The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 9

“Boom! Good morning!”

The next morning, as I slept, I suddenly felt a soft warmth on my entire face.

Opening my eyes, it seemed I had been roughly woken up by Sani, Kano’s sister, hugging my face. Sani said while rubbing her cheek against mine.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Don. I was worried because Kano said she might be gone tomorrow!”

“What time is it now? It’s still early, isn’t it?”

“It’s six! I woke up early because of the nice smell from last night’s dinner!”

Sani jumped onto my shoulder as I yawned and tried to get up from bed.

“Sani likes high places!”

“Oh, so Sani has great athletic abilities like Kano.”

Carrying Sani on my shoulders, we went to the hall where Kano was already up, boiling water on a magic stone stove.

“Good morning, Don. I’ll make tea now.”

With a cheerful smile, as I saw last night, Kano had ancient characters floating above her head. And inevitably, my eyes were drawn to the words (By royal decree: sexual intercourse, marriage, enslavement permitted).

Truly, heretic skills are overwhelmingly against morality. Regardless of royal decree or whatever, if I had relations with such a beautiful girl using such power, I’d be no different from Prince Raymond, who uses royal power to bed women.

Thinking such, Kano tilted her head. “You seem troubled. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“No, it’s okay! Don’t worry about it. By the way, you’re an early riser too, huh?”

“There’s a task today, so I got up early.”

“A task? What is it? I’ll help.”

Before Kano could answer, Sani, messing with my hair, said.

“It’s finding a cat! Kano and Sani are experts at finding cats!”

“Finding a cat?”

Kano explained that the person who requested the cat search was a resident of the Loser’s District, offering two copper coins as a reward. I sat Sani down on a chair and asked.

“Is there any other task?”

Kano placed a steaming cup in front of me.

“That’s the only task for today.”

“Only one task worth two copper coins.”

Living in this old ruin doesn’t cost us in housing, but just for food, two copper coins are quite tight. To have a decent meal, we’d need at least one silver coin daily, meaning ten copper coins. Despite their positivity, Kano and Sani have been living a tough life. Heretics can’t belong to the official guild nor get employed at ordinary shops, so life is tough. That means the same goes for me, a newbie heretic.

“But you’re not thin, so you don’t steal food, only medicine. With Kano’s tailing and scouting abilities, it would seem easy.”

Kano stood proud.

“Of course. Stealing medicine for those in need is an act of charity, but stealing food for ourselves would be theft.”

“Both are thefts, but let’s leave it at that.”

Anyway, this is a dead end. My savings from my knight days are limited, and we must take on bigger quests soon.

“So, the first step as the Don of the Michino Family is cat searching?”

After breakfast, we searched for the cat in the Loser’s District.

It was early morning, so the streets were quiet, but many cats were grooming themselves here and there. Finding a specific cat among them seemed harder than I imagined.

As the day brightened and people emerged, vendors spread wilted turnips and carrots along the roadside. Looking afar, the royal castle bathed in the morning sun. Just a few days ago, I would have been departing for morning patrol from a garrison near the castle, clad in white platinum armor. Strange how things change.

Occasionally running into Kano and Sani, it seemed they hadn’t found the cat either.

“Based on experience, it’s rare for them to stray far from the Loser’s District, but I’ll check with Sani.”

“I’ll keep looking around this district a bit longer. I want to get a good grasp of its layout.”

Thus, Kano and Sani went one way, and I continued my search, feeling uncomfortable.

It felt as if someone was following me, not sneakily but blatantly, as I turned to see a young boy blatantly following me.

Quickening my pace, I suddenly turned into a dark alley, greeted by the smell of decay and a sleeping drunkard. The deeper I went, the more palpable the desolation of the Loser’s District became.

After turning twice, I stopped and held my breath, hearing faint footsteps approaching. I seized the moment to grab the follower.

“What do you want? Seneca Forest.”

Seneca’s eyes widened.

“Such agility. I thought so yesterday, but you’re no ordinary man?”

“You’re not either.”

Looking down, I saw Seneca holding a slender knife, barely missing being stabbed due to my quick reaction. A skilled knife wielder.

“What’s your aim?”

Without answering, Seneca tried to slash me with his knife, which I dodged with light steps while keeping an eye on the sleeping drunkard.

For a while, I dodged Seneca’s attacks. Capturing him would be as simple as a knight, but now, as a civilian, I preferred not to engage. I raised my voice.

“Why are you targeting me? Speak!”

Seneca stopped.

“It’s for the bounty. Fatty Pitt said he’d pay a bounty to anyone who could hurt you and drive you out of town.”

“Fatty Pitt? Who’s that?” I pondered momentarily, recalling the imposing yet feeble man I met yesterday. A nuisance, indeed. “And how much is this bounty?”

“One silver coin.”

I was disheartened. One silver coin, a day’s meal as a bounty, was laughably low.

Just then, Seneca’s hair began to stand on end.

“I bear no grudge against you, but I need the money.”

(He’s activating his heretic skill for a mere silver coin…)

Reluctantly, I drew my long sword. “I’ll try not to hurt you too much, but if you get injured, it’s not my fault.”