The bishop looked worried about Jenkins getting entangled with the kingdom's politics, but Jenkins had no interest in the matter whatsoever.
"You don't need to worry about that. I have no intention of going into politics."
Jenkins assured him, then asked:
"Who is in charge of the Hamparvo Kingdom's banking departnt?"
"The forr Minister of Finance. However, Sarsi II also sent one of his own daughters to participate in the departnt's restructuring. I imagine he doesn't want to hand all the power over to the parliant... Speaking of which, the Hamparvo Kingdom's recent decrees are, to so extent, in line with your own views. It seems they've also found an economist like you, one who can see the trends of the future."
Jenkins had never been an economist, nor would he ever beco one. After bidding the bishop farewell, he headed to Pops Antique Shop. Pops was puzzled that Jenkins was half an hour late, but once he learned that he had been at the church that morning, he didn't press the issue.
It was another peaceful and serene day. Perhaps the incident with the Skull Sword had truly used up all his bad luck.
In the morning, the old painter and the owner of the art exhibition paid another visit to the antique shop to check if Jenkins had recovered his health.
Jenkins spent the entire morning entertaining them and didn't get anything else done. It was nearly eleven by the ti he saw the two of them off, and by then, it was already ti for lunch.
The afternoon was uneventful; even when he went out to deliver sothing for Pops, he ran into no trouble. In the evening, a letter arrived from the Church for Pops, summoning him to an important eting, apparently regarding the "Exotic Tide." Jenkins thus left work an hour early. After locking the antique shop's door, he hesitated for a mont before deciding to check on Mr. Birchwood before his combat class that night.
Chocolate thoughtfully reminded Jenkins to eat dinner before doing anything else. With this "feline alarm clock" around, Jenkins never had to worry about missing a al.
Mr. Birchwood's real na was Jack Wood. An ordinary first na and an ordinary last na combined to make a very ordinary middle-aged man.
He had been an accountant at a large local factory. His family consisted of his mother, his wife, and two teenage children.
The mont Mr. Birchwood encountered the Young Flower Seller, he knew he was not going to survive. He was aware of so of the Cursed Item's strange properties, and to prevent its power from affecting his family, he chose to refuse the transaction and willingly face death. Before he died, he even inford the Church of his encounter with A-01-2-0198, hoping that by providing valuable information, his family would be cared for.
After Mr. Birchwood passed away, the Wood family moved from their original ho. Though the household now consisted only of won and children, each of them had a legitimate source of inco, and Mr. Birchwood had also left behind a sizable inheritance.
Coupled with aid from the Church and help from old friends, the Wood family wasn't doing too poorly—at least, they were better off than Jenkins had imagined.
He donned his black robe and had his reluctant cat change its fur color before heading to the Wood family's current address. It was a rented apartnt in a building facing the street, where the family of four was cramd into a single room on the second floor. With no adult man in the house, it had beco difficult for them to live in their previous neighborhood, which was already a challenging place, so they had been forced to move here.
As he stood across the street, looking up at the apartnt building's third floor, a carriage pulled up from the other side of the road and stopped right in front of him. A young, fashionably dressed woman wearing a veil stepped out. She was quite surprised to see a man with a white cat.
"Hi, good evening, Miss Skylark."
Jenkins greeted Hathaway. The woman, who was in disguise and using a charm to conceal her face, imdiately retreated warily back into the carriage. Only after Jenkins asked the coachman for the fare and paid did she reluctantly step out again.
"You recognized ? Don't worry, I wasn't here waiting specifically for you."
He pointed to the apartnt across the street. "I think we just happen to have the sa destination."
"How did you recognize ?"
Hathaway remained extrely guarded. Among the four who attended Mr. Hood's gatherings, she was by far the most distrustful of Mr. Candle.
"It's a talent of mine."
He replied with a smile and made a welcoming gesture.
"I'm about to visit the Wood family. Shall we go together? Or would you rather wait for to co out and find another ti to knock?"
Two strangers visiting in a row would certainly arouse suspicion, so a reluctant Hathaway had no choice but to ascend the front steps with Jenkins.
Jenkins reached out and knocked on the door. After he explained their purpose to the landlord, Mr. Birchwood's mother ca downstairs to et them. Although Jenkins was done with work for the day, Mrs. Wood and her two children, who held low-wage jobs, were still at the factory. Only Mr. Birchwood's mother was ho.
She was quite wary of the two strangers claiming to be her late son's friends and didn't invite them in at first. It wasn't until Hathaway produced a rusty necklace that she eyed the man and woman suspiciously once more before slowly turning to invite them upstairs for a mont.
With four people living in a single room, the interior was rather cluttered and carried a faint sour sll. The cat, sensitive to odors, imdiately leaped onto the windowsill of an open window, where it began to idly watch the street scene outside.
On the windowsill sat two nearly dead cacti. Chocolate knew these were prickly, so Jenkins didn't have to worry about it trying to eat them.
He and Hathaway sat on the sofa. The old woman soon brought them teacups, but they contained only plain water.
Wasting no ti, they explained their reasons for visiting. Using Psychography, Jenkins drew a picture of the fruit platter in the style of a color photograph on a piece of paper and asked the old woman if she recognized it. Hathaway, anwhile, explained that she was there to retrieve an item as promised. She said that Mr. Birchwood had promised her before his death that a wooden statue he owned would beco hers six months after he passed away.
Things went smoothly; both Jenkins and the red-haired young woman accomplished their goals. The old woman rembered the fruit platter, as she was the one who had bought it from a junk dealer, and she was able to clearly recall the shop's address. She also knew of the wooden statue Hathaway had ntioned. As one of Mr. Birchwood's belongings, it had been brought to the apartnt when they moved.
Although the old woman knew nothing of any promise between her late son and the woman standing before her, the generous number of gold pounds Hathaway offered was enough to convince her not to refuse such a favorable transaction.
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