PASP Chapter 33

“Hey, hey! Open the door!”

Levian visited Easthole after guzzling whiskey. He had a cigarette in one hand and a black bag containing ten pieces of wheat bread in the other.

“I know you’re hiding in there! Where else would someone like you have to go?”

Levian, swaying slightly in front of the door, shouted.

“Fuck, I said open the door! Can’t you hear me?”

It was before his strong fist could pound on the door.

Creeeeak.

Without applying any force, the door gap widened on its own.

The doorknob was broken.

The back of Levian’s neck went cold. Levian stepped inside the house quickly.

Egru had a strange compulsion. He particularly disliked people entering the house with shoes on. He would insist on thoroughly wiping feet at the door, even laying down flour sacks as mats.

Egru himself had the habit of leaving his shoes at the entrance.

‘But…’

Muddy footprints were messily stamped all over the floor.

Levian immediately kicked the door open and fumbled with his communication device.

“Hey! Where’s that pea-brained bastard?”

-Huh? Didn’t you tell us to stop calling them names?

“No, fuck!”

Levian roughly messed up his bangs.

“I’m asking if you have any idea where he might be!”

-Our guild is in chaos right now, how can we worry about that guy! More importantly, when are you coming back, Guildmaster!

Levian threw down the communication device and stopped. Should he interrogate the nearby residents like combing for lice? Surely someone must have seen him. Fuck, for the house to be in such a state…

“That’s strange. It’s not a burning day today, is it?”

Just then, the sound of several Easthole residents murmuring was heard.

“There must have been a lot of garbage. It’s curious that there’s no smell of burning, though.”

“Well, that’s good for us, isn’t it?”

Levian’s gaze darted sharply through the air. Above the slum shacks, fierce flames filled his amber eyes.

It was Easthole’s garbage dump.

***

“Search completed, Commander.”

One of the elite holy knights who had respectfully opened the door stepped back. D’Élysée ducked his head to pass through the low doorway.

“I guess throwing him away once wasn’t enough…”

D’Élysée muttered as he looked around the old house. It was a chilling low voice, like scraping faded metal.

“This time, he’s disappeared without a trace.”

A fierce vein rose on D’Élysée’s jaw. Although barely a day had passed, Egru’s house was empty.

‘He couldn’t have gone far.’

D’Élysée’s expression quickly softened as he made a brief gesture. The holy knights lined up behind him moved in perfect unison.

Finally, the surroundings became quiet. So quiet that his own breathing was the loudest sound.

D’Élysée approached the only bed in the house. It was quite large for his brother.

“Hiss.”

He buried his face in the pillow, then jerked away as if burned. His face involuntarily scrunched up. There was no trace of his brother’s scent. Only the damned Guildmaster’s pheromone smell.

D’Élysée took a few more steps to examine the house. There were no meaningful traces. To begin with, it had been a meager household, so there wasn’t much left behind.

“…”

D’Élysée suddenly bent one knee. With a calm touch, he picked up the demon stone his brother had left behind. It lay abandoned in the middle of the wooden floor, as if carelessly discarded.

“He left it behind again…”

I told him to keep it safe and return it later. D’Élysée clutched the demon stone he had given his brother for location tracking, as if about to crush it.

‘Did he take the cheese with him in the midst of all this?’

He was about to leave the space that could hardly be called a home, swallowing a bitter laugh.

Creeeeak.

Suddenly, he looked down at the doorknob. The front door handle hung limply like a beheaded chicken. Had he been using it as is after Levian had broken it all this time?

‘No…’

While it was rusted overall, the clamp where the metal parts met showed no signs of corrosion. It was clearly broken recently.

It was then that D’Élysée swiftly turned to look at the alley untouched by light. He sensed a presence.

Rustle.

Someone started to flee in panic. D’Élysée pursued him without a moment’s hesitation.

“Eek!”

D’Élysée instantly grabbed the fleeing man’s nape and threw him down. The plump middle-aged man tumbled ungracefully onto the dirt ground.

“Why did you run?”

D’Élysée asked. The sharp tip of the holy sword instantly pointed at the man’s chin.

“If you know anything, speak. For what reason were you peering into that house just now…”

“Silver armor? I-I’m saved! You’re from the Holy Knight Order! I’m sorry!”

The man clutched his chest in relief, as if greatly comforted.

“It looked like black armor in the night, so I thought you might be mercenaries sent by the Guildmaster. I was startled.”

The man laughed awkwardly, then suddenly dropped to his knees.

“This isn’t right! Please, spare my life!”

D’Élysée sighed and withdrew his holy sword.

“Calm down and explain everything from the beginning.”

“The Milfia Guildmaster will kill me if he finds me. There might already be a bounty on my head. Please protect me. I know it’s shameless to ask in the middle of the night, but I beg for protection.”

“What happened?”

“I…”

The man took a breath and continued.

“I am the representative of Easthole.”

“And?”

“W-well, today a few Imperial soldiers came to check with me. They said they were tracking down demons or those with demon blood in the system.”

The man suddenly recalled the Imperial soldiers warning him not to speak a word to others. But he shook his head.

What use was that now? His precious life was at stake.

‘Aren’t Imperial soldiers and holy knights on the same side anyway?’

Although the Papal Headquarters wasn’t part of the Empire, it was located on Imperial territory. Thus, even Imperial citizens felt a strong sense of belonging to the religion.

‘I heard their relationship with the Imperial royal family was good too…’

The man quickly continued.

“Just then, I thought of a filthy hybrid. As an Imperial citizen, I naturally helped fulfill the honorable royal command. I took the initiative to guide them to the hybrid’s house.”

An indescribable energy rippled within the holy knight’s helmet. Unaware of this, the man proudly continued.

“He’s well-known among the residents here. He’s famous for being incompetent and dull-witted, but the Milfia Guildmaster has his eye on him. But here’s the problem.”

The man trembled, clasping his hands together.

“The Guildmaster tends to plant his subordinates in various places, and it seems he’s caught on to me. Actually, after the Imperial soldiers left, I was anxiously watching out of concern. At some point, the Guildmaster dropped by the hybrid’s house.”

“…”

“In case you don’t know, let me tell you.”

Fear crept into the man’s voice.

“He’s a man infamous for his extremely cruel nature. Please, please help me.”

“Why.”

“Pardon? If the Guildmaster finds out, I’m done for…”

“That’s not what I mean.”

It was a voice without the slightest fluctuation. The holy knight asked, staring straight ahead without wavering.

“Why did you report it?”

“Isn’t it obvious!”

The man spoke as if being asked about an utterly self-evident fact.

“It was my duty as an Imperial citizen. Moreover, it’s a damn hybrid we’re talking about. Whether exile or extermination, it was truly satisfying.”

“…Did he cause you any harm?”

“Of course! Isn’t it all because demons like him steal jobs from humans that upright Imperial citizens like us are stuck living in slums like Easthole! They’re like rats, spreading diseases!”

An inexplicable silence fell for a while.

“Sir Knight?”

In the heavily depressed atmosphere, the man approached with awkward steps. The holy knight stood motionless, as if the armor was empty inside.

“Um…”

The man cleared his throat and spoke.

“Well, ahem, I hate to ask this, but…”

“…”

“Is there any chance you could contact the Imperial soldiers separately?”

Still receiving no response, the man spoke as if frustrated.

“Actually, they promised a modest reward for reporting the hybrid. But things progressed rather quickly, and they seem to have forgotten about it when they left.”

The man rubbed his palms together, full of greed.

“If you have a quick communication channel, could you please let me know? I’m worried they might forget about my efforts if too much time passes.”

Clank. It was then that the holy knight showed movement. The man’s face brightened.

But as the razor-sharp sword was drawn, chillingly keen, the man could no longer say anything.