M sunlight streamed through the windows of the living quarters above Café Lebnc, casting a soft glow across the wooden floors. The city of Pi was already awake outside, the distant hum of horse-drawn carriages and the chatter of merts filtering through the thin walls.

  Zero groaned, barely scious, his face half-buried in his pillow. He stretched an arm out blindly, feeling for warmth—no one.

  With a slow blink, he lifted his head.

  Soma and Erwin were already dressed and moving.

  Zero squinted. "Where the hell are you going?"

  Soma, adjusting his apron, rolled his eyes. "Running the café, you idiot."

  Zero waved him off, shifting his gaze to Erwin, who stood he door, fastening his tie over a sharp bck suit.

  "Not you, frying pan. I meant the little shitling."

  Erwin barely spared him a gnce as he smoothed down his pels. "Library."

  Zero frowned. "Library? The hell for?"

  Erwin adjusted his gsses. "I need information. Anything written about demon races—specifically, Archdemons. If I'm going to be your fa public, I o uand our ins."

  Zero yawned, rolling onto his back. "Cool. Have fun with that."

  Soma and Erwin exged gnces.

  Soma snorted. "Are we sure we're es of this zy bastard?"

  Erwin hummed. "At this point, I have my doubts."

  Zero flipped them off before tugging his b over his head. "Screw both of you."

  Soma nudged Erwin. "You want breakfast before heading out, detective?"

  Erwin took a seat at the small dining table. "Full stomach will help me read better."

  Soma smirked. "Nerd."

  As Erwin ate, Soma leaned against the ter, arms crossed.

  "Are you sure you wanna go as ? Why not Erwin?"

  Erwin finished chewing, wiping his mouth before answering. His voice was calm, measured.

  "If I go as Erwin, people will see me as a threat. If I go as , I'll be seen as an i curiosity—harmless, just a child asking questions. It'll lower their guard."

  Soma let out a low whistle. "Maniputive little bastard. I like it."

  Erwin gave him a small smirk.

  Soma pointed a spoon at him. "Just don't e g to Papa when some bad guys start following you."

  Erwin's gsses glinted as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose.

  "If they follow me, I'll lead them where I want them to go."

  With that, he hopped off his chair, adjusted his jacket, and walked out the door.

  Stepping out of Café Lebnc, Erwin took a moment to adjust to the city's rhythm.

  Pi was alive.

  Carriages rumbled over cobblestoreets, vendors shouted daily deals, workers hurried to their jobs. The city was a blend of old-world charm and industrial ambition, where magid maery iwined in a chaotic harmony.

  But Erwin wasn't just walking.

  He was . Calg.

  Rule #1 of Intelligehering: Every street is a story. Learn to read it.

  He noted:

  Guard patrol patterns—sistent but zy.Mert iions—who looked rexed, who looked paranoid.Demon presence—how they walked, how they were treated.

  That's where he saw it—

  The stark trast between humans and demons.

  At a fruit stall, a human woman handed over s for an apple. Simple.

  Right after her, a horned demon man stepped forward to do the same.

  The vendor's demeanor shifted instantly.

  His expression hardened, his lips curling slightly. "Double the price for your kind."

  The demoated, clearly annoyed but not surprised.

  Without a word, he pced twice the amount on the ter and walked away.

  The vendor smirked, scooping up the extra s.

  Erwin adjusted his gsses.

  Demon tax? No. This is something else. A quiet rule. An unspoken w.

  He kept walking, not drawing attention to himself.

  Further dowreet, he caught movement in a side alley.

  A young demon child, barely seven years old, was ered by two older human boys.

  The small demon, his curved goat-like horns barely visible under his hood, pressed himself against the brick wall as the older kids loomed over him.

  "Where you running, huh? Thought you were tough?"

  One of them shoved him against the wall.

  The child flirembling.

  Erwin didn't stop walking.

  But he calcuted.

  Intervene? Risk exposure.Call for help? No nearby authority.Cause a distra? Best choice.

  His fingers found a small stone in his pocket.

  He flicked it with expert precision—

  It cttered loudly against a metal trash in the alley, sending a sharp g through the narrow space.

  The two older kids whipped around, startled.

  The demon child seized the moment, bolting past them and disappearing into the crowd.

  Erwin didn't look back.

  Too many moving parts. 't solve everything at once. Gather information first. Make a pn ter.

  The Royal Library of Pi loomed ahead, a massive structure lined with marble pilrs and ornate carvings of historical events.

  Ihe st of aged part and ink filled the air, the dim glow of floating crystal nterns giving the pce a solemn, a feel.

  The librarian at the front desk gnced up, blinking at the sight of a well-dressed child walking in alone.

  Erroached fidently, resting his hands on the ter.

  The librarian squinted. "You lost, kid?"

  Erwin smiled. "No, sir. I'm looking for books on demon history—specifically, Archdemons."

  The librarian tilted his head. "Odd request. What's a kid like you doing researg demons?"

  Erwin's expression didn't ge.

  "It's for a history project. I'm really ied in learning about them."

  The librariaated.

  Then sighed. "Follow me."

  As Erwin walked deeper into the archives, his face calm aral, but his mind was already rag.

  The world saw demons as monsters. But what were they really?And more importantly…What was he?

  …

  The st of aged part and ink filled the air as Erwin followed the librarian into the history se of the Royal Library. The dim glow of ented crystal nterns overhead flickered slightly, casting long shadows betwee bookshelves.

  The librarian—a tired-looking older man with round spectacles—led Erwin down one of the aisles and stopped at a single shelf. He gestured vaguely at the books, barely suppressing a yawn.

  "Here you go, kid. Hope it's not for your final project, 'cause this is all we got on demon history."

  Erwin's brows furrowed as he g the shelf.

  There were only a handful of books.

  pared to the vast ses dedicated to human history, royal bloodlines, magical advas, and the rise and fall of noble houses, this felt… pathetic.

  A single row of texts. Most of them looked old and untouched.

  "That's it?" Erwin asked, feigning mild curiosity.

  The librarian shrugged. "Yeah, well. Not a lotta people ied in that subject. 't help you there. Good luck."

  Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked off, leaving Erwin alone in the aisle.

  The youive sighed, muttering to himself. "Well… at least it won't take long to read."

  He ran his fingers along the dusty book spines, pulling out a few promising ones.

  Something's off. If demons have existed as long as humans, their history should be just as extensive. So where is it?

  As he stacked the books at a nearby table and flipped open the first one, he mentally prepared himself for what he already suspected.

  The history of demons wasn't just ed.

  It had been erased.

  …

  Back at Café Lebnc, the m rush was in full swing.

  Zero moved between tables, delivering ptes and topping off coffee mugs, chatting with ers who had finally warmed up to him.

  Some of the regurs were even fortable enough to joke around with him now.

  "Hey, boss! Don't let Soma cook today, I don't trust a guy who smiles while holding a knife!" oron teased.

  Soma, passing by, grinned widely while twirling a knife in his hand. "Oh? You sure you wanna insult the guy handling your food?"

  The patron ughed nervously. "...Point taken."

  Zero smirked, pg a pte down. "See? And you all thought a demon running a café was the biggest problem."

  The bell above the door chimed.

  A familiar figure stepped inside.

  Detective Wolfe, looking even more exhausted than usual.

  Soma gnced up from behind the ter. "Detective! First time ing in for breakfast."

  Zero turoward him, raising an eyebrow.

  "You look like shit."

  Wolfe dragged himself to the ter and colpsed into a chair with a grunt.

  "Because I feel like shit." He rubbed his temples before muttering, "Get me something to eat."

  Zero nodded, but his curiosity iqued.

  "Good m, Detective."

  "M." Wolfe barely lifted his head.

  Zero leaned against the ter. "You okay?"

  Wolfe exhaled, staring at his empty coffee cup as if it personally offended him. "Yeah. I've already gotteo this."

  Zero frowned slightly. "What happened, anyway? I heard from ers that patrols have been looking thiely."

  Wolfe lifted his gaze, sharp despite his exhaustion.

  "That's department business for now. You'll read about it in the papers, maybe tomorrow."

  Zero studied him for a moment, then simply nodded, deg not to push further.

  Instead, he asked something more direct.

  "You don't mind me being a demon?"

  Wolfe didn't hesitate.

  "Don't care."

  Zero blinked. "...Really?"

  Wolfe sighed, running a hand through his hair.

  "As long as you're not a criminal, you're fine in my book. Doesn't matter if you're human, demon, or a damn talking griffin."

  He rolled his stiff shoulders, leaning ba his seat. "The way I see it, there are two kinds of people—"

  He poi Zero.

  "The ones who make trouble."

  Then, he gestured to himself.

  "And the ones who up after them."

  Zero chuckled. "That's a very... simplistic way of looking at things."

  Wolfe shrugged. "It works."

  Zero pced a freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of him.

  Wolfe sighed in relief and took a sip.

  For the first time that m, his expression rexed.

  Zero smirked.

  "Well, as long as you're here, breakfast is on us."

  Wolfe narrowed his eyes. "I don't take bribes."

  Zero ughed. "Not a bribe. Just a 'thank you' for dealing with that mess yesterday."

  Wolfe studied him for a moment.

  Then, without another word, he picked up his fork and started eating.

  …

  The grae of House Brenford was silent, save for the soft crag of a firepce within the duke's office.

  Duke Astair Brenford sat in his high-backed leather chair, fingers steepled as he gazed over a detailed map of Pi, the kingdom's erritories and trade routes marked with precise annotations.

  The room was lined with t bookshelves, filled with ledgers, political records, and dots that held more power than any sword ever could.

  A knock at the door broke the quiet.

  His personal butler entered, his movements crisp and disciplined, despite his age-lined face.

  "My lord," the butler began, bowing. "The police have cracked down on one of the drug operations."

  Duke Brenford's expression remained ral, but his fiapped idly against the mahogany desk.

  "How much damage?"

  The butler cleared his throat.

  "Roughly 1/16th of the entire kingdom's distribution has been dismantled."

  For the first time, the duke's brows furrowed.

  "They work fast."

  "Not fast enough," the butler replied smoothly. "By tomorrow, the rest will move, and the police will find themselves back at square one."

  Duke Brenford leaned back, a small smirk pying at his lips.

  "That's excellent."

  His butler tilted his head slightly. "My lord?"

  Brenford folded his hands over his chest. "Losing 1/16th of my revenue from our small business means nothing. It's pocket ge. But this… this gives us leverage."

  He turned his gaze toward a portrait on the wall—an older painting of his grandfather, the previous duke, known for his brutal effi politics.

  "If we py this right, we might be able to pocket our new Chief of Police."

  The butler remaioic, but his voice was firm.

  "With all due respect, sir, he will not agree. He is relentless."

  Brenford chuckled.

  "Everyone has a price."

  The butler did not look vinced.

  The duke let out a soft sigh, standing from his desk and moving toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking his estate's gardens.

  His golden-haired newborn son was being pushed in a small stroller by one of the maids.

  The child's gaze—though only days old—was eerily observant.

  "If the chief is unwilling to be bought, then we do what we must."

  He turned back to the butler.

  "Keep him tangled in obstacles. Dey his iigations. Ehat nothing he does progresses fast enough to make a real difference. By the time he realizes what's happening, the board will have already ged."

  The butler bowed deeply. "As you and, my lord."

  The duke smiled.

  "Good. The others and I will be meeti week. There is much to discuss."

  The butler exited the office with quiet precision.

  Astair Brenford returo his desk, pig up a crystal gss of brandy and swirling it slowly.

  His thoughts were already on the move.

  The police had won a battle.

  But he was still winning the war.