Chapter 65: The Cure for the Town

Upon returning to the inn, Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie looked somber, while Celes remained completely calm. Oscar, Walter, and Ellie immediately greeted them,

"Where have you been? What was that racket just now?" Oscar asked anxiously.

"Yeah... it sounded like a war broke out at the end of the street. What happened?" Walter added.

Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie exchanged glances; they couldn’t possibly tell the three people in front of them what they had just done. Clyde pulled off his mask and looked at the three anxious faces before him.

"We actually went out to buy a few things... but we ended up stumbling upon a gang war at the end of the street. Right, guys?" Clyde asked, turning to his four siblings.

Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie nodded enthusiastically in agreement, after which they also removed their masks, except for Casca. Of course, merely hearing Clyde’s explanation wasn’t enough to convince Oscar and Walter outright, they scrutinized the five youngsters before them with narrowed eyes and serious expressions. But shortly after, Ellie stepped forward,

"Dad... honey... that’s enough. What matters most is that they made it back safe and sound and weren’t hurt," Ellie said.

Before long, the loud commotion of passing vehicles and distant police sirens echoed once more. Oscar walked past Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who were still standing by the door and pushed the door open to peek outside. It turned out a large crowd of people was heading toward the end of the street. Oscar pulled aside a young beaver-faced man passing by his doorway,

"What’s going on?" Oscar asked.

"There was a gang war at the end of the road... lots of casualties. I’m heading over to see the situation, Uncle," the young man said. ℴ

"Oh... I see. Alright, thank you," Oscar replied.

The young man took his leave, turning to jog off toward the far end of the street. A few silent ambulances rolled past the front of the house alongside several fully uniformed, unarmed soldiers who appeared to be from the capital. Moments later, a blue-skinned youth in a school uniform, a large-eyed girl with ant antennae wearing the same uniform, and a rabbit-faced, rabbit-eared girl also in the same uniform came running toward Oscar. All three bore tense expressions, looking eager to get away as fast as possible,

"Hey... you three, what happened over there?" Oscar asked as they rushed past him at the door.

"A gang war, Uncle... The police are cordoning off the area, and it looks like the street is blocked off for now," the youth answered.

"Yeah... it looked like an absolute war zone just now," the rabbit girl added.

"There are a lot of biker gang motorcycles over there too, Uncle. Casualties everywhere, it’s horrifying," the antenna girl added.

"I see," Oscar replied.

"We’ll be on our way, Uncle. Excuse us... come on, guys," the blue-skinned youth urged, offering a polite bow to Oscar.

The three immediately ran past Oscar, who turned to watch them go. Oscar stepped back inside his inn and slid the door shut. He then turned around to look at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who stood around innocently pretending to know nothing at all. Walter and Ellie stepped forward,

"What actually happened, Dad?" Walter asked.

Oscar recounted what he had gathered, leaving Walter wide-eyed in shock, while Ellie raised her hand to cover her gaping mouth.

"There are that many casualties?" Walter asked, stunned.

"According to what they said, yes. I didn’t see it myself," Oscar replied, shaking his head.

"I’ll go take a look," Walter said.

Without waiting for Oscar or Ellie to agree, Walter stepped out of the inn and shut the door behind him. Sigh. Oscar could only let out a breath, while Ellie stood pale-faced. Oscar then turned to look at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who appeared completely calm and relaxed. He observed the five of them and shook his head,

"Oh well, let’s go inside and sit down... you too, Ellie," Oscar offered.

"Okay, Dad," Ellie replied.

"Sure, Uncle," the five answered in unison.

They walked inside and took their seats at the same restaurant table as before. Silence fell over them, and the room grew quiet. Not long after, the front door opened and shut, followed by approaching footsteps. Walter entered and took a seat beside Ellie,

"Did you make it over there?" Oscar asked.

"The road is blocked off... but I managed to chat with someone who was there earlier. Around thirty-plus people died out there... The police suspect they slaughtered each other in a gang war since there were bikes belonging to a specific motorcycle gang scattered everywhere. Right now, police and medical personnel are evacuating the bodies for autopsies and further investigation," Walter answered.

Silence blanketed the room once more. Oscar remained quiet, his earlier suspicions confirmed. Ellie appeared shaken yet relieved, while Walter took a sip from his glass after finishing his report. The three then turned to look at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who were currently teaching Celes how to use a smartphone, as all five had just bought new devices. After observing the five youngsters before them, Oscar, Walter, and Ellie exchanged glances before Walter waved his hand dismissively,

"It couldn’t possibly be them, Dad," Walter said.

"Yeah... Clyde, you guys didn’t go and beat up those gang members, right?" Oscar murmured, watching the five of them closely.

"Oh... Right, Uncle. No way, it wasn’t us," Clyde answered, turning to look at Oscar while waving his hand in front of his face.

"Alright then, I’ll go get ready to open the food stall," Ellie said, standing up.

"No, Ellie. I think we should stay closed for today. I’m worried Silas’s men might return," Walter replied, catching Ellie’s hand as she stood.

"Oh... good point," Ellie replied, sitting back down and holding her husband’s hand.

"We won’t sell anything tonight, and I won’t open the restaurant either," Oscar stated.

"Right... no need to take risks. Missing one day of business won’t make us go broke," Walter agreed.

"By the way... Uncle, do you happen to know where this Silas Ward’s hideout is?" Clyde asked out of nowhere.

Upon hearing Clyde’s question, Oscar, Walter, and Ellie immediately whipped their heads around to look at the five youths before them. Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie had put their smartphones down on the table and were staring at Oscar, Walter, and Ellie with serious expressions, clearly waiting for an answer.

"Why are you asking about that, Clyde?" Oscar asked.

"Just curious... so we can be careful not to end up in debt to him either," Clyde answered, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"It’s better if you don’t know. You’re our guests, don’t go looking for trouble with that man," Walter warned.

"Yes, exactly. I don’t want anything bad happening to you," Ellie added.

The expressions on Clyde’s, Celes’s, Craig’s, Casca’s, and Corie’s faces turned somber. Their eyes reflected deep regret as they lowered their gazes to their smartphones on the table.

"Um... can we go rest in our room for a bit?" Casca asked, raising her hand.

"Oh... please, go ahead. You don’t need to ask for permission, you’re our guests," Walter smiled.

"Okay... thank you, Mr. Walter," Casca replied with a smile behind her mask.

Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie then stood up, carrying their shopping bags as they left the table and walked out of the restaurant, heading up the stairs to the second floor toward their room. Oscar, Walter, and Ellie watched them leave until they disappeared from the restaurant and the sound of footsteps echoed overhead. Once they were out of sight,

"It really couldn’t have been their doing, right, Walter, beating up that gang? You’re sure, right?" Oscar asked once more.

"Not a chance, Dad. Even though I know they’re strong, taking on thirty-plus people is completely impossible. Besides, they didn’t look injured at all. If they had fought that gang, there would definitely be some trace of it, right?" Walter answered.

"That’s true, Dad... but why did they ask about Silas?" Ellie asked.

"That, I don’t know. To avoid getting scammed into debt? Seems a bit unlikely," Walter answered.

"Hmm... true enough. Oh well, as long as nothing happened today. But we’re still taking tonight off," Oscar concluded.

"Yeah, Dad," Walter replied.

Meanwhile, inside the room on the second floor, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie sat in a circle on their bed, which consisted of three beds pushed together. The five sat in quiet contemplation, heads lowered,

"We need to find out where this Silas guy’s hideout is. Let’s hope he was among those who died at the end of the street," Clyde said.

"Yeah... sorry, Brother. Earlier, I got way too carried away hitting them and venting my frustration... that I completely forgot to ask," Craig replied.

"Same here... I forgot to ask too, but I assumed one of you would ask," Celes said.

"Turns out nobody asked, Sister Celes. We were way too caught up in the moment back there," Casca replied.

"Hehe... once we find their hideout, are we raiding it?" Corie asked.

"Yeah... a guy like that can’t be left alone for long. He’s a disease eating away at this town," Clyde answered.

"Yep... exactly. Which means we’re the cure, hahaha," Corie chuckled.

After that, they returned to chatting normally and resumed teaching Celes how to use her smartphone, while she listened intently with utmost seriousness.