Waiting

Hope silently recalled Elizabeth, only to find that those memories of her were incredibly blurry, as if many years had passed.

Perhaps Jeffrey wasn't lying; he really did know Elizabeth.

Mana is increasing...

Hope didn't understand the reason behind it, but he knew someone else did.

Professor Armitage.

Class had ended by then, Professor Rice used the last bit of time in his open lecture to write down the formula for the Flying Ointment.

Hope regrets that she cannot consult Professor Rice now.

He whispered to Elizabeth that they had to go find Professor Armitage now.

Elizabeth answered without much hesitation that she could, but she had just left Professor Armitage.

Hope bit her nail and said that you should have noticed it by now; you are gradually being forgotten, and perhaps only Professor Armitage knows what to do.

He waved his hand, signaling Jeffrey to leave and stop causing trouble.

Elizabeth asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Yes," Hope replied.

Elizabeth accepted it much faster than Hope had imagined.

She breathed a sigh of relief, saying that she had been worried that she had done something wrong recently, which was why they were deliberately ignoring her. But if it was the fault of supernatural forces, she felt much better.

She walked in front, and Hope followed behind.

Elizabeth suddenly turned to Hope and asked how she figured it out.

"Just a guess," Hope said.

"You didn't guess," Elizabeth said.

How do you know I wasn't just guessing?

"I guess you're not guessing," Elizabeth said.

"If you don't want to tell me, then you certainly don't want to tell anyone else. So when I see Dr. Armitage, I'll say that I discovered something was wrong on my own."

That sounds like a good thing, Hope thought.

He would have told Elizabeth if she had insisted on asking.

It's better not to ask.

None of them expected to be obstructed at Professor Armitage's door.

A boy had just come out of the office and asked them if they wanted to see Professor Armitage.

Elizabeth said yes.

She whispered to Hope that it was a librarian.

The librarian looked at them, somewhat displeased, and said in a hoarse voice, "State your purpose."

Hope had no idea about this step; he suspected it was the librarian's own sudden inspiration.

"Find Professor Armitage," Hope had to repeat.

The librarian shook his head. "Everyone comes here to see Professor Armitage. I'm asking for a more specific reason."

"We don't need to tell you," Elizabeth said. "Bean, you're not in charge of that. You're a librarian, not the Gatekeeper of the director's office."

Bean was somewhat surprised. "You actually know me?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm not in charge of that. But I can take charge of it today, after all, Professor Armitage is always very busy."

Although Bean was talking to Elizabeth, Hope felt that Bean's gaze was on him, and there was a strange hostility in his eyes.

Hope had no clue about this; he didn't know this man named Bean at all.

He looked at Bean.

Agility: 0.98, Constitution: 1.47, Vision: 0.95, Mana: 0

An ordinary person.

Hope was considering the possibility of using force to get around him—not by kicking him out, but by making a commotion so that the people inside could hear.

"Ah~" Someone walked over, accompanied by a dissatisfied grumble.

Hope didn't know this person.

"It's Lizzie," Elizabeth whispered to Hope. "She's also a librarian. We met yesterday, but she didn't seem to recognize me."

Lizzie bypassed Hope and Elizabeth, wrapping her arms around Bean's neck, but the gesture was more threatening than affectionate, her arms forming a boxer's grappling stance.

Bean looked at her awkwardly.

"What are you doing again, Bean?" Lizzie asked.

Bean remained silent.

Lizzie continued, "Then let Little White go."

Hope paused for a moment, noticing Elizabeth's surprise at being called "Little White," and realized that "Little White" might be referring to him.

This was the first time he had ever learned that he already had such a nickname.

But Bean shook his head.

Lizzie frowned. "What else do you want to do?"

Bean ignored them and said, "Professor Armitage isn't here."

He said, "I came to deliver a book to Professor Armitage Professor Armitage, but he wasn't inside. I was just trying to play a joke... Damn it, let me go... It really was just a joke; if you hadn't come, I would have told them myself."

"Where did the professor go?" Lizzie asked.

"How should I know?" Bean shrugged.

Lizzie couldn't find out Professor Armitage's location for them, but judging from the timing, the professor must have left recently.

They said goodbye to Lizzie.

Hope remembered a place.

He led the way for Elizabeth.

"Little White" must indeed be referring to you,"Elizabeth said.

"I had absolutely no idea," Hope replied.

"You're quite popular. Senior Lizzie didn't even recognize me; she probably came to help you."

"Really?" Hope was somewhat surprised. "I thought she would come no matter who it was; she seems like the kind of person who is very principled."

"She is, but you made a good impression on her by helping Lola."

Hope paused for a moment. "Who is Lola?"

"Little Hawkins," Elizabeth said, only referring to a name.

Little Hawkins...

Hope remembered the girl who had been cornered by Little Hawkins.

"That wasn't my doing," Hope said.

"My eyesight is too poor; Dr. Morgan and Professor Armitage saw her first. Dr. Morgan promised me some benefits and assured me there would be no punishment for what I did, so I hit Little Hawkins."

Elizabeth nodded. "I understand. But I also know that even if Dr. Morgan didn't say anything, as long as you saw it, you would still try to help, just not in such a... well, excessive way."

They reached their destination.

"Isn't this place... officially off-limits?" Elizabeth asked.

Hope opened the door. "As long as we're not discovered, there's nowhere we're not allowed to enter. Look, nobody's stopping us from coming in."

"It's a bit eerie," he said. "Let's wait here for a while."

"Then the professor will come?"

"Probably," Hope said. "At least, when Dr. Morgan brought me here, Professor Armitage came to see us just over ten minutes later... He definitely didn't look like he was on a routine patrol or had anything else to do; he was clearly coming for us."

"How did he know you'd be here?" Elizabeth asked.

Hope shook her head. "I don't know, but he's so capable, it's normal for him to have some methods."

Elizabeth peered at the skull through the glass case, and she was calmer Hope had imagined, at least calmer than when Hope first came.

"Have you been here before?" Hope asked.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "I'm just naturally not afraid of these things."