Sigrid's face was peaceful in repose, no longer as guarded as when she was working.

Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly until she exhaled softly.

Looks like she hadn't been exposed.

Sigrid secretly rejoiced.

Luckily, she hadn't overdone it, or she might not be able to use the Sigrid identity in the future.

Sigrid's little girl persona was too useful. Whether she hugged Ranch or clung to him, she wouldn't be embarrassed. She could just say it was childishness, and Ranch could only tolerate her.

In addition, Sigrid and her persona overlapped somewhat, so sometimes expressing her feelings seemed particularly appropriate on Sigrid.

And most importantly, because Ranch maintained respect and reverence for both her and Sigrid, he wouldn't easily associate different people. In his eyes, he never labeled others; on the contrary, he valued each individual.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sigrid asked preemptively.

"Reminded me of a friend."

Ranch didn't lie to her and answered truthfully.

"Boy or girl? What kind of person?"

Sigrid asked again.

She was mainly trying to confuse the issue.

"An incredibly strong woman, but her mate selection criteria must be someone even stronger than her, so she probably won't be able to marry."

Ranch smiled wryly.

"..."

Sigrid put her hands behind her back, not letting him see the trembling veins on her hands, and tried to maintain a smile.

"Then can you help her?"

She asked, pretending to be concerned.

"How can I help?"

Ranch picked up his water glass and sipped lightly.

He seemed to think Sigrid's suggestion was a little absurd.

"You should marry her. Wouldn't that help her?"

Sigrid leaned back on the sofa, speaking nonchalantly, kicking her legs loosely, her toes tapping against the bottom of the coffee table.

"I'm actually quite curious what the child of you and the strongest woman would be like. How strong would it be?"

"???"

Ranch almost choked on his saliva.

He didn't expect Sigrid to say such outrageous things.

Just as he was about to explain the problem to Sigrid.

"You're the strongest Pope, aren't you?"

Sigrid said matter-of-factly.

"But..."

Ranch swallowed the words he was about to say.

He couldn't explain to Sigrid that this was actually a shadow world, and although Pope Saint Lant was understood to be at the ninth rank, he himself was only at the sixth rank as a performer.

Since he couldn't explain it clearly, Sigrid's logic seemed impeccable.

"..."

"I'll help as much as I can."

Ranch finally sighed, intending to end the topic with Sigrid.

Bang bang!

Suddenly.

Sigrid patted her cheeks, trying to make herself more awake.

Her cheeks were red from her own pats.

"What's wrong?"

Ranch asked Sigrid.

"I feel a little sleepy again, so I'm trying to wake myself up."

Sigrid replied to him, blushing.

Her face looked naturally red from being slapped.

Then Sigrid's gaze turned to the window.

The chill of the Eternal Night seeped in from the cracks outside the window, creating a chilling airflow in the room.

Ranch immediately put down his water glass, stood up, and went to close the window.

He knew very well that when he and Sigrid had gone to the snowfield together before, Sigrid often couldn't wake up. She always felt tired and sleepy in places where cold stimulation and warm comfort intersected.

Sigrid was clearly a child then, and waking up in such extremely cold weather, still feeling a little cold, she must have only wanted to crawl into a warm bed.

But she couldn't be willful; her job required her to stay awake at all times, even in such a safe environment.

Over time, she had also learned how to forcibly combat her sleepiness.

Ranch stood by the curtains and glanced outside. The snowstorm in Little Night City was even worse.

Looking at the black snow, feeling the cold up close, he couldn't help but yawn, raising his hand to cover his face.

It seemed that it wasn't suitable to travel for the time being; it would be better to rest in Little Night City for a while.

"Do you remember? You used to coax me to sleep with a gentle but slightly commanding tone. I miss that so much."

Sigrid looked at Ranch closing the window and asked him.

It was as if only giving her a task could she truly settle down and sleep soundly.

"What, do you still need someone to coax you to sleep at your age?"

Ranch turned around and asked her with a smile.

"Yes!"

Sigrid opened her arms.

That not only meant wanting to be coaxed to sleep but also wanting a hug.

"...How come you're acting more like a child as you get older? You didn't really know how to be spoiled when you were little."

Ranch certainly didn't agree to her request, sat down to the side, and looked at Sigrid speechlessly.

"Ahem!"

Talia, wearing an apron, brought out a freshly baked casserole from the kitchen.

She happened to hear the two's conversation as soon as she came out.

"You're not allowed to hug her, or I'll write a complaint letter."

Talia placed the meal on the table and told Ranch.

"Sigrid, you can't let a man hug you casually at your age. If you want to take a nap later, I'll hug you."

Then Talia said to Sigrid.

"Okay!"

Sigrid immediately agreed in a childlike tone, glancing slyly at Ranch.

It was as if she hadn't expected him to hug her from the start.

It wouldn't be a loss to trick Kaliella into hugging her either.

"I can probably finish the meal in less than half an hour. You guys can eat first."

Talia said to the two people and one cat on the sofa.

"I'll wait for you."

Ranch stretched and replied, feeling a little hungry and sleepy.

Talia nodded silently, stepping back into the kitchen with a jogging pace.

"You three get along so well. It's like a family, meow. You must always be together in the future."

The Cat Boss squatted on the coffee table and said to them.

Although it knew in its heart that this beauty couldn't continue into the real world, it hoped to cherish it with them for at least these twenty-one days.

Ranch and Sigrid had already reached a consensus to wait for Kaliella to come before eating together.

A table without a chef has no soul.

The Cat Boss agreed with this point very much.

The main course that Tata brought to the table today was beef short ribs slow-cooked to perfection, sprinkled with black truffle shavings from the orc city-state, served with mushroom sauce, with layers of aroma rippling through each layer.

The staple food was lemon-flavored salt-baked lobster rice, made with fresh shrimp and black rice from Little Night City. The addition of lemon juice and spices made this dish spicy without losing its freshness. There was also a caramel roasted duck, with the skin roasted until golden brown and crispy, paired with the fruity aroma of roasted pears and the slightly spicy black pepper honey sauce.

The remaining dishes were still being made.

They were all Sigrid's favorite dishes. Everyone seemed to be accommodating her, and the Cat Boss directly ordered the dishes for her.

"I didn't expect Kaliella's skills to be so good. She's just like a virtuous wife. I even want to marry her."

Sigrid couldn't help but comment as she smelled the overflowing aroma coming from the table.

"Aren't you treating her like an old mother?"

Ranch asked in surprise.

"It's only because she has a good temper that she spoils you enough to say that to her. She's actually very young, okay?"

Sigrid chuckled in annoyance and said to Ranch.

They chatted and laughed again.

The more they chatted, the sleepier Ranch's eyes became, and the lower Sigrid's voice became.

It was close to noon in Little Night City, but the sunlight still hadn't arrived.

Lunchtime seemed more like dinner under the scenery outside the window.

"By the way, aren't you sleepy?"

Sigrid noticed that Ranch had been yawning earlier.

He had seemed a bit fatigued from the loaded training all the way.

Logically speaking, he should rest.

But after arriving at the city-state where he could rest, he hadn't slept much.

Or rather, his state had been tense in the Eternal Night, and the more he saw the changes in the orc city-state, the less he felt like sleeping.

"A little."

Ranch admitted.

After chatting with Sigrid for a while and blowing the cold wind by the window, he did feel a little sleepy.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Sigrid had relaxed him.

"Rest for a while. You can't drive while tired."

Sigrid said softly to him, sitting next to him and stroking his head.

"How many times have I said..."

Ranch seemed tired of lecturing her,

"You can't be so touchy-feely with people..."

"You're special."

Sigrid stopped talking after saying this.

Her spring breeze-like, warm and gentle voice was like a hypnotic lullaby.

"..."

Ranch nodded his head twice, his voice almost fading away, and his whole person seemed to be in a cloud, drowsy.

Gradually, only the sound of wind and snow outside the window, soft breathing, and the sound of a pulse-like heartbeat could be heard in his ears.

At this time, the sleepiness accumulated during driving began to surge like a tide, irresistible.

In the flickering sight, Sigrid's figure became increasingly blurred in his eyes, only the light and violet patches of color were extremely distinct.

With this thought, Ranch closed his eyes.

...

I don't know how long it's been.

Consciousness was intermittent.

I don't know where I am.

It was a time and world never seen before.

The earth rumbled, and blood stained the ground.

The sky was shrouded in gray-black and blood-red, and thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.

The sun turned into a dead gray, losing its temperature and light.

The ground was no longer a solid support but was cracking and collapsing in constant tremors.

Large numbers of residents, millions of people, fled in panic like swarms of ants, only to find that there was nowhere to escape. On the ground, countless corpses lay horizontally, some crushed, some trampled to death in the chaos.

Cries and calls for help rose and fell, but they seemed so insignificant in the roar of the legion's footsteps.

On the distant horizon, a moving black tide was advancing slowly and irresistibly. The black mist creatures marched in unison with heavy steps, each step causing the land within a few kilometers to shake.

Wherever they passed, forests were instantly devoured, rivers were cut off and rerouted, and hills were leveled. City-states, such behemoths, were as fragile as cardboard in front of them. Buildings were easily crushed, and fragments of buildings fell like rain.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and dust, as well as the bloody smell.

A large city-state was reduced to ruins in just a few hours.

A man wearing a silver-white mask stood on a high ground, standing at the peak of all living beings.

His green eyes reflected the scene of destruction, and the expression engraved on the mask was as stern as numb, dominating this war like a god.

At this point, it was long unclear whether it was people's fate or people's will.

There was only endless slaughter.

The atrocities continued.

"Please let me go, don't kill us!"

"Save me!!"

"Why, why did you fall to this point?"

Being begged, hated, cursed, and questioned.

He didn't explain anything.

He just used his eyes under the mask to watch everything.

He was sin and punishment, a demon who brought suffering to all living beings, and that black sun that brought disaster to the world.

All voices of doubt were like fleeting clouds in his ears.

Until he killed them all, or they came to kill him.

He would never stop.

[No forgiveness, no escape.]

[Compatriots have awakened, we cannot sleep!]

The man opened his lips almost silently, like the whisper of a vengeful spirit, and like the edict of a tyrant.

Dropping this note, his back once again merged into the darkness, carrying his black mist bone scepter, alone, he stepped forward.

...

Ranch woke up from his nap with a start.

Looking at the clock, he found that he had accidentally fallen asleep for about ten minutes.

"You're awake?"

Sigrid leaned lazily on the sofa, her eyes passing through the window panes, looking at the fluttering snowflakes outside the window.

Noticing that Ranch had woken up, she lowered her head and looked at Ranch.

Ranch opened his eyes wide, and he found that he was lying on Sigrid's lap, and she was gently stroking his forehead.

"!"

Ranch immediately sat up, maintaining a little distance from Sigrid.

As far as his eyes could see, it was no longer the dark world in his dream.

White snowflakes danced in the air, lightly and gracefully. In a short while, the entire city-state would be lit up under this pure white covering.

Weak sunlight sprinkled through the window screens and fell on the wooden table, as if a thin layer of white silk had been laid on the table.

The sky had quietly changed.

The shortest day of Little Night City had come.

Only for those few tens of minutes at noon could there be a little sunlight.

Ranch stared blankly out the window.

"What's wrong, did you dream about something bad?"

Sigrid didn't mind Ranch's evasive attitude at all and asked with concern.

"Maybe."

Ranch held his forehead, saying neither yes nor no.

When recalling the dream, the picture always appeared from a third-person perspective.

But thinking about it carefully, in the dream, he should have been in the first-person perspective.

He didn't know if it was a dream in the blink of an eye, or if the negative state of this shadow world had activated again.

"..."

Sigrid looked at him for a while, not worried too much, just leaned back on the sofa again, closed her eyes, and muttered to herself,

"Now, as Pope Saint Lant, you hold enough authority to leverage the entire Seville continent. Your every choice may determine the fate of millions of living beings."

It was as if she could understand all of Ranch's thoughts, even guessing one or two of his dreams.

Passing through the last Little Night City in the Eternal Night, the next stop was the final Demon Realm.

She knew that going forward would prompt Ranch to have a deeper understanding of the Black Sun.

Perhaps the Demon Realm would be the final place where the secrets of the Black Sun were buried.

If the Demon Realm was no longer the Demon Realm he knew, what kind of expression would he show on this trip?

Like this Little Night City.

Whether discovering a familiar or unfamiliar place when revisiting it wouldn't be scary.

What was scary was that it was both familiar and unfamiliar, so incongruous that it made one uncomfortable, but one had to accept this injustice, even if one wanted to reason with someone or share it with someone, there was no way to express it.

But they had to go. Escape was never the answer. Only moving forward was the right solution.

"In any case, cheer up and go to the Demon Realm!"

Sigrid cheered Ranch on.

"Thank you, but this journey may be very difficult."

Ranch turned his head to look at her and thanked her again.

With Sigrid cheering him on, he always felt that nothing was difficult on the road ahead.

"I'm here with you."

Sigrid just said this.

In her dream, she dreamed of herself as Sigrid staying in the Demon Realm. She was very clear about the earth-shaking changes in the Demon Realm today.

This would inevitably allow Ranch to have a deeper understanding of the Black Sun.

But it didn't matter.

She would accompany Ranch to understand it together.

Sigrid stood up, slowly walked behind Ranch's sofa, gently raised her hand, and covered his eyes.

"I believe you will think out a result and achieve a relatively perfect world that we have longed for for a long time."

Sigrid said softly.

As if she wanted to pass a little temperature to him and let him feel her heart.

A person who was constantly thinking—good at distinguishing right from wrong, or the dividing point between them, he could always transcend the appearance of things and stand in a world that only he could see.

In the process of touring the world.

What was reflected in the depths of his eyes?

Sigrid slowly moved her hands away and retracted them.

The emerald green eyes were still so clear, holding thoughts and compassion.

Sigrid believed that he would eventually come to an answer.

"..."

Ranch's gaze was facing south.

As if he was looking very, very far away.

Maybe it was the Saint Lant Pontifical State, maybe it was the sea that separated the north and south territories, maybe it was the Honing Empire on the other side of the sea.

"Is the other side of the sea the enemy?"

He murmured.

He didn't know, but he would witness it with his own eyes.