Besides studying under Daniste, Shade had not forgotten to frequently visit Sister Devlin during this rare "holiday."
The Thirteenth Ring nun could now teach Shade more knowledge and abilities, and she could already ignore all conditions and open a door to "True Death" anytime, anywhere.
Recently, however, the nun had not been busy further refining her own strength. With only the final two Flames yet to be recovered, she hoped to make the Primordial Fire truly whole as soon as possible. But even with the secret method Sister Belen had taught her for sensing the First Fire, finding the traces of the remaining two Flames was no simple task.
At the very least, Sister Devlin believed the secret method was useful. She simply needed time for precise localization.
As for the relationship between Shade and Sister Devlin, after the "kiss" incident when Shade had given her the flame, neither of them behaved any differently when they met again. Yet when the other nuns at the Mountain Top Sacrificial Ground "saw" the two walking together, they could clearly sense that the distance between them had grown much closer than before.
Once, when Shade came again to ask Sister Devlin for guidance, she led him away from the Sacrificial Ground toward the nuns' cemetery. Their hands accidentally brushed together, and Shade hooked his hand around Sister Devlin's. Sister Devlin did not pull away, so they walked down the steps together like that.
It seemed Shade truly could no longer turn back.
Beyond focusing on his studies, Shade had also made considerable progress in his "career." This time, however, no one had hired him to investigate another case. Rather, during the week the war broke out, Director Anlos made the rare move of personally visiting 6 Saint Derain Square.
Since their parting on