"Sothing's not right about the heir's murder?"
Jenkins voiced his suspicion as they strolled through the forest. His divination teacher acknowledged it.
"At the very least, I can confirm soone perford an anti-divination. Otherwise, our ritual couldn't have failed."
In truth, the failure was mainly due to the Millstone of Fate and the mysterious figure who appeared at the end.
Miss Audrey couldn't read Jenkins's thoughts. She looked up again, her gaze passing through the gaps in the lush branches to the moon in the sky.
"You probably know that neither of the material world's twin moons is its original one. It's said the original moon was yellow, but it was devoured by a cataclysm during a past epochal change."
The cat narrowed its eyes and nodded, looking quite pleased with itself.
"Now, there are three moons in the material world's sky. The colorless Unlit Moon represents the power of the Righteous Gods. The red moon is a calamity, said to seal a terrifying creature within it, but its presence in the sky also serves to anchor ti and stabilize the propagation of species in the material world. But the blue moon... do you know what purpose it serves?"
Miss Audrey asked. Jenkins looked up at the sky. Tonight's lunar phase was a waning red moon and a full blue moon. According to this world's lunar calendar, this alignnt occurred only twice a year: once in the dead of winter and once in the middle of sumr.
"The blue moon represents ti. True temporal power."
This answer ca from the "grand gift of astronomical knowledge" bestowed upon him by the Star Spirits. Although moons weren't strictly defined as stars in this world—after all, they weren't projections from the astral plane—they were at least part of the starry sky.
"Yes, the blue moon is ti. It symbolizes ti—stable, orderly ti. The few existing rituals related to ti, such as the highly esoteric 'Contacting a Ti Paradoxer,' require the blue moon as a core symbolic component."
"The blue moon was the symbol of the Lord of the 'Closed Loop' back when it was still a god."
Jenkins automatically translated, then summarized Miss Audrey's previous words.
"So, tonight's events were partly because the hydromancy ritual was disrupted by anti-divination, and partly because we inadvertently communed with the blue moon?"
"Correct. If we hadn't mistakenly initiated the subsequent ritual, I might have been severely injured by the divination failure. The anti-divination thod the other party used wasn't any common technique. In a mont of unconsciousness, I think I saw sothing... sothing indescribable, vast, chaotic, and tallic..."
As for her ascension to demigod, that was a reward from her journey into the past. By treading the path of witnessing the essence in both past and present and subsequently completing the missing mories of her youth, when she stood before that shining silver mirror once more, she saw the answer she had long sought.
"What did you see? Oh, forgive , I shouldn't have asked."
He shook his head with a smile, knowing Miss Audrey wouldn't mind.
"It's alright, it's not really a secret. I saw the path I am on. Though I may not have Alexia's talent or luck, at least I know my choice was the right one."
Her tone beca much lighter as she said this, and she seed to be in high spirits. Walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Jenkins, she turned slightly to look at his profile, a little surprised that she had actually managed to guide the Child of Destiny this far.
It had started as a re attempt, but she never imagined they would co so far.
"Then what about you, Jenkins? What did you encounter at the summit's end?"
"?"
He hesitated for a mont but decided not to hide what had happened. He told her not only about the book he suspected was the Millstone of Fate but also about the stranger who had covered his eyes.
Miss Audrey listened quietly, occasionally frowning, but she never interrupted him. Only after he had finished did she ask in a soft voice,
"Do not tell anyone else about this, not even the Legacy Sage Church. It's better that way. I an about the stranger. You can ntion the Millstone of Fate—and it likely is the book you suspect. I once saw it with my teacher and the prophecies about the Savior written within. Rember, absolutely do not let a third person know you t soone else at the sacrificial altar on the summit."
"Then do you know who it was?"
Jenkins asked his teacher curiously.
"No, I don't."
Miss Audrey's reply ca with almost no hesitation, and it was the truth.
"In the centuries since this ritual began, no one has ever encountered another person on the summit. Whoever that was, they are beyond mortal comprehension. Since they ant you no harm and only said they would be waiting for you at the end, then just wait patiently, Jenkins. There are no aningless coincidences in this world; in fact, there's no such thing as coincidence at all.
If fate is tied to this supposed chance eting, you will surely et again."
He stayed late in the Evergreen Forest that night, arriving ho close to midnight. The young won of the house were already asleep, so Jenkins tiptoed through his evening routine and went to his bedroom.
He maintained a disciplined schedule, his eyes opening punctually at six the next morning, a Saturday. At the exact mont Jenkins awoke, the cat, roused by the impending breakfast ti, also opened its eyes. Still sleepy, it stood up on the pillow, stretched its front paws against the bedsheet, dipped its back while raising its rear, and let out a long, drawn-out "eeow~."
He had many things to do today, but they were not related to the Tri-King Summit or helping the church prepare for the joint conference next month. Today, he planned to personally investigate the truth behind the heir's death.
At the breakfast table, he inford the ladies of his plans for the day. They were all aware of his abilities and thus weren't worried he would run into trouble. However, all three reminded Jenkins that tomorrow was the last day of the month, which also happened to be his twenty-first birthday. As per their agreent, Jenkins had promised to bring Alexia and Dolores ho for a family birthday dinner.
"What? Is it tomorrow?"
Jenkins, who had been engrossed in the newspaper, poked his head out from behind the page in surprise.
"Don't tell you haven't prepared anything?"
The blonde young woman grumbled, then added, "For your birthday dinner tomorrow, Hathaway and I spent a long ti preparing our outfits and gifts."
"Her Highness and Miss Miller have also prepared with great care. No matter what happens tomorrow, they will co here."
The maid chid in from the side, smiling as she awaited Jenkins's response.
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