Onyxsilk Town

In front of the main gate, the three guards were talking about the news like any other day.

"Ah… the war continues…" The ignition rod guard said with a grim expression, reading about the war between Uldor and the Holy Kingdom.

"What do you think Ashton will do? We have a good relationship with the Holy Kingdom, don't we?" The guard behind him asked, a look of concern plastered on his face.

For now, the war wasn't anything big—only some small fights between Rank 1 and Rank 2 cannon fodders. But they all knew it was only the start.

"I don't think our kingdom will involve itself so early." The leader of the guards shook his head: "Unless someone decides to provoke us or make a great deal with us, the royal family won't choose any side. Additionally, even the angel race—the Holy Kingdom's greatest ally—isn't willing to involve itself."

The guards nodded in agreement. For some reason, the angels weren't helping the Holy Kingdom. And apparently, King Valor knew that would happen, which gave him confidence to start this war.

"Hey, do you see this?" The guard with an ignition rod pointed at the forest, seeing a blindfolded boy carrying a golden-haired woman and dragging something with a rope.

"What the hell?!" The guard behind him squinted his eyes: "Look at what he's dragging!"

The ignition rod guard and the leader focused on the object that the boy was dragging, their eyes widening instantly.

"Ah… a disfigured woman with a chicken leg and missing arm. Should be a victim of black magic." The leader said, looking at the woman with pity.

It wasn't his first time seeing such a case. The mercenaries tended to bring the black magic victims with them whenever they accepted a quest that involved black magic.

As for this woman, she wasn't the worst-looking victim he had seen. The true worst one was literally a colossal mass of flesh tentacles with mouths and eyes.

The guards waited patiently until Dante arrived. He immediately put Elizabeth down and brought the disfigured woman before the guards. Then, he asked, while showing them his token: "I encountered this woman while completing my quest. Is there anything I can do to save her?"

The leader of the guards sighed, walking toward the woman: "We'll take care of her, don't worry."

He brought his hand into his pocket and pulled glowing white powder out of it. He immediately forced the woman to inhale the powder, then she fell asleep instantly.

"There is a place where people like her have a chance to be saved, using some kind of potions." The leader carried the woman over his shoulder and walked toward the gate: "But whether these potions are going to work or not will depend on how affected she is by black magic. If the potions don't work, they'll likely end her agony in the old way."

'I don't think she's that affected. Hopefully she'll be alright.'

Dante cleared his throat and told the leader about the woman's village—to inform them in case they had to kill her—then asked: "By the way, where can I buy those potions? I might need them someday."

The leader of the guards brought something in front of the door in the middle of the gate, causing it to open, and answered: "The Resilience Laboratory, it's where I'm heading now. Unfortunately, they don't sell these potions. Their branches exist all around the continent and they do their job and experiments for free."

"They will help you if you need, but they won't sell or give anything. You can get these things only in black market, though I advise you not to do that. Ignoring that it's illegal, if you were scammed and used a fake potion, death would be your least concern."

'What a shame…' Dante sighed in disappointment. What was the point of refusing to sell the cure of black magic?

Holding Elizabeth's hand, Dante bade farewell to the guards and headed to the Mercenary Guild.

At the Mercenary Guild, he was told that they'd need a day to confirm that he completed the quest. With nothing else to do, he and Elizabeth rented a room for another day to spend the night.

Elizabeth went to take a quick shower, while Dante fell to the bed, waiting for her.

'I want a house…'

Dante wanted to buy his own house, and he was now capable of doing that. A poor-class house would cost him 1 platinum coin, and a middle-class one would cost him a bit over 4 platinum coins. Unfortunately, he couldn't buy one yet.

He was planning to tell Elizabeth about the war, which might force him to leave if she decided to go to her kingdom.

'I'll tell her soon and see what she'll do. If everything goes well, I'll buy a house… or maybe WE will buy a house.'

If he and Elizabeth shared a house, he'd need to pay only half the price and use the remaining money for furniture!

Additionally, they'd share the taxes as well. He heard that the lord of this town took taxes from anyone that owned a piece of land, and the lands under the houses were included.

'Even here taxes exist. The concept of taxes is definitely running through human veins!'

And lastly, he'd have her to cook for him. That was a great win considering his terrible cooking skills.

'I should start reading cooking books later. I can't cook anything properly other than meat.'

After a few minutes, Elizabeth opened the bathroom door, heading toward the closet with her body and hair wrapped in towels.

"I'm done."

Without hesitation, Dante used Shadowstep and teleported to the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and headed toward the toilet.

…He had been holding it since he started the quest.

After Elizabeth dressed in casual clothes and cooked lunch, Dante left the bathroom and began eating with her.

"Amm… by the way." Elizabeth suddenly stopped eating, getting Dante's attention, and smiled: "You don't have to pay me for cooking anymore… I am okay with doing it for free."

Dante smiled bitterly: 'Why now of all times?!'

He had been paying her one bronze coin daily since they were in the carriage. Why didn't she say that earlier?

Dante cleared his throat and said: "Thank you, but… there is something you have to know. I have been hiding it because I was afraid of worsening your… mental state."

'And because I was afraid that she might decide to sell me to end the war.'

"What is it?" Elizabeth tilted her head innocently, then Dante told her about the war.

He didn't mention the real reason behind the war, and instead said what the analysts had suggested.

They suggested that it might be because of the greed toward the Angel Bloodline Cores or because of the involvement of an abyssal race. Dante didn't lie, as he was just saying what was written in the newspaper.

And as expected, Elizabeth's expression darkened instantly.

¢¢¢

'I knew that would happen, but it was still hard to see.'

Dante sighed as the memory of what happened one hour ago resurfaced in his mind.

After telling Elizabeth about the war, she panicked instantly, as though he told her that her mother had died or something.

Apparently, she was that kind of person who was too loyal to the place they considered 'home'. Dante, whose biggest concern was having something to eat, didn't have such loyalty. If someone appeared before Dante and told him that his country was nuked, Dante wouldn't even flinch.

After Fafnir and Dante calmed Elizabeth down, she said that she needed some time to think of her next move.

'Judging by her reaction, I don't think she's staying here… though I don't think that going into a war is a good thing.'

She was far away from that stupid war, so why would she go there willingly? She was too weak to make a difference.

BAM!

'I hope she uses her tiny brain and thinks for herself. Hopefully, she'll decide to stay with me.'

BAM!

For some reason, Dante was wishing from the bottom of his heart that she wouldn't leave him. It was a strange feeling, as he really never felt like that before.

BAM!

Did he grow a bit close to her?

'Nah, it's definitely because she's a bit useful. She helped me a few times while I was trying to buy some food with her lie detection, and it was nice to share the rent with someone.'

BAM!

'Yeah, that's definitely the reason.'

BAM!

"You have a hard skull, huh?"

At this moment, Dante was holding a grey monkey with his normal arm by the neck, lifting it up and pinning it against a tree.

The monkey's head was covered in cracks like stone, and the tree behind it was in a miserable state.

He was now in the forest, a bit far away from the town. A few minutes ago, this stupid monkey attacked him out of nowhere.

For an unknown reason, Dante's mood was really bad, so he just decided to kill the monkey barehanded.

He punched it several times with his demonic arm, but apparently, the tree behind it was more affected by Dante's punches.

That monkey was called the Stone Fur Monkey. As its name suggests, it was a monkey that's covered in stone-like fur.

Dante coldly clenched his fist and enhanced it with mana before throwing another punch.

SPLASH!

Finally, the monkey's head shattered, splashing blood and brain matter all over Dante's arm.

It was a rankless monster without enough Spirit to absorb or even a core. Dante finally threw the monkey's body away and scratched his head.

'Why was I here again?'

After focusing for a second, Dante finally remembered—he was here to check his spoils.

'After all, I can't just check a few items related to black magic in town.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.