Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong furrowed his brow and, to confirm this point, quickly scanned through the entire list again, finding that indeed not every name on the roster had detailed information: some lacked a background, some lacked an introduction, and most did not have the time of enrollment marked.

He silently set down the file, tapped his fingers on the desk, and looked back to ask, ”Miss Hilveld, do you have any thoughts?”

Naturally, this question was also directed at the fairy sitting on his shoulder.

Miss Fairy said after hearing this, ”Mr. Knight, among those whose backgrounds are marked, there are seventy-four nobles, twelve with royal bloodlines from various countries, thirty-three connected to the Colin Commercial League—either their parents are officials or children of commerce alliance chairpersons; plus, sixty-seven are exchange students from the Elpaxin Artisan Association, three come from the Elpaxin Theological Academy, and the remaining eleven have special relationships with the high ranks of Holite Academy.”

”Among those with introductions, they are all either Dwarf or Aquen Elves. The most numerous group among them is twenty-seven from the Steelbrow Clan, followed by fourteen from the Greysbeard Clan, plus seven elves.”

”The total of these two groups is two hundred thirty-five people, which makes up about one-sixth of the total census, Mr. Knight, I hope this helps you.”

”There are two details Mr. Knight should note, the exchange students from the Elpaxin Artisan Association only begin to appear a lot in the latter part of the list, likely a sign of acceptance by the Artisan Association after Holite School became famous, which would have been about sixty years ago. Mr. Knight should pay close attention to this time period.”

”Furthermore, there are overlappings in these identities, within the dwarfs ten are also exchange students from the Elpaxin Artisan Association and among the elves are three, so the total number is two hundred thirty-five and not two hundred forty-eight. Lastly, one of the final three elves’ name might interest you, Mr. Knight, his name is Kurufen-Noveli, if I’m not mistaken you should recognize this name—”

Fang Hong’s mouth gaped open in shock, he had only quickly flipped through the list twice, what kind of extraordinary memory was required to remember these details? He instinctively checked and found everything Miss Fairy said was correct, he couldn’t help but ask incredulously, ”Miss Tata, you remembered all that?”

”As for written materials, I never forget anything, Mr. Knight,” Miss Fairy answered calmly.

Hilveld watched Fang Hong’s expression of a mix of frowning and astonishment, understanding he was communicating with his own Dragon Soul, she waited a moment before asking, ”Did Miss Tata say anything?”

Fang Hong, still not recovered from his shock, shook his head subconsciously.

The noble girl pondered a moment before answering, ”Anyone marked with a background comes from an extraordinary origin. And those with introductions often hold special identities. This roster seems intentionally selected, indicating they either place high importance on these people, or—”

Fang Hong hastily came back to reality, asking, ”What?”

”To avoid these people.”

”Avoid?”

”All the names that have a background and introduction seem not to have their enrollment time marked, I don’t think this is merely coincidental, right?”

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong quickly took out the roster to check again, indeed—moreover, not only that, but as the list progressed, more names with marked times appeared, with the highest frequency in the last twenty names, almost all of whom had enrollment times noted.

What was even more outrageous was that these twenty-plus names precisely avoided all those with backgrounds and special identities, including the Elf hero from the Battle of Bain—Kurufen-Noveli.

How could there be such coincidences in this world, the human manipulation was all too evident.

However, Fang Hong also hadn’t expected that the Alchemist Master, Kurufen-Noveli, had actually studied at Holite Academy as an exchange student under the Elpaxin Artisan Association, if it had not been for Miss Fairy’s unforgettable memory, who would have noticed such a detail?

Fang Hong glanced at Hilveld, at least she seemed to have completely missed that point.

”What’s wrong?” Noticing his stare, Hilveld asked lightly with a smile, ”Do you find it appealing, Captain?”

Fang Hong hurriedly turned his head back, embarrassed.

Hilveld sighed, ”Captain, I think we might have made a mistake.”

”...What, what?”

”This roster is not without exceptions.”

Fang Hong was stunned for a moment, then remembered that indeed it was so, the roster broadly conformed to the patterns they surmised, but there were just twelve exceptions.

That was Hes and the other eleven names marked with a fervent mark, not only did these names have detailed origins, backgrounds, and introductions, but they also had their enrollment times.

Yet these people’s statuses weren’t all from distinguished origins, in fact, not only were there no dwarfs or elves among them, most were commoners, such as Hes, who was merely the daughter of a pottery shop owner, and not from a particularly well-off family.

Fang Hong thought about this and vaguely felt he was onto something.

Hilveld looked at him and continued to hint, ”These twelve individuals might all be sacrifices in the hands of the Dragon Worship Sect—meant to resurrect Nikopolas. Captain, you must have considered this connection, what if this has something in common with the other names marked with the time as well?”

Fang Hong was stunned, his eyes widening involuntarily, ”You mean, this timeline might not actually be the enrollment times we thought... but rather... the dates... of the sacrificial rites?”