"Still, I can finally move back," Jenkins remarked. "Living at the church might be cheap, but it's nowhere near as comfortable as being ho."
The conversation had turned to the subject of his return.
"Do you know exactly when you'll be able to go back?"
Miss Mikhail asked.
"Soti this weekend, I expect. The letter from City Hall ntioned there's still so unfinished pipework to take care of."
In reality, it was an excuse for one final inspection of his neighbor's house.
Speaking of the house next door, Jenkins had already decided to buy it. The church had been unable to find any of Mrs. Margaret's relatives—if they had, they would have tracked down a lead long ago. This ant the house would be repossessed by the city and sold off at a low price at auction.
The church, however, was worried that selling it to an ordinary person would invite trouble. So, when Jenkins, the man living right next door, made an offer, they agreed with almost no resistance.
Since the church had made the arrangents, the price for the house was even cheaper than his own—a hundred pounds flat. Jenkins could afford it even before receiving his inheritance.
He planned to tear down the fence between the two properties and rge the gardens. Then, he'd build a suspended walkway connecting the second floors and join the basents.
The work would be done during his week-long winter trip, and the church had offered to help find suitable craftsn.
"It's a sha tearing down both houses to rebuild would be so ti-consuming and expensive," he lanted. "Otherwise, it would have been a fantastic idea."
"Viscount Augustus's inheritance should be more than enough for you to splurge like that."
Miss Mikhail said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Yes, but you can't just throw money around, even if you have it. Besides, the amount isn't nearly as large as people speculate. After making a few donations and paying the inheritance tax, it's actually only around thirty thousand pounds. Once I set aside the money for renovations, I plan on taking my father's advice and investing the rest in so mining ventures."
That word was now almost synonymous with "scam," so he felt compelled to clarify:
"Legitimate mining ventures, of course."
For the year-end festival, Jenkins had given Miss Mikhail a bottle of experintal perfu he had crafted using his potion-making skills. Inspired by the "Witch's Kiss," he was exploring a new avenue for inco. His original plan for Hathaway had been to "draw" a music box into existence, but he later realized he had no idea how its inner chanisms worked.
He had wracked his brain trying to pick out a gift for his friend, even considering just buying an expensive piece of jewelry from a shop. Ultimately, he had no other choice but to make a copy of the photograph Alexia had taken of the unicorn and give that to her.
Jenkins could now catch the scent of the perfu he'd made on Miss Mikhail. He'd never been a fan of overpowering fragrances, so he had made the scent very subtle.
"It's not proper to comnt on a lady's fragrance."
He told himself, deciding against asking for her opinion on the gift just yet.
Even though the incident with the Evil God's Scion was seemingly resolved, Nolan City was still under threat from aberrations. When Jenkins returned to the church that evening, he learned from Captain Bincy that George Liverpool had gone missing and was likely abducted by vampires.
This was a critical piece of information. According to earlier intelligence, one of the vampires' goals was to find a human who could perfectly contain the power of an aberration. Liverpool was very likely such a target.
Considering they had massacred an entire alley during their first operation, the possibility was now almost a certainty.
Knowing he would get a lead from the huntress the following night, Jenkins already began to formulate a plan.
The church had also gathered so information about the earthquake from earlier that morning. During his combat training with Miss Bevanna, she ntioned that the epicenter was very shallow, close to the surface. The church was now concerned that sothing was wrong beneath Nolan.
"Could it be those cultists from the Gear Artisans' Association?"
Jenkins asked at once.
"It's possible," Miss Bevanna replied. "Based on the information you brought back from that Mysterious Realm, that group has been searching for sothing underground. I suspect they've stirred up so major trouble."
By this session, Jenkins had learned all of the unconventional stances. While he still struggled to execute them perfectly, he was at least no longer a complete novice.
Seeing his progress, Miss Bevanna decided it was ti to move on to traditional "combat" training. Her teaching thod was rather straightforward and brutal: Jenkins didn't have to learn any specific techniques; he just had to fight her, fist to fist.
"This is just the beginning," she had told him. "I want you to truly understand what it ans to fight."
Neither of them used their abilities, which minimized the potential for serious injury, but being constantly subdued in a variety of ways was still incredibly disheartening for Jenkins. He could tell this state of affairs wasn't going to change anyti soon.
Chocolate hadn't gone to watch Jenkins get thrashed. Instead, the cat remained in the room, perched on Jenkins's pillow, its large eyes fixed on two tal blocks on the bed that looked like works of art. Although the seal was imbued with divinity, Chocolate could still break it. The problem was that doing so would create an enormous disturbance. The cat was caught in a deep state of indecision.
Its small ears twitched. The cat turned its head toward the door, and a second later, a soft knock sounded.
"ow~"
It let out a soft ow before hopping off the pillow and onto the plush carpet. Knowing how clever his cat was, Jenkins had left the door ajar before he left, so Chocolate could slip out for so fresh air whenever it pleased.
Chocolate padded over to the door, squeezed its head through the crack, and looked out at the uncertain girl standing there: Fini Faithford.
She wore a fitted black church robe and held a small, brown book stamped with a holy emblem. She must have just co from choir practice.
"Excuse , is Mr. Williams here?"
She whispered the question to the cat, then imdiately felt ridiculous for talking to an animal. Thankfully, no one was around to see her.
"ow~"
Chocolate owed again and pushed its whole body against the door, successfully widening the gap. It gave the girl a quick glance before scampering back into the room.
"Is that an invitation to co in?"
Fini hesitated. It was clearly improper to enter soone's room without permission.
So, she reached for the handle and pulled the door closed again. She then tucked herself away beside a decorative suit of armor at the side of the hall. She waited there until Jenkins appeared around the corner, rubbing one arm with his other hand. Only then did she step out from the armor's shadow.
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