'So, let me understand this correctly…' Dante took a deep breath: 'There is a specific government that was doing experiments on chaos energy, and suddenly, something happened that sent them to this world.'

'The lead scientist, Sarah, got a class immediately, and it was an extraordinary class like mine. She then got saved by the frost elves, and NAMED them based on something from a novel she had read on Earth. Was she or one of her friends the one who named the other races?'

'Anyway… in the end, she decided to write this book in the hope one of her friends would find it, but Beth found it and I got it from her.'

Dante scratched his head, noticing a few unnatural things about what was written in the book.

'How many books did she write?'

Apparently, she had written a lot of similar books and scattered them all around the world. Dante guessed this by considering how widely known the black magic was.

'She probably wanted to make sure that her friends would have a higher chance to find it. Or maybe her friends themselves were who spread the black magic. There is also a chance that not all black magic is chaos magic.'

There were many possible theories in Dante's mind, but he couldn't confirm any of them. He needed to find another black magic item to confirm that.

Then, there was the most unnatural thing written in the book.

'If she was from Earth, living in the same modern era as me, then how she is old enough to be the one who named the races?'

Dante had the 123rd Crown of Existence, and she had the 58th Crown. The time gap between them had to be significant, considering that she even named some races.

But this didn't make any sense. Naming the frost elves was hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. And the modern government, nations, and labs were recent things in Earth history. The time gap just didn't make any sense.

'Maybe it has something to do with Time Aspect? I don't really understand anything…'

Dante shook his head and sighed helplessly. He had nothing to help him in understanding this.

'I'll continue reading this book later, my eyes hurt like hell. No wonder that woman was crying tears of blood.'

Dante adjusted his blindfold and returned the chaos magic book to his ring, then he walked toward the town, Fafnir following him in the shadow form.

'I think I gave her enough time to consider her options. Whether I'm going to stay here or not would depend on her next step.'

¢¢¢

"I'm back."

Dante returned to his room, finding Elizabeth hugging her knees to her chest on the bed.

The closet was opened wide and empty without her clothes, and her large backpack seemed fuller than usual.

'Oh, I see what she decided to do.'

She had gathered her belongings already. She was leaving soon.

Once Elizabeth heard Dante, she smiled: "Welcome back. Are–are you hungry by any chance?"

"Yes…" Dante nodded.

"I'll make some eggs and rice quickly." Elizabeth stood up and went to the kitchen.

Dante sat on the chair and waited for some time. After Elizabeth placed all the food on the table, they started eating.

"So, when are you… leaving?" Dante asked, though the words were hard to say for some reason.

Elizabeth lowered her head: "There is a trade convoy travelling toward the central region tomorrow… I plan to join them. It might take me a few weeks or a month to reach the Holy Kingdom."

"Good for you then."

No one said a single word after that as they ate in silence.

'I did what Skylar wanted and stayed with her for weeks. It's not my fault that she wants to endanger herself willingly.'

After eating, they went together to the library to read before returning to the Mercenary Guild's room to sleep.

And just like this, they spent their last day together in silence.

¢¢¢

The next morning, they both woke up early. The trade convoy was leaving in a few hours, Elizabeth had to inform them of her intent to join the convoy and pay the fees.

After eating a simple breakfast, they left without saying a word, heading toward the convoy gathering area.

'I might have to join one soon as well.'

Dante watched Elizabeth from the side as she talked with the people there. After a few moments, she walked toward Dante.

'I think… I have to go now.' Elizabeth said, her eyes showing some sadness.

She had been with Dante for over three weeks, and he had helped her and saved her several times despite being younger than her, replacing the protection that her knights gave her. It was only natural that she grew close to him.

Unfortunately, she had to go now.

Dante scratched his head: "Are you sure you want to go there? I don't think a blind Rank 1 girl would make a difference."

Elizabeth shook her head: "I'm more experienced in healing than fighting. If I can heal and save one person from my kingdom, then that's a big difference for me."

'That's just stupid.'

Dante opened his mouth to say goodbye. But before he could mutter a word, he suddenly felt a head fall on his chest and thin arms wrapping around his waist.

'You damn—'

Out of nowhere, Elizabeth decided to hug him. Because of her height, her head barely reached his chest.

Dante's body tensed as he was about to push her away, clearly uncomfortable with that hug. But then he calmed himself and let her do what she wanted this time.

'That's the fucking second time you do this!'

After a few seconds, she finally stopped hugging him as she took a step back and smiled: "We'll meet again, stay safe until then."

Dante simply waved his hand, then she finally walked away, heading toward one of the carriages.

Unknown to her, her shadow became a bit darker.

'Let me know when she gets close to her kingdom, and protect her if something happens.'

Obviously, Dante sent Fafnir to follow her.

If Fafnir died, he would revive under Dante, which meant that he could just kill himself if Dante needed him soon.

'Back to being alone, huh?'

It had been a while since the last time he was alone. It felt strange after getting used to someone being close to him.

But he couldn't do anything about that.

'I think I'll pay the library a visit.'

════════✧Gains✧════════

Existence Essence ⟨0/1000 → 100/1000⟩

• Vitality: 40 → 41

• Spirit: 41 → 44

• Mind: 30 → 32

Aspect: Shadow [Comprehension:35%→41%]

Aspect: Misfortune [Comprehension:28%→38%

Coins: +5 Gold

Mana Crystals: +9 Small-sized

Cores of Existence: +9 Rank 1 cores

Relics: +Rituals Dagger

Ring of Greed: +3 Grade 2 Vomiting Blossom (New!), +5 Grade 1 Vomiting Blossom (New!), +1 Master of Decay's Arm (New), +1 Basics of Chaos Magic Book, +Gradeless Bandits Weapons, +Food.

+↑Experience & Knowledge

════════✧Losses✧════════

Coins: -60 Bronze, -40 Silver, -7 Gold

Mana Crystals: -1 Small-sized (Eaten)

Cores of Existence: -100

Ring of Greed: -Food, -1 Rope.

-1 Companion (Saintess Class)

-↓ Misfortune

Total Coins: 132 Bronze, 0 Silver, 13 Gold, 5 Platinum.

Total Mana Crystals: 158 Small-sized.

Total Cores of Existence: 25

A/N: I feel like a nerd sometimes.

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