Chapter 1386: Chapter 1386

On Wednesday morning, a major story broke in the newspapers. It was news that Jenkins hadn't heard a whisper of beforehand, which, by all accounts, should have been impossible.

"The Nolan Navy has crushed the pirate king's joint fleet in the battle of the Shattered Isles and is already on its way back?"

Jenkins stared at the headline in astonishment, his eyes flicking to the masthead to confirm it was the Ruen Morning Post and not some gossip rag.

"How is that possible? I just saw Hathaway yesterday, and she didn't say a word about this. Dolores didn't mention it either. Could the news of the victory have only arrived last night? But this is a thousand miles from Nolan... How could it travel so fast?"

But it was true. The news of the navy's victory had spread across the world without any warning, stunning everyone from the kingdoms at war to the northern nation embroiled in its own succession crisis.

Over breakfast, Jenkins asked Dolores about it, but even her network of spies was completely in the dark.

"It's difficult to send agents to the Shattered Isles, so most of my people operate around the Nolan harbor and docks."

she explained, frowning at the glass of milk in front of her before pushing it toward her younger sister.

The young princess, accustomed to her sister's childish antics, simply took the extra glass and pushed it across the table for the cat.

He sighed, then turned to ask Alexia for her thoughts. She had no particular opinion on the matter, only warning Jenkins to be wary of foreign spies while he was in Nolan. Before, no one would have paid him any mind as he slipped through the alleyways, but now, there might be someone hiding in every trash can.

It was an exaggeration, of course. Alexia just wanted him to be more alert.

So, when he returned to Nolan later that day, he made a point of checking his own trash can. The only thing inside was the garbage the maid Hathaway had hired hadn't gotten around to taking out yet.

Hathaway, of course, had also heard the news of the kingdom's naval victory. When she met Jenkins in their room at the club, the worry that had clouded her face for weeks was finally gone. She happily announced that her father, Earl Hersha, had already sent a letter. The Earl wouldn't be needed for the post-battle cleanup or diplomatic duties with the archipelagic duchies, so he would be returning with the first fleet. It meant he was truly safe.

"Word from City Hall is that they're planning a grand welcoming ceremony for the day the ships return. It's going to be quite the celebration."

Hathaway would certainly be there with her family to welcome her father home, as would Briny, so she didn't suggest that Jenkins join the festivities.

Jenkins wasn't fond of crowded celebrations anyway, especially since the event had little to do with him.

His real concern was Femishue, the pirate king known as the Destroyer. Magic Miss had claimed to have found his hideout more than half a month ago, but he hadn't received any word from her since.

He had brought it up several times when they'd contacted her about the ritual to enter the Doomsday Illusion, but Magic Miss had always been vague, suggesting she had run into some kind of trouble.

He spent the entire day in Nolan, hoping to enter the Doomsday Illusion for the ninth trade, but his luck seemed to be out. He'd wasted the whole afternoon sitting in a café on the edge of the public square, listening to people discuss the war. As the sun began to set, he finally stood up to leave. He was just about to cross the bustling square, heading for Mr. Birchwood's house to pick up the book from Mr. White Cat, when a small boy in a floppy cloth cap ran up to him.

"Mister with the cat," the boy called out, "you have a letter!"

"For me?" Read complete versıon only at NoveI(F)ire.net

He glanced around, confirmed he was the only one nearby with a cat, and then stopped.

"Yes, this is for you."

The boy held out the letter, then looked at Jenkins with an expectant expression.

Jenkins tore open the envelope. Seeing himself addressed as "Mr. Candle," he pulled some spare change he'd gotten from the café out of his pocket and handed it to the boy. Then, he started walking as he read.

It was less a letter and more a simple note tucked inside an envelope. It contained only an address and a summons for Jenkins to meet someone there. Nothing else.

"Who would be so cryptic?" he muttered.

Muttering to himself, he casually burned the note to ash and changed direction, heading toward the docklands.

Thanks to the Titan he had provoked during the "Story within a Story" incident, Nolan had been rocked by a series of severe thunderstorms and earthquakes the previous Monday. Many unstable buildings had collapsed, including the tower bridge near the docks—the very one Jenkins could see from his bedroom window.

The tower bridge was one of Nolan's older structures, built back when the city was first developing as a seaport. For hundreds of years, it had served as a loading dock for large vessels. Although it was maintained annually, its age finally caught up with it, and the western side had given way during the recent earthquake.

After much debate, City Hall had decided to rebuild the bridge using the original towering stone pillars, which had practically fused with the coastal cliffs. Construction had only just begun. Towering scaffolding was already in place, but the project likely wouldn't be finished until the following year.

The meeting point chosen by the mysterious messenger was the center of that broken bridge—currently the highest point in Nolan. Standing on the fractured crossbeam, one had an unobstructed view of the entire city. Not even the city's clock tower reached this high.

But from such a height, looking down was ill-advised. Aside from a nimble creature like Chocolate, even the most daring person would feel a wave of vertigo.

Magic Miss was already there, standing on the crossbeam and leaning against one of the wooden support pillars as she waited for him. She faced the city, watching the bustling streets and the endless flow of pedestrians below. The setting sun cast its light across countless rooftops, painting a scene more brilliant than any oil canvas.

"Why did you have to pick a place to meet?" Jenkins demanded. "Do you have any idea how much willpower it took for me to climb up here?"

He shuffled forward one step at a time. Even with his Cat's Grace, he didn't dare move too quickly.

"I thought your first question would be about how I found you."

Magic Miss replied as she turned away from the city's evening vista.

"I told you I've been spending my days near the clock tower," Jenkins said. "And my cat, Vanilla, is one of a kind. If you really wanted to find me, it wouldn't have been hard."

Jenkins stopped a few feet away from her, steadying himself against the pillar as well.

The cat perched curiously on Jenkins's shoulder, surveying its surroundings with evident satisfaction at the view.