Chapter 1994: Chapter 1994

Hearing Jenkins ask about *The Great Sins: Beasts of Calamity*, the silver dragon maiden misunderstood his reason for asking and her tone suddenly grew tense. Chocolate, who had been dozing, opened his eyes and shot the humanoid dragon a reproachful look, worried that his own "masterful" disguise would be exposed because of her.

"Discoveries? No, I haven't made any. I was just wondering, since you're familiar with the book, do you happen to know who its author is?"

Realizing Jenkins wasn't asking about the cat, Anathasia breathed a sigh of relief:

"I've heard a few things."

"So, who is the author now?"

"What an odd question. 'Who is it now?'... Don't tell me you knew the... previous one?"

The silver dragon blinked, and an expression of disbelief surfaced in her golden eyes beneath fluttering lashes:

"May I ask why you're asking this question?"

"The author of that book is a friend of mine."

The silver-haired woman shot a sidelong glance at Princess Sophia, as if pleading for help. But the princess merely smiled serenely, her hands resting primly in her lap. She had no intention of joining the conversation.

"So you really do know? Oh, Anathasia, don't tell me you know but you're not allowed to tell me."

The silver-haired maiden retorted instinctively, then immediately regretted it. She lowered her voice conspiratorially:

"There's no harm in telling you, just... don't let anyone know you heard it from me."

"Don't worry," Jenkins said with a wry smile. "I'm the God of Lies. You can trust me."

"...Right. Well, who else could possibly document the knowledge of such terrifying creatures? It would have to be a god, of course."

"She really did ascend to godhood!"

Jenkins mused, realizing he wasn't surprised by the outcome in the slightest. Oviya had been a girl much like Alexia, but she had walked a different path. With her extraordinary talent, becoming a god was hardly unimaginable.

"Then which one is she?"

The silver dragon straightened up, hesitating for a moment before pointing a finger toward the ceiling:

"You can guess for yourself."

"You know who it is?"

"Could you give me a hint? This is quite the puzzle. I promise, this will be my last question on the subject."

"Of course, of course. She is... a Righteous God."

The moment the words left her mouth, she wore an expression that screamed, "I can't believe I just said that," which made Princess Sophia, sitting nearby, burst out laughing.

"You're not kidding?"

"Is this really something to joke about?"

This was an outcome Jenkins had truly never considered. He had always thought of the ancient diviner girl as a distant friend who might, in reality, be living just around the corner. That feeling had only intensified after the incident at the Nightfall Manor. But now, learning she was a Righteous God, Oviya was instantly transformed in his mind into something akin to a... superior.

His surprise hadn't yet robbed him of his reason, so he began to analyze the possibilities. The number of Righteous Gods wasn't large to begin with. Once he eliminated the impossible candidates, very few targets remained.

Among the Twelve Orthodox Gods, he could immediately rule out those with male aspects: the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Storm Lord, the Master Artisan, the Lord of War, and the Traceless Traveler. He could also exclude the gods of January and December due to their unique positions: the Spirit of Nature and Death and End. The Star Spirit Rakul had admitted that the current God of the Myriad Phenomena of the Starry Sky was once a Star Spirit, so that one was out, as the diviner girl was clearly human. As for the Unlit Moon, that god was explicitly connected to the third, unseen moon in the night sky. There were many stories about this deity, but none of them could be linked to the young diviner.

That left only three possibilities: Mother Earth, the Hermit of Fate, and the Legacy Sage. Of those, Mother Earth's origins were exceptionally ancient; the name of the earth god was already well-established back when the diviner girl was active.

Therefore, there were only two real candidates: the Hermit of Fate and the Legacy Sage. Both were particularly relevant. The former, in name, governed destiny; the latter, in name, governed Jenkins.

Both were plausible. Over the past year, both "Knowledge" and "Destiny" had become deeply entangled with his own life. He even had ample reason to suspect that the woman who had stopped him from reading the *Millstone of Fate* after Miss Audrey's scrying ritual went awry... was none other than the diviner girl, Oviya.

"Have you figured it out?"

the silver dragon asked, her expression a mixture of eagerness for his answer and apprehension that he might have actually guessed correctly.

Her question broke Jenkins's train of thought, a disruption he was grateful for.

"I don't plan on reaching a conclusion."

He relaxed his posture, leaning back against the soft cushions. He pulled the cat onto his lap, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"A wise choice," the silver dragon commented. "With matters like these, it's best not to have an answer... unless the answer comes looking for you."

The silver dragon's command of the common tongue was excellent, and she intentionally drew out her words. Jenkins nodded in agreement. Even if he knew the truth, it would only lead him to endlessly question every event of the past year, wondering if some grand manipulator was pulling the strings.

So he decided not to dwell on it. He knew Oviya would certainly appear again someday. Still, a sense of melancholy lingered in his heart—the sorrow that a friend, in the end, was no longer just a friend.

Although both Anathasia and Princess Sophia claimed they weren't particular about their living arrangements, Jenkins insisted on providing the two ladies with the finest accommodations available. He found them a residence not far from the Windsor estate, a convenient location should Jessica run into trouble and require the silver dragon's timely assistance.

The remaining questions he needed to ask the silver dragon concerned two matters: how to get dressed quickly after shapeshifting, and the forging of the King Souls. Orıginal content can be found at novel⟡fire.net

He seized the opportunity to ask the first question while Princess Sophia was following a servant to inspect the bedrooms, quietly posing it to avoid any misunderstanding that he was making improper advances toward the beautiful dragon.

"You've really learned how to shapeshift? That's quite remarkable. Even in my time, aside from the elven druids... well, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. You are an elf, after all. So, what can you turn into?"

the silver-haired maiden asked, her curiosity piqued.

"That's not important. So, what's the trick?"

Jenkins dodged the question. There was no shame in turning into a mouse, but admitting it under these circumstances felt deeply embarrassing.

"It's quite simple, really. I used alchemy to fashion my own dragon scales into clothing. When I assume human form, some of the scales don't vanish—they simply manifest on my body as clothes."

The advice was completely useless to him. Jenkins knew alchemy, but a mouse, unfortunately, did not have dragon scales. And turning mouse fur into clothing was a bit beyond his skill.