“Report, Captain. The third floor has been fully searched. No sign of any monsters.”
“Report, Captain. The second floor is also clear of any monster traces.”
“Report, Captain, no monsters found on the first floor or in the Hall…”
The tavern’s first-floor Hall.
The knights, eager to finish early and go home, gathered steadily and swiftly, beginning their reports.
Their captain, the leader among the trio who appeared earlier at Ye Chi’s doorstep, stood at the center.
“No findings at all?” The captain straightened his back and asked seriously.
“No.” ×5
“That’s good.” The captain nodded in satisfaction and withdrew his gaze from his subordinates.
To him, it was very difficult for monsters to infiltrate the city unnoticed with just their intelligence.
Unless they encountered ultra-high-level monsters, like the legendary Seven Demon Kings, who could take on human-like appearances.
Or unless high-ranking nobles, driven by their desires and fetishes, deliberately imprisoned or transported peculiar monsters such as Touch Monsters, Slimes, or Succubi…
In either of those cases, the Order was powerless.
Their responsibility was only to deal with stray beast-shaped monsters and specialized threats disrupting city order.
For example, Aberrant Toads lurking in reservoirs, packs of Lament Banshees in the Forest, Mist Giants attacking shipping lanes in the deep sea, and City Witches born from human emotions…
“Captain…” The female knight who had remained silent suddenly raised her hand, her tone hesitant.
“Hm?”
The expressions of the other knights tightened immediately damn, more overtime again.
The captain turned back, waiting for her to continue.
“What about that little girl? Are we really going to pretend we didn’t see anything?”
The ‘little girl’ she referred to was undoubtedly Ye Chi.
After a brief hesitation, the female knight added, “The owner of this tavern is clearly lying… And what noble’s young lady would abandon over ten years of etiquette within just a few months and become a drunken little drunkard?”
“That’s none of our concern.” The captain shook his head.
“But what about her room… her room…” The female knight faltered, suddenly looking a bit lost. “I think I’m being a bit obsessive. Sorry, Captain.”
“Don’t dwell too much on what happened last time… The founder of the Demon Hunter Order once said, ‘Everyone harbors a monster deep within. Desire both shackles and frees it…’”
The captain sighed, his once resolute gaze turning weary. He looked at the female knight, but his eyes drifted toward the window behind her:
“Fino, recite the Order’s creed.”
The female knight opened her mouth, glanced at her comrades, and finally lowered her head:
“Do not betray the Order.”
“Do not seek fame.”
“Only hunt monsters…”
“Do not serve humans.”
…
Clink—
A crystal-clear glass wine bottle shattered, the bright red liquid spilling everywhere, filling the air with an intoxicating aroma.
“That bottle cost 3 Coins. Equivalent to 3 Coins’ worth of materials—if you’re unlucky, it takes me several days in the Forest to gather!”
Ye Chi’s lips twitched, stifling the sting in her heart, and shifted her attention back to the uninvited guest, her expression rapidly turning cold and ruthless.
“Meow? Have we met before?”
The cat-eared girl crouched on the light walnut wood table, her fair and well-shaped legs slightly bent, body leaning forward. Her crimson eyes scrutinized Ye Chi from head to toe.
Like a fierce wolf examining a little white rabbit at its den’s entrance.
Inside the room, the lights brightened again.
Ye Chi, the little white rabbit in the wolf’s eyes, finally saw the face of the uninvited guest clearly.
A short girl with black hair and red eyes, dressed in a gothic-style black lace-trimmed short dress.
Oh, a familiar face.
Ye Chi understood instinctively and clenched her palm, as if forgetting that her black Holy Sword had been broken by the Demon King years ago.
My former defeated opponent.
Long time no see.
This reunion crossing time and status would be interesting if they revealed their identities now.
But—
“Who are you?”
Ye Chi’s pretty little face hardened, sneering inwardly. Recognition was impossible with that—800 Justice Value on your head.
Even the Demon King barely has -9.
Besides, I used to beat you up before.
If only I still had my Holy Sword, I’d fulfill my promise to thrash you every time I see you!
“You may call me Herkate Red. Meow~”
Herkate shook her fluffy ears and sat cross-legged on the table, her shapely, soft legs folded neatly. Her lively eyes were full of curiosity:
“I’m very curious about you. You look like a cute human girl, yet you give me a familiar dangerous feeling. Meow.”
“So, can you tell me your name?”
The cat-eared girl’s round, egg-shaped face carried a hint of friendliness:
“If you do, I might consider postponing the Attack Date by a few days. Meow. My pet’s been running low on food lately.”
At those words,
Ye Chi froze.
Attack?
An assault on one of the strongest human-defended cities?
A decision even the Seven Demon Kings dare not make lightly, so where would a demon-species hellcat get such guts?
Although humans lost me, their strongest hero, the Demon side also lost the strongest Great Demon King among the Seven Demon Kings, right?
Questions piled up in Ye Chi’s mind.
Her comrades from the Hero Squad… the Sage of Sword who taught her, her apprentice…
It seemed she had to hurry.
Spending three years crafting an image to blend in with humans wasn’t just to buy wine.
No matter what, she had to meet her former companions and ask them:
Why was the battle’s information sealed off? Why was the truth of the Demon King’s death hidden?
For the first time in a long while, Ye Chi felt the familiar pain surge in her chest, even though she no longer had a human heart.
Phantom pain?
Heh.
Pulling her thoughts away from the memories,
Ye Chi lifted her pale little face and softly said to the black-haired catgirl sitting on the table:
“Vyea, my name.”