Chapter 1324: Honorary Degree in History

"But I have to see you every Monday..."

The elf girl said hurriedly, but Xia De shook his head:

"No need. You don't need to come see us on Mondays anymore, either."

He was genuinely worried that the immature girl before him would encounter an accident:

"Just remember to find that secret room I asked you to help me look for at Saint Byrons. When spring comes and the matters here are finished, we can meet again. Winter is already at its end, and spring is not far off. By then, if we haven't left, we can go into the city and walk around together."

As he spoke, he took out a notebook containing the poems he had written in advance:

"These are enough for you to study for a while. When spring arrives, I can teach you more ancient elf runes. After all, although phonetic symbols can help you learn how to read, you still need to hear the correct pronunciation with your own ears to learn them more accurately."

The elf girl clutched the notebook, her emerald eyes looking at Xia De; she also knew that Xia De was worried about her:

"I understand. You and that lady should be careful, too."

As she spoke, she began to rummage through her clothing pockets, eventually finding only some amulets she had made herself, along with some unicorn hair contained in small glass tubes:

"Keep these. Please take care of yourself. Then, let's meet again in the spring. Please, you must be careful."

She stood up, preparing to leave. Xia De also stood up, while the unicorn rubbed against the back of Xia De's hand with some reluctance.

Beside the campfire, Xia De watched the elf girl climb onto the unicorn's back, looking slightly clumsy. She sat sideways, clutching the fur on the small beast's back, and said once more:

"Then we shall meet again in the spring. May the World Tree bless you, and may all be peaceful."

Xia De nodded with a smile. After patting the top of the small beast's head, the unicorn carried the elf girl into the dark forest:

"See you in the spring!"

【In the end, you still didn't ask how she managed to get here from the Academy.】

"She" said softly.

Xia De lowered his head to look at the small bottle containing the unicorn hair in his hand, thinking about what kind of accessory he should make for Lei Qianya and Duo Luo Xi:

"If she wanted to say it, she would have said it just now. But this is fine, too; I haven't had time to explore Saint Byrons recently anyway."

He turned to face the campfire, the motion of lowering his head causing shadows to cling to his face.

【However, weren't you planning to use that passage to...】

"There will be a way. Besides, my guess might not necessarily be correct."

Xia De whispered to the campfire.

He waved his hand to extinguish the flames and untied the reins tethered to the tree. Xia De stroked the horse's head, then nimbly vaulted onto its back:

"Call for the Big Snowball."

The snowball descended from the sky, crashing onto the already extinguished campfire. Xia De tugged on the reins, and the date-red horse carried him galloping into the forest in the dark of night.

"The story of the Randell Valley has already reached its second half—demons, the Mad Earth, ancient families, primordial secrets... I must focus my attention on dealing with these matters. Only when spring arrives and the flowers bloom will I have time to enjoy life... May the earth be with you and me."

(The unicorn is running...)

Considering that he would be unable to return to Tobeisk for the entire day on Thursday due to his visit to the Night Temple, Xia De, who was sitting at the dining table with a newspaper that morning, said to Duo Luo Xi in the kitchen:

"I'm taking Miya to the Randell Valley today, so there's no need to trouble you with taking her. I remember you have to attend the writers' reading salon today, don't you?"

"Taking Miya wouldn't be a trouble, but it's fine if you want to take her for a walk in the suburbs."

The blonde girl wearing an apron said, transferring the scrambled eggs from the pan to a plate before carrying it to the dining table:

"However, it should be quite cold outside the city. Be careful not to let her catch a cold."

"I know. This cat probably won't be willing to leave the inside of my clothes all day."

Xia De put down the newspaper and stood up, reaching behind Duo Luo Xi to untie her apron:

"You don't need to worry about my affairs; my actions in the Randell Valley are all very safe."

"I'm still waiting for the day I hear big news from the Randell Valley."

The blonde girl said with a smile, then took the newspaper and pointed to the news above the right column of the gossip section on page five:

"Is this you?"

In this morning's *Tobeisk Morning Post*, a small section prominently featured gossip from the distant Randell Valley—specifically, that Miss Vanessa Benanisi had been photographed secretly dating a strange man.

Xia De had seen this news this morning, but it was truly surprising that Duo Luo Xi could find it the moment she picked up the newspaper.

"I heard about this news when I went to the *Steam Bird Daily* office to deliver documents for my father yesterday."

She looked at the photo, which only captured Xia De's profile, and that face had subtle differences from Xia De's own:

"Miss Vanessa Benanisi, I remember she's at least ten years older than me, right? When she became famous, I was still a little girl at home. I used to wonder if I could become someone like her."

She put down the newspaper:

"Your methods are truly impressive."

Xia De lowered his head to feed the cat to hide his embarrassment, and the blonde writer girl shook her head:

"Why are you doing that? I wouldn't mind; this is something Luweiya should be having a headache over. Oh, speaking of which, Father said the matter of the honorary degree he's arranging for you has made progress.

Around spring, the Saint York Academy of Literature will confer a batch of honorary degrees. You know, these are mostly for local celebrities to establish social connections with the Academy. Father is very concerned about your affairs. He originally wanted to write you a letter, but I said I happened to be coming to you to get some materials, so he asked me to tell you about this. After all, people would worry if such things were put in writing."

"How much sponsorship fee is needed?"

Xia De asked curiously, and Duo Luo Xi shook her head slightly:

"It's not important. Lei Qianya has already given me the check. I'll have Mother give it to Father when I go home this afternoon. Don't worry, it's an uncrossed check; Lei Qianya's name won't appear on it."

"But how can I let..."

"So, do you want Jia Lin Na to get it for you instead?"

Even though she was asking Xia De with a smile, Xia De inexplicably felt a sense of dread. His intuition provided the answer for him, and Xia De immediately shook his head:

"Alright then. Oh, I've already obtained the unicorn hair. What kind of accessories do you want?"

As he spoke, he used his fork to spear a small piece of egg, and this time, the smile on the blonde girl's face wasn't the least bit ominous:

"You got it! Give it to me quickly; I'll go make it into an accessory! I bet if it were left in your hands, you might end up making something strange like a 'unicorn hair-wrapped ring'."

"Duo Luo Xi, are you looking down on me too much?"

The writer girl smiled without giving an answer, instead extending her fork to Xia De, and Xia De leaned forward to eat the egg:

"I'll give it to you after breakfast. Speaking of which, what degree did Professor Shi Nai De end up getting for me? Literature? Linguistics? Or Political Science? When we discussed it last time, he mentioned it would likely be one of these three."

Not all disciplines can confer honorary degrees; in the Outsider's classification of disciplines, those leaning toward the liberal arts are the ones that confer the most honorary degrees.

"None of them. This year, the quota for honorary doctorates in literature at the Saint York Academy of Literature is very small, and they were all given to members who won the Kingdom's Literature Award this year. The honorary doctorate in linguistics was suspended this year due to... infighting in the Delarion Degree Committee. As for political science."

Duo Luo Xi shook her head slightly:

"There is an unwritten rule that for top-tier academies in Tobeisk, honorary doctorates in political science can only be conferred upon retired political figures, such as your neighbor, the former Kingdom Treasury Secretary, Mr. Shi Misi. It might be possible in years with a surplus, but this year, the Saint York Academy of Literature only received two spots."

The total quota of honorary degrees that higher education institutions in Delarion can confer each year is set by the Kingdom's Degree Committee, and then each academy "shows its own magical powers" to compete for the spots.

"So, what did Professor Shi Nai De reserve for me..."

"History."

Xia De let out a sigh of relief:

"Good thing it's not folklore."

"What are you talking about? Have you ever heard of anywhere conferring an honorary doctorate in folklore?"

The blonde girl asked with amusement, peeling an egg in her hand, while Little Miya lay on the table watching the steam rising from the food in her hand.

"However, Father asked me to tell you that even an honorary degree isn't something you can just get with money. There's still more than a month until the spring degree conferral season. He wants you to find your own way; it's best if you can publish a few relevant articles. They don't need to be too professional, as long as they show you have done research."

That wasn't a problem. In the Light-Guiding Yinxiu Society that Old John belonged to, there were plenty of members from higher education institutions. For example, that Mr. Mi Er Dun who first contacted Xia De was an administrative staff member working as a secretary for the University Association (Chapter 375).

"You don't need to worry about this point either; I've already talked it over with Professor Manning."

Duo Luo Xi continued:

"Professor Manning knows we are Ringed Shushi, so I told him you received some cultural relics and materials sent by friends in the Randell Valley a while ago. You just need to find some things from the Randell Valley and send them to the professor, and he can help you concoct a decent paper. He will act as the corresponding author, and under the name of Ti Li Si Manning, no relevant professional journal in the Kingdom will reject your submission."

"So, you and Lei Qianya have already arranged everything for me?"

This actually made Xia De feel a bit embarrassed, but the blonde writer girl enjoyed this feeling:

"You see, it's not just Luweiya who can help you."

She reached out to stroke Miya, who was lying between her and Xia De. Miya squirmed uncomfortably and continued to stare at the steaming breakfast on the table. It wasn't that the cat didn't have breakfast; its warm goat milk and other food had already been eaten while Xia De was waiting for the writer girl to cook. ===== CHAPTER 1325 =====