Chapter 112: Gathering Information

The next morning...

Regis, Pandora, and Killian went downstairs and saw that it was bustling.

Contrary to what they had witnessed last night, the people of the village that couldn’t even be seen last night were all at the inn as if they were celebrating.

"Haha! No villagers died last night!"

"Right!? It seems that the mayor’s decision is right even this time!"

"Did the people really die because they closed their windows and opened their lights at night?"

"Shhh! Don’t talk about that anymore, lest the demon hears it and starts its murder spree again."

...

Hearing the conversation of the villagers, the three perked up their ears, wanting to gather every little bit of information from their conversation.

At this moment, Old Warod spotted them and called out, "Young adventurers, over here!"

It was also because of this that the entire lobby became silent as the villagers hurriedly looked over towards the three.

"Are they the adventurers that will save us from that monster?"

"Eh? Aren’t they too young?"

"Right, they’re just the age of my children."

"Hey, young ones! You better go and get out of here. You might wet yourselves when you see the monster!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Why not go back to your mama’s hug and come back here after you’re all grown up?"

"Hahahaha!"

...

At this moment, Old Warod bowed his head slightly, "I’m sorry for their behavior. Come, let’s have breakfast first."

’He’s apologizing but he’s not stopping them."

Regis squinted as he tried to see what the mayor was getting at.

’Is this just a show of blatant disrespect? Or is there more to it... I mustn’t get carried away by my emotions and act rashly.’

Thinking this, he glanced at Pandora and saw that although her expression was still blank, a vein could be seen on her temple.

It was obvious that even she was being affected by the villagers’ words.

Finally, Regis glanced at Killian.

However, he only had a smile on his face as he took a step towards the villagers.

"Oh no, I think one of the kids is getting angry. Hahahaha!"

"Hey, what if he swings his sword?"

"So scary, but can he even wield that in the first place?"

"Hahahaha!"

...

Seeing the villagers laughing in his face, Killian placed his hand over his left chest and took a slight bow.

"I am Killian Gladius, successor of the Gladius Family. Fellas, I would really appreciate it if you stopped with those spiteful words of yours."

As he finished speaking, aura began to emanate from him.

The pressure gradually increased until a three-point glowing star appeared right on his left chest.

Wung—!

"A-A One Star..."

"D-Did he say Gladius Family... as in one of the noble families of Corelli Fortress!?"

That was all the villagers could blurt out in the face of pure power.

"Can you kindly apologize to us? Unless you’d like me to show you if I can really wield the sword on my waist?"

Just as his hand reached out for his sword’s handle, Old Warod interjected from the side.

"Let me apologize first on their behalf. It’s my fault as I haven’t briefed them enough about you..."

He bowed deeply in front of the three without any reservations.

"L-Let us apologize too!"

The villagers who mocked them also bowed one by one.

"In order to make up for it, every meal during your stay will be on us!" Old Warod said with an apologetic expression.

Killian glanced at his companions, "Do you accept their apologies? If not, we can..."

"It’s fine."

Regis spoke before he could finish his words, afraid that the situation would escalate.

"Old Warod, will it be okay for us to talk about the mission over breakfast? We’d really appreciate it if we could get this done and over soon."

"Of course, of course!" Old Warod repeatedly nodded his head as he hurriedly called out to his son.

"Harold! Prepare the private room for our esteemed young adventurers!"

"O-On it, Dad!"

Harold answered and immediately entered one of the rooms in the lobby.

"While we wait, let me take your order for now." Old Warod said as he handed them a wooden plaque with carvings.

Regis, Pandora, and Killian all took their time ordering, surprised at the large variety of food in the menu.

At this moment, Regis went beside Killian and asked in a whisper, "What was that earlier?"

Knowing what he meant, Killian smiled and answered, "Oh, it’s their way of testing us."

"A test?"

"Yes. After all, in their eyes, we’re just three lost children."

"Ohh..."

"In fact, I believe that they all do it whenever the adventurers that travel to this village look weak."

"So they’re just a bunch of bullies, huh?"

"Far from that."

Killian’s words caused a frown to appear on Regis as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"It’s a common practice among underdeveloped villages that’s away from any ruling jurisdictions of the kingdom."

Killian lowered his voice further, "I believe that whenever they judged an adventurer to be weak, they would do what they did earlier. If they saw that the adventurer had some abilities like us, then they would apologize."

"But if not... then they will rob them and take all their belongings. Some even kill them and feed them to livestocks. Of course, that’s only the case in villages farther from fortresses and cities."

"As for this village, I believe that although they might extort something from us, they won’t go far."

Regis couldn’t help but feel a little shocked at Killian’s words, ’It seems like demonic humans aren’t the only humans that are demonic, huh?’

"Esteemed young adventurers, have you decided on your orders? We have also prepared the private room so kindly please follow me..."

Old Warod spoke respectfully as he led the three in the private room.

It was obvious to Regis, Pandora, and Killian that he seemed to be more respectful than before when talking to them.

***

The private room, like their room, was only simple furnished.

Regis surmised that this room was only used whenever the mayor had some important guests to talk to.

After giving their orders, Harold left the room in a hurry.

Old Warod then spoke as he gave the three a glass of fruit juice, "Well, while waiting for your meal, let’s talk about the mission first."

Regis, Pandora, and Killian all focused as they listened to the mayor attentively.

"First of all, although it hasn’t been included in the quest, we would like for you to investigate the murders as well. Of course, it is not without compensation..."

Old Warod took a pouch from the side and opened it as he placed it on the table.

"In exchange for the extra mission that I am requesting of you, I will offer you this artifact that we found in the Ikalo Jungle in exchange."

However, as soon as Regis saw what it was, his eyes constricted. But no one noticed it as it was subtle and disappeared in an instant.

As the mayor finished speaking, Killian was the one to speak, "Although we appreciate your kind gesture, we don’t want to make any promises. We’ll first look into it before we decide. Will that be okay?"

"Of course, of course!" Joy was prevalent in Old Warod’s face as he chuckled softly.

"Well, since that is out of the way, let’s go on to our main agenda." A serious expression appeared on Old Warod’s face.

"The Ikalo Jungle has always been the main hunting ground of our village. Although there are many wild beasts, they aren’t too troublesome. With enough preparations, the only casualties that we encounter are bruises and some wounds."

"That is until we noticed some strange things happening deep inside the jungle."

"Strange things?" Regis asked.

"Yes."

Old Warod nodded and continued, "When our hunters came from the jungle last week, they reported that they heard some strange things when they reached about a few kilometers into the jungle."

"Although we have lived beside the jungle since the establishment of the village, neither us nor our ancestors have delved deep in the jungle as we believe it to be dangerous."

"Because of this, our ancestors also made sure to make it a taboo in our village to venture too deep into the jungle."

"Wait. You said that the hunters went a few kilometers in the jungle, right?"

Old Warod looked at the white haired boy with blood-red eyes and nodded, "Yes, that’s right."

"If that’s the case, then may I know just how large is the Ikalo Jungle?"

However, Old Warod only shook his head, "We don’t know. As I have said earlier, we didn’t dare go too deep into the jungle."

"This is also the reason why I immediately asked for the Adventurer Guild’s help when the hunters reported the strange happenings to me."

"Is that all the information about the mission?" This time, Killian was the one who asked.

Old Warod nodded, "Yes, unfortunately."

Hearing his words, Regis was shocked, ’He didn’t even tell us anything worthwhile!’

At this moment, Killian spoke again, "But we learned from some of our sources that one of the villagers here saw the three meter tall monster, isn’t that right?"

However, as soon as Killian finished speaking, the three could see the dark expression that arose on Old Warod’s face.

Seeing this, Killian leaned forward with a smile on his face, "I wonder who that villager is..."

"...or are you withholding information from us? You know that such a thing violates the policies of the Adventurer Guild, right?"