Chapter 88: Huge Gaping Hole
Chapter 88: Huge Gaping Hole
"Where are your companions!?", Karl immediately stood up to reproach Emi, "What are you planning!?"
"What!?", Emi instantly rebuked, "I told you I am just here to escort Mr. Voice for his first quest!"
Karl had a lot of doubts.
He heard the story about the golden-haired kid being an adventurer named Mr. Voice. But as far as their intel went, Mr. Voice was a future gold rank adventurer, could someone of that has that kind of renown really be a kid?
"Ugh, I'm not even getting paid for this", Emi added.
Hearing this, Karl scoffed, "You? Not doing something for money?", Karl said as he mockingly looked at Emi, "That is the most unbelievable thing I have heard everyday"
"What did you say!?", Emi could no longer take Karl's condescending tone as she also stood up from her seat.
"You will do anything for money", Karl moved closer to Emi, his chin almost touching Emi's forehead.
"Watch what you are going to say next very carefully", threatened Emi.
"You are a woman who would sell herself for coin"
As soon as Karl finished what he was saying, he felt a resounding slap hitting his left cheek.
"You dare hit a nob-"
It was then that the sound of thunder shook the entire castle.
"What was that", Karl murmured as he tried to regain his balance.
Whatever the explosion may be, it would seem that that was the last of it. Emi and Karl stared at each other for a while before rushing outside of the room, leaving behind Felix who was still calmly sipping his tea.
Emi and Karl saw the torrent of guards that poured inside, all of them heading in the same direction.
"What happened here?", Karl grabbed one of the panicked guards.
"It's from the cellars, M'lord!", the guard said as he tried to catch his breath.
"Cellars!? Did a prisoner escape!?"
"N-no, m'lord! The wine cellars!"
The wine cellar? Karl quickly rushed towards the wine cellar, hoping to clear the confusion in his mind.
But even more answers surrounded him as he saw the huge gaping hole on the cellar floor. Like the mouth of a thirsty dragon which waited for the wine to fill her up. The wine that his family has collected for years, wasted.
"This", Karl almost forgot to breath at the sight.
"Oh! I see you guys had a change of dcor since last I was here", Emi commented.
Karl clicked his tongue as he heard Emi's snarky remark. But still, he did not rebuke. Instead, he slowly approached the hole even as the warnings of his guard filled his ear. Emi followed behind him, with her arms slightly reaching towards Karl's hand.
A few more steps, and they could see how far the hole goes, but before they could do so, they were pulled back.
"Be careful, Master Karl, Miss Emilia. One might never know when one will fall", said Felix as he tightened the grip on the two, "And that looks like it will be a long fall"
Hearing Felix's warning, Karl nodded.
"Now, please step outside and let the guards handle this", Felix said as he pushed both Emi and Karl towards the door.
"H-hey wait, old man Felix! Mr. Voice might be there!", struggled Emi.
"If they were, then I am afraid they are dead", Felix sighed, "Poor things, to die so young"
"What!?", Emi was about to push Felix, but then a breeze wailed from the gaping hole.
All the people present turned their heads towards the hole, only to find Viel jumping out from the hole, carrying Silbern on his arms.
"M-mr. Voice!?", Emi shrugged off Felix as she ran towards the two boys filled with dust.
Both Viel and Silbern were coughing, the dusts all over their body started forming clouds.
"You came from the hole?", Emi was filled with disbelief.
"Ah, Ms. Swift Cat!", shouted Viel as he saw Emi rushing towards them, "There's a huge door down there"
"A door!?", Karl was the next to ask them a question. His face full of curiosity.
Viel nodded in response as he patted his clothes. Silbern was also patting Viel's long hair, trying to get all the dirt that was stuck on it.
"N-no wait first of all, did you do this?", Karl pointed at the huge hole.
Hearing this question, Viel's eyes widened as he started to sweat. He then looked at Silbern, but then shook his head as soon as he saw the rags that he was wearing.
"No. It was there when we got here", said Viel in a very monotonous way.
"That's impossible!", shouted Karl.
Viel only raised his shoulders in response as he slowly shook his head.
"Mr. Voice, you said there was a huge door? What did you mean by that?", Emi interrupted.
"Ah yes!", Viel instantly replied as he tried to avoid Karl's gaze, "Huge door. Bigger than the wall gates".
As Viel was describing the gate, Silbern stretched his arms wide, as if trying to show how big that door was.
"You said there was a door?", suddenly, Felix who was quietly watching from behind, slightly pushed Emi to the side.
"Hey!", complained Emi.
"No. We tried to knock a few times to see if Silbern's mother was there", Viel sighed, "But no one answered"
There was visible disappointment on Silbern's expression as he heard Viel's words.
"I wanted to try and accidentally destroy the door, but I might destroy the whole castle, accidentally", said Viel as both him and Silbern finished patting his golden hair clean.
"Y-"
Felix was about to say something, but Karl interrupted him.
"If what you say is true, then we should have this investigated", Karl said in a very serious tone. At first, he did not even consider the idea that this girl looking boy is the up and coming Mr. Voice. But when he saw him coming out of the hole effortlessly, a certain wall inside him was shattered.
"Master Karl, these children might just be imagining things", Felix whispered, "And you have a lot of things to do"
"The wine cellar is also the oldest part of the castle, it might have just collapsed", reasoned Felix, "Also, even if there were, we can not spare the expenses. I suggest covering up the hole for now"
"Oh c'mon, Karl. Don't you want to see what's down there!?", Emi said as she slightly pushed Felix on the side.
There was a forked road currently forming inside of Karl's mind as he listened to the two.
"I thought you wanted to be an adventurer!?", Emi held Karl's hand.
"That was when we were children!", Karl quickly swatted Emi's hands, "That silly dream disappeared as soon as you left me".
"Karl I-"
"Enough!"
"Master Karl, should we clo-"
"No one is touching that hole!", Karl's voice echoed.
He was not letting anyone talk over him as his thoughts were starting to jumble. After a few moments of silence, he placed his attention towards Viel.
Boy, are you really Mr. Voice?", asked Karl.
"What? No. Mr. Voice is the guy inside my-"
"Mr. Voice, your license plate! Show your license plate!"
"Hmhmmm", muttered Viel. He then grabbed the license plate from his pocket and showed it to Karl.
"I see. So you really are the future Gold rank that the guild is boasting about", Karl sighed, "Did you really see a door down there?"
Hearing the question being asked to him again, Viel scratched his itchy head.
"Yes. Very huge door", repeated Viel once again, with Silbern also stretching his hands again.
"Master-"
"Felix, go and settle the guards", Karl did not let Felix talk, "As for your quest, Mr. Voice I will allow you to investigate, but report everything you find there to me"
"Yes!", Emi jumped. Viel also raised his fist in victory and Silbern did the same.
"But sadly, Felix is right. I can not spare any expenses. So I am afraid I can not send experts to help you figure out how to open the door"
Once again, it was proven to Viel that money is one of the better powers of the world. He scratched his chin, trying to figure out how to do it himself.
And before his brain overloaded, he glanced at Silbern.
He then reached out his hand towards him, "Can you give me half of the reward now?"
"Y-yes!", finally finding himself useful, Silbern quickly grabbed something from his pocket.
It was a pouch made with rags, similar to his clothes. He then proceeded to open it, and soon a golden shimmer as bright as Viel's hair filled the room.
"T-this!?", Emi almost covered her eyes as she looked at the contents of the pouch.
Gold. A lot of gold coins.
She then sneakily slid near to Viel, "M-mr. Voice, about the splitting of rewards You know I was kidding, right?"
"Is this alright?"
Viel, however, completely ignored Emi.
Seeing the gold coins inside the pouch, Karl could only clear his throat, "That is more than enough. Hold on to it for now, I will ask my people to find an expert in runes and magic locks. For now"
Karl took a glance at Emi as he coughed, "You three can stay in the guest rooms. I will have someone prepare it. I will have to watch over you, after all. And the two of you could need a bath", he said as he looked at the dirty Silbern.
After making the necessary arrangements, Karl left the three of them in the hands of the maids. He didn't even glance at Emi as he left to do his own work.
"S-so Viel", whispered Emi, "About what I said about not splitting the reward"
Emi was once again trying to sway Viel. If she thought that the reward money was real, she never would have said that she was tagging along for free. But seriously, who in their right mind would even believe that a quest that was plastered by a dirty child was real!? And it had a 100 gold coin reward money! No normal person would believe that! Reasoned Emi inside her mind.
"Oh!", hearing Emi's pleading voice, he grabbed something from his pocket.
"!!!", Emi's hair stood on ends as her excitement reached to the roof.
But then Viel handed him a single silver coin.
""
1 silver coin.
"Thank you for escorting me today and teaching me the ways!", Viel bowed, "Please teach me again tomorrow!"
Viel then joyfully laughed as he followed the maid to their designated room. Silbern, who was following him from behind, also awkwardly laugh as he followed them.
"Yyou!"
Emi was left alone, the hole in her heart almost comparable to the huge gaping hole in the wine cellar.
---
"Viel Baby Viel finally laughed!"
Lu Yi's shout reverberated in the darkness. The sudden shout almost made Xanthus, who was talking to himself, shit himself in the darkness.
"What the!", Xanthus recollected himself, "You do know the boy is laughing because of money, right? And teasing someone with that said money?"
"Baby Viel"
Xanthus was going to say more, but when he saw the tears that were streaming down Lu Yi's face. The tears that were reflecting the images that were shown on the screen, Xanthus could only sigh.
"Never mind"
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