My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 416 Another Gift from Myself
An unexpected silence fell over the atmosphere.

The atmosphere fell silent from the moment Roland said he was about to leave again.

Although Kalia didn't say anything, her sense of loss was impossible to hide.

Even when they first met, the atmosphere had never been this silent.

Although the two didn't exchange a single word for the first few minutes, that was because Kalia was busy finishing Roland's dinner and all the food supplies placed by the lake.

She didn't have room to speak.

There were very few people on the street at this time.

Because the evacuation operation ended in a disjointed manner, most residents began to go home to put away their packed luggage and take a good rest to calm their emotions after the ups and downs.

The sudden appearance of the void, the sudden appearance of the dragon, the sudden surge of the giant storm, and the sudden return of the young imperial duke who announced the end of the disaster...

Everything happened like a poorly executed drama that started strong but ended weakly.

It was as if all the calamities had already ended before they even began.

However, as a result, the streets became much quieter.

The city of Herria is nothing like the capital of the empire; not to mention its smaller size, its economic development is even more lacking.

It's impossible to simply set aside a piece of land and build a park specifically for residents to take walks and relax.

Even in places like Blackthorn Territory, it was impossible to find a high ground—the Northern Continent was almost entirely plains, with only a few mountain ranges serving as natural border demarcation lines.

In the ancient war against the Demon King, the Holy Empire also established fortifications and defenses based on these mountains.

Unfortunately, the nearest mountain is near Yalan City.

Oh no, I should say that a mountain was mostly destroyed by the prototype's self-destruction, and the remaining half was swallowed up by the Shadow Torrent and the River Styx in the recent battle.

That's not a suitable place for a walk.

Only empty streets remained.

After walking silently for a long time, until Kalia finished the last potato chip sprinkled with coarse salt in the bag, the girl who had been silent all the way finally spoke: "...I'm not full, Roland."

“I thought you’d bring up something else,” Roland replied somewhat speechlessly, then, as always, added with a helpless sigh, “What would you like to eat? But that depends on which shops in town are still open.”

Kalia didn't answer, but instead, somewhat irritated, crumpled the paper bag, which had been folded into an open rectangular shape, into a ball and then clenched it tightly in both hands.

She suddenly stopped, so suddenly that Roland didn't even have time to react, and she had passed Kalia by a body length.

Then, Kalia looked at Roland: "Roland...wouldn't it be better for me to go back to the capital and the academy?"

"Why did you suddenly think that way?" Roland asked.

“I just feel that… if I stay here, I won’t be able to help at all, and I’ll feel like I’m becoming more and more of a burden.”

"You see... when we first met, I was definitely stronger than you in terms of combat, at least in terms of direct fighting ability, right?"

"You couldn't stop that cultist named Parker, so you could only use Flash to carry me away. In the end, I bought you some time, didn't I?"

"Before that, I even helped you get rid of those rats in the sewers..."

"But since then, I don't think I've been of any help."

Kalia gave a bitter smile: "Roland, do you know? The happiest time for me these days was the month you and Russell were learning alchemy."

“I’m so happy, I can really help you a lot.”

"Whether it was cooking, helping build a house, or sneaking in with you in the shadows... I felt like I was back to the time when we first met."

"But it's better than before."

"Not only did I not drag you into troubles that were originally unrelated to you, I actually helped you instead of hiding on the sidelines every day and watching you solve all the problems on your own."

“I know... you and the teacher are doing this for my own good.”

"For this reason, you have always told me to avoid contact with any power related to evil gods."

"But... I also want to do something."

"..."

Kalia turned around, took a deep breath, and continued walking towards the front of the street: "Sorry for saying some impulsive things to you..."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. But... please don't try to persuade me to go back to the capital."

"I should also review the potion-making techniques my teacher taught me, and besides my innate spells, I should probably learn some other spells that I can use in battle."

“Lia,” Roland said, taking Kalia’s hand. “Come with me somewhere.”

……

……

Since the vehicle is currently out shopping and eating with Cellina, Roland can only use the ancient method to move around with Kalia.

flash.

To be honest, I haven't used this skill frequently for a while.

Having acquired a complete set of rune magic skill packs and various buffs, Roland has transformed from a dark, brooding mage assassin into a sunny and cheerful turret mage.

People are going to change.

Even Kalia. She usually seems carefree, as if as long as she has a stutter, she can ignore eighty percent of the troubles that are happening to her.

As for the remaining 20%, she could basically digest it through self-reflection.

Even Roland rarely gave serious consideration to how to comfort Kalia.

It was as if these past few months of getting to know each other had given him a definition of this girl—she wouldn't have any worries, and if she did, she could quickly get rid of them herself.

He became even more convinced of this view after the suspected cannibalism incident.

But now, Roland realizes he was terribly wrong.

The person you thought was the easiest to see through might actually be the one among the women around you who is best at hiding their true thoughts.

She was always catering to other people's ideas—Roland's, Flam's, Nash's, Cellina's, and even Iluvia's.

Upon careful reflection, although some of her words seemed inappropriate and hostile, in reality, it was often she who broke the awkward silence in those situations.

This allowed the meeting and conversation, which were not going smoothly, to proceed smoothly.

She might be pretending to be stupid.

When Roland had this thought, he was startled.

But he quickly calmed down.

Sometimes it might not be an act... but Kalia is indeed much more sensitive than he thought.

She just never expressed it.

She didn't want to disrupt the existing social relationships that made her feel comfortable.

She was afraid that if she revealed her emotions and true thoughts, she would be disliked by others.

It's just that... after experiencing so many things, she couldn't control her pent-up emotions.

Perhaps Roland is only now seeing Kalia's truest self.

"Here we are."

Roland stood on a hill, raising his hand to point to the River Styx, which was still flowing quietly in the distance, and to the land enveloped by the River Styx and filled with deathly silence.

Kalia turned to look at Roland: "Is this... the place where you just fought? I can sense the magical energy left by you and Nina."

“Hmm.” Roland nodded. “I didn’t expect to be back here so soon… Just a few hours ago, I was pinned to the ground by those shadows, and it was only with great difficulty that I managed to crawl out.”

As he spoke, Roland looked up at the horizon.

The almost incessant snowstorms in the North have taken a brief respite.

The heavy clouds were dispersed by the residual storm power left by Sinos and were unable to regroup for a long time.

This may be the only clear sky in the entire North right now.

The setting sun, having sunk most of its way down, cast a negligible warmth over the area, leaving a trail of pinkish-purple hues on the horizon.

"After the disaster subsided, there was actually a pretty good view."

Roland put one hand on his hip, looked at the scenery on the horizon, and sighed.

Kalia smiled faintly, then knelt down on the ground, stretched out her arms to hug her legs, rested her head on her knees, and quietly watched the sunset in the distance.

"So, it's another Roland-style relaxing conversation?"

"...But I'm sorry, Roland, this time I'm really serious."

"It's fine to relax, but I don't want to talk to you about anything." Roland laughed. "If you're just looking at the scenery, there's no need to come this far."

"I brought you here to confirm two things."

"First, can you really ignore the whispers of the Whisperers of Eternal Silence... If you can, then I will take you with me when I return to Enva this time, and afterwards, you can participate in any matter involving the evil god, as long as you are willing."

"Although the black mud formed by shadows has been cleaned up, the aura of the evil god has not dissipated, making it perfect for experiments."

"Moreover, if you are really affected by this level of impact, I can resolve it in a timely manner."

Kalia's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this: "And the second question?"

"I want to know... what did you see on your journey through that abandoned timeline?"

Roland looked at Kalia: "Actually, the moment the ritual to maintain the void was lifted, my ritual was dragged into the domain of the Whisperers of Eternity."

"If it weren't for the blessing left on me by the God of Death, which covered that space with the existence of the underworld, I might not have been able to return so easily."

"But in that space... I saw you."

"In that overwritten timeline, you didn't meet me outside Riskan."

“When I found your soul in a dimension beyond the world, guided by Mr. Sinos, I was certain of one thing.”

"Your soul has been influenced by another version of yourself."

"Even if it was just the effect of the echo of the soul on you... considering that the other you in that timeline really had the power to destroy the entire world, I think her influence might not be that simple."

"So I want to know... what did you see on that journey?"

Roland then sat down next to Kalia and said, "You wouldn't mind telling me about your story, would you?"

(End of this chapter)