What was left from the sunlight had now faded, swallowed completely by the darkness. In its place, the moon rose, reflected its light even from somewhere far away.

My eyes locked on her eyes as I continued.

"That’s why I knew a lot of things, including the certain way of obtaining Aqua Rune, and the end of the world. And also... About you, Tizmilly."

Tizmilly was silent. She only looked at me and didn’t say anything. The wind came back as I let her digested the information.

"... About me?" After a while, she whispered softly.

I nodded. "Yes. Your fate, suffice to say, was the most tragic. You lost everything because of something you didn’t do. And the more you tried to get back what was once yours, the more you get swallowed by evil."

Tizmilly widened her eyes and looked down. Her fists clenched while still in my hold. "It’s hard to... Believe. I can’t imagine myself become someone who can be associated with evil..." She muttered, her voice trembling.

I only smiled in response.

"The reason I said I experienced something similiar is because in my previous life, I had also opened a restaurant."

My words attracted Tizmilly’s attention. She raised her head and looked at me.

I continued while staring at the starry sky. It looked like a painting for me. "Just like our restaurant, it was only a small restaurant. And I didn’t have a skilled chef like my Mother back then, so it was not even as popular. However, it was my life. Something I had built together with my friends."

As I entered the end of the story, a weak smile appeared on my face. I couldn’t hide it. "However, one day, suddenly, they accused me of embezzling the restaurant’s operational fund. I was confused, since I never did it. But they had the evidences. It looked real, and so believable. With that, they cast me aside with nothing but dust, and a big debt that was not even mine. If I am remember it right, I die from overwork... Though I can’t be sure after all these years."

I tried to laugh it out, but what came out sounded more like a cracked voice than a laughter.

"That’s why you open a restaurant here, too?" Tizmilly asked.

I met her eyes, and shrugged. "Maybe. I am not even sure about the exact reason. I just thought that it would be interesting."

Tizmilly stared at me for a beat, before slowly blinked. After a breath, she opened her eyes again. This time, she looked at me solemnly.

"Then, the reason you demanded so much from Gyllena is—"

I gave her a nod before she finished her question.

Tizmilly frowned. Slowly, she took her hands back and started rubbing her bangs. She seemed hesitating. Before she stated at with her determined look, her eyes burning.

"Please, Mr. Roost... explain it to me. Gyllena was my childhood friend. I don’t know whether she felt the same about our relationship after all these years or not, but it doesn’t matter. I want to save her, Mr. Roost," Tizmilly stated.

I showed her my usual grin in response. "Fine, then. I’ll tell you."

Tizmilly smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Roost!"

I turned to look at the cityscape, where lamps were activated to replace the missing sunlight, and took a deep breath before I started to explain.

"You remember that big guy I fought when we were saving Timmy before?" I asked her first.

Tizmilly nodded. "I remember him. He’s strong," she replied.

I smiled and continued. "Yeah. After all, he is not one of the Rats. He is actually a Commander of Abyssal Knight from Abyssal New Gate."

"Abyssal New Gate?" Tizmilly asked back.

"A worldwide cult. They worship Demons from Abyss. A group of insane people, you could say," I answered with a sigh.

Before the Dungeon awakened, they were the ones who pulled everything from behind the scene. The true evil. It would be better if I could avoid them, but after I fought Roygerd and agreed to help Gyllena, maybe I wouldn’t be able to escape them anymore. I need to become stronger and collect everything needed to protect my people faster.

"They whorship Demons!?" Tizmilly exclaimed, disbelief written all over her face.

"What they were even thinking? Didn’t it stated how many Demons had made Humanity suffered before the Sage born and sealed the Gate of Abyss?" Tizmilly muttered with frustated face.

I chuckled and shrugged. "Who knows what those idiots have inside their heads? What important is what they are going to do in the future."

Tizmilly paused and slowly nodded, finding that my point was correct here. "You’re right..."

"Since you talked about Abyssal New Gate... Was it them who were targeting Gyllena?" Tizmilly asked, she herself already looked like she had found the answer. She only asked for confirmation.

And I confirmed it with an exasperated smile. "That’s right. Unfortunately."

Tizmilly’s face became solemn once she heard it. Her eyes sharpened.

’Heh, she really is determined to help even after everything Gyllena said to her, huh? Our Miss Villainess is just too king-hearted...’

A smile naturally formed on my face as I looked at her solemn face.

"Our opponent is Jahreon Qua Tarram. His real identity is not the second prince of the Tarram Kingdom, but one of the Abyssal New Gate’s apostle."

I continued the explanation.

"The apostles is not as formidable as Abyssal Knights, but they are so cunning. They could also use Dark Magic by offering blood and soul to the Demons in the Abyss. Different from when I fought that big guy, I actually doubt my current ability is enough to defeat him."

Tizmilly widened her eyes. "Even you couldn’t defeat him, Mr. Roost? Then how will we—"

"Fortunately, we didn’t have to defeat him. We only have to gain control over the Demon inside him," I interrupted her, which surprised Tizmilly even further.

"Gain control over a Demon? Was that even possible?" She asked curiously.

I grinned in response. "We are lucky, because she was not dead yet now. So don’t worry. We only need to spend some money, and everything will be settled with her help."

Tizmilly perked up. "Her?"

I only smiled and chose to shut my mouth. I don’t want to make ’she’ hate me by calling her name before we even meet each other, after all. I ignored Tizmilly’s curious gaze and changed the topic by pulling out a pair of Aqua Rune.

Tizmilly’s attention immediately shifted to them. "These were the ones we obtained before, right?" She asked and picked one from my palm.

I nodded. "That’s right."

She raised the Aqua Rune to the moon, making it reflected moonlight into bluish shade that felt calming and mystical.

"But why taking it out now, Mr. Roost?" Tizmilly asked.

"You know its effect, right?" I asked her back Instead of answering her question.

Tizmilly admired the Aqua Rune before opened her lips. "It gave the holder the ability to breath in water, protected the holder from the pressure when diving into deep ocean, and also gave minor physical enchanment when underwater... am I correct?"

Slowly, I rose from my sitting position while holding my Aqua Rune. I looked down at the city and grinned. "Again, perfect score. As expected of Miss Villainess."

Tizmilly giggled in response. "I don’t think being a Villainess have something to do about how genius I am," she said, before she also stood up.

I turned to look at her. "What is the reason then?"

Tizmilly tidied up her bangs before responding with a big smile. "What else, of course it is because of my tireless effort!"

She bragged so confidently that it made me doubt whether she was the same person she was before when she was staring blankly at the empty hall after everyone she knew abandoned her.

But it was good. That was what I wanted. Positive development. Whether the world would end or not, it didn’t mean that we could stop moving forward. We were still alive, after all.

I raised the Aqua Rune I held in my hand, then showed her a challenging grin. "Then, Miss Villainess, what about dive into a Dungeon before we return and have a dinner?"

She tilted her head, looking uncertain "Eh? Dive into a Dungeon? It’s already so late, Mr. Roost..." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Exactly because it was already late that we have to visit that Dungeon," I said, widening my grin. "Since we couldn’t find it during the day. It will be my celebration gift for your first month of living with us, Tizmilly. What do you think? Want to get a new sword, or not?"

Tizmilly hesitated. She stared at the Aqua Rune on her palm, guessing what kind of Dungeon I would bring her into. After a beat, she smiled back. "Okay, let’s go!"

"By the way, which Dungeon will be dive into now?" She asked as she received my extended hand and prepared to go down to the city.

I narrowed my eyes at the cityscape.

"The place where water became dangerous and assimilated by darkness. The Drowned Pit."