"Arsh, we're going to the university today!" Mes said excitedly, bursting into the kitchen. Arsh was eating his breakfast silently in the corner. Since everyone had left home early today, he was alone at breakfast.
"Why?" Arsh asked after thinking for a second. He didn't remember that they planned anything like this, and he had no idea why they were going to the university.
"Mrs. Burton is back. Did I ever tell you about her? She is my professor from the university."
"Your professor from the university? Do you go to university?"
"... I already graduated. Didn't you know?"
"Aren't you too young for that?"
Mes gave a shy smile while scratching the back of his head.
"Ahem... I was accepted early and graduated early from university."
"You are amazing," Arsh said with a laugh. He really was amazing.
"Thank you. Anyway, I sent a telegram to her before about what you said—the Nicaean writing on the gate of the burial chamber. But she wasn't in the city at the time. Now, she has sent me another telegram saying she is back and has time today. What do you say? Will you come with me? It's better to talk to her in person."
"Okay, I'll come with you," Arsh replied.
As they set off for the university, Mes talked about Mrs. Burton. She was a famous historian and one of the members of the FFSD. She didn't have a siuni herself, but she was one of the influential figures in the establishment of the FFSD and the secret conduct of government-backed research after the Siunis began to emerge.
When they arrived at the university, they entered a building that Arsh guessed to be several centuries old. In the corridors, young men and women—around Arsh and Mes's age, or perhaps slightly older—were laughing as they went in and out of classrooms with books in their hands. Mes grabbed Arsh's arm and led him into one of the classrooms.
"She has a lecture here right now. We'll speak with her during the break," he said, pulling him into a seat in one of the middle rows.
Soon, the hum of students chatting among themselves was cut short as an elderly woman entered the room. She was tall for a woman, dressed in a black skirt and blouse, with her black hair tied back in a bun. To Arsh, the woman's posture, movements, and way of speaking felt like the very embodiment of elegance. He listened to her lecture in admiration until the very end.
After class, Mes and Arsh left the room and headed to Mrs. Burton's office. They knocked on the door. She called out gently,
"You may come in."
"Mrs. Burton, how are you?"
"Mes, I've been expecting you. You didn't need to attend the lecture—we only covered topics you're already familiar with. I hope you didn't get bored."
"Your lecture was enjoyable as always, and there is always so much to learn from you," Mes said politely. He then stepped aside, gesturing for Arsh to follow.
"I also wanted my friend to listen to your lecture. Let me introduce you.This is the new member of the FFSD, Ash Godwin."
"Ah, you must be Arsh. Mr. Reiner had informed us in advance about your acceptance to the FFSD. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Doris Burton. I'm sure Mes has already told you that I am a professor here in the history department," she said, gently extending her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Burton. Actually, the reason I came here today with Mes was to consult you on a few matters—if you have the time."
"Of course, I have plenty of time until my next lecture. Tell me all about it," she said, gesturing for them to sit in the chairs in front of her desk.
Arsh briefly talked about himself—where he came from and how he had worked on excavations. When he finally brought up Millway, he clearly saw Mrs. Burton's expression sour.
"Oh, that man… I can't stand him. He's shameless and greedy. I'm sure you don't have a very good impression of him either."
'Yeah, tell me about it,' Arsh thought.
"So, what is it that you would like to consult me about?" Mrs. Burton asked.
"You can tell her everything," Mes said, noticing Arsh's hesitation.
"In the last excavation I mentioned, Millway found a burial chamber. He kept saying he'd been searching for it for years. Professor Reiner thinks it might be connected to the researches on the siunis. There was an inscription at the entrance to the burial chamber, written in the Nicaean. I believe Mes has already mentioned this to you."
"Yes, Mes told me that you wanted to ask some questions about Nicaean history and their language," she replied.
Mes pulled a notebook from his pocket and flipped to a page. There was a copy of the text Arsh had given him on that page.
"We want to find out what is written here," Mes said, handing the notebook to Mrs. Burton. "Also, if I understand correctly, the burial chamber Arsh mentioned doesn't belong to the Kurshan culture; it was built in the Nicaean style. We want to understand why there would be such a tomb in Kurshan. Even though there were some commercial or political relations between them, they were quite limited during that period. Why would a Nicaean tomb be in Kurshan?"
Mrs. Burton put on her glasses from the desk and began to read the note carefully.
"It says something like, 'You cannot know your destination until you arrive.'"
"Arsh, could you tell me a bit about the features of the burial chamber?" she asked after a moment. Arsh told her as much as he had told everyone else—how large it was, the symbols on the columns, and so on.
"This is truly interesting... The ancient Nicaean language was spoken on the opposite shores of Yulos, behind the Torsit Mountains. Of course, they had advanced trade for their time. They've been trading with other ancient states, including Kushka. But there isn't much reason for a massive Nicaean-style burial chamber to be in Kushka—unless the deceased was a king or a member of the royal family. But even for those of royal blood, they would have preferred to bring their dead back to their homeland."
"However, something comes to my mind. It was back when I was first accepted as a researcher at the university. My advisor at the time, Professor Richard Adams, was one of the few experts in the Nicaean language. He had found numerous tablets during an excavation he was leading back then. Although I helped him with the translations initially, I later had to leave for another excavation. I remember a record written by a traveler to Nicaea mentioning something like this in one of those tablets. It was about members of the royal family setting out toward Kushka. I guess, it was a legend about a young king, his sister, and their followers sacrificing themselves to save their country. I'm sorry, the details escape me right now."
"Perhaps it isn't just a legend... This is truly fascinating. Millway has been chasing a major discovery. What's even more intriguing is that the book where these tablets and translations were recorded went missing—and I received news of Professor Adams' death while I was away. Back then, Millway was still just a student."
By the end of her explanation, Arsh realized Mrs. Burton had slightly lost her composure. She looked as if she had finally found a missing puzzle piece.
"Are you saying that Millway stole your advisor's translations?" Mes asked.
"I'm not sure. I'd be lying if I said I didn't suddenly have my suspicions... I wish I could help you more, but as I said, I don't know what became of the tablets or the translations. However, if anything else comes to mind or if you need help with translations, Arsh, my door is always open to you, just as it is for Mes," Mrs. Burton said with a smile.
After that, they said their brief goodbyes and left.