The chocolate beads were pressed under its paws, and the two moons, which were blocked by the clouds, dimmed for a moment in an unobservable manner.
The cat squatted there, lowered its head and fiddled with the beads with its right front paw, then looked up at the moon.
"Meow~"
In the end, Chocolat just let out a lazy cry, did nothing, then swallowed the beads back with his head down, jumped back to the counter, and lay down on his own cushion. When Jenkins and Dad returned to the front, they just opened one eye and looked at them boredly, as if nothing had happened.
The old books will be temporarily stored in Papa's warehouse until the blockade of St. George's Street is lifted. Dad suggested that Jenkins sell the three orphan books, or donate them to the church, because it is too dangerous to put them in the house.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Bevanna came to pick up Jenkins in a carriage, and her father accompanied him, but sat in another carriage.
During the last silver vertigo incident, the Holy See sent people to support Nolan. Most of these people are still staying in the local area, and only a small number of people have returned to Beldyran with the second slate of doom on the airship.
Shortly after the "plague", there were traces of blood-sucking species in Nolan City, so the Holy See extended their stay in Nolan Diocese. And last week, the unexpected appearance of the son of the evil god who escaped from New Truman City made the Holy See consider sending more people to support Nolan.
In short, this time they were still guarding Jenkins' carriage on the road, and fortunately, the journey was safe this time, without encountering any cultists or members of illegal organizations or Jenkins' acquaintances.
The lush evergreen forest is particularly conspicuous in the desolate suburbs in winter, especially the towering giant tree that extends out of the highest point of the canyon, and it can be seen from a long distance.
The natural spirit of the forest itself has penetrated outwards, and some withered yellow grasslands have appeared around the canyon. I believe that in the spring of the coming year, this will become the best place for outings.
Now the Evergreen Forest is under the joint jurisdiction of five churches, but it is obvious that today’s event was greeted, so when I got out of the carriage and walked towards the center of the forest along the path opened by people, I saw only the priests and scribes of the Church of the Sages. members.
There was a snowfall near here a few days ago, but the snow quickly melted into water and mixed into the soil. Even though stone slabs that can be stepped on have been paved on the opened path, the people walking forward are still trying to move forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Only Jenkins, who was walking among the crowd, felt relaxed for a long time. He kept taking deep breaths, with a slight smile on his face. The boots stepped on the ground, as comfortable as walking on the carpet in the living room of your own home, and the air was filled with a unique fragrance of plants.
Stretching for a while, the raised hand happened to touch the vine extending from the tree. Jenkins looked up to see a squirrel cradling a pine nut on a higher branch. It stood there staring at Jenkins until a cat made a threatening sound, and the squirrel hurriedly climbed up the branch and escaped, but before leaving, it still did not forget to throw the pine nut to Jenkins.
Miss Bevanna was walking beside Jenkins, and of course noticed this scene. A soft smile appeared on her face, but she said nothing.
"I didn't expect to see squirrels this season."
Playing with the pine nut in his hand, Jenkins said with emotion.
"There is plenty of food here. Although there were no such small animals at the beginning, after noticing the situation here, some migrated from afar."
Miss Bevanna explained from the side.
"But I remember that squirrels are hibernating animals. Could it be that their genetic characteristics have changed because of sufficient food?"
"This forest is very unusual. The creatures that have lived here for a long time have more or less changed. Of course, the huge natural spirit alone will not have such an effect. The believers of the new gods must have caused it. Some unreproducible accident."
Listening to Miss Bevanna's remarks, Jenkins nodded ignorantly. He also believed that the formation of this place was an accident that could not be replicated. Although the ceremony of [Breath of Life] could be held again, he could no longer find such a huge vitality as a hotbed to stimulate it.
The trail winds through dense forest, with trees and grass blocking the view ahead.
But soon, the end of the path suddenly became clear. The canopy of the giant tree was broken with a small opening, so that the setting sun could be projected onto the entire silent grassland, and the sparkling pool water reflected the orange-yellow light.
The ceremony was scheduled for the moment when the sun completely disappeared in the evening, so everyone still had some time to prepare.
The keepers and apprentices in white sacrificial robes stood by the grass, while the children of the choir were led by the nuns to sit aside.
There are so many acquaintances, it is impossible for Jenkins to say hello to all of them. He looked up at the water pool in the distance, and then raised his head, the upside-down human figure made of pure white light still stayed in the air.
It is not standing still, but spinning at a very slow speed. Although when talking about this white light and shadow, everyone said that they would feel an inexplicable sense of sacredness, but Jenkins did not feel this way at all.
He doesn't quite remember what happened at that time, and he can only guess the reason for the appearance of this shadow. According to the records of the church, believers praying to the shadow of the saint, or performing rituals near it, the effect can be greatly improved. But Jenkins has no believers at all, or the believers people think are all himself.
"Maybe I have time, I can try to pray to myself... No, I don't seem to have my own exclusive magic."
The huge guard team did not have a chance to play their role. When the secret keeper who checked the time with his pocket watch announced the start of the baptism, nothing happened.
The children of the choir stood in three rows and chanted hymns in low tones, and the priests in their uniform white robes stood in two rows, forming a path across the grass to the pool.
Standing at the beginning of the path, Jenkins watched the people cast long shadows under the magnificent sunset. The children's singing could be heard nearby, and the white figures hanging on the water pool were in the distance.
"Why is it so like a cult sacrifice?"
He felt that his thoughts were weird, so he shook his head to drive away those weird thoughts.
Put the chocolate on the grass and let it do its thing. Although the children in the choir looked at it expectantly as they sang, the cat still didn't choose that direction.
It stepped on the grass and walked towards the old man, then quickly climbed to the tree behind the old man, lay down in the bushes, exposed the cat's head, and watched what happened next on the grass.