I’m a Holy Knight, but I Contracted with an Evil God - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 21.
After obtaining a pass to Section 2 from Aila, Leon spent his evenings in the Archive once his daily duties ended.
To others, it appeared he was devoting even his personal time to study—a model of diligence—but the truth was far different.
All of this was preliminary work to ‘borrow’ Gregory’s Key.
‘His schedule’s pretty regular, isn’t it?’
【Yes. He even changes his clothes.】
‘You have to be clean to attend Vespers.’
Gregory was both the Archivist and one of the Church of Light’s high priests.
Though his archival duties sometimes caused him to skip the daytime prayers, he fulfilled his obligation as a high priest by never missing the evening Vespers service.
To do so, he left his post for roughly an hour and a half each evening—a fixed part of Gregory’s routine.
As it happened, there was a convenient detail: when Gregory changed his clothes to attend Vespers, he left the Necklace Leon coveted in his private quarters.
That hour and a half when Gregory was away.
That was the time limit Leon had been given.
Leon confirmed Gregory’s departure as expected and, the moment his presence faded, made his way to the priest’s private quarters.
‘He locks the door, but surely we can manage that?’
【Of course I’m going to do it?】
‘You broke through the Section 2 barrier—you can’t handle a simple door lock?’
Though it was a private space, Gregory’s quarters contained numerous important items and was secured with a locking mechanism similar to the one that guarded the Archive’s inner sanctum.
Of course, it was less sophisticated than the barrier protecting Section 2.
【If you’re planning to use me like this every time, why don’t you just learn how to do it yourself?】
‘Next time.’
He said it lightly, but there could be no room for error in disengaging Gregory’s lock.
If an amateur attempt went wrong, it would become far too troublesome.
Leon firmly declined Ecrizé’s grumbling and placed his left hand on the lock, while Ecrizé, with clear reluctance, unlocked it for him.
‘Complaining after doing it so easily.’
【Then why can’t you do something so simple?】
‘Let’s leave it for next time. I can’t risk making a mistake while learning.’
【You cunning thing.】
Leon refrained from replying, sensing Ecrizé’s complaints would be endless.
The interior was cramped.
A small desk, a bookshelf, and a clothing rack—that was all.
【It’s rather tight, isn’t it.】
‘Austere, really.’
On the clothing rack visible the moment the door opened hung Gregory’s everyday robes and, of course, the Necklace.
Leon reached out and took only the Necklace when Ecrizé asked a question.
【That thing—it looks like it has some kind of individual authentication. Is that really all right?】
‘Ah, that’s not a problem. Thanks to this.’
Leon said so and grasped the Necklace’s pendant in his left hand.
At the same moment, faint light kindled within the Necklace.
The Saint Stigma inscribed on the back of his hand glowed in tandem.
【It responds to your Saint Stigma? How convenient.】
‘One of the few advantages the Saint Stigma offers.’
【True enough. Who would have imagined that a so-called child of the Divine would resort to theft.】
Leon smiled wryly and made his way to Section 2.
Time was limited, so he quickened his pace.
With the Archivist’s Key in hand, he could access everything except the deepest classified sections, but with time running short, Leon rapidly reviewed the documents he’d pre-identified.
And on that basis, he was able to reach several conclusions.
“So the Church does have some awareness of Chaos after all.”
【Wouldn’t it be strange if they didn’t?】
“I wondered if they didn’t know, given how carelessly they’ve been going about things.”
Before his regression, Leon had learned something from his time in the field, despite holding the official title of Holy Knight as a Saint Stigma Bearer but being treated like a foot soldier.
The Church engaged in pointless busywork—shamefully, embarrassingly much of it.
Each task lacked coherence, and unnecessary work repeated constantly, so he’d assumed the upper echelon was either incompetent or ignorant of the broader picture—but…
“It seems it wasn’t stupidity or a matter of capability after all.”
【Oh? Your thinking has changed? What brought that about?】
“Look at this.”
Leon said so and pointed to one corner of the spread documents.
The worn, grimy bundle of parchment was frayed and stained as if it hadn’t been properly maintained since it was written.
And the corner Leon indicated appeared to be just one of those stains.
【Dirty?】
“That’s the easy assumption. Everyone would probably think the same thing. But doesn’t the placement strike you as odd?”
【The stain is positioned right at the conclusion section of the report. Part of the recorded data is missing. Yes, just as you said—subtle. If it’s not mere chance.】
“There isn’t a single document without this kind of damage. Not just one or two—every last record. It can’t possibly be coincidence.”
Someone had deliberately damaged the records.
And every single instance involved content related to the Unknown Particles suspected of being Chaos.
【A tedious undertaking. Wouldn’t it be simpler to destroy the entire report than to damage it piece by piece like this?】
“It wouldn’t work. When something is stored separately like this, there’ll be copies elsewhere. A report of this magnitude means the Church of Light invested both money and time into it. If people remember such work, there’d be more than a few. If such a report vanished entirely, what would happen then?”
【That would certainly raise far more suspicion.】
“Exactly. So this was probably the best our rat could manage.”
【It does seem certain that our rat exists, just as you said.】
“Doesn’t look like anyone from the upper ranks. If this rat were one of them, they’d have buried the investigation itself.”
【So the scope narrows?】
“Somewhat.”
Someone in a position where they couldn’t suppress the investigation itself, yet had free access to Section 2.
The rat hiding within the Church of Light had to be somewhere in that range.
【Any suspects standing out?】
“Can’t say I know. There are too many.”
【Better to assume they’re all untrustworthy.】
“Well, they’re all equally unreliable people, that’s for certain.”
Leon muttered bitterly, old memories surfacing.
The upper ranks as Leon remembered them were not concerned with practicing Arserial’s teachings, but rather consumed with reclaiming the lost honor and prestige of the Church of Light.
That tendency grew more pronounced the higher you climbed, and especially among those who held ranks other than Holy Knight.
Therefore, this transcended personal trust.
It wasn’t a question of how they’d treated him before the return.
Could they truly be trusted at all?
Or at least—could they act without shame in Arserial’s name?
That line of thought was cut short by Ecrizé’s question.
【Should we look further?】
“Hm? No, we’ve seen nearly everything… wait, is Gregory heading back?”
【Nearly.】
“Damn, he’s earlier than expected!”
Gregory’s return sooner than anticipated.
There was no time to return the Necklace to its place.
Then what?
“I’ll have to change tactics.”
Leon murmured quietly, then instead of running to Gregory’s quarters, he concealed himself near the entrance to Section 2.
And when Gregory reached his quarters and was about to open the door, Leon called out to him.
“Good day to you.”
“Oh, yes. Leon. You’re still here.”
Gregory seemed genuinely pleased to see Leon, thanks to a week of cordial interaction.
It was probably because believers rarely frequented the Archive except for assigned tasks or training.
“Has Vespers finished already?”
“It ended a bit early today. The Church seems to have a visitor.”
Gregory said this as he removed his outer robe.
Leon accepted it naturally, stepping close enough to avoid seeming awkward.
And he continued the conversation smoothly.
“A visitor? That doesn’t seem to happen often. How interesting.”
“No, it’s quite rare.”
Responding, Gregory reached for his quarters’ door handle, then hesitated for a moment—but only briefly.
And as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, Leon seamlessly slipped between Gregory and the clothing rack.
“Shall I hang it here?”
Leon said this while spreading the robe out wide and deliberately.
Though Leon and Gregory were much the same height, the spread robe became an excellent screen, completely blocking Gregory’s view of the clothing rack.
And Leon seized the moment, hanging the borrowed Necklace back in its place.
It was over in an instant.
“…Ah, I need to change. Give me back the garment.”
The movements were somewhat unnatural, perhaps.
But his voice remained calm, and his motions unhurried.
Gregory felt a strange sense of discord, yet couldn’t quite place what it was indicating.
Leon handed back the clothing and asked about the visitor.
“Who’s come to visit? If Vespers is ending early, they must be someone of considerable standing.”
“All I know is that they’re a high-ranking person from the Capital.”
“I see.”
The question was natural enough.
Since the clothes Leon handed over bore no suspicious marks, Gregory dismissed the sense of unease he’d felt as mere fancy.
As he changed into fresh vestments, Gregory asked, “You’ll be heading back soon, then?”
It was a reasonable guess, given Leon’s routine over the past week.
Vespers coincided with the candidates’ evening meal, and for nearly a week, Leon had been leaving the Archive just as the Dining Hall was closing its doors.
“Likely. With a guest present, the Dining Hall should be able to close a bit early today.”
“Very well, then.”
After a little more idle conversation, Leon departed from the Archive.
All his intended business was finished.
* * *
“How was it? Convincing?”
【You did ramble on quite a bit, I’ll grant you that.】
“Misdirection is basic tradecraft. He mustn’t suspect a thing.”
【True enough. The archivist will never imagine you were stealing from him.】
“I returned it to its place. How is that theft?”
Perhaps because the plan had succeeded so flawlessly, Leon’s spirits were remarkably high, and he couldn’t help but press down the smile tugging at his lips as he made his way to his quarters.
The tense walk he’d just completed felt as distant as a dream; his room was a haven of perfect stillness.
【So, what’s next?】
At Ecrizé’s question, Leon recalled the facts he’d uncovered in Section 2.
The “Western Region Ecological Report” matched Leon’s hypothesis perfectly — it was research material on Chaos in the air itself.
So cunningly written, in fact, that one lacking a deeper understanding of Chaos would never grasp its true meaning.
“I need more related materials.”
【But you returned the Key, didn’t you?】
“I grasped the essential keywords. If I know what to search for, I can access materials in sections that don’t require the Key at all.”
Just as his understanding of the “Western Region Ecological Report” had transformed once he grasped that Chaos persists in the air itself, he needed to search further for similar documents.
“Besides, I was always planning to survey contamination zones once I become an elite Holy Knight anyway. This is simply killing two birds with one stone.”
【Contamination zones? You mean to absorb the Chaos there.】
“Prevent contamination and build strength simultaneously.”
【Spare me the false modesty. The second purpose is the real one, isn’t it?】
“…You keep forgetting I’m of Holy Knight lineage.”
【You’re Arserial’s child, technically speaking. Though your essence is anything but.】
Leon ignored the mockery.
He smiled bitterly and added, “I need to grow stronger.”
He would find those who had killed him.
And he would erase them utterly.
With that vow burning in his heart, Leon closed his eyes to sleep.
A premonition settled over him — tomorrow onwards would be far too busy.
To be continued ▶
A Holy Knight in Contract with a Demon God
Author
Ram Dat
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
March 27, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227066
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited, and violators will face both civil and criminal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from writers.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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