Chapter 1387: Chapter 1387

"There's a reason I chose this place. Our conversation must be kept from prying ears."

In the light of the setting sun, Magic Miss's hair was dyed a brilliant gold. At such a height, however, the wind was a bit strong, carrying the last lingering chill of spring.

"I don't think we needed to choose somewhere this high. Any secluded alley would have kept our conversation private..."

As he said this, Jenkins suddenly recalled the warning Alexia had given him that morning about spies.

"You're not worried about being overheard by chance because of all the spies in the city, are you?"

"Of course not, why would you think that? What I want to discuss concerns the Doomsday Illusion. I was worried the old man in the clock tower you mentioned might overhear us, so I chose an area that doesn't overlap with it. Outside the city would have worked, too, but since it's already evening, I figured you wouldn't want to leave the city again, would you?"

The Doomsday Illusion covered the urban area of Nolan, but due to the flight restrictions, Jenkins still hadn't figured out its vertical range. He reasoned that since the yellow moon was high in the sky, the illusion's ceiling must be quite high as well.

But according to Magic Miss's research, any area above the height of the city's clock tower was outside the illusion's range. So, back then, besides fleeing the city for safety, Silver Flute Miss could have also escaped the illusion by simply flying high enough—provided she could stay in the air for an extended period.

"I assume you've noticed as well. Rumors about the Doomsday Illusion have been circulating in the black market lately, and more and more Benefactors are entering it. This means that world is drawing closer to our city. So far, you've obtained eight different rituals. At first, I thought they were fine and would indeed cause the two spaces to repel each other. But while analyzing the seventh ritual, I found something suspicious. Further research confirmed that while the rituals can prevent the two cities from overlapping, forces are relative. As they push the Doomsday Illusion away from the material world, the counterforce will also separate Nolan's space from the material world... Don't worry, this hasn't started yet. It would only happen if we were to set up the complete ritual."

"Aren't you surprised?"

"He's something that came out of a Mysterious Realm; I never planned to trust him completely. I was actually thinking of finding a way to deal with him after getting the tenth ritual. Ahem, I mean, finding a way to get the Church in there to take care of the old man in the clock tower. It seems I was still too careless... Magic Miss, if we don't use this ritual, do you have any way to stop the Doomsday Illusion from overlapping with our world?"

"Then can you modify the ritual? So that it pushes away the Doomsday Nolan without separating the real Nolan from the material world?"

"Do you think I'm omnipotent, Candle Mr? The complexity of those rituals is beyond your imagination. I still haven't even fully deciphered all the runes. You'd have better luck hoping that world spontaneously collapses than expecting me to modify the ritual."

Compared to the ever-righteous Mr. Hood, the other members of the gathering weren't exactly paragons of courage and integrity. But that didn't mean they wouldn't meddle. At least in this situation, both Magic Miss and Jenkins were thinking about saving the city, not fleeing before things reached a critical point.

Although they couldn't tackle the problem through the ritual, they weren't without other leads. A total of six people had entered the Mysterious Realm. The old man in the clock tower had stated that three of them died inside, which meant that besides Silver Flute Miss, there should be two other survivors.

If they could find out from them what exactly they did to cause things to develop this way, they might just find a way to resolve the Doomsday Illusion.

With a plan in mind, they sprang into action. After arranging the details, the two of them traveled together to the villa on the small hill in the suburbs to find Silver Flute Miss and ask if she knew the real identities of the other five people.

Silver Flute Miss told them that the other five seemed to know each other, which she could tell from their tone of voice. But they all wore masks, so she never saw their faces. All she knew was that one of them had a strong smell of fish.

"That kind of smell isn't something you can fake. It must come from working in a related industry for years and years."

The problem, however, was that as a well-known port city, Nolan had no shortage of people who smelled of fish. Relying on that single clue was still like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Silver Flute Miss couldn't offer them any other assistance; she couldn't even safely enter the city herself. But since she was ultimately involved in this matter, she didn't feel right staying out of it completely. So, before the two left, she gave them each some cash to fund their investigation.

"Since when are you so rich?"

Magic Miss asked in surprise, staring at the stack of large 10-pound notes in her hand. Back then, the two of them had practically bankrupted themselves buying the antiques they each needed to enter the Mysterious Realm and transform into aberrations. Silver Flute Miss had even sold her house in the city and moved to St. George Street near the Dock Area.

"I was looking for work, too. I ended up becoming an occult consultant for a very wealthy noblewoman. She's incredibly generous."

Silver Flute Miss said vaguely. Jenkins suspected she was talking about Miss Windsor. He already knew from the arms dealing incident that Silver Flute Miss was working for her.

But that capable noblewoman was no longer in Nolan. The political situation in the royal capital, Bel Diran, was volatile; the queen's health could fail at any moment. Reliable intelligence from Dolores confirmed that Jessica Windsor was gathering followers in Bel Diran, apparently with her sights set on the crown.

"So what do we do now?"

Leaving the villa, the two walked along a mountain path. Magic Miss asked the question as she looked down, counting the banknotes with a very practiced hand.

"It's not that we're out of options, but this next one is very risky. I'll have to enter the clock tower in the Doomsday Illusion again, which means I'll have to see the old man. If I just enter the tower without meeting him, it'll raise suspicion... Do you remember what I said before? About finding a body on the stairs the first time I climbed the tower." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novｅlfire.net

"210 pounds in total, so we can each take 105. That's enough to buy a small house in Nolan. It's great to be rich... What did you say? Oh, right, of course I remember. You mean the body you buried on the first floor of the clock tower with stones and wood chips? Yes, I understand. That's definitely the best clue we have."