Preparations for the Encirclement and Suppression

Night Hawk ----

Hope did not ask about the meaning of the name "Night Hawk Union".

That's not the point.

"If Mr. Brilliant" Carl Miller is indeed entangled with cult members—then, Professor Larry Miller—"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know, I don't know this professor. But I think, in any case, Carl Miller is still on our side on the surface, so not just any Miller would be crazy—"

"Of course, it's also necessary to be wary of him because of his surname."

"In other words, it's highly likely that Wilbur met Professor Larry through other people with the surname Miller. And while Professor Larry knew Wilbur, he didn't know anything about Wilbur?"

"Almost."

Professor Rice was speaking into the phone, Hope deduced from the few words that were occasionally caught that he was instructing others to go to Professor Larry's office.

He hung up the phone and walked over to Jack and Hope.

"Professor Larry is a good man," Professor Rice said. "I haven't had much interaction with him, but even so, I've long heard of his integrity. This matter should have nothing to do with him."

"Is there anyone else at school who could stop Wilbur?" Hope asked.

Professor Rice shook his head. "If you're talking about people like Professor Armitage and Jack, then no."

It used to exist, but the current situation is indeed special.

"Schools aren't like Federation," Jack said with a laugh. "People like me work almost year-round, and holidays don't apply to me, but professors do get time off, and it's summer vacation now."

Hope glanced at Jack.

He sensed that the situation Professor Rice described was unusual, "not just because of the summer vacation," but Jack was clearly unwilling to elaborate on the details.

Always remain cautious—even though Hope is now his partner, the cooperation is limited to the Whateley House's affairs.

Since the other party didn't want to talk about it, Hope didn't insist on asking. He just asked out of curiosity where Professor Rice had dialed the phone earlier.

"The security department," Professor Rice replied. "Besides that, there's the disciplinary committee, and their heads happen to be here together. Miskatonic University has the best security department of all the universities in the New Federation. They also have disciplinary committee members who are skilled at handling all kinds of situations."

Disciplinary Committee Member – This term stands for Student Conduct and Discipline Management Committee.

Unlike the disciplinary committees commonly seen at Hope, the disciplinary committee members at Miskatonic University are not student officers, but appear to be faculty members.

Hope's understanding of these disciplinary committee members first came from Dr. Morgan, Dr. Morgan said this when Hope questioned the students who used him for gambling:

The disciplinary committee members are quite skilled at interrogation, combining what Professor Rice said about being adept at handling various situations.

Hope speculated that the disciplinary committee members at Miskatonic University might be somewhat different from regular discipline officers.

Professor Armitage and Professor Larry came over; they had finished their conversation.

Professor Larry looked unwell.

Hope sighed inwardly and sincerely apologized to Professor Larry.

But Professor Larry shook his head. "No, I don't care about that. I was just a little overwhelmed at the time."

He looked at Professor Rice: "I'm more worried about the security personnel and disciplinary committee members."

T

"I'm worried about their safety," Hope asked.

"No," Professor Larry said. "Professor Rice, I'd like to know if you alerted them that I have some very important documents in my office."

"I did," Professor Rice said, his eyes darting around, "But they don't see it that way."

"Those brutes!" Professor Larry muttered under his breath.

Professor Rice patted him on the shoulder, reassuringly saying, "At least they promised not to use Molotov cocktails."

Molotov cocktail?

Hope's mouth was half open.

He discovered that Professor Larry was indeed a civilized person, and even when he cursed, he only used polite words.

Hope's hand, which was supporting her face, suddenly went limp and she could no longer support it. At the same time, her skin lost its luster again and became rough and dull.

"Five minutes," Professor Armitage said. "The skull has remained there for about five minutes so far, which is about what I guessed."

"Okay," Hope said, feeling his Self-Being weakness, as if he didn't even have the strength to stand up. "Can I use it one more time?"

"No," Professor Armitage shook his head. "We'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to use it a second time."

"Twenty-four hours later?"

"No, after midnight," Professor Armitage replied.

"Midnight is a very special time," Jack said. "The old day goes away, the new day comes, and many things become new with it."

He continued, "Using spells consumes Inspiration. If you learn spells and exhaust your Inspiration, you'll find that Inspiration doesn't slowly recover over time."

"But it will still recover at midnight. No matter how much you've used up, it will all be restored in that instant."

Hope actually exhausted her Inspiration because of the spell cast by Old Whateley's brother.

He just didn't pay attention to when his Inspiration returned—he was probably asleep at that time.

Jack took out the box containing the potions and retrieved several bottles from it.

He hesitated for a moment, then pushed the items towards Professor Rice: "I want the Green Powder Potion."

Green Powder Potion — Hope quickly thought of the powerful painkiller he had drunk; although the painkiller was black, it contained an insoluble green powder.

Professor Rice shrugged. "Can't you do it yourself?"

"You're more professional," Jack replied. "I only take a little of each ingredient and mix them together, but if you come, the final product will be better."

"Probably," Professor Rice said. "But given your current condition—you'd better rest a little longer."

Jack shook his head. "Five minutes. The minimum interval between Inspiration block and taking the green powder potion is five minutes. That's enough for now. I know that perfectly well."

"The shortest interval isn't necessarily the best."

Despite what Professor Rice said, he still began preparing the medicine.

"What are you going to do?" Hope asked Jack.

"Go check out Professor Larry's office," Jack replied. "Even though I can't use spells anymore, I can still help."

As he spoke, he pulled a brand-new automatic pistol from his pocket.

"You wouldn't mind sending me there, would you?" Jack asked. "Of course not," Hope said. "It's not difficult."

Professor Armitage looked at them.

After they finished speaking, Professor Armitage nodded and said, "I have to go to the fifth floor now."

Professor Rice and Jack didn't seem surprised by this.

Hope didn't quite understand, but looking at the old but exquisite books still floating in the air, he made a guess.

These special books are stored on the fourth floor, while the fifth floor—

Hope couldn't guess what the fifth floor of the library was for, but it must be something even more special.