Afterward, Jenkins patiently explained that Alexia was a unique case. But Hathaway remained skeptical, insisting that as a god, he must be surrounded by all sorts of extraordinary people.
"No, no, that's not it. Alexia truly is an exception. Besides," he added, "when I fall for a woman, it's for her beauty and her soul, not her abilities."
The statent might have sounded rather dismissive of won, but it made Hathaway ecstatic. She released her embrace and looked up at him. The panic and trepidation that had gripped her monts before, twisted by so morbid fascination, instantly transford into a wild, irrepressible emotion that gave her courage:
"I think I'll co to your room tonight," she declared. "I want to try what it feels like to blasphe a god."
Hathaway's expression made it impossible to refuse.
"Alright..."
Just then, soone rang the bell outside in the courtyard. Jenkins's head snapped toward the window, just in ti to see Jessica alighting from a carriage.
"Oh, dear Sage..."
With everything that had happened that afternoon, Jenkins had forgotten a few crucial details. For instance, after eting with Jessica that morning and helping her deal with the other two "Windsors," he had apparently already decided on his companion for the evening.
Seeing Jenkins's flustered expression, Hathaway imdiately knew what was happening.
But instead of getting angry, a genuine smile spread across her face. It wasn't because the red-haired young woman had finally been driven mad by Jenkins's scoundrel-like behavior.
"It's only at tis like this that I can truly feel you're real," she said, "and not so lofty, near-perfect 'Saint' on a pedestal."
The red-haired woman spoke, then kissed Jenkins again. She was being deliberately mischievous; even at ho, Hathaway wore lipstick, and so when they returned to the living room together, everyone stared at Jenkins in astonishnt.
"What is it?"
He was still bewildered until the ever-helpful Chocolate brushed his cheek with its tail. Only then did he belatedly cover his face with his hands.
Turning to look at Hathaway, who was grinning from ear to ear, Jenkins finally understood. He must have a lipstick stain on his face.
Since Jessica was here, there was no reason to send her away. It was already quite late. Even with Silver Flute Miss and Magic Miss staying next door, Jenkins didn't feel comfortable letting her travel ho alone in the dark.
So, he found a guest room upstairs for Jessica to stay the night. She, too, had noticed Jenkins's injured arm and surmised that the massive earthquake that afternoon, along with the terrifying anomaly that followed in the eastern part of the city, was very likely connected to him.
Consequently, she didn't bring up what Jenkins had proposed that morning, instead going with Julia to prepare the room.
Although he had expended a great deal of divine power to severely damage half of the Difference Engine's core, that didn't an Jenkins hadn't made other gains.
Chief among them was the knowledge-filled core from the tal bust, which he had brought back completely intact. Just as its forr owner had said before perishing, all he had to do was inject his Spirit into it through skin contact, and characters and text would pour forth like a projection onto the wall before him.
In his study, with the gas lamp extinguished and the curtains drawn, the scene was quite beautiful. Letters and symbols flowed across the wall, and the curious cat even leaped onto a cabinet, trying to bat at the characters floating in the pale blue light.
But once on the cabinet, it blocked the projection. Chocolate stared at the wall in confusion, then looked down to see the characters crawling over its own fur. Its fur instantly stood on end. With a terrified "eeow!", it shot back into Jenkins's arms, trembling.
His cat had never been particularly timid, but Jenkins knew it was still young and easily frightened by the unfamiliar. He felt a pang of sympathy and gently stroked its back to soothe it.
The core contained a vast amount of the Difference Engine's knowledge. While the tal bust had only retained a fraction of the total after their separation, it was more than enough for Jenkins.
Beyond data related to machinery, the core also held the knowledge the Difference Engine had accumulated from humans across countless eras. To Jenkins, this was even more valuable than all the chanical secrets.
But learning is a gradual process. He was unwilling to let the core beco a second heart, which would surely divert him from his current path. That ant the only way to obtain and master its complex secrets was through the slow passage of ti.
But then, another idea struck Jenkins. He cut off the flow of Spirit to the blue, latticed tal sphere, letting it hover above his desk. After making sure his cat was rely peeking out curiously from his embrace and not about to swat at the orb, Jenkins summoned the large, iron-grey book that represented his [chanist] ability.
Different numbered items could rge and evolve, following a principle of "like consus like." A perfect example was the two keys Jenkins possessed, the [Silver Spoon] and the [Key of the Gate]. Even though they both existed as Bestowals within his soul, they were still constantly drawn to one another.
But Jenkins had never heard of an item manifested from an ability being able to consu a similar object. Furthermore, neither the core nor the book was a numbered item. With the bust's demise, if Jenkins didn't constantly supply Spirit to maintain the core's internal functions, it would soon degrade into a simple ornant.
"Still, it might be worth a try... No, I should be more cautious."
With this in mind, Jenkins went to find Alexia, who was chatting with Briny, to ask for her opinion.
"I saw Hathaway looked quite relaxed just now. Does she know everything?"
Alexia followed Jenkins into his study.
"Yes," Jenkins confird. "And not only that, she wants to... defile tonight."
"Hmm? Why didn't I think of that?"
"?"
Alexia admitted she'd never heard of anyone attempting such a fusion, but she thought it was worth a try.
"Since the tal bust you ntioned clearly stated that this core could fuse with a physical body—and not in a simple, physical sense—that ans it's more than just a simple material object."
She picked up the tal sphere between her thumb and forefinger, its blue glow tinting her ticulously manicured nails. The petite woman didn't actually care much for her appearance; her grooming habits were mostly a holdover from the past. But having spent so much ti with Dolores, she was often coaxed by her student into performing the daily maintenance required of a proper lady, which explained the state of her nails.
Reviews
All reviews (0)