Jenkins didn't know the answer to Papa Oliver's question, but the golden ring in his spirit pulsed with a faint light—the color of wealth.
When Jenkins returned ho that evening, he told his family about purchasing the property. His father was delighted that Jenkins had managed to acquire such a residence for so few gold pounds, but he was also endlessly worried about the supposed haunting.
"It's alright," Jenkins reassured him. "I'll go to the church in a few days. I'm sure the Bishop wouldn't mind giving the house a blessing."
Jenkins hypocritically used Bishop Parrold as an excuse once again.
He didn't have many belongings, and with Mary Williams's help, they were packed in no ti. There was no need to move imdiately, however; the family decided they would all help Jenkins move over the weekend.
The kitten, Chocolate, was still at Papa Oliver's shop. Jenkins sotis worried the cat wouldn't want to move with him to the new house, but every ti he returned to the shop, it was always incredibly affectionate.
In truth, Jenkins found this level of affection a little odd. From what he knew, cats weren't typically so quick to warm up to people. But now he had a house, a job, and a cat—he was practically a man of success. Best not to dwell on such wild speculation.
Since the property deal had only been possible thanks to Miss Mikhail, Jenkins knew he ought to give her a gift to show his appreciation.
Gold pounds felt too crass, and besides, Jenkins was short on cash. His only option was to ask Papa Oliver for help. But his ntor had so big news for him:
"They're back. The business out on the open sea is concluded."
"Oh?"
It was Saturday morning. Jenkins had originally planned to ask Papa Oliver for the day off to go to the black market and et with the huntress.
"They're back already?"
"The ship has set sail. They should be back in Nolan by tomorrow morning."
Papa Oliver said, tapping his fingers on the table. He hesitated for a mont before continuing,
"Since the business on the open sea is over, I can finally tell you what happened. Soone discovered a chest in a coral reef among the Broken Islands. Inside was a Mysterious Object."
"A Mysterious Object? Is it dangerous?"
Jenkins asked.
"No, not dangerous. It's incredibly useful. So useful, in fact, that the Church was willing to leave the entire diocese vulnerable just to seize it."
Jenkins nodded, understanding.
Papa Oliver seed to be holding sothing back. He watched Jenkins's expression carefully before continuing, "That attack you ran into on Monday night has been investigated. It was a wanted criminal passing through. Don't worry, he's already left Nolan. The whole thing was just a random incident."
Jenkins was still pondering what kind of Mysterious Object Papa Oliver was talking about, so he failed to notice the odd expression on his ntor's face as he spoke the last sentence.
That afternoon, Jenkins asked Papa Oliver for ti off, using the excuse of needing to change the locks and mow the lawn at his new house. He took what was left of his savings to the black market. Standing in the shadows, he summoned the Bestowal from his spirit and found the middleman, the clown, still in the sa spot.
His appearance was different, but that didn't matter so long as he knew the password from their last eting.
"The black raven."
The clown nodded at Jenkins and led him to the room with the wool carpet, situated above the sewer pipes.
Four sofas were arranged around a wooden table, its only illumination a single burning candle. The woman who called herself the huntress was already there, waiting for him. Ȓ𝔞ΝօᛒÈș
"Well? Did you find anything?"
Jenkins waited until the clown had disappeared through the trapdoor below before he spoke.
"That's quite a disguise... This whole business is more complicated than I imagined."
The huntress's voice was a little hoarse. "I discovered that one of the burned-down houses was a secret local stronghold for the Church of Sun and Justice thirty years ago. Anything involving one of the Orthodox Churches... that kind of information is extrely difficult to obtain."
Jenkins offered a sympathetic smile, but he had no intention of paying a single extra copper penny for the trouble.
She picked up a stack of papers from beside her and set it on the table. Instead of pushing it toward Jenkins, however, she pressed her left hand firmly on top of it and lifted her remarkably plain face to look at him.
Jenkins gave an understanding nod and slid the remaining fifteen pounds, the final paynt for the job, across the table to her.
For the next while, the huntress waited in silence for Jenkins to finish reading and ask his questions.
Although Jenkins had requested an investigation into all the burned-down houses, his true target was only one. Still, he had to keep up appearances, so he made sure to read through all the docunts.
Due to the size and population of any given city, it's impossible for it to host all of the Orthodox Churches. Therefore, according to the thousand-year-old High Tower Accord (Third Revision), the twelve churches are distributed more or less evenly across the continent, with their locations adjusted every century based on population shifts and urban developnt.
This didn't an, however, that churches without an official presence in a city wouldn't try to extend their influence there. The Church of Sun and Justice, which had once occupied the burned-down house, was a case in point. Over fifty years ago, it had been a base for their informants.
During the great plague that swept the continent thirty years ago, Nolan City was largely spared. Nevertheless, the church's personnel were transferred away, and the stronghold was subsequently abandoned.
Incidentally, it was because of that very plague that Jenkins's father, Robert Williams, had fled his distant holand by boat as a child. He sought refuge in Nolan, where he eventually settled down, married a local woman, and started the family he had today.
The house once occupied by the followers of the Church of Sun and Justice was the very sa one where Jenkins had dug up the tal hexahedron. Tracing its history further back was impossible; due to the passage of ti and the chaos of wars and plagues, the original owner's records were lost. As for its more recent history, all its owners up until it was occupied by a smuggler nad Mr. Brown were completely ordinary people.
Jenkins was almost certain now. The object he'd found must have been sothing left behind by the Church of Sun and Justice during their occupation.
"Any questions?"
The huntress asked, seeing Jenkins set the papers down.
He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought for a mont. "Is this everything? It's not quite what I was expecting..."
"I can guarantee that for the sa number of gold pounds, you won't find another soul in Nolan City who could dig up more than this."
The woman's voice was brimming with confidence, but her tone shifted as she brought up sothing else. "Actually, I did co across sothing very strange during my investigation. But it has nothing to do with what you asked to look into, so there's no need for you to know."
"That sounds like you're trying to upsell ..."
Jenkins made a show of getting up to leave. "I'm not spending extra gold pounds on information I don't need."
"It's related to the recent hauntings. Are you interested?"
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