The great dragon Nidhogg was an ancient beast, and given its age, it had very likely witnessed the decline of the exotic species in the material world. Jenkins wanted to learn its secrets—secrets about the decline, even about the End of the Era—but he knew the dragon would never reveal such information so easily.
Sure enough, whenever the topic arose, Nidhogg would clumsily change the subject. It was clear the dragon was unwilling to discuss the matter, or even talk about its holand.
But Jenkins did manage to learn one thing: it ca from a world called the Bottomless Dragon Abyss. The dragon refused to speak about its ho, and when Jenkins "casually" ntioned the Sin Coins, it imdiately declared the conversation over.
“You know far too much, Saint. There are so things I am not at liberty to disclose.”
Though its words were tactful, Jenkins understood. It wasn't that the dragon was unwilling to speak, but that it was unable to.
Overall, the brief eting had been a pleasant one. Jenkins could sense that the red dragon harbored goodwill and no hostility toward humans. It seed to view its occasional visits to the material world as an interesting journey. Even its near-fatal battle with the skeletal giant was just another thrilling adventure on its travels.
Jenkins naturally took the opportunity to ask about the draconic language, carefully breaking down the script from the secret coffer and asking for help. The dragon, unaware of the connection between the characters, was diligent in its translation, much to the boredom of Chocolate.
The dragon race was not known for its benevolence. Creatures of imnse power, they were often more like brigands. At least, before they withdrew from the material world, they had a poor reputation among the other races. Only a rare few, those bound by pacts with Dragon Knights, ever showed a more tempered disposition.
After bidding farewell to the dragon, Jenkins turned to leave and happened upon two knights from the Church of Sun and Justice. He hadn't seen them in months, and his mory of them was still fixed on their encounter in that story-thed Mysterious Realm.
The woman, Celtic Knight, was believed to be connected to a family of Dragon Knights. Though it couldn't be confird, it was a widely held belief.
Upon their chance eting with Jenkins, the two knights bowed slightly, just as others did. Suddenly, the cat on Jenkins's shoulder twitched its nose. It had caught an unusual scent on the young woman.
With his visit to the dragon concluded, the writer had intended to return to Nolan imdiately to prepare for the evening's opera premiere. But then he recalled the Star Spirit's advice from the previous night and made his way back to the great tree in the heart of the forest.
The pool at the base of the great tree contained the precious B-10-5-2885, a Panacea. Once removed from the pool, the waters would lose their miraculous healing properties within a day, making them impossible to transport or store. For this reason, aside from the special circumstances of a few days prior, the five churches kept a constant watch over the site, day and night.
When Jenkins arrived at the base of the tree, the clearing was bustling with Enchanters. In addition to those guarding the pool, there were astrologers from the Church of Starry Sky and Equilibrium, setting up intricate astronomical instrunts to study the relationship between the tree's formation and the celestial bodies.
It was dayti, so they were rely making preparations; their real work of recording and analysis would begin at night.
"So many people..."
In a crowd like this, he wouldn't be able to openly take anything he might find in a tree hollow. Still, after a mont's thought, he started toward the great tree. Nearly everyone here knew him, so no one tried to stop him.
Since the night of the rain, the weather in Nolan had been remarkably fine. In the city, the dense fog still obscured the blue sky, but out here in the countryside, one could enjoy the clear skies of early spring.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled shadows that danced on the ground with the gentle breeze. In the distance, he could occasionally hear the call of a fawn, and he could almost picture them playing by the edge of the pool.
If it weren't so remote, it would be a wonderful place to live. Chocolate certainly loved it here; every ti they ca to the forest, the cat beca incredibly active, eagerly playing with any small animal that dared to approach Jenkins.
Feigning a look of awe, he gazed up at the giant tree for a while before slowly approaching its base.
Matching the tree's imnse size above ground was its sprawling root system. The roots, intertwined with clumps of earth, pushed up from the soil, creating a rugged, uneven landscape at its base.
On the night of the life spirit's surge, the great tree had grown once more. Its sprawling roots had miraculously avoided damaging the pool, and had even left a clear, unobstructed path leading toward the water and the base of the trunk. As a result, Jenkins didn't have to watch his step; he could walk right up to the tree along the flat ground.
The only thing here unaffected by the events of that night was the inverted figure beneath the tree. It still hung there, suspended in silence, almost blending into the scenery. The Church had no plans to remove the shadow. After all, the God of Lies had not yet been branded an evil god, and openly destroying His Saint's Shadow would have severe consequences.
The tree hollow was gone, just as he'd expected. Jenkins reached out and patted the hard bark; there was no hollow sound. He was disappointed but not surprised. As he turned to leave, the cat, which had been waiting for its chance, leaped from his shoulder and scurried up the tree.
"Chocolate!"
The man called out, looking up, hoping the cat wouldn't run wild.
"ow~"
The cat's ow ca from sowhere high up in the dense foliage. From the ground, Jenkins could see a small patch of branches trembling, indicating the cat's location.
"Don't go bothering the squirrels! You can't beat them!"
Jenkins warned from below, worried his young cat would be tossed from the tree by the squirrels.
"And don't go raiding any nests! Those birds are not to be trifled with!"
He thought for a mont before adding the warning. While he had no proof his cat was interested in bird eggs, he knew it ate chicken eggs for breakfast.
"Oh, and watch out for poisonous snakes, oh—"
Before he could finish, sothing heavy plumted from the tree. Jenkins instinctively reached out to catch it, thinking it was his cat, startled by a snake and falling from a branch. But as the object landed in his hands, he realized its size, weight, and texture were all wrong. It was a silver tallic cube, with six faint symbols inscribed on its six faces.
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