"Good afternoon. Care to join us for lunch? Miss Stuart and Julia will be arriving soon."
Before the familiar fireplace, the figures of Jenkins and Chocolate solidified, shifting from transparent to corporeal.
"Oh, yes, please. The lunch on the train was practically inedible."
Ever since the "thirty-year-old marriage proposal" incident, Jenkins couldn't help but blush every ti he saw Miss Miller. She, however, showed no sign of anything unusual, making him wonder if the whole thing had just been a wild fantasy of his.
Ordinarily, Miss Stuart wouldn't visit during the day, a fact Jenkins understood given her true identity. She was coming today because of a small auction being held sowhere in the city that afternoon, where it was said soone would be selling so "magical and interesting items."
After her experience in that Mysterious Realm, she was keenly aware that going alone was too dangerous, which was why she had decided to invite Jenkins and Miss Miller to accompany her.
As Jenkins expertly cut the smoked at on his plate, sothing occurred to him. He glanced at Miss Stuart and Julia, deciding it wouldn't hurt to bring it up with them there.
"I've recently co across so fascinating knowledge."
He broached the subject casually. Seeing that Miss Miller was already listening intently, he continued.
"I'm told that in ages past, chained abilities were far more common than they are today. Enchanters would thodically plan their paths of progression. Unlike now, where they tend to focus on a single core ability, back then they preferred to build their strength around powerful chained abilities."
"That's right," Miss Miller said with a nod. "But with the disappearance of aberrations and the end of the warti eras, people realized that destructive power wasn't always the most useful. The developnt of the steam industry, in particular, made large-scale conflict less likely. As a result, Enchanters began to favor single, specialized abilities over chained abilities that required extensive preparation."
Miss Miller's eyes drifted to Jenkins's cat, perched by his right hand and licking a bead that glowed with a green luster. She raised an eyebrow, starting to doubt if her own ability to appraise items was failing her.
Miss Stuart remained silent. She didn't know much about such ancient matters. Although the royal family had a vast collection of historical texts, she had yet to find a suitable reason to consult them.
"I recently learned of a few interesting chained abilities from a friend," Jenkins went on. "And what's rare about them is that they aren't geared toward destruction."
Julia's ears twitched. She had beco increasingly mystified by the background of this "Mr. Poirot," so the ntion of his friends naturally piqued her curiosity.
"What abilities?"
Miss Miller knew that Jenkins's church connections gave him extraordinary insight. If he called sothing "interesting," it was bound to be truly fascinating.
"The two abilities are called [Energy Shell] and [Our God is Here]. Have you heard of them?"
"No."
"I haven't either."
Both girls shook their heads.
"That's to be expected. My friend told that in the ancient epochs, when gods descended to the mortal plane..."
"Cough, cough."
Miss Stuart choked, sputtering a mouthful of soup. She had apparently inhaled while drinking, sending the liquid straight into her windpipe. She started to recover as Julia rushed to clean up the ss.
"I'm fine."
She lowered her head and waved a dismissive hand at Jenkins, dabbing frantically at her mouth. "Mr. Poirot, please, continue."
"Very well, then."
He figured what he had said so far wasn't all that shocking. The truly astonishing part was still to co.
"In ancient tis, it was far more complicated for gods to enter the material world. While the great ones are all-powerful, they had to be mindful of the effect their imnse power would have on our realm. During that era, the churches had a special thod for receiving a deity. They would raise certain Enchanters from childhood, training them to beco saintly vessels by having them learn three specific chained abilities. These three chains would occupy every ability slot from Level 0 all the way to Level 8. It was the only way a god could be guided into our world in the form of a saint."
He glanced around the table, observing their reactions. Miss Miller was deep in thought, processing it all. Miss Stuart, on the other hand, looked utterly stunned, the shock practically written on her face. Julia, anwhile, simply watched Jenkins with narrowed eyes.
When she saw Jenkins notice her staring, she quickly looked away.
"For reasons lost to history, all three of those chained abilities were lost. My friend only knew the nas of two. However, there's a theory that if soone in our ti could master all three, they would be able to summon a god into this world instantly, without any of the usual preparations."
"This... I think we should probably not discuss matters concerning the great ones."
Miss Stuart whispered, clearly frightened. Unlike an anomaly like Miss Miller, who was a non-believer, most people in this world held the gods in profound reverence.
"It's nothing to worry about," he said gently, stroking Chocolate's head. "We aren't offering opinions on the great ones, just discussing history." The cat gave him a suspicious glance before returning its attention to the pearl.
"Are you certain this is true?"
Miss Miller asked.
"I am. I'd say it's at least eighty percent true."
"Then this is absolutely fascinating. The changing of the epochs affected the gods... no, that's not right. The world itself must be changing. The might of the gods wouldn't be eroded by ti. Perhaps our world is also maturing. With every new epoch, with every great transformation, it becos capable of bearing more of the great ones' power..."
That was a point Jenkins hadn't considered. He had only been concerned with Hathaway and her connection to those chained abilities. A faint understanding began to dawn on him. If Mysterious Realms were fragnts of space, then from what greater space were they sundered?
Miss Stuart didn't dare join their conversation. She kept her head down, pretending to be absorbed by the food on her plate, while her mind raced, wondering about the true origins of these two friends of hers.
She had begun investigating their backgrounds as soon as she t them. Miss Miller's identity checked out; she was, as she claid, an amateur detective.
But her claim of being a Level 2 Enchanter was definitely false. From their conversations, it was obvious that Miss Miller's knowledge of the mystic arts was profound. If not for the fact that she still couldn't fully uncover her past, Dolores Stuart might have even considered asking her to be her teacher.
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