Both books were written in the script of this era and were remarkably well-preserved. They were titled *Secrets of Aether: Volumes 1-13* and *The Collection of Sages*.
A brief skim revealed that the former explored the fundamental operation and rules of using Aether—what the Sixth Epoch referred to as "Spirit"—similar to the *Aether Mechanics* that Doctor Schneider was currently studying for his exams. The latter was not a book concerning the powers of witches, but rather a treatise on philosophy, human personality, and the inner spirit.
The ring among the miscellaneous items was not a supernatural object, but it appeared to be some kind of symbol of status. As for the two notebooks, the newer one contained knowledge written by Miss Chloe; it seemed to be her study notebook. The other showed signs of frequent flipping; upon opening it, he discovered it was a diary.
"Oh! One mustn't just casually read a lady's diary."
Shad thought to himself. To this day, Lacia and Dorothy had only allowed him to view about two-thirds of their diaries to satisfy his peculiar reading hobby.
Thus, Shad first whispered an apology to Miss Chloe, whom he was holding in his arms, before flipping open the diary.
There were no timestamps in the diary; all the content was written line after line. Shad didn't have time to start from the beginning, so he flipped directly to the last written page toward the end of the notebook. There wasn't much content on this page—only six paragraphs of text. The first three were
【Vegetables are nearly exhausted. I hope that gentleman returns soon, otherwise we will be forced to eat snow again.】
【It is so cold, but fortunately, they haven't kicked me out. I must reach the summit quickly; I long for freedom.】
【I am Chloe, I am Chloe, I am Chloe, I am Chloe, I am Chloe.】
The three paragraphs were written in the same handwriting, though there were differences in the details. The first had spelling errors and the letters were somewhat crooked; the letters in the second were much smaller than the other two; the content of the final paragraph seemed exceptionally manic, and the letters were scribbled, as if the writer had gone mad.
He heard "her" light chuckle in his ear, clearly reacting to what Shad was reading. Shad did not comment on the diary; he continued reading downward to the final records
【Please do not leave, please do not leave me alone. Oh, Teacher, I am willing to inherit your ideals, please do not, please do not leave me alone again.】
The handwriting of this passage was identical to the "vegetables" paragraph above.
【Please forgive me, I am willing to repent. I know I touched the forbidden, I know I committed a mistake, I know, I have always known.】
The handwriting of this passage was identical to the "freedom" paragraph above.
【I am Chloe, I am not Chloe, I am Chloe, I am not Chloe, I am Chloe, I am not Chloe.】
The handwriting of this passage was identical to the "Chloe" paragraph above.
"I think I understand what happened."
Shad closed the diary and looked at the three semi-conscious people with a complex expression.
He first went to the man's side, helped him sit upright, and said to him
"If you do not leave this snowy mountain, you will never find a way to make up for your mistakes."
He paused, but seeing no reaction—the man remained with his head hanging—he spoke again
"The pursuit of knowledge is not a mistake, but the failure to control one's desires is. Since you repented in your diary, it means you understand exactly what you did. I imagine you wouldn't want your mistakes to remain merely mistakes forever, would you? No one can go through life without making mistakes, but one must recognize the mistake to make amends..."
Before Shad could finish, a faint groan escaped the man's mouth. This put Shad slightly at ease, and he turned to help up Madam Marques, who had collapsed by the campfire
"You will not be left alone; there will always be others by your side. Perhaps you have experienced parting, but at least this time, you will not."
After a moment of no response, he added
"If you don't wake up now, I'll leave immediately. Madam, you wouldn't want to never see me again, would you?"
Madam Marques's eyelids flickered. Shad carefully helped her sit up, then picked up Miss Chloe again. The young witch's lips were pale and her head tilted; she looked like a piece of exquisite, fragile porcelain.
"You indeed are Chloe. You are Chloe Marcus Marques."
Shad spoke the full name investigated by Mr. Edmund of the [Light-Guiding Hermetic Order]. The witch squirmed slightly in his arms before slowly opening her eyes.
Her gaze was initially vacant, but then she recognized Shad. Her previously pale face instantly flushed red. She tried to struggle out of Shad's embrace, but he held her firm
"Rest for a moment and we will set off immediately. I don't have much time left, and neither do you."
Although she had been forcibly awakened by Shad this time, she would not get a second chance.
Unlike Miss Chloe, who remained incredibly weak, Madam Marques and the unnamed man regained their mobility almost immediately upon waking. They both heard Shad's plan to depart, so they gathered their scattered luggage, appearing reluctant to leave these mundane belongings behind.
Miss Chloe's mental and physical state were both quite worrying. Seeing that Shad would not let her go, she could only allow herself to be held by him with a blushing face. Feeling Shad's body heat, she whispered
"I'm so glad to see you upon waking. I knew you would come back... there isn't much distance left to the summit... please carry me up."
"No," Shad said decisively. As Miss Chloe pursed her lips with a confused expression, he added
"Climbing this mountain was your own decision; you must climb it yourself. You have come this far, you have reached this place—are you willing to abandon your lifelong persistence for a moment of warmth?"
He persuaded her
"I could carry you to the very peak to witness the scenery of the snowy mountain. But you are a witch, Miss Chloe, and witches have always been confident, powerful, and independent. Yes, I believe you are such a girl. Now tell me, how will you climb the final stretch?"
"I will... climb it myself."
Her lips looked somewhat cracked. Shad fished a toy water bottle from his pocket, but after restoring it to its original form, he found the water was ice-cold. While his "Toy Making" couldn't keep objects warm indefinitely, it shouldn't have let the water turn directly into ice water.
"Madam Marques, please boil some hot water. We'll leave once the water is boiled—"
He then remembered that the fire could not heat the surrounding environment, let alone boil water. As Madam Marques showed a troubled expression, Miss Chloe whispered
"This is the coldest place in the entire Silver Mountain Range; no heating process is permitted here. Ice water is fine, I don't mind. Please trust a witch's capability."
"We still have to climb. I don't want to travel with a girl who might faint from hypothermia at any moment."
He thought for a moment and extended his wrist to Miss Chloe's lips. The latter looked up at Shad with a pale face; speaking a few words left her slightly breathless
"What are you doing?"
"My blood is warm," Shad said with certainty. He was quite sure that with his physical constitution, his blood-production capability was very strong. "Don't worry about my health. Once you've drunk, we'll set off immediately."
"Just because my eyes are crimson, do you think I'm a Vampire?"
"No, no, a Vampire's eyes aren't necessarily all crimson. I have knowledge of Vampire populations, and I have a Vampire friend who said... that's not important."
Shad realized this was no time for nonsense. He took out a glass cup and used the moonlight at his fingertips to slice his wrist. Miss Chloe wanted to stop him, but she had no strength; she could only watch as Shad acted.
After filling more than half the glass with blood, Shad used [Satiating Feast] to treat the ice water from before and poured it onto his wrist. The wound vanished almost instantly; this occult art was very effective for simple external injuries.
"I know you wouldn't like drinking human blood. I refused it back at the God's Banquet; I dripped the blood into my eyes instead."
As Shad spoke, he fished a wine bottle pendant from his pocket. After restoring it to its original form, he used the [Blood Wine Brewing] ability on his own blood. Strangely, he had used this spell on the blood of other humans before, but when using it on his own, the casting process felt very clumsy—even clumsier than using it on fruit—as if his blood were not blood.
【There is the temperature of the First Fire in your blood; the First Fire granted you resistance to abnormal states. Therefore, feeding it to a witch will likely be very effective.】
"I see."
Shad understood. He poured the warm blood wine from the bottle into the glass and carefully brought the cup to the young witch's lips
"I've already bled; you wouldn't want my blood to go to waste, would you?"
Miss Chloe pursed her lips and looked up at him from his embrace. In the end, she didn't let Shad feed her; instead, she reached out her trembling hand and carefully drank the half-glass of blood brew.
When Shad had placed the cup before her, she had already smelled a captivating wine aroma. Drinking this blood brew now, she felt as though she had never tasted such an intoxicating wine in her entire life.
Whether it was in her own great vineyard, the kingdoms of her friends, or the wines shared by witches during meetings of the Zaras Academy or the collective sessions of the Council, none had been this alluring.
"Oh~"
Not only was the taste unforgettable, but as the blood wine slid from her mouth into her throat and dropped into her stomach, she felt a strange warm current gradually diffuse from her stomach to every part of her body. A sense of fullness in her mind and even her soul made her feel as if she had returned to her peak state. But at the same time, a craving for more caused her to subconsciously look at Shad again.