Aizawa Zen (POV)

I stood in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods close to the Demon realm…

It’s been a few days since I left the borders. I knew that something was off when Constantine told me to rescue his little sister.

Why didn’t he go to rescue her? Why did he come to me; the one he hates the most?

Deep down…I knew that this was all some kind of set-up…

Deep down…I knew that I shouldn’t have gone searching for the child…

But the moment I heard about the child’s disappearance; I couldn’t think of anything else but to rescue her…

…sigh…I’m a failure as the virtue of patience…

Almost everything that happened these days was weird. Constantine who’d never asked my help, came to me to save his little sister.

I couldn’t refuse his request since I’d met the baby once. I knew that the child was being neglected.

They didn’t even bother trying to hide their negligence…

And even the Sin of Gluttony, Beelzebub seemed to be holding back against me. If it were the usual Beelzebub, she would have been so focused on the battle and would’ve never let her guard down.

I know that I shouldn’t be thinking about this…but I can’t help but admire her for her dedication… and I somehow find her similar to me in some way…

But today…it seemed like she was trying to run away. And when I searched for the child inside the dungeon, I couldn’t find any trace of the child. The child would’ve most probably been dead by the time I got there.

But I couldn’t find even a trace of her no matter how much I searched for her. I couldn’t even feel the trace of any human blood in the Labyrinth of Light.

Where could she be?...

And that bow… I could feel a sort of connection to the dark bow that the demon used. It felt like one of the weapons used by the Seven Capital Virtues. Capital Virtue weapons can only be inherited if the user dies in battle or is killed somehow.

One of the Virtues of Charity moved on to the demon’s side in the past, thanks to the current Sin of Greed, Mammon. Since he moved to the demon’s side, we’ve lost one of the valuable adamantine weapons the humans possessed.

The humans are clearly at a disadvantage against the demons, but for some reason, they haven’t attacked us back no matter how much we’ve attacked them.

The only reason I could think of is that they don’t have a Demon Lord to accept orders from. And the fact that one of the Deadly Sins, the sin of Sloth has yet to enter the battlefield.

It’s rumored that Sloths have been exceptional tacticians. But they would always be on the battlefield no matter what.

Everything seems off…

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The current Hero is also still unknown…

I wonder what will happen to us from now on…

I could hear some leaves rustling, I held my sword feeling the presence of someone closing in on me.

“Hehehe…”

I could hear the sound of someone laughing from a few feet away.

“Who’s there? Show yourself…”

A man with a long hat and a black trench coat. He held his hands in the air and appeared from within the woods. He had a black raven on his shoulder.

(Acedia had sent the raven to see how Zen was going to act. Black Hat is oblivious to this fact though. He was wondering what was wrong with Mammon when he was told to carry the crow with him.)

“Who are you?!”

“Hehehe…isn’t it correct manners to introduce yourself before asking for someone’s name my lady?”

“Don’t screw with me!!! I’ll cut you down if you don’t think carefully before you speak.”

I glared at him while emitting an aura to pressure him. He seemed unfazed at my provocation.

“Hehehe. You don’t have to be so on edge now. I’m just a humble merchant who was ordered to pass on a message from my master is all…”

“A merchant?”

Normal people won’t be able to stand the pressure I’m emitting. He’s a strong individual, how could such a person be a merchant?

“That’s right…hehehe…I am a merchant from the Noonday House.”

The moment I heard that name, I stopped pressuring him any further.

That explains why he seems so strong…

The Noonday House: a recently established company that became one of the most famous companies in the kingdom of Yithia. It’s only been about 8 months since they established their company, but they’ve already acquired a lot of trust from both merchants and citizens through their unique merchandise.

But the Noonday House’s founder and president is still a mystery. None of the merchants affiliated with the company have any idea who the president is.

And what would this mysterious person have anything to do with me…

And the next words that came out of his mouth instantly caught my attention.

“The child is alive…”

My eyes went wide at his words…

“Where…? Where is she?!”

“A village in the borders. She’s safe and sound for the time being…”

“…why are you helping me?”

“We aren’t helping you…this is a request…”

He bows his head deeply.

“Please…protect the child…Aizawa Zen. The Capital Virtue of Patience.”

“Protect her?... from whom? And why do you want me to protect the child?”

He straightens himself up and looks into my eyes.

“Our master treasures this child. He wishes for her to live a happy life.”

“Hah! You think she’d be happy with me by her side?”

“Our master believes you are the only person we can trust.”

“Why can’t you take care of the child yourself? Isn’t she important to you? Why me?”

“We have our reasons for not being able to… and we don’t have anything to do with the child. So, it’d be quite difficult to acquire custody as her guardian. And you are the ideal person for the job.”

“Why… do you trust me so much?”

The raven which was sitting silently on the man’s shoulder suddenly started talking. It was a monotone voice.

“…one of my trusted subordinates recommended you to me…”

The moment the bird said those words, I understood that they were the words of his so-called master.

But who could have recommended me…?

I don't have any connections with the Noonday house. And I don't know anyone who would think so highly of me.

Could it be one of the Capital Virtues...?

Hah! As if those selfish bastards would ever do that!

I guess it might be weird of me to say this, being one of them and all but...the Capital Virtues are just virtues in name and nothing more. They're all selfish and self centered, they care about nothing but themselves. I've always been an outcast among them. But right now...

If I can save that child, that's all that matters...

“I understand…please tell me the directions to the village…I promise you that I’ll protect the child with my life!”