think this is useful?”
Siles nodded and said seriously, “Very useful, thank you.”
The guard unconsciously scratched his head and gave a slightly embarrassed smile. He added, “After that, the guy never came again.”
Siles thanked the guard once more for the information, then left.
On the way back, Siles kept his hands in his pockets to preserve a bit of warmth in his palms, while thinking over what the guard had said.
It seemed to confirm his guess. Professor Cabel really did want to learn about the ruin Alfonso had discovered, which was why he had gone to the Folklore Society, and why he had been so furious at Alfonso’s refusal to talk.
Thinking of this, Siles could not help feeling a trace of annoyance.
If, during his conversations with Alfonso, he had mentioned Professor Cabel’s name even once, he might have learned this information much earlier.
Now Alfonso was in the Ashless Land, and communication there was extremely inconvenient, so he could not ask him directly.
Still, that happened seven years ago. Perhaps Alfonso had long since forgotten about Professor Cabel and thought of him merely as one of the scholars who had once accused him of fraud.
Professor Cabel becoming a professor at Lamifa University had at least three reasons.
First, he truly wanted the position of professor, which would make it easier for him to search for materials and clues. That should have been the main reason.
Second, he needed that identity in order to enter the Folklore Society, so he could indirectly probe Alfonso and try to obtain some related information. That was the most direct reason.
Third, at that time, after Alfonso, only Professor Dunlop had led a team to the Ashless Land in an attempt to find that tribal ruin. Aside from Alfonso, he could only learn relevant information from Professor Dunlop.
Seven years ago, Professor Cabel probably had not obtained any information at all. Alfonso refused to reveal anything, and Professor Dunlop knew nothing. Therefore, at this point in time, investigating exactly what Professor Cabel had wanted to know back then was no longer meaningful.
But this matter did allow Siles, at least now, to understand what topic he had originally been researching.
Siles thought: seven years ago, what exactly did Alfonso present as proof that he had indeed discovered a tribal ruin? Professor Cabel must have seen that object, which was why he became so desperate to understand everything.
Suddenly, he recalled a detail. Mrs. Longman had once said that she had heard about Alfonso’s matter from the newspaper.
Siles could try looking through newspapers from seven years ago to search for relevant clues. That would be much easier than contacting Alfonso, whose whereabouts in the Ashless Land were still unknown.
So when he returned to school, Siles first went to the library.
He greeted Mrs. Longman, then asked, “Does the library have newspapers from those years archived here?”
“Newspapers?” Mrs. Longman blinked. “Yes, there are some. But Professor Noel, people who borrow those newspapers are really rare. They’re on the second floor, in the reading room, in a corner. You can go take a look.”
Siles thanked her and went upstairs.
At five in the afternoon, when he left the library, he was carrying a large stack of newspapers.
Lamifa University’s library kept three different kinds of newspapers: one was an internal campus paper, usually used by young literature students for practice, published once a month.
One was the most well-known paper in Lamifa City, the Lamifa City Weekly, published once a week, with complicated and varied content, but basically all about the daily lives of Lamifa City residents, family matters, business, trade, and so on.
The last kind, and the one Siles was looking for, was the Konst National Gazette.
This was a daily newspaper circulated throughout the Duchy of Konst, collecting major news from all over the country and also regarded as one of the official mouthpieces of the principality.
Of course, due to the limitations of the era, the timeliness of the news in this paper was nowhere near as exaggerated as in Earth’s internet age. Generally speaking, news from within three days could still count as news.
Because the National Gazette was a daily, its news section needed a great deal of content, which led to all sorts of different information appearing in it.
Siles saw murder cases, aristocratic gossip, historical retrospectives, recipes, next year’s almanac, serialized stories, and so on. Of course, it also mentioned some news from the Ashless Land, most of which came from cities close to it, such as Maltz.
Siles also subscribed to this paper himself. In this era, it could be said to be one of his main ways of passing time.
Now it was the year 400 of the Mist Era. Siles pulled out a portion of the newspapers from seven years earlier, meaning the year 393 of the Mist Era.
He did not know exactly when seven years ago Alfonso had publicly announced his discovery. But from what the guard had revealed, it seemed that when Professor Cabel first went to the Folklore Society, he had not yet become a professor.
Lamifa University’s rule was that only after the first semester of each year began could new professors officially take up their posts.
So Siles guessed that Alfonso’s announcement had probably been in the first half of that year.
Even if he found nothing in the newspapers from the first half of the year, he could still come back later to borrow the second half’s papers. There was no way he could finish reading an entire year’s worth of dailies in one night.
He carried about a hundred newspapers and first went to the cafeteria for dinner. The rain continued to pour heavily. When he left the cafeteria, he could only tuck the newspapers inside his coat and hurry back to the dormitory.
He was frozen stiff, feeling the cold in the rain drilling into his bones. He finally understood how terrible Lamifa City’s weather really was. Summers were scorching, the rainy season frequent, and winters bitterly cold.
He spent some time taking a hot bath, then wrapped himself in heavy sleepwear, poured himself a cup of warm water, and sat down at his desk in the quiet, desolate night, calmly reading newspapers from seven years ago.
For a moment, he seemed to be pulled back in time to the Lamifa City of seven years earlier, a place he had never personally experienced.
The restaurants, markets, and street vendors’ advertisements; the lively daily lives of the residents; scholars sparring verbally in the newspapers; the convenience brought by sewers…
Only then did he realize that Lamifa City had once undergone a renovation seven years ago, with convenient sewer systems built throughout the city. It was said this had originally been initiated by the Old Church and later became a nationwide reconstruction project.
Some remote cities might still be carrying out such construction even now.
He saw expired job advertisements, serialized novels that had once been running but should now have been published as books, obituaries of people who had died seven years ago, and advertisements for shops that had once promised to open and whose current business was unknown.
Seven years. Time surged like mist.
At first, Siles had only been reading the old newspapers to find out what had attracted Professor Cabel’s attention back then. But when he truly saw those old, yellowed sheets of paper, his emotional fluctuation suddenly became calm and subdued.
So when he really found the information he needed in the newspapers, he did not feel especially excited.
He simply sighed, took off his glasses, then pulled out the paper he needed and slowly stacked the rest, folding them away one by one.
This was the face of the world at some point in time, a time he had never known. He looked back from the present and cast a curious, focused, but ultimately unanswered glance toward it.
He suddenly felt how incredible and astonishing the world’s supernatural power, the power of the “Enlighteners,” truly was. For someone from Earth, the charm of the past and of time had never felt more vivid than at this moment.
Siles could not help getting up and standing by the window, quietly looking out into the night. He lowered his eyes to the puppet and potted plant on the windowsill, thinking of the “six puppet plays” he had once heard mentioned, and for a moment he felt a little emotional.
The world. The past. Secrets.
Could he truly deserve the title of Keeper of Secrets?
After a while, Siles’s mood calmed again. He turned back, moved the newspapers to the corner of the desk, put on his glasses, and carefully checked the section of information he needed.
Because time was short, he had not actually read every single newspaper in great detail. He had only skimmed the rest, focusing on anything related to archaeology, history, the Ashless Land, folklore scholars, and so on.
Then on the April 21, 393 issue of the Mist Era, he saw the following news item:
“…
“A folklore scholar claimed to have found a certain tribal ruin in the Ashless Land, and presented a magical fountain pen as proof.
“At present, all fountain pens in the country are ink-dipped pens. Therefore, although they provide a comfortable writing experience, many old-fashioned scribes still prefer quill pens.
“But the fountain pen displayed by this folklore scholar astonishingly self-inks. A special device is attached to the rear of the pen tip, and by rotating the end, ink can be drawn into the reservoir. Truly incredible!
“Obviously, such a fountain pen is far more convenient to carry, and one filling of ink lasts for a very long time. Such a self-inking mechanism is an astonishing invention indeed.
“It can be anticipated that within the next year or two, such fountain pens will be promoted nationwide by merchants. Convenient, flexible to use, and no need to worry about getting ink all over one’s hands… for scribes, novelists, and others in such professions, this is truly wonderful news.
“…”
The focus of this report was not the tribal ruin Alfonso had discovered, but rather the fountain pen he had brought from there. Yet that was precisely the information Siles had wanted to find.
A fountain pen.
His gaze unconsciously shifted to the black fountain pen placed on his own desk.
Not long after arriving in this world, he had spent what was then a very expensive ten ducal coins to buy this self-inking fountain pen.
Siles had once also used a quill for a while. But after he began writing novels, he gave up the quill—that was truly a form of torture for someone from Earth.
In short, in this era without ballpoint pens or gel pens, fountain pens and pencils were the most convenient writing tools.
Yet Siles had never imagined that the self-inking fountain pen, which was so convenient to him, had actually become the market mainstream only because of Alfonso’s discovery, and had completely replaced the old dip pens in just a few years.
Not long ago, when he carried out the “Reenactment of Self” ritual experiment, the scribe Bart Evans had brought a quill pen. Thinking about it, he must have been the “old-fashioned scribe” mentioned in the newspaper.
And then there was the fountain pen…
In an instant, Siles thought of the fountain pen Professor Cabel had left in his office.
So it seemed that the three items Professor Cabel had left behind in the office—the woman’s head statue, the scale necklace, and the glossy fountain pen—each seemed to have their own corresponding clues, and these clues…
They seemed to be tightly intertwined, at least the statue and the fountain pen were.
But… a fountain pen? What god could a fountain pen possibly be connected to?
For this era, the almost miraculous self-inking mechanism certainly proved that it came from an unknown civilization ruin. But for Professor Cabel, what was the attraction of that pen?
Could it have been connected to certain documents or records he had discovered?
After thinking for a while, Siles shook his head and did not dwell on it further. Right now, he only had part of the information, and the truth behind it was still impossible for him to know.
He copied down the relevant text from the newspaper, then folded the issue and put it back, planning to return it to the library the next day.
He checked the time and saw that it was already nearly ten o’clock, so he washed up and soon went to sleep.
The next morning, he woke at six, but lingered in bed for a while.
It was Saturday morning.
Ordinarily, on Saturday mornings, he would have to go to the Historical Society to work on his own project, but now that he was free, Siles stayed curled up in the warm bed, lying quietly for a while.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and he did not want to go out to work so early.
Around six-thirty, he finally got up. He got dressed, washed up, and opened the window to let in some air. Then he was jolted by the cold wind that rushed in from outside.
He muttered softly, “Going to the Ashless Land to spend the winter is absolutely urgent…”
He boiled some water, ate a bit of bread, and considered what to do with the free time in the morning. He planned to return the newspapers—oh, right, he also needed to go to the Old Church regarding Professor Cabel’s matter.
Just as he was thinking this, heavy knocking came from downstairs. Siles went down and saw that the postman had delivered two letters.
He thanked the man and took the letters upstairs.
Two letters—one from Professor Culverly, the collector of books, and one from Alfonso Carte.
When Siles saw the first name, he was already astonished, and the second letter, coming from the Ashless Land, made him even more surprised.
…He seemed to have misunderstood the Ashless Land, thinking it was a sealed, isolated secret realm. But in reality, it was also a wasteland reachable by railway.
It was just that information moved more slowly there, not that it could not move at all.
Counting it up, he had received the letters from Alfonso and Emmanuel on October 10, learning that they had already gone to the Ashless Land. In fact, they must have left two or three days earlier than that.
And today was October 16. In other words, the two of them had been gone for nearly ten days.
If they had not fallen into danger and were still in the process of searching for clues, then this would indeed have been about the time they would send a letter to inform Siles of their current situation.
Siles felt a little relieved and quickly opened the letter to see what it said.
“…
“Surprised, aren’t you, Siles!
“Emmanuel and I have already arrived in Glaston and are searching for clues related to Fredman. We came to a relay station—if you really understand the relevant news, then you should know which relay station this is.
“In any case, we really did find some clues. One strange thing is that Fredman obtained a treasure map here one year ago, and one year later, a mysterious person came here and claimed to have obtained a very ancient map.
“We both think there must be something suspicious behind this. Of course, we also don’t know whether this has any obvious connection to the ‘Non-existent City,’ only…
“…because back then, Emmanuel’s older brother, Isherwood, also last appeared at this same relay station.
“Quite a coincidence, isn’t it? We thought so too. Isherwood also said at the time that he had obtained an interesting map, believing it might be related to the ‘Non-existent City’…
“In short, everything seems to be connected to this relay station. So we came here first, and…
“Uh, while writing this letter, I considered whether it was necessary to tell you the clues we had obtained. But we also didn’t want to worry you, so we really did find one clue.
“While talking with a tavern owner at the relay station, we learned that one of Isherwood’s companions back then may not have died. That explorer’s clothing was somewhat similar to Emmanuel’s, which reminded the tavern owner of him.
“This is such progress we had never expected! So we are trying to find that person.
“In any case, look forward to our good news, Professor Noel. And I sincerely hope that your life in Lamifa City is going well.
“…”
Reading this letter, Siles realized that Alfonso and Emmanuel had indeed made quite substantial progress in the Ashless Land, so the tone of the entire letter was also very upbeat. It seemed likely that they had written this letter on the same day they obtained that clue.
One of the companions who had once searched for the “Non-existent City” with Isherwood had not died, and had even appeared at Hell’s House?
Siles was also surprised by this news.
Most importantly, if this companion had not died during the original expedition, why had he never contacted Emmanuel to tell him the final outcome of Isherwood? Did he not know about Emmanuel and Isherwood’s relationship?
That was not impossible, but…
Ten years had passed. For such a long time, they had heard nothing about it, yet now they learned of it at this time. It felt too coincidental.
A trace of unease arose in Siles’s mind.
Setting that issue aside, the information in the letter showed that in the three time points—ten years ago, last year, and this year—Hell’s House had all produced rumors about “treasure maps” and “strange maps.”
That made it highly suspicious.
He wrote these doubts down in his notebook, then opened the other letter.
The letter from Professor Culverly also surprised Siles. He did not know why this collector of books had contacted him. The last time he visited the professor had already been more than a month ago.
Inside the envelope was a very classical and elegant sheet of stationery, in stark contrast to the letter paper from Alfonso, whose source was unclear, and it suited the impression Professor Culverly had left on Siles.
He quietly looked at the content of the letter.
“…
“Please forgive my boldness, Professor Noel. But I cannot wait to share my joy with you.
“The Karacoc Diary you mentioned to me previously—I used various channels to contact the Old Church and ask whether they might lend me a copy.
“At first, they kept refusing, and even after I enlisted my old friends, I still could not get permission. However, when they asked where I had heard of the existence of this book, I mentioned your name, and then they agreed!
“It is truly incredible, Professor Noel. I am deeply grateful to fate for letting you appear in my home that afternoon.
“I have read that diary and cannot wait to share my thoughts with you. If you are free at any time, please come visit me. I have already prepared books I am certain you will love, as well as enough hot tea to comfort the body in such cold weather.
“If you do not mind my verbosity, I would be absolutely delighted to spend an afternoon reading with you.
“…”
Siles also read this letter from Professor Culverly with surprise.
Professor Culverly had actually succeeded in borrowing The Karacoc Diary, and it was because of Siles—Siles himself was extremely astonished.
Clearly, this diary was one of the Old Church’s secret and unpublished collections, very likely one of the “dangerous items” confiscated over the years during the development of cities and school libraries.
Siles, as an Enlightener, might understand its danger, but for ordinary people, the situation was exactly the opposite.
Therefore, the Old Church’s willingness to lend a copy of the book to Professor Culverly made Siles immensely surprised. He thought: was it really just because of the name Siles Noel?
…The Old Church’s attitude toward him really was too friendly, wasn’t it?
Of course, Siles had indeed helped the Old Church capture a heretic and recover the list of clergy. The church’s goodwill had a basis, but…
Siles still could not make sense of it, and only assumed that the Old Church was a peaceful and benevolent gathering of believers.
Aside from that, Professor Culverly’s invitation…
Siles thought about it carefully. Before going to the Ashless Land, perhaps he really could make a trip to Professor Culverly’s residence—after all, the rare books mentioned in the letter were obviously meant to attract Siles, and they had indeed succeeded.
Siles could not help but laugh softly.
He put the two letters aside and thought for a moment before taking out three sheets of stationery. He needed to write letters to Alfonso, Professor Culverly, and his own mother.
The first two were replies, while the third was because he had originally planned to go home during winter break, but now that he intended to travel to the Ashless Land, he probably could not return home. He wanted to write to his mother in advance and let her know.
He actually had not yet figured out how to face this mother. He did not even know exactly what had happened to the original body that allowed his soul, as a stranger from another world, to occupy it.
Siles intended to treat her with ordinary courtesy, but he still felt somewhat awkward.
Thinking of this, he could not help sighing.
Far away on Earth, he had his own parents and his own friends. In this world, although he had become socially active and was gradually adapting to the differences in daily life, he still had a soul marked by another world.
So in the end, he still wanted to find a way home. He was a traveler in this world.
Siles stared blankly for a while, then opened his pocket watch and checked the time. It was already nearly eight, so he hurriedly finished writing the three letters.
In the letter to Alfonso, Siles mentioned that he would go to Hell’s House to find them later. He copied the address from Alfonso’s letter—Withered Wasteland, Glaston, Hell’s House.
While copying the address, he found it a little amusing, because Alfonso had evasively avoided naming the relay station in the letter itself, yet wrote its address on the envelope… did he think Siles could not tell it was a relay station?
In the letter to Professor Culverly, Siles wrote that he would visit him on Monday.
As for the letter to his mother, after much deliberation, Siles still told a small lie, saying that he had decided to go to the Ashless Land because he had been invited by friends.
…Come to think of it, winter break had already arrived, yet the original body’s mother had not written to ask whether he would return home… perhaps she was waiting for his decision?
This thought flashed through Siles’s mind and soon passed.
He felt that the letter to his mother should not be sent just like that. He wanted to buy a gift and send it together to Merlin Town. Fortunately, the October market was still ongoing.
With that in mind, Siles temporarily put the letter in a drawer, changed clothes, and went out. He first went to the library to return the newspapers, then went to the carriage service outside the school and mailed the letters to Alfonso and Professor Culverly.
After that, he took a public carriage to the Old Church.
