As they ate, Leif found himself genuinely surprised. This was the first time he had tried Gara's cooking, and it wasn't what he had expected at all.
Leif himself was a passable cook at best. He had never bothered to learn much—when you had more than enough Cores to last a lifetime, food was something you bought, not something you mastered.
Gara, on the other hand, hadn't had that luxury.
Dante had let him live here on one simple condition: he handled lunch, dinner, and coffee.
So Gara had learned.
He had been forced to, really. And from the way the red-haired young man often bragged about himself, Leif remembered him also mentioning that it was Jack's wife, Elena, who had taken him under her wing and taught him how to cook, treating him like a younger brother.
Leif took another bite, chewing slowly.
…Yeah.
He had to admit it. It tasted pretty good.
Samantha, seated on the other side of the table, nodded to herself a few times as she ate. Then she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Gara, giving a sharp hmph.
"It's… okay," she said, chin lifting slightly. "Not very pristine, and definitely not good enough for a princess like me, but it'll do."
Gara burst out laughing. "That's generous," he said, grinning at her. "If I hadn't cooked, we'd be eating something barely edible at best. Probably still smoking, too."
He leaned back a little, clearly enjoying himself. "So really," he added, tapping the table lightly, "since I saved us from that disaster, you should be thanking me properly, Princess."
She shot him an annoyed glare, crystal-blue eyes narrowing.
For a moment it looked like she might snap back—then she sighed instead and turned her head slightly away. A faint redness spread across her blue crystal cheeks.
"…Fine," she muttered. "Thanks for making lunch."
Gara stared at her, eyes wide, genuinely stunned.
"Wait… hold on," he said slowly, then leaned forward with a grin. "THE SAMANTHA just thanked me? Wow. This is huge. Character development right here."
Leif smiled at that, quickly lowering his gaze and pretending to focus very hard on his food.
Samantha's crystal cheeks darkened as she snapped her head toward Gara and pointed a finger at him.
"You—! Hmph."
She turned away sharply and continued eating, clearly deciding he no longer existed.
Gara laughed, satisfied, and finally picked up his own food to eat.
A short while passed in relative silence before Samantha cleared her throat. Once. Then again. Not looking at him, very obviously trying not to make it obvious.
Gara glanced her way, sighed, and chose mercy. "Alright, alright," he said, waving a hand. "I'll talk."
He leaned back slightly and began speaking about his mission, about guiding Leif into the SS Ranked [Rashanz] Fragment.
He went on to talk about the Golden Lightning, about how his body had turned to dust in an instant, and how he had been forced to use his means of escape to come back—tapping his chest lightly as he gestured to this new body.
Samantha's eyes twitched, just slightly, a flicker of worry she clearly didn't want seen.
She turned her head away and asked, a bit too casually, "You used the method Sumesh taught you, right?"
Gara nodded, then quickly added, a finger lifting in protest, "Hey, he only taught me the basics. I made my own means of escape, I'll have you know."
She cleared her throat sharply.
"Uh huh!"
He continued for a bit longer, but made sure not to go too deep into it.
He omitted everything related to the Cover Club members, Mister [White Space], and Runa—and of course, anything about the Rashanz Empire itself.
Samantha didn't question him about the missing details, and fortunately for him, unless Leif decided to tell her himself, she would never know what truly went on inside the [Rashanz] Fragment.
No one had recorded the events that transpired there.
Time passed, and before long the three of them had finished eating.
Gara had also wrapped up his recounting of the mission—after cutting out all the important details, there really wasn't much left to tell.
Once he was done, he stood up, gathered the three plates, and headed into the kitchen.
Samantha watched his back for a moment longer than necessary. Then she turned toward Leif and spoke quietly, making sure Gara wouldn't hear.
"Is he… alright?"
Leif was caught a bit off guard by the question. He hesitated, realizing he didn't really know the answer himself.
After a brief pause, he replied honestly, "I'm not sure. But… he's a bit sad because of the prison break."
Samantha nodded slowly.
She had only returned yesterday evening. When she came in to report that her mission—guiding someone through a D Ranked Fragment—was complete, she found Dante standing there, staring into nothing.
It had caught her off guard. She had never seen him like that before. At the time, she hadn't even been aware that a prison break had occurred.
She had asked if he was alright.
Dante had simply said he was fine. Then he handed her the Cores for completing the mission and asked to be left alone for a while.
So she nodded, and left.
Today, she had come back again, still worried. This time, Dante only told her he'd be out for a bit, meeting with some Grey Rose members, and that he'd return later.
Once more, she nodded, choosing to stay behind and wait for him here.
And then—of all people—
Gara had shown up out of nowhere.
She hadn't seen him in quite a while. And while she wasn't exactly fond of him—he was annoying, loud, and far too smug for his own good—his presence still eased something in her chest.
Seeing him laugh, tease her, act exactly the same as always… it helped.
Watching Dante so withdrawn had weighed heavily on her. It had felt wrong, unsettling.
So seeing the stupid red-haired young man back to being stupid and cheerful, like nothing could keep him down, made her feel a little better.
Gara soon returned from the kitchen and took his seat across from her again. "By the way, where are Jack and Elena? I haven't seen them around."
She shrugged lightly. "No idea. I haven't run into them since I got back from my mission. I was actually about to ask you how they were."
Gara smiled. "Jack's doing great. As for Elena… I haven't seen her in a bit either, so I can't say for sure. But from what Jack told me, she's the same as always. Doing well."
Samantha nodded. "That's good."
Silence settled over the table after that.
Gara and Samantha both seemed unsure of what to say next, and neither rushed to fill the gap. Leif stayed quiet as well; it wasn't his place to interrupt, and even if it were, he wasn't the talkative type to begin with.
After a moment, Gara reached up and scratched the back of his red hair. "So… have you seen Dante yet?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. From what I saw… he was really distraught."
Her gaze drifted away as she spoke. "I've never seen him like that before. It just doesn't fit his usual… haughty, cool air."
She paused, her voice lowering. "He looked broken."
She let out a quiet sigh.
Gara listened carefully, then nodded and let out a sigh of his own. "Yeah… there's not much we can really do to help him right now," he said. "Best thing is to give him some space, and be there when he actually needs us."
Samantha lifted her gaze to him and stared, visibly baffled.
Gara frowned. "What?"
She shook her head slightly. "I just… didn't think you could be serious and understanding like that."
He immediately bristled. "Oi. What's that supposed to mean?"
He pointed at her accusingly. "You're just a princess who judges people by how they look. Of course I'm understanding. I'm a great friend. Amazing, even."
Leif finally spoke, only one sentence.
"Eehhh. I'm with her on this."
Gara clutched his chest dramatically. "Betrayal. Absolute betrayal. I can't believe you, Leif."
The blonde-haired young man just smiled.
Samantha couldn't help it either—she let out a small chuckle and quickly turned away.
A faint red tint flashed across her blue crystal cheeks. "Hah. I—I didn't laugh. I just remembered something funny, that's all."
"Sure you did," Gara said immediately, leaning into it. "Totally convincing."
She shot him a glare, and just like that, another round of bickering started—Gara doing his best to annoy her, Samantha firing back with sharp remarks, and Leif quietly siding with her while barely saying a word, leaving Gara to dramatically play the role of the betrayed one.
...
A little later, Gara pushed his chair back and stood up. "Wellp," he said, stretching lightly, "it wasn't good seeing you again. Anyway, gotta go for now."
Samantha scoffed. "At least pretend it was. Whatever." Then, after a brief pause, she added, "You'll be here tonight?"
He nodded. "Yup."
"With that settled," Gara turned and headed for the exit, tossing one last insult over his shoulder just to be annoying.
Leif stayed behind for a moment, kneeling down to pet Luna one last time. The cat purred softly, rubbing against his hand.
He then stood up and nodded his head slightly. "Excuse me."
Samantha immediately snapped back toward the door. "See? That's how a decent gentleman acts," she said loudly. "Unlike someone else."
Her voice followed them out as she continued insulting Gara, and just like that, the two of them left the Story Guides Workshop.
Outside, Gara kept walking without slowing down. Leif followed for a few steps before asking, "So… where to next?"
Gara shrugged. "Not sure. I wanted to meet Dante first, see how he's holding up. But since he's not around, that'll have to wait." He exhaled. "For now, I don't really know what to do. I just didn't want to stay in there."
Leif glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Is that because Lady Samantha was annoying you?"
Gara stopped short and turned on him. "Hey—did you just tease me?" He pointed accusingly. "You? Teasing me?" Then he leaned in slightly, grinning. "Wait, did you add that 'Lady' part because you're interested in her or something?"
Leif met his gaze with a completely flat stare.
"…Alright, alright," Gara said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'll stop." He shook his head and looked ahead again. "It's not because she's there. The mood just feels… heavy."
He took a slow breath. "I just wanted some fresh air, that's all."
Leif didn't reply at first and simply kept walking beside him.
A few steps passed in silence before he spoke again.
"What about Lavia?"
Gara stopped.
For a moment, he said nothing. His gaze lowered, and his expression stiffened as if he was sorting through thoughts he didn't quite want to face yet.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"Not now," he said. "I'm… not ready yet. I need a bit more time before I can face her and talk things through properly." His voice was quieter. "I need to understand what I'm even feeling first."
Leif looked at him for a second, then gave a small nod.
"I get it."
Right then, a sudden thought clicked into Gara's mind.
He remembered a certain young man, and a small smile spread across his face as he nodded to himself.
Without another word, he turned in a new direction and motioned for Leif to follow.
Leif blinked, a little surprised. "Did you decide what to do now?"
"Yeah," Gara said with a grin, but instead of explaining, he shot the question back at him. "What about you? What do you want to do?"
Leif shrugged. "Honestly? I'm kind of bored. I don't really have anything to do besides train, so… I'll just tag along with you."
Gara's eyes lit up. "Ha! See? I'm such a cool guy, always coming up with amazing ways to pass the time."
Leif actually nodded in agreement.
That single nod caught Gara completely off guard—but it only made his grin widen in pride as they kept walking.
As they walked, Gara greeted a few of the passersby, and they returned the greetings in kind, without the usual questions about where he'd been or what was going on with Dante.
The streets felt quieter than usual, restrained.
After a bit, Gara finally spoke up. "I actually decided where we're going. There's this guy—Loro. He's an F Ranker with a Borrowed Story from a B Ranker. He got betrothed to a girl he met while going through a Fragment's Storyline. They fell in love, and he even proposed after a while, so…"
He scratched the back of his head. "Might as well ask him about marriage and love and all that."
Leif was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I'm kind of interested too. I've never really interacted with women who weren't family, so… yeah. I'd like to know about love and marriage, even if I know I probably won't get married anytime soon."
For just a split second, something dark and heavy crossed his face when he mentioned family—but it vanished almost immediately, replaced by his usual calm.
Gara noticed it, but chose not to comment.
And so the two of them continued down the streets of Third Town, carried along by the white clouds beneath their feet.
...
Inside a dark, broody office, the curtains were half-drawn, letting in only thin strips of pale light. A young man stood by the window, staring at them in silence.
His hair was split perfectly down the middle—one side black, the other white. He wore sunglasses despite being indoors, a grey business suit with a white tie, and his tan skin made the contrast even sharper.
After a moment, he turned toward the two men standing in front of his desk.
One of them had short white hair and brown eyes, dressed in a long red coat over a red shirt, a black tie, and black gloves.
It was Dante, the A Ranker known as [Hiro Hunter].
The other had spiky blue hair and sharp blue eyes, wearing a blue kimono over a black shirt. A blue sword was strapped to his belt, and irritation was written all over his face.
This was another A Ranker of the Grey Rose Organization—[Blue Sword], someone who openly and deeply disliked Dante.
As for the tan-skinned man who had been staring at the curtain, he was the mayor of Third Town.
The White Clouds was one of the Thirteen Great Territories of the Story World, governed by the Grey Rose Organization under the rule of Duke Ren, the Z Ranker known as [Grey Rose].
It was insanely massive in size and divided into many regions.
Those regions were further divided into Districts, and the Town District was among the smallest of them. That District was then split into multiple towns, with Third Town being one of them.
The tan-skinned man's name was Lopo. He was an S Ranker, a member of the Grey Rose Organization, and the one assigned to rule over Third Town and oversee everything within it.
He sighed, then touched his sunglasses before speaking in a deep voice.
"So," Lopo said, "what does Mister [Blue Sword] want? And why did you request this meeting?"
Dante didn't say anything, but, it was obvious he wasn't in the mood. Since the mayor had summoned him, he had no choice but to be here.
[Blue Sword], on the other hand, was barely holding back his anger. He took a slow breath to calm himself, then spoke with forced respect.
"Sir… I want to know why Dante wasn't punished for the prison break two days ago. Why was he just let off like nothing happened? The one who was broken out was his little sister. Isn't that suspicious in itself? It's his si—"
Lopo raised a hand, cutting him off.
"This matter is already settled," the mayor said coldly.
"Even the Prison Warden defended Dante. He stated that Mister [Hiro Hunter] attempted to prevent the escape of the prisoner Nova, but failed because the enemy was simply too powerful. Are you implying that the Prison Warden—an S Ranker, a member of the Grey Rose like yourself, and a personal acquaintance of mine—lied?"
[Blue Sword] immediately shook his head.
"No, of course not. I would never dare tarnish the name of an esteemed S Ranker," he said quickly. "But maybe the Prison Warden didn't see everything clearly… or maybe Dante pulled some kind of trick. It was his sister, after all. Of course he'd want her to escape from prison."
Dante remained silent through all of it. He didn't say a single word in his own defense, nor did he even look at [Blue Sword].
He just kept staring at the floor, as if lost in his own thoughts.
The mayor let out a slow sigh, then turned his attention to him.
"Mister [Hiro Hunter]," Lopo said, "would you like to comment on Mister [Blue Sword]'s accusations?"
Dante slowly raised his gaze and met the tanned man's eyes for a moment before finally speaking.
"Please, sir. Don't waste my time with this," he said in a flat, tired voice.
"I've already been cleared by the Prison Warden. The higher-ups of the Grey Rose Organization have also determined that I had nothing to do with the prison break."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Yes, it was my little sister who was broken out while I was visiting her. But as you already know, I was the one who captured her and put her in prison in the first place. For an entire year, I visited her without ever trying anything. Jordan, the C Ranker known as [Guard X], can attest to that. He watched me and recorded my every move every time I went to see her."
He paused, then added quietly,
"So, may I be excused now? And please… don't call me back for this again. I'm already doing badly enough because of it."
Lopo didn't answer Dante right away. Instead, he turned his head toward [Blue Sword].
"Do you have any solid proof to back up your claims?" he asked calmly.
[Blue Sword] froze.
Anger twisted his expression as he clenched his fists, but after a moment he forced himself to take a slow breath.
He shook his head.
"No, sir."
Lopo then turned back to Dante.
"Then you are free to go. I apologize, Mister [Hiro Hunter], for the trouble. I wish you a good day."
Dante gave a short nod. "Good day, sir."
With that, he turned around and left the office without another word.
Lopo then turned back toward [Blue Sword] and spoke in a steady, heavy tone.
"I understand why you hate Dante and his little sister. After all, she was among those who kidnapped you. But Dante himself is innocent in this matter. And while you may be a member of the Grey Rose and he is not, his connections within our Organization run far deeper than you think. His backers could incinerate even me, the mayor of Third Town, in the blink of an eye. It would be unwise to antagonize him."
[Blue Sword] clenched his jaw. "If it had been anyone else instead of Dante's little sister," he said bitterly, "they would've been killed or tortured endlessly before being thrown into the Infinite Prison of the Black District."
Lopo shook his head slowly. "That is simply how the Story World operates."
He turned back toward his desk. "You may go. I have work to do."
[Blue Sword] took one more deep breath, then nodded his head slightly. "Excuse me, sir."
With that, he left the office.
...
A little later, in another building in Third Town, a blue wooden house built in an old style reminiscent of Yang Dynasty architecture, [Blue Sword] sat on the wooden floor, staring out at the open garden beyond his room.
It was a sunny day in the White Clouds, but it did nothing to lift his mood.
He had been kidnapped outside the White Clouds by an A Ranker and Nova, Dante's little sister, then later saved by Dante himself, who also managed to capture Nova while the A Ranker was not present.
By normal procedure, Nova should have been tortured for information, or even subjected to a Mind Reader, a method that could endanger her life, in order to uncover the identities of his kidnappers.
Yet Dante had convinced the Grey Rose Organization not to do that, pushing instead for her to receive only fifty years in a small prison in Third Town, claiming he would speak to her himself and extract all the information they needed.
[Blue Sword] had already disliked [Hiro Hunter] for a long time because of how famous he was, but this incident turned that dislike into something closer to hatred.
He fanned the flames by speaking with the Prison Warden, convincing him that Dante was definitely hiding something and would eventually try to break his little sister out.
Because of that, Dante was forced to be recorded and monitored every single time he met with Nova.
Even that wasn't enough for [Blue Sword].
So he looked for another way to stir trouble.
He had a few low-Rank rookies working for him here and there, so he chose the one in Third Town, an E Ranker with a Borrowed Story named Lock—and had him pick fights whenever possible with one of Dante's people, Gara.
But Gara never took the bait, always defusing the situation before it could turn into anything serious.
So all this time, [Blue Sword] had been simmering with rage.
But when, two nights ago, he heard that Dante's little sister had actually broken out—and that it happened while Dante had been visiting her—he almost went mad.
At first, there was even a twisted sense of satisfaction.
Surely now [Hiro Hunter] would be punished, right?
But nothing happened.
Not a single thing.
Dante walked free.
[Blue Sword] couldn't take it. He went straight to the mayor, demanding answers—but that meeting had only ended in frustration and humiliation.
Now, sitting alone, he didn't know what to do anymore. His fingers rested on the hilt of the blue sword lying on the table in front of him. More than anything, he wanted to fight Dante… to kill him right there.
But he couldn't.
No matter how unfair it was, Dante's connections with the higher-ups of the Grey Rose Organization were far deeper than his own.
Even though [Blue Sword] was a full member and Dante was not, Dante was still far more important to the Grey Rose than he would ever be.
Still… he couldn't just do nothing.
Something—anything—had to be done, or he would go mad for sure.
"Lock…"
The name slipped through his teeth like a curse.
"Yes… Lock…"
This time, there would be no childish baiting, no petty provocations.
No.
This time, he would use force.
A thin, dangerous smile crept across [Blue Sword]'s face.
Lock had never truly crossed the line before. He and his little gang always kept things in the shadows—extortion, threats, dirty work in Third Town.
The Grey Rose guards would look the other way with a bit of bribery and a bit of protection from him.
That was manageable.
But murder?
That was different. Even [Blue Sword] couldn't save Lock if he actually killed someone.
"…So don't kill them."
Just bring it close. Close enough to stain hands with blood, close enough to leave scars that would never fade.
Sure, Lock would go to prison for a few years.
So what?
[Blue Sword] would pay him more than enough to make it worth it. And Lock—greedy, desperate Lock—would accept without hesitation.
A low, bitter laugh escaped his lips.
"Haha… yes… this should work."
As far as [Blue Sword] knew, Dante cared about all of his workers—but there was one he treated differently, almost like a little brother.
Gara.
An F Ranker with an Original Story.
That alone made him special… and vulnerable.
"Would Lock be enough…?" he muttered.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He could give him backup if needed. It didn't really matter. The point wasn't just to hurt Gara—it was to tear at Dante's heart hard enough to drag him out into the open.
Once Dante snapped, once he came running…
A fight would be inevitable.
And in that fight, [Blue Sword] would kill him before anyone could interfere.
A slow breath left his nose.
"After all… you're a hunter, Dante."
A faint grin tugged at his lips.
"But I have a sword in my very Story Name."
—End of Chapter.
-------
So... Lock huh?
Leif: So Lock was always under [Blue Sword], who always hated Dante, but because of the sister thing, he now truly hates him?
Gara: Something like that, yeah. I still am not sure how things will go. I really do hate the fact Lock can just do as he pleases to the poor people living in Third Town, but because of the whole [Blue Sword] thing... I... Tsk.
Leif: Yeah, I get it. Wait though, how come Dante hasn't done anything about it?
Gara: Dante is usually focused on just one thing, looking for Hiros. In fact, I think the reason his sister became a criminal of sorts is because he abandoned her to look for Hiros.
Leif: Oh... So... He's not exactly a good guy, is he?
Gara: It's hard to be a good guy in a world like this. Look at [Last Note of Black], the People's Hero as they call him. He has most of the strongest Factions in the Story World after him, and he's a Z Ranker... Dante is only an A Ranker, and I'm only an E Ranker with a cracked Story.
Leif: Huh... Do you think that's why [Revolution] started the World War?
Gara: No idea.