Chapter 52: The Dark Continent’s Secrets

When the door reopened, I emerged, already clad in Erica’s dress.

Once a cross-dresser, always a cross-dresser, I suppose; donning women’s clothes had become second nature now.

Without a blush or a racing heart, I slipped the dress over my head, a sudden pang of shame striking me for being a former male.

Why did female mages always favor dresses?

Sally was one, Erica another, and even Tiffany owned many, often showcasing them and asking for my opinion on their appearance.

My own wardrobe, purchased in the capital, consisted of practical adventurer attire suited for wilderness combat.

Though not explicitly menswear, it leaned towards a more neutral style.

“You certainly look much prettier in a different outfit,” Sally remarked, offering a rare compliment upon seeing my changed attire.

“What in the world were you wearing before?!”

The others nodded in collective agreement with her assessment.

“How terribly rude of you!” I huffed at Sally.

Even my choice of clothing couldn’t escape her criticism; it seemed we were simply fated to clash.

“Are you feeling better now?” Amos inquired with genuine concern upon my emergence.

“If you feel weary, you can rest upstairs for a while.”

The ‘upstairs’ he referred to was the second floor, accessible via a staircase near the entrance.

“No need,” I replied, shaking my head.

It was still daytime, and even with the sunlight obscured, limiting light elements, my stamina would quickly replenish.

“Well then, let’s begin with introductions,” Amos said, seeing my resolve and turning to his teammates.

“As for myself, you all know me already, so there’s no need for further introduction.”

“I’m Blanche, a fifth-tier pugilist,” the girl who had opened the door spoke first.

“I’m Hayden, a fourth-tier Guardian Knight,” the boy with the shield followed suit.

“I’m Erica, a fourth-tier water mage,” she reiterated, even though I already knew her name.

“Alfred, a sixth-tier swordsman.”

The mention of ‘sixth-tier’ made me glance at him again.

What an impressively high rank!

He could rival the strength-testing official at the Adventurer’s Guild.

Alfred offered a faint smile, explaining calmly, “I only recently attained sixth-tier certification, so don’t be overly surprised; you can simply regard me as a fifth-tier.”

“That’s still incredibly formidable,” I managed, opening my mouth to offer more compliments but finding myself at a loss for words.

With their introductions concluded, it was now Sally’s and my turn.

“I am Sally, a fourth-tier cleric,” Sally quickly positioned herself to my right, speaking first.

Her other side was directly beside Alfred; I strongly suspected she had moved there solely to be closer to her idol.

“I am Flora…” ‘Oh, damn it, this embarrassing third-tier!’

I stammered for a long moment before finally devising an alternative phrasing to circumvent the awkwardness.

“A four-winged angel.”

“Excellent! This means all of us are fourth-tier or above!” Blanche exclaimed excitedly, for in such a perilous den, higher strength equated to a greater chance of survival.

“Haha, yes, indeed…” I forced a dry laugh, echoing the others, then turned my face away in profound embarrassment.

‘Even at my worst in school, I had always been at least average, yet here I was, experiencing the ignominy of being last.

It was truly humiliating.’

“Blanche unexpectedly returned early today, informing us she had rescued an angel and a human from pursuing monsters in the city; I truly thought I’d misheard, it was simply unbelievable.”

Erica was still basking in the joy of discovering allies, but to me, her words felt like a deliberate jab.

“How did you find us?” Sally interjected, though the question struck me as rather foolish, given how obvious the answer was.

“With all the commotion you caused in the city, and Blanche and I conducting reconnaissance outside, how could we *not* have seen you?” Amos replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“Yet, why did Sally and I barely see any dark creatures in the city?” I asked, puzzled, considering we had flown through almost half of the vast city, only encountering a total of four monsters.

Alfred clarified the matter, gesturing towards the outer door.

“The monsters here are only active at night; you’ll see them then.”

“At night, you absolutely must not venture outside, or you’ll easily be discovered.”

“No wonder we couldn’t find a single straggler!” Sally exclaimed, looking utterly vexed.

‘How could I not have thought of that?

Without sunlight at night, dark elements would be more concentrated, making it naturally more suitable for monster activity.’

“How did you manage to find this house?

Aren’t you afraid of the owner discovering you?” I asked, surveying my surroundings.

This place must have originally belonged to a dark creature, likely one of a smaller stature.

‘I had already observed the layout of the house when I first entered and when I went to change clothes in the inner room.

It was largely similar to a common human dwelling, complete with a few windows, though the ceiling was noticeably low, perhaps no more than two meters high.

Beyond the rudimentary tables, chairs, and benches, the room was devoid of other furnishings, not even a bed.

Earthen jars and bottles were piled on the floor, and even the cupboards were mere alcoves carved into the walls.

Overall, it exuded a remarkably primitive feel.’

“Actually, this place originally had an owner…” Erica seemed a little embarrassed as she mentioned it.

“Not long after we arrived, a cave dweller returned, discovered us, and started yelling, attempting to attack…”

“Then the captain killed him and threw him outside,” Blanche interjected, seeing Erica hesitate, succinctly stating the outcome.

The ‘captain’ she referred to was undoubtedly Alfred.

‘While I personally found such an invasion of a private dwelling, culminating in the extermination of its inhabitants, somewhat inhumane, it was a desperate measure born of necessity.

Moreover, in this world, the conflict between light and darkness was considered entirely normal, and I doubted anyone would feel much remorse.

Erica’s display of discomfort was already quite remarkable.’

“Aren’t you afraid of someone discovering him if you just throw him outside?” Sally asked, bewildered.

“Precisely.

We wanted him to be discovered, which is why other dark creatures later entered the room to investigate, only to leave after finding no one,” Amos explained.

‘So that was it.

A clever ruse to make them believe the place was deserted, ensuring a longer, undisturbed stay—at least for the time being, no other monsters would bother them.’

“Now, perhaps you can tell us how you came to be in this place?” Alfred posed the question once everyone had been introduced.

As soon as serious matters were raised, everyone’s expression grew solemn, and their gazes immediately shifted to Sally and me.

I turned to look at Sally, who seemed content to remain by her idol’s side, clearly disinclined to speak much.

It was up to me, then.

“This story truly begins when I accepted a quest at the Adventurer’s Guild…”

Thus, I recounted in considerable detail the events Sally and I had experienced from yesterday until now.

“I have a question!” Hayden, carrying his shield, was the first to raise his hand after I finished speaking.

He appeared quite young, yet a fourth-tier combatant could not be considered weak by any measure.

“Why would an angel like you be undertaking quests at the Adventurer’s Guild?”

‘Uh… why are you starting with such a gossipy question right off the bat?’

‘This put me in an awkward position.

Was I supposed to honestly admit that I was broke and had to take daily odd jobs to earn money?

If I answered that way, it would likely lead to even more questions.’

Amos, ever astute, came to my rescue.

“Flora has lost her memory, rendering her unable to return to the Angelic Realm of Enmana.

She’s temporarily residing in the capital, simply taking on quests to pass the time.”

“So, you still don’t know how you arrived at this place?” Erica asked.

“Yes!” I nodded.

“Although we realized it might have been a spatial transfer after dawn today, we have absolutely no idea how, where, or when we crossed over.”

“It seems our origins differ,” Blanche observed, exchanging a look with Alfred, both seemingly reaching a shared understanding.

“And they’re vastly different!” Erica added from the side.

“In both respects.”

“Do you know what’s going on, then?

What is this place?”

Not only I, but Sally too, keenly caught onto this, immediately becoming excited, for it touched upon the very question that concerned us most.

“Truthfully, there are still some matters we haven’t fully grasped ourselves,” Alfred admitted with a wry, somewhat helpless smile.

“However, there are indeed some things you aren’t as clear on as we are.

Firstly, based on our investigations, this place should be called the Dark Continent.

It appears to be a region separate from the Engis Uil Continent, though its precise location remains unknown for now.”

“The Dark Continent…” Sally murmured, the name striking a chord.

She quickly recalled, “Our church scriptures mentioned it!

The main stronghold of dark creatures is supposedly on the Dark Continent, and it’s said there’s an entrance to hell here.

I can’t believe we’ve actually come to such a place!”

“Is that so?

Your Church of God certainly seems to know a great deal about these matters,” Alfred remarked, stroking his nose with an expression of understanding.

“Then how did we arrive here?

We didn’t notice anything unusual while flying last night, so how could we have crossed over?” This had been my persistent confusion; it seemed the Dark Continent must be quite distant from the Asante Kingdom, and if we could figure this out, perhaps we could return.

“Regarding that, you might have been mistaken from the very beginning.”

Alfred suddenly smiled faintly at this point.

“Because you never crossed over.”

“We didn’t cross over?” Sally and I asked in unison, utterly dumbfounded.