She fucked up.

Akeno ran toward the temple as she thought about what she did.

She helped someone. That wasn't the problem. The problem was who she helped.

A man contracted to a devil.

This wasn't anything rare nowadays. Devils were rather open about those contracts.

She should have ignored that person, but she didn't have any choice since that person muttered out, "Save me".

By the time she realized it, she had saved that person from the evil spirit.

It was only afterward that she would come to know that the human was someone that had been making a pact with the servant Devil of the current Head of the House of Gremory.

But at that time, she realized it was my mistake for stepping foot into the Devil's territory. The fact about the Devils fighting against the Fallen Angels was the knowledge that she attained during her journey.

‘I am a being that carries the blood of a Fallen Angel. If I step foot into their territory, it wouldn't be weird for me to become their target. There was a high possibility that the Devils knew that I got into contact with one of the humans they have a pact with. …There are many Devils that have strong pride. If they come to find out about a mere Fallen Angel girl got in contact with their client… They will come to eliminate me to get rid of their disgrace.’

This way of thinking might be a little extreme, but one didn’t survive on the street and in such a dangerous world by being careless.

She decided to hide in the abandoned temple within that city for the time being and decided to observe silently for a while. It was best to not get involved if you get wrapped in such cases.

After all, it was impossible for a child like her to fight a grown-up Devil.

It happened several hours after she hid herself in the temple. She sensed a presence that was coming closer to her. She tried to look outside timidly from the broken door. And what appeared in front of my eyes was...crimson. A beautiful crimson hair.

A girl who looked like she was the same age as her. That girl who had an aura of someone who isn't a human, like herself, was looking around the surroundings.

Akeno immediately decided to hide her presence, and went out from the back before hiding herself behind the tree after exiting the temple without making a sound. As she did it, she began to berate herself,

‘Staying inside the temple wasn’t a good idea after all. A location that is known is the same as an easy target for them, and there won't be anything left of me if I were attacked first.’

The crimson-haired girl says it with a loud voice,

"If you are here, then please come out. If you are willing to talk seriously about the reason for you to enter the territory of someone close to me, then I won't do anything like blaming you for it."

She couldn’t trust what a Devil would say. Her having a cute face changing nothing to this truth.

She nearly cried in frustration,

‘As I expected, it seems like they found out about me purifying the evil spirit. And from what I can understand by searching through her aura, She should be a child from a powerful family. I probably won't be able to stay alive if I go against her.’

All this while, the crimson-haired girl continued to talk in a persuasive way. However, Akeno did not show herself in front of her. She simply turned off her presence and waited for that girl to leave.

‘Sadly, since she has found out about this place, then it will be good for me to leave here right away. I will need a new place where I can hide.’

When she began to think about the dangerous situation she was in, the crimson-haired girl sighed in a disappointed manner, probably because Akeno didn't show herself.

She then says this. "... The truth is, there are mountaineering ascetics that are looking for you. Those humans came to negotiate with us. They said, Can you leave the Fallen Angel girl to us?"

'—!' Hearing that, Akeno's body shivered. It was most likely them. The group of mountaineering ascetic that started appearing in places where she visited since a year ago.

The cog began to turn faster. She began to see something that she didn't want to see

'They aren't after me because I'm a hindrance to their job.'

Then, most likely they were truly after her life.

The crimson-haired girl continued as she said this.

"…Before those people appear in front of you, come to my side. I won't treat you badly. As long as you explain the situation to me, I will give you the most support I can."

Her words were so gentle…..that it sounded like her deceased mother. But even so. She was a devil. She couldn't believe in them.

After saying this, the crimson-haired girl didn't insist and simply left.

Akeno slumped on the ground, her limbs devoid of all strength.

She took her knees and put her head between them. Previously, her nerves were so stressed that it felt like they could snap at any moment. Now though. She was simply tired.

'I will wait here until sunrise.'

It was already dusk. But she didn't mind waiting out in the cold. She was already used to it.

'Devils are weaker under the sunlight. It would be the perfect time'

Of course, Akeno didn't know how naive this way of thinking was. But she was a child.

What she didn't know was that, while she was resting, a shadow having observed all this situation relayed a message to her master.