"Are you saying... that the invaders’ organization might be called the Rose Cross Order? And that among them, there might be a member who is a dark-skinned woman with a good figure?"
In the second level of the underground ruins, before the strange altar, Claudius asked expressionlessly after listening to Thorn Velvet’s words. Thorn Velvet nodded repeatedly in response.
"Yes! This is intelligence we obtained earlier, but we haven’t had the chance to investigate it yet. Now, I think this information could be the key to further breakthroughs against those guys. Although their main force was wiped out by you below, there’s no guarantee they don’t have other people outside."
Thorn Velvet explained that the reason he hadn’t investigated this intelligence was that he had been misled by false information at the time, and simply hadn’t had the opportunity to follow up.
After listening to Thorn Velvet’s words, Claudius fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"In that case, you should follow this lead and investigate further. Dig out as many remnants of those guys as possible to ensure the safety of our stronghold for the next two days. I need to coordinate with other strongholds to send additional personnel."
"Yes."
Thorn Velvet responded affirmatively and immediately withdrew.
...
Deep within the underground ruins, in the Hall of Ascension of the Star Numerology Scriptorium.Due to an unexpected blockade, Dorothy, trapped in this chamber, had no choice but to seek a way to advance on the spot. However, the only method available to her now had encountered an unexpected complication.
If Dorothy wanted to advance on the spot, she could only become a Scholar. Given the current situation, she needed to read a mystical text with the theme of Silence to successfully advance.
But in this sealed chamber, where could she find a new mystical text?
Faced with this problem, Dorothy first thought of entering the Dreamscape to try her luck, but then felt it was unreliable.
Dorothy had learned to enter the Dreamscape for quite some time. In fact, she entered it every few days to try her luck. However, for some reason, every time she roamed the forest, she came up empty-handed. No matter where her dragon mimicry went in the forest, it was always empty. She never encountered any Dreamscape creatures or other mimicries, except for the first time when she met that little fox. This lack of results made Dorothy think that this Dreamscape online game was actually a single-player game, with each session lasting only ten minutes.
For some reason, Dorothy’s dragon mimicry never encountered anything in the Dreamscape, and its activity time was very short. Therefore, she didn’t immediately choose to try her luck there but decided to seek help from others.
"It seems... I still need to seek some external assistance..."
Thinking this, Dorothy took out her Literary Sea Logbook from the magic box, planning to contact Nephthys at this time and ask her to find a way to go to the city, locate the secret stronghold of the White Craftsmen’s Guild, and have her front the money to buy a Silence mystical text from the guild and transmit it over.
Based on Dorothy’s previous understanding of Nephthys, her family was well-off. The cost of a mystical text, around three to four hundred pounds, should be something she could barely afford. If she didn’t have enough cash on hand, she could go home and see if there were any collections left by her grandfather that she could use as collateral. This amount of money should be easily obtainable. Once Dorothy got out, she would repay her in full.
If that didn’t work, Dorothy could also contact Anna from Igwynt and have her arrange to wire some money over.
As for why they needed to go to the city to find the White Craftsmen’s Guild’s stronghold instead of directly going to Green Shade Town to find Beverly, the guild’s head in Tivian, it was because unless there was a sufficiently qualified referral, Beverly absolutely refused to receive guests at her private residence. She had told Dorothy that no more than three people in all of Tivian knew about her residence in Green Shade Town.
Dorothy unfolded the Literary Sea Logbook and flipped to Nephthys’s contact page. Just as she was about to write on it, she suddenly paused, as if realizing something was wrong.
“Wait, if Thorn Velvet was rescued, that means they clearly know that North Pine Forest is a trap, and that my two corpse marionettes were acting to deceive them.”
“If that’s the case, then the act my corpse marionettes put on would be seen as fake by those guys, deliberately released to deceive them. This includes the part where I exonerated Nephthys from suspicion.”
Thinking this, Dorothy suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. When Nephthys entered Green Shade Town No. 23, she was seen and her characteristics were noted. Dorothy later used her corpse marionettes to act out a scene that convinced Thorn Velvet that those characteristics were disguises. But now that Thorn Velvet knew it was all an act, he would surely focus on suspecting that so-called dark-skinned, well-built woman.
“If that’s the case, Nephthys’s current situation isn’t good. No, I need to ensure her safety first before figuring out how to get the book.”
Thinking this, Dorothy picked up her pen and wrote on the Literary Sea Logbook:
"You’re in danger. Leave the school immediately."
...
Royal Crown University, King’s Campus.
In the dead of night, inside the girls’ dormitory, in a well-decorated double room, Nephthys sat at her desk. On the table lay an open history book, and under the desk lamp, she was intently staring at the pages, her expression slightly tense.
After completing the mission of escorting Dorothy into the Inner Area, Nephthys had returned to her dormitory. Staring at the book Dorothy had given her, she anxiously awaited any news from her.
“It’s been so long, why hasn’t there been any response? Could something have happened to Miss Dorothy inside?”
Staring at the unchanging pages, Nephthys anxiously thought. Dorothy had promised her that if she successfully and safely escaped, she would use the book to send her a message and arrange a meeting. So, after returning, Nephthys had been patiently waiting in her dormitory, waiting for any possible written message from the book.
"Neph... aren’t you going to sleep yet? You’re really working hard today..."
At this moment, a voice reached Nephthys’s ears. She turned her head and saw her roommate, already in her pajamas, getting into bed.
"Uh, there’s an exam in three days, so I thought I’d review a bit more. You go ahead and sleep, Emma."
Looking at her roommate, Nephthys responded, while the other girl covered herself with the blanket and replied.
"An exam... ugh... that’s right. Well, I should... never mind, there’s still three days. I’ll look at it tomorrow."
With that, Emma buried her head in the blanket and started to sleep. Seeing this, Nephthys’s mouth twitched slightly, and she thought to herself.
“You always wait until the night before to start studying…”
Ignoring her gradually dozing roommate, Nephthys refocused her attention on the book in front of her. This time, she unexpectedly noticed a new line of text appearing on the page.
“Finally, a response?”
Nephthys’s spirits lifted, and she carefully looked at the newly appeared text on the book, only to be taken aback.
“I’m in danger now? Miss Dorothy is telling me to leave the school immediately? What’s going on?”
Looking at the words on the page, Nephthys frowned and quickly picked up her pen to write on the book.
"What’s going on? Miss Dorothy, how are things down there? Are you okay?"
Nephthys wrote this series of questions on the page, but soon, a response appeared before her eyes.
"I’m fine for now, no need to worry about me. The key is you; Thorn Velvet and his people have their eyes on you. You must leave the school immediately! The farther the better. It’s best to find a carriage to the city now."
Seeing the words on the page indicating that Thorn Velvet might already be targeting her, Nephthys’s heart tightened. She immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly wrote on the page.
"I understand, I’ll leave right away. But it’s very late now, and there are no more rental carriages near King’s Campus at this hour. If I can’t find a carriage, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get to the city immediately."
After writing this, the words quickly sank into the page. After a while, a new response gradually appeared.
"Your top priority is to leave the school immediately. Don’t stay inside any longer. If you can’t find a carriage, you can go to Irrigation River Bridge and wait there."
“Leave the school first?”
Looking at the sentence on the page, Nephthys paused, thought for a moment, and decided to follow Dorothy’s instructions and leave immediately.
Having made up her mind, Nephthys wrote "Okay" on the book, then immediately stood up from her seat, closed the history book in front of her, put it into her bag by the desk, slung the bag over her shoulder, turned off the desk lamp, and quickly left the dormitory, closing the door behind her.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Emma poked her head out from under the blanket, looked at the scene, and mumbled sleepily.
"Too much pressure from studying, wanting to go out and play? It’s better not to push yourself too hard..."
After saying this, Emma buried her head back under the blanket.
...
King’s Campus, the gathering point of the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge.
In the spacious gathering point, the lights were on. Before the webbed corridor, Thorn Velvet stood silently, facing five figures.
Among them were two minions of the Eight-Spired Nest who had escaped the earlier ambush because they weren’t in the inner area at the time. The other three were students of the Scholarly Society, the most deeply corrupted by the Queen’s Procession and the most trusted by Thorn Velvet. The leader among them was Eli, who, like the other students, lived in the dormitories and thus avoided the disaster.
"Mr. Thorn Velvet, you called us so urgently... is there something urgent?"
Looking at Thorn Velvet, Eli spoke with utmost respect. Finally back in a leadership position, Thorn Velvet stood with his hands behind his back and replied in his usual lofty tone.
"I called you here because there’s an urgent task. I’ve just discovered that there might be an organization within this school that is hostile to us, working against us in secret."
"What... an organization hostile to us?"
Hearing Thorn Velvet’s words, Eli frowned, and Thorn Velvet continued.
"Yes, their activities have already caused us some minor losses. Although not significant, since they dare to actively oppose us, we must find and eliminate them.”
"Now, I have some information about one of their members: a dark-skinned woman with a good figure. I need you to search the school for anyone matching this description and bring her to me!"
Thorn Velvet spoke sternly. After hearing his words, the five people before him showed varying expressions, and Eli’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Dark-skinned... a woman with a good figure... it can’t be... Boyle!?"
Eli spoke incredulously. Hearing his words, Thorn Velvet paused, then immediately asked Eli.
"Boyle? What? Have you seen this woman?"
Thorn Velvet questioned Eli, who quickly knelt down, and answered in panic.
"Mr. Thorn Velvet, I’m sorry! This Boyle is a member of our society! Just a few days ago, she passed the test you set and I gave her the qualification to enter the Inner Area... I had no idea she had ulterior motives and caused trouble for you. Please punish me!"
"What... she’s actually a member of the society?"
Hearing Eli’s words, Thorn Velvet paused, then carefully recalled his memories from half a year ago when he was focused on corrupting the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge. After some thought, he realized there indeed was such a person.
“Boyle... she’s that member of the Rose Cross Order. She infiltrated the Scholarly Society, resisted the poison of the mystical texts through some means, gained trust, and entered the Inner Area. Could it be that she, as an insider, caused today’s events?”
Thorn Velvet pondered this in his heart, then his anger flared. He spoke in a furious tone.
"Where is this Boyle now? Take me to her immediately! I’ll capture her myself!"
...
Deep within the underground ruins, above the advanced chamber.
Dorothy sat on a stone step, relieved after seeing Nephthys’s response, and began planning her next moves.
“Nephthys has started to leave the school. Although nothing has happened yet, once those guys decide to investigate thoroughly, there’s still a big risk. Nephthys is a formal member of their inner society. If those guys have any measures against defection, they might have some mystical tracking methods to locate her.”
“So, it’s best to send Nephthys to a safe place where she can evade the pursuit of the Eight-Spired Nest... but where is a safe place?”
Dorothy thought this over. Beverly’s house was impossible without a referral, and the White Craftsmen’s Guild remained neutral, so it was uncertain whether they would take in someone being pursued by another faction. As for the Serenity Bureau, Dorothy had no idea where the Tivian headquarters was, so that was also temporarily out of the question.
Sitting on the stone step, Dorothy racked her brains to find a safe place for Nephthys to hide from the Eight-Spired Nest’s pursuit. Just as she was running out of ideas, a familiar prayer suddenly echoed in her mind.
Hearing this, Dorothy’s eyebrows raised, and she clapped her hands in a moment of inspiration.
"Found it, tsk... why didn’t I think of this earlier? Shouldn’t she be in Tivian now?"
Muttering to herself, Dorothy quickly flipped through her Literary Sea Logbook. After a while, she found Vania’s contact page and began writing on it.
"Are you there?"