Chapter 1942: Chapter 1942

The old elf had heard Jenkins speak of Sigrid Capet, but he had never met her. Though Sigrid and Jenkins were both half-elves who had awakened the priestly bloodline of the World Tree, the old elf had absolutely no desire to make her acquaintance.

Jenkins had once asked him why, and the old elf's response had been quite clear:

No one was there to guide you further down the path of nature and life, so it fell to me to be your temporary mentor. But she is a member of the Church of All Things and Nature. I am certain that church has teachers far more suitable than I. Besides, I'm old. I lack the stamina of you young folk. Guiding you alone is more than enough to give me a headache.

In any case, the old elf had only ever seen Sigrid's photograph in a news report about her first meeting with Queen Isabella. The black-and-white photos of the era weren't exactly high-definition, so he failed to immediately connect the young woman before him with the other descendant of the priests.

"Jenkins sent me," she began. "Hello, I'm Sigrid Capet. Jenkins has run into a bit of trouble, and he said..."

"Capet..." the old elf murmured, realization dawning. "Ah, yes, of course. Please, come in."

He promptly opened the door to let her in. He was about to head to the kitchen to prepare some tea, but Sigrid stopped him.

"Time is short," she said, "so I'll get right to the point."

As she spoke, she studied the old elf. Jenkins had told her when he gave her the task that she would be meeting a pure-blooded elf—one who refused to reveal his identity to the Orthodox Church because he had no desire to get entangled in troublesome affairs.

If she had to describe her first impression, the old man before her—who had clearly disguised his features—seemed no different from an ordinary human elder. But he appeared far more vigorous, as if he still had a great many years left to live.

Of course, she skillfully concealed these thoughts and stated the purpose of her visit, just as Jenkins had instructed.

"Jenkins needs to know if you have another Elf's Arrow of Ruin."

Earlier this year, during the Fallen Angel incident, Jenkins had used an Elf's Arrow of Ruin. He had sacrificed the Hooded Man's father—a cursed descendant of the Carmel family—and combined the arrow with the residual power from an Evil God's Child's umbilical cord. With a single shot that split to strike four targets, he had single-handedly changed the tide of the battle against the fallen angels.

The conditions for using such an arrow were incredibly strict. It had barely been usable in the last epoch during the fight against the Human Jigsaw Puzzle. Now, however, in this epoch, more than one person met the requirements.

The problem was that the Church no longer possessed such an arrow.

"The Arrow of Ruin?" he repeated. "Oh, no, no. The one from last time was the very last one."

To everyone except Jenkins and the old elf, that arrow from the Fallen Angel incident had surely been fired by one of the Believers of Lies, or perhaps one of the angels themselves. Sigrid hadn't known the truth; Jenkins hadn't told her before she left. But now, hearing the words "last time," it took her only a moment to understand exactly which "last time" he meant.

"So it was Jenkins who..."

She blinked. A tsunami of emotion crashed through her, but she decided to pretend she knew nothing.

"Why say it was the 'last one'?" she asked. "That phrasing implies there was once more than one. But I recall only a single arrow being used during that incident. Can you tell me what happened to the others?"

A few months ago, everyone saw it," Sigrid continued. "Though it wounded four angels, it was actually just one arrow that split.

The old elf was struck speechless, stammering, unable to find the right words.

"Does Jenkins know I have another arrow?"

he asked after a long moment.

"No, he just sent me to try my luck. If you didn't have one, he was going to have me seek help from the altar beneath the ancient World Tree. He said that place is normally used for crafting staffs for elven descendants, but he thought an arrow might be possible as well."

"Alright," the elf conceded. "There's no need for all that trouble."

The elf shook his head, a dejected look on his face.

"I've heard from Jenkins that getting to that altar is an incredibly complicated process, so we can forget that. Yes, I do have another arrow. I originally bought two, and because of it, I missed out on an expedition to some ruins organized by Carmel. A fortunate turn of events that saved my life... You may not know this, but these arrows are forbidden items, even among elves. Other than being offered as a sacrifice to the Great Ones, any elf who uses one without permission is committing an act equivalent to a human tossing a steam bomb into City Hall. I didn't want Jenkins to break that taboo twice, so I lied and told him I only had the one."

With that, he turned and walked into his bedroom. He opened the wardrobe, stepped inside, and entered his "greenhouse." A moment later, he emerged carrying an exquisite wooden box.

"If Jenkins specifically asked for this arrow, he must be in terrible trouble. Take it. You'll need to find a bow for it, as no ordinary bow can fire this arrow. Mine was destroyed the last time, but I imagine the Orthodox Church can solve that problem. Oh, and one more thing—the Arrow of Ruin must not come into contact with metal. It has to be a wooden bow."

"Understood. I'll take the arrow back right away. Thank you for your help. I'm sure Jenkins will come to thank you personally later."

"There's no need for such formality. And if you have the time, you are welcome here as well. As a descendant of elven priests, I'm sure there is knowledge I could share with you."

After Sigrid had inspected the arrow in the box, she rose to leave. The elf stood as well, ready to see her out. But then, to his surprise, she asked one more question.

"I'm sorry, but is this truly the last arrow?"

The elf paused to look at her, his eyes blinking in a way that wasn't quite natural.

"Yes," he said. "The very last one."

With Jenkins absent, there was no way to tell if he was speaking the truth or telling a lie. But that didn't matter. At least, not today.

Back at City Hall, Jessica felt she was at her limit. She had read Jenkins's speech, of course, but unlike Dolores, she hadn't spent time studying at his side, nor had she personally overseen the kingdom's financial reforms.

Once she deviated from the parts Jenkins had written, her own understanding of the Tulip Incident—an event she herself had orchestrated—was actually quite shallow.

Fortunately, the clock struck half past ten, signaling the next break. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she stepped down from the stage, intending to find Briny and ask where on earth Jenkins had gone. But as she reached the front row, she saw Queen Isabella clutching her chest as she was helped out through a side door.

After a moment's hesitation, Jessica followed them. She disappeared through the doorway, and for the remainder of the break, she was nowhere to be seen.

Queen Isabella, however, returned just before the break concluded. The reporters present had noticed her earlier indisposition, but their inquiries were met with a dismissive, "It's a small matter, nothing to worry about."

Only Jenkins and his cat knew the entirety of his speech. Beyond them, Jessica and Dolores each knew only a portion.

Alexia should have known as well, but she had been preoccupied with achieving a personal breakthrough, so Jenkins had not disturbed her.

Now, with both Jenkins and Jessica missing, Dolores prepared to take the stage herself. But Alexia placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"Jenkins has been preparing for this for a very long time. Do you really think he wouldn't have anticipated something ? What's more, the fact that he left without making arrangements for the rest of the speech proves he has his own plan."

As the minutes ticked by with no one taking the stage, Mayor Saks Luto, the host at City Hall, had no choice but to announce an additional thirty-minute extension to the break, promising the audience that Jenkins would return shortly.

With both Jenkins and Jessica absent, it wouldn't have been appropriate for him, in such a public setting, to approach members of the Legacy Sage Church for information. Seeing that the princess of the northern kingdom remained seated, his only option was to approach Queen Isabella.

"Your Majesty," he began hesitantly, "do you... happen to know where the Viscount has gone?"

the portly mayor asked, clearly in a difficult position.

"He must have important matters to attend to," the Queen replied coolly. "We can wait a while longer; I'm sure he will return soon. However, if he is not back by noon, then we will have no choice but to regrettably conclude for the day."

He couldn't argue with Queen Isabella and could only give a reluctant nod. Saks Luto had already thrown his lot in with Jenkins, but under the circumstances, it was becoming incredibly difficult to let the event continue...

Just then, the main doors of the auditorium swung open. Jessica walked in, accompanied by Fini and her friends. The source of this content ɪs N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

Queen Isabella shot upright in her seat, her pupils contracting in shock. She stared at Jessica, unable to believe she was actually here.

It was one thing if the Jessica she had trapped in the mansion this morning had managed to escape after her own departure. After all, once the Queen was gone, there would have been no one left in the house capable of stopping Jenkins.

But just moments ago, she had witnessed Jessica swear on her love for Jenkins that she would not set foot in the auditorium again until two in the afternoon. The leverage she held over Duke Windsor, obtained years ago, was her most potent weapon against the Windsor family.

And yet, here Jessica was, meaning she had broken her sacred oath a mere ten minutes after making it. In Queen Isabella's eyes, that was utterly impossible.

In truth, however, the person who had just walked in was not Jessica at all. The real Jessica was waiting in a room upstairs; she would never trifle with her marriage to Jenkins, something she had fought so hard to win.

The woman who entered was Miss Windsor—the demigod Queen Windsor from the possibility world. J-Miss had already played her part, and besides, her body was still back at the mansion. It was, of course, Queen Windsor's turn to take the stage.

In fact, she was the only one who could. When operating the body Jenkins had created for them independently of the real Jessica, their activity was limited to just half an hour. As a Benefactor who possessed her own spirit, Miss Windsor could last about ten minutes longer than J-Miss, making her the only choice.