Gun of Ashes

But now this guy is eating desserts with big bites, getting cream all over his hands. He looks at 042, as if the old man is getting younger too, letting out a burst of joyful laughter.

”People are like this; for things they don’t understand, they always make many speculations, and over time, they idolize a person... But I’m just an ordinary person, also worn down by time.” The old man said.

”But... Do you have any hobbies, 042?”

”Hobbies?”

”Yes, hobbies. Even I like sweets. You should have something you like too, right?” the old man asked.

”This... Can I say? I remember the Demon Hunter...”

042 hesitated a bit. Before being transferred by the old man, he received many years of training within the Demon Hunting Order, under Dean Lawrence’s guidance. Demon Hunters were trained to suppress their emotions, becoming indifferent, turning into weapons, and obviously, weapons wouldn’t have hobbies; they just execute orders.

”It’s okay, your Alchemy Matrix isn’t perfected yet. You don’t quite count as a Demon Hunter for now, so go ahead and speak.” The old man’s attitude today was particularly different, so friendly that 042 almost forgot what kind of person he originally was.

”Stories, reading stories in books? Actually, I’m not sure how exactly to say it. Anyway, I want to see a bigger world.”

”A bigger world?”

”Exactly, I have a few very good friends within the Order, we...” 042 suddenly fell silent, realizing something wasn’t right. Informing each other about the content of [Divine Favor Baptism] was strictly forbidden within the Order.

”You all knew about each other’s [Divine Favor Baptism]?” The old man saw right through what 042 wanted to conceal.

”Sorry, sir!”

”It’s okay, it’s okay.” Watching 042’s anxious appearance, the elderly man kindly asked.

”So what did you see?”

”Stories, one bizarre story after another, a colorful world... far more beautiful than Florence, and far grander than what we know about this world.” 042 said, somewhat entranced.

”Since then, I’ve felt that both my body and soul were taken away by those unknown beautiful worlds. I want to see them...”

”But such scenes don’t exist in this world.” The old man regretted.

”No, there are, sir.” 042 refuted him.

”Ingwig, Old Dunling, 047 often spoke to me about these places. He said it is the most advanced city, where our desires are found. Once retired, he wants to go to Old Dunling and open some kind of office to be a detective.”

042 seemed to let down his guard during this idle chat, speaking outwardly about the future.

”Sounds quite nice. It’s a pity I’m not a Demon Hunter; I’ll never be able to personally see what you see.” The old man said wistfully. It was rare; he was actually envious of such things.

”When I was young, I also had a friend who was a Demon Hunter. Such a thing sounds impossible, but that’s the way it was. Because of various reasons, we two, who were destined not to intersect, thus came to know each other.” Suddenly, the old man spoke about something involving himself.

”Did he share his [Divine Favor Baptism] with you?” 042 asked.

”More or less, he was an interesting Demon Hunter. To be precise, aside from having Secret Blood and occasionally hacking away at Demons, he was hardly like a Demon Hunter. On the surface, he behaved himself, but secretly he disdained the doctrine greatly. He said his greatest wish was to become an adventurer, going to different countries, different continents, searching for what he saw in the [Divine Favor Baptism].”

The old man recalled things from decades ago; it was all so distant. Back then, he wasn’t yet Cardinal Medici, but just like 042—a small child longing for those fantastic scenes.

”This...” 042’s expression was somewhat peculiar.

”You felt it too, right? At the time, he didn’t know my identity. The fool thought I was also a Demon Hunter. Later, when he learned I had the Medici surname, his expression was really interesting.”

The old man animatedly described it, and no one could imagine he would have such a lively side.

”With a worldly expression, he said to me, ’Ah, violating the doctrine, sorry, is it burning at the stake or beheading? Given our long-standing friendship, can you make it swift?’ like that.

According to the doctrine, this Demon Hunter was greatly sinful, nearly violating every rule. He even burned the sacred texts in front of me, simply because we didn’t have firewood for roasting wild rabbits. He was really a great sinner... But I didn’t kill him; instead, I helped him conceal all this.

It was truly peculiar friendship. I was a descendant of the Medici family, embraced by holy faith, and according to the path established by my family, upon maturity, I would become a Cardinal and be interred in the Seven Hills after my death, ending my devout life devoted to God.

But then I encountered that slightly crazy fool, and through his wild words and fantasies, I suddenly found the shackles of faith on me loosening. By the end, I seemed to turn into a heretic like him.

And this guy was really interesting. To better and more accurately describe what he saw in the [Divine Favor Baptism] for me, he later even drew many paintings related to the [Divine Favor Baptism] for me.”

The old man spoke while stuffing desserts into his mouth, with cream and crumbs covering his white beard.

”But his painting skills were truly terrible, as if he dipped a chicken in paint and let it run around on a canvas. I couldn’t clearly see what he wanted to depict, and later he realized this as well, stopping drawing and instead casually chatted with me about what he saw.”