Chapter 1286: Chapter 1286

As the brave young woman (Jenkins) vanished around the corner of the staircase, the people trapped on the third floor exchanged helpless glances. Some tried to follow in Jenkins's daring footsteps, but a surge of flames drove them back after only a few steps.

Someone wanted to jump from a window, but this was a tower, not an ordinary building. Each floor was much taller than average. To jump from their current position would be like leaping from the attic roof of a four-story apartment building facing the street.

On top of that, the camp outside was also a sea of flames. Even the men serving as guards lacked the courage to jump, to say nothing of the ladies who were guests.

A young girl standing by the window suddenly shouted, and everyone crowded toward it.

In the distance, beyond the ever-expanding sea of flames, they saw a towering ladder, like something from an ancient siege, moving slowly toward them.

The one pushing the ladder was, of course, Jenkins. Once downstairs, he'd seen that no one was around and had immediately used Psychography to construct the ridiculously large device. Though it looked imposing, only its outer layer was real stone; the inside was solid ice. He had luckily found a shop's water bladder nearby—without it, his [Ice Solidification] ability couldn't have gathered so much water from the air.

At the base of the ladder were round wooden wheels that Jenkins had drawn. They were highly impractical, but thankfully, he only needed to push it a short distance.

Once the top of the ladder touched the window, Jenkins vanished from below. He returned to the inferno on the tower's first floor, found the load-bearing pillars, and braved the flames, using his abilities to protect them from burning through and buy more time.

Three hours later, as the sun set, the flames finally died down. But the camp had been reduced to ruins, and only scorched traces of the central towers remained.

Wisps of black smoke rose from the ruins, punctuated by occasional flare-ups. A large crowd had gathered outside the camp—a chaotic mix of city officials, firefighters, reporters, local residents, doctors, and the injured. The clamor was so loud that Jenkins and Hathaway, perched on a hilltop several miles away, could faintly hear it.

The two of them stared silently at the smoking ruins in the distance. After a long while, Hathaway finally asked with difficulty:

"I only asked you to follow Briny and find out what she was up to. How did you end up making such a mess?"

"It was all an accident..."

Jenkins found it hard to explain. Even after recounting his encounter with the ghouls, the string of coincidences was hard to swallow. Fortunately, Briny was unharmed. Hathaway had already visited her before meeting with Jenkins, and the blonde girl was fine, aside from being a little shaken.

Briny was now back at her home in the city, and Jenkins was certain Lady Mikhail wouldn't be letting her out of the house anytime soon.

"Ghoul corpses are highly flammable. The one I killed has probably been burned to ashes by now. I'll go to the black market later and pass the details of this incident to the Church through an intermediary. They'll track down the ghoul that escaped."

He had to change the subject away from Briny, since he was, after all, directly responsible for the danger the blonde girl had faced.

Hathaway nodded lightly at his words. She recalled Mr. White Cat mentioning at the last gathering that three types of Aberrations—Ghouls, Frenzied Demons, and Bone-eaters—were colluding on some sort of plot. She reminded Jenkins that there were likely more than just two ghouls in Nolan.

Jenkins understood what she was thinking, of course. He assured her he would exaggerate some of the details when passing on the information to ensure the Church remained sufficiently vigilant.

Aside from the ghouls and Jenkins himself, the main reason this afternoon's events had escalated so dramatically was the stone box he was now holding.

He had already examined the box. The patterns carved on its surface were responsible for concealing the spiritual aura. However, through experimentation, he discovered the patterns were specifically designed for the mirror inside; any other spiritual material placed within would still emit an aura.

The shattered mirror inside the stone box, of which only a third remained, was something Jenkins had also identified: the [Incomplete Treasure-Seeking Bronze Mirror], item B-07-4-2637.

This was a rather peculiar mirror. The complete mirror was made of three fragments, and all three different pieces had been found by people throughout history, sometimes even in the same era. Based on surviving diagrams, people were certain that the three fragments, each with a unique edge, formed a single, complete bronze mirror.

But the three broken pieces had never been reassembled. Any attempt to restore them was doomed to fail. A single fragment, like the one in Jenkins's hands, could increase one's success rate when searching for things if carried on one's person.

For example, if you forgot where you put your house keys, carrying this mirror would help you find them quickly. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

As for how such an abstract concept as "increasing the success rate" was tested, that was a question perhaps only the Church of Destiny and Order could answer.

Of course, the fragment could also be used as a consumable item. The method was to discard it in any manner, while simultaneously writing the name of the object you wished to find on its surface in your own blood.

Once the broken mirror was discarded, the one who abandoned it would find a clue to help them locate their desired object, but the mirror itself would be lost forever.

The so-called "clue" wasn't a treasure map pointing to a specific location, but rather an abstract hint. Furthermore, the more precious the item being sought, the more vague the clue would be.

The only exception was if one wished to find one of the other two fragments. In that case, upon discarding the mirror, the user would also disappear, and no one would know where they had gone.

"Forever unable to find each other, yet able to find all other things. Such is destiny."

That was the last sentence in the document Jenkins had read.

In any case, it was a very useful item. The ghouls were likely after this mirror because of the "treasure" Mr. White Cat had mentioned, located beneath the construction site of the Fidektri Kingdom Bank's Nolan branch.

Hathaway suggested that Jenkins take it with him to Ruen. That way, the ghouls would never be able to find it.

"Also, remember to write a letter to Briny. Fill it with sweet words to comfort her. If you don't know what to write, I can help you, but you must be the one to send it to her in Nolan."

Hathaway reminded him, all but offering to write the letter for him herself and have him deliver it.

"I understand. I'll comfort her properly."

"Good that you understand. I was planning to ask you to stay the night, but with things as they are, I'll have to go and be with Briny instead. I won't keep you for dinner. Next time you see me, make sure you've written that letter. I'll look it over for you."

With that, the red-haired lady turned and walked away. After a few steps, she still hadn't heard Jenkins ask her to stay. She turned back, ready to confront him, but Jenkins and his cat had already disappeared among the green leaves.

the woman muttered in frustration.

Naturally, Jenkins had missed Hathaway's not-so-subtle hint. He returned to Ruen in low spirits, worried that Hathaway would be angry with him for some time for getting Briny into trouble.

Later, when Alexia returned from the city, she asked about what had happened and concluded that Jenkins had clearly been too idle lately. Since Dolores happened to be busy with official duties, she suggested that Jenkins reduce his trips back to Nolan and instead help with some unimportant paperwork at the manor, or perhaps hold another public lecture or even a book signing in Ruen:

"All the pretty young ladies of Ruen are waiting for you, you know."

After dinner, Jenkins used the spiritual lodestone stored in the Ice Palace to return to the snowy mountains. He then retrieved three chess pieces—the Knight, the Astrologer, and the Priest—and returned to the manor to give them to Dolores.

After his battle with the ghouls today, he had realized that while the basic damage of these pieces couldn't compare to most of his own abilities, they were still useful when facing multiple opponents. Leaving them with Dolores would be a great guarantee for her safety.

And so, Monday of the new week arrived. After breakfast, the manor welcomed a guest from afar. It was Miss Glasses, whom Jenkins had met in Spa Town. After receiving a personal letter from Dolores in Ruen, she had traveled day and night, finally arriving in the city last night.

After resting for a night, she met with Jenkins at the manor this morning.

Though they hadn't seen each other for only three short weeks, and neither Jenkins's nor Miss Glasses's appearance or demeanor had changed much, they could no longer interact as equals the way they had in the Mysterious Realm.

Even though Jenkins maintained his usual attitude, he could instinctively feel that Miss Glasses held him in a kind of unspoken awe.

First, he asked about the health of their other companion from the Mysterious Realm adventure. Mr. Stone had suffered psychological trauma and hadn't regained consciousness when Jenkins parted ways with them. But his condition had improved since then. Although he still had minor issues like light sensitivity, the man was now awake and slowly recovering. With a little more rest, he would likely overcome the shadow of that experience.

This conversation served to bridge the distance between them. Afterward, Jenkins didn't beat around the bush, but got straight to the point:

"Miss Glasses, as you probably gathered from the letter, it was I who had something to discuss with you, not Dolores. Please, don't be nervous..."

He noticed the woman sitting across the table from him seemed somewhat anxious, so he offered a gentle reassurance before asking:

"This might be a bit rude, but I need to confirm your faith first... Are you, by any chance, a believer in the great [God of Rituals and Mysteries]?"

Followers of pseudo-gods occupied a very awkward position in human society, yet such believers were not a small minority. Therefore, asking about someone's faith upon meeting them was generally considered as impolite as rashly asking about their age, weight, or income.