The topic Magic Miss broached was a sensitive one, but Jenkins didn't shy away from it. He chose his words carefully to convey exactly what he ant:
"In negotiations, there's rarely such a thing as an outright 'victory'. It's usually a matter of who gains more."
"Alright then, who do you think will gain more?"
Magic Miss continued to press, her right arm hanging loosely at her side while her left hand cupped her right elbow.
"The negotiations haven't even begun, so we can only speculate. In my opinion, the Church is likely to hold a considerable advantage, while the Believers of Lies will probably co off slightly worse. Of course, that's just my personal guess, you understand..."
He added, stressing the point.
"Yes, of course I understand. It's just your personal hope as the Saint of the Sage, not based on any facts, but on your allegiance."
Magic Miss replied agreeably. Jenkins then asked:
"Why do you ask?"
He assud these followers of the god of rituals were plotting their next move.
"Soone's opened up a massive betting pool on the black market."
Magic Miss shrugged.
"Hmm? What?"
"I just think it would be a terrible sha to let such a golden opportunity to make a fortune pass by."
"Gambling is wrong, even for adults... That being said, what are the current odds?"
As for asking the Church to investigate the nine locations Magic Miss had provided, Jenkins planned to handle it directly under his guise as a Believer of Lies. Conveniently, the next day was Wednesday, and he had already intended to visit the Church anyway, giving them the perfect opportunity to inform him of the ti for the negotiations.
Nothing eventful occurred during the day on Wednesday. By nightfall, Jenkins found himself back in the Sage's Church. Dressed in his black robe, he sat at an imposing, curved, dark wood table, casually sipping tea with one leg crossed over the other. His gaze was fixed on Miss Bevanna, who stood by the window, looking out.
"So, it's Friday? Thank heavens. It only took you a whole week to finally set a ti. I hope we'll know the exact location soon."
"Of course. The location will be decided shortly."
"Also, now that this Williatte fellow has obtained the Dragon Soul, does that make him the 'Uncrowned King'? We've been quite curious whether one person can hold two Savior emblems."
"That is none of your concern."
"So things aren't going smoothly, then? Tsk, tsk. Just as I suspected."
"What do you know?"
"That is none of your concern."
Jenkins did his best to sound crude and uncultured, further distinguishing this persona from the polite Mr. Jenkins. Even though Miss Bevanna had her back to him, he could practically feel the anger radiating from her.
"Alright, madam, shall we move on to more serious matters?"
"And what we were just discussing wasn't serious?"
"Think whatever you like. We've recently made further progress in our research on the black tower. I hear you're organizing a large-scale divination ritual yourselves? Best of luck with that. But before you get to it, please have a look at this."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a manila envelope. It was still the tail end of sumr and quite warm, so his attire wasn't particularly bulky. Yet, until he produced the envelope, there had been no hint that he was carrying sothing so large.
"All the detailed data is in here. You'd best have your specialists review it. The imdiate problem, madam, is on page seventy-three. Take a look at the map in Appendix Four. Yes, that one. We lack the manpower to investigate the historical events in these regions."
Miss Bevanna said nothing, engrossed in the docunts. Jenkins didn't rush her, content to sip his tea and occasionally use a piece of dried fruit from his saucer to tease his cat.
"The seventh level of the tower has already risen. I hear patterns of trees and vines have appeared on its surface? We speculate it's likely related to the 'World Tree Seedling.' Madam, ti is running short for all of us. Please investigate with all haste."
"Understood," she finally said. "This information is incredibly detailed. Even from a quick skim, I can see how vital it is. You people truly seem to know everything."
"We're just good at making friends."
After leaving the Sage's Church, Jenkins didn't imdiately take flight on his unicorn. Instead, he walked slowly down the main street. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, and just as he'd expected, it was Miss Stevel.
He had noticed her spiritual aura back in the church, so he knew she would take this opportunity to speak with him.
He offered a tight-lipped smile and a slight bow in greeting before they both stepped into a nearby alley.
"What is it?"
The alley was dimly lit, but thanks to the dark vision granted by his Dark Soul, Jenkins could see Miss Stevel's face clearly. And from her expression, he could tell she was furious.
"You have us running around finding partners, yet you barely ever show your faces. Do you even rember the last ti we t? Tell , Mr. Candle, do you people actually want to cooperate or not?
"Of course we do," Jenkins replied smoothly. "The reason I haven't been in touch is because I have complete faith in you."
His words only seed to make her angrier, but she managed to suppress her fury.
"I saw you just ca from the Sage's Church. Do you have any news?"
"Of course. The negotiations are set for Friday—the day after tomorrow. Or, considering it'll be Thursday in two hours, you might as well call it tomorrow. The Church has decided to invite all the sects present in the city. The news should hit the black market by dawn. Any followers of a pseudo-god, so long as they aren't labeled a 'heretical cult', are welco to attend, either as individuals or as representatives of their group.
You'll hear about it soon enough, even without telling you."
"So, when do you plan on gathering everyone to discuss strategy?"
"What strategy?"
Miss Stevel's face was twitching. Jenkins took a small step back, wary that she might lunge at him.
"The strategy for how we're supposed to help you in the negotiations, of course!"
She hissed through clenched teeth.
"Did you really gather all these people to help you without giving any thought to what you want us to do?"
"You... all you need to do is support our proposals during the negotiations. Yes, that's all."
His reasoning was simple. The sheer number of pseudo-god sects was just a front to conceal the fact that the Believers of Lies couldn't care less about the negotiations. It created the illusion that they were working hard, so he saw no need to formulate a detailed plan.
"That's it? Oh, mister, have you ever been in a negotiation in your life?"
"You could say that."
Hearing him admit it so readily, Miss Stevel couldn't stop herself from covering her face, trying to hide her exasperated expression from him. Logically, as their opponent, the Believers of Lies being completely unprepared should have been a good thing for the Church, but she still had the overwhelming urge to throttle the man standing before her.
After all, she had spent the last two months putting in a trendous amount of effort to contact the various sects in Nolan.
"Is it that you don't want to win?"
"Oh, madam, what a thing to say."
His retort ca out subconsciously, tinged with guilt.
"Don't tell you expect us to not only find your supporters, but to draw up your plans as well? Mister, we may be a group of won, but we are certainly not helping you for free."
"That has nothing to do with you being won... Don't look at like that... What is it you want?"
"It's not what *I* want, it's what do *you* want? Mr. Candle, I'm finding you're nothing like Miss Fabry. Can't you be more like her, and be passionate about seeing a job through to the best of your ability?"
"Well... rest assured. Yes, there's no problem at all. I... actually already have a plan for Friday's negotiations."
"What plan?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, but it's classified. No one can know beforehand. But don't worry. When the ti cos, just express your support for us at the opportune mont. That's all that's needed."
The lie was so clumsy that Miss Stevel was clearly unconvinced.
"You really have a plan?"
She folded her arms and eyed him skeptically.
"Of course. When have we ever been without a plan? Even if you don't trust , you should trust the Believers of Lies. Since last autumn, have you ever known us to act recklessly?"
"How would I know? I only arrived in Nolan recently... Fine, I'll trust you for now. It's your affair, after all. Even if you lose, the worst that can happen is that relations between the Orthodox Churches and the pseudo-gods' followers will remain as they are for the next few centuries. It can't possibly get any worse, can it?"
"Let's hope so. Also, I heard that during Williatte's speech last Sunday, a... human jigsaw puzzle appeared downtown?"
He asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, I heard that as well. Why do you ask?"
"I also heard... that the Music Cult aided the Orthodox Church, adding a blessing to an arrow?"
"You shouldn't trust street gossip. Otherwise, even a Believer of Lies might find himself deceived by one."
Miss Stevel said, her gaze drifting to a dark corner of the alley.
"There's no need to be evasive, madam. I'm well aware that my friend, Miss Skylark, is also a friend of Mr. Williatte's. I only bring this up to make it clear that I don't mind you communicating with the Orthodox Churches. I don't care about Miss Skylark's relationship with Williatte, either. I'll even send a gift to their wedding. But..."
The smile vanished from his face. He didn't move from his spot, but leaned forward slightly, bringing his face closer to hers.
"But just because I don't mind you communicating with the Orthodox Churches doesn't an I'll tolerate betrayal."
"Betrayal?" she shot back. "Have you forgotten who's been doing all the work of contacting Nolan's pseudo-god followers for you?"
Despite her inner turmoil, Miss Stevel forced herself to remain composed.
"Good," he said softly. "You should know that while we use lies as our tools, we don't appreciate being lied to."
"Yes, of course. No one likes being deceived."
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