Chapter 1996: Chapter 1996

Jenkins tried to be as tactful as possible, but Miss Audrey still looked offended. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novｅlfire.net

"Why are you asking about this?"

"Well... just curious."

"The church's internal records have detailed accounts. Those books are public, so you should be able to find them."

But Jenkins didn't trust the contents of public religious texts. If the stories couldn't be fully trusted, then they couldn't be trusted at all.

"Let me put it another way, then. Do you know a woman named 'Oviya'?"

"I know many. Which one are you talking about?"

Jenkins was at a loss for words again. It wasn't exactly an uncommon name.

"The most special one."

"Ah, what? Oh, no. In that case, the second most special one."

"That would probably be Oviya, the diviner who trained in the same class as me. Of course, you know that's just a professional name for diviners, not her real one."

"Yes, yes, of course. So, where is this lady now?"

"Jenkins, if you're hoping for a pretty girl, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. She's right over there."

With that, Miss Audrey gestured towards a middle-aged woman in a nun's habit not far off. She was standing with other members of the Dark and Hidden Church, quietly discussing the anomaly that had just occurred during the divination ritual. This, however, was definitely not the person Jenkins was looking for.

"Why does she look... so old? Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that, but wasn't she..."

"...trained at the same time as you?"

"Yes, but her talents were rather limited, so..."

Miss Audrey shrugged, and an expression of understanding dawned on Jenkins's face.

"So just how old are you, really?"

And with that, he was shooed away.

That evening, Jenkins had dinner with his family, the silver dragon, and Princess Sophia. To avoid alarming his relatives, he didn't reveal that Anathasia was a silver dragon, merely hinting that she was a demigod-level powerhouse who had come to Nolan specifically to help him.

In her human form, Anathasia, like Princess Sophia, was a rare beauty. Jenkins was quite direct in explaining their relationship at the dinner table, a revelation that earned the blessings of Hathaway and Briny. Briny remarked wistfully that if Jenkins had never entered the picture, she and Hathaway might have ended up in a similar situation.

Jenkins couldn't agree more. But in a world without him, while Briny wouldn't have had to endure his philandering, she would have had to put up with Hathaway's.

It seemed, he mused, that Briny was destined to endure an unfaithful partner no matter what.

The two families got along splendidly. After dinner, they went to the Royal Opera House to see a performance by the renowned Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe. Aside from Jenkins dozing off during the show, nearly toppling from the sofa and crushing Chocolate, it was a truly wonderful evening.

The silver dragon and the princess also learned more from Jenkins about the current epoch. The dragon asked curiously:

"Since you're convinced that machine will hasten the apocalypse, triggering events that will ripple across the entire material world, what preparations have you made? Have the churches made any?"

"None. Or rather, we all saw this coming, but no one can stop it. After all, the calamity is inevitable. Our current preparations aren't meant to stop the calamity itself, but to stop the Difference Engine. That's the real focus."

The silver dragon nodded, then asked with a hint of confusion:

"So, your current thinking is to defeat the Beast of Calamity—the Difference Engine—and then use mortal means to try and hold back the apocalypse?"

"Exactly. Without the Difference Engine, the calamity will still arrive, but the end of the world won't immediately follow. Once it's defeated, we'll have time to manage this thick fog through mortal means. It will be difficult, but at least our civilization won't be wiped out."

"That sounds reasonable enough. But when Sophia and I were active outside of Nolan, we noticed the changes happening to the world. We're only a hair's breadth away from a world-scale disaster. Any move the Difference Engine makes could push this world into an even more altered state. If you haven't found it by then, are you just going to keep waiting? Waiting for it to come to you?"

"It will definitely come for me."

"Because it wants to become a Beast of Calamity by forcing the apocalypse, not by letting the world spontaneously create a 'Beast of Steam' or something similar from the fog to fill that role. So this is a showdown, a fated confrontation. I can afford to wait, but it can't, because the calamity has already begun.

"If it wins, it will achieve its apotheosis, becoming an immortal Beast of Calamity, ushering in the end of days and shrouding the world in fog for millennia. If I win, I will become the true Savior, complete my final ascension, and guide the world into the Nineteenth Epoch, allowing our civilization to continue on beneath the fog and steam."

"It seems that at the end of every epoch, it always comes down to a Savior facing some kind of challenge. How very interesting."

Princess Sophia murmured. She rarely interjected when Jenkins and Anathasia were discussing serious matters.

"Sophia, destiny is very real in our world, and the fate of an entire epoch must be resolved at its conclusion. This manifests as the one who carries destiny confronting the force that embodies sin. It's quite logical. You can think of it as a natural phenomenon... It does sound fascinating."

The silver dragon explained, wrapping an arm around the blushing Princess Sophia. She leaned back against the sofa in their private box, smiling leisurely at Jenkins.

"So, Redemptor," she said, "are you confident?"

Jenkins set down his teacup.

The gathering of the two families lasted until nearly midnight. After everyone had returned to their respective homes, Jenkins slipped out of his house. He made his way to the residence where King Salsi II was staying and leaped through the window into Alexia's room.

He landed on a soft carpet, then turned to shut the window and draw the curtains. In the dim light, he saw the petite woman in her nightgown, combing her hair at a vanity. She had just finished bathing.

Alexia opened her mouth to speak, but Jenkins put a finger to his lips, hushing her. He tossed his cat onto the bed, then tiptoed over to the wardrobe and flung it open.

"Are you here to help me pick out an outfit?"

Alexia rested her chin in her hands and watched Jenkins in the mirror, her long brown hair draped over her back.

"I don't keep any maid uniforms like Julia's here, you know."

"No," he said. "I thought Dolores might be hiding in here."

He gently closed the wardrobe door.

"Is this... some new fetish of yours? If you'd like, I can call for Dolores..."

"No, of course not. It's because... never mind, it's not important."

All in all, it was a truly wonderful night.