Gun of Ashes

”Sounds like he’s not a good guy.”

Red Falcon felt a bit scared. Speaking of which, he’s lived this long without ever being in a relationship. After all, as someone belonging to the Purification Mechanism, he didn’t have many channels to meet women his age. As for the female colleagues at work...

A steady flow of colleagues, an unmovable Red Falcon.

Red Falcon was at a loss.

”Indeed, a bad guy, a difficult-to-control guy. Perhaps because of Erin’s uncontrollable nature, the Iron Law Bureau started hunting her down.”

Hebdo speculated. This kind of thing is quite common. Erin’s mind harbors too many unspeakable secrets, and it would be beneficial to everyone for her to die.

”Just like Lorenzo.”

Upon hearing Hebdo’s evaluation, Red Falcon couldn’t help but think of Lorenzo sleeping next door.

”Lorenzo Holmes?”

This time, it was Hebdo who questioned.

”How much do you know about him? I’m curious why both the Purification Mechanism and Nordro hold him in such high esteem, despite his appalling behavior...”

The current mission was extremely urgent, leaving Hebdo little time to pick his team. Besides, he needed Ingwig’s support, which further restricted his choices.

Hebdo originally thought he would follow an elite squad, but upon deployment, it turned out to be just Lorenzo. The rest — Red Falcon and Eve — were merely here for intern assessments.

”Like you, I’m not sure how to describe him,” said Red Falcon, feeling a headache. ”Sometimes he’s like a mischievous kid. Yes! A mischievous kid!”

”Mischievous kid?”

Hebdo looked even more puzzled.

”It’s that kind, a real troublesome mischievous kid. What’s worse is, this mischievous kid also has the ability to easily take down everyone. Sometimes he’ll listen to your lectures on righteousness, but more often, he feigns acceptance without truly repenting. The most helpless part is, he’ll sometimes make very obvious mistakes... and he knows they’re wrong, but like a stubborn mule, he doesn’t care.”

”For example?”

”Things that align with his personality and thinking but are objectively wrong.”

For instance, the Fall of Reichenbach.

Lorenzo could have escaped, but he chose to stand at that battlefield, risking it all to kill every one of his enemies. He didn’t think about the consequences; he was only concerned with the present.

”Comparatively, he’s even more troublesome than Erin. After all, Erin can’t fight like he can — he’s our combat benchmark.” Red Falcon remarked.

”Demon Hunter powers? I’ve only heard about them, but I’ve never seen them.”

Hebdo knew this part of Lorenzo’s origin.

”Have you ever seen a demon?” Red Falcon asked.

”I’ve seen them. They’re all over the world. Our Viking countries aren’t exempt. But unlike you in Ingwig or the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom, we lack a complete system for tackling them.”

Due to the corrupting nature of demons, researching them is quite the technical challenge. In some weaker countries, combating demons is a difficult task. This was one of the major reasons why the Evangelical Church controlled nations centuries ago — they had a complete power to counter demons.

”Then just think of him as a demon specialized in slaying other demons.”

Red Falcon added.

Hebdo was taken aback; this description was more detailed than the mischievous kid, but still stirred a bit of unease.

”In any case, this is bound to be a turbulent journey. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to witness Lorenzo’s abilities, so don’t be too surprised when it happens.”

Red Falcon said as he lowered his head and continued reading his book.

The silence was slightly eerie. After a while, Red Falcon awkwardly raised his head to find Hebdo still standing by the window, though his gaze was now fixed on Red Falcon.

Under Hebdo’s gaze, Red Falcon felt uncomfortable and uneasy.

”Wh... What’s up?”

”I can’t sleep either; the guys from the Iron Law Bureau are a real pain.”

Hebdo said, then reached out and pointed to the book Red Falcon was reading.

”Could you spare me a book?”

...

Insufficient rooms or booking the wrong ones, resulting in mixed-gender accommodation — this is a plot device often used in stories, giving shy men and women a chance to draw closer, with the possibility of proceeding to marriage if things escalate too far.

Of course, this time, the reason was definitely not based on those clichéd scenarios. According to Hebdo, given the current mission’s troublesome nature with the Iron Law Bureau involved, they should stay together.

Sleeping alone in a room could result in dying in one’s sleep, but four people sharing would be a tight squeeze. Though Lorenzo and Red Falcon both offered to sleep on the couch or in the bathtub, the atmosphere felt off.

When dividing rooms, Red Falcon resolutely chose to room with Hebdo to avoid being assigned some strange task again, leaving Lorenzo the honor of sharing a room with the ladies. He made a show of looking reluctant as he said this to Lorenzo.

Jerk.

Lorenzo really wanted to insult Red Falcon.

”What are you doing, Lorenzo?”

Eve leaned against the bedhead, looking at Lorenzo in confusion.

She watched as Lorenzo shaped a blanket into a human figure on the bed, then, dressed in pajamas, picked up a pillow and headed into the bathroom.

”Going to sleep.”

Lorenzo answered from the doorway.

In Lorenzo’s line of thinking, even if someone barged in and started shooting at the bed, they’d first target Eve and his dummy fake. Then, Lorenzo would make a spectacular entrance from the bathroom and take down all the enemies.

”You’re making me feel like a monster ready to devour people.”

Eve, contrary to usual, smiled and patted the bed.

She suddenly felt curious, intensely curious about what reaction she’d provoke from Lorenzo by teasing him.

This smile sent a shiver through Lorenzo, but quickly he devised a counterattack. First, he dipped his head, hiding his face in shadows; then, he lifted his face from the shadows.

The great detective struck a bashful pose, with an exaggerated expression that looked absolutely disgusting. Then, clutching his pillow with one hand and holding the door frame with the other, he uttered in a ridiculously flirtatious tone.

”This isn’t proper, miss.”

Eve paused for a moment, then covered her eyes, genuinely disgusted by Lorenzo, coughing several times as if she’d choked.

”Hah, who wouldn’t get tired of gross antics?”

Lorenzo looked triumphant, the key was who’d crack first, and compared to this shameless scoundrel, Eve struggled to let loose.

”Sometimes I don’t know if I should respect you or despise you, Lorenzo.”

That hellish expression lingered even with closed eyes, haunting Eve’s thoughts — she feared she’d have nightmares tonight.

”I suggest you respect me.”

Lorenzo timely offered his suggestion.

”Have you always been like this?”

Eve believed numerous factors influence a person’s character. You might infer their past from how they present themselves, but people like Lorenzo are rare; reverse deduction seemed impossible as his damn personality suggested only a fragmented world.

”Yeah, life’s already so awful. One has to find some fun.”

Lorenzo twisted his waist, patted his thigh, feigned sensuality revealing leg hair clearly beneath.

That’s it; Eve could hardly withstand Lorenzo’s nauseating antics.

”Tsk, youngsters.”

Lorenzo dismissively remarked.

Watching Eve’s quick retreat, Lorenzo found her boring, hoping for a matching opponent. She turned out to be just a weak bystander.

”Go to sleep, Eve. We’re not on vacation; we’re working.” Lorenzo said.

”Isn’t sleeping in the bathtub a bit uncomfortable?” Eve asked instead.

”That’s for Arthur to blame. That bastard sure likes to complicate things,” Lorenzo grumbled. ”If he knew about this situation, he’d think of a way to punch me.”

”Wouldn’t he want to kill you? I heard people say that frequently.”

As a privileged insider, Eve was quite aware of her role in the Purification Mechanism.

”He’s come to face reality. It’s more practical to punch me than kill me.”

Lorenzo found comfort in Arthur’s pragmatism, yet his thoughts shifted unexpectedly as he looked at Eve.

”By the way, how did you convince Arthur?”

Eve playfully talking about persuasion was nonsense. If Arthur were that easily persuaded, Lorenzo would have had him fall for his tricks long ago. Something must have happened which Lorenzo wasn’t aware of.

He was intensely curious.