"..."
Quân clutched his chest, letting out a painful, heavy sigh.
Only after Ron and Moris had finally departed did he exhale with a profound sense of relief.
"I just remembered I've got something to take care of. Catch you later, old man."
With a quick wave to old Keil, Quân turned and walked away.
He failed to notice that from the shadows behind him, dozens of eyes were already tracking his every move.
Over the past few days, he had managed to piece together a fair amount of knowledge regarding this world.
The land he currently inhabited belonged to the Palec Empire, ruled under the sovereign authority of the Palecol royal family.
In short: a feudal state.
Quân had mulled over this quite extensively. On one hand, it reminded him eerily of an anime he had once heard about concerning some transmigrated guy—a realization that brought him a strange sense of comfort, believing he could easily exploit the classic tropes to become the main protagonist.
On the other hand, a quiet dread lingered in the back of his mind. He was, after all, residing in an unfamiliar regime; if he accidentally offended the wrong authority, wouldn't he just end up dead?
Thus, he set out to dig up further information.
The most intriguing discovery concerned the existence of demons.
Scouting through various gambling dens and taverns—places where loose lips and alcohol made conversation effortless—he gathered two particularly noteworthy pieces of intelligence.
In this world, there existed a realm known as the Demon Domain, the origin point from which all demons emerged.
However, following a major war fifty years ago, the Demon Domain had been shattered, forcing its monstrous inhabitants to spill directly into human society.
For all intents and purposes, the demon race was considered the public enemy of humanity.
The main reason Quân found himself fascinated by demons was simple: how cool would it be to join a specialized demon-hunting organization and charge into battle like those legendary action heroes from the movies?
But that was merely a pipe dream for now. Currently, Quân needed to focus on stabilizing his daily life.
Furthermore, the second key detail he uncovered pertained to the concept of the Path.
Whenever he casually brought up the term, the attitude of the locals shifted instantly—most showed irritation, some acted completely indifferent, while others outright avoided the subject.
Recalling how Ron had once advised him to uncover the truth about Paths on his own, Quân realized it was shrouded in deep mystery.
Or at least, that was how it appeared to him.
Quân looked toward the sky. By now, the brilliant light of the world hung directly overhead, signaling that it was time for an afternoon nap.
"Guess I'd better crawl into a coffin to beat the sunlight."
In this world, there was an odd saying directed at sickly, scrawny individuals like Quân—that they were "people who crawled straight out of a coffin." He found the phrase absurdly entertaining. If social media existed here, he would have instantly renamed all his profiles to Vampire Living in a Coffin.
"Perhaps we can have Quân participate in tonight's anomalous event. With my personal guarantee of protection, I believe he's capable of joining."
(You're putting an absolute amateur's life on the line here! Think this through!)
"In a sense, he doesn't even know what I do for a living, nor does he know what his own profession is supposed to be."
(??? What the hell, Ron!)
"Alright, there's no need to get yourself worked up like that. Have you ever heard of individuals born without magic?"
(??? Born without magic? Isn't that forbidden?)
"Precisely... In a way, you could say Quân is exactly that kind of person. A walking, living anomaly. A case completely unprecedented in recorded history. And as a matter of principle, no anomaly exists without a connection to the demonic."
(Fine, fine! Then take him to the cathedral and have them examine him! Don't drag an outsider into this—aren't you afraid of getting exposed!?)
"There's no need to worry. As I said, have I ever lied to you before?..."
(...)
"My sole purpose in bringing him along is to observe how he reacts to an anomaly. Besides, what you and I are about to face is of a relatively low threat level; I am confident in our ability to protect a novice."
(But—)
Click~
Ron snapped a small iron box shut—a movement that mirrored the deliberate act of hanging up a phone call mid-sentence.
Whatever Ron truly intended for Quân by bringing him along, he clearly possessed a private agenda of his own.
And his opening move was transporting Quân to an entirely different city.