Chapter 1875: Chapter 1875

The shattered silver ring was of better quality than Jenkins had expected. Perhaps because it no longer had to bear the strain of two drops of divinity, its power had stopped leaking from the cracks after he left the hospital.

Therefore, Jenkins decided against drawing out the remaining drop of divinity to seal within the metal block, choosing instead to keep it stored in the bracelet.

The metal block, after all, was too cumbersome to carry around at all times. The bracelet, however, he could wear even while sleeping or bathing, making the power conveniently accessible whenever he needed it.

The next morning, a Monday, Jenkins rose early to finish the three reports. After breakfast, he delivered them personally to Miss Bevanna at the church.

Miss Bevanna looked exhausted, massaging her temples with one hand as she perused the documents. Jenkins and Papa Oliver had left early the previous night, but she had been forced to remain at the temporary camp outside the fog bank, fielding questions from the other churches.

The matter of the divinity, of course, could not be kept secret and had been debated the entire night. But now, with the divinity gone—according to Jenkins's account, at least—no amount of discussion could turn back time. That was why Miss Bevanna was at the church this morning instead of being whisked away to the Evergreen Forest to continue the seemingly endless arguments.

"Will this affect the cooperation between the Twelve Churches?" Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel_fіre.net

Jenkins asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "The divinity was discovered by Papa Oliver and Old Jack, then located and offered to the Sage by the Church's own Saint. They may have their objections, but from a purely legal standpoint, we haven't broken any rules."

"Speaking of which, what's the story with those clothes the Sage bestowed upon you? I ran into the Keepers of Secrets at breakfast, and they mentioned you hadn't figured out their purpose either."

Miss Bevanna asked without looking up, her attention fixed on scrutinizing Jenkins's reports—especially the falsified one intended for the other churches. The lies within had to be airtight.

"That's right, I can't make sense of it either."

Jenkins patted his chest. He was wearing the clothes now. They were remarkably comfortable and fit him perfectly, even better than his own.

"These are the ones. I had planned on wearing them every day, but Briny strongly objected. Oh, Briny is..."

"I know, the daughter of the kingdom's naval commander," Miss Bevanna cut in. "I can guess why she'd object. In any case, a gift from the Sage at this juncture is bound to have a special meaning. If you discover anything about it, you must inform the Church. Furthermore, be sure to wear it when you face any significant battles or events. It will prove useful one way or another."

The clothes could actually be fused with his black robe, but Jenkins refrained, worried the fusion might alter its appearance as a simple outer garment.

This time, his offering of divinity caused far less of a stir than his first, which had taken place on a stormy autumn night a year ago. After all, he was no longer just an ordinary young man from town. He was now the Saint of the Church, a figure who had repeatedly crossed paths with destiny over the past year—a title that explained away many of his peculiarities.

Consequently, most people felt that his acquisition of divinity from the hospital wasn't particularly surprising.

As expected, someone brought up the previous night's events during the joint conference of the Twelve Churches that morning. The topic sparked a wide-ranging discussion, but it unfolded just as Miss Bevanna had predicted. The divinity had been discovered by the Church of the Sage and recovered by the Church of the Sage. While their decision to conceal their actions was questionable, they weren't entirely in the wrong.

As a result, though every agenda item that morning inevitably devolved into a debate on the subject, the proceedings were far more peaceful than Jenkins had anticipated. He had half-expected fists to fly.

That evening, he was supposed to take the girls back to his family home on Maidenhaven Road as promised. Worried that another incident might occur at the house, Jenkins had written a letter to confirm everything was fine. He was also wary of being waylaid himself, so even though his presence at the afternoon session wasn't mandatory, he remained dutifully in the conference hall to avoid getting entangled in anything else.

If trouble could find him even here, he would have to conclude that fate simply didn't want him taking the girls home.

The cultists had been relatively quiet lately. The only recent encounters with the Gear Artisans' Association and the Tree House involved the Mechanical Mind-Lock and the tobacco trade discovered at the docks. Both incidents were discussed during the meeting. While the follow-up investigations had hit some snags, they were proceeding smoothly for the most part.

The purpose of the mind-lock—to harvest human brains—was now beyond doubt. The Church theorized that these brains, along with the vast reserves of spiritual energy stockpiled in the dreamscape via the tobacco, were intended to be used as a "catalyst" for the "Reverser of Fate ritual."

This theory was pieced together from ancient texts the Church had unearthed. Jenkins's decision to inform them about the Reverser of Fate had been the right one. In the entire material world, no organization was larger or more ancient than the Twelve Churches. Their ability to research such matters far outstripped what he and Alexia could accomplish alone.

The mottled pages described an event from the 16th Epoch, in which someone had attempted a similar ritual. Their goal, however, was not to destroy the world, but to reverse the flow of time itself and avert a terrible, fatal disaster.

Those tattered pages—which appeared to have been deliberately hidden in a crevice beneath a statue in a corner of the Church of War and Victory's armory—didn't reveal whether the ritual had succeeded. Still, one could only imagine the ancient and convoluted story behind it.

The documents provided some details about the Reverser of Fate ritual, mentioning that its core components required a catalyst derived from large quantities of materials from living beings. Whether that meant something as trivial as hair or as vital as the hearts commonly used in sacrifices depended on the ritual's specific purpose.

Since the subterranean intelligent machine had chosen human brains, spinal fluid, and immense spiritual energy, the Church concluded that the purpose of its Reverser of Fate ritual was likely tied to human intellect, spirit, or perhaps even souls.

To that end, the Church had tasked Jenkins with mastering abilities and rituals specifically designed to counter mental and illusory attacks. Ideally, he should also acquire an ability that could temporarily boost his mental and intellectual potential. They assumed that having just reached the 7th level, he would have at least one empty ability bubble. The reality, however, was that his [Mechanist] ability had consumed the last bubble he had acquired from the Mysterious Realm of the Prosperous Forest.

Therefore, even if all Four King Souls were gathered and the conditions for forging them were met, he still couldn't master the [Uncrowned King] ability, much less acquire a new one related to the mind.

Since Miss Audrey was also attending the meeting, Jenkins found an opportunity to return the All-Seeing Card to her. He hadn't encountered any insurmountable problems at the hospital the night before, so the card had gone unused.

He also learned from Miss Audrey about the latest developments concerning the great fire in the south. Miss Brolignans, who should have returned to Nolan two days ago, was temporarily held up within Cheslan's borders, helping to deal with the small number of Children of the Mist and the masses of mechanized corpses emerging from the flames.

A letter from Miss Brolignans stated that she would definitely arrive in Nolan this week. The fire's spread had slowed, allowing her to disengage. She would also be bringing new clues regarding the Savior ability connected to the King Souls, which she hoped would be of help to Jenkins.

The two of them were speaking in the corridor when a priest hurried over, informing Jenkins that someone was asking for him at the church entrance.

"The lady says she's a friend of yours," the priest explained. "She asked me to tell you that she's here to deliver the silver flute Miss Hathaway Hersha ordered from the music shop."

Jenkins paused, glancing out the window at the brilliant red sunset veiled by a thin mist. He wondered what Silver Flute Miss could possibly want with him.

He bid a temporary farewell to Miss Audrey, left the church with his cat in tow, and after a quick scan of the surroundings, boarded the carriage parked across the street. Inside, he found only Silver Flute Miss; Magic Miss and Miss Windsor were nowhere to be seen.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

He asked the question with his own face, but his tone was that of Mr. Candle.

"Miss Windsor has disappeared."

Jenkins froze for a moment but remained composed.

"She vanished along with Miss Windsor. I had some personal business to attend to today and only returned half an hour ago. The servants all believed she was in the study with guests, as usual—even the two visiting earls thought so. But the study contained nothing but a paper figure with Miss Windsor's photograph attached, propped up in a chair with bamboo and wood. It looks like something Magic Miss would create, a trick that would only work on ordinary people."

Hearing this, Jenkins relaxed slightly.

"Was there any letter from Magic Miss or Miss Windsor near the paper figure?"

"No, I've already searched. I didn't find anything. And I haven't told anyone else about this. For now, Miss Windsor's servants and guards just think she's been spending a bit longer in her rooms today. They aren't suspicious yet, but once dinnertime arrives... It's a paper figure, after all. It can manage small movements, but it can't eat, walk any significant distance, or maintain the illusion for long."

Jenkins said, then instructed the driver to move on. Their destination didn't matter, as long as they didn't remain parked in front of the church.

"When was the last time you saw Miss Windsor?"

"Before I left at nine this morning. We were just discussing the weather. She was definitely real then."

"Do you know what Miss Windsor had planned for today?"

Both Silver Flute Miss and Magic Miss were Miss Windsor's personal protectors, so they were naturally familiar with her daily schedule. Today's itinerary was nothing out of the ordinary: meetings with several important guests at her residence in the morning, lunch with her father, Duke Windsor, and her mother, followed by an afternoon trip to a horse farm outside the city with a few of the local duchesses.