When Glenn eventually found the inn Sahro and Liara went to, it was already too late. The two Black Heirs were both unconscious, one sleeping under a bench and the other on a table. The two were drooling as they slept despite the absolute chaos reigning in the inn.

'Places like this inn never change...' Glenn thought as he dodged a drunk and listened to the bard's prowess singing the tales of the "Twin Black Heirs". It seemed like Sahro had gone around telling stories of his fights in the Ink Dunes, garnering some fame for both him and Liara.

'Hmm, I wouldn't want to worry you, but such an attractive woman left unattended in an inn is...' Diamanes trailed off as Glenn watched someone approach Liara with naughty hands, only for said hand to end up crushed into a pulp. Liara didn't even move an inch, drooling on the table she was sleeping on in the least bothered way.

Glenn snorted and shook his head, '...She probably is the danger here. I'll get her and Sahro a room once the chaos calms down...'

Someone suddenly froze and stared at his left arm, their mouth wide open. A scream echoed into the inn, stopping the chaos.

"T-The Devil's Hand is here!"

The bard who was happily singing and playing some stringed instrument stopped and gulped audibly. The dancing drunks all froze and stared at him with wide, scared eyes. Glenn walked past them, using Gravity Manipulation to pick Sahro up and against a wall. He then headed off to the counter and sat on a chair someone offered him. The bartender was clenching a rag and glass with trembling hands, sweat pearling down his forehead.

Glenn looked at the inn with a frown, only to laugh in disbelief, "So I'm really that famous, huh?" He turned back to the barman and slammed his hand on the counter, "Bring me your strongest alcohol, I have my survival to fucking celebrate!"

The inn remained silent as the bartender silently served a drink of Fiery Spirit to Glenn, the atmosphere heavy and tense. Glenn looked at the red alcohol with a small grin, reminded of the past, before downing it in one shot. The alcohol burned all the way down like a raging forest fire.

"... E-excuse me?" A trembling voice asked beside him. Glenn turned to the side, his eyebrows rising when he found a Munirp's soldier, recognizable from the coat of arms draping his shoulders, tainted with blood.

"I...I wanted to say thank you," The soldier bowed his head slightly, a little more confident, "...I was there with my regiment when you carved through the orcs' troops, I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

Glenn blinked and snorted, "You're just lucky, it's nothing to thank me for—"

"The Devil's Hand!" A voice suddenly exclaimed, interrupting him. Glenn bit down on his lip, wondering whether he should just give up on relaxing with how tense these guys were, but...

"Yeah, you saved us too! Thank you!" Another patron raised his glass in his direction, accompanied by his team.

"The way you flew over the battlefield and threw war spells one after another was incredible!" Another voice shouted, before adding, "To the Devil's Hand!"

"Ay, to the Devil's Hand!"

"The Devil's Hand!"

The inn's chaos returned as many soldiers began to shout his nickname, raising their glasses in his direction. Mercenaries, Fixers, and even a few Junior Cleaners came and thanked him, wanting to shake hands and offer him drinks.

Glenn laughed, taken aback, 'I...shit, I am a star now, aren't it?'

'Tsk, as if your ego wasn't developed enough...' Diamanes groaned with a hint of satisfaction. The night passed without any more incidents, Glenn realizing that it was somehow very hard to get drunk after he finished an entire bottle of Fiery Spirit. While a little bloated, he was barely feeling tipsy. He even played a drinking contest with a mean-looking Godless Templar, but the latter ended up losing consciousness after just two bottles.

"...I think my body has gotten a little weird..." Glenn muttered as he looked at his glass filled with alcohol. Perhaps his system was considering the alcohol poison and fighting back against it, only it was winning easily. He couldn't say.

"...Sorry if I'm not too present, I...I don't feel like partying..." Nelg suddenly admitted with a guilty voice. Glenn's face hardened and he clenched his sword's pommel.

'Nelg, take the time you need. If you want us to talk about it, we can talk about it. If you just want some space, that's fine as well. Just tell me, and I'll do what I can, okay?' He replied to him with a very serious yet reassuring tone.

Nelg laughed weakly, "...Thanks. I think I'll try to deal with this by myself for now, just...Can you put me back in your soul?"

Glenn smiled and flicked his fingers. Nelg disappeared in a discreet cloud of deep blue particles.

'Of course.'

Eventually, Glenn carried both Sahro and Liara to the inn's biggest room. Somehow, Liara's auto-defense system seemed to recognize him despite her unconsciousness.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

He didn't sleep that night, instead Meditating the whole time. He had a lot of things to think about after all.

Glenn was floating in front of his Mana Heart, the Milky Way, pondering.

"...I need to put some order to my priorities. First..." Glenn's heart suddenly warmed up, "...I need to see Lina. She should be in our place at Longhorn Street..."

His expression hardened and he clasped his hands together, his knuckles whitening, "Secondly...I need to make sure Milena is okay. I know Exan is an Earthling, and he appears kind of sane through his writing, but..." He shook his head, "...Everyone powerful in this world is fucking insane."

Glenn sighed deeply and leaned back, his arms crossed, "...After I'm done with that, I'll be finally able to conclude things with Baron Howard. With Sahro and Liara to back me up, it shouldn't be much of a problem, but..." His eyebrows creased, "...I already underestimated him once, not again. Liam should have a lot of information about that sick bastard, maybe I'll be able to coordinate things with him..."

Nelg suddenly walked out of the darkness, his silver armor gleaming a little less bright than it usually did. He was smiling dejectedly.

"Don't forget about getting the Project Damocles book back from Manalok this time," He suggested.

Glenn blinked and slapped his forehead, "Shit, you're right. I keep forgetting about this damned thing..." He trailed off and looked back at the Milky Way and the four rings of stars circling it, "...I sure hope it's worth the wait."

The morning eventually came, and with that, two very annoyed and hangover Black Heirs.

“Where's Milena?” asked Sahro curtly, pressing an ice pack to her forehead. Liara tried to nod frantically but froze in pain, her eyes twitching deeply. Glenn crossed his arms, wondering how he should present things. The team was sitting over a bowl of hangover soup in the inn where they'd slept, the other guests often coming over to tap them on the shoulder and thank them for their war efforts.

"She was hurt, a critical injury," Glenn finally blurted out. Liara shot to her feet, leaning on the table with a worried expression.

Sahro frowned, a little calmer, "...How?"

Glenn gritted his teeth, "...An Ossiva. It attacked her in the back for barely a second before I and Veil killed it, but it was long enough for her to..." He bit down on his lip, "...to lose her spine."

Liara paled and collapsed on her seat, distraught. Sahro's eyes were wide open, shocked. He eventually shook it off and threw the ice pack away.

"...She's not dead, then?" He asked with a strained voice. Liara held her breath, her eyes watering.

Glenn shook his head, "Not to my knowledge, no. But—" He hurriedly added when he saw their relieved expressions, "—She was taken by Exan the Omniscient."

Sahro and Liara froze once more, not with worry but confusion this time.

"Isn't Exan some sort of legend? I think he existed hundreds of years ago?" Sahro asked with creased eyebrows.

Glenn nodded, "And he still does. I'm also pretty sure he's a Newborn Ruler, a Seventh-Circle."

Liara gasped, before leaning in Sahro's ear and hurriedly whispering something.

Sahro nodded and leaned in, "Liara's right, why the hell would Exan take Milena away? That makes no sense?"

Glenn rubbed his chin, "I have no idea. Milena's from the Court, so maybe her family has connections to Exan? But then, I'm pretty sure she said her family would kill her if she failed to pass their Tests, so..."

Sahro and Liara sighed. Glenn scoffed dejectedly, "Yeah, it's not the best, but it's not the worst either. I vote on going back home and taking a few days to rest. I'll also try to find a way to communicate with Exan."

The two Black Heirs nodded in agreement, before scowling once more from their headaches. Glenn smiled at the sight and finished his bowl of soup.

'You really like to flaunt your superior body, huh?' Diamanes commented sardonically. Glenn ignored him, more concentrating on trying to think of something that would allow him to speak with Exan.

"Sigh...Life never is easy, isn't it?" He muttered while looking at the bottom of his bowl.

They eventually went back to the Silverhomes District and their mansion at Longhorn's Street, N°33.

"Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy this place a little longer this time..." Glenn muttered as he opened the steel gates with his Identification Dagger.

"I wonder what Liam and Janica have been up to since last time," Sahro said curiously. Liara nodded slowly, looking in the distance worriedly. Glenn noticed her worry and sighed. They needed to deal with that issue with Exan as fast as they could. He refused to leave his teammate in a possibly insane bastard's hands. His sole contact with another earthling had been rather...unpleasant, after all.

'Come on, why would you make a generality? Laurance was just one crazy bastard, it doesn't mean every earthling is,' Diamanes tried to comment positively, his words strangely unconvincing. Glenn swallowed back his apprehension and entered the mansion, followed by the two Black Heirs.

The mansion was eerily silent until Janica suddenly came running into the entrance hall, panting.

"Huff, huff, Mister Devil's Hand, huff, people are waiting for you in the relaxation room." She heaved while leaning on her knees. There were large dark circles under her eyes.

Glenn frowned and glanced at Sahro, who nodded and slowly grabbed his sword's hilt. Liara also prepared her sword as her worries disappeared, replaced with readiness. Her spear slowly floated above her, controlled by her Telekinesis.

"The relaxation room, you said...?" Glenn confirmed as Mana twirled around his right hand.

Janica nodded, clueless, "Yes, I think they're talking with your sister right—"

A gust of wind interrupted her as Glenn dashed at maximum speed, his eyes bloodshot and his Mana flaring up in all directions. He pushed Gravity Manipulation to the limit to accelerate and navigate the mansion's hallways as fast as he could. He kicked the door open to the relaxation room, Nelg unsheathed in his hand-axe form and a Nitrogen Lance ready to be shot.

Lina was sitting awkwardly in an armchair, a robed man sitting in front of her and Manalok Tuleam at her side. They were enjoying a cup of tea, Liam watching them from afar with his arms crossed, his mechanical heart hidden under a brass cuirass.

"Tsk, they speak all that from you, but you can't even handle tea?" Tuleam grumbled as he shoved a handful of biscuits in his mouth.

The robed man sighed and leaned back helplessly, "I told you, at my age, my stomach is easy to upset. I think our host is here," He trailed off and looked back to Glenn, who was standing at the doorway with bloodshot eyes. Tuleam squinted at Glenn and opened his mouth, only to shut it as Lina stood up and approached Glenn.

Glenn was frozen standing, Nelg and his spell disappearing. She stopped in front of him, silent. The two looked at each other this way, their lips sealed.

Liam cleared his throat, "Uhm if you guys don't mind...?"

Tuleam rolled his eyes as the robed man chuckled and snapped his fingers. Everyone but Glenn and Lina disappeared from the room, leaving them alone.

"...Hey," Glenn finally managed to crack his lips open, his voice strained.

"Hey..." Lina's lips trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

Finally, the tension broke and she rushed into his arms, hugging him tightly. Glenn hugged her back, struggling to push back against his tears.

At this moment, neither of them could care about anything else. The brother and sister just hugged, together once more.