Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Departure

In the upper district of Igewent, Knight Road.

In the morning, by the green spaces around Knight Road, Dorothy and Anna were walking together. As Dorothy shared her recent plans, Anna raised her sparkling eyes to look at Dorothy and asked:

“Teacher Meyshos, are you about to go to Tivyán?”

“Yes, there’s no end to learning, so maybe it’s time to move on to broader horizons.” Walking beside Anna, Dorothy replied, while Anna’s eyes showed a hint of sadness.

“I see… So will I still be able to see Teacher Meyshos in the future?”

“Of course! I’m just going to school. If I have any long breaks, I can return to Igewent and visit you. And… if you really miss me, you can always read books.”

As she spoke, Dorothy took out a brand new thick book from her bag and handed it to Anna. Anna looked at it and found it was an anthology of fables.

“This is…”

“It’s a tool for communication among Akka’s followers. On page 212, if you need to contact me, write your message there. Similarly, if I need to contact you, my words will appear on that page too. Keep this book safe.”

Bending down, Dorothy quietly told Anna, who nodded affirmatively in response.

“Mm! I understand, Teacher Meyshos.”

…

After seeing Anna back to Knight Road No. 26, Dorothy bade her final farewell and left. She boarded a carriage at the end of the street. On the carriage, Dorothy began to ponder about Anna’s situation.

With the secret help of the An Yin Bureau, Anna had successfully won all her lawsuits, defeating all the competitors for the inheritance and firmly establishing herself as the first heir of the Field family. The inheritance procedures would soon be processed, making Anna the new Viscountess Field, the largest noble in Igewent.

Of course, inheriting the title did not mean Anna could obtain all of Viscount Field’s assets. Due to her young age and lack of legal capacity, most of Viscount Field’s assets were temporarily managed by professional institutions, leaving Anna with only a small portion.

Since Anna was saved by Dorothy under Akka’s name, Dorothy created a communication book for her using the “Navigation of the Literary Sea.”

By writing on the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” controlling the amount of “Enlightenment” input could determine the range of movement of the fish characters. Once the fish character settled on a particular text, it would establish a connection with the “Navigation of the Literary Sea.”

Thus, by surrounding the “Navigation of the Literary Sea” with a circle of books and injecting a bit of “Enlightenment” into the text written on the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” the fish character would swim a short distance to reach the prearranged text, creating a remote communication tool. This was how the fable storybook given to Anna was made, and several more were prepared as backups.

While making the communication book, Dorothy had a sudden idea to infuse more “Enlightenment” into a few fish characters, allowing them to swim farther away to distant texts. She hoped to replicate the situation with Vania, finding some kindred spirits to contribute to the “Secret Transmission.”

“I wonder where those characters will swim to…”

Sitting in the carriage, Dorothy murmured to herself.

…

Time passed swiftly, and before long, a semester had come to an end. At the beginning of summer vacation, despite having attended less than a week of classes, Dorothy received the highest overall score in the class. When the results were announced, many teachers and students suddenly realized there was such a person in their class.

Looking at the top rankings, many students and teachers wondered if they could find a chance to meet this mysterious high-achieving girl who had never attended class during the next semester. However, they had no opportunity to do so.

Igewent Train Station, morning.

Under the wide steel canopy, the bustling platforms were crowded. By the platforms, a long steam train stood quietly on the tracks, awaiting its departure moment. Maintenance personnel were conducting final checks on this massive steel beast.

In the square in front of the station, under the scorching August sun, people came and went. Dorothy stood here, dressed in a light blouse and skirt, wearing sandals and a sun hat. Beside her was a large suitcase. After spending nearly half of the summer in Igewent, Dorothy finally reached the moment of departure.

“Listen, Dorothy, when you’re on the train, remember to close the door of the compartment. Stay inside unless necessary, don’t wander around, avoid the unseated cheap carriages, don’t respond to strangers, keep your belongings safe, and don’t walk around at night. Remember to send me a telegram when you arrive in Tivyán, understood?”

Standing in front of Dorothy, Gregor earnestly instructed her, and Dorothy nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry, Gregor. I can take care of myself. You don’t need to fuss over me so much.”

“Huh… Well then, be careful on the way. Honestly, if not for the handover work here and your need to start school, I could have gone with you to Tivyán.”

Leaning on his waist and sighing, Gregor said, feeling excited about the dual good news of his promotion and his sister’s transfer to Tivyán. He had been looking forward to traveling there with Dorothy but encountered some setbacks due to various handover tasks.

Due to these tasks, he couldn’t go to Tivyán for the time being, and Dorothy needed to report to school before the new term started, so she had to leave first.

“Mm, then goodbye, Gregor. I’ll wait for you in Tivyán.”

“Goodbye, take care on the journey.”

Waving goodbye to Gregor, Dorothy dragged her heavy luggage toward the train station. Gregor watched her disappear into the crowd.

After entering the station and passing through the ticket checkpoint, Dorothy dragged her luggage up a long flight of stairs. Exhausted and gasping for breath, she wanted to apply for a “bl**d-Eating” ability immediately. In the crowd, she saw a porter. After giving him a few coins, she asked him to carry her luggage to the platform.

“Phew… Being an Omniscient without any physical strength is really frustrating, but at least I have money… Otherwise, I’d be exhausted here today…”

Standing on the platform, Dorothy muttered to herself, then she looked up at the quiet steam train and murmured,

“Tivyán, here I come…”

—

In the Prit Kingdom, on the central-southern main island, at the edge of a complex terrain and dense forest.

In a peaceful town at the edge of a mountain range, in a remote two-story wooden house, a middle-aged man sat at his desk, quickly writing something on a piece of paper with a pen.

“Contact the Tivyán General Bureau regarding the preliminary investigation results of the abnormal worship of the Razor Mountain sect. Detailed information is as follows…

“The related evidence has been specially sent by a dedicated courier to the General Bureau. He will travel by train from Alster to Tivyán and is expected to arrive on the morning of the 23rd. Please prepare for reception.”

Having finished writing, the middle-aged man reviewed it, confirmed everything was correct, and placed it in an envelope. Then he stood up to leave, intending to convert the information into a telegram and send it out.

Just as the man opened the door and stepped out of the room, he felt a chill in his chest. Looking down in shock, he saw a small kn*fe piercing his heart.

“Mmm…”

The man tried to shout, but a large hand covered his mouth and nose from behind. His eyes widened lifelessly as he fell to the ground, and the envelope he was holding dropped to the floor and was picked up by that hand.