Chapter Summaries

Fang Ren shared grilled fish with the wary, impoverished Ling in the village of Ill, then reassured her that she did not need money to repay him. The chapter ended with Ling still facing hardship but accepting his kindness.

• Fang Ren offered Ling grilled fish in exchange for her black bread and berries, and she cautiously agreed.
• Ling ate the fish while Fang Ren tried the tough bread and collected the remaining food from her home.
• When Ling started to leave, Fang Ren stopped her and prepared a seasoned fish for her to try.
• Ling eagerly ate the seasoned fish, while Fang Ren tasted a sour berry and secretly stored the rest in the Black Box.
• Ling admitted that she had no money, and Fang Ren patted her head and told her that he had none either.

Fang Ran helped Ling finish the ranch work quickly, then used his magic to provide her with unfamiliar, delicious fruits. After he offered her watermelon, Ling asked why he was so good to her.

• Fang Ran carried hay and water around the ranch, finished the morning chores, and helped Ling trade for two loaves of black bread.
• Fang Ran and Ling went to the nearby forest, where he secretly conjured a variety of fruits and tossed them down for her to catch.
• Ling tasted the sweet cherries, strawberries, grapes, and other fruits, marveling at their flavor.
• Fang Ran asked Ling to close her eyes, cut the watermelon with the Silver Severing Dragon Tooth, and offered her a slice.
• Ling hesitantly asked Fang Ran why he was so good to her.

Fang Ran settled into life in Il and promised to take care of Ling, whom he claimed was his relative. As war reached the village, an angry Italian officer threw his beer cup at Ling.

• Fang Ran told Ling that he was her father's younger brother and promised to look after her.
• Fang Ran spent several days with Ling in Il, where they tried to catch fish with help from Hugin and Munin.
• An Italian officer and two soldiers arrived at Il's tavern after heavy losses in the fighting near Gorizia.
• The officer spat out the beer Ling served him and hurled the cup at her.

Fang Ran rescued Ling from an army officer who was abusing her in a tavern, then took her away from the village. The chapter ended with the villagers left terrified as Fang Ran and Ling disappeared into the evening.

• An officer threw beer at Ling, grabbed her by the collar, and raised his hand to strike her while the villagers stayed silent.
• Fang Ran burst through the tavern's back door, broke the officer's wrist, and seized him by the throat.
• Fang Ran froze two soldiers with his frightening gaze, then forced the officer to lick beer from the table and slammed his head into it twice.
• Ling tugged Fang Ran's clothes, interrupting his rage, and he stopped attacking the officer to check whether she was hurt.
• Fang Ran apologized to Ling, promised to care for her, and led her away from the tavern by the hand.

After rescuing Ling from Il, Fang Ran resolved to stop hiding from his power and flew with her to Delier, where he arranged for her to bathe and change clothes. Ling recognized the town and led Fang Ran to an opulent, apparently empty house she had hoped to visit, then said she wanted to see other places too.

• Fang Ran carried the sleeping Ling away from Il and resolved to use his abilities to give her a better life.
• Fang Ran used his Altair Psionic Float Wings to fly with Ling through the night to an unfamiliar home in Delier.
• Ling woke in a clean room, and Fang Ran arranged through the mayor's wife for her to bathe and receive clean clothes.
• Fang Ran took Ling to explore Delier, where she recognized the town closest to Il.
• Ling led Fang Ran to a grand white house on a hillside, but found no sign of the person she hoped to see.
• Fang Ran asked Ling where else she wanted to go, and she said there were several places she wanted to visit.

Fang Ran bought Ling a pair of leather boots and made her a gothic dress, then comforted her after discovering the scars hidden beneath her wrappings. They left Delier by steam train, beginning their journey toward a larger Italian city.

• Fang Ran noticed Ling admiring expensive leather boots and secretly bought them for her.
• Fang Ran took Ling to a tailor and gave the tailor a gothic dress he had created for her.
• Fang Ran found Ling resisting the tailor because changing clothes exposed the scars on her arms, and promised to stay by her side and protect her from hardship.
• Fang Ran and Ling arrived at the railway station in new clothes and boarded a steam train bound for one of Italy's bustling cities.

Trinity, Ling Feng, and their allies fought to hold the North Pole battlefield while Ling struggled to keep piloting the weakened Wandering Night mech. After Ling rejected the Queen’s offer of protection, two more Zero Knight signatures approached, threatening to turn the battle.

• Trinity used spatial teleportation to remove Klausel’s Holy Light Crosses, destroying the Dimensional Generators in the process.
• Ling Feng pressed Bayerdians with Arc Light while both recognized that the battle’s outcome depended on how long Ling could hold off Yag Nagaen.
• Ling’s Wandering Night mech locked away Psionic Core Collision as her soul projection destabilized, and the Queen warned her that further strain could have serious consequences.
• Ling accused the Queen of deceiving her, rejected Nevernight Palace’s protection, and cut off the Night Web connection.
• Trinity and Ling Feng detected two Participant signatures approaching from Europe and Asia, and Trinity realized they were two more Zero Knights.

Fang Ran and Ling arrived in Milan in 1916, where they planned to find lodging and seek help from a noble. A valuable gold piece he offered as a letter of introduction persuaded Baro Fei Viscount to meet them.

• Fang Ran saw a vision of a girl suffering in a ruined home before waking on the train as it reached Milan.
• Fang Ran woke Ling, helped her wash and fix her hair, and they left the station together.
• Fang Ran described Milan’s grandeur to Ling and told her they would find a place to stay before relying on her to haggle.
• Fang Ran sent a gold piece to Baro Fei Viscount as a letter of introduction.
• Baro Fei Viscount confirmed the gold was real, placed it in his treasury, and went to meet Fang Ran and Ling.

Fang Ran used gold and Ling’s warning to buy Baro Fei Viscount’s manor in Milan. Meanwhile, Maison and Higg investigated reports of a wealthy traveler paying with gold and learned that the person had gone to Milan.

• Baro Fei Viscount met Fang Ran and Ling, then saw Fang Ran’s card demanding that he sell the manor.
• Fang Ran laid out gold and a gold bar, persuading Baro Fei Viscount to sell the entire manor and its contents, excluding his belongings and staff.
• Ling warned Baro Fei Viscount against making the wrong choice, and he agreed to arrange the transfer before fleeing to Rome.
• Fang Ran praised Ling after Baro Fei Viscount left, and said they now had a home.
• Maison questioned the mayor about a gold-paying visitor, while Higg reported similar accounts from a tailor.
• Maison and Higg learned that the suspicious traveler had been seen at the station and was heading to Milan.

After acquiring a Milan manor with his wealth, Fang Ran realized how money had brought him closer to the other Participants and decided to take Ling out. They left the manor’s preparations to Sharon, who understood Ling’s request and arranged a carriage.

• Fang Ran reflected on how easily his gold had bought the manor and hired new staff, including Sharon.
• Fang Ran recognized that wealth gave him a new kind of power and made him feel he had caught up with the Bureau’s Participants a little.
• Fang Ran invited Ling to go for a walk, and she finished her cake before joining him.
• Fang Ran asked Sharon to prepare a carriage, and Ling translated his request for her.
• Sharon agreed to have the coachman prepare the carriage.

Fang Ran took Ling shopping on Via Monte Napoleone, where Countess Lumis demanded that he sell Ling’s dress. After the shop staff excluded him, Fang Ran smashed a prized glass sculpture with a piece of gold and demanded to see the owner.

• Fang Ran arrived on Via Monte Napoleone with Ling and Sharon, then entered a dress and jewelry shop Sharon recommended.
• Fang Ran pinched Ling’s cheek, and she startled before settling down beside him.
• A shop attendant tried to turn Fang Ran away, but Countess Lumis focused on Ling’s dress and offered Fang Ran two hundred lira silver coins for it.
• Fang Ran threw a piece of gold at the shop’s glass sculpture, shattering it and shocking the people in the store.
• Fang Ran showed the manager the gold and asked him to bring out the shop’s owner.

Milan’s noblewomen traded rumors about the wealthy Far Eastern gentleman who had bought a fashion boutique, while European Night Battle participants identified him as a possible threat. They planned to approach him at an accelerated ball the following night and separate him from the little girl accompanying him.

• Lumis Madam told the noblewomen how the Far Eastern gentleman had smashed a sculpture and bought the fashion boutique with gold.
• Madam Visconti revealed that the gentleman had visited Baro Fei Viscount’s estate, and Madam Laila received a sealed letter ordering the ball to be moved forward.
• Higg arrived late at Milan Cathedral and told Maison, Keysti, and Wales that the mysterious man was likely from Huaxia and might possess an alchemy-like ability.
• Maison assigned Wales to separate the little girl from the man and ordered Higg to warn him at the ball the next night.
• Maison said the group would drive the man out of Europe if he refused to cooperate.

Fang Ran settled into Victoria with Ling and began teaching her Italian, but Sharon interrupted their lesson with an invitation to a ball from Milan’s Marchioness. Fang Ran decided to attend the aristocratic ball that evening.

• Fang Ran moved into Victoria with Ling and a maid, leaving the manor in the butler’s care.
• Fang Ran practiced Italian with Ling and tricked her into saying “Oniichan,” then struggled to hide his embarrassment.
• Sharon brought Fang Ran a wax-sealed invitation to a ball from Madam Laila.
• Ling asked whether Fang Ran would attend the ball, and he said he planned to go for a while.
• Fang Ran considered arranging a carriage, then decided to go by himself.

Fang Ran arrived at Madam Laila’s Milan ball in a scarlet Ferrari and used his abilities to bring Ling before the astonished guests. He invited her to dance, determined to become a source of strength for her.

• Lumis and Visconti prepared young women in their families to approach Fang Ran, while Madam Laila’s spy reported that he had not left Victoria.
• Madam Laila began the first dance, and the guests feared Fang Ran would not attend.
• Fang Ran raced to the ballroom in a scarlet Ferrari, stunning the guests with his arrival.
• Fang Ran walked alone onto the dance floor and used his power to make Ling appear in a beautiful gown.
• Fang Ran took Ling’s hands and asked, “May I have this dance, Your Majesty?”

Fang Ran surprised Ling by bringing her to a Milan ball and dancing with her, but the evening took an unexpected turn when a Prince he recognized appeared. She welcomed him on behalf of the Kingdom and asked to speak with him privately.

• Fang Ran made a dramatic entrance at the ball and invited Ling to dance in her golden gown.
• Fang Ran reassured Ling that she could go anywhere with him, and the two danced together as the guests watched and applauded.
• Fang Ran noticed that the woman accompanying Marchioness Laila was the same figure he had seen through Night Crow's eyes after the Oslo incident.
• The Prince welcomed Fang Ran on behalf of the Kingdom and asked him to speak with her privately.

Fang Ran met Aurelia Le Guien in private, where she revealed that she was Italy’s second Prince and the administrator of the country’s participants. Meanwhile, Maison and the Church members prepared to act against Fang Ran and his weapon, leaving a confrontation looming as a storm gathered.

• Fang Ran gave Ling a black card for protection and followed Aurelia into her private room.
• Aurelia changed out of her noblewoman’s dress and introduced herself as the second Prince of Italy, Aurelia Le Guien.
• Maison learned Fang Ran was being received by Aurelia and decided the Church should sanction him for disrupting ordinary life.
• Maison ordered Wales to get Ling to safety, while Wales sent Keysti to guard the ballroom entrance and destroy Fang Ran’s weapon if they acted.
• Higg joked with Maison and fell backward from the rooftop as the night sky darkened.

While Ling waited for Fang Ran, Wales appeared and used a terrifying illusion and Ling’s painful memories to convince her that Fang Ran would die because of her. After Wales vanished, Ling stood and looked toward the door as rain began to fall.

• Ling reflected on her new life and felt guilty about accepting Fang Ran’s care without giving anything in return.
• Wales appeared in the reception room, ignored Ling’s warnings, and conjured the illusion of a huge Flame Demon.
• Wales told Ling he had come to kill Fang Ran and claimed it was because of her.
• Wales used his words to trigger Ling’s memories of her parents’ disappearance, leaving her convinced that Fang Ran would die because of her.
• Wales vanished, and Ling stopped crying and slowly stood as storm clouds gathered outside.

Fang Ran rejected Aurelia Le Guien’s assumption that he belonged to the Night Society and said he cared only about the people important to him. When he returned to the reception hall, he discovered Ling and the attendant had vanished and threatened Aurelia with Silver Severing Dragon Tooth, demanding to know where Ling was.

• Aurelia Le Guien isolated the room and asked Fang Ran what decision the Night Society had made about the war.
• Fang Ran told Aurelia he was neither a Night Society member nor part of any force, and said he had no intention of interfering in her affairs.
• Fang Ran said he had acted only because he wanted the people important to him to live better lives, then left for the reception hall.
• Aurelia followed Fang Ran and found him staring at the empty hall after Ling and her attendant had disappeared.
• Fang Ran unleashed his Magic Energy Value, pointed Silver Severing Dragon Tooth at Aurelia’s throat, and demanded to know where Ling was.

After Aurelia reconstructed the moment Ling disappeared, Fang Ran rushed into the rainy night to search for her. As he crossed the Central Courtyard, a commandment-powered bullet struck him, and four figures in White Religious Robes appeared on the rooftops.

• Fang Ran lowered his sword after Aurelia explained that Ling had likely been deceived into leaving, rather than taken by force.
• Aurelia used residual magic to reconstruct a blurry image of Wales in the reception room, and Fang Ran concluded Ling should still be nearby.
• Fang Ran leapt through the window and sent Hugin and Munin searching Milan while he looked for Ling in the rain.
• Fang Ran charged through the Central Courtyard toward the manor's rear exit, believing Ling might be on the street beyond it.
• A revolver bullet carrying the power of commandments hit Fang Ran and blasted him toward a wall as four figures in White Religious Robes watched from nearby rooftops.

Fang Ran fought the Vatican Order’s three Arbitration Knights while urgently searching for Ling, but Aurelia intervened to negotiate with them. After spotting Ling running through the rain, Fang Ran escaped toward her, with the Knights pursuing him.

• Higg, Keysti, and Maison attacked Fang Ran together, but he recovered and fought back while trying to reach the manor’s rear gate.
• The Arbitration Knights coordinated their attacks and trapped Fang Ran with golden Judgment chains, but he shattered the chains in a burst of rage.
• Aurelia appeared between Fang Ran and the Knights, challenged the Church’s authority, and tried to negotiate for Fang Ran to be handed over to her.
• Fang Ran saw Ling running through the rain through the Night Crow’s vision and used the Jump Card to escape toward her.
• Maison ordered Higg, Keysti, and the other Knights to chase Fang Ran.