No Hero

Translator: purplezero (proofread by Faren & Trespasserby; C/E edited by lucathia)

“First Wind, can you help me?”

Solitary Butterfly? What happened?

“NC wants me to hand Josh over… that felon from last time. I declined.”

Why decline? Lately, we’ve been working well with NC. There shouldn’t be any problems?

“I don’t think that things are that simple. Although Josh has a weird ability, his character is quite pure, like a child’s. He said that he’s been locked away in P29 since childhood. Finally, someone helped him escape. Only, he overindulged himself in so much fun that he forgot to meet up with that person.”

You want to use him to capture the person that helped him escape?

“Not just that. I also suspect that P29 is problematic. I investigated Josh’s case. He killed his parents and was sentenced to death, but because of his severe mental illness and propensity for violence, he was imprisoned in P29. However, after observing his behavior over the last couple of days, he doesn’t appear to be prone to violence at all!”

Solitary Butterfly, he knows how to control people. That’s too dangerous. Don’t have him stay at your home!

“You suspect that I’m being controlled? Don’t worry. He uses his voice to control people, which is why I wear ear plugs when I’m with him. All of our communications have been in writing.”

But…sigh, forget about it. I bet you won’t listen to me. It has always been that way. So, what is it that you want me to help you with?

“For the time being, I won’t be able to go out much. Help me take care of the northern district. Also, don’t tell Dark Sun about Josh. He’s too close to NC. I’m afraid that he’ll tell them. That’s all. Bye!”

Wait a bit… Hey, she actually hung up on me! Are you kidding? I’m busy too! The news of Ah Ye thinking of becoming a singer has leaked. Suddenly, all these advertising jobs have come flooding in. The amount of work has skyrocketed!

Previously, Dark Sun wanted me to help him attend to his district. Now, in place of him, Solitary Butterfly wants me to attend to her area. I… can only make a phone call.

Hello. Aren? Help me take care of the northern and western districts.

“…”

Looking at the church before me, I really was at a bit of a loss. A habit formed after hundreds of years is still difficult to change. The basic survival instinct of a vampire is to avoid the church, staying far away. However, I was now entering a church. Perhaps I would even greet the priest with a few words and then ask for forgiveness from the priest’s son for my deceit.

If Sadina were to know about this, would she laugh nonstop?

Sighing, I entered the church. I looked around. There seemed to be no believers about. Only some light shone out of the confession chambers. I headed toward the tiny confessional. In the room, there was indeed someone there. It appeared to be Yina. I quietly questioned, “May I ask if Yue Gang is home?”

Through the lattice, Yina shot me a glance and coldly said, “Entering a confessional without confessing or repenting yet still wanting to ask questions? Confess before you ask a question.”

I smiled wryly. Helpless, I sat down. It was unavoidable that I would think about how Sadina would laugh at me if she ever found out that I was even confessing.

“I have deceived Yue Gang. I let him think that I am human. I am truly sorry.”

Unexpectedly, Yina said, “You can’t tell everyone you meet that you are a vampire. So, there isn’t much to confess over that. Moreover, Father Yue ought to repent even more. He even played his own son! Yue Gang is indeed angry at you right now, but if he knew that Father Yue knew about this, I bet he’s more likely to direct his anger at his own father instead.”

This sentence left no space for argument. But, did Yina forget that she is also one of the people who knew the truth yet failed to disclose it to Yue Gang?

“Vampire, why have you entered the confessional?” Yina’s tone became a little gentler. “If it is just to find Yue Gang, isn’t it better to go straight to the church‘s back room? Yue Gang doesn’t sleep under the cross.”

I fell silent… yet I could not restrain myself from lamenting, “Back then, I might have made the wrong choice. Leaving her was the wrong choice. But if I did not leave her, things would have become worse. But now when I look back, leaving or not leaving, it appears both were the wrong choice.”

Yina coldly scolded, “Why is leaving and not leaving both wrong? You are certainly unfathomable and worried over nothing!”

I could only smile bitterly.

“Every choice has its advantages and disadvantages in the first place. There is nothing completely right! You are clearly a vampire, so don’t be so human and believe that perfect decisions exist!”

…There is no perfect decision? I became distracted, turning my head in hopes of looking into the next room through the lattice, but a burst of light suddenly shone in front of me. The door of the confessional was opened by someone.

“Yina’s quite wonderful, right?” Father Yue chuckled and said, “Having her help is so great! Her cold looks have scared away a lot of senseless folks. Now, there are less people using the church as a psychiatry. Hahaha!”

Is this church trying to attract believers or distance them from the church?

I left the confessional and asked, “I am here to find Yue Gang. May I ask if he is home?”

Father Yue was not in a good mood and said, “Since that boy joined the NC squad, he only comes back to sleep. That brat doesn’t even have a set time for sleeping either. It can range from day to night. If this brat isn’t killed by a felon in the future, he’ll definitely be done in by a ruptured liver! Yet his mom, the one able to manage him, is currently out of the country vacationing… Ah! This kid’s mother came back last year. Unfortunately, you missed her.”

“It is certainly unfortunate.” I felt somewhat regretful to be unable to meet the woman who is able to be the mother of Yue Gang and the wife of Father Yue.

“There will be many chances in the future!” Father Yue laughed. “But if you want to find that brat, why don’t you give him a call? His cell phone has three batteries’ worth of life. It’s always on 24/7.”

“But he is not taking my calls.”

Father Yue tilted his head and said, “Is that so? That brat’s temper isn’t light this time. However, that goes to show that he really treats you as his bro. Don’t be so concerned! Let him steam for a bit. That brat’s anger won’t last long.”

Hopefully, it would be so. If I could, I wish to remain friends with Yue Gang. I earnestly requested, “When he seems less angry, may I ask to be informed so that I can call him?”

Father Yue readily answered, “No problem!”

“Then, I will depart first.”

“Charles.”

“Yes?”

“This is something that I shouldn’t meddle in. However…” Father Yue walked a few steps closer. Near the side of my ear, he said, “Lately, Ah Ye has become too popular. It is possible that some people have already realized his real identity.”

Real identity? Is this about how the young master is actually Dark Sun… Has someone actually found out? I stared at him, shocked.

Father Yue smiled slightly and said, “Although there is someone protecting Ah Ye without reservation, it is precisely because the protection is so flawless that it leaves only a few possibilities of whom that great power might belong to. That is why there are already several people in power who have guessed that Ah Ye might have something to do with ‘that person.’“

So, he does not know that the young master is Dark Sun but rather has realized that there is a relationship between the young master and the Sun Emperor? I knitted my brows and asked, “Are you one of the presuming ones?”

“It is not a guess on my part,” Father Yue quietly responded.

Not a guess? Then…he is certain? I contemplated for a moment and quietly asked, “Did you find out from the Church?”

Previously, the matter between the Endelis clan and the Church had become quite discordant. The young master, with Secretary Kyle’s help, had pressured the Church. It was quite impossible for the Church not to realize that the young master had something to do with the Sun Emperor.

Father Yue smiled and said, “The Church will not give up on capturing E.X. Although they won’t dare to harm you, they are quite happy to inconvenience you and Ah Ye.”

Did the Church release this news?

I did not think that Father Yue, who was located in this abandoned church, would know so much. Perhaps, his identity was not simply just that of a banished priest. However, aside from Father Yue, I was even more surprised by the attitude of the Church.

“They actually want to capture X even when they have go against two strong powers? What kind of deep hatred is there between X and the Church?”

“With the passage of time, the hatred has twisted into a knot that can never be unraveled.”

For a split second, Father Yue looked incomparably weary.

X, I have woken up.

What kind of hatred lies between you and the Church?

In the past, I always felt that it was not right to probe too much. But now, the matter has involved the young master and me. The Church seems to be leaking information that would bring trouble to the young master.

Since you are bringing so much trouble, do you not have an obligation to explain?

I finished typing and hit the send button. I did not think that X would respond to the email so soon after I sent it. It seemed that he was currently on the computer as well.

In the email, there was only one sentence. “You and your master bring even more trouble than I do, so this matter is nothing.”

It was obvious that X did not want to answer.

It appeared that there was nothing I could do. If X refused to answer a matter, then there was no one who could force out an answer.

My cell phone rang. I picked up the phone, and the caller happened to be Curtis. After picking up the call, the other party respectfully asked, “Family Head, this is Curtis. It has been a couple of days since I last communicated with you. I apologize. How are you lately?”

I smiled wryly and said, “Please do not call me the family head. You are the family head. I do not have the intention of letting you become the substitute family head.”

He fell silent for a moment before calling out, “Great Uncle.”

“….Stick with Family Head!”

“Yes, Family Head.” Curtis seemed to be relieved and asked, “Lately, are you worried about anything?”

“I have been well lately…” After saying this, I hesitated.

With the exception of the young master acting oddly, Yue Gang breaking off our friendship, news leaking about the young master having something to do with the Sun Emperor, and the Church wanting to capture X to the point of risking upsetting two great families, it was true that there was nothing much happening.

“Is there something going on?” Curtis calmly said, “Grandmother once said, ‘Even if the sky falls, he will claim he is fine.’ Therefore, even if you show the slightest hesitation, it means that something must be going on, and that something can’t be a small matter.”

After some silence, I said, “Sadina has always worried too much about me.”

Curtis obviously did not believe me and repeatedly asked, “What really happened? If you do not say anything, I will have someone report it to me.”

“Report it?”

“Although Grandmother honored your directives of not sending anyone to follow you directly, there are fifteen family members stationed in Sunset City. They pay attention to everything that relates to you at all times. For example, the young master that you serve is thinking of branching out and becoming a singer.”

I knew that the family had people watching me, but I did not think it would be this great of a number. Fifteen people noting my actions without having anything else to do felt very wasteful.

“What a waste of human resources. I do not need…”

“There is no such thing as no need!” Curtis’s tone became more adamant. “Please do not look down on the Elysees family’s determination to protect a person! If you do not want someone to investigate or track you, please give me the order to eliminate the trouble. If you promise not to conceal anything from now on, I will decrease the number down to ten people in Sunset City. Besides that, I cannot compromise any further!”

Five fewer people was better than no decrease at all. I agreed. I honestly informed him, “All right. Lately, the Church seems to want to bring trouble to the young master and me. They leaked the information that the young master and the Sun Emperor have something to do with each other.”

“I understand. It appears that a mere warning was insufficient.”

After hearing that, I became a bit worried and hurriedly said, “Please do not come into a conflict with the Church because of me.”

“Please do not worry. This is different from the situation with the Endelis clan. There is not much of a possibility of a direct conflict with the Church.” He paused for a bit and then added, “However, if they dare to harm you directly, the Elysees will absolutely respond in full force!”

After he said that, my heart became more settled. Curtis and Sadina were truly similar, but as expected, he was much gentler than Sadina. If it were Sadina, she would have said something along the lines of, “Daring to harm you? This old lady will obliterate their entire family from top to bottom, and even the guard dog won’t be able to escape.”

The conversation appeared to come to an end, but Curtis did not hang up. He seems to have something to say? I patiently waited for him to open his mouth. If I were to speak first, I might prevent him from wishing to speak.

“Family Head, may I ask you a question?” He finally opened his mouth and asked.

“Please speak.”

“I once asked Grandmother whether or not she loved Grandfather at all. However, she never answered and told me to ask you for your true reason for leaving the family back then.”

The true reason?

“She said that if you are to tell me the true reason, then I will convey to you her will. “ Curtis grudgingly said, “Even though Grandmother’s words are contradictory, as I do not know the true reason, so how will I distinguish the truth from a lie? But she said that I will be able to determine whether your words are true or not. If you tell me a lie, I will definitely not tell you what her will is.”

Sadina’s will? I hesitated and said, “The reason… there are many.”

“I am all ears.”

I was silent for a while, but I still could not hold back the need to know Sadina’s parting words. I honestly replied, “Sadina loved children, but a vampire’s fertility is low. Despite trying to hide it at thirty-five, she could not help but touch the wrinkles near her eyes while looking into the mirror. She had a bodyguard who had admired her for many years. I knew she also held affectionate feelings for the bodyguard. However, if I were there, those feelings would never blossom… That was why I left.”

However, I never thought that that bodyguard would only be able to accompany Sadina for twenty years before dying of a serious illness. Now, I did not know if my decision to leave back then was correct or not…

“I am happy. Thank you.”

I was stumped. Sadina?

Curtis said, “That was what Grandmother wanted me to tell you, and I too have received the answer I wanted. Was that bodyguard my grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Um?” I was distracted a bit. Why did Curtis thank me?

Curtis smiled slightly and said, “I would not exist today if not for your concession back then. Is this not something I should thank you for? Well then, Family Head, rest assured, I will use all of my strength to ensure that the Church will not harm you in any way.”

“I will trouble you then. “ After I spoke, the call ended.

An imperfect decision… but it seemed it was not wrong. Thank goodness.

“Charles.”

I was surprised. I turned around and saw the young master. I quickly stood up and said, “Young Master, you have returned.”

As I was speaking, I saw the young master’s face clearly. Now, I was truly surprised. The young master’s face is actually filled with fury?

“Come!”

“To where?” I was shocked. Why is the young master angry?

The young master actually said, “To a nightclub, to flirt with girls, to… In short, to have lots of fun!”

“Y-Young Master?”

The young master took my hand and said, “Let’s go find Aren right now. Let’s go have fun together!”

After saying this, he rushed next door like a gust of wind. Without even knocking, he rushed in and startled Aren. After seeing that it was the young master, Aren seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but he was startled again after seeing me. He even rushed to the side and pulled out a book to cover up the book that he had originally been reading.

The young master walked over. His anger was gone and replaced by a curious expression. He even stretched out his hand to pull out Aren’s hidden book.

“What are you doing?! There’s nothing to look at!” Aren promptly grabbed the book back.

”I want to see!” The young master stubbornly grabbed the book.

They grabbed the edges of the book’s pages. The book appeared to be in danger of splitting in half at any moment.

Aren sneaked a glance at me through corner of his eye. I smiled at him. He finally let go in an embarrassed way and said, “Look all you want. It’s nothing… just the latest photobook that was released.” Although he said it was not much of anything, he avoided looking at me.

I felt a bit amused. He was not afraid of letting the young master see it. Yet, he was afraid to let me see it. Does Aren regard me as an elder?

“What is there to see?” The young master flipped a few pages. He knitted his brows and said, “All the girls are super skinny. They’re all bones. Hugging them sure won’t be comfortable!”

After hearing that, Aren rolled his eyes and snapped, “Please! Have you even seen how large and soft their breasts are?”

The young master answered loudly, “What’s the use if it is only the breast part that is soft? Don’t tell me you only hug the breasts when you hug a girl?” ƒ𝗿e𝘦𝚠𝗲𝚋n𝚘ν𝙚𝗹.𝑐o𝙢

Unwavering, Aren retorted, “When your Briar grows up, she might not even have large, soft breasts!”

Unexpectedly, the young master growled, “Don’t mention Briar!”

Aren froze and then looked at me. I shook my head to show that I did not know either.

“What’s up? Did you fight with Briar?” He shook his head and sighed. “Isn’t it embarrassing to fight with a thirteen year old girl?”

“I didn’t want to fight with her… It was Poseidynne who scolded me first and then Bri as well!”

“Why would they scold you?” Aren doubtfully asked, “Neither Bri nor Poseidynne would randomly scold you, right?”

The young master was silent for a moment and then quietly said, “It was because I went to Seaside to find Ding Ding, and later, both Poseidynne and Bri ended up there as well…”

Aren said, “Wow.” He tried to stifle his laughter as he said, “Got caught cheating in bed with another?”

“I wasn’t on a bed! We were just sitting together in front of a piano!” The young master shouted, “In the end, Poseidynne slapped me again. Briar also said that I was untrustworthy and that she would never care about me again!”

Aren scratched his head and said, “Forget about Poseidynne. But for Briar to be angry is a given! Didn’t you have Poseidynne get in line? Now, you’re even cozying up to other girls. Of course, she’d be worried that you might want others joining the queue again! Truthfully speaking, if my girlfriend were to tell me that a bunch of guys want to queue up to be her husband, I’d definitely divorce her! You’re lucky that Briar didn’t break up with you already.”

After listening to Aren’s words, the young master revealed a hesitant look and mumbled, “So it was my fault? But I’m really unhappy… Aren, let’s go out and have fun! Let’s g-go make out with hot girls!”

Aren’s eyes widened, and he yelled, “Hot girls? Where did you learn that term?”

“The people from the nightclub said it.” The young master grabbed Aren’s arm and dragged him up completely. He stubbornly said, “Let’s go and make out with hot girls!”

Aren rolled his eyes and shouted, “You lolicon! I can’t think of a place where I can take you to hang out with hot girls! Don’t tell me an elementary school? We’ll get arrested by the police!”

“The police won’t dare to arrest me!” The young master angrily said, “Let them try!”

After hearing that, Aren knitted his brows and said, “Ah Ye, you’re really weird.”

The young master became depressed. At this time, I made a signal with my eyes to Aren. He noticed it and said to the young master, “Okay, okay, I’ll go find hot girls with you, all right? I know a good place!”

“This is a shop men should go to!”

Standing in front of the shop, Aren finished saying this in high spirits. When he turned and saw me, he immediately hurried to ask in a frantic manner, “Ah! Charles-gē, are you heading in as well?”

“Do not mind me.” I smiled and said, “I have once helped my employer clean up a bed littered with adult products. Moreover, they were used!”

“…A butler’s job is sure an exhausting one.”

Aren dragged the young master in. I naturally followed inside. The shop was filled with anime and manga posters. The majority of the posters featured nude girls, both real and animated. The important points were that they all had well developed breasts, small waists, and plump buttocks.

Although this shop did not suit the young master, it was better than letting him actually go out and “make out with hot girls.” The young master’s personality was too serious. He would likely not understand the meaning of “only playing around.” If the other party wanted him to take responsibility, he would possibly actually nod his head.

“How’s this? This is a breast body pillow. Try touching it. It feels nice to touch!”

At Aren’s instigation, the young master stroked it a few times and knitted his brows. “How is this good to touch? Briar’s much softer, and she even smells fragrant…” After saying this, he suddenly stopped, and his expression tightened. It seemed that he was not happy that he had thought of Briar.

Aren hurriedly changed the topic. “How about this? A 3D breast back cushion! Leaning against this while doing your assignments will be very comfortable!

“Also, this row has the newest photo girl posters.

“Those are the latest inflatable babes… Ah, it’s best that you don’t look at those.”

Under Aren’s great effort in introduction, the young master reluctantly bought two posters and a 3D breast back cushion. Without much spirit, he then said he wanted to go home.

After hearing that, both Aren and I breathed a huge sigh of relief and hurried to take the young master home.

“This is so cute!”

The young master suddenly stopped in his tracks. Both eyes brightly looked at the roadside shop’s poster. The poster was of a… chubby baby. Cute wind chimes hung outside the store, and various cute posters were plastered outside. There were all sorts of small toys. It seemed like a shop that girls would like.

Aren was stunned and said, “You already evolved from a lolicon to a baby-loli?”

“I want to go in to take a look.”

The young master actually went into the shop after speaking, leading to a commotion. In that “men’s shop” from earlier, few people inside paid attention to the young master, but there were many girls in this shop, and they appeared to recognize the young master at first sight.

“Wait!” Aren was alarmed. “This shop is not some place that we should go in!”

However, the young master had gone in anyway. I hurried to follow him inside. Although Aren revealed a distressed expression, he also followed us inside.

“That one is so cute too!” The young master saw another poster that he liked. It was of a giggling young girl. He looked at the poster and naturally said, “Oh, but Briar is still cuter…”

He fell silent. Then, without a second word, he began playing around with the things in the shop. He was much happier than when he had been in the “shop where men should go.”

“An Xiang Ye, you girl!” Aren was angry to the point of almost spitting blood.

The young master did not mind Aren’s angry growl at all. Instead, he was even more like a little girl as he played around with all the small toys and continually said, “This is so cute!

“That is so fun!

“And this, and this…”

In the end, the young master bought ten posters of babies, eight posters of young girls, and five posters of little mice and little dogs. In addition to that, he bought three big dolls, four porcelain dolls, and two bobble head babies.

Aren was very uncomfortable because his towering, robust stature that reached over 190 cm caused all of the girls in the shop to look at him as if he were a pervert.