No Hero

Volume 8, The Beginning NO.3: The Purest Criminal

Volume 8, The Beginning NO.3: The Purest Criminal

Translated by Taffygirl13 (proofread by Trespasserby; C/E edited by lucathia)

“It seems to me that, while the young master was originally very concerned about his body having undergone a significant amount of modification, it began to worry him even more ever since he found out about the issue of his life expectancy.”

Upon hearing these words, I turned my head to glare at An Te Qi. If it weren’t for this overtalkative bastard, how would Ah Ye have found out about his life expectancy issue so early? Although Ah Ye had asked the question first, couldn’t this guy have just dodged the topic?

“Sun Emperor, if you found out that Dr. An Te Qi was acting half-heartedly toward the young master, what would you do?”

Kill him!

Kyle sighed, and I seemed to hear a mutter along the lines of “keeping company with a lord is like keeping company with a tiger.” Before I had the chance to order for the secretary to be dragged out for a beating, he spoke up once again. “But ever since you hired that butler, the young master appears to have been mentioning his own modifications less, as if he no longer minds as much.”

That was indeed the case. Why else would I be willing to put up with that damned vampire by Ah Ye’s side! Ah Ye causes enough trouble by himself. There’s no need for another one—For shame! What am I saying? Ah Ye is a lovable and sensible child, he would never cause…cause…

“Sun Emperor.” Kyle comforted, “Regardless of what thoughts regarding the young master you are having right now, dispel them! Overthinking will cause you to age prematurely.”

I narrowed my eyes dangerously and asked in suspicion, “You don’t normally try to intervene with Ah Ye’s matters. If it weren’t for my orders, you would avoid it if you could. Why are you suddenly bringing this up voluntarily today?”

Kyle honestly responded, “Because I feel like you want to do something after hearing Dr. An Te Qi’s report, Sun Emperor, and it makes me uneasy. For the sake of preventing an imminent catastrophe, I think intervening a bit is worth it.”

“What imminent catastrophe?! Anything I would want to do is for Ah Ye’s bene—what is that expression on your face right now!”

He lowered his head and quietly answered, “But Sun Emperor, the young master will be upset.”

“You don’t even know what I was planning on doing, yet you are confidently saying that he will be upset—And what is that face this time?!

“Kyle, you’re really becoming more impudent now. The fact that I placed you in an important position does not mean that you are necessary!” I stated frigidly, “Call Bai Lian Yue here. Starting from today, you are to go to another branch!”

Kyle not only remained fearless, he even seemed extremely worried as he replied, “You are transferring me, Sun Emperor? What exactly are you planning—”

I slammed my hand down on the table and roared, “I just said, get out this instant!”

Kyle sighed. “Understood.” He immediately began to collect his documents, laptop, and other items.

Before he walked out of the office, he turned around to look at me in concern to say, “Sun Emperor, before you do anything, please think about the sight of the young master crying.”

“…Scram!”

Just as I was thinking of bringing Briar back, my cell phone rang once again. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that I answered at least ten to thirty calls daily.

The moment I picked up the call, Ezart’s voice came from the other end. “Butler, Ah Ye just received information about a criminal that escaped from P29. He asked me and Nitewalker to watch over Luo Ye, so I couldn’t follow Ah Ye there.”

Receiving a criminal’s information was nothing out of the ordinary. In the past, the young master would often have me and Nitewalker watch Luo Ye as well while he went out searching for the criminal himself—Now that I think back, perhaps the young master was actually having Nitewalker watch over me and Luo Ye.

“The bodyguards all said that the criminal is the one that wrecked havoc in Sunset City before, and that the guy had made Ah Ye act really strangely in the past. They don’t want Ah Ye to face that person alone, so they want you to follow.”

The criminal that can control people with his words? If I recall correctly, Solitary Butterfly said that his name is Josh. If he has appeared, does that mean Lieder is also currently in Daystar City? Could he still be scheming something against the young master?

“Just go along and see. You’re the only one who can secretly follow Ah Ye anyways! The bodyguards know Ah Ye’s location. They said something like sending the coordinates to your cell phone like before.”

“Understood. I will go and shadow the young master—” Just then, I suddenly spotted Briar and hurriedly said, “I must first escort Briar back.”

“No need, Charles-g?. Ah Ye-g? isn’t exactly slow. If you bring me back first, you really won’t be able to catch up.” Briar smartly added, “Have Daddy come pick me up. I can go back to the supermarket and wait for him there.”

That was indeed a possibility. Regardless of Daystar City’s true appearances, the public security seemed quite decent. The supermarket was brightly lit, and many people flowed in and out. Even if a girl was there alone, she would likely not be in any danger.

But I thought that Bri would make a fuss about following me. After all, did she not come all the way to Daystar City to follow the young master?

I asked in slight concern, “Bri, you are not by any chance planning on secretly following me, are you?”

Briar stared at me with wide eyes and replied in disbelief, “Charles-g?, how could I possibly follow you without you knowing? I don’t even think Poseidynne could do that! For that matter, even Ah Ye-g? said that he has no way of tailing you!”

That is true. I nearly flushed at the stupidity of my own question. However, tracking the young master down was the most important task now; there was no time to feel ashamed.

Briar urged, “Charles-g?, go quickly. I hate that criminal since he made Ah Ye-g? turn very weird last time. Don’t let Ah Ye-g? chase after that person by himself.”

“Understood. I will head out immediately.”

Although I said this, I still hid in the darkness for a bit. Once I saw Briar walk over to the supermarket entrance, I finally turned and left.

Upon checking the navigation on my cell phone, I discovered that the young master was not far from me. His speed was not that fast, so he did not appear to be using any means of transportation.

I spun around to scale up the walls and began to sprint horizontally across the walls above the fourth floors. This was also something that the young master had taught me. The surveillance cameras would rarely capture the walls of the middle floors, since nobody could advance quickly in such a place… At least, not in the past. As a result, it would be much more difficult to get filmed in this area if one walked this way.

This knowledge was extremely useful for a vampire. The young master needed to use various methods to walk in places like this, such as crawling, climbing, grabbing, or leaping forwards. However, I could directly step onto the walls and sprint as I did on flat ground.

It did not take much time before I arrived at the young master’s vicinity. According to the phone’s indication, I was around fifty to a hundred meters away. After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to turn off my cell phone again before looking around for the young master’s whereabouts.

The area was an extremely empty and spacious park rather than a building. While it was not completely deserted, there were not many people flowing in and out, so it would likely not be difficult to locate the young master.

The park had many shadows cast from the trees. Now that the sky was already darkening, I could simply walk underneath the shade as the most effective method of concealment. Despite this being the case, I searched for a long while to no avail, and began to consider the possibility of turning my phone back on to confirm the exact location…

“G?g?, could you help me pick up that ball?”

I raised my head to see several children standing next to a fountain, staring at a small ball inside the pool with sorrowful expressions. The person they had pleaded for help from was a young adult. He turned around to stretch out his arm and fished the ball up with a single sweep, passing it over to the children. They happily left without voicing a word of thanks.

The young adult did not seem to mind and returned to his seat next to the park’s fountain. He wore a hooded T-shirt. Although he pulled the hood down to cover the majority of his face, I could still glimpse the thick, black-rimmed glasses he wore. Both of his hands were stuck into his pockets, giving him a laid-back appearance.

There was no sign indicating this young adult had any relation to the young master, but I still recognized it was him with a single glance.

His straight back exuded a lonesome yet strong ambience. Even in Daystar City, he still attracted people’s attentions. The young master truly was ill-suited for concealment. All those passing by could not help but secretly shoot him a glance.

Perhaps it was not by coincidence, but by fate that the young master has taken the path of becoming a model?

I approached with slow steps. The young master had previously mentioned that I needed to move within ten meters distance for him to detect my presence.

With belief in the young master’s words, I slowly moved until I was at the boundary of approximately ten meters. Since I already knew that the young master had arrived here to search for a criminal, I had to move as close to him as possible; if I stood too far, I would not be able to help the young master in a timely manner if anything went wrong.

With absolutely silent footsteps, smooth breathing, and an unwavering mindset, I shifted over to the shade of a tree that was not far from the young master’s side. He does not seem to be moving, which should mean that I have not been discovered…perhaps?

I calmly studied the other person, now even more certain that it was the young master. He had a hood for concealment; however, his figure and the curve of his chin…were things that I would never mistake! I had even used a surgical blade to cut into DSII, who shared an external appearance identical to the young master, so my recognition of the young master’s appearance could not be any sharper.

Why is the young master sitting next to the fountain? His posture did not shift in the slightest. Despite his eyes not being visible, his head did not turn in any direction to look around. He was not searching for something, but looking at something…

I followed the direction of his gaze toward the sandbox where the children played. There was a silhouette that appeared to belong to an adult rather than a child—It’s him!

Josh.

He was crouched next to a sandcastle in the sandbox. From a normal perspective, an adult playing in that type of sandbox was an extremely peculiar and conspicuous sight. There were quite a few children playing around in the other park facilities, but Josh was alone in the sandbox. Judging by the expressions of the parents around the area, it seemed they also harbored some misgivings regarding Josh.

The young master quietly watched Josh. After a period of time, the sky finally turned pitch-dark, and all the roads lit up. The parents in the area all gradually took their children and left. When there were no people remaining, he finally moved.

The young master walked over to the sandbox, silently standing still. No matter how immersed Josh was in playing, it was impossible not to notice the young master.

Josh raised his head, his expression initially one of utter confusion. However, as he was crouching and looking up, he seemed to catch a glimpse of an angle that the hooded clothing could not conceal, and that single look caused him to leap up. With a finger pointed at the young master, he stuttered “You, you…” repeatedly, unable to complete his sentence.

The young master calmly responded, “Sit and don’t move.”

I was not certain of what Josh had seen, but his face was as white as paper as he obediently followed the command. For once, he turned his head away, not daring to look at the young master.

“Is Lieder also here?” The young master had evidently been wondering this, too.

Josh started, then hurriedly waved his hands as he responded, “I don’t know—I really have no idea!”

The young master still stood in the same spot. However, Josh panicked further and began to explain as if his life was at stake.

“Lieder wanted me to just stay here. He didn’t say where he was. He said you would come find me, b-but he also said that you were the only one who could make sure I wouldn’t get caught again. So he forbad me from running, telling me to listen to him and wait for you to arrive here.”

The young master tilted his head at this and said, “He wants me to kill you and eliminate future danger for all eternity.”

Josh was dumbstruck for a moment. He then shouted, “As if! Lieder isn’t that kind of person!”

The young master coldly chuckled.

Josh appeared to be too afraid to retort to the young master. He spoke with great grievance, “Although Lieder is very vicious, he would never deceive me. He said that if you found me, I should inform you that he wants to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” The young master’s tone was flat, seemingly not very interested. Perhaps he had already resolved to erase the prospective troubles forever.

Since the beginning, the position that the young master had adopted was to capture Josh and bring him back to P29. After Josh utilized me to attack the young master, the young master had been furious and had been wanting to kill the other person for a long time. After that incident, Lieder had later used Josh to capture me and the young master, then went a step further to harm the master…

Truthfully, I already felt it extremely unexpected that the young master had not killed Josh the moment the latter had been located. The young master never dawdled—perhaps he simply wanted to inquire about Lieder first.

Josh nodded repeatedly as he answered, “Lieder, h-he’s had this strange power ever since he came back from exploring the ancient tomb. He wanted me to tell you that he is willing to tell you what power he got from the ancient tomb in exchange for my freedom.”

When Josh said the word “freedom,” extreme longing showed in his expression. He was terrified of the young master, yet the person he was appealing to for his freedom was also the young master.

The young master stood up straight. With his hands in his pockets, he lowered his head to ask Josh, “What kind of power did Lieder obtain?”

Josh was overjoyed at hearing this. He quickly replied, “As long as Lieder is able to see the entire process of someone using their ability to its full extent, he can replicate it to use himself, like my ability to make others listen to me. B-but it’s not as great as he imagined, since he can only retain one ability at a time. If he wants to change abilities, he needs to give up the one he previously possessed.”

As I listened to this, I suddenly realized that the young master had not actually agreed to the exchange. Perhaps…

“Copying other people’s abilities?” The young master murmured to himself. He let out a deep sigh as he said, “These special abilities really are troublesome.”

“Y-You aren’t going to catch me anymore, right?” Josh inquired apprehensively before frantically adding, “Crap. I forgot to say something. Lieder said this was really important, and that I had to say it or else you would definitely not let me go.”

The young master remained silent, but he did not make any move to kill the other either.

Josh raised a hand and earnestly stated, “I swear that unless I’m in a life-or-death crisis, I will never use my ability again!”

The young master did not respond.

“I just want to be an ordinary person! Lieder even helped me find a job as a school guard. I’ve already worked there for quite a few days already. E-Everyone really likes me!”

Seeing that the young master still did not reply, Josh began to panic even more, to the point where tears were nearly about to fall from his eyes. “Really, I won’t ever use my ability again. I-I don’t want to be locked up anymore! P29’s people are horrible, always sticking tubes into my body and making me take all kinds of drugs. Getting stabbed with tubes really hurts, and consuming the drugs always makes me feel terrible. Please don’t drag me back there, I beg of you!”

I inwardly sighed. Josh truly was as innocent as Solitary Butterfly had stated. At the moment, the young master was likely thinking of handling Josh by directly killing him, rather than bringing him back. After all, the young master currently had to watch after Luo Ye, film a movie, and continue chasing after other criminals. Unfortunately, he might not have any mental capacity to watch Josh.

The young master finally opened his mouth to ask, “They used you as an experiment?”

Josh stared at him blankly for a moment. Then, he answered with a perplexed expression, “I just remember them saying something like exploiting my ability, not experimenting on me.”

The young master let out a bitter laugh—At least, I think it’s a bitter laugh? I honestly had no way to confirm, as the young master rarely made any sound similar to a “bitter laugh.” As “Ah Ye,” he would never do so, while as “Dark Sun,” it was a possibility. However, most of the time, his face was void of expression as Dark Sun. Or, when he was threatening criminals, his expression would turn frigid and his tone would carry his wrath.

Why is the young master letting out a bitter laugh?

Josh wrung his fingers together anxiously but did not dare to continue speaking.

After a long period of time passed, the young master finally spoke, “Deal accepted. I will completely erase your files from P29. But remember, you can only use your ability in a life-or-death crisis. In addition, whether it truly is a critical situation like that is up to me to decide, so it’s best you never use it at all.”

Josh let out a breath of relief. I was somewhat astonished that the young master had unexpectedly chosen to let Josh live. Although the young master possessed two entirely different faces, he would typically act more like “Dark Sun” in situations such as these—merciless and direct.

The young master coldly stated, “Your freedom is limited. You can only move around Daystar City. You must never leave this place.”

“All right! As long as you don’t kill me, anything is fine!” Josh agreed, then after a moment’s hesitation, asked, “I can’t go out for a vacation? I was planning on eventually going out to find Little Butterfly—”

A pistol pressed against Josh’s forehead. Aside from the hand holding the gun, the young master’s stance did not change in the slightest. His other hand was still stuck into his pocket as before.

“The moment you take a single step outside of Daystar City, I’ll blast your head off! I recommend you don’t even go to the outskirts of the city. If you cross what I believe is the city’s boundaries, I will still kill you!”

Josh’s eyes welled up with tears as he frantically nodded.

The young master sharply stowed the gun away, and without any intention of fighting, immediately turned to leave.

“Are y-you really Ri Xiang Ye?”

The young master stopped in his tracks.

“Are Dark Sun and Ri Xiang Ye really the same person?” Josh asked disbelievingly, “Lieder said that Ri Xiang Ye is extremely kind-hearted and would agree to the deal, letting me live. But y-you… Are you actually Ri Xiang Ye’s twin? You just share the same face?”

The young master remained quiet for a while. His head was lowered, and with his hood, I was unable to see his expression. Before long, he began to walk away again without giving any sort of response.

Josh, the young master truly did let you live.

I only dared to pursue the young master once I adjusted my emotions so that they returned to their stable and steady state. Fortunately, the young master did not walk quickly, at a pace that made it seem as if he was merely strolling. He did not seem in a rush to return.

Is the young master not concerned about the Sun Emperor killing Mr. Luo Ye? I was somewhat puzzled.

I could only follow behind him as he walked from the park onto the street. Although there were quite a few people on the roads, I was worried about the surveillance cameras capturing me. As I walked, I lowered my head and suddenly realized that the young master’s choice to wear clothing with a hood was truly the most appropriate decision.

When I saw the young master stop to glance at the items in a shop’s window display, I quickly darted into the neighboring shop, and while the staff was not paying attention, grabbed a black cap—of course, I did not forget to toss some money onto the counter.

With the cap on, I felt significantly more at ease, especially since the cap’s design had the brim stooping very low, allowing it to cover most of the face… Wait, where is the young master?

I glanced around but was unable to locate him. I lost him? Did he return to the hotel? Should I also go back—Calm down! Do not panic. The young master was just looking at the store’s display, perhaps…

I walked over to the display window and peered inside and really did catch sight of the young master. He was currently standing at the counter to pay for his purchase, and he now wore an additional army-green windbreaker that was roughly thigh-length. The measurements appeared to be quite a few sizes over, which made his figure seem wider. This made it even more difficult to recognize the young master.

As expected, the young master is thorough. I should buy one later, too.

Before the young master exited, I quickly concealed myself into the darkness and watched him pass right in front of me, feeling somewhat anxious as the distance between us was only around five steps. This was much lower than the ten steps that the young master had mentioned.

As the young master walked by, I counted to myself. Only once he walked over ten steps away did I begin to follow. However, the moment I moved, he abruptly froze—I have been discovered!

A second later, the young master began to advance forward again. However, he pulled out a cell phone from his pocket to answer it. So it was actually the phone ringing?

I sighed in relief and continued onwards.

“What?” The young master suddenly cried out in alarm. “What is Bri doing here?”

Bri? Who is the one that called? Were Mr. Bramble and the others discovered?

The young master’s shout was not small—while in Sunset City it would be insignificant considering how there were howling youths everywhere on the streets, nobody on the streets of Daystar City shouted. While the street itself was still noisy, several people still shot him glances when he cried out.

It seemed as if he also noticed that he had been too loud. He lowered his voice, and since I could only hear intermittent words, I was forced to summon the courage to approach closer. Then, I turned around and feigned looking at the coat on display. I was currently less than even five steps away.

“…Poseidynne is also here? You guys… Where exactly did Bri disappear?”

Bri disappeared?

“You, you guys are so infuriating!” The young master’s footsteps grew more and more frantic as he ground out through clenched teeth, “Tell Ezart to drive to the supermarket entrance. Bramble, May, Dell, and Poseidynne are all to go to my room and protect Luo Ye with Nitewalker. And call Melody to tell her to set aside her manager duties. You are all to stay in my room tonight. Aside from you guys, nobody else is allowed to enter, and you are all forbidden from leaving as well! You are not allowed to call room service either!”

Briar has gone missing? She was an intelligent child and would not have run off by herself, which meant she had definitely been taken somewhere… I really should have escorted her back to the hotel!

The young master hung up the phone and immediately began to break into a jog. He now appeared extremely worried. The supermarket was not far; it seemed as if he planned to run there. I swiftly followed behind.

Upon arriving at the supermarket entrance, the young master began to look around. Then, he entered the alley where I had previously waited for Briar. Has he already discovered my presence? Did Mr. Bramble mention me or not?

Not long afterwards, the young master walked out again, his brows tightly furrowed together. I could not tell if he had found any clues.

While he was walking to the supermarket entrance, I darted into the alley from the opposite side. After sneaking a glance at the young master and confirming that he was waiting for Ezart at the door, I made a call.

“Curtis, how many surveillance cameras do you have in Daystar City?”

Curtis immediately replied, “As many as the stars in the sky.”

“The Sun Emperor too?” The young master should have a way to sneak into the Sun Emperor’s surveillance network.

“Yes. While he has already relocated his general headquarters, he should not have removed the cameras that had originally been here. After all, this place is still the largest business metropolis. Even if the headquarters is not in this location, the Sun Emperor would still need to be in control of everything here. Is this explanation to your satisfaction, Family Head?”

“…It is.” However, I felt somewhat apprehensive by suddenly being asked a question in return.

“Then, I hope that you will also provide a satisfactory explanation in return.”

Despite Curtis’s extremely calm tone, I felt as if I was listening to the Sun Emperor’s frigid words. I hurriedly gave a simple description of the course of events. I then reported the supermarket’s name and the surrounding streets as I anxiously asked, “Are you able to see me through the surveillance cameras?”

If Curtis could see me, I feared it meant that the young master could discover me as well.

“Family Head, please wait a moment.” After this statement, his voice grew somewhat distant. “Dong Fang, help me check the surveillance cameras. The street name is…”

Dong Fang? Ah, the butler Dong Fang Lei that I met last time. His efficiency seemed to be quite high, as Curtis replied in the blink of an eye, “We did not see Family Head on the surveillance cameras, but we did see the girl. She left the supermarket and walked into the alley a second time, and never exited again.”

She entered the alley a second time? Why would Bri walk into this alley again?

“Found it.”

“What is it?”

“There is a gate in the middle of the alley. A male wearing a windbreaker brought her inside, then left from another road. A car picked them up.” Curtis sighed in admiration, “We still cannot locate any trace of you, Family Head. Your concealment abilities make me feel quite uneasy.”

“My sincerest apologies…”

“That was a compliment.”

Was it truly?

Curtis voiced, “Family Head, there is no need for concern. I am sure that your young master has also discovered her tracks. He seems to be waiting for a car… and it has arrived.”

What? I instantly looked out and swiftly shut my cell phone.

Indeed, the young master had gotten into a car and was sitting in the front seat. The driver was Ezart. Oh no, what should I do now?

Click.

That sound is… I stared at the trunk that was now open. Ezart even began to press down hard on the gas pedal a few times without moving, as if sending me a message.

Taking the opportunity, I instantly lowered myself and flashed into the trunk before weakly shutting it so as to avoid closing it too loudly and alerting the young master.

“Ezart, hurry up and drive. Make a left after the second traffic light…”

The voice in front gave an indistinct reply. I was currently lying down inside the trunk that was fortunately not overly cramped. When I heard the voices, I made a great effort to shift forward in attempt to hear more clearly.

The young master was flustered and frustrated as he asked, “Why did Bri come to Daystar City? Did you know, too? And you didn’t tell me!”

“Huh? She just got here! I was just about to tell you, and then this happened.”

The young master shouted emotionally, “You should have told me first thing! And how could you have let her go out by herself?!”

“She wanted to go herself, saying that since she was just an ordinary little girl, going to the supermarket would be fine. She said it would be much better than us going, so she went.”

Briar had not been alone. If she had been, I was certain that Mr. Bramble, Poseidynne, or even Dell would never allow her to go. However, the fact that Ezart had said it this way meant that my existence had not yet been exposed.

“Bri, she…” The young master stopped midway, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Ah Ye, is it all right for you to appear so openly? Why don’t we go back and have the others look for her?”

Ezart attempted to divert the topic. Regardless of what he said, letting Briar go the supermarket “alone” was simply too suspicious.

The young master indifferently replied, “It’s fine. The Church already knows my identity. Plus, I called DSII to take a plane over. As long as DSII and I appear at the same time, they won’t be able to accuse me of anything.”

Ezart shook his head as he said, “You can’t always rely on DSII as an alibi. Would people really be unable to guess that DSII is a robot? The streets are filled with people that have body modifications now.”

“They won’t be able to, even with a direct confrontation. DSII possesses all my memories, so he can respond and act exactly how I would. If he did not state that he was DSII, even Luo Chu-g? would likely be unable to tell.”

The young master fell silent for a moment before continuing, “DSII is really weird. Even though he’s controlled by a microchip, his responses are too much like a real human’s. Bàba said that within the near future, there will probably be nobody, including himself, who could ever make a robot this similar to a real human. Back then, G?ge burned all the other microchips and the researchers in a fire in order to cover up the secret of my modifications.”

Burning… even the researchers?

Ezart snorted. “Although your brother can be f***ing excessively heartless, sometimes it really makes sense.”

“But Charles was able to tell,” the young master suddenly said. “Not long after he arrived, he was able to tell that DSII wasn’t me, even before I had told him everything!”

Ezart retorted in exasperation, “You’ve already told me hundreds of times, idiot. Can you please stop constantly flaunting how amazing the butler you found is?”

“Have I said it before…”

“Hundreds of times!”

“Oh, make a right in front.”

The car abruptly made a sharp turn. I exerted a great amount of effort to support myself with all four limbs in order to prevent my head from striking the walls. Ezart’s driving skills were identical to his outward appearance, and it only made me feel more grateful that the young master had found Nitewalker as a chauffer.

“Why are you all silent with that sullen look?”

The young master truly did sound depressed as he asked, “Ezart, what if Bri is hurt?”

“She’s a hostage, and a little girl at that. They won’t hurt her for no reason. If you’re that worried, why not ask Poseidynne to help? I think with regards to looking for people, she would be more useful than me.”

The young master instantly answered, “No way. Poseidynne is a non-human, so having her use her abilities here would give the Church a reason to open war against us.”

Ezart did not appear to mind as he said, “What difference does it make? The Church was looking to pick a fight with you anyways!”

“Picking a fight and opening war are not the same.” The young master’s tone was strict as he stated, “The Church cannot decide whether or not to open war just because of a single person. G?ge is more like a dictator. He can make these decisions by himself. But the Church has many people. Even when it comes to major matters like chasing E.X., not everyone believes that they need to capture him.”

That is indeed true. I had originally investigated these matters in secret without informing E.X. However, I had not imagined that the young master had done so, too.

When it came to hunting, the Church would occasionally keep a close eye on the target and occasionally be very lax, depending on the mindset of the main party involved at the time of the event. This was the reason E.X. could even reside in an ancient castle for a period of time, employing myself and my honorable father as his butlers. It was a great contrast to how he was now constantly migrating around.

However, what remained unchanged was the fact that since the very beginning, they had never given up on pursuing E.X.

“But if any non-humans cause havoc in Daystar City, the Church will not allow it no matter who is the source of influence!” The young master angrily said, “Like the matter when you injected Charles with painkillers and created a disturbance with your fight. If it weren’t for the fact that you two were fighting each other without involving others, and that Charles’s status is more on the special side, the matter would have been very serious!”

“Well, nothing happened in the end anyways!”

The young master let out a big huff. “If Poseidynne appears this time too, and even uses her abilities, the Church would never let her go!” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Right now, it’s best not to use any more non-humans to upset the Church. In the beginning, I had only said that I was bringing Melody and Charles here. Then Nitewalker was added, and now Poseidynne as well…”

“So that’s why you locked them all up in the hotel room? I guess that’s good too. It’ll keep the situation from worsening.”

“It’s already worsening!” The young master cried out loudly, “Why did Mr. Bramble and the others bring Bri too? She isn’t even able to protect herself. It’s so dangerous for her to be here!”

“She was the one that wanted to come.” Ezart said, “You’re too overprotective of your fiancée! If you just toss her to one side and charge into enemy lines all by yourself without even a call to say you’re safe, how could she not worry?”

The young master fell silent for a moment. Then, he weakly vented, “There’s just been too much going on recently. It’s been busier, so I just–just forgot to call.”

Ezart ignored the justification and continued to scold, “Forget Briar, you didn’t even bring your bodyguards. Is there something wrong with your head? What do you see your bodyguards as? Are they protecting you, or are you protecting them? How much more could you be looking down on them?”

“I’m not looking down on Mr. Bramble and the others—”

“You’re definitely looking down on them!” Ezart immediately interrupted. His tone was even indignant as he said, “And the bodyguards are being abandoned at home because following their master is too dangerous. F***ing hell! If I was your bodyguard, I would just quit my job! And why? Because you’d be treating me like a freeloader!”

The young master remained quiet.

“Your terrible trait of trying to carry everything on your shoulders is something that will never change!”

The young master finally opened his mouth to quietly defend, “I did change. I asked you to stay back and help me.”

Ezart’s voice finally softened somewhat upon hearing these words. “All right! I guess you did change a tiny bit.”

“Turn right.”

Another sudden turn. I began to wonder if it was perhaps not a problem with Ezart’s driving skills, but rather an issue with the timing of the young master’s cues.

“Stop.”

The instant the command was voiced, the car was sharply braked. This time, I was extremely certain that the timing of the young master’s prompts was more concerning than Ezart’s driving ability.

After the car’s engine was turned off, I stealthily opened the trunk a crack to see the young master and Ezart leave the car. There seemed to be a hotel in front of us, but with my limited vision, I could only see half of a large entrance. The doors were highly luxurious and not at all lacking in elegance. It was a hotel that was at least four or five stars.

Ezart tossed the car keys at the young valet staff, who furrowed his brows but cheerfully and respectfully inquired, “May I inquire if you are lodging here?”

He was likely expecting a tip for the valet parking. I had the strong urge to dash forward and help the young master pay.

The young master’s back was facing me, making it impossible to see his expression. He replied simply, “Looking for someone.”

The young valet staff unexpectedly started in alarm and hurriedly answered, “Understood, I will help you park your car immediately.” He took the keys and immediately headed over to drive the car… Why is he in such a rush?

With no other option, I could only make a split-second decision to open the trunk and use x-speed to dart backwards, charging past the car lane in front of the hotel and hiding behind a statue decorating the courtyard.

My heart was racing so quickly that it felt as if it would jump straight out of my chest. I made sure to wait several seconds before turning around to glance at the young master just in time to see Ezart spin around and ask the young master, “What do you want to do?”

“They dared to touch my Bri!” The young master’s voice was beyond furious. “No matter who it is, I’m going to make them pay!”