Stimulated by his Life Source, the seed hidden in Jenkins's cuff sprouted in an instant. It climbed his arm and shot out from his sleeve, gradually rging with the ethereal sword. Backed by a vast natural spirit, the plant crept onto the undead's body, enveloping it like the tentacles of an octopus.
By the ti the Gravekeeper Squad arrived, the undead at the mouth of the alley was completely encased in a cocoon-like substance. Jenkins stood off to one side, watching over the foreign duke's bodyguards.
As for the unfortunate middle-aged man, who had been gradually transforming into sothing inhuman, Jenkins had already incinerated him. Before he died, octopus-like appendages had sprouted from his body, and he had beco shrouded in a robe that reeked of the sea.
The mont the man died, the deafening sound of collapsing buildings and the roar of water filled Jenkins's ears. In reality, however, his surroundings were perfectly calm; the noise felt like an illusion. Far away, out of Jenkins's sight, Duke Antak let out a scream and collapsed in a dark alley.
The dagger left by the God of Music had no special effect on the undead, so Jenkins still lacked a weapon capable of confronting the Skull Sword directly. He would have to rely on his own power. The fusion of water, fire, and wood he had just demonstrated, combined with the still-unprepared Stone of Life, ant that he wouldn't be completely defenseless against the blade.
After seeing Duke Antak today, he had a premonition that the day of the final battle was fast approaching.
Jenkins was soon escorted back to the church by the Scribe Squad, which had rushed to the scene, and the search for Duke Antak began imdiately.
While speaking with Bishop Parrold, the old man remarked aningfully that the duke's connection to the criminal was hardly a simple affair. He suspected it was deeply entangled with the politics of the three great kingdoms.
Jenkins hadn't considered all that. He only knew that his enemies were engaged in so secret transaction. Of course, it would be ideal if he could use the duke to track down Skryu Pompey's hideout, but he suspected it wouldn't be that easy.
It wasn't that Jenkins wanted to waste Bishop Parrold's ti, but when Papa Oliver saw him, he insisted on dragging him to the bishop's luxurious office for a chat.
Once the old man started talking, he simply couldn't stop. The two spent the entire afternoon discussing recent political events.
The bishop subtly hinted to Jenkins that Queen Flar III's health was failing, and it was doubtful she would even make it to autumn. Once the queen passed away, he warned, the matter of the kingdom's succession could beco the new flashpoint for conflict on the continent.
"What about Miss Windsor? I think she would be an excellent successor. She's very capable."
"But she isn't a direct descendant of the Middleton family. There are plenty of heirs who rank ahead of her."
"So we'll really end up with a foreigner as our new king."
"It's hard to say."
The bishop shook his head. He uncapped his solid gold fountain pen, signed his na on a docunt on his desk, then removed the ring of authority from his finger and pressed its seal onto the paper.
He glanced up, noting it was already four in the afternoon. He nodded to himself, then remarked, as if casually:
"Jenkins, I seem to recall you ntioning sothing very important you had to do on the last day of the month. Have you taken care of it?"
"That... thing..."
Jenkins glanced down at the cat batting a ball on his lap, and then his whole body began to tremble.
"Damn it!"
Robert had ntioned in his letter that morning that Jenkins was to bring a female companion to Maidenhaven Road between five and six in the afternoon. Jenkins's original plan had been to invite soone in the morning, leaving him the afternoon to sort out his hair and clothes so Mary wouldn't think he was taking the family event lightly.
But because of the unexpected incident at noon, he still had no idea who to invite.
"Is Miss Bevanna at the church?"
Jenkins blurted out, then imdiately wanted to smack himself in the face.
"She went to a horse farm in the countryside with Audrey. Apparently, they're researching so mirror."
"Um, the nuns at the church..."
"I know what you're thinking, Jenkins. But you must understand, your mother knows every single marriageable young woman in this church. You can't just grab any random person; it won't work."
Jenkins's eyes widened. The bishop had known all along what he'd forgotten.
Jenkins didn't have many female friends, and with every other option exhausted, he could only turn to his cat for help.
After leaving the bishop's office, Jenkins returned to his room with Chocolate. Cradling the cat, who was squinting contentedly, he tried to persuade it again:
"Chocolate, it's ti for you to repay . I really need your help. I know you can control that special fur of yours. Now, can you conjure up a lovely girl for ?"
His only hope was that Chocolate could act like Cinderella's fairy godmother and transform so random object—a fountain pen, a bedsheet, a chair—into a beautiful girl he could talk to. It sounded bizarre, but Jenkins was confident that the wisp of divinity within the cat was powerful enough to pull it off.
"ow~"
Chocolate was already willing to help, but it had to play it cool to make sure Jenkins understood just how important it was.
"Chocolate, we've been through countless life-or-death situations together! We've slept in the sa bed for countless nights... For the love of all that's holy, at least help out for the sake of feeding you and cleaning up after you every single day!"
"ow~"
The cat's claws dug viciously into the back of Jenkins's hand as he was petting it. He yelped in pain and shot to his feet. Far from looking apologetic, Chocolate's expression grew even more ferocious.
"Did I say sothing wrong?"
Jenkins was bewildered, having no idea what had set Chocolate off.
"This is a disaster. Who on earth am I supposed to invite?"
He turned to treat the scratch, and the fury on the cat's face instantly vanished, replaced by a soft, plaintive ow.
"This is a major life event. I may be focused on finding my path to godhood and battling evil organizations, but you can't just run from life."
The cat shook its fur, then seed to lt like a puddle of water. A black shadow pooled on the carpet, and within it, countless fleshy buds began to squirm.
"Why does every woman have sothing to do today? Is fate toying with ?"
From that pool of black shadow, a small, dark figure began to rise. Lost in his troubles, Jenkins didn't notice the strange wind that stirred through the room, nor did he see the sky outside suddenly darken. It was nearly dusk, and the two moons had been faintly visible on the horizon, but now they were hidden by dark clouds that had drifted in from nowhere.
"Argh, what am I going to do? I'm supposed to be saving the world! Why am I being forced to deal with this?"
The small figure that erged was at first completely black, like so kind of monster. But as it fully pulled itself free from the shadow, brilliant colors began to bloom across its form, adding to its splendor.
"So, the best thing to do now is..."
A petite girl wearing a rather risqué, cat-eared outfit stepped out of the shadow. She stood behind Jenkins, hand raised to tap his shoulder. A sly grin spread across her lovely, cute face, and her playful brown hair seed to quiver down her back. It was the smile of a cat who knows its prank has succeeded.
"...the best thing to do is to invite Julia! Don't you think so, Chocolate?"
Jenkins turned around, only to see his cat leaning against the foot of the bed with an expression of profound, world-weary lancholy. It was listlessly pawing at the carpet. When it heard Jenkins's voice, it rely raised its head, the very picture of a soul cruelly toyed with by fate.
"Huh? Why am I reading its expression like that?"
Jenkins shook his head, and seeing that Chocolate had no intention of following, he set off for Ruen alone.
He would never guess what he had just missed.
Things went more smoothly than Jenkins could have hoped. When he arrived in Ruen, Miss Stuart happened to be eting with her father. Anticipating that Jenkins might appear at any mont, Julia was holding onto the lodestone for safekeeping. After he briefly explained his predicant, the expression on Julia's face was one you might expect if he had just confessed to being the God of Lies.
"I'm sorry, but... you can't be serious?"
"Not at all. Miss Minnewick, I know this is terribly sudden and presumptuous, but you're the best person I can ask right now. Please, help !"
He really had no other choice.
"Why not invite..."
"You're the one who told Miss Stuart can't know I can take her to Nolan whenever I please. As it happens, she has a royal banquet to attend. If you co with to Nolan, we can take care of my business and be back before she's any the wiser."
Jenkins knew the maid was about to suggest Dolores Stuart, but that was out of the question.
The young maid suddenly wanted to laugh. She knew just how many won were coveting the very position Jenkins was offering, yet here he was, personally inviting her—soone with no connection to the matter at all.
She held a simple respect for Jenkins Williams and had no other feelings for him, even if he was admittedly quite a catch. But for the sake of the princess's future, Julia Minnewick finally agreed.
But Julia swore to herself that she would never let Dolores find out about this. Otherwise, there was no telling what might happen.
The sun sank completely below the horizon, and the moons revealed themselves in the twilight sky. Interesting things always seed to happen under the light of the moons, but tonight's affair, Jenkins suspected, was about to be a little too interesting for its own good.
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