The Devil's Cage

"You want to see the bodies hanging outside Tita Town?"

Kieran asked again to reconfirm Mary's weird request.

"Yes! I hope you could aid me in this!"

Mary nodded and said.

Kieran raised a brow at the strange request, but he couldn't refuse.

[Discovered sub mission: Help!]

[Help!: Mary has made a strange request for you. You need to bring the two bodies to Mary without startling the guards of Tita Town. This will increase the fondness of Swusters Castle owner for you!]

...

The sub mission's arrival had sealed Kieran's fate.

"Very well. But we might need to change our current location. It is secluded here, but this is the necessary path to Swusters Castle. It would be easy for new enemies to discover us. There are quite a few hiding spots on the main route to Tita Town. We'll choose a spot as our temporary lodging."

Neither Mary or Galeart objected Kieran's suggestion.

Although Galeart's vigilance towards Kieran didn't decrease one bit, the elderly man with a loyal heart would not deny a solid fact.

The group moved out once more. This time around, Kieran was at the back of the line instead of taking the lead. He was covering their tracks as they advanced forward.

The killer was frightened to death and didn't show up, though it didn't mean he would not send others in his place. At least, Kieran was sure that the killer wasn't alone in this after the previous battle.

The way the group was moving was destined to be slow.

After finding a suitable spot to settle down, Mary, Galeart and Kieran finally returned to Tita Town in the afternoon.

The two bodies were still hanging on the beam, waiting for the wind to dry them up.

The guards' formation was same as yesterday: two at the entrance and one with the bow on top of the outpost tower.

Kieran didn't take the bodies right away. Instead, he carefully avoided the sights of the guards and sneaked into Tita Town.

The two meter tall wooden fence might be a problem for a commoner, but it was a piece of cake for Kieran. Kieran didn't even need a run to boost himself up; all it took him was a push of his palm to leap over the wooden fence.

Kieran headed directly towards the heart of the town where the only two-storey building was located.

The five riders from yesterday who were given the mission to hunt down the aid-givers started out from there.

It was evident that the best house in Tita Town had become Duke Sergourney's temporary lodging.

Even though the duke died under his hands, he couldn't obtain more information from a dead body. Therefore, Kieran was hoping for a discovery at the place he was staying.

In fact, if it was not for the emergency at Swusters Castle, Kieran would have gone into the building yesterday.

The door wasn't locked.

Those five riders left in a hurry because of their eagerness for achievements. The townspeople also seemed to be avoiding the spot as much as possible. Hiding in the shadows, Kieran saw two curious kids going near the building before being dragged back home by their mother, followed by cries from scolding.

No doubt the duke was not welcomed here. He brought nothing but fear into the townspeople's hearts. But it was good news for Kieran. At least he could make sure the building was unoccupied after the five riders left.

Kieran gripped the door handle and turned it with the slightest strength to minimize the friction between the door pivot and door frame before exerting more strength to push it open.

The door was pushed open with a light screech that wouldn't startle anyone.

Kieran slipped inside quickly and closed the door.

He turned around and started to inspect the house's interior.

The place he was standing on was the porch, connecting to the stairs to the second floor and the living room. Other than the living room, the first floor had a kitchen and what should be a foyer but was filled with all sorts of carpets.

After Kieran pushed open the room door, a dense stench of sweat assaulted his nose and forced him to cover it. One couldn't ask for some hygienic behaviour from a bunch of soldiers in a dungeon world where baths were only the privileges of the rich and the nobles who cared about how they dressed.

After a thorough check and finding no valuable leads, Kieran left the first floor and headed to the second.

The second floor had a master bedroom and a regular bedroom, which should be where the owner of this building and their child rested. But after the duke arrived, the master bedroom remained the same, but they turned the other bedroom into a study.

The alteration saved Kieran a lot of work. He quickly found what he was looking for on a makeshift study table that was a cabinet filled with books.

Two pieces of armor, a long sword and a knapsack with blood stains.

No doubt the items were from the two bodies hanging outside town. After checking the armors, sword and confirming they were just come normal tier equipments, Kieran turned his eyes to the knapsack.

After taking out the food and the water bottle inside, Kieran found two pieces of letter.

...

Dear Harway,

I know this letter will cause you trouble, but I wish for your aid!

I am in grave trouble and desperate for help!

Sincerely,

Ellen, your dearest friend.

Ti680.9.4

...

Both the letters had similar content. One was for Harway and the other was for Fuller.

The dates were the same as well, seemingly sent off at the same day.

"Then, the letter that was sent to my "teacher" should be the same as well!"

There wasn't a letter when Kieran entered the dungeon world.

According to Galeart's words, the letter should be with his "teacher" that he had never met before, but who was already dead.

Comparing both letters in his hand, Mary's mother didn't reveal any information in the letters, but based on Harway, Fuller and his, the disciple of Andy's, relationship, the four of them should be something more than common friends, though one of them had a hidden agenda.

"Harway? Fuller? Who else would it be?"

Kieran's attention was drifting around the two names. His heart was guessing the answer.

He then pocketed the letter and moved towards the master bedroom.

The first thing that came into his eyes was a king-sized bed and a closet. Other than that, there was nothing noteworthy.

Though, Kieran's attention was caught by something peculiar, a stand as tall as a grown man beside the bed. The body of the stand was made of wood. On the tip of the wooden stand was a horizontal beam two fingers thick and almost 40 cm long.

A chain as thick as a thumb was hanging around the intersection of both the body and the beam. One side of the chain was nailed onto the body, the other was hanging over the horizontal beam with a buckle.

"This is…?"

Kieran squinted his eyes.

Translator's Thoughts

Dess Dess

This is? A dragonball?