Nancy is Trying

When Elizabeth woke up on June 16, she found herself alone in her dorm room.

Nancy has left.

Looking at the empty bed, Elizabeth suddenly realized that Nancy had been far more troubled than she had imagined last night; the girl hadn't been able to sleep all night because of her inner turmoil.

She rushed to the library.

Professor Armitage and Nancy are already there.

Nancy and Professor Armitage were talking and forgot to close the door.

Elizabeth stopped in front of the door.

"No, Nancy, you don't understand, but the Necronomicon must never be taken out of the library," Professor Armitage said.

"But—" Nancy didn't give up. "Professor Rice once took the Necronomicon with him."

Professor Rice, as a professor of ancient philology at Miskatonic University, once studied the Necronomicon.

It was around that time that Professor Rice would often take this heavy book out of the library.

This happened several years ago, before Nancy and Elizabeth enrolled. Elizabeth heard about it from other upperclassmen and then told Nancy.

Professor Armitage continued to refuse, "Professor Rice is a professor at Miskatonic University, and his research is authorized by the rector, while Wilbur— "

"He's just a farmer," Nancy said.

"You can't say that," Professor Armitage argued. "He truly deserves to be called a scholar."

"In that case, we should treat him like a scholar," Nancy continued to argue.

"Do you know him well?" Professor Armitage asked.

"I----"

"I've known Wilbur for much longer than you have," Professor Armitage said. "Nancy, I've corresponded with him for six years, and even so, I can only acknowledge his scholarship, not trust him."

"I can be his guarantor," Nancy suddenly said.

Professor Armitage did not answer, and his meaning was clear:

The Necronomicon cannot be lent out, not even to Nancy.

They were at an impasse, and Elizabeth hesitated whether to go in now.

"All I need to do is allow Wilbur to copy it." Nancy's tone changed, becoming somber. "Yesterday, I took Wilbur home and accidentally broke one of his small items. He said he didn't want me to pay for it, but I felt it was something important to him, so I was thinking—"

Nancy paused for a moment before continuing, "Professor, I promise I'll never slack off again!"

Elizabeth sighed.

If she wasn't mistaken, Professor Armitage in the room was probably sighing just like her.

Nancy was incredibly clever; she knew all too well how to get someone to agree to her requests. She always managed to get what she wanted without making anyone dislike her.

Elizabeth knocks on the door.

"Please come in," Professor Armitage said.

He seemed pleased that Elizabeth had come at this time, and was visibly relieved.

"Mr. John is talking badly about you to the librarian," Elizabeth said in a joking tone.

What did he say about me?

"They say that yesterday you abused the librarian's authority, disregarded library rules and Principal Phillips, and prevented him from fulfilling his duties as Gatekeeper."

The Gatekeeper's duty, of course, was to check who came in and out—most of the time, this work was done by others, but Mr. John always considered it his responsibility, and he also believed he had the right to refuse entry to someone.

And Elizabeth wasn't lying; Mr. John Mr. John complain to her as she passed his little house.

Elizabeth and Nancy do sometimes work as temporary library administrators, as arranged by Professor Armitage, responsible for putting returned books back on the shelves.

After listening to Elizabeth's words, Professor Armitage shrugged at Nancy.

He indicated that he really couldn't help, since Mr. John was already very angry.

Unlike Professor Armitage, if Nancy were to ask Mr. John, Mr. John would certainly make no attempt to conceal his dissatisfaction with Wilbur.

So Nancy lowered her head and asked Professor Armitage if she could go and rest for a while; she was really too tired.

"This is working hours," Professor Armitage said. "However, this time is acceptable. But don't let it happen again."

Nancy left.

Elizabeth knew Nancy could find a place to sleep in the library.

"Why does Wilbur insist on the Necronomicon?" she asked Professor Armitage.

"I don't know, I have no way of knowing what he's thinking."

Elizabeth shook her head. "What I want to ask is, since you allowed him to read in the library, why is he so insistent on taking the book back?"

"Hmm. He probably lacks confidence," Professor Armitage said.

"Lack of self-confidence?"

"Lacking the confidence to memorize the contents word for word, Abd al-Hazlaid, the author of the Necronomicon, was a true madman. He probably had no intention of dissemination or publication when he wrote this collection of poems, resulting in the bizarre arrangement of the text. When the monk Oros Wormius translated it into Ra, he also preserved the original layout."

What if I remember it wrong?

"Some consequences that no one wants to see."

"But—" Elizabeth didn't understand. "Doesn't this mean that the Necronomicon truly contains extraordinary power?"

"Probably."

"That----"

"I can't simply shut this up," Professor Armitage said. "The Phillips Library has some books written by people of Asian descent, full of recipes for poisons. Everyone knows the dangers of that knowledge, but no one can simply put it away. The fact that the Phillips Library doesn't lend out the Necronomicon is already an effort on their part."

"Don't worry, this book is still within the realm of 'knowledge'; it was even actually published. As for other things, those truly mysterious and evil entities, ordinary people would never even know of their existence."

Elizabeth nodded, then revealed her true purpose.

The Great Night Hawk that died in Dunwich.

"It was about the height of a person," Elizabeth said, giving a brief description of the Great Night Hawk's carcass.

"Great Night Hawk —are you sure it died from a gunshot wound?"

"It has a wound on its abdomen—it should be a gunshot wound."

Professor Armitage pondered, "Someone killed a Great Night Hawk —I think I understand. But I can't go and check it myself, and there's no suitable professor at the university to go."

He pinched his nose. "Oh, Dunwich —maybe I can get Love to do some simple investigation for me—"

I think Professor Reik would be very interested, but unfortunately he's not here.

Professor Reik is a professor of biology at Miskatonic University.

Professor Armitage was clearly familiar with the gigantic Night Hawk and was not surprised by it.

Elizabeth had no objection to Professor Armitage's decision.