The witch may have signed a contract with demons, but she is also one of humanity's guardians.
"However, Cereza, your hospitality is really lacking. Madama Butterfly came here to help, yet you didn't even pour her a cup of tea."
Jeanne changed into slippers, walked into the living room, and seeing the empty coffee table, couldn't help but scold Bayonetta.
Then she froze for a moment, "Help? What happened? Doesn't seem like there are angels around here."
"It has nothing to do with angels. It's just that Mr. Cat wanted to ask Madama Butterfly something, and now he's already got his answer."
Bayonetta explained, then frowned and added, "Also, why are you criticizing me for not serving the guest instead of Mr. Cat? I remember you said last night that he's the master of this house."
"That's simple, because I can't bear to scold him, so you're the one who has to be wronged." Jeanne said with a mischievous smile.
Then she plopped down next to Aiden and asked him, "So, what did you need to ask her? Are you in trouble?"
"It's not us. It's Enzo." Aiden said, "He just called Miss Cat, saying his child was kidnapped by a woman, and that this woman seems to have some connection with demons."
"He really is unlucky." Jeanne sighed.
Last time Enzo was hunted by subordinates of a demon called the Black Knight, and now his child was kidnapped by a woman tied to demons. Just incredible.
"So, when are we leaving?" she asked again. Truth be told, she also quite liked Enzo's two kids. Of course, that was love by association, because Aiden said he liked them.
Aiden said, "The sooner the better. Preferably buy tickets for a flight today."
"Then I'll book the tickets right now." Jeanne, who had barely sat down, stood up again, pulled out her phone, then dug a phone book out from the drawer under the coffee table.
While flipping through it, she muttered, "This can't be for free, Enzo has to pay us. Tickets are so expensive, and I'm unemployed."
"You can use my money." Aiden pulled out a wad of euros, all large-denomination 500 notes.
But Jeanne shook her head, "You should spend your money on yourself and on us. This time, I'll put the ticket expenses on Enzo's tab. Anyway, he's rich."
"Alright then." Aiden tucked the money back, then sighed and said sincerely, "Jeanne, you really are a good woman who knows how to manage a household."
"Thanks for the compliment, dear." The silver-haired witch laughed happily at being praised.
"What about me?" The black-haired witch on the side immediately grew dissatisfied.
"You too, of course, Miss Cat."
"Not sincere at all." Though she said so, Bayonetta still smiled. She was just that easy to please.
Meanwhile, the female demon sitting nearby watched the three of them laughing together and suddenly felt very out of place.
'Am I really that ugly?'
Thinking that, Madama Butterfly touched her face…
———
After the silver-haired witch finished booking tickets, the female demon was sent back to hell by the black-haired witch. The three of them quickly packed their luggage, then set out for the airport.
At 1 p.m., the plane, rarely, departed on time. Seven or eight hours later, it landed in that big East Coast city.
"My god, you're finally here."
After taking their call, Enzo had been waiting early at the airport. The man, usually so devoted to his family, now looked like an ant on a hot pan as he paced back and forth at the arrivals exit.
The moment he saw Aiden and the others come out, he rushed over in long strides.
And he wasn't surprised to see Jeanne, he'd already been informed before they set out, and she had even discussed the fee with him. He had agreed without a second thought.
When they met, Bayonetta, who had worked with him many times, saw the anxious look on his face and comforted, "Don't worry, Enzo. We'll save your children."
"I know. I believe in your abilities. But, you've never been parents, so you can't possibly understand this feeling of anxiety. It's something I just can't control right now." Enzo said bitterly.
Hearing that, Bayonetta could only shrug and say no more. She was still a long way from having children herself, so of course she couldn't empathize.
The same went for Aiden and Jeanne.
The three then followed Enzo toward the parking lot. When they reached his sports car, Aiden finally asked, "So, when did that woman arrange to meet you?"
"Tonight, at midnight." Enzo got into the car, pulled out his keys, and tried to start the engine. Maybe from being too anxious, he failed several times to even get the key into the ignition.
"Where?" Aiden, naturally sitting in the passenger seat, took the keys from him and helped slot them in.
"She didn't say yet. She told me to wait for her call." Enzo sighed. "No matter what she wants from me, as long as she doesn't harm my children, I'll give it all to her. I really can't live without them."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Enzo. Maybe her demands will be low." Aiden patted his shoulder.
He didn't think Enzo had anything worth Mundus's attention anyway. Perhaps the woman simply wanted to know from Enzo the whereabouts of that demon hunter.
After all, the woman's true nature wasn't bad.
Enzo didn't take Aiden and the others to his house. After the kidnapping, his wife's emotions had been even less stable than his.
She had cried all day, and if Enzo hadn't told her he had a way to save their child, she would likely have called the police already.
So Enzo brought them directly to the Gates of Hell bar. After a whole day of anxiety, he also needed some alcohol to soothe himself.
Unlike the last few times Aiden came here, the bar was unusually lively tonight.
Every table was packed, and several scantily clad bunny girls flitted between them carrying trays, darting about like butterflies.
Even when drunk guests groped them, they didn't mind, instead, they would toss a flirty smile before running off.
"Click. Quite lively." Aiden's eyes flicked briefly over the bunny girls before quickly looking away.
Not because he feared the witches' displeasure if he stared too long, in fact, the witches were openly sizing up the bunny girls, since they could all tell these women weren't human.
"I thought Rodin was a proper businessman doing legitimate trade!" Aiden muttered to the witches beside him.
Rodin's bar didn't blare exaggerated heavy metal like normal bars, but rather soft, soothing background music.
So even when Aiden spoke quietly, the witches could still hear him. It just… didn't quite fit the atmosphere of the place.
Hearing him, Bayonetta smiled faintly, "Rodin's a businessman. What businessman is truly proper?"
"Fair point." Aiden nodded in agreement, then the group headed to the bar counter.
As they passed one table, a lewd whistle sounded, followed by a groping hand reaching out.
But before it touched, the hand stopped midair, and its owner was suddenly lifted up.
"Such a cliché scene, but after all this time, it's my first time experiencing it. So, buddy, how do you want this to end?" Aiden clutched the throat of a large bald man.
Though drunk, the bald man still had some awareness. He knew his own weight was well over 200 pounds, yet this man had lifted him one-handed.
He began to suspect he'd stumbled onto the set of The Terminator. At the same time, fear gripped him.
His companions at the table dared not move recklessly either, though one man's hand slowly edged toward his waistband.
"Sorry, man, I didn't mean it." The bald man rasped, struggling to breathe.
"So you mean, you did mean it then?" Aiden's lips curved slightly. He turned to Enzo and asked, "Want to blow off some steam? A punching bag, right here."
Enzo thought about it, and realized he really did need an outlet. Without hesitation, he kicked the bald man squarely in the groin. The man fainted from the pain on the spot.
Seeing this, not only Aiden, but many men in the bar instinctively looked down at themselves, wincing in sympathetic pain.
As the man collapsed unconscious, his companions leapt to their feet. One even drew a pistol, but quickly tossed it aside when two witches pressed their gun barrels against their skulls.
Aiden flung the bald man to the floor and said coldly, "We don't have time to play with you. Now, take him and get out. Otherwise, I'll make sure you end up like him, spending the rest of your life as eunuchs."
Hearing that, the group didn't dare say a word. They grabbed the bald man and rushed out. The other patrons quickly turned their attention back to their own business. Fights in bars were routine, nothing unusual.
Once they left, Aiden sighed helplessly to the witches, "This kind of scene I've only ever seen in TV dramas. Looks like, hanging around you two, I'll be seeing plenty more of it."
Both witches easily caught the implication in his tone. Jeanne chuckled, "Can't be helped. We are attractive, after all!"
"More like the security here is just terrible. Don't you agree, Rodin?" Aiden, used to the witches' vanity, walked up to the counter and addressed Rodin, who had ignored the entire scene.
"Don't worry. Scum like that won't live long, my friends." Rodin said coolly.
Hearing this, Aiden noticed a few of the bunny girls were missing.
"Let's just hope this doesn't end up on tomorrow's front page." Aiden could roughly guess what those bunny girls had gone off to do, but he felt no sympathy for the men's fates.
"A few deaths in the slums are nothing. Not only won't it hit the headlines, the police won't even bother to check."
At most, it'll be filed as a missing persons case. And they'll never find the bodies." Rodin said with chilling calm.
Then he looked at Enzo, "When you're in a bad mood, you need a drink. Enzo, this round's on me. The best stuff I've got. Not a cent from you."
"Thanks." Enzo hopped onto a barstool, nodding gratefully, then added, "Does that mean you'll wipe away my old bar tab too?"
"What do you think?" Rodin shot him an annoyed glance, then took out a bottle of his private reserve and poured a glass for each of them.
After a sip, his eyes turned to Jeanne, sitting next to Aiden.
"Didn't expect that aside from Bayonetta, there were other survivors of the witches."
"And I didn't expect an angel to fall into demonhood, and even become a middleman." Jeanne drank deeply, smiling as she said it.
That left Aiden confused. Curious, he asked Jeanne what she meant by "middleman."
Jeanne explained at once, "Not all demons can seduce humans into offering their souls, and not all vampires have a rich supply of blood."
"Some struggling low-level monsters sell away their freedom to middlemen who can shelter them, in exchange for food. But these middlemen are prime targets for the Church and demon hunters."
That made Aiden frown slightly.
"I never prey on good people. This world is already bad enough, there's no need to make the few good ones even fewer." Rodin explained calmly.
"Those guys were long-scheduled targets. With the crimes they've committed, they deserve their fate."
"Then I'm relieved." Aiden let out a breath. His moral bottom line wouldn't bend just because of relationships, at least, not yet.
The conversation didn't linger on Rodin's current dealings for long. It quickly shifted back to Enzo, after all, the whole reason Aiden's group had rushed to America was for him.
Rodin, protective of his barware, polished glasses with what looked like a strip of animal hide while asking, "That woman hasn't called yet?"
"No." Enzo, whose mood had only just been soothed by alcohol, grew agitated again. Normally careful with his appearance, he now buried his hands in his messy hair in pain.
"Whatever she wants to do, whatever she wants, just hurry up and call me already."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y