Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 535

The winter nights in Ruen City were cold enough to freeze a robust man in a single layer of clothing, yet the room felt a little too warm.

Jenkins was dressed in a white shirt with a wool vest Mary had knitted for him, while Miss Miller wore a white, double-cuffed blouse with a ruffled collar and intricate lace trim flanking the buttons.

Jenkins hoped Miss Stuart’s older brother—that man born with a silver spoon in his mouth—wouldn’t do something impulsive and cause more trouble. He was certain that among Sarrot Stuart's men, there wasn't a single Enchanter capable of stopping Miss Miller.

Miss Miller knew even more. For instance, last Tuesday, before their gathering of four began, Dolores had survived an assassination attempt. That incident, too, had been orchestrated by one of her brothers, though it remained unclear which one.

"Is the Stuart family really so keen on infighting? I would think they could easily see that Miss Stuart has no intention of vying for the crown."

He found it quite baffling. As far as Jenkins was concerned, their targets ought to be the other competitors.

Miss Miller shrugged and, with a wave of her hand, conjured dozens of transparent portraits of young people that hovered in the air between them like bubbles.

This had to be a new ability. He hadn't seen it when he'd borrowed her power during the thirty-first.

A small number materialized beneath each portrait, followed by a dense block of text explaining the reasoning behind the numerical summary.

"I tend to assign a higher weight to Personal Ability, while a variable like Luck is difficult to quantify, so I factor it in as a final modifier. When you look at it this way, Dolores Stuart's competitiveness actually ranks in the top three."

Jenkins tilted his head, studying the information floating in the air. Her analysis was quite sound.

"Are you referring to her ability to influence most of the palace guard units?"

He pointed to a line of fine print.

"Of course. If that weren't the case, how could she come and go at night as she pleases?"

Before they returned to Nolan City, Miss Miller had mentioned something unexpected. She said she had recently recalled the circumstances under which she had accidentally acquired her Mathematical Principles and, using some "special" methods, had deduced the ritual required to learn the ability. If Jenkins needed it, she was willing to knowledge with him.

But Jenkins had declined. It wasn't that he felt their friendship wasn't worth such a price, but because he only had one ability slot remaining. His advancement to the fourth level was still a distant prospect, and he still had his heart set on the divine art, Blessing of the Books.

After returning to Nolan, he hadn’t risked summoning the unicorn to pluck its hairs, since he was now living at the church. The upheaval of that night had delayed many things. For instance, his monthly potion trade was fast approaching, but he hadn't had the opportunity to concoct any.

On Wednesday morning, the city was once again shrouded in a thick fog. After nearly a week of clear skies, the heavens had turned gray again—the normal state of affairs for this industrial metropolis.

Early that morning, the lawyer, a Mr. Raul Onis, found Jenkins at Pops Antique Shop. The previous week, when they had visited Mr. Nelly together, Jenkins had mentioned needing a collection of old books to fill the shelves of his study. After half a week, he had finally found a set of volumes from Mr. Augustus’s estate that fit Jenkins’s requirements.

However, even though Jenkins was an heir to the estate, the terms of the will stipulated that he was only entitled to receive gold pounds. Thus, obtaining the books for free was out of the question.

He could, however, purchase the books for a very low price. After all, Mr. Augustus hadn't specified in his will to whom his belongings should be sold.

It wasn't a loophole—at least, the lawyer insisted it absolutely was not.

With St. George Avenue completely sealed off, the books had to be temporarily stored at Pops Antique Shop. The lawyer hired some inexpensive laborers from the docks, and that afternoon, they moved the books, all packed in cardboard boxes, into the warehouse behind the shop.

Remembering that a copy of A-03-1-6660, the Devil's Document, had once been discovered in Mr. Augustus’s library, Jenkins and Papa Oliver decided to inspect the books one more time, even though the Church had already checked them repeatedly.

They found no forbidden volumes among them. In fact, Papa Oliver enthusiastically described the contents of some of the books he had read to Jenkins.

Most of the books were at least a hundred years old. Apart from two or three classic novels that were still in print, Jenkins had never even heard of the rest.

Papa Oliver appraised the collection at 87 gold pounds, 19 shillings, and 3 pence. The three most valuable rare editions alone were worth 63 pounds. And Jenkins had paid a mere 10 pounds and 2 shillings for the lot.

Chocolate, having no interest in books and even less in the unheated warehouse, remained sprawled on the counter while the two men sorted through the boxes.

It gave a bored yawn and casually nudged the green pearl beside it with a small paw. A faint wisp of green smoke drifted from the surface of the Life Pearl and floated slowly into Chocolate's nostrils.

It yawned again and rose from its cushion. After sauntering back and forth across the counter a few times, it hopped to the floor and padded gracefully over to the shop window.

The sun was beginning to set, and Fifth Queen's Avenue was bustling with pedestrians, most of them ordinary folk heading home from work. A newsboy hawking the evening paper shouted the day's headlines, while a stout housewife clutching a paper bag of bread glanced curiously at the cat in the window.

It sat there demurely, its head tilted slightly upward. Its gaze pierced the fog blanketing the city, settling on the twin moons that were just beginning to appear on the distant horizon.

According to the calendar, tonight the red moon would be at its brightest for the entire Month of Endings and Snowfall. In earlier epochs, this day had held a special significance. But since the retreat of the vampire race from the material world, only Enchanters who used abilities related to the cosmos, the moon, or vampirism paid close attention to such celestial events.

Remembering that Jenkins's second baptism was scheduled for this very evening, the cat felt a flicker of concern.

It turned and looked back toward the rear of the shop. The voices of Papa Oliver and Jenkins were still coming from the warehouse.

"Meow~" Thıs text ıs hosted at novel⦿fire.net

Chocolate meowed softly, puffed out its cheeks, and spat out a bright yellow pearl.

The pearl was about the same size as Jenkins's Life Pearl but shone much more brightly. In complete darkness, one could even see a warm, yellow glow seeping from its surface.