The Master of the Strange Realm

Hathaway nodded and glanced at Miss Windsor, who had her head lowered:

"This is your fault, Jenkins. You clearly promised it would be just us. I condemn you."

There is only condemnation but no opposition, which represents the attitude.

"Jenkins, this is the last time. The people in this living room are everyone. No matter what happens next time, we will not agree to it."

Bryony said, and then glanced at Sigrid again, but did not specify the location of Jenkins' distant relative. This was something that everyone knew tacitly, and there was no need to say it out.

"Jenkins, you are just too soft-hearted sometimes."

Alexia just said this, and the short lady looked at Jenkins with pity, which made Jenkins even more uncomfortable.

"I don't have anything to say, but what on earth are you going to do during the wedding? Will everyone wear wedding dresses and walk down the red carpet? But whose hand will you hold then?"

Dolores asked, to which Her Royal Highness the Princess was most receptive. Of course, this is not because Salshi II actually has many secret lovers, but because she has a high sense of identification with Jessica's identity, which makes her feel like she has found the same kind.

In short, the matter regarding Jessica has been settled, and none of the ladies spoke against it, which means that there will be a new member in the family. Although many things happened in the middle, everyone was happy in the end. At least for Jenkins, it was a happy ending.

However, Jenkins had more thoughts and considerations about what he was doing.

He believed that he had made two mistakes after coming into this world that could never be made up for. One was the death of Mr. Barnard, which he thought he should have had the opportunity to prevent; the other was the problem of marriage. He was wrong too many times.

No, he almost didn't make any right decisions in this matter, except for his love for the ladies.

Chapter 1926 Chapter 1897 William's Family Reunion

According to the original plan, the next step was to go to William's house on Privet Drive for dinner. Jessica had not thought that she was going to go, so she was short of time and could not prepare suitable clothes.

Fortunately, her body shape is similar to Hathaway. Hathaway generously lent her a long dress, while Britney found shoes and hair accessories.

After getting dressed and making sure all the gas valves in the home were closed, Jenkins set off as a family. Of course, it was too crowded for a group of eight people to board one carriage, so Jenkins hired two carriages.

Although a lot of things happened that evening, I still arrived at the door of my house at the appointed time. This was just a family gathering, which also meant that Jenkins was bringing his fiancée and distant relatives home, so Robert, Mary, and Jenkins' two brothers did not come out to greet them.

But when Jenkins and the seven girls behind him actually entered the house together, Mary, who originally said she would not care about Jenkins' love life, still looked a little unhappy. She believed that her son became "this kind of person" because there was a serious problem in family education, and she, as the mother of three brothers, was at fault.

Fortunately, the family is a believer of the Sage, and the Sage Church does not have too many dogmatic controls on the marriage issues of believers. In the churches of the righteous God [Mother of the Earth] and [Sunless Moon], believers abide by strict marriage contracts. If the Williamsites were followers of these two, Jenkins would probably be in trouble today.

Generally speaking, this family dinner went very smoothly. Because it took a long time to prepare, there was no mistake in the reception of the Williamt family. Even anticipating that one table would not be enough, Mary prepared another long table in advance to ensure that everyone could sit at the table.

During dinner, the conversation around the candlelit table was mainly about Sigrid, a distant relative. The family seemed to have suddenly forgotten about Jenkins and his fiancées, and only talked about the history of the Willamette family and the issue of moving the grave of "the other Willamette" in the Shire.

Mary asked about Sigrid's specific situation, deliberately avoiding the orphan's life experience and only talking about her recent life. Probably because she had no daughter, Mary liked Sigrid very much. She even wanted to invite Sigrid to live at her home on Privet Drive, but the latter cautiously refused.

Jenkins sat with his brothers, Newman on his left and John on his right. The three of them were also communicating quietly. Of course, most of the time it was John telling him that his mother had often told him about the sanctity of marriage at home recently:

"She was worried that I would become like you, oh, how could that happen?"

John complained in a low voice, of course not complaining about his mother, but complaining that it was because of Jenkins that he had to be warned over and over again.

"So when are you going to get married?"

The eldest brother Newman is very open-minded. Because he lives on campus, he will not be implicated in this matter:

"I've decided to get married next spring, what about you, Jenkins?"

"Two years later."

This is the first time he has discussed this issue with his family.

"Why?"

Newman Willamt grabbed the cup and covered his mouth to prevent his parents from discovering the content of the private exchange between the three brothers:

"It seems a little too late, you know, John can't get married before you do."

This is the custom of Fidictli. If a family has two boys, the older one must get married first. Although it is just a custom, it doesn't matter if it is not followed, but the Williamites are a more traditional family and prefer to let the three brothers get married in order.

"If you choose two years later, then John will have to wait two years."

"It doesn't matter. I won't be 20 years old in two years."

The youngest of the three brothers shook his head:

"You and Jenkins, didn't you get married after 20? I'm not in a hurry."

"But they will be in a hurry."

Newman pointed to Mary and Robert. Mary was talking to Sigrid, and Robert was talking to Jessica about the weather in Beldiran this year.

"Jenkins, they won't let you wait until two years later."

Newman said with certainty, and then saw Jenkins manipulate the table knife to cut the lower steak in two and give one part to his cat.

After dinner, the family went out to the opera house to watch a play. During the time, Mary finally remembered that the guests tonight also included Jenkins's fiancees. In the box, she asked about each person's family and work situation in turn, and gave everyone a jade pendant of different styles.

She had no opinion on Jenkins' fiancees, but she had a lot of opinions about Jenkins. Therefore, when Jenkins went out to find the waiter to ask for more cups, she deliberately talked to Jenkins again in the corridor.

Jenkins saw that behind his mother, his younger brother John William carefully closed the door of the box, first made a cheering gesture to his brother, and then used his eyes to signal Jenkins to wish him the best.

"Little Jenkins, I think we need to talk."

To watch a play at the opera house, you have to wear formal clothes. Mary's aesthetics are somewhat different from those of young people. She chose a skirt that matched the color of her husband's shirt, and she was very majestic when she spoke in front of her son.

"Okay, what to talk about?"

He squinted at the cat on his shoulder, and actually guessed the next topic.

"Let's talk about your problem. Why is there one more person? Is she the Duke's daughter? Why have you never mentioned this girl before?"

Because he had to prepare the appropriate tickets and the number of meals for dinner, Jenkins stated the number of guests in advance. Jessica was not in the original plan.

"It's complicated. To put it simply, I took Jessica home this evening and explained the situation to others, and then she came with me."

"Brought her home this evening? Oh, my sage!"

The years have left a lot of vicissitudes on the face of this middle-aged woman, but in Mary's view, this is her "medal of honor" for successfully raising three outstanding boys. At this moment, she is looking at her son with surprised eyes, and this look soon becomes a condemnation:

"Little Jenkins, I didn't expect you to really become such a person."

In her opinion, Jenkins announced his cheating to his fiancées before the family dinner and used sweet words to prevent them from having conflicts. This behavior is no different from the playboys that people generally know.

"No, no, I'm not that kind of person. I just... want too much."

I wanted to explain, but when the words came to my lips, I felt that it was no different from sweet talk, so I just explained my opinion of myself in the end.

Mary's reproachful eyes were more loving, and she looked at her second son:

"If this kind of life is what you want, then I won't stop you. But you are very sorry for those girls. Everyone has their own parents. I can accept my son doing this, but can their parents really accept that their daughter was deceived by you?"

"This is not cheating...Okay, this is cheating."

The objection was changed in the mother's eyes:

"I will solve this problem."

At this time, he lowered his head and looked at his toes.

"Be nicer to them in the future."

"Of course. Oh, I really know I was wrong, yes, I know very well, I just... don't want to let go."

Looking at Jenkins' expression, Mary finally smiled:

"I'm glad you understand. Your father and I are very satisfied with your choice of fiancée. They are all good girls with good backgrounds, good manners and generous conversation. We won't object. So, when do you plan to get married?"

"Two years later?"

He said in a tentative tone, and immediately saw his mother's dissatisfaction:

"What are you waiting for?"

Jenkins certainly couldn't say that he was waiting for Dolores to turn 18. The standard of adulthood in this world is not 18.

"I want to see you get married in a year at most. There is no room for negotiation on this matter. Do you know how old you are this year? Your brother Newman got married so late, which has already broken our hearts. Now you have deceived so many girls and want to postpone the wedding. Do you know how much pressure Robert and I are under?

Also, since you have so many people around you, you must get married as soon as possible, otherwise if one or two of them run away due to conflicts, how will you solve it?"

The mother always stands by her children.

She did not give Jenkins a chance to refute, and almost forced Jenkins to agree to get married within a year. Considering that the wedding of the eldest brother Newman is tomorrow spring, that is to say, Jenkins will hold the wedding next summer.

Jenkins didn't tell the ladies until they all returned home to St. George Street after tonight's family gathering. But no one but Jenkins had an opinion.

"Next summer? That would be a good fit."

Among them, Dolores is the most in favor:

"My father's body can't last much longer. He hopes to see me get married, hold my hand and walk down the aisle, and hand me into your hands. So, I don't think you will object, right?"

She gave impeccable reasons, and of course Jenkins could no longer object. Looking at the other girls, all smiling at her, he understood that if he raised his objections now, he would become everyone's enemy. So I stopped talking about this topic and promised to start preparing for next summer’s wedding after finishing my recent affairs.

It was already very late, and although there was one more person in tonight's family gathering, overall it was still very successful and harmonious. Sigrid met her few remaining relatives in the world and promised to visit often. Jenkins also took his fiancées to meet their families and received their blessings on marriage.

He couldn't think of anything else that could affect his good mood tonight.

Chapter 1927 Chapter 1898 The Fifth Floor

Next, he was going to call Miss Magic and Miss Silver Flute next door, and send Jessica home with them, and then send Dolores and Alexia back.

But the cat pretending to be asleep on his shoulder suddenly opened his eyes and looked out the window at this moment. Jenkins was two seconds later than it and realized that something seemed to have happened. Then, ripples appeared in the calm water in the water glass on the coffee table, and then a violent earthquake hit Nolan again.

Jenkins went directly to the window regardless of the situation. After opening the curtains, he saw a metal black tower standing in the distance under the twin moons in the mist, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the hazy fog, the black tower stood like a slender tombstone that was rising. This is like a clock for the end of the world. Every time it rises, it means that the end is getting closer.

Because the last time the Black Tower was raised, a skeletal mechanical bird appeared from the ground to attack the city. Jenkins was worried that there would be another problem this time, so he went out at night and rode a carriage to the bottom of the Black Tower.

The church also attaches great importance to the emergence of the fifth floor. When Jenkins arrived, the nearby neighborhoods were under full martial law. The carriage could not pass, and he could only enter on foot after identifying himself.

After passing various security checks, I finally met a group of people from the Sage Church under the tower. Another Holy Child, Miss Strace, is also here, talking to the secret keeper with Mr. Gilbert.

"Miss Bevanna didn't come?"

"There must always be someone at church."

The Keeper said, and then called Jenkins over.

"What's the situation now?"

he asked, taking the cat off his shoulder and placing it on the table. Chocolate immediately became interested in the drawing of the black tower under its paws, and Jenkins was worried that it would tear the paper.

"Ten minutes ago, the ascent of the Black Tower ended. The new fifth floor is currently being surveyed. This time, no monsters have been found."

The secret keeper said, then took out one of the documents stacked on the table and handed it to Jenkins.

"Look at this."

"What?"

Two crossed swords were drawn with a pencil sketch on the paper. They were both long swords. There were no very conspicuous marks on the hilt or body of the sword. Because cold weapons have basically withdrawn from the trend in this era, Jenkins cannot tell the identity of these two weapons based on their styles.

"What's this?"

"Shortly after the earthquake just started, news came from the night watchmen that they discovered a special-shaped dark cloud with two swords crossed in the sky on the eastern outskirts of Nolan."

"What?"

Jenkins said as he wanted to look outside at the sky.

"There is no need to go out, there is only a small area to observe."

Mr. Smith casually used a pencil to draw a circle on the Nolan map on the shelf next to the table:

"This is a sign of the occurrence of B-06-2-4482 [Battle of the Treasure Reavers]. This is a category B extraordinary event. People have been sent to solve it. The focus is not on this extraordinary event, but on [The Treasure Reavers] Battle] cannot appear in any location. The human settlement where this extraordinary event occurs must not only meet the requirements of the settlement's prosperity and permanent population, but also requires the settlement to have an arena, and it is a formal arena, underground. Black boxing doesn’t count.”

"Arena? Does Nolan have an arena?"

"Of course not, but combine it with the fact that it happened at about the same time as the earthquake, what do you think, Jenkins?"

Jenkins blinked. The answer was simple:

"If it's not a coincidence... there is a gladiatorial arena on the fifth floor of the Black Tower?"

"That's the best explanation at the moment."

The secret keeper nodded and touched his chin.

"Why is it a gladiatorial arena?"

Jenkins asked again in confusion. He didn't think the Difference Machine wanted to have a one-on-one fight with him. The opponent does have the power to defeat Jenkins, but is too cautious and will never do so.