Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 997

The bishop looked worried about Jenkins getting entangled with the kingdom's politics, but Jenkins had no interest in the matter whatsoever.

"You don't need to worry about that. I have no intention of going into politics."

Jenkins assured him, then asked:

"Who is in charge of the Hamparvo Kingdom's banking department?"

"The former Minister of Finance. However, Sarsi II also sent one of his own daughters to participate in the department's restructuring. I imagine he doesn't want to hand all the power over to the parliament... Speaking of which, the Hamparvo Kingdom's recent decrees are, to some extent, in line with your own views. It seems they've also found an economist like you, one who can see the trends of the future."

Jenkins had never been an economist, nor would he ever become one. After bidding the bishop farewell, he headed to Pops Antique Shop. Pops was puzzled that Jenkins was half an hour late, but once he learned that he had been at the church that morning, he didn't press the issue.

It was another peaceful and serene day. Perhaps the incident with the Skull Sword had truly used up all his bad luck.

In the morning, the old painter and the owner of the art exhibition paid another visit to the antique shop to check if Jenkins had recovered his health.

Jenkins spent the entire morning entertaining them and didn't get anything else done. It was nearly eleven by the time he saw the two of them off, and by then, it was already time for lunch.

Chocolate thoughtfully reminded Jenkins to eat dinner before doing anything else. With this "feline alarm clock" around, Jenkins never had to worry about missing a meal.

Mr. Birchwood's real name was Jack Wood. An ordinary first name and an ordinary last name combined to make a very ordinary middle-aged man.

He had been an accountant at a large local factory. His family consisted of his mother, his wife, and two teenage children.

The moment Mr. Birchwood encountered the Young Flower Seller, he knew he was not going to survive. He was aware of some of the Cursed Item's strange properties, and to prevent its power from affecting his family, he chose to refuse the transaction and willingly face death. Before he died, he even informed the Church of his encounter with A-01-2-0198, hoping that by providing valuable information, his family would be cared for.

After Mr. Birchwood passed away, the Wood family moved from their original home. Though the household now consisted only of women and children, each of them had a legitimate source of income, and Mr. Birchwood had also left behind a sizable inheritance.

Coupled with aid from the Church and help from old friends, the Wood family wasn't doing too poorly—at least, they were better off than Jenkins had imagined.

He donned his black robe and had his reluctant cat change its fur color before heading to the Wood family's current address. It was a rented apartment in a building facing the street, where the family of four was crammed into a single room on the second floor. With no adult man in the house, it had become difficult for them to live in their previous neighborhood, which was already a challenging place, so they had been forced to move here.

As he stood across the street, looking up at the apartment building's third floor, a carriage pulled up from the other side of the road and stopped right in front of him. A young, fashionably dressed woman wearing a veil stepped out. She was quite surprised to see a man with a white cat.

"Hi, good evening, Miss Skylark."

Jenkins greeted Hathaway. The woman, who was in disguise and using a charm to conceal her face, immediately retreated warily back into the carriage. Only after Jenkins asked the coachman for the fare and paid did she reluctantly step out again.

"You recognized me? Don't worry, I wasn't here waiting specifically for you."

He pointed to the apartment across the street. "I think we just happen to have the same destination."

"How did you recognize me?"

Hathaway remained extremely guarded. Among the four who attended Mr. Hood's gatherings, she was by far the most distrustful of Mr. Candle. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novelꞁire.net

"It's a talent of mine."

He replied with a smile and made a welcoming gesture.

"I'm about to visit the Wood family. Shall we go together? Or would you rather wait for me to come out and find another time to knock?"

Two strangers visiting in a row would certainly arouse suspicion, so a reluctant Hathaway had no choice but to ascend the front steps with Jenkins.

Jenkins reached out and knocked on the door. After he explained their purpose to the landlord, Mr. Birchwood's mother came downstairs to meet them. Although Jenkins was done with work for the day, Mrs. Wood and her two children, who held low-wage jobs, were still at the factory. Only Mr. Birchwood's mother was home.

She was quite wary of the two strangers claiming to be her late son's friends and didn't invite them in at first. It wasn't until Hathaway produced a rusty necklace that she eyed the man and woman suspiciously once more before slowly turning to invite them upstairs for a moment.

With four people living in a single room, the interior was rather cluttered and carried a faint sour smell. The cat, sensitive to odors, immediately leaped onto the windowsill of an open window, where it began to idly watch the street scene outside.

On the windowsill sat two nearly dead cacti. Chocolate knew these were prickly, so Jenkins didn't have to worry about it trying to eat them.

He and Hathaway sat on the sofa. The old woman soon brought them teacups, but they contained only plain water.

Wasting no time, they explained their reasons for visiting. Using Psychography, Jenkins drew a picture of the fruit platter in the style of a color photograph on a piece of paper and asked the old woman if she recognized it. Hathaway, meanwhile, explained that she was there to retrieve an item as promised. She said that Mr. Birchwood had promised her before his death that a wooden statue he owned would become hers six months after he passed away.

Things went smoothly; both Jenkins and the red-haired young woman accomplished their goals. The old woman remembered the fruit platter, as she was the one who had bought it from a junk dealer, and she was able to clearly recall the shop's address. She also knew of the wooden statue Hathaway had mentioned. As one of Mr. Birchwood's belongings, it had been brought to the apartment when they moved.

Although the old woman knew nothing of any promise between her late son and the woman standing before her, the generous number of gold pounds Hathaway offered was enough to convince her not to refuse such a favorable transaction.