Chapter 302: Chapter 302

With his right hand in his pocket, he canted his body and glanced behind him before producing a thin wire. He casually slipped it from the wide side pocket of his overcoat, inserted the wire into a crevice between the bricks, and tentatively pried it to the side. When the brick embedded in the wall showed signs of loosening, he pulled the wire free and used his hand to yank the red brick out.

The wall was three bricks thick. Peeking into the cavity, he could just make out a slip of paper.

Following the note's instructions, Jenkins left the alley. Just as the last rays of sunlight faded, he passed through the dim mist and found Magic Miss on the stony beach beneath St. Hughes Bridge, which spanned the Westminster River.

The spot wasn't far from the Joël Bridge, where the cultists had been captured. Nolan City had many bridges crossing the Westminster River, and these were two of its largest.

Magic Miss was wrapped in the same black robe she wore to the gatherings, leaning against a stone pillar of the bridge pier. She looked as if she had been waiting for some time.

The sun had set, and only a faint afterglow managed to pierce the thin mist and touch the city.

Jenkins softly murmured "Rakour," and two silver spheres of light flew out from his chest.

There were many abilities, rituals, and items that could summon spheres for illumination, so he wasn't worried about revealing his identity.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"This... I can feel the power of the starry sky."

She hesitated, but knowing it was impolite to pry into others' secrets, she didn't press the matter.

"The ritual you asked me to restore... its complexity was far beyond what I imagined."

She said it half-complaining, and Jenkins guessed it was her way of hinting at a higher price. He decided to play dumb.

"If it weren't complex, I wouldn't have spent such a large sum of gold pounds to hire you."

The little white cat on his shoulder let out a soft meow, as if to second its master's sentiment.

"You're something else..."

A plain manila envelope slid from the wide sleeve of her robe, and a fair, slender hand deftly caught it. The flap was tied shut with a string.

"This is the result of my work," she declared, "but I must warn you, it's impossible for it to be one hundred percent identical to the original. My Enchanter level is still too low; some things are simply beyond me."

"And combined with B-07-4-7711, 'A Gathering in the Forest,' it can achieve the desired effect?"

Jenkins forced his voice to be cold and detached, trying to project the image of a mysterious, powerful, and emotionless expert. The tiny white kitten on his shoulder, however, was enough to shatter that persona entirely.

"According to your description, the original ritual could summon at least twenty people. That's no longer possible. Without consuming your own spirit, you can project a maximum of five people from a distance. If you exceed that limit, the user will have to supply their own spirit, but I don't know the exact amount. You'll have to test that yourself."

"...That's unfortunate. I hope you have no more bad news."

Despite his words, Jenkins gave a slight nod. This was completely acceptable. All he wanted was to communicate with Miss Miller, who had left Nolan, so the difference between a five-person limit and a ten-person one was negligible. But he couldn't let that show; he needed it as an excuse not to add any more gold pounds to her fee.

Come to think of it, where was Miss Miller going? She had mentioned it, hadn't she? That's right, she was headed to Ruen!

Magic Miss, of course, had no idea what Jenkins was thinking. She continued to explain, "That's all the bad news. Since I've taken your gold pounds, I won't deceive you. I also managed to compensate for the original ritual's shortcomings. In fact, it seems to have been a replica based on an Advent ritual. The designer's idea was quite good, but their craftsmanship was lacking. With my restored version, the projected person will have all five senses, not just be a shadow as you described. Furthermore, the projection is now two-way. The beacon holders can only project themselves to the location of the B-07-4-7711 holder, but the latter can project to any beacon holder's location."

That was certainly an improvement. When the two of them discussed mathematical problems this way, their physical state wouldn't affect their mood.

"That's good," he commented simply, offering no further praise.

Positioning the two silver spheres of light to flank them, Jenkins took the envelope from Magic Miss, and she, in turn, accepted the thick stack of banknotes from his hand.

Though it was damp and cold under the bridge, Jenkins used the light from the spheres to carefully read over Magic Miss's restored work. Meanwhile, she waved her hand, causing the gold pounds to float into the air and drift past her eyes, one by one.

The sight of banknotes filling the air was spectacular, though it stung to see that they were no longer his.

Fortunately, the restored projection ritual didn't require any particularly rare materials. The most expensive part was creating the directional indicators for the projection—items similar to the teapot Jenkins had used before. The rıghtful source is noᴠelfire.net

The material was called Spiritual Lodestone, a rare, extraordinary substance found alongside iron ore. The lodestone came in two parts. When an Enchanter infused both parts with their spirit simultaneously, the two stones would have a tendency to attract each other for at least a year.

Although their pull was less than a tenth of an ordinary magnet's, in the realm of mysticism, this phenomenon of mutual spiritual attraction could be leveraged for very useful abilities and rituals.

"Do you know where I can buy some Spiritual Lodestone?"

He asked directly. Since she had restored the ritual, she must have at least used some of the materials for testing.

"Of course I do. In fact, I have enough lodestone on hand to make at least five directional markers."

As Jenkins watched with a reluctant gaze, she gathered up the thick stack of banknotes. The eyes beneath her hood turned to him once more. "Mr. Candle, you are a wealthy man. It's rare to see someone who can produce eight thousand pounds in cash on the spot. Even the great merchants of Nolan City would find it difficult to come up with such a sum. I imagine you're not short on funds."

"No, I'm very short on funds."

Jenkins replied bluntly, spreading his hands. "Believe it or not, you've just taken all my savings. I'm now on the verge of bankruptcy."