"Why didn't Briny co?"
The red-haired girl repeated Jenkins's question, her beautiful eyes fixed on him as if trying to peer into his very soul.
"She's feeling a bit under the weather. It's nothing serious, she'll be fine in a few days..."
Seeing that Jenkins looked like he was about to comnt, she reached out and patted his arm, signaling for him to drop the subject.
"There will be a lot of people on this outing, most of them our age... I an our actual age, not how old we look... All young people, around our age. I imagine so of them will want to approach you for one reason or another, so please be prepared. I'm sorry if that causes you any trouble."
"No, don't be sorry. It's not a big deal."
Jenkins murmured, then noticed his cat sharpening its claws on his collar. The gesture was rather ridiculous, as Chocolate's tiny paws didn't have any particularly sharp claws to speak of.
Before she left, Hathaway insisted that Jenkins should visit them more often when he had ti, or ask them out. Jenkins nodded in agreent and initiated their goodbye kiss.
As he walked up the steps and through the church doors, he was still marveling at his own curious love life when a passing nun reminded him to wipe the lipstick from his face and around his lips.
Jenkins's face instantly flushed red.
It wasn't until he saw Miss Bevanna that Jenkins rembered he had completely forgotten about his swordsmanship lessons with Miss Knight.
But there was no rush. As things stood, whenever Jenkins drew his sword, there were only two outcos: a one-hit kill, or an opponent he couldn't kill no matter what. He had yet to encounter a foe that required true swordsmanship to defeat.
Tonight's lesson was the usual combat training, and Miss Bevanna remarked that Jenkins was improving quickly. A whole winter of practice had transford him into a fighter of so skill, though Jenkins himself didn't quite feel it.
When the lesson ended, Jenkins was surprised to find his cat missing. Chocolate usually waited for him at the edge of the underground training ground. Noticing the door hadn't been closed, Jenkins assud the cat might have wandered off sowhere else. But he couldn't find it in the garden or the kitchen, and the divine aura within the church was so intense it completely suppressed the cat's faint white spiritual glow.
"Could it be that Chocolate has grown tired of living with ?"
The strange thought popped into his head. Although Jenkins didn't believe such a baseless suspicion, his inner panic was already reflected in his quickening pace.
He hurried off to find Bishop Parrold, hoping the bishop could rally the church's idle staff to help search for the cat. But the bishop had already retired for the night, so Jenkins didn't disturb him. Crestfallen, he returned to the rear courtyard, sat on the steps, and gazed up at the hazy moon, wondering where on earth his cat could have gone.
"ow~"
The cat leaped down from the roof, looking curious as to why Jenkins was in such a foul mood.
Jenkins swept it into his arms, an unsettling feeling stirring in his chest. A traveler in a strange land never truly feels secure, and this cat was the one being in this world he trusted most.
"Maybe I should lock Chocolate in the basent, just in case it really decides to leave one day..."
"ow~"
The cat's paw made intimate contact with Jenkins's face.
In the end, it turned out Chocolate had only wanted to bask in the moonlight. The reason Jenkins hadn't seen it earlier was that the cat had been hidden from view by a pointed tower.
Jenkins had the cat lead him up to the spot, needing to confirm for himself that it wasn't trying to run away before he could finally set his mind at ease.
Seeing no one around, he sat down on the rooftop, supporting himself with his right hand as he leaned back slightly. Gazing out at the silent city in the distance, a sense of loneliness washed over him. He had trustworthy friends, a lover, and a teacher in this world, yet he still couldn't share all of his secrets with any of them.
Jenkins was lonely. He appeared to have integrated perfectly into this world, but he knew what he truly was. He was rely a guest—a guest disguised as the host.
The lancholy mood didn't linger for long. Once man and cat returned ho, they devoured the strange fruit as a late-night snack. Although the fruit's power was limb regeneration—an incredible feat for most people—for Jenkins, it was a simple matter.
He was still curious about how the fruit platter worked and wondered if he might get more peculiar fruits in the future. But he had no such luck today; the apples, bananas, and coconuts were all stored in the basent.
Tuesday morning was exceptionally gloomy. As Jenkins opened the door to retrieve the newspaper and milk, he could sll the dampness in the air.
While he and the cat began their al, the sound of the downpour outside was clearly audible from the dining room. Nolan was a coastal city that saw plenty of rain year-round, and with the approach of spring, the rainy days were becoming even more frequent.
Making his way through the curtain of rain to Pops Antique Shop, he shook out his umbrella towards the street and even used a quick burst of fla to evaporate the moisture from his clothes before stepping inside. It was bound to be a dull day; this weather was hardly inviting for custors.
Pops shared his sentint. The rain had brought a chill back into the air, so the fireplace, which had been dormant for a week, was lit once more.
After a quick wipe of the floor, Jenkins joined Pops by the hearth, and they talked while listening to the pitter-patter of the rain.
The cat rested obediently on Jenkins's lap, its back stroked by his hand, its large eyes gazing through the shop window at the street outside. Rain poured from the eaves like a curtain, though to the cat's dynamic vision, it looked more like cascading strings of beads.
Chocolate loved rainy weather; it was the perfect excuse to stay still all day.
"You want to know about numbered items related to the weather?"
Pops was taken aback by Jenkins's question. It was an interesting one, and he had to think for a mont before he could answer.
"I know of many numbered items or events that only appear during specific weather conditions—thunderstorms, blizzards, sandstorms, that sort of thing. As for numbered items that are themselves related to the weather..."
He nodded. "They do exist, but they're exceptionally rare. It's not just ; no one I know has ever experienced such a terrifying thing. There are only partial records in a few extrely scarce docunts. But that's understandable. After all, events tied to celestial phenona can be observed by everyone. If one were to occur, it would an a massive supernatural leak, sothing the Church cannot allow."
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