Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 979

The two collectibles Jenkins selected came to a total of about thirty pounds. For Jenkins in his current financial state, the price was fair, if not a little steep. Overall, though, it was a good deal for both sides, and he was quite satisfied with the transaction.

His entire supply of Thousand-Year Wood Heart had been consumed during the Skull Sword incident. Even if he recovered the piece that had grown into a tree, it would no longer possess its original properties. Rebuilding his collection of wood hearts was bound to be a long process, but this smooth first acquisition seemed to be a good start.

Upon returning to the antique shop, Jenkins told Pops about the art exhibition. The old man didn't mind him taking half a day off. He simply asked Jenkins to bring back some lunch when he returned tomorrow, so they wouldn't have to worry about the midday meal.

It was ten in the morning when he got back to the antique shop. He had just settled down his cat, who was growing more active with the arrival of spring, when a customer unexpectedly walked in.

She was a tenacious middle-aged noblewoman, exceptionally shrewd when it came to haggling. It took until noon to finally wear her down and sell the plaster statue that had been sitting in the shop.

The plaster statue was a bust of a painter from two hundred years ago. The artist hadn't been famous in his own time, but fifty years after his death, the value of his work had soared.

Critics loved to use pretentious vocabulary that the average person couldn't understand to describe his abstract works, attempting to unearth the artist's intended meaning from within the seemingly random arrangements of geometric shapes.

"But it's more likely they were just blocks of color he doodled whenever the mood struck."

Pops remarked, having always looked down on those who speculated on antiques and art.

In the end, it was a brave Jenkins who held his nose and disposed of the offending can. But afterward, the appetites of both men and cat were thoroughly ruined.

After tossing the remaining cans onto the trash heap in the alley behind the shop's courtyard, Pops pressed a handful of change into Jenkins's hand and sent him to a nearby restaurant to see about some takeout. Pops had been the one to open the can, and he'd gotten the worst of the rotten fish stench. After the can was gone, he even needed Jenkins to use a bit of his healing ability on him before he started to feel better.

"I never knew a rotten can could smell that bad."

Walking down the street, Jenkins murmured to his cat. Chocolate gave a listless meow, looking utterly dispirited.

It meowed again, tapping Jenkins on the cheek with the soft pad of its paw before its eyes went wide, fixing on the cake shop they had just passed.

"No. We're out to buy lunch, not dessert for you."

He warned, and the cat immediately slumped back into its listless state.

The recent assault by rotten fish had convinced Jenkins to avoid anything fish-related for the next few days. This significantly narrowed his lunch options, but he knew the local restaurants well. He headed north along Fifth Queen's Avenue, waited for a carriage to trundle past, and turned left at the third intersection, the one with the postbox. He ducked into the first alley he came to, carefully avoiding the damp laundry hanging from a clothesline. After casually tossing aside a young boy who tried to "accidentally" bump into him in a pickpocketing attempt, Jenkins emerged from the other side. Across the street and to the left, he spotted a decent, mid-priced restaurant.

Jenkins was a regular there. He called over a waiter, clearly stated what he wanted, and then casually took a seat near the door. Dealing with the canned fish had taken up a good chunk of time, so the lunch rush was long over, and the restaurant was mostly empty.

As he was the only customer, the kitchen was quick with his order. Jenkins was just resting his chin in his hand, watching Chocolate groom its paws and assuming no one else would come in, when the restaurant door swung open.

It was a beautiful woman of about twenty-five, carrying a red handbag and wearing light makeup. It was Agnes Howard, owner of the Howard Detective Agency, also known as Magic Miss.

Jenkins had met her once before, back when he was investigating the detective agency under his real name. He had no intention of striking up a conversation now, however, so he kept his head lowered, pretending to be focused on his cat.

Magic Miss, for her part, didn't recognize the young man at the table as the writer she'd briefly met. She chose a table by the wall and began speaking quietly with the waiter, menu in hand.

"I wonder if she ever found that pirate king, Femishue." Thɪs chapter is updated by novel✶fire.net

Jenkins mused silently. After leaving the restaurant, on his way back to Pops's Antique Shop, he bought a copy of 'The Daily Curiosity.' It was a tabloid that sold itself on sensational rumors and exaggerated horror stories; it was always an amusing read if you treated the news like fiction.

"Oh? Mr. Hood is holding a gathering tonight?"

He took the first and last words of the second article on the third page and put them together. To his surprise, they formed the secret code for one of Mr. Hood's gatherings.

"Good thing I remembered, or I would have missed it completely."

Jenkins shook his head. Food in one hand and newspaper in the other, he headed back toward the antique shop.

Just as he'd suspected after his encounter with the flower girl that morning, the rest of the day passed without any strange occurrences. At the end of a peaceful workday, Jenkins bid farewell to Pops and headed home for dinner.

After outlining the plan for his third detective novel in his study, he set down his fountain pen, grabbed his hat and coat, and headed out the door again.

The temperature was rising day by day, and now even a night out didn't require a heavy overcoat. Jenkins's previous worries about Chocolate shedding hadn't materialized. However, with the arrival of spring, the cat had become much more restless—though that could also be because Jenkins was once again planning to cut back on its rations.

Man and cat put on the appearance of simply going for an evening stroll, wandering down St. George Avenue for a short time before turning a corner into the next block. When they emerged, their forms had shifted, and they were soaring through the sky.

Though he didn't summon the unicorn often, the beautiful creature was clearly fond of him. After they landed, it affectionately nuzzled its face against his sleeve, only departing reluctantly through a shimmering portal back home when Chocolate began to grow agitated.

The location for this gathering wasn't particularly inventive; it was the same two-story apartment building Mr. Hood had led everyone to after his rescue.

Jenkins landed on the roof of a closed nightclub two streets away. After sending the unicorn off, he and the cat began to clamber down a drainpipe.