Chapter 1251: Chapter 1251

When Jenkins appeared at the breakfast table the next morning, the young women were already up before him.

Seeing him come downstairs with a stack of papers in his left hand, Alexia asked what they were.

"Mail from my postbox. It seems Mr. Nelly from the Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe wants to discuss the troupe's dividends with me. I'd completely forgotten about it until he brought it up. When I agreed to write the opera to save the troupe from bankruptcy, my payment was to be in company shares."

he explained, placing the cat and the letters on the table together.

He wasn't worried about Papa Oliver discovering that he'd taken the mail, as he had already asked Hathaway yesterday to cover for him and smooth over any potential slip-ups.

"Oh, right, Dolores. This is yours. I forgot to give it back to you."

He tapped his forehead, then pulled the Ice Archer chess piece from his pocket and returned it to Dolores. She nodded and took it, looking sleepy and not fully awake, as she had gotten up very early.

"Jenkins, are you free this weekend?"

"Would you mind giving a speech? It doesn't matter what it's about. The main thing is for you to appear before the public."

He looked at the short woman, puzzled.

"You've finally made it to Ruen, and the Church has even agreed to let you make public appearances. I just think it would be a shame to do nothing with the opportunity, don't you?"

Alexia probably had her own plans. Hearing that he could speak about anything he wanted, Jenkins felt no pressure and readily agreed.

After breakfast, Dolores had a lesson in the study with her literature teacher, Mrs. Sarlis. Alexia went into the city to buy a few things on the black market, while Jenkins returned once more to Nolan.

Of course, the cat accompanied him this time as well, in the form of a spiritual lodestone projection.

At Mr. Hood's gathering last week, everyone had proposed gathering people to take on a few tasks. Although Jenkins felt it was a bit of a coincidence, he was willing to join in.

Mr. Hood's plan to raid the strange tobacco factory was too reckless to consider. Magic Miss's attack on the pirate king had to wait for a special issue of a certain knitting magazine. Mr. White Cat's plan to attack the aberrations would be decided by a "missing cousin" notice next Monday. As for Silver Flute Miss's exploration of a Mysterious Realm, Jenkins had already advised her to sell the information about it to the Church.

So now he, Mr. Candle, had to tell Hathaway that he could participate in the 'Story within a Story'—and not as Jenkins.

"Maybe I should find a chance to tell her I'm Mr. Candle."

He was still pondering this as he walked down the street. As he turned a corner, he bumped into a scrawny man who muttered an apology and hurried away. Jenkins frowned and felt for his wallet. After confirming it was still there, he glanced quizzically at the man's retreating back but didn't give the matter any more thought.

The cat on his shoulder twitched its nose and sniffed, then pawed at Jenkins's face, but he didn't understand the gesture. Thıs text ıs hosted at novel fire.net

He made his way to the bar and entered the black market through it. He didn't stop to buy anything, instead following a sewer pipe until he had completely left the black market area.

Nolan's underground network of pipes was a tangled mess. Due to historical legacy issues and connections to old mining tunnels, not even the municipal department had a complete map. Many homeless people and strange organizations made their homes in the more remote sections, especially during the cold winter months.

Muttering to himself, he followed Hathaway's instructions from the gathering and soon entered a section of pipe he'd never been in before. The end of this section was blocked by a rusty wire mesh fence, and the eerie blue light from his miner's lamp couldn't penetrate the darkness beyond.

A small blackboard hung on one side of the pipe wall. Forcing himself to ignore the nausea, Jenkins waded through the stagnant water toward it. On the board, drawn in chalk, were a small bird, a comical cat's head, and a pentagram.

The bird signified that the blackboard had been placed there by Hathaway, also known as Skylark Miss. The other two drawings meant that Mr. White Cat and Magic Miss had already been here and could participate in Hathaway's operation. So Jenkins also took a piece of ritual chalk from his pocket and, with a few strokes, sketched a candle.

He frowned at his work. It seemed much simpler than the other two drawings, so he added a dancing flame to the wick. Then, he drew five lines radiating out from the fire—up, down, and to the sides—to show the candle was burning and giving off light.

"That's much better."

He was quite pleased with his artwork. After admiring it for another moment, he decided to leave—the smell, after all, was truly awful.

As he turned, he sensed something was wrong. In the blink of an eye, he saw someone pressed against the wall at the corner—a level 2 Enchanter, by the looks of it, waiting to launch a surprise attack the moment Jenkins turned back.

While thinking this, he pulled off his glove and tapped the slimy pipe wall. White frost immediately began to spread across the damp surface.

Pretending he hadn't seen anything, he started walking back. He didn't try to muffle his steps, so the sound of his boots splashing through the puddles was especially clear. With every step he took, a connected patch of white frost appeared beneath his feet. If the tunnel were brightly lit, anyone would have seen that a sheet of frost had covered nearly everything behind him.

Thanks to [Ice Solidification], the already damp interior of the sewer pipe cooled and froze with ease. His plan was to feign a retreat, letting the chill creep up to the ambusher first. The moment his attacker struck, he would freeze him solid on the spot, making interrogation much easier.

But things didn't go as planned. When Jenkins was about two-thirds of the way back, still a dozen feet or so from the corner, he suddenly heard a loud shout of "Ha!" from further down the pipe, followed by a blinding flash of white light erupting from the corner.

He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and heard the heavy thud of a body being thrown against the wall. When he opened them again, the strange ambusher was lying unconscious on the ice, and Mr. Hood was walking out from the other side, holding a pistol.

"Oh, so he was ambushing you, Mr. Candle."

Mr. Hood remarked in surprise, looking at the cat. Seeing Jenkins staring at his gun, he pulled the trigger again, and another blinding flash of white light filled the narrow space.

"Interesting, isn't it? I bought it the other night while visiting a friend. It lights up when you pull the trigger. I think it might be a Numbered Item, but I couldn't find any information on it."