Chapter 496: Chapter 496

"You're being most generous..."

Jenkins held the contract in his right hand, gently stroking the cat nestled on the sofa with his left. He remarked quietly, then placed the papers on the coffee table between them.

"Forgive my forwardness, but you seem to be in quite a hurry."

The troupe owner, who just a moment ago had been complaining that Nolan City was a bit cold, frantically wiped his face with a handkerchief. The merchant adjusted his glasses, which he had only put on to inspect the contract.

"Business has been slow lately, and with that unfortunate incident a while back, my troupe has been forced to stay here. I have to find a way to draw in an audience, yes, I must... Did you know, a rather large circus just arrived in Nolan yesterday? I heard they plan to stay until next spring, leaving by ship after the sea ice thaws. They're competition for the opera company..."

It was obviously a lie. Opera and circuses catered to entirely different income brackets.

Jenkins didn't call him out on it, deciding instead to postpone signing the contract until the Church's investigation was complete.

"How about this: I'll take this contract back with me, have a professional lawyer look it over, and then make a decision. What do you think?"

Mr. Nelly knew Jenkins had sensed something was off, so he could only offer a sheepish smile and agree.

Once the matter of the contract was settled, the atmosphere of their conversation immediately improved. Jenkins first feigned a brief chat about current politics, then gradually steered the topic in the direction he desired.

"...That's true. Nolan City's security has always been quite good. I doubt something like the midnight serial murders in Rodeburg County could happen here. Speaking of which, Mr. Nelly, has Mr. Oppler's cause of death been determined? It was such a tragic affair." This update ıs available on novel•fire.net

Oppler was the alias of the master thief Shelley Howell, who had died during the madness of October 31st.

At the mention of this, Mr. Nelly covered his face, his expression mournful. Whether because of their decade-long friendship or his own financial losses, the merchant had every reason to be sad.

"The policemen from KalFax Field have made no real progress. All we know is that Oppler was robbed. I suppose the poor man must have run into a mugger while out at night."

Jenkins nodded. "I wouldn't have thought Mr. Oppler was such a careless man, and Nolan's security has always been good. By the way, did he have any kind of ornament he always wore? Perhaps something like that is what provoked the robber to kill."

"No, he was always very frugal and never bought expensive accessories. Besides, he was a rather insecure man; he liked to carry a small knife with him."

As he spoke, he pointed to the dinner knife next to the plate of cake.

"But his knife wasn't even as large as this. If he ran into danger, what good would it have been?"

Having learned this, Jenkins went straight back to the antique shop to find Papa Oliver after leaving the club. He could have gone home, but his intuition told him that what he had just heard was extremely valuable.

"Papa Oliver, among the treasures stolen by the master thief Shelley Howell, was there a very small knife?"

"Oh, you went to the opera company looking for clues too?"

Papa Oliver retorted.

"Because the Night Watchmen have already been over it. How could they have missed such an important clue?"

Jenkins paused for a moment, a wave of disappointment washing over him.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Since he was already there, it wouldn't be right to just turn around and leave, so he decided to chat a little longer.

"So, have they found any leads?"

"Shelley Howell committed countless crimes in his time, but if we narrow the search by the keywords 'supernatural item' and 'small knife,' there are really only three relevant cases. The first..."

He held up one finger. "B-02-2-9032, the Decomposer's Scalpel, a divine item. The great deity associated with it is the pseudo-god, the God of Corpses and Sacrifices, also commonly known as the Black-Robed Priest. This being has a good relationship with the great Righteous God, Death and End. The item itself has the effect of severing any part of a living creature's body its blade touches. It's an incredibly powerful weapon. It was stolen thirty-four years ago in the autumn, in connection with a border uprising."

He held up a second finger.

"Second, B-12-2-9277, the Corpse Creator. A completely black blade, but a wooden handle can be attached. Any creature that dies by this item will invariably reanimate as a living corpse. It's not certain that Howell stole this one, but he is the prime suspect."

"Papa Oliver, why wasn't something so dangerous sealed away by the Church?"

"The original owner was killed before the Church could find it. The information we have was taken from his notes. And don't interrupt me!"

Jenkins nodded vigorously.

"The third item is the oldest, and it's the one that made Howell famous. The Church of All Things and Nature possesses a complete set of elemental weapons. Legend has it there are nine pieces in the set, and these nine can be assembled into a Bestowal weapon, rather like C-09-3-0099, the Courage Armor. But that's no longer possible. The only one that remains in the possession of the Church of All Things and Nature is B-01-2-7401, the Light-Devouring Blade. Thirty years ago, it was the weapon that defeated that skull sword..."

Papa Oliver cleared his throat. "Alright, none of that is relevant to our topic. The one Howell stole represents the natural element of fire. B-01-2-7404, the Kindling Dagger. As long as it has any contact with the air, any flammable material within three feet of it will ignite. Therefore, it can only be stored in a metal box with an extremely high melting point, with all the cracks sealed."

"So which one was he carrying around all the time?"

Jenkins asked curiously.

"We don't know. His knife was always kept in its leather sheath. The members of the opera company couldn't give a detailed description."

"So, there's still no progress on the case."

Papa Oliver nodded at him.

Communicating with the soul of such a high-level Enchanter is extremely difficult, so the trail has gone cold again. The Church's current line of investigation is focusing on his activities during his time as the director of the Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe, which is also why the company has been forced to remain in Nolan City.

Regardless, for now at least, the master thief who had met a violent end had no connection to Jenkins whatsoever.