Chapter 1248: Chapter 1248

Hathaway was in high spirits today. Over dinner, she recounted the amusing things that had happened when she and Briny went to the theater. After they parted ways, Jenkins glanced at the setting sun. Seeing it was about time, he donned his black robe, headed for the city center, and entered the inn where Miss Capet was staying.

Of course, his destination wasn't Miss Capet's room; it was a pure coincidence that Miss Stevel was staying at the same inn. He worried he might run into Miss Capet on the stairs, but his luck, for once, seemed to be holding.

Unfortunately, his luck didn't hold completely. When he knocked, he discovered Miss Stevel already had a visitor—and it was none other than Old Jack, who was supposed to be in Shire City. The most update n0vels are published on NoveIＦire.net

Seeing a stranger arrive, Old Jack left a small vial of potion on the table and departed. As they passed each other in the doorway, Jenkins felt a flicker of anxiety, but thankfully, the old man didn't seem to notice anything amiss.

"I thought you were in Ruen," she remarked.

It was only after Jenkins let his disguise fall, revealing his true face, that the woman realized who he was. She teased him as she tidied the tea set on her table, but Jenkins didn't rise to the bait.

"I wouldn't have risked coming back if I hadn't been worried you'd leave early," he said, getting straight to the point. "Can we continue our last conversation? The one about Papa Oliver."

"You certainly are impatient. Is this the kind of student Papa Oliver prefers these days?" she mused. "He was always telling me not to be so hasty, to take the time to observe and reflect..."

Her voice trailed off as she carried the teacup Old Jack had used into the kitchen, and Jenkins couldn't hear the rest of what she said.

The woman returned a moment later with a fresh tea set, but Jenkins shook his head.

"I'm not interested in the potion. I helped make it, after all," he explained. "I'm surprised it hasn't expired. It's been several months."

Miss Stevel gave Jenkins a curious look.

"Now I understand why Old Jack sounded so envious when he mentioned you earlier," she said. "Alright, let's get to the matter at hand. Where did we leave off?"

"I was trying to investigate you through a friend, and then you found me yourself," Jenkins recounted. "We established that Papa Oliver is indeed very old, but that isn't his most important secret. We also touched upon why you left Nolan and haven't returned in all these years."

Jenkins remembered the conversation clearly.

"Yes, we did cover all that..." She paused, thinking. "Let me see, where should I pick up the thread? Ah, yes. Let's start with the simplest part. I left Nolan and the antique shop for personal reasons, but also because I was given an important mission by the Church."

She was wearing the same uniquely styled ceremonial robe as the last time they'd met, though he still couldn't identify which church it belonged to.

"Of course, those personal reasons involved Papa Oliver as well. Thirty-eight years ago, during the Month of Earth and Flowers, he temporarily left Nolan. He joined a team heading for the Third Republic of Sangweil—to the Cursed Forest and Witch's Lake. He was the sole survivor of that expedition. Did you know about that?"

Miss Stevel inquired.

Jenkins was about to say no, but then he remembered he had heard something about it. It was six months ago, when he had accompanied Papa Oliver to a castle in the countryside to acquire some goods. They had run into a Mysterious Realm, and Papa Oliver had asked him a strange question.

"I've heard of it," he replied. "But Papa Oliver doesn't know the whole truth of what happened."

"He just doesn't know part of the truth," she corrected. "As we discussed last time, Papa Oliver's long life is the result of a strange curse. That in itself isn't so unusual, but for a mortal, such longevity always comes at a price..."

Jenkins thought of old Halama Rynsarm.

"Longevity is a curse for short-lived mortals like us, and it was for Papa Oliver as well. I don't know how powerful he was before he was cursed, but even if he wasn't a demigod, he must have been close to that threshold. In any case, such a long life was not something he was meant to have. The source of this curse is a story from a long, long time ago, back when Old Jack and Papa Oliver were both young men..."

"Wait a moment," Jenkins interrupted. "Are you saying Old Jack is the same age as Papa Oliver?"

He was so astonished that he couldn't help but cut her off.

"That's right. But Old Jack's longevity isn't from a curse; it's the result of a strange potion he created in his youth. Potion-makers are always creating bizarre, unrepeatable miracles, much like alchemists... In any case, this story took place over a hundred years ago. That year, Papa Oliver and Old Jack went fishing by the river..."

Jenkins had heard the rest of the story once before, from Old Jack himself. Hearing it again now, he realized the old man hadn't just been reminiscing; he had been trying to give him a hint.

"The two of them went fishing, found a cave, and went inside to discover a treasure. But just as they did, the cave began to collapse. They each grabbed one item. From what I understand, Old Jack took a notebook, but in his haste to escape, he lost it inside the cave. So, he essentially left with nothing. As for Papa Oliver... he took a key. And that key was the source of the curse."

At this, Jenkins fell silent, pondering what he had just heard. Miss Stevel waited quietly until he finally spoke again.

"Do you know exactly when this happened?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know the exact details, only that it was a story from long before we were born. Only two of Papa Oliver's students are still alive, and we are the closest people he has left. I imagine no one besides Old Jack or someone in the Church archives could answer that question for you."

The woman sighed. Seeing Jenkins's puzzled expression, she went on.

"Papa Oliver only ever had four official students. The others he merely mentored or took on for missions don't count. The eldest, Larry Sheffield, died long before my time; I never even met him. Then there was my junior, your senior, Capello. He died in the undead scourge thirty years ago and is buried beneath the Hall of Fame Library. By the time he started his apprenticeship at the antique shop, I had already left Nolan for Dullin, the capital of the Cheslan Kingdom. So, you're actually the first junior apprentice I've ever met."