"Also, as a courtesy for working for , there's a piece of intelligence I can share with you directly. I think this will be the first step in earning your trust—a god descended last night."
Having finished discussing Mr. Candle, Jenkins ignored the two won's astonishnt and revealed the information, then continued:
"Nolan is going to beco more and more chaotic in the coming months, and this is only the beginning. What happened on the outskirts of Nolan last night will soon spread, and by then, you'll probably hear even more sensationalized stories. The descent of a god has nothing to do with us mortals, but this event has solidified the resolve of the Twelve Orthodox Churches to convene their alliance eting as soon as possible, likely right after the Tri-King Summit. More and more Church combat squads and demigods will be entering this diocese, and even a group of Saints from the Righteous Gods are on their way. So you must be careful... Of course, at a ti like this, the Church won't be paying too much attention to unregistered Enchanters. You just need to be careful not to expose your identities."
He advised.
"Thank you for the information. I believe you've won our trust."
But Silver Flute Miss hesitated again.
"But is it really all right to tell us this directly?"
She thought of Mr. Hood's gatherings, where obtaining intelligence was never free.
"You work for Miss Windsor, which ans you work for . Don't worry about unimportant bits of intelligence like this. The most important thing is to stay safe—I an, to ensure Miss Windsor's safety. If you ever need help, you can bypass Miss Windsor and co directly to . My address isn't a secret. Or you can ask Mr. Candle."
He spoke with a casual air, though he was genuinely worried his friends would die after being entangled in this conspiracy. Perhaps sensing the concern in Jenkins's words, Magic Miss and Silver Flute Miss both affird their willingness to continue helping Miss Windsor.
But Magic Miss was thinking of other things. She knew Skylark Miss's true identity was Hathaway, and it wasn't hard to find the gossip surrounding Jenkins Williams and Hathaway Hersha.
Coupled with the fact that during the last dice ga, Mr. Candle's character card had been the other protagonist in that complicated "love triangle," Magic Miss arrived at a bold conjecture.
The two bid Jenkins farewell. Magic Miss watched as Chocolate climbed from Jenkins's lap all the way up to his shoulder. The woman's lips twitched; though the cat's size and color were different, the action was incredibly familiar.
"No matter what's going on, I absolutely cannot voice my guess. But..."
As a believer of the God of Mystery and Rituals, Magic Miss's intuition was far sharper than that of other Enchanters. Without any concrete reason, she was almost certain her guess was correct in that instant. Although she couldn't ask directly, she still wanted to test the waters a little. After all, they were all friends. Even if Mr. Candle saw through her probe, it wouldn't cause any problems.
"Also, please relay a ssage to Mr. Candle for us."
She called out to Jenkins as he was about to leave. Jenkins frowned slightly; a mont's thought was all it took for him to realize this was a test.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Hood's gathering can't be held for a while. There's a problem with his right hand, so he's gone to find soone to help deal with it."
"Alright, I'll pass it on to him."
Jenkins didn't say sothing like, "You can tell him yourself," in an attempt to cover his tracks and deny the possibility that he and Mr. Candle were the sa person. But his straightforward acceptance made Magic Miss doubt her own judgnt, and she began to consider the possibility that Jenkins and Mr. Candle were just extrely close friends.
After resolving this small matter for Miss Windsor and seeing that it was getting late, Jenkins first went to Pops Antique Shop to report to Papa Oliver about the day's welco ceremony. After bidding the old man farewell, he had dinner at ho with Hathaway, Briny, and Julia, then went to the Church to inquire about the arrangents for the other young ladies who had escaped from the manor last night.
Hathaway and Briny went with Jenkins. They, too, were supposed to be under strict Church supervision because of the confidentiality pact, yet they had left with Jenkins the night before.
Going to the church today, Jenkins helped the two of them complete the necessary paperwork. He then swore in the na of the Sage that he would personally supervise the red-haired and blonde young won to ensure they wouldn't reveal any details about the manor.
Since the Saint had given such an assurance, no one made trouble for Jenkins, even though it was against the rules. Hathaway knew Jenkins was the Sage's Saint, so she wasn't surprised. Briny, unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Church, didn't notice anything amiss.
The three of them crossed the courtyard behind the main hall of the church and entered the three-story white building. At the entrance on the ground floor, they happened to run into the children from the choir. Fini was among them, of course. Seeing that Jenkins had company, she simply gave him a sweet smile and left with her friends.
Miss Lawrence and the other ladies were now staying in the basent of this building. The Inherited Sage Church had a very strange habit of placing its most important rooms underground.
Knowing Jenkins was coming, the nun in charge of the young ladies was already waiting for him. Jenkins and the two girls descended to the first basent level, where they were surprised to see Miss Bevanna and a woman wearing a veil.
The young won who had witnessed the events inside the manor were all from noble, even high noble, families. Even Briny's status was not the highest among them. Therefore, how to handle these girls had beco a very difficult matter. Bringing them all to the Church yesterday had been done under the pretext of a "cultist disturbance" and the need to protect witnesses, but detaining them long-term was not a realistic option.
Miss Bevanna was personally overseeing the matter. Although confidentiality pacts had been signed, virtually ensuring no one would speak of last night's events, their sensitive identities still warranted cautious handling.
"Doesn't the Church have a girls' school in Bel Diran?"
It was a church school run by the Inherited Sage Church, aid at cultivating loyal believers to beco reserve nuns. Besides, the Sage Church itself was passionate about education, and so noble believers of the Sage were happy to send their daughters to church schools.
"That's a good idea."
Miss Bevanna nodded. Jenkins exchanged a word with her, then let Hathaway and Briny go into the room to see their friends. Though it was underground, the living conditions were quite good, and Jenkins wasn't worried about the girls being mistreated.
"Miss Stevel."
Once he was sure Hathaway and Briny were out of earshot, Jenkins greeted the veiled woman.
"You two know each other?"
Miss Bevanna asked with interest.
"We were both Papa Oliver's apprentices. How could we not?"
Miss Stevel removed her veil as she spoke. Judging by her tone, she seed to be quite familiar with Miss Bevanna.
"So, does the Church have an assignnt for you?"
Jenkins asked. He let out a sigh, happy that Hathaway's friends would be able to leave Nolan soon, but worried about the future.
"Nolan is very short-staffed right now. The Church has assigned to contact the local believers of the God of Music and act as the situation dictates."
When they last t at the tavern, Jenkins had already suspected this possibility.
"Act as the situation dictates? What does that an?"
"It ans do nothing for now. First, confirm the number of local believers of the God of Music and identify any Enchanters among them. The believers of the God of Music have always had a good relationship with the Sage Church. If we get really desperate for manpower, we might be able to ask them for help."
The believers of the God of Music were mostly female, so Miss Bevanna used the feminine pronoun.
"That's really..."
Jenkins shook his head. He knew more than she did, so he understood that at the end of the epoch, the Church needed to unite all the forces it could. Two thousand years ago, a few pseudo-god factions had sent representatives to the eting for the High Tower Accord. It was likely to be the sa this ti. This was, after all, a major event that could shape the continent for the next several millennia; the pseudo-god factions had every right to be involved.
About an hour later, Hathaway and Briny, their eyes a little red, left the room and rejoined Jenkins, ready to head ho. Jenkins had originally intended to et with the other young ladies as well, but considering his status, he ultimately decided against it.
As Hathaway and Miss Stevel passed each other, they both froze for a mont in perfect sync.
Jenkins then understood that his senior apprentice had already found one of the God of Music's believers living in Nolan City.
After returning ho and resting for a while, Jenkins waited for the sun to set completely. He inford the ladies at ho that he was going out again, then left with his cat, this ti to visit the old elf who lived in the city center.
The elf looked exactly the sa, as if the short passage of ti could leave no mark on him. After welcoming Jenkins inside, he listened to his account of swallowing two-thirds of the World Tree Seedling. The elf had a sudden realization, finally understanding that Jenkins had been the cause of last night's strange phenonon.
"That's easy to explain. The seed was incomplete. If you had swallowed the whole seed, your ability would have surely undergone its final evolution."
The elf offered a very easy-to-understand conclusion, then urged Jenkins to find the remaining one-third of the seed as soon as possible.
Jenkins knew that the final third was with his distant cousin, Sigrid, and he also knew that she would certainly give it to him if he asked. But this was an item of great importance, and Jenkins didn't want to just take sothing so significant for free. Besides, the green emblem, [World Tree Seedling], wasn't the last one he needed to obtain, so he wasn't in a hurry.
Seeing that it was still early, he decided to take advantage of the ti he had tonight to follow up on the clue Magic Miss had given him long ago about a Bestowal, just to see if he was in luck. Hearing that Jenkins was going treasure hunting, the old elf suggested he be taken along.
"I have nothing to do at night anyway, just reading at ho. I might as well go for a walk. What's the worst that could happen on our little trip? It's not like we're going to run into so life-threatening danger, are we?"
The old elf chuckled, making a joke. Then he grabbed his coat and walked out the door with Jenkins.
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