Chapter 334: Chapter 334

Jenkins suspected the animals were drawn by the eyeball's strange properties; after all, there was no rule saying the user of a magic eye had to be human. But they dared not enter the house, likely out of an instinctual fear of the lingering aura of its occupants.

Both Jenkins and the supernatural creature, Chocolate, would have been an intimidating presence.

It was not yet six in the morning. The winter sun was a late riser, and not even a hint of its light touched the distant horizon. The city still slumbered.

The day's schedule had been meticulously planned. Jenkins stepped out of his house, braving the snow with his cat in his arms. To his surprise, there were no empty carriages waiting at the corner of St. George Avenue. He was forced to trudge through the snow for two more blocks before he happened upon a carriage that had just dropped off a passenger.

This caused a slight delay, which went against his plan to "get in a carriage immediately upon leaving." But on the whole, the plan had only encountered a minor obstacle at the outset.

"Yes, the plan is going smoothly."

He anxiously reassured himself. He still possessed a single drop of divinity, which could compensate for one unexpected event today. But if a second surprise occurred, he would be out of options.

He soon alighted from the carriage in front of Miss Miller's apartment building. After clearing the snow caked on his boots at the doorstep, he knocked on the main door.

"Hello, I'm Jenkins Williams. I'm here to see Miss Alexia Miller."

The suspicious landlady sized Jenkins up through the small window in the door.

Jenkins recognized her, but she didn't know him. Perhaps charmed once again by his youth and handsome features, she went to wake the sleeping Miss Miller.

As soon as Miss Miller appeared, Jenkins launched into his explanation. "I need your help with something extremely urgent. In fact, this is the third time I've seen you on the 31st. The situation is this..."

He omitted some of the details that had been revealed during the previous loops of the 31st, gave her a general overview of the situation, and then added with emphasis:

"It's all true. The last time we spoke, you told me these words would prove I'm telling the truth: Jenny, elderwood, forty-two degrees tilted to the right."

Miss Miller had been holding a teacup, looking as if she'd just woken from a deep sleep. But after listening to Jenkins's torrent of words, especially the last sentence, she stared at his face, stunned for a few seconds. Then, her eyes instantly sharpened.

"I understand. I'll go get the materials now, and then I'll notify Audrey. I'll be waiting for you here at ten o'clock. If we're quick, I'd like to know more of the details. Jenkins, how do you always manage to run into such peculiar situations? I'm truly curious what it feels like—that moment time rewinds." This update ıs available on novel[f]ire.net

"I've heard you say that before. To be honest, aside from a bit of dizziness, there's no special feeling."

Jenkins had seen that expression on her face before.

Jenkins left the apartment building with Miss Miller, and they parted ways in two separate carriages heading in different directions. Jenkins had borrowed her pocket watch; the time was a quarter to seven.

"Everything's going smoothly so far."

Since this version of history would be the one everyone remembered, Jenkins had to go to Papa Oliver's and ask for the day off. He would explain that he had to spend the day studying astronomy with Miss Audrey, an excuse that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Because what lay ahead was extremely dangerous, he wanted to leave his cat in Papa Oliver's care. But Chocolate clung to his coat and refused to let go. Seeing that he was running out of time, he had no choice but to take the cat with him to the clock shop.

This was the first thing on his agenda for the day.

He kept muttering the word as he sat in the carriage, making the driver wonder if his passenger was a madman. But since he was concealed by his black robe, there was no fear of tarnishing the famous author's reputation.

He arrived at the shop just in time. Because not a second was off, and his actions had yet to cause any major deviation in the timeline, the middle-aged shopkeeper, Lux Haripia, was indeed still busy in the backyard.

He held Chocolate tightly wrapped in his coat to prevent the cat from getting hurt, then carefully tossed a few metal plates into inconspicuous corners of the shop.

He quickly scanned the storefront; everything was just as he had anticipated.

"Time to start the plan."

He strode toward the unique grandfather clock in the corner. Just as he was within arm's reach, about to touch it, the shopkeeper pushed open the back door and walked in empty-handed.

"Just as I expected."

His timing was different from the previous loops, clearly because Jenkins's actions had alerted him.

"Lux Haripia, drop the act!"

Jenkins shouted without turning around, feigning an air of confidence. "I know who you are, and I know what you're planning to do. You can die in peace now. I'll even buy you a respectable tombstone."

That sentence was his revenge for the last time.

He reached for the grandfather clock. A distinct 'click' sounded in his ear. Within a single, slow second, the hands of the Bestowal clock abruptly shifted by a minuscule angle, and the shopkeeper's hand came to rest on Jenkins's shoulder.

The two of them remained frozen in that pose. The former felt victory was in his grasp due to his multiple time loops, while the latter felt the same because of his ability to manipulate time.

In other words, both men believed time was on their side.

A flicker of surprise crossed Haripia's face for a few seconds before he regained his composure.

"Since you know who I am, what makes you think you can succeed? You don't actually believe you can destroy a Bestowal, do you?"

Jenkins's hand hovered a couple of inches above the clock. "In fact, I'm just a pathetic level-two Enchanter. Even without this clock, I'd be no match for you."

"So you just hoped to damage my clock, and that your companions would avenge you?"

A grin spread across Jenkins's lips, a sight Haripia, standing behind him, couldn't see.

"I'm making my move."

He gave a warning, then slammed his right hand down toward the clock. Another sharp 'click' echoed. The shopkeeper, having accelerated his own time, glared grimly at the back of the blond young man before him.

He cursed inwardly. Perhaps worried that the man was under some kind of post-mortem explosion curse, he chose not to attack directly. Instead, he grabbed Jenkins, attempting to interfere with both their timelines simultaneously to pull the young man away from the clock.

Of course, since he was the clock's master, only Haripia could maintain a synchronized mind while his body was being affected by this interference.