Chapter 1548: Chapter 1548

"I didn't get a full view of the cat last night. Mr. Nelfonse from the Church said no one should look up at the night sky. But I imagine, since it was a cat, it couldn't have been that ugly or terrifying, right? Most cats are quite adorable."

Miss Capet continued to recount the strange events of the previous night, glancing at Chocolate as she spoke. The cat's fondness for the human woman immediately grew.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Any creature, when expanded to a certain size, becomes terrifying. Besides... I don't like black cats."

Jenkins remarked nonchalantly, his mind still on the matter of the black cat. Beside his pillow, Chocolate's expression stiffened.

"Why don't you like black cats?"

"Black cats look dirty," Jenkins said offhandedly. "And traditionally speaking, they often signify bad luck."

"You don't strike me as the superstitious type," Miss Capet teased.

"Be that as it may, I don't think black cats are very cute."

"You see, a black and white cat like Chocolate is the best-looking."

He jiggled the struggling feline in his arms. Because he didn't look down, he missed the way Chocolate's expression had frozen solid.

"You're right. Your cat is the most beautiful I've ever seen."

Jenkins always enjoyed it when others praised his cat. Meanwhile, Chocolate was contemplating whether it should just change its appearance for good. Since it could transform at will, perhaps it would never return to the black fur of its true form again.

"But I'd love Chocolate even if it were a black cat. I'd love Chocolate no matter what color it was... though preferably not orange. I've heard orange cats tend to be quite gluttonous."

Jenkins said this with a playful tone, which made Miss Capet laugh. Chocolate, too, relaxed, narrowing its eyes and letting out a series of meows as if to second Jenkins's point.

Since yesterday evening, Jenkins had been incredibly busy in Bel Diran, which in turn had kept the Church occupied. The battle between the two monsters in the night sky had been preliminarily identified as a clash between the Believers of Lies and the Perfume Appreciation Committee.

Before dawn, it was confirmed that the former had emerged victorious. Following the clues, the Church found the members of the Committee, who had fallen into a deep slumber thanks to the Sweet Dream Crystal. But these were merely foot soldiers, carrying out the orders of their superiors. The Committee's leadership, though they had recently smuggled themselves from Cheslan into the Fidektri Kingdom to escape a continent-wide manhunt on the east coast, had quickly moved on from Bel Diran. The clues suggested they were headed further west, to Nolan City.

The evidence seized indicated that the main body of the Perfume Appreciation Committee had already relocated to the kingdom, and their move to the Nolan area had been decided long before their transfer. Thus, the hunt for the cigarette peddlers in Bel Diran was considered closed for now. Their local conspiracy had been cut short by the appearance of the Believers of Lies, and it was now up to the Nolan diocese to handle the rest.

The Believers of Lies had made a small contribution. Besides defeating the nightmare, their actions had led to the accidental capture of nearly all the Enchanters involved in the operation. After interrogation, combined with materials found at the tobacco club, the Church gained a much better understanding of the cigarettes' properties.

Around noon that day, Jenkins learned from Papa Oliver that the Church believed a major breakthrough in counteracting the side effects of the tobacco would be made within the next month or two. Although it seemed like a long time, at least it was now clear that the side effects could be treated through a repeatable method.

Visiting along with Papa Oliver were Hathaway and Briny. The three of them had stayed up talking until midnight, yet the two young women showed no signs of fatigue. Papa Oliver chatted with Jenkins for a while before preparing to leave, simultaneously announcing that Jenkins's "hospital rest period" was officially over. The Church deemed his recovery to be excellent, and he was free to go.

The main reason he was allowed to move about freely, however, was that Alfons Carmel's body had been discovered at the entrance of the City Hall that morning. Although the corpse was tainted by the power of a Cursed Item, making divination or necromancy impossible, the Church had easily confirmed that Carmel was well and truly dead, with no possibility of revival. Fınd the newest release on novel·fıre·net

With this demigod no longer lurking in the shadows, plotting revenge, the "weak" Jenkins was finally permitted to step outside the Church's protection. As for the one who killed Carmel, the diviners from the Church of Destiny and Order had determined it was an unknown female demigod.

At first, the Church suspected the Believers of Lies, but it was obvious that a group so notoriously elusive would not have a demigod whose gender could be so easily divined.

Since he was allowed to leave his room and had nothing planned for the afternoon, Hathaway and Briny invited him to join their tour group. The party of young ladies from Nolan was planning to visit the Bel Diran City Hall.

Ordinarily, the City Hall was not open to the public. However, following a parliamentary reform two years prior aimed at easing class tensions by opening more seats to non-nobles, the building was opened for public tours once every six months.

The Bel Diran City Hall occupied a vast area. Besides serving as the city's administrative hub, several key kingdom departments also had offices there. Thus, aside from the Cold Spring Palace and its surrounding complex, and the Parliament building two streets away, this was the most important political center in the kingdom.

City Hall was no modern construction. The history of the massive, three-story gray stone building could be traced back over a century.

Back then, it was the private residence of one of the kingdom's most illustrious dukes. Later, due to a coup and a series of other complex events, the residence was ultimately confiscated and eventually became the Bel Diran City Hall.

As it was late spring turning into early summer, the perfect season for travel, there was no shortage of tourists visiting City Hall today. Jenkins, mingling with a crowd of young women, stood out conspicuously. He wore a black hat, attempting to hide his face, but Hathaway decided the color clashed with his clothes and forcefully took it off.

Jenkins's coat was also black, and he failed to understand how two identical colors could possibly clash.

The tour group included many of Jenkins's acquaintances, such as friends he had made during the seance, Miss Lawrence whom he had met on the winter trip to the mountains, and others he knew from his time spent with Hathaway and Briny at the ladies' club.

As they were all daughters of nobles or wealthy merchants, a tour guide had been arranged for them in advance. Her name was Wendigo Sharon, a student at Belah Public School who was about the same age as the others in the group. She worked part-time as a guide to cover her tuition and living expenses.