The treasure hunt wasn't so mad scramble, with people aimlessly digging up soil and turf in search of chests. Once the "Treasure Hunter's War" event began, humanoid entities known by the Church as "Greed" would appear in the region.
These beings blended seamlessly into the local human settlents, making it impossible to identify them as outsiders. Each one held a clue leading to the treasure, but they demanded paynt from any treasure hunter seeking that information.
Threatening them with force was equally futile. While not exceptionally powerful—roughly equivalent to a level-five human Enchanter—they were immune to all forms of ntal control, mind manipulation, and hypnosis. Moreover, the Greed could teleport instantly within the area and had no fear of death.
The only way to get a clue from them was to make a trade.
For the treasure hunters flocking to the area, the primary task was to search the nearby towns and villages, trying to distinguish the Greed from the ordinary folk. But for Jenkins, all it took was a glance.
So, after making sure no one was around, he donned his black robe and turned back toward the small town of Bektor, confident he would find sothing there.
Despite the sudden influx of all sorts of Enchanters, life in the town remained peaceful and serene. It was an ordinary Tuesday, and the residents went about their business as usual.
Unfamiliar faces were a common sight in the small town. The fruit harvest was just around the corner, and the timber trade was hitting its yearly peak. As late sumr drew to a close, a steady stream of outsiders was to be expected.
This year saw a few more than usual, but it was hardly cause for alarm.
When Jenkins returned to town with his white cat, Chocolate, the weather, which had been pleasant, had taken a turn. A southwesterly wind blowing in from the ocean carried a gray fog from the city, and even the town's high elevation couldn't spare it from the haze.
He sniffed the air as he strolled through the streets. Bektor was a small town with few permanent residents, consisting of just a few intersecting roads. Anything beyond them was considered the outskirts.
Though small, the town had all the essentials. The infrastructure was adequate, and there was even a small school on the east side. But Jenkins didn't stop anywhere. Guided by a faint spiritual aura visible only to him, he made his way back to the Sage Church.
With a permanent population of less than a thousand, Bektor had only one church—the Sage Church. Jenkins was certain there hadn't been any suspicious auras inside when he'd left earlier. But now, a dim, unusual blue glow emanated from within.
"Why a blue aura?" he wondered. "Are the Greed so kind of exotic creature?"
He mused on this as he walked past the church's wrought-iron gate without stopping. A stranger paying a visit at this hour would surely draw unwanted attention. Then again, Jenkins's own abrupt return might pique the interest of the potentially troubleso demigod, a Mr. Bernoulli.
"So..."
He ducked into an alley and, seeing the wall was clean enough, leaned against it. He gently scooped Chocolate up from his shoulder, holding the cat in front of his face.
"I'm going to turn into a mouse and slip inside," he explained. "I'll be back in a flash."
"Mrow~"
It was the first ti Jenkins had ever seen a cat's eyes light up with such excitent.
"I knew it," Jenkins said. "The second I turn into a mouse, you're planning to pin down with your paws so I can't run off, aren't you?"
He asked, then watched in amusent as his cat nodded.
"You..."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Behave yourself this ti. I'll be back before you know it."
Seeing that Jenkins was serious, the cat's head lowered, its gaze fell, and its little ears drooped in a picture of misery.
"Are you sad because I'm leaving you, or because you don't get to play with the 'mouse'?"
He asked with a mix of exasperation and amusent. Chocolate let out a soft ow, wriggled in his hands, and then leaped onto his shoulder, rubbing a furry cheek against his.
After a temporary farewell to his surprisingly obedient cat, Jenkins transford into a small gray mouse and scurried through the main entrance of the church. Had a non-believer tried such a feat, the divine wards on the church would have reacted, perhaps even forcing the intruder back into their true form.
But Jenkins was a Saint of the Church. He could have waltzed in naked, let alone as a mouse, and no one would have stopped him. Not that he would ever do such a thing, of course.
The unusual aura was coming from the rear of the building. The church was small, with a space out back no bigger than a little garden. Only one person was there: a short, stout, square-faced old man in black clerical attire. With heavy-lidded eyes, he stood before a flowerbed, watering the plants with a watering can.
He looked perfectly normal. His clothes, his movents, even his deanor—nothing seed out of place. Had the church's actual priest seen him, he would have instinctively assud the man was simply one of his own clerics from the Bektor Sage Church.
But this was, in fact, a Greed. They were masters of disguise.
The mouse erged from the grass near the old man. After a quick scan confird that no one in the building or on the street had a view of this spot, it leaped into the air, transforming into a spinning orb of violet-gold light.
As he shifted back into his human form, he simultaneously donned the clothes bestowed by the Sage and his black robe, avoiding the awkward scenario of standing naked in the churchyard.
"I want a clue. What's your price?"
His question was blunt, cutting straight to business.
The old cleric didn't even look up from his flowers as he replied:
"A flower. One that holds power."
"Done."
He gave a nod, concluding the brief exchange. Stepping back into the shadows of the building, he dropped a spiritual lodestone. He then projected himself to Alexia's location, left a tangible illusion of himself there, and finally pulled his real body across the distance, leaving only the lodestone behind in a corner of the churchyard.
"Hmm?"
Alexia had told him yesterday that she would be ho all day, which was why he'd dared to project himself over so suddenly. But his series of actions had been so rapid that he hadn't had a chance to take in his new surroundings.
What he saw, however, was Alexia—fully dressed—in her room, embracing Dolores, who was wearing nothing but her undergarnts. When Dolores saw Jenkins staring at them, her face flushed a visible crimson, though she managed to stifle a scream.
"Are you two... asuring your waists?"
His mind didn't jump to any wild conclusions. He didn't suspect the two won shared the sa preferences as Hathaway and Briny. While he could imagine Dolores leaning that way, given her complicated upbringing surrounded by maids, he was absolutely certain Alexia had no such inclinations.
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