"This is a gift for you."
Jenkins put the small box he had been holding on the desk and pushed it to the old man. The bishop put down the ring and pen in his hand, picked up the box like a father and weighed it:
"It's odd that you didn't bring me socks or a scarf."
Jenkins smiled awkwardly, wondering why everyone thought they'd only buy those things as souvenirs.
"Let me take a guess."
The old bishop paused: "Pen."
"Well, you guessed it."
He nodded, "I bought it on Vasilon Art Avenue."
"17 Vasilon Avenue, Mrs. Xilin's art store?"
The bishop raised an eyebrow.
Now Jenkins was really surprised. There was more than one shop selling pens on that road. How did the bishop guess it all at once
"Yeah, you guessed it right... did you shop there too?"
"Haha, of course. When I was young, Mrs. Xilin's surname was not Xilin... It's a digression to say that."
He realized that some topics were not suitable for talking to young people, so he coughed loudly, picked up the ring and put it back in the box without looking into Jenkins' eyes, so as to make the pause and transition of the conversation not seem too deliberate:
"I remember the goods in that store, the prices were very expensive."
"It's okay, you know, I've been rich lately..."
He meant that he would inherit his friend's estate, which the bishop knew: "And my new book is undergoing final proofreading, and the Silver Jasmine Opera Troupe has invited me to write a play for them, this small gift is nothing. "
"Don't think so. Young people always think that they have a lot of income, but when they are middle-aged and have to support their families, they realize that their savings will never be enough. Although it is very good that you have your own house, a certain amount of savings is also very important. Necessary. Although the girls in our city believe in love, a qualified gentleman must make his lover live a good life... "
After briefly expressing his opinions on the living conditions of the young people, the bishop asked in detail about Jenkins' meeting with the Queen of the Kingdom and the Pope of the Church during his travels. He didn't express any opinion this time, just listened quietly.
"Miss Windsor? The most beloved daughter of the Duke of Windsor?"
"Yes, she also invited me to go to her estate next summer for vacation."
"So you agree?"
Jenkins blinked, feeling that the bishop cared more about this than anything else. Although he subconsciously thought that the concern this time seemed to have nothing to do with his marital status, but he couldn't find any other possible reasons.
"I said I'll go when I have time."
"That's it."
The old bishop nodded slowly, eyes drooping, not knowing what he was thinking.
After visiting the bishop, today's work is almost done. According to the itinerary, tomorrow afternoon I will go to the club to meet Hathaway and Miss Mihail, and at night I will go to Mr. Corpse's party.
He carried the cat to the garden behind the main hall of the church, thought for a while, put the chocolate in the flowerbed, and stuffed the Orb of Life into it.
"Play here obediently. I'm going to do some errands at the Gate of Vientiane, and I'll be back in a while. Do you understand?"
He bent down and squatted down, whispering to his cat. After finishing speaking, he looked around again, worried about being seen by others,
"Meow~"
The cat grabbed the green bead with its front paws, let out a soft cry, then pouted its buttocks and stretched out its head, pushing the bead forward with its nose.
Jenkins stood up with a smile, proud of the sensibleness of his cat. But he didn't see that the kitten stopped that shameful posture immediately after he left, looked left and right, saw that no one was paying attention, it meowed, and spit out a bright yellow bead from its mouth .
Just at this time, dark clouds floated from nowhere and covered the brilliance of the setting sun, making the looming double moons in the sky more obvious.
The cat looked at the moon for a while, then leaned its bead against the Orb of Life. A trace of yellow and green air intersected in the two round beads. The cat stared at the big round eyes for a while, and its appearance was reflected on the surface of the two beads, which looked very funny.
Stand up and take two steps forward, then slowly lie on the beads, pretending to be basking in the sun, so that no one can see the magical scene.
"Meow~"
But this position is really uncomfortable for cats.
The secret keeper who was on duty in front of the Gate of Vientiane today was Mr. Smith, whom Jenkins was most familiar with, and he was not surprised by Jenkins' question.
"I can answer this question for you, but I think you should understand that this information must not be disclosed."
"I understand that it is also the duty of the scribe to limit the dissemination of illegal knowledge."
Mr. Smith nodded, and turned to face the huge holy emblem engraved on the Gate of Vientiane. The door opened without raising interest, and golden light gushed out from it immediately, surrounding the two of them.
When the light disappeared, everything around was still the same, but in the sight of the Eye of Reality, a thin film could be seen surrounding the two of them.
"Oliver should have mentioned something to you."
He snapped his fingers, and a piece of paper floated out from the gap in the door that was still not closed and landed in front of Jenkins, and he reached out to take it. At the top of the piece of paper was the shape of the killing mark mentioned by the old man, which was drawn with a pencil.
"A-01-1-6377, mark of killing, the holder of the mark usually spends half a year strengthening himself through killing, and then leaves the city he occupies to fight with other mark holders. And the surviving That person will transform into a powerful humanoid alien creature, breaking through the edge of the material world to an unknown world.
The last time a killing mark appeared was a very long time ago, but the records show that it is not difficult to destroy a city of the size of Nolan in the battle between the mark holders who survived to the later stage. "
Jenkins had a surprised expression on his face. He was stunned for a while to digest the information, and then asked: "So, has there been an instance of A-01-1-6377 within the city of Nolan?"
"The diocese is assisting in the investigation, but the current news from the police station shows that there have been no series of murders in the city that are worthy of vigilance in the past six months. In fact, the believers of the New God are the most active at night. It seems that Every big event can be linked to them."
Jenkins looked at the wall on one side with erratic eyes, pretending not to know anything.