When he woke up, the Witch was gone.

She was always so elusive, and Baron was already used to it.

If he remembered correctly, last night was a Foggy Day, when the hunt began. It was already noon by the time Baron met up with Zod Maguire.

They were now preparing to head to Steel City with Yalilan’s Hunting Group, escorting a few merchant caravans along the way.

When it was time to part, the three friends exchanged some pleasantries. Baron told them he had his own plans but would get to Steel City on time.

Zod said, "We’ll drink together then."

He jumped onto the carriage.

Just as the convoy was about to depart, Yalilan came looking for Baron and asked if he really wasn’t going with them.

Baron politely declined, giving the same answer as before.

Yalilan didn’t insist. She just urged Baron to be careful, then hesitated for a moment before saying:

"If you don’t like Steel City, you don’t actually have to go... You’ve already done more than enough."

But Baron said, "A deal is a deal."

Yalilan was deeply moved. She remarked that she never expected L to be such a principled Bounty Hunter and reiterated that if he succeeded, she would introduce him to her Ladyship.

But Baron was thinking, ’I learned about Moon Town in Fude City. As the Gillian Capital, Steel City might have more leads on the viscera.’

Yalilan nodded. She knew she hadn’t been wrong about him. Then, she gave Baron a token and said:

"If you run into any trouble on the road, take this token and find any Rose Commerce Association mercenary team, whether they’re stationed locally or just passing through."

Baron had just managed to say thanks when a heavy money pouch was pressed into his hand. He estimated that even if it was filled with Copper Coins, it would still be worth more than ten Silver Coins.

"Don’t thank me. You’ve earned it, and we’ll be counting on you in the future."

Yalilan was already on her horse and riding away. Looking up, all he could see was her waving back—a truly dashing and beautiful figure.

When he turned around, Maguire still hadn’t gotten on the carriage.

Baron raised an eyebrow. "Something else to say?"

He glanced at the convoy. The carriage Zod was in was already hundreds of meters ahead.

Maguire glanced hesitantly toward the front of the convoy, as if weighing his words.

Baron said impatiently, "Spit it out. If you miss the carriage, I don’t have the money to rent you a horse."

Maguire seemed to come to a decision. "L, when Zod and I passed your room this morning, we found a Gold Coin Chocolate..."

"Did you feed it to a dog?" Baron asked.

A regular Gold Coin Chocolate was harmless to humans, but judging by Maguire’s expression, Baron figured they must have fed it to a dog, incidentally triggering its Taboo effect.

Maguire shook his head, his voice urgent and strange. "Zod ate it with his wine."

"And then?" Baron asked, sensing that this wasn’t going to be simple.

"And then Zod spent the entire morning going BAA BAA."

!!!

......

Watching Maguire stumble toward the convoy, Baron wondered if he was really doing the right thing by deceiving him like this.

’The Gold Coin is a Taboo Item that makes dogs bleat when they eat it. Zod ate it and started bleating. It’s obvious that Zod isn’t just a tough guy, he’s very likely a dog-person—and isn’t a dog-person basically a Werewolf?’

He then thought of the vial of Werewolf Blood he’d gotten from Allen’s parents, and Baron couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing some important information.

’In any case, Zod holds no ill will toward me or any normal person. It doesn’t matter if he’s a dog-person, a Werewolf, or a badass. The priority right now is to go to Moon Town and find the Dream Master’s viscera... The Witch’s Blood I drank yesterday really had no effect. KK was right—this deal has to be fulfilled by Carmen herself.’

But when Baron thought of the empty bed that morning, his hopes of becoming a Bronze Knight suddenly seemed very slim.

Pushing these thoughts aside for now, he returned to the church. He saw the Blood Loss Knight, Morey, with his pack on his back and his horse ready. Beside him stood a handsome yet somber Knight, also with his pack shouldered and horse prepared.

Seeing Baron, they both greeted him.

Baron looked at the Knight, who was Brother Sorrowful Gothic Tristan. "Are you sure you’ve decided?"

Brother Sorrowful said sorrowfully, "If we cannot meet again with blushing faces, can we not part with reddened eyes?"

"Speak plainly."

"I am going to venture out into the mortal world with Mr. Morey. Only then can I find a way to move Remedios’s heart."

Baron looked at Morey. "Are you going to take him on a tour of all the local brothels?"

The Blood Loss Knight grinned. "And make him foot the bill."

’I’m surrounded by degenerates.’

Watching the backs of the Blood Loss Knight and the Faith Knight fade into the distance, Baron snarked silently to himself.

Entering the church, he saw the Little Nun devoutly praying for the faithful.

A young boy was bustling about at her side, handing her Holy Water and plucking Holy Leaves. Baron recognized him as Al.

After seeing the last believer off to the confessional, the Little Nun brought a slightly shy Al over to Baron.

"Mr. L, hello," Al said, scratching the back of his head.

Baron returned the greeting politely. As they exchanged pleasantries, Baron noticed a Command Spell on the boy’s hand—a sign that he was now an Intern Demon Hunter.

After Baron had asked for her help, Yalilan learned what had happened to Al and offered to reserve a Demon Hunter’s Lawbook for him. The First Hunter Association only issued five of these each year.

The condition was that Al had to successfully collect three Command Spells within one year.

’So, he’s walking the path of a Demon Hunter because of the Blood Demon incident...’ Baron sighed to himself.

The life of a Demon Hunter was bound to be a dangerous one, but for a boy from the countryside, it was also perhaps the best way to change his destiny and climb the social ladder.