The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 18

Several days after completing the “Search for the Cat in the Capital’s Central Streets” quest, I found myself in deep thought.

I reminisced about when I was worried about earning enough for the family’s food expenses.

Kano placed a pot of stew in front of me for dinner.

“Don, our neighbors shared some vegetables with us, so tonight’s dinner is vegetable stew. By the way, the cost of tonight’s meal for the four of us is just two copper coins. You don’t have to worry so much about money; we can make it through,” she said.

“Kano, that’s not what I’m worried about. It’s about the job offer we’ve been proposed,” I responded.

“A job offer? That’s wonderful! I’ve been quite free these days, so please assign me to the task. I’ll do my best!” she exclaimed eagerly.

“It’s difficult to entrust this job to you,” I hesitated.

Kano tilted her head in confusion, then served the stew to Sani and Nina.

“Difficult? It’s not something like searching for a cat, is it? How much does it pay?” she inquired.

“For starters, the referral fee is thirty silver coins,” I mentioned.

“Wow, thirty coins? So, three silver coins, right? That’s amazing! We should take on this job!” she said excitedly.

“Kano, not thirty copper coins. It’s thirty silver coins,” I clarified.

Kano stared blankly at me. “Thirty silver coins…?”

After a moment, her astonishment filled the room. “There must be some mistake! Who’s trying to scam Don? What kind of job is it, anyway?”

“I was directly requested by Sofia Gracier, the madam of the high-end brothel ‘La Bohème’ in Pornai, to dispatch bouncers.” 

Kano’s expression turned to one of shock. 

“A request from the famous Sofia Gracier?”

“You know of Sofia Gracier as well?” 

“Of course! She’s so renowned that minstrels sing about her. How did you come to know her?” she wondered.

I glanced briefly at Nina, who sat silently. Since waking up, she has seemed a bit tired and still looked dazed.

“It was by chance during our cat search in the capital. It seems the other party mistook us for an up-and-coming powerful dark guild after seeing Nina’s abilities,” I explained briefly to Kano. With each word, Kano grew more astonished, while Sani was thrilled.

“Is Nina a Demon Lord!?”

Nina patted Sani on the head. “Sani, I’m just a vessel, not the Demon Lord.”

The meal began with a customary “itadakimasu,” but Kano seemed as troubled as I was throughout the dinner.

“Don could certainly play the role of a bodyguard, but there’s a limit to how long he can change his appearance. If it were to be discovered that a former Holy Knight is working as a bouncer at a brothel, it would certainly become a hot topic… And the Gambino Family wouldn’t stay quiet about it either. What should we do?”

“Ah, as much as La Bohème has been an independent brothel from the Dark Guild until now, Pornai is the Gambino Family’s territory. They’re not going to like it. Then there’s also the issue with the Holy Knight Order.”

“The Holy Knight Order?”

I relayed the story I heard from Sofia.

“Recently, the commander of the Holy Knight Order, Cecil, seems to have suddenly visited Pornai for an investigation. It’s unthinkable for the Saintess to investigate Pornai directly. The aim is clear. I think the story has reached Cecil.”

Sofia said she had kept it quiet, but it’s entirely possible that Nina’s unique skill had leaked and reached the Holy Knight Order. For now, I would prefer to stay by Nina’s side in the Loser’s District.

We can’t take on the job of being La Bohème’s bouncers. I’m thinking of turning down this request. When I conveyed this, Kano stood up and said,

“No, opportunities like this are rare! There must be some way! Like welcoming someone suitable into the family!”

“But unless it’s someone with significant abilities, it won’t work,” the other party suggested. An ideal candidate would be a powerful heretic with a criminal record, but such a person isn’t easy to find.

Kano and I were discussing back and forth when Nina raised her hand.

“Don, the Demon Lord says he wants to speak.”

At those words, the room fell silent.

“That, Nina, I want to clarify something. Your skill temporarily allows you to lend your body to the Demon Lord?”

Nina nodded slightly.

“So, it’s Nina herself now, not the Demon Lord.”

Nina nodded again.

“Then, what do you mean the Demon Lord wants to speak?”

“I can talk to the Demon Lord even without activating my skill. The Demon Lord has been asleep but has been awake since a while ago and listening to our conversation.”

With this new information, my head was about to explode. Faced with an unimaginable skill, I couldn’t keep up.

Confused, I asked, “So, what does he say, the Demon Lord?”

Without changing her expression, Nina solemnly relayed the Demon Lord’s words.

“Many Demon Lords await the hero’s growth in vain and thus are defeated. I am different. My motto is, ‘The best defense is a good offense.’ For my family, I will annihilate the opposing forces. This settles it. Hahahaha.”

What’s with the hahahaha. A bouncer isn’t supposed to deal with these so-called enemy forces; if it’s about the Gambinos, they’re not an opponent we can handle. If Demon Lord Manina continues to fight without sleep, he will likely win overwhelmingly.

Just as I was about to conclude that we should refuse, the mansion’s front door was loudly knocked on. Sani said, “Who could it be?” and went to the door. It was understood that Sani would handle the front door.

Soon after, a boy’s voice that I recognized from somewhere could be heard.

“Sani, let the former Holy Knight know! I’ve got a request for him!”

Then Seneca entered the room, holding a basket with a cat covered in scratches.

“Brother! I kicked Fatty Pitt’s butt for bullying the residents! And I tried helping with the cat search, too. Is the cat you were looking for in here?”

I was about to tell him the cat search was long resolved when I clapped my hands.

“Seneca! I have a job for you!”