The Witch's House was an illegal organization, or rather, a malevolent society. They worshiped a being that called itself the "Hanging Mother Goddess's Shadow," though its true nature remained a mystery. But since it claid to be a mother of creation, it certainly couldn't be a god.
While researching pseudo-gods and righteous gods, Jenkins had been puzzled by this world's lack of a creator, which led him to learn about these entities that were not even deities.
It could have been a powerful Enchanter, an unknown Cursed Item, an evil spirit, or even a terrifying supernatural creature banished to the void many epochs ago, but it was definitely not a god.
The Witch's House had been jointly designated an illegal organization by the Orthodox Church and the kingdom's authorities. They typically operated in bustling cities, infiltrating high society to weave plots and instigate murders. Beyond the fact that all of its mbers were female Enchanters, little else was known about them.
As Jenkins mulled this over, the red-haired girl sitting across from him was agonizingly recalling the two won she had seen supporting him that day. Her beautiful eyes drifted toward the distracted author, who looked up in confusion and t her gaze.
"I must be going mad."
Hathaway thought to herself that their locked gazes had sent a jolt through her, like an electric shock. As an adult woman, she knew exactly what that ant. If the blockhead opposite her didn't possess so supernatural ability to shoot sparks from his eyes, then it had to be...
"Briny, Briny, Briny."
Her face flushing, she frantically repeated the na in her mind, trying to erase the thought that had just flashed through it.
The carriage suddenly fell silent, and Jenkins noticed the strange atmosphere as well. He glanced down at his cat, and Chocolate looked up with its amber eyes, letting out an innocent ow.
He looked up at the red-haired girl, but she had turned her head to stare at the curtains shading the window.
There was still a long way to go to Pops Antique Shop. Hathaway, having regained her composure, started chatting with Jenkins about other topics. Though she wasn't an Enchanter of an Orthodox Church, her knowledge and study of the occult was no less than that of Jenkins, who had only been on the job for three months.
The two discussed Cursed Items, rituals, spells, and legends, and Jenkins found that having a friend his own age was actually quite nice.
Through their conversation, Hathaway could also tell that Jenkins's understanding and study of the occult was still quite shallow. She attributed this to the irresponsibility of the black-robed man who had guided him into this world and promised that he could co to her to discuss these matters anyti.
The carriage dropped Jenkins at the corner of Fifth Queen's Avenue and departed. Facing the cold autumn wind, Jenkins waved a few tis at the departing vehicle. Since he wasn't planning to attend Friday's auction, their next eting would probably be at Mr. Hood's gathering.
As he walked along the street toward the antique shop, a little flower-selling girl in a thin dress approached him, her basket holding a few wilted flowers. Before she could even speak, Jenkins stopped in his tracks, his expression serious. He took off his hat and, before the girl could be frightened to tears, offered a polite smile, quickly tossed a few silver coins into her basket, and hastily crossed to the other side of the street. He strode away quickly, not looking back at the girl who was bowing profusely.
The ntal scars from that incident, it seed, would linger for a long ti.
When he returned to the antique shop, a custor was inside. It was Viscount Augustus's old butler. After hanging up his coat and hat, Jenkins overheard that the two were discussing how the paynt for the last shipnt should be made.
The butler wore a formal black suit, his hair and beard impeccably grood. He spoke the Kingdom's common tongue with a fluent Nolan accent, conversing slowly and thodically with Papa Oliver.
The signed contract stipulated that the money for the ancient books Papa Oliver had purchased would be paid in three installnts over the course of a month. In reality, the money had co from the Church and was already in Papa Oliver's possession, but an ordinary antique shop could hardly produce such a large sum all at once, which was why the contract specified three paynts.
Viscount Augustus was likely in urgent need of money, which was why he had sent his butler here even though the due date for the second paynt hadn't yet arrived. Papa Oliver was firm at first but soon relented. Under the pretext of "earning Viscount Augustus's friendship," he put on a show of going upstairs to get the money.
"Good afternoon, Baron Williatte."
The old butler still rembered Jenkins.
"Hello, welco."
While Papa Oliver went upstairs for the money, Jenkins was left to look after the shop. The butler was very amiable and even offered Jenkins his seat, which he politely declined with a smile.
"How is Viscount Augustus's illness? The last ti I saw him, he was physically unwell, but his spirits seed quite good."
"Oh, thank you for your concern. The Viscount's illness is the sa as ever, but as long as his condition remains stable, we are content."
His expression was a little unnatural as he spoke, and Jenkins suspected that Mr. Augustus's condition had likely taken a turn for the worse. But his relationship with the Viscount wasn't particularly close, so he didn't feel it was his place to press for details.
After receiving the money from Papa Oliver, the butler left, giving Jenkins a chance to tell his boss about the afternoon's events.
Actually, "tell" wasn't quite the right word. He projected several key scenes onto the Book of mories for Papa Oliver to see.
Papa Oliver wasn't interested in the personal grievances of ordinary people, but he imdiately recognized the symbol on the bottle.
"The Witch's House?"
He pushed up his glasses, reaching the sa conclusion as Hathaway. But he didn't seem overly surprised. "All sorts of things are flocking here these days... Hmph. Aren't they afraid of catching the Gear Disease?"
It seed Papa Oliver already knew that Enchanters from the Witch's House had co to Nolan City. He didn't explain the details to Jenkins, rely instructing him to be careful "outside" for a while, especially of any unfamiliar female Enchanters.
This "outside," of course, referred to the black market or other social events involving Enchanters.
Since the next day was the Reading Festival, Papa Oliver let Jenkins leave work early as an early celebration. After agreeing to et at the church the following afternoon, Jenkins left the warm shop.
He shivered violently as he stepped into the cold, startling Chocolate so much that its fur stood on end. Jenkins had substantial savings now, but he knew that until he found a way to make his money work for him, it was best to be frugal. He had possessed that eight thousand pounds for nearly a month now. He scanned the newspapers every day and asked others for leads, but he still hadn't found a reliable avenue for investnt.
Reviews
All reviews (0)