Sha looked at the blue stone in front of him with greedy eyes. His reaction was not missed by anyone but Baron Luke.
To Alex, it made sense why the king had been looking for this blue stone now. It matched his powers and it would help the king increase his potential and strength.
“Wow, would you look at this? Looks like the fortune is on our side today. We now have the perfect gift to give to the king for all his troubles. But you should have told us that the blue stone you had been looking for was dropped by these monsters.”
Baron Luke sounded elated with this discovery. He did not notice how Sha’s throat tightened and his eyes narrowed. Their guide seemed to be thinking about something before he turned around.
“We should hurry up and go back before more of those barrel worms come for us.
Sha did not address Baron Luke’s words. As soon as they were back, Sha left them all in the case of other servants and he quickly went to report to the king. He only took the blue stone with him.
The slaves and Baron Luke, who had been abandoned in the guest villa could only look at each other.
Everything that happened today had been suspicious, but Baron Lueke did not even want to entertain the thought of something being wrong. He had a huge bag of jewels in his possession and he refused to hand it over.
“Alright everyone, I have decided. We will stay here for two more days and farm for these jewels. After that, we will head back home. These jewels should be enough for me to live my life in luxury and peace.”
Baron Luke seemed happy with the outcome he imagined for himself. He could see his future life being full of extravagance and women. He was waiting for it all to be true and prove those who doubted him wrong.
“B-Baron, you will also lift our curse, right? You promised to let us all free…. you will keep it, right?”
Ashura asked this question on behalf of all the slaves. Hope filled his eyes as he looked at Baron Luke. it irritated Baron Luke and he almost told Ashura the truth.
But ultimately, he held his impulse back and lied.
“Of course, you all would be let free. I am not a liar and I do not believe in making false promises.”
That was what Baron Luke said, but Alex could tell that Baron Luke was lying right now. This man was not going to free such capable slaves.
‘You should just rip off the band-aid and kill this man. That might make your life much easier in the long run, don’t you think so?’
The goddess’s words were like sweet poison in Alex’s ear. It made his desire surge and he almost gave in. But at the very last second, he somehow managed to control his desire and that made his energy fall.
“Dear guests, please head back to your rooms for today. We will deliver your food to your accommodations soon and give you anything else you want.”
The servant led their group to different rooms. Alex’s room was quite lavished but they had nothing practical inside.
“Please do not leave your room tonight and call for us if you need anything. The city is not quite secure at night so I only say this for your good. Slip a note out of the room if you need anything.”
The servant girl who led Alex to his room gave him a stern warning. The more she opposed Alex like this, the more his desire for looking at the night city burned.
But for now, Alex just nodded and watched the door close in front of him. As soon as enough time had passed, Alex tried to open the door but it was locked. Same for the bedroom window and the bathroom window as well.
It was then that Alex decided to escape this room. He had a bad feeling about being locked up in his room.
So, he slipped a note out of the door, asking for something to eat. And it took only five minutes before the door opened and a servant with a mask entered the room. They placed his food down but they did not speak.
“May I know what all this is? I am allergic to a few things so I cannot eat them.”
Alex asked the servant but they remained quiet. They did not even indicate that they had heard anything Alex had asked them.
They waited for Alex to start eating but Alex knew that it was not safe. The whole meal shined golden and it killed any appetite he might have had. But the servant was still watching Alex with a keen eye.
“Can you head out now? I don’t like to eat in front of other people. It makes me uncomfortable.”
Alex spoke while faking his awkward expression and that finally convinced the servant to head out. But not before he took a last look at Alex.
As a result, Alex had to pretend to take a bite out of his food until he watched the servant disappear outside of the door.
And then he dropped the spoon and tried the door again. It was still locked just as tightly as it had been before.
‘I want to get out. I want to get out. LET ME OUT.’
Alex’s mind was filled with only one thought - that he needed to get out of this room. This room, filled with gold ornaments was going to make Alex sick. He needed fresh air to clear his head.
‘Oh, you want my help to get out? Then call to me for help and I shall help you out.’
Alex heard the goddess’s voice in his head. And as much as he did not want to depend on her, she also seemed like his best choice to get out of this room.
“Get me out of this room right now.”
The agitation was reaching its peak now. Alex knocked his fist on the door and his aura slipped into his fist and it contacted the door.
‘Now try and unlock the door. My magic has nullified Plutus’s magic but this is the extent of what I can do in his domain. So do not make a mistake and think that I will be able to save you in a life-death situation.’
The goddess disappeared into the back of Alex’s mind once more. Somehow, Alex knew that this small action had drained the goddess’s power and she was retreating into his mind because she needed to sleep and recover.
But that meant nothing to Alex and he quickly slipped into the hallway. It was empty and no one was patrolling it.
So, Alex roamed around the place to investigate it.
Suddenly, Alex felt someone following him and he tensed. He quickly turned around the corner and used the narrow walls to climb up. He held his position until the person following him also entered the corridor after him,
And once they passed him, Alex jumped down and took the intruder down. He had his stalker’s hand behind their back and his hold was tight.
“Who are you and why are you following me around? You better tell me the truth or I will be forced to take strict action against you.”
Perhaps it was foolish of Alex to give his stalker another chance. Who knew what would happen to him if his stalker managed to gain the upper hand?
But Alex was still curious to know why someone would follow him with such obvious intentions. What did they want from him?
“Ouch, Alex it hurts. Look, if this is not some weird and fucked-up sexual tendency of yours, then can you let me go now? Human bones are not meant to be held in this position.”
Alex was shocked as soon as he noticed the identity of his stalker. It was Kurina and she had managed to get out of her room somehow.
As soon as Kurina’s identity was confirmed, Alex let her go and he even helped her stand back up on her feet. Kurina looked equally embarrassed and thankful to be spared.
“What are you doing out here? Did the servants not tell you to stay in your room? How did you break the lock on your room?”
Alex asked Kurina with a curious voice. Did Kurina have a secret technique that helped her break the lock on her door? Or, had it been a coincidence that she had managed to walk out into this hallway?
“Huh? What are you talking about? There was no lock on my door. I just pushed the door and it opened for me. Were you locked inside your room? But why?”
Now that was a loaded question to answer.
Up until now, Alex had thought that all of them had been locked in their rooms. But could it be possible that he was the only one locked in?
Or had Kurina’s door been the only one to remain unlocked?
This needed to be investigated a bit more. And for that, Alex needed to find where everyone else was being held currently. That would give them the all the answers that were needed.