Chapter 1661: Chapter 1661
The concert was held at 'The Three Violins,' a club Hathaway knew well. It was a place for serious music lovers, and her membership card granted Jenkins and Briny entry.
The club was situated in the city's eastern district. Eastern Nolan was generally more affluent than the west, which, being closer to the docks, was primarily home to poor souls from out of town trying to scrape by and weary sailors constantly on the move.
As they stepped out of the carriage at the club's entrance, the coachman's sharp eyes noticed the suspicious puddle of water that had formed inside, but he wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
Once inside, Jenkins and Briny settled onto a sofa in the foyer while Hathaway went to ask if a concert was currently underway.
The atmosphere was quite refined, and the patrons drifting in and out were all calm and elegant. Just as Jenkins and Briny sat down, a little girl with a flower basket came trotting over from a nearby hallway. From the look of her clothes, this girl, perhaps in her early teens, was no common street vendor but one employed exclusively by the club.
"Sir, would you like to buy a flower?"
The girl's basket overflowed with a variety of blossoms, the selection plentiful in the summer season. When he saw Briny smiling silently, Jenkins knew he ought to buy her a flower.
He held back his curious cat, who was peering intently into the basket, and plucked a fiery red rose. In an instant, the sensation traveled from his fingertips to his mind, transformed by the peculiar divinity in his soul, and the flower's entire history unfolded before him—from the moment it was picked in a field outside the city, through three exchanges of hands, to its arrival in this very basket.
He nodded, impressed by the rich soil of Nolan's outlying flowerbeds, then selected an orange-yellow tulip from the basket. The tips of the petals were nearly golden, darkening in hue as they approached the pistil. When Jenkins traced the origin of this ombré tulip, he saw himself.
"This one is a bit expensive."
The girl pointed at the tulip and answered timidly, looking slightly afraid of Jenkins.
"The man who delivers our flowers by horse-cart gave it to me this morning. He said I had to sell it for this price, but if I did, he'd give me half the money. It's... fifteen pounds."
Briny gasped beside him. An ordinary family of four, even with two working adults, might not save that much money in an entire year. Despite her noble upbringing, she wasn't completely ignorant of the value of money.
She tugged on Jenkins's sleeve, shaking her head to dissuade him, but he was already pulling money from his pocket.
"Here. Keep the change."
He handed her two ten-pound notes. The girl was hesitant to accept at first, but under his steady gaze, she found herself thinking he wasn't so scary after all. Like a startled fawn, she snatched the bills from his hand, gave a bow so deep she nearly spilled her entire basket, and scurried away, her face bright red.
"I know you're wealthy, but that's no way to spend your money."
Once the girl had vanished around the corner, Briny gently chided him. Then she added:
"Besides, that man with the horse-cart sounds very strange. You don't think he's some kind of villain, do you?"
She had heard many of Jenkins's "legendary stories" from Hathaway recently, so she immediately suspected this was another one of the bizarre situations he always seemed to find himself in.
"I doubt he's a bad person," Jenkins replied. "I heard that two pots of tulips were auctioned off for an exorbitant price at the Golden Oriole Auction House yesterday. Perhaps this type of flower really is that valuable."
"I heard Hathaway mention that, but didn't those two pots fail to sell? ...Perhaps tulips really are that precious this time of year," Briny ventured, still uncertain.
Of the two flowers, Jenkins presented the tulip to Briny, saving the red rose for Hathaway. Briny feigned a pout, remarking that she loved the flower itself, not its price—a subtle jab that he hadn't given her the rose. Jenkins was quick to respond, however, noting that the tulip's hue was a perfect complement to her lovely golden hair...
And so, when Hathaway returned, she was met with the sight of Briny gazing at Jenkins with an incredibly mushy look in her eyes. She glanced between the two, bewildered, just as Jenkins offered her the red rose.
Jenkins had never cared for opera, and concerts held little interest for him either. Thus, after they found their seats at the edge of a room with polished wooden floors reminiscent of a dance studio, he listened absently to the stylishly dressed youths playing in the center of a circle of chairs, all the while stroking the cat nestled on his lap.
As summer arrived, Chocolate, with his beautiful fur, would occasionally feel the heat. Yet, he never strayed far from Jenkins to escape the warmth, sticking to him as closely as he did in the winter. At times, Jenkins felt it wasn't only he who feared losing his cat one day—the stray he had taken in seemed just as afraid of losing him.
He couldn't explain the feeling, but he desperately hoped the cat would be with him for many years to come. He had already made a decision: when he finally ascended to godhood, the girls at his side would, of course, be transformed into angels or divine spirits. And his cat, too, would be given the chance for eternal life, forever a companion to the God of Lies.
During the intermission, Hathaway rose and momentarily excused herself. Jenkins was confused—where was she going without a word? A moment later, a blushing Briny gave him a gentle tap, and understanding dawned.
"I really don't know if you're truly that clueless, or if you're just pretending."
The blonde girl grumbled softly. Their relationship had become as intimate as could be, so she felt comfortable enough to say things that might make one blush:
"You're in your twenties, and you've been with us... How can you not even understand something ?"
Jenkins was rendered speechless. He simply put on a straight face and said nothing, a childish reaction that made Briny chuckle. She adored this side of him.
In truth, however, Jenkins was secretly tracking Hathaway's spiritual aura. He watched as she bypassed the lavatory on their floor and instead headed up to the third, where she met with a waiting Miss Stevel. And they weren't alone—a number of other Enchanters, none of whom Jenkins recognized, were with them.
"Don't tell me this is a gathering for the followers of the God of Music," he thought. "Are they preparing for the upcoming alliance summit of the Twelve Orthodox Churches? I had no idea the music sect had so many Enchanters in the city. I thought it was just Hathaway."
He mused, though he figured they must have arrived in Nolan only recently.
He was intensely curious about what the group on the floor above was discussing, but with Briny at his side, he couldn't slip away.
"I can ask Miss Stevel about it later. I'm sure she'll tell me."
He resolved to do so, but his curiosity remained overpowering. The intermission had ended, and the music resumed. Briny was completely absorbed, her gaze fixed on a long-haired girl playing the violin.
Jenkins subtly scanned their surroundings. Confirming that no one was looking their way, he slipped a hand into his pocket, his fingers finding a metal talisman.
He ran the pad of his thumb across its surface, distinguishing it from the others by its engravings. With some difficulty, he located the one he sought: a "Light Refraction Talisman." Seizing the moment that three saxophones blared in unison, he activated the talisman, his [Real Illusion] ability, and the Black Robe simultaneously.
If anyone had been looking in that moment, they would have seen Jenkins's figure shimmer once before he closed his eyes to feign sleep. Then, a new person would have simply materialized in the row of seats behind them.
Luckily, no one witnessed this, allowing Jenkins to depart smoothly. Chocolate wanted to follow, but the clever cat knew he had to stay behind to sell the illusion of a sleeping Jenkins, and so he could only pout in silent protest.
He made his way up the stairs to the third floor. At the top of the landing, a man and a woman stood guard. As Jenkins rounded the bend in the staircase, they politely informed him that the floor was reserved for special members.
"I am a special member."
He announced, and they let him pass.
The third floor was indeed the VIP section of The Three Violins. The decor was far more opulent than that of the floors below; a costly red carpet covered the wooden hallway floor, the walls were lined with elegant, pale yellow tiles, and hung with stylish works of modern art.
The Enchanters of the God of Music had gathered in a music hall around a corner to the left. The doors were tightly closed, protected only by a faint golden luminescence.
If Jenkins was right, everyone inside was a follower of the God of Music, and their superhuman hearing would surely detect an intruder.
He cleared his throat pointedly.
He gave two deliberate coughs, then strode confidently to the solid red wood door. He counted silently to three, and just as he finished, the door swung open from within, nearly colliding with him.
"Pardon me... Sir, you don't appear to be on the invitation list."
The door was opened by a young woman Jenkins didn't recognize. She was dressed in an elegant blue tulle gown, a butterfly-shaped pin nestled in her short brown hair. Behind her, dozens of women—who had just been sitting together in a circle—rose to their feet simultaneously to stare at the doorway.
"That's right. I wasn't invited." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Jenkins stood on his toes, peering into the room. He gave a slow nod, conceding the point before introducing himself:
"As for me... I'm a Believer of Lies."
Any normal person hearing such a brazen declaration would have dismissed it instantly. But everyone in the room was aware of the reputation the Believers of Lies held in Nolan, and a flicker of doubt crossed their minds—what if, by refusing to believe him, they were falling prey to a Believer's truthful "lie"?
For a moment, silence reigned. No one could figure out who this man at their door was. Finally, it was Miss Stevel, the highest-ranking member of the group, who broke the silence. She too was disguised; aside from her height, Jenkins almost didn't recognize her.
"I apologize, sir, but whether you're a Believer of Lies or not, this is a private gathering. Could we ask you not to disturb us."