I Yearn for Professor Armitage's Talent

June 12th.

Hope didn't wake up at six o'clock sharp for the first time. A new habit had formed in him—he cut out the time he used to spend watching the sunrise and instead used it to read.

His reading of Common Herb Collection was nearing its end. With his residual memories, Hope didn't need to spend much time understanding and memorizing its contents.

His finger stopped on one passage in the last few pages, which introduced a certain herb.

It was one of the few nameless herbs in this book. Writer Hope seemed to have lost that part of the memory, leaving only a description of the herb's effects.

"In some primitive tribes, people believed it was the grass through which the gods knew all languages, growing at the source of streams. Bathing in water steeped with it would clear the mind... Dr. Francis Morgan, associate professor of pharmacology at Miskatonic University, found that herb... The mind-clearing effect might be real, but it's limited—less effective than mint. However, Dr. Morgan believes it may indeed possess the ability to grant understanding of languages, though further research is needed."

The ability to grant understanding of languages—that was exactly what Hope needed. He had been troubled for a long time by Number Four Hope's message.

Beside the text was a simple sketch, presumably of this herb. It had six leaves with fuzzy edges arranged like a six-pointed star, and something in the middle that seemed to be its flower.

Hope committed the herb's appearance to memory.

He quickly shifted his attention to the only name that appeared in this introduction:

"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, closed his eyes, and activated "Uncertainty," teleporting to Old Williams' living room.

Since the storage room was damaged, to prevent sun and rain from ruining the paper, Hope had moved the stacks near the hole into the living room in several trips, covering the rest with oilcloth.

He quickly found Number Four Hope's message. Beneath the scrawled Russian, the fragmentary report was still legible: Dr. Francis Morgan spoke at length about the process of excavating a certain tomb...

Archaeology?

Wasn't he a pharmacology professor?

It could just be a coincidence of names... but it couldn't be ruled out that it was the same person, dabbling in both fields... Hmm, this report had a fragment reading "Miska"...

Hope quickly settled on his goal in his mind: he needed to meet this Dr. Morgan.

He noted this goal on his attribute page—he had already started using it as a memo.

At that moment, three lines were already written on it:

1. Resolve the Whateley House issue 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 future mishaps where he couldn't finish translating August's manuscript, Hope spent all his fragmented free time on it.

Hope downed his coffee in one gulp. He had grown accustomed to its strange taste—as long as he didn't treat it as a drink, but as a mind-clearing medicine... it was still a bit more palatable than Chinese herbal soup.

Having only fallen asleep after two in the morning, Hope was still a bit drowsy, but he temporarily canceled his nap.

He wanted to see the Miskatonic University campus at noon.

Hope set his teleportation point under the bed in August Derleth's former residence. Compared to outside the library, this spot was more stable—yesterday, he had only been able to teleport because it was late at night. At noon, even behind a tree, there was no avoiding people's line of sight interfering with "Uncertainty."

After arriving under the bed, Hope didn't crawl out immediately. He lay on the floor, listening for the caretaker's footsteps, and only emerged when he was sure the caretaker hadn't passed by.

He glanced at his pocket watch.

11:32.

Hope set a two-hour countdown for himself. By 1:30, even if no one came to his room, he had to return to rest.

—He didn't intend to test how much the Heart-shaped Padlock's weakened state would stack. If irreversible symptoms appeared, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The dormitory door was locked from the outside with a padlock. Even with the key, it couldn't be opened from inside, and since this was the third floor, climbing out the window was too dangerous.

Hope pulled the curtain aside a little and stood by it, looking down at the ground below.

Below was a lawn, with only a few people walking across it.

Hope had chosen a landing spot behind a stone tablet on the lawn, and he was now observing that area.

He didn't teleport behind the tablet immediately, waiting instead for the crowd to thin out. Not only did no one need to see that spot, but he also couldn't let anyone think, "Wasn't that spot empty just now?" At that moment, two people were passing by the tablet.

Hope waited a dozen seconds for those two slow-moving people to wander farther away, then closed his eyes and appeared behind the tablet.

As he closed his eyes, the "memo" also appeared before him:

2. Meet Elizabeth. 3. If possible, meet Professor Armitage. 4. Meet Dr. Morgan.

He didn't know the locations of either Elizabeth or Dr. Morgan, but Elizabeth had mentioned Professor Armitage, so Hope knew he was the library director... He'd check the library first. It should be open at this hour.

Around him walked many people around Hope's age, who looked at him with curiosity. Hope couldn't make out their gazes clearly, or he would have noticed a hint of sympathy—sympathy for a disabled, homeless peer.

Hope had already learned a bit about Miskatonic University through various means. He knew it was summer break now, but the university offered summer courses, so the campus was still full of students.

He calculated briefly: at a normal pace, it would take about seven minutes to walk from August Derleth's former residence to the library.

The five-story red brick building appeared before Hope once again. He now saw a massive statue of a figure in front of the Philip Library, with an inscription beneath it introducing the person:

Ward Philip, First President of Miskatonic University

Hope had already met the library's old gatekeeper the day before, but the old man still stared at him for a long time.

"Alright, you can go in." The gatekeeper finally nodded and said, "You look like a scholar, but you can't borrow books, and you'd better wash your hands first—don't get the books dirty."

Hope raised his hands, feeling they weren't particularly dirty, 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 wasn't planning to tell the truth for now, after all...

Hope froze. He couldn't remember why. His mouth hung open as he stood there, stunned.

"What's wrong with you?" the gatekeeper asked with concern.

"No, nothing." Hope snapped out of it, blinking, forgetting his earlier confusion. "I just... admire Professor Armitage's learning."

He spoke these words with utter sincerity, not like a lie. Most people who wanted to see Professor Armitage said the same thing.