Diary

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Angel's mind.

Had she been wrong? Was this still Earth?

Had some country developed a writing system similar to the one from her world before she transmigrated?

Or...

Suppressing her excitement, she picked up the pages on the table and asked, "Mr. Neil, what are these?"

Only after speaking did she realize that her voice was somewhat hoarse.

Old Neil was holding a ring of keys and about to leave the cramped room. Hearing Angel's question, he turned back and looked at the yellowed pages in her hand. Smiling, he answered, "These are rubbings of Emperor Roselle Gustav the Great's notes. They use a script he created himself and were passed down after his death. Some people believe it is a complete set of mystical codes concealing endless treasure, but according to my recent research, I've deciphered the meaning of a small portion of the symbols. My guess is that it is very likely a diary."

A diary? Emperor Roselle Gustav the Great's Diary?

Angel searched through her mind for that unfamiliar name and quickly found him in Cole Granger's memories. The man was simply too famous, a household name.

Overthrowing the original rulers of the Intis Kingdom, becoming the Consul of the Intis Kingdom, then transforming the republic into an empire and crowning himself emperor—those achievements alone were enough to secure Emperor Roselle's place in history. During that time, he also invented the practical steam engine and ushered in the Industrial Revolution, bringing industrialization to the North Continent. Not to mention that he single-handedly brought about the era of colonization in the Southern Continent. He could be called a figure who had profoundly influenced modern world history.

The many inventions in her memories, such as "Tarot Cards" and "newspapers," gave Angel an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Could this versatile emperor of the Intis Empire have been a transmigrator as well?

The moment that thought surfaced, she immediately found even more evidence: novels and plays from different eras of the original Earth, famous sayings from different countries, creations and improvements across different fields.

It simply made no sense for all those creations and inventions spanning so many fields to have come from one person.

Combined with the writing symbols he had "created" that Angel could identify the origin of, she could basically conclude that Emperor Roselle had also been a transmigrator from Earth.

And very likely an Asian.

"What's this? Trying to decipher those words?" Old Neil's question sounded by her ear, rousing Angel from her thoughts.

She casually waved the papers in her hand and shook her head. "I was just curious. After all, it's Emperor Roselle's diary. I thought..."

"You thought you might find some secret?"

Old Neil smiled and shook the keys in his hand. "As one of the most famous figures of this era, his manuscripts have long been studied by countless people. Every individual symbol in them may represent a different meaning, but unfortunately, no one has ever truly deciphered their contents."

"You can keep trying here. I'll go fetch the materials for you."

He clearly did not think Angel would be able to make anything of them. He shut the iron door and left the room.

Angel turned her gaze back to the three pages of the emperor's diary in her hands, trying to find some pattern among the block-like characters. Unfortunately, aside from further confirming that the writing was Chinese, she made no other progress.

At that moment, she only regretted that she was not Chinese, or at least had not chosen Chinese as an elective foreign language course.

These diaries might merely record mundane daily life, but they might also conceal countless pieces of knowledge and mysteries, perhaps even...

Clues to returning to Earth?

Then she recalled that Emperor Roselle had died in his later years in an assassination orchestrated through a palace conspiracy. Perhaps this senior transmigrator had failed to find the road home even until his death.

Composing herself, Angel began committing the characters on the three diary pages to memory.

Even if she could not decipher them now, she at least had to remember them.

Knock, knock—

A burst of knocking woke Angel from her intensely focused memorization.

With a Beyonder's memory far surpassing that of an ordinary person, she had already memorized all the words on those three diary pages. As she checked them one by one, Dunn Smith's deep voice came from beyond the iron door Old Neil had left through.

"Old Neil, are you in there?"

The captain had come down to the basement too... Hadn't he run into Old Neil on the way?

Angel set down the diary and pulled open the iron door. Captain Dunn, wearing a top hat and a black trench coat, stood outside.

Seeing that she was the one who had opened the door, Dunn froze for a moment before asking in confusion, "Where's Old Neil?"

Then he patted his top hat, as if only just remembering, and answered himself, "Oh, he went to get your materials, didn't he?"

Angel nodded. "Yes. I've already received the bullets. He said he needed to go to the Alchemy Room and Cha... ah... Chanis Gate for the remaining materials."

It was her first time saying the awkward term, and she nearly bit her tongue.

"I just came from the Alchemy Room, so he must be inside Chanis Gate." Dunn glanced at the bullets placed on the desk and quickly made a decision. "Old Neil is going to help Mr. Klein Moretti prepare a Potion and might not have time to come help you deliver the materials. I'll go over and collect everything for you; just wait here a moment."

Why was everyone telling me to wait here?

Angel frowned to herself.

Wait, brewing a Potion? Klein Moretti?

She remembered the shy young man who had ridden in the carriage with her to Nighthawks headquarters. Was he going to drink a Potion and become a Beyonder too?

The Potions Cole Granger drank in his memories had all been prepared by himself and consumed on the spot. But neither Cole nor Angel had any experience watching someone else consume a Potion from a third-person perspective. Hearing that Old Neil was going to help someone prepare a Potion, she became very interested.

"Can I watch from the side? I mean, the process of preparing the Potion."

Angel asked casually, pretending not to care, but her jumbled phrasing exposed her true feelings.

Dunn frowned and looked at Angel for a long while. Just as she thought he would refuse, those gray eyes shifted away.

"Come along."

After nodding in agreement, Dunn turned and walked straight out of the room.

He actually agreed?

Angel hurriedly put down Emperor Roselle's manuscripts and quickly followed Dunn Smith through the passage they had come from, returning to the crossroads.

Just as the two were about to turn into the passage leading to Chanis Gate, a series of tapping footsteps sounded. Old Neil, dressed in a black robe and carrying a wooden box, walked over from the other end of the passage. Seeing the two at the intersection, he abruptly stiffened as if startled, only relaxing after recognizing them.

"Dunn, why did you come down?" Old Neil greeted Dunn first, then handed the wooden box in his hand to Angel before the other man could answer. "These are the materials you need. They're all in the box. I took extra of everything except the Star Crystal. Check them yourself."

Angel took the wooden box, lifted the lid, and looked inside.

The small wooden box was divided into several compartments. The two glass bottles presumably contained alcohol and Etching Fluid. Luminous Lizard scales were neatly stacked in one corner. Bundles of dried Screaming Grass filled another compartment to the brim. The Star Crystal was stored separately in a glass bottle, glimmering with starlight under the lamp.

She nodded. Everything was correct.

Only after the two had completed the handover did Dunn slowly speak. "Old Neil, make another trip to Chanis Gate. Take a Seer Potion formula and its ingredients to the Alchemy Room."

"A Seer?"

Old Neil repeated the word.

"Oh, it's for that little Klein, right? I never expected him to choose that pathway. I thought he'd choose Sleepless, though we already have enough Sleepless here."

Muttering to himself, he turned toward Chanis Gate.

"Let's go to the Alchemy Room first. Klein is waiting there too," Dunn said to Angel after watching Old Neil leave.

The two left the crossroads once more and headed toward Saint Selena Cathedral. They walked along the long stone passage for some distance before stopping in front of a secret door opened in the wall.

This was the Alchemy Room? But why was it hidden behind a secret door?

Angel followed Dunn into the room and examined the concealed Alchemy Room under the gas lamps.

Crucibles, test tubes, flasks, and a cluttered array of tables and chairs made it look less like the clean and tidy "formal alchemy room" Angel had imagined and more like an enlarged version of a home basement. Klein Moretti, whom she had just said goodbye to upstairs, was standing in front of a table, looking around at the items inside the alchemy room. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head and looked toward the doorway in surprise.

"Captain, why are you back?"

"Old Neil went to get the Potion ingredients. I ran into Miss Angel Granger on the way and brought her along to... well, observe."

Dunn pointed at Angel and gave a brief explanation.

Only then did Klein notice Angel by the door. He held the brim of his hat and greeted her. "Miss Granger, we meet again."

These formalities are such a hassle... Overly polite people aren't easy to deal with either.

Angel complained inwardly and could only return the gesture.

Seeing that the two of them had finished exchanging greetings, Dunn stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said, "It's a good time for you two to get acquainted. This gentleman is Klein Moretti, a local from Tingen, and a graduate of Khoy University. Because he was involved in a mysterious incident last week, he has now joined the Nighthawks."

Klein smiled slightly at Angel, offering another greeting.

"This beautiful young lady is Angel Granger, from Sivellas County. She only recently arrived in Tingen City and likewise chose to join us after becoming involved in a mysterious incident."

Angel extended her right hand toward Klein. He froze briefly, then hurriedly raised his right hand and shook hers.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Moretti."

"The pleasure is mine, An... Miss Granger."

"Oh, how could I possibly miss such a little gathering?" A deep yet lively voice came from behind Angel. She turned and saw Old Neil holding a silver case in one hand while removing his round-brimmed felt hat with the other. He pressed it to his chest and gave a slight bow.

"This witty old gentleman is called Old Neil by everyone. You may also call him the keeper of the Nighthawks' warehouse, a seeker of mystical knowledge, a Mystery Pryer in the darkness."

With an exaggerated gesture, he raised the case in his hand.

"Presenting the Seer Potion to ladies and gentlemen."

The Alchemy Room fell silent for a moment.