[Wood]
[Wooden Barrel]
[Wooden Barrel]
I frowned as Appraisal showed nothing unusual in the corner where Kel's eyes had flicked. I had already scanned this room earlier, so the result wasn't surprising.
Still, curiosity nagged at me. I walked over and pried open one of the barrels—it was empty. The second was the same. Maybe Kel really had just glanced over there by coincidence when I mentioned money.
Not convinced, I shoved the barrels aside.
[Wooden Trap Door]
"Woah…" I muttered, staring at the floor. If not for Appraisal, I would have missed it completely—under the candlelight, the trap door blended seamlessly with the wooden planks.
I crouched and pressed against the wood. It gave way with a faint click, and I lifted two joined planks to reveal the hidden space beneath.
The faint glow of candlelight reflected off metal. Leaning closer, I saw it clearly: a small iron safe, locked tight with a padlock.
So that's where Mardel was hiding the money.
The lock itself wasn't an issue—Durandal could probably cut through both padlock and safe like butter. But I had another idea, one that made me grin.
"Who knew this would ever come in handy," I whispered, opening my Item Box and pulling out a small case.
The Novice Lockpick Set. My level 5 Thief reward. At the time, I had cursed the useless thing, as I was sure I would never need it. Yet here I was, not even a week into this new world, already putting it to use. It was almost like I couldn't help but steal stuff.
Maybe it wasn't just a coincidence that Thief was my very first job.
Click.
The padlock gave way easily under the lockpick tools. Once again, I reminded myself never to underestimate any system reward.
I slipped the Lockpick Set back into my Item Box immediately—last thing I needed was Kel walking in and seeing it.
Honestly, it was a blessing that system rewards could be stored inside the Item Box at all. Normally, only Labyrinth items could go inside. If that hadn't been the case, the lockpick set would be stuck in the Explorer's Backpack—which Roxanne was carrying right now—and I wouldn't even have the chance to use it here.
I set the padlock aside, opened the safe, and leaned in with anticipation.
It was small, barely enough to hold a few items. Inside were three pouches and a rolled piece of papyrus. I pulled everything out, closed the safe, and left the padlock hanging loose without bothering to lock it again. Replacing the trap door and rolling the barrels back over it, I sat down at the desk and laid out my haul.
First up, the papyrus. A quick glance told me it was a property deed—most likely for this very building. Useless to me, since I doubted I could just wave a piece of paper around and take ownership. Still, I wasn't about to leave it behind so I stuffed it inside my pants pocket. Emptying the safe completely felt far better.
Next, I checked the three small pouches. All of them were filled with coins—two with gold and one with silver.
Since Kel hadn't returned yet, I quickly counted them. The first pouch held twenty gold coins, the second twenty silver coins, and the third thirty gold coins.
I smirked. This had to be the fund Mardel planned to use for buying Setsuna's villagers. And that last pouch—those thirty gold coins were almost certainly the very same I had paid him for Setsuna.
It felt good getting my money back… with interest.
"Not bad," I muttered, grinning as I dumped the coins into my Item Box.
Now the only money left was whatever he had on his person. Sure, he might have more trap doors hidden somewhere in the building, but I doubted it. And even if he did, I didn't have the time to search—footsteps were already approaching.
I clutched my head, lowering my gaze and bending my back, slipping back into character.
"Master, I have brought Old Al," Kel announced with a bow as he opened the door.
I immediately Appraised the old man shuffling in behind him.
[Al
Adventurer Level 19]
"Master, you promised me you'd take care of my gambling debt after this job," the old man said after bowing.
He was a bald, skinny Adventurer with a slave collar around his neck—so he was Mardel's slave as well. That made me about ninety percent certain that he would be the one to take me to the village with Field Walk rather than by wagon.
"Ha! Even if Master pays your debt, you'll just start gambling again and end up back where you started," Kel smirked.
"No, no—I've learned my lesson," Al said with a gap-toothed smile. "No more big bets. I'll stick to small wins from now on."
I was half-surprised that he didn't have the Gambler job, given how bad his habits seemed… though I knew that job wasn't so simple to acquire.
"Master, I've brought the screen too. Are you leaving now?" Kel asked, ignoring him.
"Ugh, one thing first, Kel," I said, rubbing my head. I gestured toward Al. "Can you wait outside for a bit?"
"Yes, Master." The old man bowed obediently and left. Kel closed the door behind him and approached with a smile that was a little too eager.
"What can I do for you, Master?" he asked.
I got the distinct impression he had misunderstood my intentions. I only wanted to ask him some questions, obviously if he was a cute girl instead then it would have been different.
"Argh, this headache's making it hard to think straight," I muttered, pressing my forehead and continuing my acting. "Remind me again—he's the only one who can take me to the village, right?" I asked, sneaking a glance at Kel.
"Ah yes, Master," he said, looking a little disappointed. "Old Al is the only one who has gone with you whenever you visit there."
I cursed inwardly. Was he disappointed because Mardel hadn't taken him along back then, or was it just me asking questions right now instead of whatever he wanted? Either way, I had confirmed it—only Old Al knew the location of the village.
"Should I keep massaging you, Master?" he asked eagerly.
"No, it should fade after a while," I said, shaking my head. "And… we don't have any high-quality female slaves left, do we?" I asked casually, keeping my gaze down.
"No, Master. You sold the last ones to buy that Ice Wolfkin girl for the auction," Kel replied, a touch of worry flickering across his face.
A small letdown. If there had been a cute girl left here, I wouldn't have minded taking her along.
"Sigh… I should stop trying to remember things and just get to the village. Call him in," I said, waving my hand.
"Master, if your head is hurting, I would be happy to accompany you there," Kel said, patting his chest.
"No. I want you here," I said firmly with a shake of my head. "Just bring him in."
"As you wish, Master." Kel opened the door and returned with Old Al, who shuffled in with his head bowed.
"Master, I've also brought the screen," Kel said, setting down a small wooden partition draped with a dull brown carpet against the wall.
The moment I saw it, I realized—that the carpet was for Old Al to use his Field Walk.
"Good. Let's go," I said, rising slowly, keeping my back bent to hide my true height.
Through the party link, I quickly informed the girls what was happening and that I was disbanding the party for now, but I would meet them soon.
"Master… m-my debt?" Old Al asked in a low voice, bowing.
"We'll discuss it when we return," I said curtly, rubbing my temple. "Now let's leave, before this headache gets any worse."
"Old Man Al, this is a very profitable deal. Master will surely take care of you after it's finished, so do your job well," Kel added from the side.
The old man just nodded, looking a little disappointed, but he faithfully chanted the party spell, which I accepted. Before he could begin the Field Walk spell, I cut in.
"Listen. It's already late, and they might all be asleep. I don't want to antagonize them further, so make sure the Field Walk opens on the outskirts of the village. We'll walk in slowly so they aren't alarmed." I fixed him with a sharp look. "Remember—don't open it inside or too close. Put us a little further out."
The last thing I wanted was to appear in the middle of the village and be surrounded by bandits on arrival.
"Understood, Master," the old man said, nodding. He closed his eyes and muttered the Field Walk spell.
When the black door shimmered open on the carpet, I couldn't help but do a small victory pose in my head.
"Come on, we're already late," I urged, gesturing for the old man to go first. He obediently stepped through.
"Master, it'll be pitch dark over there. Take this," Kel offered, handing me a lantern.
"Ugh, no need," I waved him off, slipping quickly through the portal.
As soon as I emerged, I was swallowed by darkness. I paused, looking back to confirm, as the door flickered and vanished into nothing.
"Master… did you not bring a lantern?" the old man's silhouette asked quietly ahead of me.
"Where's the village?" I whispered, my eyes straining against the night. All I could make out were rows of trees around us.
"There, Master—look. Some light in the distance." He pointed ahead.
Sure enough, faint glimmers shone in the distance. I narrowed my eyes, using Appraisal, and at once, names and details appeared in my vision.
There were definitely a handful of thieves in the distance.
I exhaled softly, relief washing over me. If I had accepted Kel's lantern, those bastards would have spotted us immediately.
Immediately, I dumped a few bonus points into my Strength stat, pulled a cloth from my pocket, and clamped it over the old man's mouth while locking my arm around his neck.
He thrashed weakly, but he was no match for me. The chokehold—one of the techniques I had learned through a Warrior level-up reward—came to me naturally. Even though I had never used it before, my body executed it flawlessly.
I held firm until his body finally went limp. Checking his breathing, I confirmed he was only unconscious, not dead. Still, even if he had died, it wouldn't have weighed much on my conscience. A washed-up gambler, already in his twilight years, wasn't much of a loss.
With him out of commission, there was no one left who could teleport away and ruin my plan. I had nothing to restrain him with, so I propped him against a tree and left him slumped there. Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
Without wasting another moment, I removed my mask, tucked it into my Item Box, and warped straight back to the house.
The dining table was spotless, the dishes cleared away, and the girls sat together chatting softly. They all stood the instant I appeared. I gave them a simple greeting before inviting Sherry back into the party; she accepted instantly. With that done, I warped again—this time just a distance away from the bright alley in the Braston.
I stepped out of the darkness and spotted the bright alley just a short distance away. Walking up to it, I used Appraisal and instantly saw the names of the girls—they were all hiding in a side alley just beyond the corner.
I smiled as I approached them. Roxanne was the first to notice me, her eyes meeting mine before she returned the smile. I sent out a party invite, and soon all the girls had accepted.
'Follow me,' I told them through the party link.
'Yes, Master,' Roxanne and the others replied in unison.
We moved to a more secluded alley where I used Warp, stepping through and emerging back beside the tree. When the girls came through after me, the old man was still lying motionless where I had left him.
'T-this is the forest by Setsuna's village, Master…' Setsuna said over the party link, her blue eyes scanning the dark surroundings, recognizing the place even in the pitch black.
'So the bandit scum are holed up in there,' Remu muttered, her gaze narrowing. Miria did the same, though she stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
'The villagers should also be inside,' Roxanne added, though her eyes flicked curiously to the unconscious old man.
'Yes,' I said, my fist clenching tight at my side. A sharp heat burned in my chest as I looked toward the faint light in the distance. 'We will rescue them… and then we will purge every last trace of filth from Setsuna's village!'