Chapter 298: Chapter 298

Chocolate struggled out from inside Jenkins's shirt and let out a fierce growl at the eyeball. Jenkins quickly calmed the cat, wondering if his little feline was particularly sensitive to such "unclean things."

Just as Chocolate burrowed back into his clothes, a shout echoed from the entrance of the alley. Looking up, Jenkins saw three young men in jackets, tattoos faintly visible on their cuffs, staring in terror at the corpse by the stairs and the eyeball cradled in his hands. Out on the main street, a crowd was beginning to form.

"I knew this would happen..."

Jenkins offered a faint smile to the three young men who had collapsed onto the ground in fright, then turned and bolted deeper into the alley.

*(Cue the frantic escape...)*

"...All of this conclusively proves that the person seen last night was the man in the black robe, in disguise."

Pops stood before the fireplace in the antique shop, delivering his verdict. Jenkins, stationed behind the counter, nodded in agreement.

Without the slightest burden on his conscience, he pinned the crime squarely on himself.

"From what the investigation has uncovered so far, the situation is far more complex," Pops explained. "The Church and the police have joined forces to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deceased, and they've discovered some very surprising information. Here's the report. Take a look."

Because the murder involved an Enchanter, the investigation proceeded with remarkable efficiency. In just one night, all the details the middle-aged gentleman had mentioned the previous evening had been compiled and verified. It helped that Stoller's own crimes hadn't been particularly well-hidden; the police had merely lacked the initiative and a bit of creative imagination.

"So, it's confirmed? The man in the black robe stole A-03-02-4491?"

This part genuinely surprised Jenkins. The eyesight of the three young men who had seen him shouldn't have been sharp enough to notice anything unusual about the eyeball in his hand.

"During the six months the deceased was in hiding, he was a frequent patron of certain establishments..."

Pops shot a glance at Jenkins before continuing, "...he visited prostitutes. Due to the intimate nature of these encounters, one of them noticed that his eyes were two different colors. When one of them caught the light, a faint pattern could be seen within it. Since we knew to look at the eyes and had such a unique feature to go on, tracking down the specific serial number wasn't difficult. And with the man in the black robe making an appearance, we became even more certain we were dealing with a Mysterious Object."

Jenkins nodded blankly. He had spent the previous night trying every method he could think of to destroy the Mysterious Object, even using the flame from his enchanted candle, but nothing had worked.

In the end, he had melted some silver, encased the eyeball within it, and buried the lump in his basement. The risk was enormous. The bone he had dealt with before had been sealed, preventing its spiritual contamination from spreading. This object, however, had no such protections.

But for the moment, it was the only option. Unless he was willing to toss A-03-02-4491 directly into a church of a Righteous God, hiding it anywhere else was even more dangerous. Yet, discarding the Mysterious Object would shatter the established pattern of the man in the black robe's actions. The Church would begin to question his true motives in all his past appearances. To date, that figure had used every means at his disposal to collect Mysterious Objects, so discarding one was out of the question.

Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of being discovered, Jenkins absolutely could not allow the Church to suspect his identity.

Pops continued speaking, oblivious to the chaotic thoughts churning in Jenkins's mind.

"We can confirm that before the man in the black robe located the Mysterious Object, members of the Eye Collectors' Association had already found out about it. Don't give me that look. Divination may not work on him, but it's still quite effective on others. Our findings show that the man in the black robe only became involved two hours before the murder was reported. Prior to that, the cult—the Eye Collectors' Association—was handling the matter."

"So I don't have to take the fall for this one."

Jenkins felt a flicker of relief, but he consciously suppressed the smile tugging at his lips before asking:

"Do they know who it was?" Read full story at N0veI.Fiɾe.net

"That shouldn't be too difficult to track down. Clues from last night indicate that the Eye Collector didn't bother to disguise their appearance while investigating the deceased. A detailed comparison and investigation are still underway, but we should have an answer before the end of the month."

Pops looked exhausted. Jenkins had no idea what time he had returned to the shop the night before. He had tried to persuade the old man to get some rest that morning, but his suggestion had been flatly refused.

"I'm still a young man! A sleepless night is nothing!"

That's what he had declared, and Jenkins hadn't dared to argue.

The interrogation of Boglor Stipey, the cultist nicknamed "The Still Eye" who had been captured the previous week, had also yielded a breakthrough. The Church had received good news: only three members of the Eye Collectors' Association had come to Nolan. Although their objective was to find an important eye, their organization had a far more critical operation underway in Haman County, in the Cheslan Kingdom. As a result, only three Enchanters were active in the Nolan area.

Of course, there were likely many ordinary believers assisting the trio, but as long as the Enchanters were dealt with, the threat posed by their followers would be drastically reduced.

More importantly, the organization's presence in Nolan City was unrelated to any other conspiracies. Based on this and other intelligence gathered through clandestine channels, the Church of Knowledge and Books concluded that, within the Nolan diocese, the Eye Collectors' Association had no ties to any other illegal groups and was not currently involved in any other plots.

The moment Jenkins heard the news, he wanted to shout his praises for such a refreshingly straightforward organization.

Compared to the tangled web of the liars who worshiped the Prince of Lies, the Gear Artisans' Association spreading their gear germs, the elusive Witch's House, and the Life Sharing Alliance with their inscrutable agenda, a group with such a direct purpose and simple structure was practically a model for all other cults.

"I must be losing my mind to actually be praising them," Jenkins muttered.

He gave his head a firm shake, then reached out and playfully grabbed Chocolate's swaying tail, forcing his thoughts back to the present.

Of course, a cat whose tail had been grabbed was not about to let the offense slide. It spun around and pounced. Jenkins dropped his pen to catch the fluffy attacker, nearly knocking over the inkwell in the process.

Watching the man and his cat fool around at the counter, Pops allowed a small smile to grace his lips. It was rare, after all, to see Jenkins do anything besides work.