Diane stole a vehicle and drove many miles to reach the north-western border of Salem city.Strangely enough, she entered a town where it was snowing, despite it not being the season.She had to explore the town on foot.Even though it was still four o’clock at night, she wasn’t afraid to roam alone.“Why is it snowing so much here?” she was shivering from the chill in the air.[Because there’s a snowpeak nearby.] Sandy’s voice rang in her head.“Then, shouldn’t it also snow in the neighboring regions?”[Normally, it should, but someone made it so that the snow doesn’t easily get past this town’s border.]“Someone?”[We’re going to meet that someone right now.]“They must be strong,” Diane appeared a bit nervous. “They won’t try to take you away from me, would they?”[If he would, I wouldn’t bring you here. Just make sure you never talk about me in front of him. If he asks who told you about him, then make up some excuse.]Despite Sandy’s words, Diane didn’t want to blindly believe th

In Rose Park.“You want me to teach you how to use daggers?’ Sheryl clicked her tongue. “Nah, you don’t need to use daggers when you have the gravitas system.”“No. I want to learn close combat,” Catherine quickly replied. “In the recent fight with the augmen and augbeasts, I realized that I can use my gravitas system better with weapons. And I can’t only rely on the system. I need to know how martial arts work so that I can fight powerful foes.”“Mm…” Sheryl imagined Catherine fighting with one dagger, sending it flying through many enemies one after another and killing lots of enemies with minimum effort. “I can kind of imagine what you are planning to do. But learning a dagger is much harder than simply training your body or even training with the sword.”“I’m prepared to train myself to death,” Catherine said without hesitation.“Okay,” Sheryl created four wooden daggers with ease and tossed two over.She started showing the posture and teaching the ins and outs of dagger fighting

In Lumia town.Diane finished eating breakfast in a hotel and then came to Jamie’s house.She knocked on the door multiple times. “Can you hear me? I’m so hungry. Please open the door. Let me inside. Or I’m going to starve to death! I’ve already cleaned the front yard. What more do you want me to do?!”No matter how much she begged or yelled, the door wasn’t opened.“Should I break this damn door and force myself in?” Diane gnashed her teeth.[Don’t make such a stupid mistake.] Sandy warned her. [If he gets angry, you could even lose your life.]“Tsk, then what can I do? Do you want me to waste my time here?” she barked. “Help me with a good idea, you asswiper!”“Who are you?” A voice came from behind her.She turned around.A tall man with dark brown hair was staring at her with an unwelcoming gaze. He had an eagle tattoo on the back of his right hand. He looked to be in his mid thirties.Whether it be looks wise or dressing wise, he was near-perfect.“Don’t you know that it’s manner

Leo Adler left the house with a positive impression on Diane, which was exactly what she wanted.“He didn’t say goodbye, but he at least smiled,” Diane thought as she waved him goodbye. “This is a good start.”After Leo left, she locked the door so that Jamie wouldn’t tell her to go out.“What does your son do, Uncle?” Diane asked Jamie.“Save your energy. Leo stopped loving after his lover died.”“Oh, no. How did she die?”“He killed her.”Diane’s heart shook for a second. “W-What?”Jamie put the empty tea cup down. “She acted like she loved him, then stole his money and ran away. He was going to let her go, but then he found out that she also cheated on him. So, he tracked her down and killed her by stuffing all the dollar bills she stole down her throat.”Diane swallowed her breath. “I-Isn’t that true cruel?” Just thinking about a person dying from having cash stuffed in their mouth sent shivers down Diane’s spine.“She wanted the money, and he made it so that she could take it to

The tasks at the port made Denver feel more and more nervous. After all, if this ceremony were to fail, it’d stop him from overcoming Hawkers one day, which he really wanted to do.Feeling heavy in the heart, he returned to Rose Tower using a movement technique he called Flash Step.This was written in the list of techniques Sheryl made for him, which he had used in the past.“I don’t remember using it, but my body seems to still remember it,” Denver thought. “I don’t feel strange using it.”Denver arrived at the balcony using this technique and startled Catherine from behind.She got a little scared, which made him laugh. “You need to hone your senses using aura.”“I did, back in the caves. Don’t you remember?” she retorted. “I was just focusing on the flight technique, so I didn’t sense you coming.”“If you’re struggling, I can help,” he touched just one of her hairs, but she could feel it.“Sure, since you know my ability, you can tell me your thoughts,” she put her arms on her wais