In the Land Forsaken by the Gods, during the lightning-filled "daytime," the exploration team finally returned to the City of Silver.
Gazing at the city walls overgrown with weeds in their crevices, Derrick felt somewhat dazed, as if he had been away for many years.
Behind him, Colin Iliad, the "Demon Hunter," suddenly looked confused and pressed his right temple with his hand.
While the other team members were filled with heartfelt joy and relaxation, the Chief instead pulled out from his pocket a gear-embellished book full of mechanical aesthetics.
This was the book Derrick had submitted to him earlier when the team reported their exploration findings.
Now, he had recalled the book's origin and all the experiences from the previous "cycles," making him highly value this gear book that could defy the "Angel of Fate's" power.
"The Fallen Star... Is this book what the entity behind Derrick needs?"
"He actively handed it to me... Was it to express goodwill, or does he have other schemes?"
After staring at Derrick's back for a while, Colin withdrew his gaze, having made a decision in his heart.
A day later, after resting briefly at home, Derrick Berg stepped out and headed toward the Twin Towers.
He planned to visit the library to look up historical records about the Sanguine, hoping to prove to "Mr. Moon" that the City of Silver's records were the correct ones.
Upon arriving at the spire and ascending to the third-floor library, just as he was about to approach the shelves containing mythological and ancient texts, Derrick caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
It was a fair-skinned, strikingly beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in a black robe adorned with numerous mysterious purple patterns, her silver-gray hair slightly curled and cascading down.
She was Lovia Tiffany, a member of the Six-member Council who had been imprisoned for a long time!
As her pale gray eyes swept over him, Derrick felt as if his soul had been pierced, freezing involuntarily for a second.
"Good day, Elder Lovia," he hurriedly lowered his head, pressing a hand to his chest.
Lovia approached and nodded slightly.
"My isolation has been lifted."
She spoke calmly before turning away, as if making a declaration.
Faced with her declaration, Derrick had expected to feel fear or tension, but instead, he felt a strange sense of relief, as if thinking, "It's finally happened."
After all, "Mr. Tower" had long predicted that Elder Lovia would be released, and "Mr. Hanged Man" had thoroughly analyzed the reasons behind it for him.
When the cause and effect of a matter were fully understood, there was nothing left to fear.
"The truly terrifying ones are actually 'Mr. Tower' and 'Mr. Hanged Man'... It's as if all the responses of our City of Silver's leadership are unfolding exactly as they imagined..."
"Elder Lovia's actions just now were meaningless—even if she's released, she definitely won't act recklessly, much less do anything to me within the city..."
"As for ambushing me during explorations... The Chief, who is wary of both her and me, would never let us operate alone."
Thinking this, Derrick suddenly realized that many things seemed clearer to him now, no longer as muddled as before...
"This must be thanks to the 'way of thinking' taught by 'Mr. Tower' and 'Mr. Hanged Man'... They've been so kind to me, yet I secretly find them frightening. I really shouldn't."
After silently confessing this thought to "Mr. Fool," Derrick reconsidered:
"Mr. Tower once said that Elder Lovia's release should be seen as a signal—a sign that the Chief and others want to establish contact!"
"After all, if they didn't want contact, why would they need counterbalances?"
With this in mind, Derrick lost interest in researching and returned straight home.
In the Chief's room within the Round Tower
Colin Iliad, his hair streaked with white and his face scarred, listened quietly to the "Shadow's" report before nodding slightly.
"Derrick went straight home after seeing Lovia?"
Pausing, he sighed. "He's grown up... I wonder if that 'Amon' taught him."
"Your Excellency, are we truly withdrawing all surveillance on Lovia and Derrick?" the Shadow asked hesitantly.
"Maintain only necessary perimeter monitoring—no need to intrude into their daily lives." Colin's tone carried deeper meaning. "Their methods of contacting mysterious entities exceed our imagination. Since prolonged surveillance revealed nothing... we might as well loosen our grip."
"I also want to see what he can bring us... Let's hope it's nothing ill."
The Shadow monitor nodded thoughtfully. "Understood!"
...
28 Kinst Street, Cherwood Borough.
Faced with Arrodes' question, Fanny ultimately chose punishment after intense internal struggle.
While she wouldn't mind Ebner knowing those private details, having Xio and Hazel present made it impossible to answer.
As green lightning materialized, Fanny's carefully grown half-year-long hair stood on end, charged with the same electric hue.
Anticipating this, Ebner immediately cast "Violet's Perfect Restoration," erasing all traces of the lightning within seconds.
Still trembling, Fanny leaned on Xio as she collapsed onto the sofa, breathing heavily.
"Anyone else want to try?" Ebner checked Fanny's aura before turning to Hazel and Xio.
After exchanging glances, both shook their heads—their initial enthusiasm evaporated after witnessing Fanny's ordeal.
Xio privately deemed the mirror inferior to Ebner and Princess Vela's methods. Why bother with it when she could collect Roselle's diaries for Mr. Fool's answers?
As for her father's death—while Ebner remained tight-lipped, Xio now had partial theories. Some truths were better uncovered at Sequence 4, a threshold she felt nearing thanks to the Blasphemy Card and secured "Disciplinary Knight" characteristic.
"Besides, a Grade 2 artifact's technique likely can't reveal that truth anyway... Why volunteer my privacy?" Yet her eyes gleamed—she'd memorize this to teach Fors... and perhaps the Princess.
Hazel similarly memorized the key symbols, planning to attempt it under Bishop Utrafsky's supervision. Unlike performing before Ebner, the benevolent bishop's presence carried no shame—he'd never mock or betray her confidences.
A knock interrupted them. After hastily concluding the ritual and storing the candles and mirror, Ebner opened the door to find Mrs. Skade.
Glancing briefly at the disheveled Fanny, the housekeeper reported: "A telegram for you—from Mr. Gaston in Damir."
Damir? Did my "Transformation Rod-Fire" sell? Is that third mate from the Black Emperor willing to trade the intel that made "Deep Sea Admiral" hunt him?
The telegram simply requested a meeting within two days—wise discretion given unencrypted messages.
As Ebner considered divining potential traps, endless gray mist suddenly flooded his vision, revealing Derrick praying with updates about the City of Silver.
"Contact signals already? Perfect timing—I'll use Gaston's workshop to craft a single-use item imbued with Violet's restoration spell."
...
Toot!
The White Agate's horn sounded as Klein's ship entered Damir Port.
(End of Chapter)