****

After taking a comfortable bath, Gabriel stepped back into his room, only having a towel around his waist.

"You took your sweet time. I was starting to get bored here."

As soon as Gabriel stepped into the room, he heard a melodious voice coming from nearby. He turned around but couldn't find anyone anywhere.

"Lady Avilia, isn't it bad manners to barge inside someone's room without knocking?" Gabriel asked in return. Even though he couldn't see the lady, that voice was something he had heard before. It belonged to the Holy Priestess of Summoning, the Crazy Ruler of Element.

It was slightly surprising to him as well. The four stones were still in the same place. Despite that, the woman managed to enter the room without alerting him. Her skills... They were certainly good.

"You don't look surprised by my appearance here," the woman finally appeared before Gabriel, coming out of the shadow of the bed.

"Hiding in the Shadows?" Gabriel asked. "A trick of one of your beasts?"

He knew that Avilia was a Summoner and not a Dark Mage. She couldn't hide in the shadows on her own. It could only mean that she took the help of a Summoned Beast that could take advantage of the shadows.

At this point, Gabriel was sure that she wasn't the only one hiding in the shadows.

'If I'm not wrong, she should have quite a few beasts still hiding here.'

"You are not half bad," Avilia sat on the bed. "That's right. It's the abilities of one of my Contracted Beasts, the Shadow Wolf."

"By the way, I'm surprised that you show no fear despite my presence here. It's as if you knew that I would be coming here. But that doesn't make sense either. If you knew, then why didn't you run away?"

"Would running away matter? You've already covered all the exits of the City," Gabriel answered, not showing much reaction as he walked to pick up his clothes from the bed.

"Oh, you knew that as well?" Avilia frowned. Instead of surprising Gabriel, she was the one getting surprised. "Not bad at all. I'm really intrigued now. Just what are you? I can sense so many auras on you, especially the aura of the dead, the aura of darkness, and the aura of Light. Quite interesting."

"What am I? I'm just a person who was forced into a role that I didn't want, quite similar to another person I see before me," Gabriel answered.

Hearing Gabriel's response, Avilia was slightly taken aback. She could understand what this guy was implying.

Gabriel walked back inside the bathroom with the clothes. "If possible, keep your beasts outside. I'll be getting dressed."

"Heh, quite amusing. Can he read my mind? Or does he understand my thoughts that much?"

As time passed, Avilia was getting even more interested in Gabriel. In this boring world, she had finally found an interesting person.

She didn't send any beast to keep an eye on Gabriel. Moreover, just as Gabriel had promised, he returned fully dressed.

"Want to eat something?" Gabriel asked as soon as he stepped out of the room.

"Huh?" Avilia was momentarily stunned. In this situation, Gabriel was not only not scared, but he was also thinking about food at a time like this.

"I just finished training and feel hungry. If you don't want to go out, I can have Callum bring some food here," Gabriel told the Holy Priestess. All his actions were above Avilia's understanding.

'This guy...' She finally couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Let's go out then," Avilia stood up, shrugging her shoulders. "I haven't eaten anything either."

"I don't know any good places here though. It's my first day. I suppose it's your first day as well? I'll have Callum escort us," Gabriel stated as he left the room with Avilia.

"Are you scared to be alone with me?" Avilia asked, slightly amused.

"Scared? If I was scared now, do you think Callum's presence could make me feel safe? If I can't stay safe against you, then he won't be of help either. He's too weak," Gabriel vaguely answered. Even though his words weren't much, Avilia could feel some hidden meaning behind them.

It was as if Gabriel was implying that even if she fought him, he had the capacity to protect himself without anyone else's help. She didn't feel angry though. Instead, she was even more pleased. This type of person... She was starting to get quite fond.

Even when she hadn't taken the Holy Priestess position of the Holy Church of Summoning, she was already one of the strongest Summoners in the world. It was a talent that she possessed from the start.

Despite that, she never wanted to be associated with the Holy Church. She just wanted to enjoy her life freely without worrying about anything else. That's why she even rejected the Holy Grimoire for the first time. However, when attacked by the Head Priests of the Church, she couldn't help but accept the Grimoire to get more strength so she could protect herself.

The way Gabriel was... She couldn't help but see quite a few similarities with her personalities... No care in the world for anyone, no matter how strong. No regard for the rules or the laws of this world...

Ever since she became the Head of the Church of Summoning, she had only seen people who were scared of her. They were no different than slaves who didn't have any individual personalities. As for the other Head Priests, they were just too different and too bound to bound laws... Even their arrogance was just too much.

It was her first time seeing someone like Gabriel.

"You won't ask why I didn't kill Callum already?" she asked Gabriel.

"You won't," Gabriel answered.

"Oh, and why won't I?" Avilia asked, slightly curious. "You think I'm too kind?"

"If you wanted to kill him, you could've killed him when you first saw him. I don't think you even care about the Dark Mages," Gabriel responded.

Initially, he didn't know Avilia at all. All he knew were the stories about her. However, seeing her ignore the presence of a Dark Mage, he realized that she truly was different from the other Head Priests.

At that point, he had considered the possibility of her coming to meet him but not to kill him. The only thing he didn't expect was for her to come so soon. His recent interaction with her helped him understand her even more. She really was different.

He was sure she didn't care about the War between the Dark Mages and the other Churches. That meant she was neutral as of now, despite the pressure of other Churches! That gave him a chance... a great chance