The Demon Hunting Method of the Regressed Inquisitor

Shade (1)

“So, what brings you here? What can you offer? It doesn’t look like you have much money, so are you buying information with information?”

“I’m not that poor… For now, in that direction.”

“Information worth trading?”

“About the orcs, which you must be curious about.”

“Not bad. But we’re more curious about you than the orcs. Your actions are like you fell from the sky. Where have you been until now?”

“I never said I would trade that information.”

There’s not much to say.

Even aside from the long ten years I’ve been away, there’s no information about me.

I literally grew up in the middle of the forest. Now that I’m out in the world, is there any information to be had?

Adding to that, the skills I demonstrated as an Inquisitor this morning.

It’s natural to be curious. I even deliberately showed some of it to make them curious.

The more curious they are about me, the higher my value will rise.

“There was no information about you before you entered the village of Locke. Of course, there are many suspicious characters like you. But when you dealt with the bandit’s main camp, it was shocking.”

“Is there any evidence that I did it?”

“No. I just asked because it seemed like it from the circumstantial evidence.”

Shade is sizing me up.

Moreover, these guys already knew about the existence of the bandits.

Since they were collecting that information, they must have known that the bandits were engaged in human trafficking.

But they took no action. They must have thought they could sell that information later.

“Are you trying to get on my nerves? Shade. It won’t do you any good to fall out with the Order.”

“Of course. We intend to sell information honestly. I want to be upright in front of my daughter.”

Is it because they don’t know much about each other? A strange war of nerves continues.

With each word, they check each other’s reactions.

After a while, a fruitless conversation ensues. Shade shrugs as if annoyed by the series of processes,

At the same time, the leisurely atmosphere changes in an instant.

“But you know.”

It feels like a blade is pressed right below my throat.

Seeing this, it seems that the rumor about him being a former assassin is not just a rumor.

No one else is holding me from behind. Just the change in his demeanor makes me feel a clear sign of death.

“The sword at your waist. It looks like a remarkable sword.”

“I said I wouldn’t talk about it.”

Shade changed his approach.

Despite my clear refusal, he pushed forward.

“Can I see it once? It’s the first time I’ve seen such a remarkable sword.”

“You’re making things very troublesome.”

He seems determined to reveal that I defeated the bandits.

He’s clearly trying to confirm it based on my sword.

Though I say it myself, the swordsmanship taught by my master is intimidating.

He wants to make it clear.

“Fine, I have plenty of time too. But you should remember the price. You’ll definitely suffer a loss.”

“Oh, how scary.”

*     *      *

At the time when Lost was wandering the alleys looking for Shade,

Titan was watering the flowerpot in his room.

Contrary to his fierce appearance, Titan was a boy who loved flowers.

“Hmm, it would be nice if it could bloom beautifully after I’m gone.”

After watering the flowerpot, Titan nodded with a satisfied look and left the room.

After leaving the room, Titan found Linea squatting in front of Lost’s room, listening intently.

“What are you doing? Black fox.”

“Eek?!”

Linea jumped up as if she had committed a crime.

In fact, she was snooping around someone else’s room, so she was indeed guilty.

“Oh, it was Mr. Titan? I was wondering who it was…”

“Lost went out first.”

“I see…”

As soon as Linea realized it was Titan, she began to act confidently as if it didn’t matter.

Even Titan couldn’t help but be exasperated by her brazen attitude.

“Ah, let’s go together.”

“…”

Titan glanced at Linea, who was naturally following him, and then immediately left the inn.

Normally, he would have eaten breakfast by now, but Linea’s presence made him uncomfortable.

‘Annoying.’

To Titan, Linea was an extremely uncomfortable person.

He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking at all.

It was better to deal with Lost, who was obviously plotting something.

With Linea, he couldn’t even be sure if she was plotting something.

“Hmm, what kind of fruit is this?”

Having finished familiarizing himself with the geography of the inn he was staying at, Titan satisfied his curiosity by looking around.

There were many things he couldn’t see in the place he used to live.

“Th-that’s called a pineapple, um, would you like some?”

Of course, for those seeing an orc for the first time, it was nothing short of a disaster.

How could anyone feel at ease with a monstrous creature with a ferocious appearance wandering around?

Unlike wizards or knights, the overwhelming physical presence that was visible to the naked eye amplified that fear.

For ordinary people, visible power was naturally more terrifying than invisible power.

“No, it’s fine.”

Titan calmly put down the fruit called pineapple and toured other shops.

Linea followed him without saying a word.

Unlike at the beginning, there was no trace of fear towards Titan.

Even Lost was somewhat wary when talking to Titan, but Linea wasn’t.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t wary, but she saw Titan as just another person.

“There are roses. And over here, are these cyclamens?”

“Oh, you know that… No, never mind.”

The florist stammered, seemingly shocked by Titan’s extensive knowledge of flowers, which contrasted with his appearance.

“You are quite knowledgeable about flowers?”

“And you don’t seem to have any interest.”

“Ah, I don’t know much about flowers…”

“Not just flowers.”

“……”

“Not a single place we’ve visited has piqued your interest. Is that all? Others fear me, but you don’t. You have no interest at all.”

Titan’s reason for scouting the surroundings wasn’t just to satisfy his curiosity.

He was suspicious of Linea.

Not now, but from the very beginning.

That’s why he never called her by her name.

“You’ve only shown interest in Lost from the start.”

“Well, he’s my savior, isn’t he?”

Linea said with a bright smile.

That smile was so meticulously crafted, it seemed almost artificial.

“By that logic, I should be your savior too, since I personally defeated the bandits?”

“Oh, right. Thank you.”

“Ha!”

She clung to Lost, determined to repay her debt.

But to him, her greeting was just like the other kids’.

Titan wasn’t angry at this blatant discrimination; he found it absurd and laughed.

“What do you see in Lost? Something special that others wouldn’t care about?”

“Well, I don’t really…”

Others might think it was a girl’s pure affection.

But Titan saw it differently.

She was desperately seeking Lost’s attention, almost as if she were terrified.

To call it love would be too deep an emotion to fall into at first meeting.

“Hmm, I see. It doesn’t matter.”

Titan turned his head away from Linnea’s shameless attitude and looked back at the flower pots. He thought he might as well buy one since it came to mind.

“…You don’t see anything in Mr. Lost, do you?”

“I said it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested anymore. It’s Lost’s problem to solve.”

“To be precise, it’s only Mr. Lost that you don’t see anything in.”

“…”

Titan slowly turned his head. There, he saw Linnea’s endlessly cold gaze.

Only Lost is invisible.

That means she sees something in everyone else.

“I’ll buy this. And do you have any rosemary?”

“Ah, we don’t have any in stock right now.”

“Then I’ll just buy this.”

“Yes, sir. Would you like it wrapped?”

The florist quickly let down his guard at Titan’s rational demeanor.

Seeing how knowledgeable he was about flowers, he seemed like someone who could be reasoned with. But there was still something he had to ask.

“But do you have money? We only accept imperial gold coins…”

“Can’t we do a barter?”

“No.”

“I guess it can’t be helped. I do have something I got from Lost…”

Even Titan, who grew up in a place far removed from civilization, had a concept of money.

Although he preferred bartering, he had kept the money Lost had given him to avoid causing trouble.

“How many sparkles do you need?”

“Oh, the price varies depending on the sparkle. Can you show me?”

Of course, Titan had no way of knowing the difference between gold, silver, and copper coins.

To Titan, currency was no different from decorative pebbles.

“Hmm?”

Shashak!

It was the moment when Titan was taking out the pouch from his bosom.

Someone swiftly passed by and snatched the pouch from him.

“Hmm……”

Titan knew.

This was pickpocketing. And that was a crime.

He didn’t know what kind of confidence made someone touch Titan’s pocket, but that didn’t matter.

There was only one conclusion.

“If you seek death, I’ll just crush your head.”

“Mr. Titan?”

“Wait here, Black Fox.”

“Huh?”

The fact was that those who looked down on him had to pay the price.

*     *      *

Shade’s cherished daughter.

Mar had one bad habit.

It was her excessive need for recognition.

Just being Shade’s daughter allowed her to hold a significant position within the organization.

Everyone called her “Miss” and bowed to her, so she thought she wasn’t being properly evaluated because of that.

She was quite skilled even without being Shade’s daughter.

Therefore, she often tried to show off her skills.

This time was no different.

The orc that the organization was wary of. Everyone acted cautiously and watched from a distance.

It was indeed a peculiar creature, but not in her eyes.

The bigger it was, the more places to hit. The stronger it was, the slower it would be.

‘Is that really so great?’

Unfortunately, Mar didn’t have much information.

That was a direct order from her parents, Shade. This only made Mar’s rebelliousness stronger.

Shade wanted to hide from his daughter why he was gathering information. And that resulted in Mar’s current actions.

‘No matter how strong it is, with that body, it won’t be able to catch us.’

Even so, the movements of Shade’s guild members were too passive.

It would be better to search its belongings and find some solid information.

This wasn’t the first time, so cleaning up would be simple.

“Alright, I’ll show you myself.”

“Huh, miss?”

Marr moved as soon as the thought crossed her mind.

*     *      *

And the result.

“Ahhh!”

Marr was now running away.

There was nothing else she could do. Titan was chasing her with a hearty laugh.

She would die. Even a slight misstep would shatter her body into pieces.

“You look like a flying squirrel! Hahaha!”

“Damn it!”

Despite her fear, Marr’s escape skills were impressive. Her agile movements were extraordinary.

Marr climbed buildings and suddenly changed directions, escaping with unpredictable movements that Titan couldn’t foresee.

Titan didn’t think he could easily catch Marr either.

Therefore, Titan narrowed his goal to one thing. Catch her no matter what.

Titan’s response to that decision was indeed simple.

Bang!

When Marr moved along buildings or suddenly entered alleys, Titan would smash through the buildings themselves and keep moving.

He had the advantage of a sturdy body. Titan wasn’t foolish enough to waste that.

“What the hell is that!”

Marr felt anxious. Although her opponent was slower than her, the distance was gradually closing.

The way he crushed every annoying building and moved almost in a straight line was terrifying.

Screech!

Marr realized that she had to take a risk and catch Titan off guard. That was the only way to widen the distance.

So how?

No matter which direction she ran, Titan followed her.

Then what about the opposite?

Having been running away from Titan all this time, Marr suddenly turned towards Titan.

And then immediately twisted her body to pass by Titan’s side.

Whoosh!

Titan’s hammer was passing over her head.

‘Ah…’

But because of that gamble, the silhouettes of the two crossed.

‘Good!’

If it were a giant like Titan, it wouldn’t be able to stop its running force.

Because inertia gets stronger when it’s heavy.

But…

Bang!

As soon as Mar slipped behind him, Titan planted the spear strapped to his back into the ground.

“Wait… No way?”

Crack!

The spear bent as if it would break, but it definitely braked.

Thud!

And using that rebound, Titan flew in the opposite direction.

“No, this is too much! How is that even possible?!”

Mar felt despair.

The sensation of the hammer flying over his head was still vividly lingering.

It was a gamble that could never be done again. But seeing it so easily countered, there was no answer.

“Ahhh! Daddyyyy!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He had to run away. He was foolish. How stupid he had been.

He had ruined everything with actions no different from childish tantrums. He was such a useless and stupid rookie.

Mar ran on, feeling constant self-reflection and self-hatred.

The only ones who could save him were her parents at the hideout.

So Mar ran with all his might towards where Shade was.

Boom!

Unfortunately, as soon as he reached the hideout, he was caught by Titan.

Mar, who had thrown himself through the window, was caught by the ankle.

Titan crushed the building whole, as he had done so far.

Thanks to that unwavering decision, he was able to catch Mar’s ankle as he tried to escape.

“Hmm.”

Titan looked around.

Then he discovered an unexpected figure and frowned.

“What are you doing here? Lost.”

Lost waved his hand as if he had been waiting.

“I’m retrieving the funds I gave you in my own way.”

“So, this was bait? Surprisingly, you have a natural talent for hunting.”

Titan retrieved the money pouch that had been taken from Mar and gave a bitter smile. It seemed that he was the fishing rod with the bait.

Although he was in a situation where he had been caught as well, he felt more like laughing than feeling bad.

“Ah, Dad!”

“Mar?! No, what, what is this situation?”

Shade couldn’t hide his confusion at the sight of the sobbing Mar.

“What situation? It just means the terms of the deal are finally set.”

Lost, who had been staring at the debris of the broken building, smiled brightly at the sight of Shade’s dismayed expression.

Lost didn’t know what kind of person the current Shade was.

When he contacted Shade, it was already after the change of generations.

But he knew the next one.

The next generation’s Shade. In other words, ‘Mar Shade’.

So he had thrown the bait.

“Your daughter seems to have quite the sticky fingers? Wow, how did she think of stealing my colleague’s pouch?”

Lost didn’t give orders to Titan. He didn’t even ask for a favor.

He had just handed over the money to him in advance to create this situation.

“You’re lucky. Your daughter is still alive.”

Shade is an information guild.

So, there’s no way he wouldn’t investigate the existence of Titan.

He thought they would be around Titan. Titan is royalty before being a unique creature.

So, it’s a very important task.

It’s only natural to send his daughter to achieve merit in such an important task.

Lost had figured out Titan’s disposition in a short time.

And so is Mar’s disposition and skill. Despite his appearance, Titan does not take lives recklessly. He has clear standards.

On the other hand, before the regression, Mar had mentioned that he caused his parents a lot of grief in his youth due to his bad habits.

Thanks to that, I was able to bait him.

He has the skill to narrowly avoid death by Titan, but lacks the ability to deal with Titan.

Being relentlessly chased can only breed fear.

In such a situation, it’s not strange to run immediately to the most reliable place.

“Are you thinking of ending the deal soon, Shade?”

In the end, Mar had no choice but to come to Shade with Titan.

It was a bit unexpected that Titan finally caught Mar, but it was rather good as the situation was resolved without me having to step in.

“I told you, dragging it out would only cause unnecessary loss.”