Chapter 354: Chapter 354

"Of course I know about the Ice-Sealed Tower!"

Jenkins exclaimed frantically. That seventh chapter was a good three hundred pages thick, and Papa Oliver's copy was a complete, unabridged antique. If he really had to copy it twice, all his free time for the entire month would be gone.

"Wait a minute... It's not like I have anything else to do."

At that thought, copying the book didn't seem like such a dreadful task after all.

"The epicenter of the phenomenon was an apartment building," Papa Oliver explained. "Unfortunately, the landlady has no memory whatsoever of the tenants in one particular room—her mind was twisted by a rather sophisticated spell. We found two bodies in that room, both wanted members of the Witch's House. It seems the phenomenon was triggered by whoever they had a conflict with."

Having said his piece, Papa Oliver fell silent and glanced toward the door. Jenkins craned his neck to see as well.

Through the display window, they could see a man in a high-collared brown overcoat hesitate, his hand hovering near the doorknob, before he seemed to give up and walk away.

The shopkeeper and his apprentice sighed in unison. While the antique business wasn't typically affected by the weather, the miserable day had certainly kept customers away.

Jenkins reached out and patted the cat, which was curled up in a ball beside him. It stood up with an annoyed shake, took a few steps, and then plopped down in front of Jenkins again, demanding to be petted.

"In any case, we don't need to worry about the destroyed Bestowal. The Church of the Master Artisan will be sending people to Nolan to handle it. As for the other incident, it's now being called the 1031 Event. The five local churches are forming a joint task force to investigate."

"Why are they taking it so seriously?"

Perhaps realizing how strange the question sounded, Jenkins quickly added, "I mean, it didn't have any devastating consequences, and no innocent people died. Why are the churches being so cautious about it?"

Papa Oliver drew out the word, rising from his spot by the fire. He walked over to the counter and, with his back to the door and window, pointed upward.

"A divine oracle. From a Righteous God."

Jenkins drew in a sharp, feigned gasp.

"I haven't seen the specific details, but the gist of it is to find the person who caused the phenomenon."

Jenkins said nothing. He had already decided to keep a very low profile for the last two months of the year.

"The investigation is still vague at this point," Papa Oliver continued. "They can only start with the two bodies. The Witch's House has other members in Nolan, so the churches are planning a major operation. They need to capture someone, at the very least, to find out what those two were up to that day."

"Please don't get caught, please don't get caught!"

It was all he could do to pray desperately in his heart.

The third matter Papa Oliver mentioned was, of course, the incident at the Ponton Winery.

Jenkins was quite proud of this one. Not only had he defeated a powerful and bizarre monster at minimal cost, but he had also made an outstanding, unpaid contribution to reforesting the Nolan suburbs.

There wasn't much to say about it. The churches were completely baffled as to how a hundred-meter-tall tree and a vibrant forest had suddenly sprung into existence.

But then again, this world was full of strange occurrences. If a giant octopus could appear in the city, then a forest suddenly materializing in the snowy suburbs wasn't entirely beyond comprehension.

The winery's structure had been severely damaged as the trees grew, which exposed some things that had been hidden underground.

The closest was the Church of the Universal Star and Equilibrium. When they arrived, they discovered numerous bodies that had been unearthed, some showing clear signs of artificial tampering.

In short, the local Orthodox Churches have already linked the winery to a subordinate organization of the 'Lord of Immortality.' Their evacuation was interrupted by Jenkins's infiltration, so they left behind a lot of loose ends. The churches are now following those leads.

"Those were the major events from yesterday, but there were plenty of smaller ones too. For instance, a black-robed individual got into a massive fight with the Thousand-Eyed Hierophant of the 'Magic Eye Collectors' Society' over a counterfeit shop. The Church has already recovered the latter's body. So many magic eyes... truly..."

Papa Oliver shook his head, and it was hard to tell if he was lamenting the eyes Jenkins had destroyed or simply marveling at their sheer number.

Jenkins had been on the scene for all four of those incidents. Beyond that, he was genuinely in the dark.

"The director of the Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe—you probably saw a picture of the portly fellow when I sent you to investigate the opera house. He was found dead late yesterday evening in an alley near City Hall, his body buried in the trash and discovered by two children scavenging. It would have been just an ordinary death, but the location was a bit sensitive, so the police performed an autopsy overnight. That's when they discovered the man's face was a fake."

Jenkins froze for a moment. Firstly, because in a history no one else knew, he had once snuck into the deceased's room; he never imagined this was the reason the man hadn't been home on that snowy night. Secondly, he didn't immediately grasp what 'fake' meant in this context.

Noticing Jenkins's confusion, Papa Oliver explained further:

"While confirming the body's identity, the medical examiner found signs of alteration on the skull and facial skin. To be specific, the face he had was artificially constructed. The body's original appearance was nothing like what it is now."

Jenkins finally understood. He nodded slowly. He was more than happy to discuss a topic that had absolutely nothing to do with him:

"So, was the body not the opera director's? Was it a forged corpse, or was there something wrong with the director's identity?"

"The truth is, there was a problem with the director's identity itself. Once the police realized supernatural factors were involved, they handed the case over to us. After seeking help from the followers of Death and End, they were finally able to reconstruct the face's original appearance..."

Jenkins eagerly awaited Papa Oliver's next words, but the old man just turned and began methodically poking at the fire in the hearth.

Jenkins had no choice but to prompt him. Follow current novels on novel⸺fire.net

"Patience. Patience is a valuable quality."

Papa Oliver had known Jenkins wouldn't be able to resist asking, so his admonishment was delivered with a smile:

"After reconstruction, the face was matched to Shelley Howell, a thief who disappeared nearly thirty years ago. He was a master thief who rampaged across the continent in an era before you were born."