I Saved a Demon, and Now He’s After Me - Chapter 42

‘Has this idiot lost his mind? Why is he suddenly acting like this?’

A Holy Knight and a Hunter. Because of their professions, she had always assumed they might run into each other someday.

But just because their work was similar didn’t mean they had to move together. The two professions clearly dealt with different targets. Humans and demons.

Even today, Eden had tried her best to ignore him, thinking, ‘Who cares. As long as we each do our own job well.’ But now it would no longer be ‘each.’

“Don’t you know my skills? I’m perfectly fine on my own!”

“Haha. Don’t feel pressured, Miss Hunter. We should help each other out.”

Oscar winked, then called out to the Holy Knights.

“Well then, let’s depart! Butler, please guide us.”

“Yes. Please come outside first.”

“Wait, wait! Commander? Sir Oscar?”

Eden called out to him desperately, but Oscar smiled reassuringly and hurried right outside.

What does he mean, don’t feel pressured! And what was with that wink and smile!

Eden broke into a cold sweat at the thought of suddenly being saddled with her ex-boyfriend. She looked to the side, hoping Johan would withdraw his volunteer offer even now, but he was just silently staring at Bezel.

Looking at those eyes that seemed filled with both curiosity and wariness, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘Could it be… he volunteered because of Bezel, not me?’

Well, Bezel’s looks were undeniably exceptional. With looks that could captivate anyone regardless of gender, it wasn’t unreasonable to think this way. Hadn’t he once made a Holy Knight’s d**k stand at attention at the church?

But Johan was a man who was overly conscious of the world’s gaze for that to be true.

‘Right. He’s the kind of guy who’s so ridiculously conscious of others’ opinions that he dumped me, so there’s no way he likes men.’

Not long after she lost her family and was cursed, Johan had notified her of their breakup through a letter.

Being abandoned by the person she most wanted to rely on and be comforted by was a shock she never wanted to experience again. The grief of losing her family and rage toward Marbas were so overwhelming that the tiny bit of resentment she had toward Johan was quickly forgotten. Still, for a while, it had been so hard she wanted to rip out every memory she’d built with him from her mind.

Eden let out a long sigh that rose from deep inside her. She had no idea how things had ended up this way.

The volunteer she’d never asked for ended up becoming a burden. To be accompanied by the ex-boyfriend who had turned away from her during her most critical time. This commission didn’t feel right from the very beginning.

***

The servant Viscount Raymond assigned led Eden’s party to the residential area at the center of his territory. It seemed a place where commoners mainly lived, with houses packed tightly in the alley. They were almost destroyed, barely retaining their shape.

“Looks like demons already swept through here.”

Eden looked around as she got off the carriage. The corpses strewn on the street weren’t unfamiliar. About seven years ago, a similar disaster had occurred in her village.

Recalling that memory was always unpleasant. She had seen countless corpses working as a Hunter, but it had been a while since she had seen damage severe enough to wipe out an entire village like this.

“They say it’s still lingering nearby and hasn’t left the scene. A resident who escaped after being captured made the report.”

“Wait. Captured? Are you saying the demons didn’t immediately devour the hostages but saved them for later?”

“Saved them… rather than that, it seems they never intended to devour them in the first place. From what the resident heard them muttering, they seemed to be planning to move them somewhere.”

What the hell is this nonsense? The idea that demons neither devoured nor killed humans was as absurd as a beggar ignoring food right in front of them.

“Why would they bother doing that? Are they storing them in some warehouse to snack on when they need to?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure about that either…”

The servant stammered and broke into cold sweat. Well, what was the point of asking a human about a demon’s thoughts? Those vicious bastards had wicked minds that should never be understood, and could never be understood.

“So that means the demons have hostages with them…”

Eden reflexively turned to look at Johan behind her. Eden specialized in killing demons, she had absolutely no talent for rescuing people. Aside from the exception of Bezel, she hadn’t particularly rescued anyone.

Since demons enjoyed slaughter so much, rather than keeping humans as hostages, they usually devoured or killed them all.

This kind of role suited Holy Knights better than Hunters. She thought being accompanied by her ex-boyfriend would just distract her and interfere with the commission, but unexpectedly, it seemed like it might be a big help.