"Is this earring related to that god?"
The ornant on Hathaway's ear had been a gift from a pure, liberated soul. Before vanishing, it had even left behind a precious teardrop capable of increasing an Enchanter's spirit. That soul had been an ardent opera aficionado, so much so that even in death, it had pestered Mr. Nelly for simply passing by the cetery, all because he was the director of an opera troupe. Following that line of reasoning, it was entirely possible that the soul's faith in life had been identical to Hathaway's.
And judging by the way the soul ascended into the heavens as it disappeared, its final destination was most likely connected to a deity.
"A coincidence?"
He tilted his head, stroking the affectionate cat purring on his lap as he listened to Hathaway recount the events of the previous night.
His connection to the Wondrous Musical Score—that is, the God of Music—had begun with that single drop of divinity in Shire City. Aside from the forr God of Lies, who had been redeed partway through, the God of Music was likely the first among the six gods who descended upon Nolan to get involved in the Evil God Scion incident.
To this day, Jenkins still didn't understand why the deity had appeared in New Truman City during the autumn. And now, the corpse that had appeared in the Shire cetery seed extrely suspicious in hindsight. On the last night of the previous year, with the exception of the God of Flowers and Festivals who had a special vessel, the mortal shells of the other gods had all dissipated into motes of light along with them, leaving no bodies behind.
So, no matter how you looked at it, the appearance of a body possessing divinity in the Shire City cetery was a huge problem.
Recalling the God of Music's enigmatic smile when the two deities had t, Jenkins felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Could that god also be plotting so earth-shattering conspiracy, just like the God of Shadow and Stealth?"
Jenkins's face was etched with worry. He made a ntal note to visit Shire City again after his winter trip. He needed to re-examine the corpse in the cetery, hoping to spot so detail he had overlooked before.
Hathaway mistook Jenkins's solemn expression for concern over the city's welfare and offered a few quiet words of comfort. But Jenkins's mind was elsewhere entirely, and he could only respond with a vague murmur.
After lunch at the club, just as the two were exchanging ideas about the opera's score, Miss Mikhail finally arrived.
The Mikhail family had a very important business near the destroyed district, so Marquis Mikhail had been in a foul mood all day. Even when he learned that Miss Mikhail's mother had caught a cold, he had only offered a few perfunctory words of concern before storming out.
This had left Miss Mikhail deeply dissatisfied, but unable to voice her frustration at ho, she could only vent to her friends at the club.
"I don't think Mother's illness is serious, so it won't affect our winter trip. I hope I can clear my head during our travels. I've had to deal with far too many unpleasant things lately."
Her words struck a chord with Jenkins, who had also encountered his fair share of troubles recently. Fortunately, most of the imdiate threats to Nolan had been eliminated. A week-long trip away from the city seed like the perfect way to unwind.
Since they were set to depart early Wednesday morning, they had started packing the previous week. Although both ladies insisted that just a few changes of clothes would suffice, Jenkins had prepared ticulously.
Hathaway and Miss Mikhail had visited the destination every winter for the past few years, and that afternoon, they excitedly described the general layout of the mountain villa to Jenkins.
It certainly sounded delightful. The villa was well-equipped with all the necessary anities, and the surrounding snow-capped mountains offered breathtaking scenery. However, the fact that there was only a single road in and out of the area gave Jenkins pause.
"If that bridge over the ravine you ntioned gets damaged, wouldn't we be trapped in the mountains?"
He even voiced his concern aloud, only to be t with laughter from the girls.
Adhering to his personal principle of "vampires have nothing to do with ," Jenkins didn't even go to the Church to inquire about the previous night's events. Furthermore, Miss Bevanna had temporarily suspended his combat training to recover from the divine injury inflicted by the God's Scion. So, he decided to focus on preparing for the upcoming trip and let the Church handle the city's problems.
Chocolate must have sensed from Jenkins's packing that they were about to leave ho for an extended period, as the cat began to show signs of anxiety.
Jenkins vaguely recalled hearing sowhere that cats, much like dogs, were reluctant to leave familiar surroundings, so he completely understood Chocolate's behavior.
A long journey naturally required packing all of one's belongings. And since he would be away for a week, he knew he had to keep the more dangerous items with him. The remaining drop of divinity was a given, but all other portable items had to be brought along, just in case.
Early Tuesday morning, Jenkins found himself in a state of inexplicable excitent, the source of which he couldn't pinpoint. He guessed it was the anticipation of the upcoming trip; the thought of getting away from Nolan brought him an imnse sense of relief.
The morning paper briefly ntioned sothing about the Air Protection Act, but the majority of the space was dedicated to covering the astonishing teor shower. Jenkins read the skillfully fabricated report with great amusent. Perhaps the God of Lies' divine power had truly worked its magic; at least from the black-and-white photograph taken at the scene, the craters genuinely looked as if they had been caused by heavy objects falling from the sky.
Although he had used a recognizable ability like chanical Light that night, no one had dared to raise their heads and look at the two beings in the sky. Besides, Jenkins had burned all the scattered components to ashes with his flas, so he wasn't worried that any discerning eyes would figure things out.
In fact, the only person who could have possibly recognized the ability was Magic Miss, but she hadn't been present at the scene.
The morning sky remained overcast. The snow from before the new year had not yet completely lted, so the coachman didn't dare drive the carriage too quickly. When the slowly swaying carriage arrived at Pops Antique Shop, the store was empty. Even the fireplace was unlit. It seed Papa Oliver was indeed out.
Jenkins, holding his cat in one arm, unlocked the door with his key and pushed it open. His eyes imdiately fell upon a gray canvas-covered fra resting on the counter.
On the desk was a note Papa Oliver had left for him. It explained that he would be busy at the Church all day and that Jenkins should give the painting to the woman and then he was free to leave. He added that he would stop by St. George Avenue tomorrow morning before Jenkins left for the train station to see him off and give him so last-minute instructions.
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