The Master of the Strange Realm

"In that case, let me leave here first. I think the police will soon find the corpse on the street, and the church will arrive soon. I will leave the matter here to you."

He patted Miss Windsor on the shoulder and saw that she was still wearing her coat. After thinking about it, I found that there was only some change and a pocket watch in the coat pocket. The dress was also a very common style and very cheap, so I didn't ask for it back. Instead, I put my hand in the side pocket without leaving any trace. Take away the lady’s pocket watch from Asia:

"I'm leaving. Although this man is dead, you have to be careful...otherwise I'll stay for a while and wait for the police to come and then leave from the other side of the alley."

Miss Windsor did not refuse, and stood waiting with Jenkins beside the body. They had only been running for less than five minutes after getting into the alley, so they could already hear the exclamations coming from the street outside.

"Tomorrow's banquet..."

Knowing that Jenkins was about to leave, Miss Windsor made up her mind and reminded in a low voice that this was the topic they had talked about before the attack.

"I will bring two female companions there, Bryony from the Michael family and Hathaway from the Heather family."

Jenkins said the early summer nights were still cool enough that wearing a thin shirt wouldn't be a problem. But the chocolate on the shoulder was a little unhappy, probably because he couldn't find a pocket to hide in, so he kept tapping Jenkins' side arm rhythmically with the end of his tail.

"I can dance with you if you want, but..."

"Jenkins..."

Miss Windsor interrupted Jenkins awkwardly:

"There will be no dancing at tomorrow's banquet."

Jenkins' expression froze. How could he know the difference between these social evenings? But you can’t stop talking, otherwise you will look very embarrassed:

"I mean, you can come in with us, and you can all stand together and talk. But I'm going to make it clear to Hathaway and Britney why, and if they ask you why you're doing this, you need to Answer yourself."

He must make this clear, otherwise it will bring more troubles to his already complicated emotional life. Originally unwilling to get involved with Miss Windsor, he felt that Queen Isabella seemed to want to connect the two. But what happened just now didn't seem easy for Miss Windsor. She and Jenkins had only met each other a few times and there was definitely no relationship. She made such an undignified request to attend the dinner with him. It was probably because of something unspeakable. reason.

If he had not experienced the pursuit just now, he would definitely not be soft-hearted. But now that he has soft-heartedly agreed, no matter what, the relationship between the two must be made clear. This is the most fundamental principle.

After waiting for a while, the police on the street could be heard blowing their warning whistles. They saw the family crest on the carriage and thought that they would soon notify the Windsors to come. Jenkins whispered goodbye to Miss Windsor, and then hurried towards the other end of the alley with his cat:

"Jenkins~"

The woman behind him suddenly shouted, and Jenkins stopped and turned around.

"See you tomorrow."

said the lady in a black coat.

"See you tomorrow."

Jenkins nodded seriously, and then disappeared into the depths of the lightless alley.

He did not go far, but climbed onto other people's roofs, kept checking for the arrival of the church, and watched Miss Windsor rejoin them safely before actually leaving. After such a long delay, it was almost midnight. But he slept well while fighting in his dream last night, so he didn't feel sleepy at all now.

It happened that he had just found the hotel room key of the cultist of the Gear Craftsman Guild, so Jenkins planned to go and see what he could gain before the church found this clue.

The small key was stamped with the house number 204, but there was nothing about the hotel itself. The urban area of ​​Beldiran and the area of ​​surrounding villages and towns are very large. It is impossible for Jenkins to search every house, so he can only rely on other means.

I just checked the traces on the soles of that person's shoes, and there was some wet mud on them, and the change in his pocket smelled like grass blades. If a famous detective were here, he would definitely be able to use these clues to deduce the entire process of the man's journey from the hotel to the street. He might even be able to deduce the content of his dinner tonight from the stains on his sleeves.

Unfortunately, Jenkins doesn't have that kind of miraculous detective skills. What he does have is more unusual abilities.

He summoned the light point of his ability, and in the picture that only he could see, the colorful rotating light was very beautiful. He channeled his mental power into his core purple ability [Unknown Road Ahead], but nothing changed.

"There are still some necessary conditions missing."

He thought to himself, and continued to walk forward into the shadows. When he walked out of the shadows onto the street, his own image and the appearance of the cat on his shoulders had changed.

He took out the small key and played with it again. He rubbed the surface of the key and noticed that there were almost no scratches on it.

"A newly opened hotel, or a new key?"

He thought in his heart and denied the following speculation. According to his little understanding of the hotel in this era, there must be more than one key for the guest room door. When a key is lost, the new key is different from the standard key in the past. In order to maintain its rigorous and strict image, the hotel generally does not bring new keys to guests, but leaves them in the store for backup.

"So, the new clue is that this is a newly opened hotel."

He just thought that this was probably right, so he thought in his heart and tried to activate [Unknown Road Ahead] again. This time, enough clues led to the purple line of fate. Jenkins breathed a sigh of relief, put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the distance along the dim street illuminated by the gas street lamps.

Even a metropolis like Beldiran has slums, which is also a feature of this era. The [Cat Ear Hotel] is located on the edge of the slums in the west district of Beldiran. The special geographical location determines that the guests living here are mixed, and the hotel owner who is quite well-connected does not care about these, as long as the residents pay enough money.

Jenkins changed his image to look close to the person he had just killed, and then wore a hat that covered most of his face before entering the hotel. But in fact, no one cared about him entering the door, so he successfully opened the door of Room 204 with the key and entered this windowless room.

The room is not small. In addition to the bed and desk, there is also a wardrobe and a separate bathroom. Except for the poor location, the living conditions here are definitely above average in Beldiran City.

After closing the door with his backhand, Jenkins first stood in place to look for a triggered ritual trap. After carefully wiping off the very shallow chalk marks on the floor, he was relieved.

The Gear Craftsmen Association is quite generous. They actually equipped the believers who went out to do business with a Class B extraordinary. Jenkins was originally very curious why the two people who met him in succession did not carry this thing. After opening the wardrobe to break the illusion ritual, he understood why.

Hidden in the wardrobe is a skull with a golden gem inlaid on the forehead. The gem penetrated the bones and can be observed inside and outside the skull. Except for the gem, it looks no different from ordinary human remains.

Jenkins recognized what it was at first glance. The appearance of a skull inlaid with a golden gem is too famous.

B-12-3-4934 [Silent Death Messenger], a multiple-existing B-type supernatural, a disposable item, mostly found in ancient tombs or ancient human sacrifice relics. In normal state, it has no function except being regarded as an alternative weird artwork, but once the person who touches it may be killed on the same day (from midnight to midnight), the messenger will take away part of the toucher's soul at the cost of showing the broken fragments of the future.

When it works, the golden gem inlaid on the forehead will dye the entire skull golden, making it look like it is wrapped in jumping golden flames. At this time, the holder looks directly into the skull's eye sockets and can see the fragments of the future in the flames.

According to the literature, the [Silent Messenger of Death] is different from other special items that can "predict the future". The future it provides is not a malicious trap of fate. Those fragments are extremely authentic, and you can change the predicted future with your own actions by observing the future.

Jenkins's fortune-telling teacher, Miss Audrey, once said that the [Fate and Order Church] has a special topic to try to figure out whether the future changed by observing this item is an event arranged by fate; or whether this item can really change fate to a small extent. There has been no definite conclusion on this topic, but the fortune-tellers have at least proved that this item is really useful.

Chapter 1581 Chapter 1556 Reasons for speculation

"Since this item exists, why did I kill those two people? Is it because they cherish their souls, so they didn't touch me on the day they met me? Or does the [Silent Messenger of Death] also have its limits?"

Jenkins pondered and reached out to take it out from the corner of the closet, but after thinking about it, he still wrapped the skull with the rags next to it before taking it out to prevent himself from direct contact with this item.

The owner of this room put the important letters in the gap between the bed boards. If it weren't for Chocolate to help find it, Jenkins really wouldn't have found such a secret gap.

Most of the letters were encrypted. Jenkins didn't know the encryption method and could only see a piece of meaningless letters, and couldn't read the meaning. The few letters written directly confirmed that the Gear Craftsmen Association had indeed only sent two people to Beldiran City, and the order to capture Miss Windsor was received only yesterday.

This is the last letter sent from Nolan City. The letter uses a very stern tone to ask the recipient to immediately implement the plan. The letter said that Miss Windsor was just an ordinary person, so no other helpers would be sent to him from Nolan. At the same time, the two people who received the letter were asked to complete the task as soon as possible, because their partners said that the guy who originally carried out this task somehow offended the church and the believers of lies at the same time, and now he is dead.

"What's going on?"

Jenkins stood in the moonlight in front of the window, borrowing the moonlight to see the words in the letter clearly. He felt that he seemed to touch the truth, but it was still just a guess:

"Could it be that Kamel is cooperating with the Gear Craftsmen? Yes, it is indeed possible. After all, Kamel has threatened me with the gear germs, but taking Miss Windsor away... is it for the so-called 'King's Soul'?"

So far, Jenkins has only heard of this term from Kamel. He once asked Mr. Brohill, the keeper of the Sage Church, but the keeper just told him to ask his fortune-telling teacher Miss Audrey.

"Does the King's Soul really exist? What kind of legend is this?"

He scratched his hair, thinking about which one Miss Windsor might correspond to if the so-called "Four King's Souls" really exist.

In addition to the letters, Jenkins also found some mystical and mechanical materials carried by the two gifters. But after all, they were out on a mission, and those materials did not involve the core technology of the [Gear Craftsmen's Association].

He also found the antique mechanical parts purchased by the cultist killed tonight in the [Antiques Market]. It is speculated that these are the materials needed by Nolan's cultists to repair or unlock the differential machine.

As for the items in the room, he did not take them away, but copied some of the text materials into his [Book of Memories]. He originally wanted to take the [Silent Death Believer], but then he gave up after thinking about it. He had great awe and vigilance for prophecy and divination, so he didn't want to know his future from any source, which would affect his future plans and arrangements.

After leaving the hotel, Jenkins didn't go anywhere else, but returned to his house with the cat. After washing up, he stood in front of the window of the second-floor bedroom and looked at the street below. It took him a long time to give up the idea of ​​disturbing Miss Audrey. When he got into bed, he was still thinking about whether Dolores and her brothers and sisters had [Ice Soul] if the Four Kings' Soul existed.

Accepting Hathaway and Britney's opinions, Jenkins, who lived alone, did not try to make breakfast by himself, but came to Rosaria Hotel early on Saturday morning to eat with the girls. Because today is the weekend, the tour group plans to leave the crowded city and take a carriage to the rural town around Beldiran City to experience the pastoral scenery. They don't seem to be affected much by the attack on the city hall yesterday.

After dinner, Jenkins told Hathaway and Britney about the whole process of his dinner at Cold Spring Palace last night, and then mentioned tonight's banquet and the title.

Britney and Hathaway were very surprised. They didn't know that their father had also arrived at Beldiran. But both of them were happy to accompany Jenkins to the dinner, and they didn't mind that he invited two people at once.

Of course, Jenkins did not forget to mention Miss Windsor. He did not mention the attack they encountered together last night, but just said that he had to invite Miss Windsor for some reasons.

"She asked me to invite her."

He said quite honestly, and said that if they had any questions, they could ask Miss Windsor for the specific reasons in the evening. Hathaway and Britney were very happy with Jenkins's honesty. They trusted what Jenkins said. After all, in their impression, Jenkins did not seem like the kind of person who could take the initiative to invite strange girls to the banquet.

This man is still very credible in their hearts.

Because they had to choose a suitable and solemn dress for the evening banquet at Cold Spring Palace, the two did not follow the tour group to the countryside, but excitedly went to the clothing store to choose clothes.

Jenkins would not go shopping with them, so after agreeing to meet in the evening, he thought about going to talk to Dad about what happened at Cold Spring Palace last night.

Dad was not in the hotel. After asking the front desk, he learned that Dad went to church for worship, so Jenkins went to the Vatican on the outskirts of the city.

Dad was very busy these days. Originally, he came to Beldiran only for the antique market and the identification of a troublesome numbered item in Beldiran Parish. But because a large number of special items were seized from Kamal, the secret keepers of Beldiran Parish were short of manpower, so Dad was temporarily asked to help with the identification.

When he met Jenkins, Dad was holding a book without a cover to check information. He nodded as he turned the pages of the book while listening to Jenkins's description of his experience last night, and finally said:

"Since you have already talked to Saint Pontef about your views on the throne, it is up to you to decide what to do next. You are the son of the church, and no one in the church has the power to criticize you for anything you do, so do it boldly. Of course, if you get into trouble, don't forget that the church can always help you..."

Father finally took his eyes off the book and said meaningfully:

"Any help."

Jenkins understood what he meant. The church actually hoped that he would take over the crown. Although it said on the surface that it would not interfere with Jenkins' choice, it was ready to help him.

Chapter 1582 Chapter 1557 Before the Storm

"So is there anything I need to pay attention to at the banquet tonight?"

After finishing the previous topic, Jenkins asked his father for advice. He thought that his father would only tease his love life, but he didn't expect that he would actually remind him:

"When I was chatting with Elder Bloshear this morning, I heard him talk about tonight's banquet at Cold Spring Palace. Although it is nominally to honor the naval officers who showed courage and strength in the Battle of the Broken Islands, by the way, I will give it to you. Promoted to a peerage, but the water is actually deeper than this tonight. I don't know what Queen Isabella is thinking, but she seems to be trying to handle a lot in one night, as will the envoys of Chesland. turn up......"

"An envoy from the Kingdom of Chesland?"

"Yes, I have also heard about what you encountered at the city hall, namely the envoys seeking peace. There are also ambassadors from the North, nobles from Beldiland, etc. All the prominent figures in Beldiland City will be present, so you Be prepared to be approached by others and figure out how to deal with those who have ulterior motives and bad intentions.”

Dad instructed.

"I understand that there will be all kinds of strange people talking to me, and that's easy to deal with, as long as I don't make any substantial commitments, just take business cards and say hello."

In addition to his father, Jenkins also talked with the Pope about yesterday’s meeting at Cold Spring Palace and tonight’s banquet. Pontev IV also said that Jenkins can do whatever he wants. Of course, he can get the help he wants from the church at any time.

It seems that the Church of the Sages is not as concerned about the transfer of the country's throne as Jenkins thought. But Jenkins knows very well that there are many people working on this matter in places that he cannot see. The Sage Church will not give up this rare opportunity. Just like the other eleven churches, they are definitely involved in this matter. respective means.

Since I came to the church, I naturally wanted to inquire about the things that have been troubling Beldilan recently. Although the Tobacco Nightmare and Carmel Thrift Store incidents have come to an end, the aftermath and subsequent investigations cannot stop.

Dad's current job is to deal with the aftermath, so he has postponed his plan to return to Nolan, and now plans to go back with Jenkins.

The most serious problem currently facing Beldiland City is still the Blood Mosquito Curse.

Last Sunday, Jenkins and Miss Capet met the Countess of Paramount, the source of the curse, in the Mystery Lock. The monster asked the church to provide her with three designated numbered items within a week. Seeing that today is already Saturday, a week is coming soon, and the three items collected by Nolan Diocese have also been transported to Belduran. After obtaining permission, Jenkins saw them accompanied by the secret keeper.

Among the three items, the one that Jenkins is most familiar with is the infusion equipment-style B-01-2-8100 [Elemental Blood]. This is Mr. Corpse’s collection. It can cause the user’s randomness at the expense of the blood changing color in a short period of time. An ability that creates elemental mutations.

B-03-2-2944 [Holy Blood-stained Cloth] is a collection of [The Night and the Hidden Church]. It looks like a withered yellow shroud. Legend has it that this was an item used by a certain god in the last era when he came to the material world in the form of a saint. Before 1083 of the General Calendar in the 18th century, it had been regarded as a holy relic by a small village on the outskirts of Nolan. It was later discovered by the Night Watch missionaries who went to preach, and was taken into custody.

As for the last B-12-3-5800 [Vampire Fang], it is a rare item that needs to be implanted into a living organism to function. This item belongs to the [Church of Death and End Times] and was transported to Nolan from an out-of-town parish about three hundred years ago. The gravekeepers of that era discovered an ancient vampire cemetery in the primeval forest in the southern part of the main continent of the material world. The dangerous numbered items found in it were scattered to parishes across the continent for containment.

When a creature implants this fang into its gums, it can automatically obtain vampire talents including [blood-sucking], [rapid regeneration], etc., and is completely immune to any level of blood-sucking toxins, and will not have any vampire talents. Racial flaws. However, this item has great side effects. In addition to needing to suck blood regularly, once the fangs fall out of the user's mouth, the user will definitely die. Unfortunately, among the curse-type abilities and rituals, there is no shortage of types that make people lose all their teeth.

The reason why the Keeper of Secrets allowed Jenkins to see these three items was partly to satisfy Jenkins' curiosity, and partly to prepare him and Miss Capet to take these things to the Mystery Lock to meet the Countess. .

Of course, the church will never compromise with that monster. Now that the Twelve Orthodox Churches are gathering nearby, anyone who dares to propose a compromise will definitely be hung on the pillar of shame and let people comment for a hundred years. According to the news, the [Vampire Nemesis] borrowed from the Stuart royal family is already on its way. The church hopes that Miss Jenkins and Miss Capet can carry the dagger to seriously injure or even directly kill the countess to help the surrounding combat troops. Unlock the mystery lock.

"Since it is a treasure of the royal family, I think it should be a member of the royal family who escorted the [Vampire Nemesis] to Beldiran, right?"

Jenkins asked, considering that the dagger must arrive before Sunday night, and Alexia said yesterday that Sarsi II would come to Beldiran with all the eligible heirs, and has not yet left, the date seems to be somewhat correct. Not on.

"Because time is urgent, the dagger was transported secretly by the church. Calculating the time, we have already crossed the border. I think it will arrive tomorrow morning."

The secret keeper said.

So Salhi II lied to his children. Although they all knew that transporting the family relics was just an excuse, they didn't expect that even the excuse was a complete lie. The dying king no longer cared about these details, but this also fully demonstrated that he seemed to regard the journey to Beldiran as the last and most important experience of his life.

Jenkins couldn't imagine what Dolores's father was going to do.

In a week, the impact of the [Blood Mosquito Curse] did not spread to the city. The church surrounded the manor full of cursed people to ensure that the curse would not spread for any reason. They even specially asked the [Church of All Things and Nature] to mobilize a group of well-trained cats and dogs to hunt down the small animals that left the manor.

Speaking of small animals, Jenkins reached out and held down his cat. It just wanted to jump from Jenkins' shoulder to the table to touch the three items. The cat's curiosity is always so strong.

Before the evening banquet began, Jenkins did not leave the Vatican. He attended the joint representative meeting of the Twelve Orthodox Churches to discuss the specific action plan for tomorrow. Then, together with Miss Cape, he accepted the advice of the demigods in charge of this matter and rehearsed for tomorrow's assassination.

The action was mainly carried out by Jenkins, and Miss Cape only followed him to provide necessary assistance. Jenkins thought of the assassination story of "the dagger is revealed" in another world, so he firmly opposed the proposal to hide the [Vampire Nemesis] in a box and hand it to the Countess along with the three items.

He was not superstitious, absolutely not, but hoped for a more appropriate way. Although the plan discussed in the end was not very satisfactory, after all, facing the demigod as the source of the curse, no one had absolute confidence, but Jenkins believed that he would succeed.

In any case, he now had a drop of divinity in his hands.

Time quickly came to the evening of this day. Jenkins accepted his father's advice and did not borrow a carriage from the church. Instead, he paid for the most expensive carriage at the rental company. Then he changed his clothes and went to Rosalia Hotel to pick up his female companions.

Hathaway and Britney seemed to attach great importance to tonight's banquet. Although they only had one day to prepare their clothes, they found very suitable dresses. Even someone like Jenkins who didn't understand the aesthetics of women's clothes could see that the two dresses were definitely custom-made.

Later, he learned that Britney's uncle, who was a viscount, lived in Beldiran.

As for jewelry, the two girls actually prepared jewelry in their luggage in advance for serious social occasions before traveling. It was difficult for Jenkins to judge who was more beautiful tonight, but fortunately he didn't ask this very embarrassing question.

He smiled and praised the girls' makeup, and then invited them to get on the car one by one in a very gentlemanly manner. During this process, Chocolate lay on the cushion prepared for it on the bench in the carriage and looked at Jenkins gloomily, until he sat down and the carriage began to move slowly forward, and then suddenly jumped on Jenkins' knees.