The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

Hales House.

He noticed the name of this station by accident.

Not long ago, when he observed the map that was suspected to be from the explorer Cindo Playa, he noticed that there was such a post station in the southeast of the center of the Never Ember.

But he didn't expect that that was exactly where the treasure map in Friedman's travel notes was located.

Someone peddling treasure maps at Hales House?

Siles noticed the timing issue.This incident apparently happened last year.Businessman Ranmeer also said that he met Friedman, who was seriously injured, in October last year.

And now, a year later, news about "cities that don't exist" is once again flooding the Neverland.

That strong sense of conspiracy once again permeated Sirius' heart.

A "non-existent city" that has become legends and old news since people began to explore the Everland, why do people still flock to it after hundreds of years?

The statue...he thought of the clue.

Friedman once told Langmeer that he had seen human statues on his last expedition.And behind such a statue, it is very likely that there are followers of Huddoka hidden.

A group of followers of the old gods.

... Siles hoped that he was thinking too much, otherwise the "non-existent city" was just a conspiracy by a group of crazy followers of the old gods from the beginning to the end?

In addition to these ideas, Siles also noticed some subtleties revealed by Friedman's attitude in the translation.

He said the treasure map was "really interesting".He didn't say exactly why.

However, Friedman stayed in the Everland for nearly ten years.This is a very long time, enough for him to learn all kinds of news about the withered wasteland in detail.

What is there on that treasure map that can make Friedman sigh like this?

A city that... doesn't exist?

But if it really is a "non-existent city", then Friedman should be even more shocked.Besides, since he has been in the Everland for ten years, he shouldn't have joined that expedition so rashly.

His attitude when he joined gave people a feeling that "he was just looking for wealth and didn't think there was too much risk in it".

But the result of the matter was beyond his expectation.

Thinking of this, the sense of conspiracy became stronger, as if Friedman and his companions were all tricked into such an expedition.

Statues... Siles thought.

From a certain point of view, there seems to be more than one secret hidden in it.

Initial map bug with non-existent cities.The tribal ruins that Alfonso and the others discovered.And, the relevant information surrounding the statue - the travel manuscript left by Friedman, the half-human half-statue encountered by Dr. Chester, and even the explorer Jules once met.

Did they go to the same place?Or is it just a tangle of unrelated pieces of information?

Siles could not help but sigh secretly in his heart.

At this time, the conversation and laughter of the surrounding students woke him up.He looked up at them.

Fifteen students, of course it is impossible for everyone to surround Herman.Now, they have formed a small team in twos and threes, chatting with each other and tasting some snacks occasionally.

In this era without the Internet and mobile phones, Siles noticed that these young students are very comfortable with this form of tea party.They find topics and talk to each other on their own, never getting bored or embarrassed.

This warm atmosphere made Siles feel a little dazed.

Suddenly, he noticed a few people who were out of place.

Angela Clayton, Millicent Austin, Dorothea Grant.The three of them were sitting together, talking in low voices.Millicent was pale, while Angela and Dorothea frowned tightly.

The aura of these three people is completely different from other students who are discussing enthusiastically.

They were obviously in some trouble.

Siles walked over and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"Ah, Professor!" Angela said, she seemed to be trying to wink at Sirius, but Sirius couldn't see what she was trying to express at all.

At this time, Millicent also looked at Sirius.

Siles noticed the student's state - something seemed wrong.But having said that, this seemingly weak student has been a little absent-minded since a long time ago.Her "midterm exam" score was even the bottom one.

Dorothea said, "Perhaps you can tell the professor about your family troubles, Millie. This is the professor's club, and the professor will give some useful advice."

Trouble with the Millicents?Siles was slightly surprised to hear this.In contrast, Dorothea was so familiar with Millicent, which didn't surprise Sirius.

Dorothea was apparently also of noble birth.It didn't seem strange that she knew Millicent and Angela.

……etc.Sirius glanced suddenly at Dorothea.

Angela once said that the reason why she chose to go to the Historical Society was because of an introduction from a friend.Could this friend be Dorothea?

He guessed so in his mind.

At this time, Millicent's pale lips moved, and then said softly: "Professor... would you like to listen?"

Siles said, "Of course, Miss Austin. What happened to your family?"

Millicent was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out where to start.

Angela was a little anxious, so she helped her explain: "Professor, as you may know, Millie's father is acquainted with many merchants from Land of Never Embers. At the end of September, a merchant gave Millie's father a portrait……"

"Since I got that portrait, my father has become a little strange." Millicent continued in a low voice, "He has become irritable, gluttonous, and eats much more than usual...

"At the beginning of October, a servant in my family died suddenly. I was afraid, so I asked my mother to find a detective to help investigate the cause of the servant's death. But my father was not very cooperative, and he was not even willing to let the detective into my house.

"A few days ago, another servant died...the servant who cleaned my father's collection room...I, I suspect..."

Her voice gradually became weaker, and then she dared not speak any more.Everyone who heard her words understood what she wanted to say, and couldn't help but look at each other.

Angela comforted Millicent in a low voice.

Siles thought to himself, there are four people here now, and Millicent is probably the only one who is not the revealer.He said, "You suspect that the problem lies in that portrait?"

Millicent hesitated for a moment, then nodded at last, and said, "It all started with the appearance of that portrait."

Siles thought about it, and said, "That's from the Land of No Embers, isn't it? You can try to ask the Church of the Past for help."

"We have already recommended Millie to do this." Dorothea said aside, "However, her father won't let the investigators of the Church of the Past to enter the door, so the matter will be settled."

Angela couldn't help but said: "Because Millie's father is a great nobleman, so..."

Even the church of the past had to avoid its edge?

Thinking of this, Siles also frowned.

He pondered Millicent's description, gluttonous and irritable.This seems to be in line with the description of Temiafa, the god of gluttony and lust.Siles had already been highly suspicious before, and the believer of this god seemed to have secretly controlled Grayson Foods to plot something.

A great nobleman.Obviously help them.

Thinking of this, Siles asked: "The businessman who sent the portrait, do you know his name, Miss Austin?"

"I... I'm not sure," Millicent said. "I just overheard my father mentioning that person... Seems to be, Billy, Billy...or Bill, or something."

Siles narrowed his eyes slightly, and at this moment he was sure that it was really Grayson Foods' problem!

Millicent seemed to understand something, and asked urgently, "Professor, do you know this person?"

Siles said, "Remember the gourmet town thing?"

Dorothea looked puzzled because she didn't know what was going on in Gourmet Town.She just said thoughtfully: "That... gourmet town in the southern suburbs?"

Both Angela and Millicent's expressions changed.

Siles nodded and said, "Yes, that's right there."

Millicent's face turned even paler, and she said almost panic-stricken, "You mean... my father is covering up those criminals?"

Siles was slightly taken aback, not understanding why Millicent had such an idea.Then he realized that she might have thought that the reason why what happened in the gourmet town ended so peacefully was because of her father's contribution.

Celeste couldn't say that well either.In any case, he didn't know much about what happened in Millicent's house.

"I'm afraid I can't draw this conclusion, Miss Austin." Siles said, "You just said that you and your mother found a detective to investigate the cause of the servant's death. Did the detective find anything?"

As he spoke, he thought that the detective club that Maynard Daves, a writer of mystery novels, had joined at a novelists' party was probably the one Millicent had turned to for help.

...what a coincidence.Siles couldn't help thinking.

Millicent shook her head. "He didn't get into my house, he just went to look at the body. He said..."

Millicent stopped suddenly, her eyes trembling, showing an expression of extreme shock and fear.

Angela quickly asked, "What's the matter, Millie? What did you think of?"

"... said the detective," Millicent's voice trembled with horror, "some... flesh was cut off from the body."

She subconsciously covered her mouth, as if disgusted.

Angela subconsciously wanted to say something, but her face also changed.

Dorothea frowned tightly, and said slightly seriously: "Don't think about it!"

Siles could understand what Millicent was thinking, and he didn't know what to say for a while, because he actually thought it was very possible...

So all three of them were silent for a moment.

Finally, Siles said: "Miss Austin, in my opinion, this matter is not unsolvable, but your father's power hinders the participation of investigators."

Millicent also couldn't help but nodded.

Siles said: "Is there any nobleman who is more reliable than your father?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Angela.

Angela was a little dazed by his glance, and then she became thoughtful.Siles' glance clearly hinted at something, and what channels could Angela use to help...

A trustworthy nobleman?Enough to settle the matter?

Millicent said dejectedly: "My mother probably knows a few big nobles, but... can they solve this matter?"

Angela had a flash of inspiration and said, "I know!"

The rest looked at her.

"I know who to turn to for help. I know several big figures from the Historical Society. Professor, please rest assured that this matter should be resolved." Angela said so, and blinked.

On the side, Dorothea was also thinking about something thoughtfully.

Angela couldn't wait to say goodbye to Sirius, and left with Millicent and Dorothea.She didn't say exactly who she would turn to for help, but Sirius guessed.

He thought, maybe it was a member of the Presbyterian Council of the Historical Society?

Siles could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This matter is actually not difficult to solve.That portrait is likely to be a runaway time track, just let someone special to handle the portrait.Just like Siles once went to the church of the past to ask for help.

The only problem is that Millicent's father is unwilling to cooperate, and he is a powerful nobleman, so ordinary enlighteners may not be able to intervene in this matter.

Therefore, the best way is to invite a nobleman of at least the same level, preferably a powerful enlightener, to resolve this matter himself.

As for Millicent's father... a great nobleman, and two dead servants...

... Siles didn't want to jump to a conclusion.Everything waits until the truth emerges, and then think about it.

After the club activities were over, Siles bid farewell to the students, and then left the main castle.

He noticed that the time was only past three o'clock, thought for a moment, then left Ramifa University and walked along Hayward Street.Soon after, he arrived at the Folklore Society.

The guard at the door obviously recognized Siles, so he asked, "Professor Noel, are you here to find Mr. Emmanuel? But he's not here now."

"No, no," said Siles, "I want to ask you something."

In this era, a university professor, especially a full-time professor at La Mifa University, is a decent enough and even respectable profession, so the honorific used by Siles almost surprised the guards.

He said quickly: "You mustn't be so polite. What do you want to ask?"

"Do you know Kabell?" Siles roughly described Professor Kabell's appearance, "He may have been here a few years ago and wanted to find Mr. Alfonso Carlyle..."

As he said that, the guard showed a particularly surprised expression, and he said, "You mean that crazy old man?"

Siles could not help but pause.

Crazy old man?

Professor Kabell was once a full-time professor at La Mifa University, and even had a higher qualification than Sirius. Why did the guards have such a bad attitude?

The guard said, "So you wanted to know about him. I was very impressed with this man. I just came here to guard the gate seven years ago. You know, not everyone can enter here.

"So, when that guy came here for the first time, I didn't let him in. He insulted me crazily at the door, which made me very angry. Fortunately, other people helped me drive that guy away.

"But that's not why I call him a crazy old man. You know, I'm not such a mean person, and being a guard can always meet all kinds of weird people.

"I called him that because he came back several times afterwards, getting more and more anxious, more and more frantic, and finally even begged me. I saw him like that very poorly, but you can't just tell him that we need something here. how to get in.

"Then he started insulting me again, and even used some very bad words... I usually live in Xicheng, but I have never heard people in Xicheng say such dirty words!

"After a while, he transformed himself into a university professor. He ran here triumphantly, eager to find...it was the one you mentioned, Mr. Alfonso Carlyle.

"He has become a professor, so it's not easy for me to stop him. So he went in. As a result, he ran out after a while, yelling at the door, probably thinking that Mr. Carlyle deliberately didn't tell him something...

"At that time, I thought, this is really a crazy and strange old man. I even suspected that he was not a university professor, it was just his fake identity.

"After all... you may not know. We can welcome many guests here all day long. But such crazy and impolite ones are also very rare.

"...that's pretty much it. Do you find the things I'm saying useful?"

Siles nodded and said seriously: "It's very helpful, thank you."

The guard subconsciously scratched his hair with his hands, showing an embarrassed smile.He added: "After that, the guy didn't come."

Siles thanked the guard again for the information and left.On the way back, Siles put his hands in his pockets, maintaining a little warmth in his palms, and then pondered over what the guards had revealed.

It seemed that this confirmed his conjecture.Professor Kabell really wanted to know about the ruins discovered by Alfonso, so he came to the Folklore Society, and was very angry because Alfonso kept silent.

Thinking of this, Siles couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

If he had mentioned Professor Kabell's name even once during his conversation with Alfonso, he might have learned this information a long time earlier.

Now that Alfonso is in the Land of Embers, it is very inconvenient to exchange information, and he can't ask Alfonso directly.

However, that incident happened seven years ago.Maybe Alfonso had already forgotten about Professor Cabell, thinking that the other party was just one of the scholars who believed him to be a fraud.

There are at least three reasons why Professor Kabell became a professor at Lafayette University.

The first is that he really wants to get a professorship, which will allow him to find information and search for clues more conveniently.This should also be the main reason.

The second is that he needs this identity to enter the Folklore Society, so he can play around with Alfonso in an attempt to obtain some relevant information.This is the most direct reason.

The third reason is that during that period of time, after Alfonso, only Professor Dunlop led the team to the Land of Embers, trying to find the remains of that tribe.Except for Alfonso, he can only get relevant information from Professor Dunlop.

Seven years ago, Professor Kabell probably didn't get any information.Alfonso was unwilling to disclose, and Professor Dunlop knew nothing.Therefore, at this point in time, it is meaningless to research what the original Professor Kabell wanted to know.

However, this incident allowed Siles at this moment to understand what subject he was studying at the beginning.

Siles thought, what did Alfonso produce seven years ago to prove that he had indeed discovered a tribal relic?Professor Kabell probably saw that thing, so he wanted to know everything so crazily.

Suddenly, he recalled a detail.Mrs. Langman once said that she heard about Alfonso in the newspapers.

Siles could try to flip through the newspapers from seven years ago and look for relevant clues on them.At least it was much simpler than contacting Alfonso who didn't know where he was in the Never Embered at the moment.

So Siles, who had returned to school, went to the library first.

He greeted Mrs. Longman, and then asked, "Are there any newspapers in the library over the years?"

"Newspapers?" Mrs. Longman was startled, she said, "There are indeed, but, Professor Noel, those who borrow these newspapers are really rare. It's in the borrowing room on the second floor, in a corner, you can go to Look for it."

Siles thanked her and went upstairs.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, when he left the library, he already had a large stack of newspapers in his hand.

The library of La Mifa University has collected three different types of newspapers. One is the newspapers that circulate within the campus. It is generally used by some young students majoring in literature to practice their hands. It is issued once a month.

One is the most well-known "Ramifa City Weekly" in Lamifa City, which is published once a week.

The last one, which was exactly what Siles was looking for, was the Const National.

This is a daily newspaper distributed throughout the Principality of Constance, which gathers major news from all over the country, and is also considered to be a major official mouthpiece of the Principality of Constance.

Of course, due to the limitations of the times, the timeliness of news in this newspaper is not as exaggerated as in the Internet age of the earth. Generally speaking, news within three days can be considered news.

Because the "National Newspaper" is a daily newspaper, the news section needs to be filled with a lot of content, and there are all kinds of different information.

Siles saw murders, noble anecdotes, past history, recipes, next year's almanac, serialized stories and so on.Of course, it also mentioned some news about the Land of Embers, most of which came from cities like Maltz that were close to the Land of Embers.

Siles himself ordered the paper.In this day and age, this can be said to be a great weapon for him to pass the time.

It is now 400 years of the Mist Age.Siles took out a part of the newspaper from seven years ago, in 393 of the Mist Age.

He didn't know exactly when Alfonso announced his discovery to the public seven years ago.However, from the information disclosed by the guards, it can be seen that before becoming a professor, Professor Kabell had already been to the Folklore Institute and wanted to meet Alfonso.

The rule of Ramifa University is that only after the first semester of each year begins, new professors can officially enter the position.

Therefore, Siles guessed that Alfonso's announcement should be in the first half of that year.

Even if there is nothing to gain from the newspapers in the first half of the year, Siles can wait until later to borrow the newspapers for the second half of the year.It is impossible for him to read a full year of daily newspapers in one night.

He took a hundred or so newspapers and went to the cafeteria to have dinner first.The raindrops are always densely falling.When leaving the cafeteria, Siles could only put the newspaper under his coat, and hurried back to the dormitory.

He was terribly cold, feeling the chill from the rain continuously creeping into his bones.He understood how bad the weather in Lamifa City was.The summer is hot, the rainy season is frequent, and the winter is very cold.

He took some time to take a hot bath, then wrapped himself in heavy pajamas, poured himself a glass of warm water, and sat at the desk in the dead of night, quietly flipping through newspapers from seven years ago.

For a moment, he seemed to be pulled back by time to the city of Lamifa seven years ago that he had never touched before.

The advertisements of restaurants, markets, and small stalls in the city, the bustling daily life of the residents, the arguments of scholars in newspapers, the convenience of life brought by sewer pipes...

Only then did he know that Lamifa City had undergone a renovation seven years ago, and convenient sewer pipes were established throughout the city.It is said that this matter was first initiated by the church of the past, and finally became a nationwide reconstruction work.

Some remote cities may still be carrying out such construction.

He saw some long-dated job advertisements, some novels that were still serialized but should now be published together, some obituaries of people who died seven years ago, and some shops that advertised that they would be open but now they don’t know how they are doing.

seven years.Time billows like fog.

At first, Siles flipped through these old newspapers, just to find out what attracted Professor Cabell's attention back then.However, when he really saw these old and yellowed papers, his mood swings suddenly became calm and low.

Therefore, when he actually found the information he needed in the newspaper, he didn't seem very excited and excited.

He just sighed, took off his glasses, then took out the newspaper he needed, and then slowly folded the other newspapers one by one.

That was what he had never known, what the world was like at a certain point in time.He looked back from the moment, throwing a curious, focused look that was destined to get no response.

He suddenly felt how incredible and shocking the extraordinary power of this world, the power of the "revelator".For strangers from the earth, the fascination of the past and time has never been more vivid than the present.

Siles couldn't help getting up and standing by the window, quietly looking at the night outside the window.He looked down at the puppets and potted plants on the window sill, thinking of the "six sets of puppet shows" he had heard, he felt a little sigh for a while.

world.past.secret.

Can he truly be worthy of his identity as a secret keeper?

After a while, Sirius regained his composure.He turned around, moved the stack of newspapers to the corner of the table, put on his glasses, and carefully looked up the piece of information he needed.

Because of time constraints, he actually didn't read the contents of each newspaper very carefully.He skimmed through the other content, focusing on finding information about archaeology, history, land of no embers, folklorists, and so on.

Then he saw such a news in the newspaper on April 393, 4 in the Mists.

"...

"A folklorist claims to have found a tribal ruin in the Never Embers, and has produced a magic pen as proof.

"At present, all domestic pens are dipped in ink, so although the writing feels comfortable, there are still many old-school scribes who are more accustomed to using quill pens.

"However, the fountain pen that the folklorist showed was surprisingly self-absorbing. A special mechanism was attached to the back of the pen tip, which sucked the ink into the interior of the ink sac by twisting the back end. , It's incredible!

"Obviously, a pen like this is more portable and can last for a long time with one blotter. Such a blotter is truly an amazing invention.

"It is foreseeable that in the next one or two years, such fountain pens will be popularized by merchants all over the country. It is convenient and flexible to use, and you don't have to worry about getting ink on your hands...For people who are scribes, novelists, etc. That's really great news.

"..."

The focus of this report is not the tribal ruins that Alfonso found, but a pen he brought from there.But that's exactly what Siles was looking for.

a pen.

His gaze shifted unconsciously, and he looked at a black pen that was also placed on his desk.

Not long after he came to this world, he spent 10 duke coins, which were very expensive to him at the time, to buy this self-absorbing pen.

Siles also used a quill for a while.But since he started writing novels, he has given up quills--that's really torture for Earthlings.

In short, in this era without gel pens and ballpoint pens, pens and pencils can be said to be the most convenient writing tools.

But Siles never imagined that the self-absorbing fountain pen, which is very convenient for him, would completely replace the original dipping pen in just a few years and become the mainstream of the market precisely because of Alfonso's discovery .

Not so long ago, when he was conducting his "self-reincarnation" ritual experiment, the scribe, Bart Evans, had brought a quill.Presumably he was what the newspapers called him, an old school scribe.

Also, the pen...

For a moment, Siles thought of the pen that Professor Kabell left in his office.

In this way, the three things that Professor Kabell left behind - the statue of a woman's head, the balance necklace, and the lacquer pen seem to have corresponding clues, and these clues...

Still seem to be tightly intertwined, at least the statue and the pen.

But... a pen?What god can the pen be related to?

For this era, the miraculous ink blotter technology can indeed prove that it does come from the remains of an unknown civilization.However, for Professor Kabel, what is the attraction of this pen?

Could it be related to some of the documents he found?

Siles thought for a moment, then shook his head, not thinking further.Now he only has a part of the information, but it is impossible for him to know what the truth behind it is.

He extracted part of the text from the newspaper, then folded the newspaper from seven years ago, put it back, and planned to return it to the library tomorrow.

He looked at the time and found that it was nearly ten o'clock, so he took a shower and fell asleep soon.The next day he woke up at six in the morning, but stayed in bed for a while.

It's Saturday morning.

Originally on Saturday morning, he needed to go to the Historical Society to study his subject, but now that he had nothing to do, Siles huddled under the warm blanket and lay quietly for a while.

The weather is getting colder, and he doesn't want to go out to work early.

At about 06:30, he finally woke up.He changed clothes, washed, and opened the window for air.Then he was shivered by the cold wind blowing in from outside.

He murmured in a low voice: "It is urgent to go to the Land of Never to spend the winter..."

He boiled hot water, ate some bread, and thought about what to do in the spare time in the morning.He was going to return the newspaper—by the way, he had to go to the Church of the Past for Professor Cabell's business.

Just as he was thinking, there was a heavy knock on the door on the first floor.Siles went downstairs to check and found that the postman had delivered two letters.

Siles thanked him and went upstairs with the letter.

Two letters - one from the bibliophile Professor Calverley, and one from Alfonso Carlyle.

Siles was already incredulous when he saw the name in front, but the letter from the Never Embers surprised him even more.

...He seemed to have misunderstood the Land of No Embers, always feeling that it was a closed and isolated secret realm.But in fact, that is also a wasteland that can be reached by railways.

It's just that information is delivered more slowly, not impossible.

Counting it, he received a letter from Alfonso and Emmanuel on October 10, and learned that they had gone to the Land of No Ashes.They should have actually left two or three days earlier.

And today is October 10th.In other words, the two had also left for nearly ten days.

If they hadn't been in danger and were still in the process of searching for clues, they should have sent a letter at about this time, telling Siles what kind of situation they were in.

Siles breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly opened the letter to check what was written in the letter.

"...

"Aren't you surprised, Sirius!

"Emmanuel and I have come to Gladstone and are looking for clues related to Friedman. We have come to a station - if you really understand the relevant news, you should know where this station is.

"Anyway, we did find some clues. A strange thing is that a year ago, Friedman got a treasure map here, and a year later, another mysterious person claimed that he got ten ancient map.

"We all felt that there must be something strange behind this. Of course, we don't know if this has such an obvious connection with the 'non-existent city', it's just...

"...Because back then, Emmanuel's elder brother, Isherwood, was also at this inn where he last appeared.

"It's quite a coincidence, doesn't it? We thought so too. Isherwood also said that he got an interesting map, and thought it might be related to the 'non-existent city'...

"All in all, everything seems to have something to do with this inn. So we came here the first time, and...

"Well, in writing this letter, I considered whether it was necessary to tell you about the lead we had. But we didn't want to worry you, so we did find a lead.

"During our conversation with a certain tavern owner at the inn, we learned that one of Isherwood's companions seemed to have not died. The explorer's appearance was somewhat similar to Emmanuel, so we awakened the Memories of a famous tavernkeeper.

"It's a development we never thought possible! So, we're trying to find that guy.

"Anyway, look forward to our good news, Professor Noel. I also sincerely hope that your life in Ramifa City goes well.

"..."

After reading this letter, Siles realized that Alfonso and Emmanuel had indeed made very objective progress in the Land of No Ashes, so the tone of the entire letter was also very positive, presumably to harvest that clue On the same day, I wrote this letter to Siles.

When Isherwood searched for the "non-existent city" companions, one of them did not die, and was even still in the dark.