"Alright, I think I understand. The technology in this arm is quite extraordinary. I think you made the right choice in having it repaired."
As he spoke, Jenkins put the wrench away, tucking it back onto his belt.
Mr. Hood wanted to discuss paynt, but Jenkins had no intention of accepting any. He hadn't spent a single penny helping Mr. Hood; there was no cost to him whatsoever.
Mr. Hood insisted on repaying him. In the end, Jenkins had to claim he had important matters to discuss with Magic Miss and that they could talk about compensation so other ti. Only then did Mr. Hood finally relent and depart.
"You definitely weren't about to sneeze just now."
Magic Miss spoke up once Mr. Hood was out of earshot. She gazed in the direction her friend had disappeared, feeling a sense of relief for his good fortune.
"Of course not. I haven't been sick in a long ti. It was just a strong premonition that I'm about to gain a new power. The feeling is intense, but I don't know what to do next. It's maddening."
He clenched his fist in the dappled shadows of the moonlight.
"Oh? I know that feeling. In my experience, you usually need to perform so kind of ritualistic act to deepen your connection to that sensation. It's very effective, but you need to figure out for yourself what it is you're truly lacking."
"I'm lacking experience in repairing things."
Jenkins remarked, then shook his head.
"I didn't ask you to stay behind to talk about that. There are two things."
"Go on."
Jenkins held up a finger.
"First, for the next little while, from now until the end of next week, I need you and Silver Flute Miss to stay by Miss Windsor's side at all tis. She might be in danger during this period."
"Danger from ordinary people, or from an Enchanter?"
"An Enchanter. And it's highly likely to be one of those lunatics from the organization called the Tree House. I'll be around Miss Windsor a lot myself, but please be vigilant at night or when I'm not there."
Magic Miss considered this for a mont before nodding.
"I understand, but I can't guarantee that Silver Flute Miss and I alone can stop the kind of lunatic you're describing."
"Don't worry, I have other asures in place. She's actually quite safe; I'm just telling you this as a precaution against the unexpected. No need to be nervous. As for the second thing, I'd like to commission you to investigate an ancient ritual."
"You've co to the right person for that."
A confident smile spread across the woman's face. In Jenkins's presence, she temporarily dispelled the charm that distorted her features. Bathed in moonlight, Magic Miss's smile was quite beautiful.
"When it cos to rituals, I have more than enough confidence."
"Have you ever heard of the 'Reverser of Fate'?"
"Never."
Magic Miss shook her head without a second thought.
"But that's alright. As long as the na is correct, give a month at most, and I'll definitely be able to find so clues. Most of the mbers of my sect are in Nolan right now, so I can ask for help. I should be able to shorten that to half a month, no problem."
"No, this is urgent. I was hoping to have an answer by tomorrow, if possible."
"Be realistic, Mr. Candle. Just as your cat won't grow into an adult overnight, if you want to conduct an investigation, you have to give enough ti. I'm not a diviner; I can't just see the answer in a mirror..."
"Actually, diviners can't see answers in mirrors either. They usually use crystal balls or a calm surface of water."
"Fine, but either way, tomorrow is absolutely impossible. I also have to protect Miss Windsor, so I can't spend twenty-four hours a day poring over docunts. I can only promise that I'll get you an answer as soon as I can."
Magic Miss didn't ntion paynt. Even when Jenkins offered her money before they parted ways, she refused. She insisted she was only doing it to help a friend, just as he wouldn't accept paynt from Mr. Hood. Her gesture mirrored his own from just a few minutes earlier.
By the ti Jenkins got ho, Hathaway had already returned. After all, he had lingered for quite a while after the gathering ended.
The red-haired girl on the sofa greeted Jenkins as he changed his shoes in the entryway. She then watched as the little black-and-white kitten trotted over to the sofa and curled up on its small cushion.
"Where have you been so late?"
Hathaway asked, feigning casualness.
"I went to see Miss Windsor. We parted ways at the church entrance."
Jenkins answered smoothly, then asked in turn:
"Where are Briny and Julia? I don't see them."
Throughout this brief exchange, Jenkins's tone remained perfectly normal. Hathaway muttered sothing to herself internally, then beckoned for him to sit beside her and help her choose an outfit for their trip to the Evergreen Forest tomorrow.
The ladies of the house were all thrilled about the next day's outing, and Jenkins was happy to offer his fashion advice. But he was quickly excluded from the conversation, as the suggestions from soone who only ever chose dirt-resistant black coats were of little value.
So, he left the three won to discuss their attire in the living room and took the cat to the small study on the ground floor. He read for a while, completing the reading assignnt Audrey had given him not long ago.
Around ten o'clock, he stood by the window, looking out at the street below while fiddling with the tal wrench in his hand.
The issue wasn't whether he could grasp that final, elusive piece of insight. The problem was that he had only one blank bubble left. Even with the Dark Soul still gestating, he had to reserve that last spot for the ability corresponding to the King Soul.
"Chocolate, what do you think I should do? Should I accept this strange insight I get from repairing machinery?"
He asked his cat. Chocolate, perched on the windowsill, let out a soft ow, but Jenkins didn't understand its aning. Not that he expected to; he had known he couldn't rely on his cat. The question was rely a spontaneous thought.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Blasphemy Seed.
"Heads, I accept it. Tails, I'll put it off until the Uncrowned King arrives."
He tossed the coin into the air, then slapped it onto the back of his hand. He lifted his hand to reveal the result.
"Co to think of it, which side is heads?"
He paused for a mont, then put the coin away and slapped himself lightly on the head a couple of tis.
He sat in the study chair and thought for a long ti before pulling open the second drawer from the top on the left side of the desk. He took out a red wooden box. Inside lay a broken pocket watch. To be precise, it was a gift from John Williams, the youngest of the three Williams brothers, to congratulate Jenkins on getting his job at Pops Antique Shop.
The pocket watch had been damaged in an accident. Since Jenkins had received the ladies' watch from Alexia, he hadn't bothered trying to fix this one, instead storing it away at ho.
He picked it up by its chain, held it before his eyes for a mont, then stood and walked back to the window.
This watch was just an ordinary product of its ti. Both the ancient intelligent machine he had repaired and Mr. Hood's ingenious right hand were far more mysterious and valuable.
But all Jenkins needed now was that final step. He could feel that no matter what he repaired, he could bring that nascent feeling to a state of perfection.
He chose this watch because of what Magic Miss had said. Since repairing anything would work, he might as well pick sothing with sentintal value. Even if he fixed it, he would never use it again. But the watch's value wasn't in telling ti; it was the first gift he had received from his family after becoming Jenkins. It was an important anchor for him in this world, in this era, signifying his acceptance of the life he had taken over and his commitnt to living it earnestly.
He held the watch chain high in his left hand, letting the watch dangle at chest level, and held the wrench in his right. Taking a soft breath, he tapped the wrench against the closed watch cover.
Ding~
A faint sound. As the sound wave rippled outward, he once again "saw" the internal structure of the watch that should have been invisible, saw the damaged parts. The crisp echo resonated in his mind. With every chi that only he could "hear," the悸動 in his heart intensified.
He pushed open the window and looked toward the distant black tal tower. In that mont, his senses sharpened to their absolute peak. Whether it was the wind rushing into the room or that inner tremor, a fine layer of goosebumps rose on his arms.
The black tal tower beca the only object in his vision. The turning of gears, the roar of steam, seed to fall from the sky and into his ears.
"Machinery."
He whispered the word, his thoughts drifting to the world of his past life, to the path of civilization humanity had forged under entirely different rules.
He saw light, he saw fire, he saw power. His feet were planted on the ground, yet he could feel tendrils of energy spreading outward from deep within the earth. His hand rested on the windowsill, yet he was aware of the layout of the winding steam pipes within the room's walls.
A deep toll echoed through the air.
He heard the sound of a bell and squinted at the distant tal tower.
"Yes, a bell."
It wasn't a hallucination. The tal tower had truly begun to toll. Having replaced Nolan's bell tower, it was now performing the sa function for the first ti. Whether it was a joke of fate or sheer coincidence, the ground began to tremble violently as the fourth level of the black tower slowly erged from the earth.
Amidst the bell's resonant toll that washed over the city, Jenkins closed his eyes and tilted his head back. All the disparate insights finally settled. It wasn't about machinery, or energy, or steam, or electricity. The fundantal rules of the world were the sa, and the knowledge he had accumulated in his past life finally had a purpose.
As knowledge far beyond the imagination of this world's people rged with that supernatural tremor, amidst the booming of the bell, it was as if thousands were cheering in celebration. A tallic sheen flickered across Jenkins's skin and slowly faded.
He opened his eyes, and for a fleeting instant, the phantom image of a massive, rotating gear spun within his pupils.
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