Chapter 59: Chapter 59

And as for the golden ring on his right index finger, once the golden statue was fully formed, it suddenly slipped off the solid gold digit and clattered to the ground.

It didn't stop there. Instead, it moved with a strange purpose, using its own momentum to find a path through the sea of gold covering the floor.

It rolled and rolled...

Finally, it tumbled straight into the fading patch of white light just before it vanished completely.

A cold current flowed into Jenkins from behind. He braced his hands on his knees, finally feeling the solid pull of reality again.

He opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. The professor was beside him, his face just as pale, looking as if he were about to be sick. In the unlit basement, Papa Oliver's statue no longer radiated its golden luster.

"Why are we still here?"

The professor was stunned. "After leaving a Mysterious Realm, you're supposed to reappear randomly somewhere safe within a three-kilometer radius of the entrance. But we're obviously still in the basement."

"If we appeared here, it means it's safe for now," Jenkins replied. The basement was still cold and damp, but the persistent feeling of being watched was gone.

For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if a thousand eyes opened all over Papa Oliver's blackened form. Eyes that seemed to hold all the knowledge of the world, all its mysteries, stared silently at Jenkins.

Startled, he instinctively recoiled, tripped over something, and fell to the floor.

Papa Oliver's body gradually returned to its normal, fleshy color. He rotated his neck stiffly, as if he'd slept on it wrong.

Professor Burns had watched the entire exchange, but he seemed to have missed the bizarre spectacle of the eyes Jenkins had seen.

"How did you fall? Are you alright?" Papa Oliver asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Jenkins sat up, rubbing his head. He could hardly admit that his eyes saw too much for his own good and that he had been caught off guard.

As his hand touched his head, he felt something unfamiliar. There was something extra on his finger.

Jenkins ran his thumb over his index finger and realized it was a ring. A jolt went through him, but he kept his expression neutral, sliding the ring off and tucking it away in his pocket.

"I had an item I acquired a long time ago," Papa Oliver explained. "It can put me into a state of suspended animation. A shame it was single-use." The professor nodded, not pressing for details. But to Jenkins's eyes, the profound blackness still lingered around Papa Oliver's pocket. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ noveⅼfire.net

He didn't mention it. He had a growing suspicion that even Papa Oliver himself might not grasp the true horror of that thing.

"Thank you," Papa Oliver said, looking Jenkins straight in the eye.

"You're welcome... though this sort of heartfelt moment feels a bit awkward."

He earned another smack on the back of the head from the old man.

The three of them supported one another as they emerged from the basement. The footman at the door looked at them strangely but didn't ask what had happened.

Papa Oliver found a quiet corner and, using the same triangular slip of paper as before, sent a message to the Church about the incident.

"You're both incredibly lucky, you know. To think you made it out alive," he remarked to Jenkins and the professor, shaking his head. During his feigned death, he'd been oblivious to everything.

"Yeah, it's a good thing I've read so many different kinds of books. I pulled all those math problems from my reading," Jenkins said with a grin. "Plus, we gained a good amount of spirit, not to mention that golden particle that transmutes things. All in all, we made out like bandits."

He glanced at the professor, signaling Papa Oliver to take the lead while he tried to gloss over the origins of those mathematical questions.

Professor Burns either didn't notice or deliberately chose to ignore the source of those seemingly ordinary, yet deeply unsettling, math problems. He knew who had saved his life.

Does living a long life really grant passive buffs to your intelligence and social skills?

"The truth is, we're Enchanters affiliated with the Church," Papa Oliver said to the professor. The professor froze, his hand instinctively moving to his pocket before he let out a wry smile and nodded.

"I suspected as much."

"Then have you heard of the Registration Act?"

"I have... but I became an Enchanter after an unknown entity guided me in a dream. I'm certain it wasn't the Sage, but it must have been another great being. I was afraid of being seen as having abandoned my faith, or being branded a heretic, so I..."

"But do you still believe in the Legacy Sage?" Papa Oliver asked, his tone serious.

"Of course!" Professor Burns's voice suddenly grew louder.

"The Sage is my lifelong faith! That will never change!"

"Then that's all that matters." Papa Oliver smiled and waved a hand, motioning for him to relax.

"The Church has its own methods for testing a person's faith, so you can rest easy on that score. After this, because the events in the Mysterious Realm must be reported, I hope you'll come to the Church and register voluntarily. Otherwise..."

"Of course! As long as the Church still acknowledges me as a follower of the Sage, I have no problem with that whatsoever!"

Professor Burns laughed, a wave of relief washing over him. Jenkins couldn't tell if it was an act or genuine emotion.

"Perhaps such devout believers really do exist in this world," Jenkins mused, he who considered himself quite devout as well.

The three of them didn't dare linger at the castle any longer, not after Papa Oliver had already sent his report. They informed the old butler at the gate that they would arrange for a carriage to pick up their things the next day, then beat a hasty retreat under his suspicious gaze.

None of them noticed a small black-and-white kitten peeking out from the woods near the castle. With a gentle flick of its tail, it began to follow them.

The ordeal in the Mysterious Realm had left Jenkins utterly exhausted. As he sat in the carriage with Papa Oliver and the professor, he pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, only to discover it had stopped.

"Did it break when I fell earlier?" he wondered with a sigh. Feeling the few pounds remaining in his pocket, he said to Papa Oliver, "I'll hop out in a bit. I need to find somewhere to get this watch fixed. It was a gift from John."

Papa Oliver, who was speaking in low tones with the professor, gave a nod. The latter was inquiring about how registration might impact his daily life.

"By the way, isn't your book being released today? At the Nesser & Brough Associated Booksellers on Sophistus Avenue?"

Jenkins mentally counted the days. Mr. Brough had indeed said it would be today.

"Yes, a few other booksellers ordered a couple dozen copies as well, but not many."

"You're a writer as well?" Professor Burns asked with curiosity, straightening his hat. The carriage had just hit a bump, knocking the black felt hat askew.

"It's just a book of fairy tales." Jenkins felt a flush of embarrassment. Though he had adapted the stories to fit the world, most of the core ideas had been shamelessly lifted.