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

Sneaking into the grand stone castle in the capital proved surprisingly smooth. Having memorized not only the layout of the castle but also the guards’ patrol shifts, we managed to reach the underground area without any trouble.

Above all, Kano’s abilities were indispensable. The “Shadow Walk” skill, in particular, was remarkable. Once activated, this skill turns the entire party invisible, a stealth ability ensuring that not even Holy Knights would notice us should we accidentally run into them.

However, one thing did surprise me. Kano was unaware of the existence of this skill.

“Can I do something like this?!”

Having used her skill to become invisible, Kano expressed her astonishment.

“Since when have I been able to use such an ability?”

“No, no, you must have already had the skill when we met.”

The skill of King of Heretics allows me to appraise the abilities of those who swear loyalty to me. The skill names above Kano’s head should have been identical since we first met. Currently, Kano’s acquired skills are as follows:

Kano Rainwood

Race: Elf

Heretic Skill: Hawk’s Eye Thief

Sub Skills: Reconnaissance, Stealth, Lockpicking

Hidden Skills: Shadow Walk, Silent Voice

It seems hidden skills are abilities the person is unaware of until they see the appraisal results for the first time.

“With the Silent Voice skill, our voices won’t be heard by those around us either. I might be more useful than I thought!”

“Ah, initially, we would have needed to steal a set of Holy Knight’s armor, but with this skill, we can directly make our way to the treasury.”

So far, thanks to dodging the knights’ shifts, we’ve only encountered a few of them. If we can quickly move from the first underground floor where we are now to the third floor where the treasury is, our success rate for this quest will skyrocket.

The surroundings became even darker as we descended to the second basement level.

The stone castle, true to its name, is made of giant stones. Hundreds of years ago, countless dwarves meticulously carved a massive stone mountain to create the original form of the current castle. While the upper levels where the royal family lives are almost artistic in their ornate design, the deeper underground levels are more akin to natural caves. The light from the torches attached to the walls guides us through the passageways, making it feel like monsters might appear at any moment.

As we hurried through the dark path, Kano’s voice echoed in my head, “Let’s stop. Someone is coming towards us.”

True to her words, a Holy Knight holding a torch approached us with clattering footsteps in the darkness, seemingly unaware of our presence as he passed by.

I wondered if the patrol shifts had changed since my time as I resumed walking, only for another Holy Knight to pass by us again.

Through the Silent Voice ability, Kano said, “As expected, the closer we get to the treasury, the more knights there seem to be.”

“Ah, that treasury contains artifacts of historical value but isn’t considered very important by the royal family, so normally, security isn’t too tight.”

“What does that mean?”

“It seems like the security has changed since we started.”

The stone castle is equipped with numerous magical sensors. It appears that our intrusion was detected by these sensors without our knowledge, leading to an increase in patrolling Holy Knights. However, this was within our expectations.

“At the moment, it seems only the lower-ranking knights are being deployed, so they won’t be able to see through Kano’s skills. However, if Cecil-sama and other high-ranking knights were to come down here, we would be in big trouble, but normally that wouldn’t happen.”

“What would happen if Cecil-sama were to come down here?”

“That’s clear. Our quest would be over. We’d be captured and sent for a heretic inquisition. Well, I think it’s safe to say Cecil wouldn’t bother with capturing intruders. That’s a job for the lower ranks.”

We continued to see several knights, but they passed by without noticing us. Although the number of knights had increased, our intrusion didn’t seem significant, and there was no sense of tension. Kano and I smoothly reached the third basement level, where the treasury was located.

Upon reaching the third basement level, there was complete darkness without any light. We had no choice but to move forward in the darkness, relying on our senses, when suddenly we heard voices and stopped.

Although we couldn’t see anything in the darkness, it was clear there were knights ahead. The familiar voice that reached our ears soon brought an unpleasant face to mind. It was undoubtedly Deputy Captain Nadale talking to someone.

“Have we still not found the special heretic, Nina Nightsky?” Nadale spoke.

“The higher-ups are also pressuring us to find her quickly.”

“Yes, we know she headed towards the Loser’s District that day, but nothing beyond that.”

Nadale irritably said, “All because of that stubborn sister, our plans have gone awry.”

“Such a foolish woman. If she had simply complied with our demands, she wouldn’t have had to die. Has the captain noticed anything?”

“The captain believes Nina Nightsky is involved in the sister’s murder.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go back up and check if that lower-ranking knight has been blabbering about Leon Stein. We absolutely cannot let Cecil Wave and Leon Stein meet. If necessary, we’ll have to eliminate Bumpy Woods.”

Then, footsteps were heard approaching us.

We involuntarily tensed up, fearing detection, but Nadale, holding a torch, passed by without giving any sign of noticing us. After a while, silence enveloped us again.

I was confused. I didn’t understand what Nadale was talking about. Why did Nadale know of Nina’s existence? More importantly, what did he mean by not letting me meet Cecil?

Regardless, our current priority was to complete the quest. As we took a step forward, the entire space lit up as if illuminated, and not just that. The effect of Kano’s Shadow Walk wore off, and we became visible.

With a frightened face, Kano said, “Um, the skill’s effect suddenly wore off…”

I looked around. It wasn’t just that it had become brighter. Every shadow had disappeared, filling the area with an unnatural light. It was undoubtedly a powerful holy spell.

Could it be Cecil? No, that couldn’t possibly be, I thought, when Kano’s pointed ears sharpened even further.

“Um, Don. It feels like someone powerful is approaching us…”

I had noticed it, too. I felt a crushing pressure throughout my body, reminiscent of when I saw Cecil on Triumph Street. Why would Cecil directly involve herself in such a trivial matter?

Faced with an unexpected situation, I quickly considered our options and glanced at two knights around the corner.

“We’re going back to the original plan. We’ll steal armor from those knights, retrieve the targeted holy relic, and escape from this place while wearing the armor. That’s the only way.”