bookandnovel Chapter 25 Professor Anthony's Olive Branch
Chapter 25 Professor Anthony's Olive Branch
After Professor Anthony finished explaining the final work arrangements, he looked up at the clock on the wall.
At 8:20, ten minutes before his open class, he put his pen into his breast pocket and stood up from the mahogany chair.
Lucius saw that Anthony had already turned towards the door, and quickly pointed to the scroll of parchment in the glass case and said:
"Professor, I only translated a small section of this sacrificial procedure yesterday, but after I got back, I suddenly found it quite interesting. I wonder if I could take a look at the whole thing?"
Daisy hadn't expected Lucius to make this request after the group meeting.
She subtly tugged at Lucius's sleeve from behind, the meaning of which was clear:
Don't add any more workload!
"Interesting?" Anthony stopped and looked back at the parchment in the glass case.
This scroll contains a ritual procedure from the middle of the Third Age, which involves the ritual process and list of offerings for the Stone Gate sacrifice.
To be honest, Anthony himself wasn't very interested in the branch of sacrificial culture.
His main research area is language evolution. The reason this parchment was placed in his office is because its tracing language grammar structure is at a critical juncture in the transition from the middle to the late Third Age.
His original plan was to use this material as the starting point for Daisy's honors degree project next semester.
She was instructed to start by translating this ritual procedure, and gradually trace the linguistic evolution of religious and sacrificial texts.
He hadn't formally mentioned this plan to Daisy yet, but he had already made arrangements in his mind.
It was somewhat unexpected that Lucius had taken the initiative to express interest in the material.
Anthony looked up from the parchment and onto Daisy.
She was staring at the back of Lucius's head with eyes that seemed to say, "Please, stop adding more life."
Anthony sighed inwardly, "It's tough on this kid. There really are people who don't understand tracking language at the age of 20."
He also thought of the Ministry of Education's requirements; if Lucius could really take on the translation work for the religious rituals section...
Anthony ultimately decided to give Lucius a chance:
"Lucius, I must tell you that the contents of this parchment were originally intended to be Daisy's future subject."
If you want to learn more, you must pursue an honors degree, not just settle for a Bachelor of Arts and leave.
Lucius was not disappointed after hearing this, since Felix was already applying for a full set of Feast Apostles; he just wanted to see it in advance.
Anthony nodded slightly; the young man was much calmer than he had anticipated.
He stopped being mysterious and his tone shifted from solemn to formal:
"However, this topic was originally placed under the framework of my larger research project, and its original purpose was to provide supplementary support."
If you are willing to become my assistant, you are free to look at any part of this sacrificial procedure, including any similar materials sent by the archaeological team in the future.
As the dean's assistant, you have the right to access all non-confidential primary source materials.
As soon as he finished speaking, the teaching and research office suddenly fell silent.
Daisy's surprise even made her forget to pull her fingers back from Lucius's sleeve.
The weight of the title "Dean's Assistant" in the History Department of East York University is well understood by any student studying there.
Anthony Thorne is the highest authority in the study of the Fourth Age history of the Kingdom of Horn and a member of the Royal Society for the Advancement of Natural Knowledge.
The last time he took on an assistant was six years ago; that assistant is now the deputy director of the Elon Bank, and his name is listed in the acknowledgments of the Royal Society's annual report.
Lucius hadn't expected that a mere request to observe the ritual proceedings would lead Professor Anthony to such a decision, it was just a pity...
He has already signed a labor contract with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and is required to report to the detective agency at least six days a week. The rest of the time is spent on daily training, promotion preparation, and basic studies in the occult.
He didn't have enough time to fulfill all the duties of a dean's assistant.
"Professor..." Lucius didn't know how to refuse, so he just looked at Anthony with a troubled expression.
Anthony, understanding the look in that eyes, was taken aback. For years, no one had refused his invitation, but he didn't press the matter, chuckling as he said:
"That's interesting. Everyone has their own ambitions, and I can understand that."
A person who knows what they want to do and what they are capable of doing in their early twenties is already better off than most people.
Upon seeing this, Lucius quickly explained, "No, no, Professor, I just successfully interviewed for a job yesterday."
Anthony patted Lucius on the shoulder, easing his tension with a relaxed tone:
"It seems someone recognized your excellence beforehand, which proves that my judgment was correct."
Students who find suitable jobs before formal graduation should be celebrated, even if the job isn't in my department.
After he finished speaking, he picked up the file folder again and walked towards the outside of the research room. He paused at the door, turned back, and added:
"You can see the ritual regulations, but you can't reveal the details of the ceremonies to Daisy."
Her research project requires her to translate and conduct the research from scratch; she cannot have prior access to your completed analysis results. This is to protect her academic abilities.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the stone slabs of the corridor gradually faded away until it disappeared completely in the stairwell.
Daisy removed her hand from Lucius's sleeve and whispered:
"Lucius, I wish you hadn't gone for that job interview yesterday. I don't know whether to feel sorry for you or for the whole research group."
Lucius smiled helplessly, shrugged, and said, "I just made the best choice at the moment."
He couldn't help but tease Daisy, "Weren't you just trying to stop me from increasing my workload?"
"That's different," Daisy said, pulling up a chair for Lucius to sit down, and imagining what it would be like:
"If you agree, I might be able to go to bed at nine o'clock every day from now on, which is a normal routine for a young girl."
Lucius watched as Daisy took out the rubbing of the inscription from the file folder for him, and nodded and smiled:
"So it seems my job is still very important."
…………
At noon, in the oak restaurant near the school gate.
The daily special set meal was written in chalk on the blackboard in front of the door: Highland lamb chops with mint sauce, Yorkshire pudding, and vegetable soup.
"Lucius, please take care of me on Saturday too," Daisy said dejectedly.
Who would have thought that the two rubbings of inscriptions that Professor Anthony gave her that morning would be so difficult, containing a large number of compound verb conjugations that she had never seen in textbooks before.
Even with Lucius breaking it down line by line at the third-stage level, he only finished one copy in a whole morning and had just started another.
Lucius finally understood Daisy's feelings. He was even somewhat relieved that he hadn't accepted Professor Anthony's invitation.
Just then, the waiter brought over a plate of Highland lamb chops, and Lucius piled it in front of Daisy, saying comfortingly:
"A lunch filled with anticipation can always comfort a disappointed heart; if one isn't enough, then two will do."
"Okay!" Daisy's eyes were resolute as she forcefully cut off a piece of lamb chop, turning her grief and anger into a voracious appetite. "Two portions then!"
Lucius's expression froze for a moment; after all, Highland lamb chops were quite expensive...