Fifth Hundred and Ninety-First Yearly Table
On the bustling streets of Tivyán, Dorothy’s zombie driver was steering the black carriage along the road heading north towards the outskirts. Inside the carriage, Dorothy and Nephnis, who had just been picked up, were sitting upright.
“Huh… Finally managed to get this done. I didn’t expect to encounter something right after returning…” Nephnis, having removed her veil and headscarf, sighed in relief as she spoke, looking out the window at the familiar streets and inhaling the faint, pungent smell with a slight frown.
“Ugh, the air here is still as bad as ever. I used to think that maybe cities have such air, but after going out for a while, I realized how truly awful Tivyán’s air really is…” Nephnis complained about the city’s air, while Dorothy responded lightly.
“The places we visited weren’t industrial areas or tourist cities; naturally, their environments were better. Also, we came back because something happened in Tivyán, so encountering this situation upon our return was expected. Those spider guys couldn’t hold back anymore.”
“Spider guys… Are those assassins targeting Duke Barret starting some new actions? Are we coming back specifically to deal with them?” Nephnis asked curiously, listening to Dorothy’s words. Dorothy quickly replied.
“We don’t know yet if we’re going to confront those spider guys, but it’s highly likely we’ll be involved. We can’t rule out a direct confrontation. For now, we need to prepare mentally, ready to experience what happened on the night Duke Barret was assassinated…”
“The situation on the night Duke Barret was assassinated… Hmm… If that’s the case, I think I’ll stay out for a while. Once everything here is resolved and there’s no urgent need to go out, I’ll return home…”
Listening to Dorothy’s words, Neve thought for a moment before speaking. After hearing her words, Dorothy pondered for a bit and then responded.
“Your idea isn’t bad. The current situation isn’t clear yet, so it’s not time to return to normal life. Let’s see how things develop over time.” Dorothy said, now in a similar situation as Nephnis. Although she had returned to Tivyán, she hadn’t told Gregor she was back and hadn’t met him, so if she needed to leave again, it would be awkward to find an excuse.
“I hope things stabilize after this. I’m attending classes normally next semester and don’t want to keep skipping classes.”
“Considering the current situation, I haven’t attended classes for almost half a year. Many planned study trips were missed. The professors will return in a few days, and after the next semester starts, they will arrange topics from this year’s study trip to write papers. I’ve missed most of my study trips… I wonder how I’ll write these papers…”
Holding her forehead with a clear look of distress, Neve said. Dorothy shrugged and replied straightforwardly.
“Didn’t we gather more historical insights than your classmates on our journey? Isn’t choosing a topic for a paper just a matter of finding one? Like the hidden history of the Baruch Dynasty in Adus… Or the past of Pirate Island Moncala… There are plenty of topics, and if you need help, I can guide you.”
“This… Please don’t joke, Miss Dorothy. Writing about those things could easily turn into a secret transmission! They can’t be used as papers!”
Nephnis said anxiously to Dorothy, who smiled but did not continue. Thus, their carriage continued its journey out of the city and toward the northern outskirts.
Since Neve’s house in the city had been burglarized and was no longer safe, and since the Golden Scepter had already been moved to a safer place, the house was nearly empty. Neve had no plans to return there and also didn’t intend to return to her new home in Tivyán. Therefore, she decided to rent a place near the school, which was close to both the school and Dorothy’s residence.
Upon reaching the pleasant environment of Tivyán’s northern outskirts, Dorothy first bid farewell to Nephnis and then returned to her residence in Green Shade Town, No. 17. After sorting through things, she left again and headed alone to the nearby vast campus.
…
During daylight hours, the bright sunlight shone on the ancient century-old buildings of Saint Crown University’s King Campus. In the long corridors and wide lawns, the originally bustling students had mostly disappeared due to the holiday period, making the university much quieter than usual.
However, even during summer break, the university library remained open to facilitate research work for some faculty members and students. Unlike usual times, the number of visitors was significantly lower, which Dorothy welcomed.
A peaceful afternoon saw sunlight streaming through large windows into the spacious area. Rows of bookshelves formed a maze of books, and the large library seemed even more desolate and quiet without the usual student traffic. Dorothy sat quietly in her favorite corner, slowly flipping through the pages of a book.
Although Dorothy appeared to be reading, her thoughts wandered far and wide. At this moment, throughout the library, archives, and across the entire campus, Dorothy’s zombie puppets were everywhere. Some were reading with her in the library, others were strolling around the campus, and some were secretly browsing various archival materials in the archive room.
Dorothy was following the clues left by Misha to continue investigating matters related to Barret’s research companions. Misha had found important clues in the Crown University library, and Dorothy naturally started her investigation there.
The most crucial clue Misha found in the Crown University library was a book titled “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook,” which contained a note addressed to Duke Barret under the alias “Richard.”
After returning to Crown University, Dorothy’s first task was to find this book in the library and read it thoroughly. She discovered it was an agricultural tax register compiled by ancient Pritt tax officials.
This “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook” was not written by historians or agronomists but by the tax officials of the Pritt Windflower Dynasty. It recorded grain tax registrations from the Glimmer Calendar year 875 to 964, covering nearly a hundred years of grain tax data from different regions of Pritt. Although it wasn’t detailed, there were no significant gaps.
After reading the contents of the “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook,” Dorothy immediately set out to find people interested in it. She sent her zombies to infiltrate the Crown University archive room and reviewed detailed book collection records from the last decade. Using her ability called “Enlightenment” for high-level information processing, she found that the “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook” had been added to the Crown University library fifteen years ago. This meant the book had been in the library for at most fifteen years.
Next, Dorothy had several zombies search through the archive room, examining all borrowing records from the past fifteen years. With lightning speed, she sifted through piles of documents and found all borrowing records for the “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook.” Since the book was very niche, only six people, including Richard (Barret’s alias), had borrowed it in the past fifteen years. Besides Barret repeatedly borrowing the book, the other five people had each borrowed it only once.
Then, Dorothy investigated the other five people. She searched Crown University’s records for their names, looked into what other books they liked to borrow, and compiled a list of the books they had checked out. She compared these lists with Barret’s borrowing records to see if there were any overlaps. If she could find out what books they had borrowed from the library, she could infer what they were studying or researching. If their focus matched Barret’s, they were likely his research companion.
However, after reviewing countless documents, Dorothy’s findings were disappointing.
Of the five people, two were officials from the Pritt food department. They borrowed this book to update their department’s records and also checked out many books on Pritt agriculture and food. Another two were studying Pritt meteorology, and their borrowing records were all about meteorological content. They likely borrowed the book to judge the weather conditions based on past harvests. The last person was studying the development of Pritt’s tax system, and his borrowing records were all about books related to taxes in various countries and Pritt.
Food… Meteorology… Taxation… Clearly, these three research directions were far from Barret’s. None of the books they borrowed overlapped with Barret’s except for the “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook.” Moreover, they borrowed the book very early, with the latest borrowing being four years ago, which was quite distant from Barret’s borrowing timeline. They were unlikely to be Barret’s research partners.
The investigation hit a bottleneck, and one direction was cut off. Sitting on the library floor, Dorothy frowned and immediately began a new analysis.
“None of the other people who borrowed the ‘Pritt Agricultural Yearbook’ are likely to be Barret’s research partner… So… How did his research partner learn about and study this book? Only if both were very familiar with it would they use it to convey information… So Barret’s partner must have seen this book and not just borrowed it from Barret. Because he knew exactly where the book was in the library…
‘Actually… The ‘Pritt Agricultural Yearbook’ isn’t suitable for borrowing because it’s a yearbook, a pure record of data. It’s better to keep it on the shelf and take it down when needed rather than read it cover-to-cover. Duke Barret’s residence was far from the library, so running to the library to check this yearbook was too troublesome. He might have borrowed it, but if he lived near the library or conducted his research there…
‘So… Could Barret’s partner be someone living in or near the school, conducting much of their research in the library?’
As soon as Dorothy had this realization, she perked up. Living in or near the school and conducting much of their research in the library… That’s exactly what Crown University’s faculty and students do. And it’s probably a professor, as busy graduating students wouldn’t have time to discuss academic content related to Barret’s research.
“If it’s a professor at Crown University collaborating with Barret… Checking this yearbook would be very convenient, so there’s no need to borrow it. I just need to find a professor at Crown University whose research direction matches Barret’s… So what exactly is Barret researching?”
Dorothy thought, then she began analyzing the “Pritt Agricultural Yearbook.”
“This yearbook was used by ancient Pritt tax officials to record tax and grain situations. Barret’s interest in this yearbook isn’t in the grain taxes themselves but in what the taxes reveal about other conditions, like using the yearbook to speculate on climate and rainfall.
‘This yearbook covers the period from 875 to 964, about five hundred years ago, which was when the current ruling dynasty of Pritt, the Windflower Dynasty, was newly established, shortly after the end of the Wind King’s Rebellion.
‘Barret wanted information about the Wind King’s Rebellion. The true history of the rebellion had been erased and altered by the current royal family and church. Unable to find books directly recording the history of the rebellion, Barret turned to various marginal sources to piece together details and reconstruct the truth of the war.
‘This ‘Pritt Agricultural Yearbook’… Its initial years closely follow the end of the Wind King’s Rebellion. Grain tax data from different regions can reflect grain production. After a war, comparing the grain production situation before and after can estimate which areas were affected by the conflict and which were relatively stable. War affects grain production; prolonged warfare leads to land desertification and agricultural decline, drastically reducing grain yields. Barret could deduce the intensity and scale of the Wind King’s Rebellion in various parts of Pritt from this yearbook, which is why he focused on this grain tax book.
‘Therefore, Duke Barret’s interest in the ‘Pritt Agricultural Yearbook’ stems from the Wind King’s Rebellion, and his collaborator shared the same interest. They focused on this book due to the same research topic, allowing them to exchange and share successes.’
Dorothy thought to herself, and at this point, she couldn’t help but smile. Her investigation direction became much clearer. A professor at Crown University… possibly in the history or archaeology department, with a hidden interest in the history of the Wind King’s Rebellion. Finding someone after gathering so many clues on the cruise ship would be much easier.
After thinking through the new clues, Dorothy immediately began organizing her efforts to continue flipping through the archives, gathering specific information on all Crown University professors, especially those in the history and archaeology departments. She reviewed their resumes and all published papers, even checking the library’s borrowing records. After synthesizing and processing a large amount of information, a name appeared before her eyes.
“John Auchison”
