June 12.
For the first time, Hope did not wake up promptly at six. A new habit had formed in him; he had cut out the time he spent watching the sunrise and hurried to read instead.
He had reached the end of Common Herb Collection. With his residual memories, Hope did not need much time to understand and memorize what was in it.
His finger stopped on a passage among the final few pages. It introduced a kind of herb.
It was one of the few unnamed herbs in the book. Writer Hope seemed to have lost that part of his memory, leaving only a description of the herb's effects.
"Among some primitive tribes, people believed it was a grass through which the gods knew the languages of all things. It grew at the source of streams, and bathing in water that had soaked it would clear one's mind... Dr. Francis Morgan, associate professor of Pharmacology at Miskatonic University, found that herb... It may indeed clear the mind, but its effects are limited—not as effective as mint. However, Dr. Morgan believed it might truly possess the ability to let people understand languages, though its specific effects required further study."
The ability to understand languages was exactly what Hope needed. He had been troubled by Number Four Hope's message for a long time.
Beside it was a simple sketch, likely depicting the herb. It had six serrated leaves arranged like a hexagram, with what appeared to be its flower at the center.
Hope committed the appearance of the herb to memory.
He quickly focused on the only name mentioned in the entry:
"Dr. Francis Morgan," associate professor of Pharmacology at Miskatonic University.
The name felt familiar to Hope.
He set down the book, took the key to the Heart-shaped Padlock, then closed his eyes and activated "Uncertainty," traveling to Old Williams's living room.
Since the storage room had been damaged, Hope had moved the stacks of papers near the hole into the living room in several trips to keep them from being ruined by sun and rain. He had covered the rest with oilcloth.
He quickly found Number Four Hope's message. Beneath the scrawled Russian, fragments of the report could still be seen: Dr. Francis Morgan spoke eloquently about the excavation of some tomb...
Excavation?
Wasn't he a professor of Pharmacology?
Maybe they merely shared the same name... But it was still possible that they were the same person, someone involved in both fields... Hmm, this report had the incomplete word "Miskatonic" on it...
Hope quickly settled on his goal. He wanted to meet Dr. Morgan.
He wrote down this goal on his attribute page—he had already begun treating it as a memorandum.
At that moment, it already had three lines:
1. Resolve Whateley House's problem within a month if possible. 2. Meet Elizabeth. 3. If possible, meet Professor Armitage.
Now he added a fourth: 4. Meet Dr. Morgan.
To avoid being unable to finish translating August's manuscript due to some future accident, Hope used every spare moment he had on it.
Hope drained today's coffee in one gulp. He had already adapted to its strange taste. He simply needed to stop treating it as a beverage and think of it as medicine that refreshed the mind... It still tasted better than traditional herbal medicine.
Hope had not gone to sleep until after two in the morning and was still somewhat drowsy, but he temporarily canceled his nap anyway.
He wanted to see Miskatonic University's campus at noon.
Hope set his destination beneath the bed in August Derleth's former residence. Compared to outside the library, it was more stable there—he had been able to teleport yesterday partly because it had already been midnight. At noon, even hiding behind a tree would not spare him from someone's gaze interfering with "Uncertainty."
After arriving beneath the bed, Hope did not crawl out immediately. He lay on the floor and listened for the caretaker's footsteps, only emerging once he was sure the caretaker had not passed by.
He checked his pocket watch.
Eleven thirty-two.
Hope set himself a two-hour countdown. Once it reached one thirty, even if no one had entered his room, he had to return and rest.
—He had no intention of testing how much the Heart-shaped Padlock's weakened state could stack. An irreversible symptom would not be worth it.
The dormitory door was secured with a padlock from the outside. Even with a key, it could not be opened from indoors, and this was the third floor. Climbing out the window would be far too dangerous.
Hope pulled the curtains open slightly and stood beside them, looking down at the area below.
There was a lawn downstairs, with only a few people walking across it.
Hope had chosen the area behind a stone monument on the lawn as his landing spot. He was observing it now.
He did not teleport behind the monument immediately because he wanted to wait for the crowd to thin out. It was not enough that no one saw him there; he also could not let anyone be startled by the thought, Wasn't there no one there just now? At the moment, two people were passing the monument.
Hope waited over ten seconds, letting the two slow walkers move farther away before closing his eyes and appearing behind the monument.
As he closed his eyes, the Memorandum also appeared before Hope:
2. Meet Elizabeth. 3. If possible, meet Professor Armitage. 4. Meet Dr. Morgan.
Hope did not know where either Elizabeth or Dr. Morgan was, but Elizabeth had introduced Professor Armitage before, so Hope knew he was the library director... He would check the library first. It should be open at this hour.
Quite a few people around Hope were about his age, and they were curious about him. Hope could not see the looks in their eyes; otherwise, he would have noticed the sympathy in them—the sympathy they felt for a disabled vagrant their own age.
Hope had already learned a little about Miskatonic University through various means. He knew it was actually summer break, but the university offered summer courses, so there were still many students on campus.
He calculated roughly that, at a normal pace, walking from August's former residence to the library would take around seven minutes.
The five-story red-brick building appeared before Hope again. This time, he saw a huge statue outside Philip Library, with an introduction to the figure carved beneath it:
Ward Philip, first president of Miskatonic University
Hope had met the library's Gatekeeper yesterday, but the old gatekeeper still stared at him for a long time.
"All right, you can go in." The Gatekeeper finally nodded. "You look like a reader, but you can't borrow books. And you'd better wash your hands first. Don't dirty the books."
Hope raised his hands. They did not seem dirty to him, though his nails were unsightly. He asked the Gatekeeper how he could meet the library director.
"What do you want to see him for?"
Hope did not intend to tell the truth for now, because...
Hope froze. He could not remember why. He opened his mouth and stood there blankly.
"What's wrong?" the Gatekeeper asked with concern.
"No, nothing." Hope came back to himself. Blinking, he forgot what he had just been puzzled about. "I just... admire Professor Armitage's scholarship."
He said it with absolute sincerity, without sounding like he was lying. Most people who wanted to meet Professor Armitage said the same thing.
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