“You were truly lucky.”
Papa Oliver continued to mutter to himself, his expression a mask of conflict. “That Beryl has been confird as a descendant of the Ashiash family. The demon that possessed young Wellington was connected to him as well. You did a fine job, luring Beryl into that empty square. The divine grace we received was likely tied to his death. Hmm, he must have been on the verge of summoning sothing truly terrible. Huh? Why are you curled up like that? Still feeling unwell?”
Jenkins’s eyes shot open, and he scrambled toward the edge of the bed.
“Wait, Papa Oliver, did you just say I did a good job?”
“Yes. What are you doing, crawling around like your cat? Although you weren’t the one who dealt the final blow, we have you to thank for identifying a descendant of the Ashiash family by running into that Beryl... Your luck is really sothing else. Well, never mind. It turned out for the best this ti. Divine grace... Goddess above, why couldn’t I be in a combat unit?”
“Oh, so the Sage must have been praising for discovering Beryl, and that’s why the divinity appeared!”
Relief washed over him. He stopped cowering in the corner of the bed and pulled at the blanket, intending to sit up. In his haste, he failed to notice Chocolate curled up on the covers, and the poor cat tumbled to the floor.
It took so effort to soothe Chocolate. Afterward, Jenkins looked around and finally noticed his belongings—his pistol, his cane, and the Godhead tal Block—all placed on a nearby table.
It seed no one had recognized what it was, for now.
The so-called divine grace was more than just an increase in Spirit. Last night, twelve Enchanters from five churches, along with those from the Church of All Things and Nature and the War Church, had given their lives. Most of the survivors gained new abilities, while a few received knowledge of divine arts and rituals.
One Enchanter, who had lost an eye twelve years ago, even grew a new demonic eye.
“It seems ‘They’ were truly pleased.”
As the irreverent thought crossed his mind, Jenkins checked his own points of light; they remained unchanged. He searched through his mind, finding a jumble of new, fragnted knowledge that he couldn't make sense of just yet.
“My reward was just a kiss?”
He felt a little frustrated, but rembering he was in a church, he carefully made the sign of the holy symbol on his chest and offered a sincere prayer.
According to Papa Oliver, the incident had caused a massive stir. The descent of divine grace had a far wider impact than the reappearance of an Ashiash family descendant.
Beryl was killed by a stranger who appeared out of nowhere. Since his escape coincided with the descent of the divine grace, no one noticed where he went. Furthermore, because the square was watched by the eyes of the Righteous God last night, no one would dare perform any divination there for so ti. Thus, for now, nothing was known about the man temporarily dubbed “Twin Demons.”
But there was an upside. For at least the next six months, the square could be considered a “sanctuary.” Divine arts, rituals, or abilities would receive a powerful boost there, and evil spirits or other wicked, bizarre creatures wouldn’t dare approach.
“So, are there any leads on that man?”
Jenkins asked, feigning ignorance, then added a speculative, “Since he killed Beryl, he must be one of the good guys, right?”
He was thrilled that the identity he used this ti was finally being seen as heroic, and he couldn't help but marvel that his righteousness was finally being acknowledged by others.
“No.”
Papa Oliver, still sulking over the missed divine grace, looked so dejected that even his white eyebrows seed to droop. He cautiously put away the small box, much to the disappointnt of the eager cat.
“He may have helped us, but his arrogant deanor and the bizarre abilities he displayed are cause for alarm. What I an is, so people believe the man in the black robe is connected to the legendary Twin Demons of the Ashiash family. It's an old rumor from this epoch, but the specifics are unknown. So we have no idea what he does, what he wants with those Mysterious Objects, or if he has any connection to the demon.
And most critically, we've learned through... certain special channels, which I can't tell you about right now, that the man is a follower of that new god. Sage preserve us, this couldn't be the sa man in the black robe, could it?”
“Well, he didn't take the Mysterious Object this ti, so it probably isn't...”
Jenkins felt wronged all over again. He had done a good deed, but he couldn't tell anyone.
“Do good deeds without seeking recognition. I am the righteous Jenkins.”
He could only console himself with that thought. At least this ti there was no bounty on his head. After all, the man last night had indeed helped the Church.
Leaving the Courage Armor behind was actually because it wasn't an ordinary Bestowal; he had no desire to collect an item that automatically spread ntal contamination to its surroundings.
“Yes, he probably didn't realize that the ‘Sin of Pride’ is both a Mysterious Object and a Bestowal. That's why he didn't take it.”
Papa Oliver declared confidently.
“That's not it! He—I an, —no, I an, he—no, it was ! I'm definitely not collecting Mysterious Objects!”
Jenkins repeated the phrase over and over in his mind, wishing soone could prove his innocence. So far, he hadn't really done a single bad thing... probably. Since coming to this world, including Beryl, he had only personally killed three people, and all of them deserved it.
Papa Oliver then produced a sketch, drawn from the mories of the Enchanters present that night. With so many eyewitnesses, the drawing was considered quite accurate. Although there was no bounty, the Church was still looking for the man.
The image depicted two figures, one black and one white, standing back-to-back amidst flas. The white figure reached for the sky, while the black one bowed its head toward the ground. Anyone who saw the picture would think the subjects were madn. The entire scene had a frenzied style, though it was hard to tell if that was the artist's interpretation or how it had truly appeared from that angle.
“I wasn't raising my hand; I was holding sothing. And the demon bomb isn't a person, it's an ability; it can only hold that one pose.”
Jenkins explained to himself internally, while outwardly claiming he had committed the image to mory.
He now believed the kingdom shouldn't have given him the Ritter Prize. Instead, they should have awarded him the “Most Misunderstood Person in the Fidektri Kingdom” award.
The last known location of the Ashiash family was a remote place called Styx City. It was a small, unremarkable city in the Hamparvo Kingdom. The Church had already contacted the Enchanters in the local diocese to reinvestigate the circumstances of the annihilation campaign three hundred years ago. If one descendant of that bizarre family could survive, there might be a second, or a third.
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