Chapter 65: The Wish Tower, II

After hearing the headman’s explanation, Louis had visited the Wish Tower several times but was forced to return each time without even catching a glimpse of Dexter. The occasional sound of metal being hammered indicated someone’s presence inside, yet no matter how loudly Louis called out, Dexter never acknowledged him.

Louis eventually made up his mind.

If I can’t catch a goose, then I’ll settle for a chicken!

Since he couldn’t reach Dexter directly, he decided to target his disciples instead. There were four of them, so at least one should know about the rusty sword, right? That was why Louis and his group had been staying at the headman’s house for three days now.

Pablo offered compensation for their extended stay, but the headman refused it outright.

“I’m just happy to have some human company, so please stay as long as you like.”

The headman had grinned brightly at them. The twins were charming and often flirted with him, while Pablo treated them all to delicious meals. It’d been quite some time since he’d entertained guests, and they quickly became his favorites. He even went cheerfully to work on his fields every day because of their presence.

Thanks to the headman’s hospitality, Louis and his group felt right at home during their stay. Today, Louis ventured out from the headman’s house accompanied by Pablo and the twins. Their goal was to meet Dexter’s disciples.

“Their names are Victor, Floria, Erica, and Douglas, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

Louis repeated the names provided by the headman.

He then enthusiastically shouted, “Great, let’s go see Victor first!”

“We’re not taking the horse-drawn carriage?”

“Let’s walk a bit. You need exercise or you’ll get fat. Wait, no… Are you already chubby?”

“I-it’s not fat! It’s muscle!”

“Sure. A muscular pig.”

Louis and his entourage set off bickering as usual.

The autumn sky was clear and blue, while yellow and pink wildflowers dotted the fields below. Against this bright backdrop, the twins energetically chased each other around.

After running about for some time, Kani suddenly darted toward Louis.

“Louis, Louis!”

“What is it?”

“Come here!” Kani bashfully urged him over while hiding something behind his back.

Suspicious, Louis cautiously approached.

Kani grinned widely as he revealed what he had been hiding behind his back.

Louis’s eyes widened at the sight.

…A flower?

It was a small yellow bloom that Kani gently tucked behind Louis’s ear with a beaming smile.

“There you go, Louis! You look pretty!”

“…”

“Heh-heh.” Blushing furiously, Kani ran away shyly to rejoin Khan and their game of tag across the field.

“Ha-ha!” Initially stunned by the sudden turn of events, Louis glared sideways after hearing laughter beside him.

Pablo hastily turned away to hide his grin, but it was too late; Louis caught him snickering.

Louis wasn’t one to let things slide easily.

“Pablo.”

“Yes…?”

“Bend down.”

With Louis’s command, Pablo reluctantly leaned forward. The knight then transferred the flower from his own ear onto Pablo’s. With that single blossom adorning his rough face, Pablo looked quite comical. Fin, who had been perched on Pablo’s shoulder, burst out laughing and tumbled off.

“Uh… Sir Louis?”

“If you take it off, you die.”

“Yes…” Pablo sounded like he was about to cry, but Louis had already strode ahead. Dejected, Pablo trudged after him with the flower still stuck to his head—a sight truly serene yet amusing at the same time.

After wandering around for some time, their group stopped in front of a particular house.

“This is the place, right?”

“It seems so.”

Louis nodded at Fin’s question. The headman had informed them about four houses belonging to disciples of the Wish Tower, and this was Victor’s house, the first on their list. However, it looked uninhabited due to the overgrown weeds surrounding it.

Puzzled, Louis gestured with his chin toward Pablo. It was time for action. Sensing what Louis wanted, Pablo let out a small sigh before knocking loudly on the door.

“Is anyone there?!”

Knock, knock!

“Hello! Is anybody home?!”

His booming voice ensured that anyone inside would definitely hear him. Fortunately, they sensed someone approaching from within.

Rrrratch… Rrrratch…

The sound of something scraping against wood preceded the opening of the door, revealing a young man with long brown hair.

“What do you want?”

The young man frowned at Pablo. “Are you Victor…from the Wish Tower?”

“Let us pass.”

Slam!

Before Pablo could finish his sentence, the door slammed shut in their faces. With a grim expression, Pablo knocked again, but there was no response this time.

He turned around with a scowl. “Well…like master, like disciple.”

Was refusing entry part of the curriculum at the Wish Tower?

While Pablo grumbled under his breath, Louis was lost in thought, recalling Victor’s leg from earlier.

A prosthetic leg…right?

The scratching sound they had heard resembled wood being dragged across another wooden surface. It must have been caused by the young man’s artificial leg.

Another oddity was the energy emanating from him.

He’s not human.

Louis detected a peculiar scent from the young man.

A rough energy and…a musky odor.

It wasn’t something he could detect with his nose; rather, it was similar to sensing the natural aura emanating from the young man himself—akin to the stench of a wild beast.

Through this, Louis discerned the true identity of the male.

A werewolf.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly which type, but he was certain that’s what the young man was.

As Louis pondered, Pablo probed him again. “What should we do now?”

“…Let’s try another house first.”

Putting their disappointment aside, they moved on. Although their visit to the first house had been fruitless, there were still three more houses to check, so all hope was not lost.

They soon arrived at their second destination.

“I’m home!”

“…Who is it?”

The occupant of this house was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with bright silver hair and porcelain skin. The only odd thing about her appearance was that both her eyes were covered by black bandages.

“Are you Miss Floria, apprentice to Consul Dexter?”

“Yes, I am… But what brings you here? I’m quite busy right now. Please come back later.”

“…” With that, Floria closed the door on them.

Her tone had been polite, but like Victor, she’d dismissed Louis and Pablo without giving them a chance. Disappointed, they headed toward the next house.

Could the next one be similar?

But surely they wouldn’t kill someone over this…

“Who’s banging on my door like it owes them money?!”

“Oh, perhaps you’re Erica, disciple of Consul Dexter—”

“Get lost!” The third house was owned by a woman with bright red hair and a clear voice who boasted her good looks as she opened the door. She immediately spewed out curses before slamming the door shut.

“These bastards…” Louis scowled even deeper at yet another rejection. His patience was wearing thin.

Pablo glanced down as he sensed that Louis might explode any minute now.

He has been holding back quite a bit until now…

Considering Louis’s temperament, enduring this many rejections was quite impressive for him. If he hadn’t had any ulterior motives, he would’ve lost his temper long ago.

“Huff… Fine… Let’s move on to the next house.” Louis took a deep breath and turned away.

As he did, two of the previous residents crossed his mind.

They weren’t humans either.

The second home belonged to Floria with her black eye patch. Louis immediately recognized who she was.

A pure and serene energy…

Who among nonhumans possessed such a nature-like aura? There could be only one answer.

An elf.

Elves were rarely seen among humans, so finding one in such a remote village was quite surprising.

Lastly, there was Erica, the redheaded beauty from the third house. Louis couldn’t figure out her true identity either.

She’s definitely not human… But what is she?

As a young dragon with limited experience, Louis struggled to identify Erica’s species.

While pondering this mystery, they arrived at the last house.

Knock, knock.

“Anybody home?! Is Douglas here?” Pablo automatically knocked on the door this time.

The response came much quicker than it had at any of the previous houses.

“Who the hell is that?!”

The door opened to—

“Huh?” Pablo looked down.

To his surprise, he found himself eye-to-crown with someone who should have been at waist level for him. The homeowner, Douglas, frowned as Pablo blocked the doorway.

“What’s up with this giant?”

“A-Are you Douglas, disciple of Consul Dexter?”

“That’s right. Who the hell are you banging on my door like that?”

Douglas grumbled irritably. Louis noticed that the left sleeve of Douglas’s shirt hung loose.

Meanwhile, Douglas clicked his tongue at Pablo’s appearance. “What the heck? Why do you have flowers in your hair? Are you nuts or something?”

“…” Pablo scowled at Douglas’s taunt.

At that moment, Pablo and Douglas made eye contact.

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

They stared at each other for a while before Douglas spoke first.

“Sniff, sniff… Who are you, big guy? You smell like one of us.”

“You…are a d-d-dwarf?”

“Well, do I look more like an elf to you? But forget about me—what about you? Wait, this seems…mixed somehow? Half-human?”

“Y-yes, sir?”

“But how could a dwarf be so huge? Are you some kind of mutant?”

Douglas was indeed a dwarf. Having encountered a fellow member of his species after such a long time, Pablo regarded him with equal parts surprise and delight.

But his surprise didn’t last long.

Oh no! Th-this can’t be…!

Pablo frantically tried to block Douglas’s view as he paled and mouthed something desperately at him.

Run away! Run away!

He couldn’t bring himself to yell out loud, so he signaled with wide-open eyes instead. Unfortunately, it was lost on the clueless dwarf before him.

“What? You’ve been talking fine until now, but suddenly you’re pretending to be mute?”

This dim-witted dwarf!

Despite getting nowhere, Pablo continued gesturing wildly in a desperate attempt to save the poor creature from what awaited them.

Unfortunately for Pablo, not only did the clueless dwarf fail to understand his signals, but someone else caught on instead.

“What do you think you’re doing?” snapped Douglas.

Pablo flinched and internally sighed while simultaneously praying for Louis’s soul.

…I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you.

With that, he quietly stepped aside, leaving Louis face-to-face with Douglas.

“Huh?” As soon as their eyes met, Douglas felt his sole remaining hand trembling uncontrollably, and his mind went blank.

Th-this is…?

It was a primal fear instinctually ingrained within him, and he knew exactly what this reaction meant. His face drained of color as his mouth gaped open.

“D-D-D…”

“That’s enough. One more word…and you know what will happen, right?”

“Eep!” Douglas hastily covered his mouth with his remaining hand.

Seeing tears welling up in Douglas’s eyes brought a smirk to Louis’s face.

“Well, I guess you learned your lesson just in time.” The stress from searching three houses had dissipated at once upon encountering Douglas. Louis’s smile widened even further.

Meanwhile…

How unfortunate…

Pain flickered across Pablo’s face as he watched Douglas, empathizing with his comrade’s plight.