After seeing the custor out, Jenkins tilted his head, continuing to examine the purchase agreent. He found himself unconsciously recalling his conversation with Miss Bevanna that morning about the insurance salesman. Papa Oliver, wearing his glasses, was doing the bookkeeping behind the counter, seemingly in high spirits as well.
"I'm planning to raise your weekly salary starting this month. It was one pound before, so now... let's make it one pound and twelve shillings."
He counted out the banknotes from a biscuit tin under the counter and pushed them toward Jenkins, who accepted them with a smile.
With his family's newfound wealth, he no longer cared about money as he once did, but a raise ant that Papa Oliver approved of him even more, and that was enough to make Jenkins happy for the entire day.
"I'll save half of the extra money," he thought, "and use the other half to improve Chocolate's diet."
Chocolate, too, was happy about this for the entire day.
It was only at lunchti that Jenkins noticed all the mirrors previously on display in the shop had vanished. When he asked Papa Oliver about it, the old man just gave him a aningful look, as if he believed Jenkins should already know why.
The reason, of course, was the incident where he and his cat had stumbled into the mirror realm. Before that had happened, the antique shop owner and his apprentice had been discussing thods for increasing his spirit after advancing to the fourth level.
"Speaking of which, how much of your 'Spiritual Remnant' is left?"
This referred to the Bestowal Jenkins had obtained from a hot spring near a snowstorm-battered manor.
"Less than a fifth of it remains. I think it will be completely gone by the middle of the month."
"It seems your body and soul are well-suited for holding spirit. That's a good thing."
As he spoke, Papa Oliver handed Jenkins a book titled 'The Blacksmith's Legend: Ancient Cold Weapons'. The book itself wasn't important; what mattered was tucked between its pages.
It was a black-and-white photograph of a complete stone stele, densely covered with tadpole-like script and strange runes. The background was pitch-black, making it impossible to tell where it was taken, but the script in the bottom-right corner of the stele was clearly the sa section he had transcribed at lower levels.
"So the only difference between the high and low levels is that I have to transcribe a more complete version?" Jenkins asked doubtfully, feeling a sharp pang of disappointnt. He had expected that at a higher level, the thod for accumulating spirit provided by the Church would be more mysterious or interesting.
"No, of course it's not that simple."
Papa Oliver stopped Jenkins from staring at the photograph, flipping it face down on the counter. Chocolate reached out a curious paw, but Jenkins imdiately scooped him up.
"First, rember this: never look at the entire contents of that stele all at once. When you use it, you need to find a sheet of paper and cover part of the photograph. Understand?"
"I do."
In truth, Jenkins had already glimpsed the entire photograph. It was for less than a second—he had barely even processed what he was seeing. But a headache struck instantly, sothing that was almost unimaginable for him now.
"Even as a level-four Enchanter, don't get careless. You'll probably need several months to gradually get used to transcribing those sentences. But the use of this photograph isn't limited to simple transcription."
With that, Papa Oliver reached under the counter again and pulled out a book as thick as two bricks. It was a translation dictionary of the continent's common languages, the kind of to you'd usually only find in a bookstore or a library.
"You can't transcribe the stele in the photograph continuously, or it will permanently damage your mind. Between every four symbols you transcribe, you must insert at least one aningful sentence written in a contemporary language. Interspersing different types of sentences will have varying effects on your spirit acquisition, but everyone's situation is unique. When I was your age, transcribing lines from knightly novels between the symbols was most efficient. A little older, I preferred newspaper headlines. Nowadays, I prefer the dictionary."
He forcefully pushed the dictionary toward Jenkins. The corner of Jenkins's mouth twitched; he decided he would try sothing else first.
"You can explore and find the knowledge that suits you best. It's a very interesting process. This thod of enhancing your spirit will serve you until you advance to the seventh level. The path beyond that is even more arduous and dangerous, but I believe you will surely be able to walk it."
He offered Jenkins a kind smile, then turned and headed for the backyard without waiting for a response. Jenkins stood motionless at the counter for a long mont. He blinked, glanced at the bored-looking cat lounging nearby, then flipped the black-and-white photograph face up again before slamming it back down.
"The Benefactors of the Legacy Sage Church are called Scribes... Could this be why?"
Perhaps because the morning custor had brought in so much business at once, no new custors entered the antique shop for the rest of the afternoon. Outside the display window, the street was shrouded in a misty haze, and the gloomy sky made the entire day feel as dark as night.
A carriage trundled slowly down the street, its weary driver carrying a passenger until they disappeared beyond the edge of the window. Jenkins leaned over the counter, transcribing the text from the photograph tucked in the book, while Papa Oliver sat in a rocking chair by the fireplace, reading the newspaper.
The cat lay listlessly beside Jenkins. It stretched out a paw, wanting to bat at the Life Pearl as it usually did, only to rember with a pang of sorrow that the orb had been destroyed.
"ow~"
It tilted its head and let out a small cry, trying to get Jenkins's attention, but he was completely focused on grappling with the complex tadpole script and runes, oblivious to the sound beside him.
"Speaking of which..."
But he did hear Papa Oliver's voice.
"I heard you t an Enchanter from out of town while you were in the mirror realm."
"Yes, a Miss Sigrid Capet from the Church of All Things and Nature. She's an excellent healer. She said she ca to Nolan to deliver so important docunts to the Church of Ocean and Exploration."
"Capet?"
Papa Oliver repeated the surna, a questioning tone in his voice.
"That's a rare surna."
"It's a surna she chose for herself. Miss Capet's parents passed away when she was very young, and she was raised by the church. Apparently, she picked the na from the religious texts of the Righteous Gods."
"Capet..."
Papa Oliver fell silent for a long ti, lost in thought. He was likely pondering the docunts Miss Capet had delivered. After all, at such a sensitive ti, there was no reason for the Church of All Things and Nature to send soone to Nolan all alone.
Since the day after the great battle in the Evergreen Forest, Chocolate had been showing a distinct lack of appetite—or to be more precise, his picky eating habits had grown much worse.
Jenkins decided that after leaving the antique shop for the evening, he would go to a riverside restaurant for dinner. Perhaps a nice view would help the cat get back to normal.
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