Chapter 1765: Chapter 1765

"If you are willing to let Jessica take the throne, then I would be happy to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. I wouldn't even mind if you were the one actually running the country. And in ten years, you could have Jessica abdicate the throne to you. As long as she agrees, I can guarantee no one else will object."

The old woman's voice rose from behind him as Jenkins reached out and pushed open the window. There was no wind outside, but the air was acrid. He saw a burst of red fireworks explode deep within the gray fog.

He turned, walked to the table, and picked up his hat.

"I should be heading back."

Queen Isabella didn't stop him, simply watching as he pushed open the door and left. She let out a long sigh, closed her eyes, and leaned back stiffly against the sofa. Then, she raised a wrinkled hand, dotted with brown age spots, and covered her eyes.

As the rain stopped, a thick fog surged back into the streets, as if it had only been taking shelter. But the mist merely returned to its usual level, not nearly as severe as when the Children of the Mist had appeared. The air was thick with a damp smell mixed with the scent of the gray fog—a truly unpleasant combination.

By the time Jenkins and the others returned to the Sage's Church in the city center, most people were already back, aside from the teams responsible for cleanup. Smiles adorned most of their faces; after all, they had just resolved a major crisis.

After bidding farewell to a Mr. Davies who had returned with him, Jenkins found Miss Bevanna to explain his recent whereabouts. She was already aware of the situation. It was Papa Oliver, who had remained at the church, who praised Jenkins's performance that night:

"You've grown so quickly. You're already a mature Enchanter."

In the eyes of the Church, this was his first time facing a demigod alone. He had managed to escape unscathed without using the power of a Saint, and could even be said to have marginally suppressed his opponent. While this was partly because the other party was unwilling to cause a major disturbance, it also proved that Jenkins had matured enough to shoulder significant responsibilities.

This made Papa Oliver particularly emotional. He then reminded Jenkins not to forget to write up a report on the night's events and submit it.

It was now around four in the morning. Although there was still much to do, the Children of the Mist incident was essentially resolved. Knowing Jenkins had had an especially hard night—and that Miss Bevanna had interrupted his birthday celebration when she arrived at his home—they told him he could go back. There was no need to trouble him with the remaining tasks.

"Are you going back to the antique shop to rest, Papa?"

"I still have some things to take care of. You go on ahead. Also... never mind. We can talk about it after you've woken up. It's nothing important."

Papa Oliver waved him off. Jenkins bid them both farewell and then found the professor in a room piled high with documents and filled with Keeper of Secrets apprentices to say his goodbyes.

Although the Children of the Mist had been dealt with, Nolan's thick fog remained, so the work of researching related materials could not stop.

"The Mysterious Realm didn't appear tonight."

He winked at the professor, recalling how he had learned the true reason the professor became an Enchanter in the Mysterious Realm, but he didn't say it out loud.

"You should go home. You really had a tough night. Just a few hours ago, you were celebrating your birthday, and yet you had to stay up all night risking your life. Go on, get some rest. And... I'm sorry, about the lie I told..."

The professor lowered his head and touched his nose, a gesture of his embarrassment.

"We all lie, especially little white lies. Professor, it's perfectly normal. I do it all the time."

the absent God of Lies remarked. He waved goodbye to the professor and finally went to see Audrey and Sigrid.

The two ladies, who had no prior connection, were conversing in low voices. They stopped talking when they saw Jenkins approach.

"What were you just talking about?"

Since they were all very close, Jenkins didn't hesitate to ask.

"I was asking about what happened to you in the Mysterious Realm."

Audrey replied, then gave Jenkins a suggestive smile.

"But your cousin here wasn't very willing to tell me."

"Some things happened in the Mysterious Realm... I'm going to go home and rest first. I'll come find you this afternoon to talk about it."

"Alright, just come straight to the Evergreen Forest. I'm heading there in a bit. My teacher said she found something interesting in the Church's archives and told me to find a wide-open space to contact her with my [Water Mirror] ability."

Jenkins nodded, then said to Sigrid:

"I'm going home to rest for a bit. Tonight was really exhausting. Are you staying at the church, or will you return to the Church of Nature's residence near the Evergreen Forest?"

"I'll have to wait for instructions."

the blonde nun replied.

"I didn't end up using this. Here, take it back..."

Jenkins moved to take off Sigrid's World Tree seed, though he knew, of course, that she would stop him.

"You should keep it. Just consider it safekeeping for me."

As expected, that's what Sigrid said.

Jenkins naturally wouldn't refuse, but he felt now wasn't the right time to ask for the Tree Soul. So he said instead:

"Then get ready. The day after tomorrow—oh, that's Wednesday—I'd like to invite you to visit my home. I think Mary and Robert would be very happy."

"Okay, I'll be ready." Get full chapters from n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

she said. Jenkins was about to bid both ladies farewell, but Audrey stopped him again.

"Regarding the World Tree seeds, my advice is not to bring them together immediately. This is a major event, and you should choose the right time and place to do it."

"No problem. In that case, I'll have to ask you to help me pick a time and place."

"That's no problem. Also, I heard from Papa Oliver that you acquired the white basic ability, [Cycle]?"

That had only happened at midnight, just four hours ago, but to Jenkins, it felt like it had been days.

"Did Papa Oliver tell you what the ability does?"

"Basically, the longer I have it, the stronger I'll get."

Jenkins summarized roughly.

"Yes. You might think it's not very useful, especially since you're in such a hurry right now..."

She paused, glancing at Sigrid, probably assessing whether she could be trusted.

"Keep that ability. My sect has the evolved form of [Cycle] in its collection, and it's currently the only known way to obtain [Recurring Fate]. It's one of the few ways to stabilize destiny, and I think it will be useful to you."

Jenkins nodded again, then finally boarded a carriage that plunged into the misty night, heading for St. George Avenue.