"I did some research on the black card your friend got and found something," Elina said, and the atmosphere in the room changed drastically.

The thing Elina found—was it so important that she couldn't wait until tomorrow?

Well, she did say she would inform us as soon as possible. I thought about it in my mind but didn't dare to say it out loud.

Suddenly, the air started to feel suffocating.

The four of us were now intently looking towards Elina.

"So, your friend is not the first one to get a black card," Elina began. "From time to time, we do get some adventurers who receive a black card, but the time gaps are so far apart that no one remembers much about them. There's also the fact that not a single black card user has stayed in contact with the guild for more than a year."

"What about the writing on the card?" Barren asked.

"Every single black card user has had the same kind of writing on their cards," Elina explained. "And some of the adventurers didn't even know how to read or write properly, almost as if they had never learned the language."

"When was the last time someone received a black card?"

"It was about a decade ago," Elina replied.

"A decade ago? That's a long time," Barren mumbled.

"No, it's like this," Elina continued. "Actually, this time, the gap between black card users was considerably short. There were times when a black card adventurer didn't appear for a century, but this time it only took a decade."

"If I remember correctly, his name was ******." Hearing the name, Barren,Eddy and Simon's expressions changed, but they didn't say anything, so Elina continued.

"I only got the information because the guild has stored records of every single adventurer who has joined us to this day."

My respect for Elina increased tenfold, and I looked towards Barren as if to say, *She can't be a spy. Just look at her—she's helping us and going out of her way.*

I think Barren understood what I was trying to say. He slightly nodded his head and then said something very quietly.

But I did understand what he said. He said, "Sorry," and I think he was also reconsidering Elina's role in this.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Well, anything else?" Barren asked Elina.

"No, sir, I only managed to find this much information. But there is one more thing—I don't know how much of this is true.

"As I said before, no black card user stayed contracted with the guild for more than one year, so we never knew what happened to them afterward. But there was one whose story we do know about.

"He was one of the adventurers who didn't know how to speak or write our language, so he was taking his time learning it. At first, he only seemed confused, often mumbling words in a language no one could understand. But as time went on, his behavior grew stranger—sitting under the clear sky for hours, staring at the horizon as if waiting for something. People began to avoid him. Then, one day, he snapped completely—raving about how he didn't belong in this world and needed to escape before 'they' found him."

"On his last day, he went completely mad." When someone jokingly asked him, 'If you don't belong to this world, then where are you from? Are you an alien?' the answer he gave was shockingly serious.

"He said, 'I am from planet Roke. This is not my birthplace. Where I come from, there is no magic, no guilds, or anything like that.' He also rambled about some of the things his world had that ours doesn't. For example, he described a device that can transmit sound out of thin air so you can talk to a person living completely far away from you.

"And the most shocking part was when he talked about trains. He said in his world, there were trains that didn't run on magic but on something called electricity.

"At that time, no one believed him. I mean, how could anyone believe a giant metal cargo could run without magic or anything? But we know now that trains are not just fantasy vehicles."

Elina stopped talking, but we were so engrossed in her story that we didn't even notice she had finished.

"Is this all written in the guild records? And if so, how did that guy die?" Eddy asked.

"Yes," Elina said. "At his last moment, he got so paranoid that he took his own sword. First, he attacked his own legs, but when someone tried to stop him, he took his own life with it."

"Thank you for informing us," Barren said, smiling toward Elina.

"No need to thank me, sir. I was just doing my job."

"Okay then, I'll take my leave. It's getting late."

"Yeah, sure," Barren said as he accompanied her to the gate. The room felt very stiff after all the serious talk.

The sound of the door signified Elina was gone.

"Cheer up, guys. Let's go and get something to eat. I'm very hungry," Barren said as he returned to the room.

"But Kathleen—" I mumbled.

"We can't fight on an empty stomach. Besides, we don't have any clues about where she is. So let's take that commission—it's the best lead we've got for now," Eddy said, starting to get up from the bed.

"Let's go," Simon agreed.

"---"

Kathleen thought to herself, *How much time has passed since I've been stuck in this empty room?*

She was tied to what seemed like a short log, unable to move much. In front of her was a large, empty chair. No—it wasn't just a chair. It was so big it could be considered a throne.

The room around her was cold and dark. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed, growing louder as they approached.

*Someone is coming.*

Her mouth was not gagged, so she couldn scream, but her instincts told her that whoever was coming was not friendly.

Her hands weren't bound completely. She could move them, but they were tied tightly together.

A mysterious figure began to appear in front of her. Their face was obscured by the shadows, and they carried a commanding presence. The figure bent down and threw something toward her.

It was a plate of food.

Nothing special—just plain food—but it was food nonetheless.

Her stomach growled, but she didn't touch it immediately. She eyed the figure cautiously.

A deep voice rumbled from the darkness.

"Eat."

And just as suddenly as they appeared, the figure began to retreat back into the shadows.

Kathleen sat silently for a moment, staring at the plate. Her hunger gnawed at her, but her fear kept her frozen in place.

*What is this place? Who is this person? And what do they want from me?*

"---"

After finishing his twentieth dish, Barren leaned back in his chair and rubbed his belly.

"That was a good meal," he said with a satisfied grin.

"Yeah, I agree," I replied. I had been starving earlier, but now, with a full stomach, my mind wandered back to Kathleen. *Did she have anything to eat? Did her kidnappers even feed her?*

"You're overthinking things," Barren said, rubbing the top of my head like I was a kid.

Finally, we returned to our room. It was late, and fatigue was starting to settle in.

Simon also came to our room because they had promised me they would share the story of how they met and what had happened that day.

"Alright, let's do this," Simon said as he settled down beside me, a hint of Shorow in his voice. Then, he began his part of the story.

---

To be continued...