A few hours earlier, the Difference Engine had ntioned that the chanized Body Curse now only had a probabilistic effect on the corpses of ordinary people. Consequently, the three bodies covered in white sheets lay perfectly still, not lurching toward the nearest machinery.
But Jenkins was already on edge. He scanned the bodies again and again, confirming they were truly just corpses before he felt safe enough to approach a group of young girls with flower baskets standing in a corner of the courtyard.
Girls who had to rise this early to purchase their wares were certainly not from wealthy families. Their clothes were mostly gray and black cloth, most with at least three patches, and nearly all of their faces were grimy.
It was not that they disliked washing their faces, but that they had never ford such a habit from childhood.
They wore all sorts of mismatched, ill-fitting shoes, but since it was sumr, at least no one was dressed out of season. The most valuable things they owned were likely their baskets. After all, they were the tools of their livelihood, and if they carried a basket with a hole in it, even the custors would instinctively try to haggle down the price of the flowers. So, they treasured their little baskets dearly.
Only a few of the girls had hair ornants, and even those were just cheap clips from who-knows-where. After noticing the man who had just entered stare at the bodies before heading toward them, the dozen or so girls huddled together, watching him with hostility. Even the natural affinity with flower sellers granted by his divine domain was not enough to overco their fear.
Looking at them, Jenkins was reminded of the scene when he had t Fini on the street last year. Fini had been just like this back then, looking at him with a pitiful expression as he tried to avoid her. Different people, yet the sa look. Fini had been "saved" by him, in a manner of speaking. He could save the dozen girls before him, too, but the world was vast, and he currently lacked the power to save everyone.
"Who here is a friend of Fini Faithford?"
He acknowledged their apprehension and, rembering his task, took a few more steps toward the flower sellers and asked. But no one answered him.
So, he had no choice but to pluck the yawning cat from his shoulder. Chocolate squird symbolically a few tis to express its displeasure, then obediently allowed Jenkins to hold it up by its sides.
"I'm Jenkins Williams. Fini must have told you about . And if she's spoken of , she's definitely ntioned this cat."
Jenkins figured his most distinguishing feature was not his hair color, height, or build, but the cat he always carried with him.
"See? This is Chocolate."
As he spoke, he shook the cat's right paw. Chocolate was forced to wave, a look of annoyance on its face.
Perhaps it was because Fini truly had ntioned Jenkins and Chocolate, or maybe Chocolate's adorable appearance won the girls' trust. In any case, after he showed them the cat, a bolder girl whispered that all of them knew Fini.
This was, of course, a lie. Fini had been sent by the church to sell flowers on the streets; the choir children were not allowed to wander about freely, so she could not have made so many friends. But since they were all flower sellers, they all fell under the protection of his divine domain, and he was determined to protect every one of them.
"I'll cover your losses for today's business, but you can't leave until this situation is resolved. For now, just stay together peacefully. If this isn't settled by tonight, soone will arrange for your dinner. Once it's all over, I'll imdiately request permission for you to leave."
He laid out the arrangent. The dozen or so little girls exchanged whispers, then thanked Jenkins in unison, expressing their willingness to accept his plan.
Having temporarily placated the flower sellers, it was ti to address the matter at hand. Before Jenkins's arrival, the Gravediggers from the Church of Death and End had already perford a preliminary examination of the bodies. They had concluded that the three deceased—the flower shop employee, the cart driver, and the police officer—had all died from poisoning.
Using their own unique thods, the Gravediggers had extracted the toxin directly from the corpses. As there was a fair amount, the squad leader showed Jenkins a demonstration of its potency. He took a single flower and carefully dripped the diluted toxin onto its petals before tossing it into the air.
Before the flower could even touch the ground, its petals and stem had turned entirely to black ash.
"This is a poison? What kind of toxin is this potent?"
Jenkins asked, astonished.
"It's a toxin to the human body. To be certain, we tested it on white mice. Whether administered orally or by injection, the mice died rapidly. But on plants, this liquid 'burns' them directly into black ash."
Under the hazy morning sun, the toxin extracted by the Gravediggers had a strange, grayish-green hue, much like the color of mold. The toxin was extrely poisonous to animals, causing death on re contact, but its effect on plants seed unlike any poison. At least, Jenkins had never heard of a liquid that could turn a plant to ash just by touching it.
It was because of this peculiar effect on plants that the Gravediggers had determined this was indeed an event involving supernatural powers. But since the situation was not considered especially severe—it could be resolved simply by finding the source of the poison—only this one small squad had been dispatched to handle it.
And that was only because Nolan was currently well-staffed. In a normal year, a matter like this would likely be handled by just two or three mbers of the squad, who would disguise themselves as police officers to resolve the case.
"If the toxin is so destructive to plants, how was it hidden among these flowers?"
Having grasped the gist of the situation, Jenkins questioned the Gravedigger while activating his Eye of Reality to look at the piles of flowers. When the first death occurred, the unloading was only halfway done. Roughly a third of the flowers were still on the cart, their stems soaking in a specially prepared water solution.
But it was already afternoon, and the flowers were no longer as vibrant as they had been at dawn. Even if this case was resolved, most of them, aside from a few potted plants and tulip bulbs, would be unsellable.
"We're still investigating that. This toxin can't be identified with abilities or rituals, and the detection talismans made by the church are ineffective. We've requisitioned so white mice and plan to test them, flower by flower."
The thod was a bit tedious, but with no other options, it was certainly a good idea.
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