Chapter 319: Chapter 319

"That man we just saw was a cultist from the Eye Collectors' Society; his abilities and appearance match our records. His real name is unknown, but he's commonly called the Thousand-Eyed Priest. He's a madman, willing to do anything for power. They say he has a long list of enemies, even within his own society."

The carriage ran over something, jolting violently. The man sitting beside Captain Bincy instinctively slammed his bare palm onto the brazier, stopping the hot coals from spilling out.

"Sir, is it really possible to embed so many magic eyes in one's body?"

Jenkins thought that only in the most depraved of stories would you find a villain who modified their body in such a grotesque way.

"That's a question I can't answer. A technique like that is hard to fathom. I suspect there must be something unique about the Thousand-Eyed Priest, or the Eye Collectors' Society would have more people like him. Besides, using a magic eye consumes the wielder's spirit. For someone with just one, the drain is manageable. But the number he possessed... the cost would be horrifying.

According to the Church's records on him, the Thousand-Eyed Priest's eyes normally lie dormant, hidden just beneath his skin. They only 'squeeze' through to the surface when he activates them."

Everyone in the carriage visibly flinched. The mental image alone was nauseating.

"The one piece of information we can confirm is that all of his eyes are capable of sight."

"They can all 'see'?"

It was dinnertime by the time they returned to the church. Jenkins found Chocolate watching the snow fall by the plant nursery in the backyard before joining the church clergy for his meal.

He asked the bishop if he could spend the night, a request that was readily granted.

At midnight, Jenkins didn't light the gas lamp in his room. Instead, he stood by the window with Chocolate in his arms, watching the moon and the snow-covered scenery outside.

The light of the twin moons was exceptionally bright, casting long shadows of Jenkins and Chocolate behind them. Snowflakes were still drifting down, but the flurries had lightened considerably.

He reached out with his connection to fate, but felt nothing in return.

A sudden feeling of loneliness washed over him, and Jenkins hugged Chocolate tighter. He watched the snow for a while longer, then lowered his gaze, looking at the borrowed pocket watch in the moonlight.

As the three hands converged at the top of the dial, the world seemed to warp for an instant.

He felt his five senses fail him, unable to even discern the state of his own body. The scene around him blurred like an oil painting doused with water. A powerful wave of nausea was the only thing he could feel.

His surroundings eventually faded to black, leaving only a tiny point of light far above.

Fighting through the mental distress, Jenkins looked up.

A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and his eyes slowly closed. When he opened them again, the faint crackling of a fire came from the fireplace in front of him.

Jenkins sat up and looked around.

It was still nighttime outside. Chocolate was curled up on a soft cushion on the nearby sofa. Seeing Jenkins awake, the cat opened its slitted eyes, theatrically shook off the small blanket Jenkins had placed over it, and meowed a few times.

Even without checking a calendar, Jenkins knew it had to be the 31st. Snow was falling outside, but the yard wasn't completely covered yet. It all pointed to one conclusion: this was his third time living through the 31st.

"What on earth is happening?"

Getting to his feet, he found the water from the Fountain of Wisdom, exactly where it had been, even though it should have been consumed.

"Does the Sage know about this?"

He wondered in confusion. This power to reverse time was terrifying, but what was causing it?

"The repeating 31st, the eternal 31st... Wait a minute. I feel like I've heard something before."

Back in his old world, time loops were a common trope in stories. But in this era, it was a completely fresh concept...

"Mr. Potter's Eternal 31st!"

He finally placed it. The opera he'd listened to at the theater—it had the exact same plot.

"Could it just be a coincidence?"

He asked himself. It was just an opera, after all. But the shared date—the 31st—was too specific to ignore.

He called out, and the cat immediately perked up and got to its feet.

The clock in the house showed that it was one o'clock in the morning on the 31st. Jenkins felt no trace of sleepiness. He beckoned to his cat, grabbed the metal block that sealed the godhead, and stepped out into the moonlit snow.

The Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe hadn't planned to stay in Nolan for long, but with the Pirate King Femishue spotted in the Docklands, sea travel was no longer safe, forcing them to extend their stay.

According to their schedule, the troupe was supposed to leave Nolan tomorrow—the first of the new month—for Eldron to begin a new round of performances. They were staying at a hotel in the city.

To prevent any trouble from crazed admirers, the location of their hotel was kept secret. However, while investigating the extraordinary harmonica related to the troupe last month, Jenkins had come across their address in the case files.

The cat turned pure white, and Jenkins summoned the black robe from his spirit. A high-class hotel naturally had high-class security, but they were still just ordinary people.

After some effort, Jenkins finally made it inside the hotel. Playing the part of a villain, he threatened the girl at the front desk with a knife to get the guest register. After knocking her out as gently as he could, he made his way to the third floor.

"Room 301. The troupe owner's room."

He stood behind a suit of armor at the corner of the hallway. A gas lamp cast a faint glow to his left, and his body was perfectly concealed by the shadow of a massive oil painting.

His soul slipped from his body and passed through the wall. The room was pitch black. A quick scan that took less than ten seconds revealed it was empty.

His body, eyes closed, gave a slight twitch. Chocolate, who had been swishing its tail across Jenkins's face, instantly pulled it back and struck a pose of dutiful watchfulness.

The locks in a high-class hotel were of a special design, and it took Jenkins a long time to pick it. But since it was the middle of the night, all he had to do was be careful not to make too much noise. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noveⅼfire.net

The whole situation was rather undignified, particularly his posture—hunched over, picking the lock with a bit of wire. But as his intentions weren't theft or any other wicked deed, he felt no damage would come to his honor.