“The Tong Mo Zhe for Pink Dream Girl this time is someone very famous on Hundred Flowers Street…”
Bishop Icot acted perfectly calm, without a single flaw, as if this were truly just a favor for a junior newcomer.
“Whoa—?!”
Lebron and Scottie let out somewhat lecherous exclamations, their faces bulging with veins from excitement.
“What’s Pink Dream Girl?” Joen asked curiously.
“The flower queen of flower queens! The star of stars!”
Lebron threw an arm around Joen’s neck, slouching against him without any decorum.
He also accidentally startled Liya into hopping onto Joen’s head.
He laughed heartily and explained, “Joen, you know the Empire has twenty-one districts, right?”
The northernmost Golden Powder District gathers most of the capital’s flower streets and pleasure houses.
The flower queen they elected is called ‘Pink Dream Girl.’
“Later, other places copied the trend and launched their own ‘Pink Dream Girls,’ and those four characters became synonymous with the top-tier flower queens.”
“So we’re going to catch a succubus?” Joen grew even more confused.
“Don’t you dare!”
Icot quickly interrupted Joen, shaking his head.
“We have shares in the Succubus Shop. Demon King Lia had already reached an agreement with most of the cardinals back then. We can’t just delay the dividends and ruin the business. And even though those demon sluts are getting bolder lately and defaulting on payments, as long as they haven’t actually gone bankrupt… they’re still worth more than if they were on the interrogation bench being tortured.”
Liya: “…”
Joen was stunned.
“Demon King Lia? The Church does business with Demon King Lia? Isn’t driving out demons our church doctrine?”
“Ahem, we sometimes need to be flexible. Besides, Demon King Lia is so friendly that he doesn’t seem like a demon at all.”
Icot shifted his tone, then scolded seriously, “Young man, you need to look at the bigger picture. Do you know how much money the Church makes every month from the Succubus Shop’s shares? Everything you eat and wear—doesn’t a succubus contribute a share to it?”
“That’s absurd.”
Joen smiled bitterly.
The Church, which bore the deepest enmity toward demons, had long ago gone into partnership with Demon King Lia.
In the end, the ones truly irreconcilable with demons were the ordinary people who accepted the Church’s propaganda, donated money desperately to the Church, and prayed for the Church to drive out the demons.
“Not a succubus, then what?”
The more composed Scottie continued to gather intelligence.
“Someone who knows a few little tricks of black magic. Probably just a prostitute who dabbles in demonic arts and uses some minor charm spells. She was reported by a colleague.”
Icot tried to make his tone sound as casual as possible.
But in reality, this demon—ever since Icot was in his twenties and still not yet a bishop—had been under the Church’s watch.
He was about seventy percent certain that she was a demon, and most likely a Cocoon Demon.
However, she had always been law-abiding, rarely harming people, and simply loved pulling ridiculous pranks that made people laugh.
When weighing the costs, the number of lives lost by eliminating her far exceeded the lives lost by leaving her alive.
So both Icot and his predecessor had chosen to turn a blind eye to this Cocoon Demon.
“Good luck.”
Icot patted Joen’s shoulder, his approving look exceptionally sincere.
“If you two can complete this task successfully, I’ll promote you to full holy knights when you come back.”
“YEAHH—!!!”
Before Joen could answer, Lebron and Scottie had already started cheering.
After leaving the Bishop’s Office, the “fellow rogues” remained excited for a long time.
Joen found it somewhat amusing.
“Why are you two so excited? It can’t be that this is your first mission, can it?”
“Pretty much.”
Lebron instinctively tried to hook his arm around Joen’s neck again, scaring Liya once more.
Peeved, she shot a Water Arrow and angrily jabbed it between Lebron’s fingers.
“Don’t touch my territory!” she fumed.
“Haha, she’s pretty possessive.”
Lebron awkwardly drew back his hand, then continued explaining, “Normally, apprentice paladins can’t go on missions alone—they have to be led by a full holy knight. But when you’re following old-timers, us younger guys can’t get any spoils!”
“Spoils?” Joen’s eyebrow twitched.
“Yeah. A demon collaborator: their property should be rightfully confiscated. As long as you don’t go too far, keeping a share for yourself is standard practice.”
Lebron’s playful grin faded, turning very serious.
“Don’t you go soft. Being merciful to a demon collaborator is being cruel to your own people.”
“What about succubi?”
“Succubi aren’t demons.”
Lebron answered in a flash.
“…”
“Alright.”
Lebron looked a bit embarrassed, perhaps realizing his own double standard.
“Actually, what I mean is, succubi are so cute and docile…”
Joen curled his lip, suddenly feeling a dizzying sense of absurdity and irony.
Betrayers were far more hateful than stubborn, bloodthirsty demons.
After a long silence, he opened the “Demon Extermination Order” signed by the bishop.
“Are you sure… the evidence for each exorcism is complete?”
Joen muttered to himself.
“Hmph! Who cares if it’s complete or not? Since the Demon Extermination Order has been issued, there must be a reason. Joen, think about it—Pink Dream Girl! We’re going to get rich! And we’ll get promoted too! You’re really a lucky star, Joen!”
Lebron was still just as high-spirited.
Even the reserved, introverted Scottie had flushed red with excitement, and his gaze toward a passing nun grew noticeably bolder.
Joen didn’t reply.
He just took a final look at the Extermination Order.
The magical portrait, built from divine power, was incredibly vivid, as if the girl inside the parchment were alive.
The girl in the paper twisted her waist playfully and winked at him, innocent yet lively, utterly pure.
“Yousitina… is it?”
At the same time.
In a delicate standalone villa on Hundred Flowers Street, less than two hundred meters from the “Old City District Church,” a young, beautifully made-up girl was slowly unveiling the truth.
“Yousitina, original name Gurdanlon. Cocoon Demon. Original sex: male. Came to the imperial capital 130 years ago. Changed identities four times: first as a Magic Scholar, second as a Bard, third as an Imperial Jailer, and fourth as… well, a prostitute.”
“You’ve done quite a thorough investigation.”
Yousitina smiled at her reflection.
“Actually, it was the Church that investigated thoroughly.”
Zyra tossed the files aside casually, lazily flopping onto the sofa.
“I stole their files. Damn, if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have known there were so many demons hiding in the capital!”
“After all, the Demon Realm is a poor, remote place, really boring to stay in. What’s so fun about that? You know what I mean, right?”
Yousitina carefully finished her eye makeup.
She stood up, and under her lotus-blossom-like skirt were two slender, snow-white legs.
“Just say it.”
She grabbed a scarf from the coat rack and tied it around her slender neck, asking Zyra unhurriedly, “You went through all this trouble to find me. What’s your goal? Buying potions? Borrowing money? Or did some old friend decide to get married in the capital and want me to chip in for a gift?”
“I come bearing the goodwill of Demon King Lia.”
Zyra replied.
Yousitina suddenly lifted her head, somewhat surprised.
“Demon King Lia? He’s not dead yet? He sure knows how to live!”