Chapter 70: Room of Truth, I

The next day…

Louis rode to the Wish Tower as usual on the horse-drawn carriage driven by Pablo. The excited twins clung to the railing, while Pablo maintained his usual stoic demeanor—nothing out of the ordinary there.

However, one new face was present among them.

“Ugh…” Douglas looked like he was being led to the slaughterhouse, and understandably so, given that Louis had forced him to accompany them against his will.

As they watched Douglas’s sullen expression, Louis spoke up.

“Douglas.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You don’t want to be with me, do you?”

“N-no way! I-I-I don’t mind at all!”

His expression clearly betrayed his true feelings, but Louis conveniently ignored it.

“Right?”

“Oh, absolutely not!” Douglas’s response brought a smile to Louis’s face.

Upon their arrival at the Tower of Wishes headquarters, Dexter greeted them with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Seeing him ready for travel raised Louis’s eyebrows.

“Where are you off to?”

“I’m heading to Haytons.”

As soon as Dexter finished speaking, Douglas muttered under his breath:

“Already? That’s quite early this time. Didn’t you just go last month?”

“Well, now that our rookie is here, I have some things to prepare for. But…what brings you here, Douglas?”

“I…the Lord of the Tower asked me to help out the new guy, s-so here I am.”

“Is that so?” Dexter raised his eyebrows at this unexpected development but nodded nonetheless. “Good. While I’m gone, teach him the ropes.”

Douglas was about to nod when he remembered something and cautiously spoke up. “Um…”

“Yes?”

“Do you perhaps need a luggage carrier?”

“A luggage carrier?”

“I-I thought it might be helpful since there could be quite a lot of items to carry…”

Douglas looked at Dexter with pleading eyes, which caught Dexter off guard as he had never seen Douglas act this way before.

“Are you feeling desperate now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why suddenly acting so out of character?”

“I-I’m just concerned about your age, sir… If you hurt your back…”

“Aren’t you older than me?”

“Well, according to dwarf years, I’m still going strong!” Douglas pounded his chest forcefully to demonstrate his vitality while subtly keeping an eye on Louis’s reaction.

Louis grinned and chimed in. “Did you say Haytons City? Why are we heading there?”

“It’s not easy to procure materials for crafting talismans in this small village. I’d have to go to a big city for that.”

“Oh! Is it far away? Will it take long?”

“It isn’t too distant, but with shopping and running various errands, it’ll probably take about three days.”

“I see.” Louis’s eyes lit up at Dexter’s explanation.

Observing the situation unfold, he signaled to Pablo.

What are you waiting for? Make your move, Pablo!

Yes, sir!

Pablo had learned from experience what Louis wanted whenever they exchanged glances. He stepped forward accordingly.

“In that case, let me accompany you.”

“Hmm? With you?”

“We can use my horse-drawn carriage.”

“Oh, we can take a horse-drawn carriage.” Dexter seemed hesitant at Pablo’s suggestion.

Louis quickly interjected, “Let’s do that. Uncle Douglas has many things to give me like, uh…like, um… So please leave him here and go with strong Uncle Pablo.”

“I-I’m also quite strong…” Douglas made one last attempt to join Dexter.

Louis swiftly moved behind Dexter and whispered to Douglas.

“If you say another word…” Louis gestured by swiping his thumb across his neck.

Douglas immediately understood what this meant, and his face turned pale as he started stuttering.

At that moment, Dexter turned around to see Louis’s expression instantly change from demonic to cheerful. Dexter blinked at his youngest subordinate’s seemingly happy mood and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged it off with a nod.

“All right then.”

“Good decision!”

“Don’t do anything weird while I’m gone!”

“Hey, who do you think I am?”

“Ugh… You’re just a talkative kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

“In any case, don’t cause trouble, and—” Dexter emphasized his next words as he glared at the twins standing idly nearby. “Make sure your friends don’t get into mischief either.”

“Yes, sir!”

Dexter had experienced firsthand how mischievous the twins were over just a few days. His biggest concern while he was away would be what kind of trouble those rascals might get themselves into next.

“I mean it! Keep a close eye on them!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Ugh…” Dexter groaned despite Louis’s resolute response. Why couldn’t he trust such a confident answer? Shaking off his unease, Dexter grabbed the doorknob.

“Well then, I’m off.”

“Safe travels!”

As Douglas watched Dexter leave with Louis’s farewell, his shoulders slumped dejectedly. Pablo gently patted him on the back.

“Hang in there, my friend. I’ll be right back.”

“Just…just hurry back.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“We believe you.”

In this house full of dragons, Pablo was the only one Douglas could rely on. The two dwarves exchanged a heartfelt handshake that transcended age and friendship. With their hands firmly clasped, they shared a moment before Pablo stepped outside.

“Bring us something yummy when you get back!”

“You’re in trouble if you don’t!”

With the twins waving goodbye, Pablo drove the horse-drawn carriage farther away from the Wish Tower.

And…

“He’s gone?” Seeing the carriage shrink to a speck, Louis’s lips curled up into a smirk. He turned toward the three individuals gathered before him.

“Twins, Douglas.”

“Yes!”

“Yep!”

“…Right.”

The twins enthusiastically responded while Douglas sounded rather gloomy.

A voice filled with cryptic intentions echoed in their ears.

“Let’s begin, heh-heh.”

“…?!”

As a cruel smile spread across Louis’s face,

Wh-what?!

Douglas shivered inexplicably.

In the dead of night…

Knock, knock.

Douglas scanned his surroundings as he knocked on a door. Of course, his opponent never showed up right away.

Bam, bam!

It took pounding hard enough to nearly break down the door before its owner finally appeared.

“What do you want at this hour?!” Victor emerged with irritation written all over his face and glared down at Douglas.

“What’s wrong with you, Douglas?” He squinted at him.

Muttering quietly, Douglas spoke so softly that Victor couldn’t hear him.

“What was that?” Victor cocked his head, puzzled.

Douglas gestured for him to lean closer, which Victor did without suspicion. As their faces drew near each other, Victor could finally make out what Douglas said.

“…Room of Truth.”

“What kind of nonsense—?”

Pow!

Before Victor could finish his sentence, Douglas punched him squarely in the stomach.

“Ughhh… Dou…Douglas…”

Struggling to breathe after the sudden attack, he was then hooded over the head as Douglas spoke calmly.

“I’m sorry, Victor, but I had no choice.”

With those cryptic words, Douglas struck the back of Victor’s neck with the edge of his hand.

Thud.

Victor slumped unconscious on the floor.

“Let’s go. To the Room of Truth…” Muttering grimly, Douglas hoisted Victor onto his shoulder and strode away.

This wasn’t an isolated incident.

Knock, knock!

Erica flung open her door at the loud banging.

“Who could this be at this hour?! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?!”

A small head came into view. Standing there was an adorable child with silver hair and sparkling teal eyes.

“You’re…?” Erica recognized her as one of the twins who had accompanied the rookie hunter on their latest raid.

“Oh boy… Kids these days…” She leaned down slightly to scold the girl for knocking on someone’s door unannounced.

But then…

“Huh?” Erica blinked at the white hand suddenly thrust toward her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

“You want me to take your hand?”

Kani finally nodded. Not knowing what it meant but figuring she had nothing to lose, Erica took Kani’s hand.

And that’s when everything went haywire.

Zzzzt!

A bright-white electric current emanated from Kani’s body and instantly engulfed Erica.

“Ahhhhh!” Caught off guard, she shrieked and fainted on the spot.

Kani grinned triumphantly as he shouted while dragging Erica along by her hand.

“To the Room of Truth!”

After traveling some distance, Kani stopped briefly and raised his other hand.

“Khan!”

“Kani!”

Khan approached from the opposite direction, waving at his sister with one hand while holding Floria’s leg with the other. Judging by the faint steam rising from her hair, it appeared she had been electrocuted not too long ago.

The twins met late at night in a dimly lit alley before the moon had risen. They giggled softly as they faced each other.

“The Room of Truth!”

“The Room of Truth!”

Reciting the password Louis had taught them excitedly, they dragged their unconscious victims away.

“Ugh…” Victor slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness.

In the dimly lit space, it took him some time to make out his surroundings.

Where am I…?

His first thought was confusion about his location, followed by realization of being tightly bound with chains. Then, memories of Douglas attacking him came flooding back, and Victor finally understood where he’d been taken.

This is Douglas’s workshop!

He scanned the room and spotted its owner kneeling on one knee nearby.

Outraged, Victor yelled at him, “Douglas! What do you think you’re doing?”

But there was no answer from the silent blacksmith.

Douglas quietly kept his mouth shut.

Just then…

“Loouis! Khan is here!”

“Loooouuiiss! Kani is here too!”

Someone whistled as they descended the stairs.

And then…

“Wh-wha…?!”

Victor was stunned to see Erica and Floria being dragged by the twins. The girls were forced onto chairs next to Victor and bound tightly with chains.

This provoked Douglas’s reaction.

“What—what do you think you’re doing, Douglas?!”

The situation made no sense, and Douglas’s silence only deepened Victor’s confusion.

At that moment…

Stomp, stomp.

Finally, the mastermind behind all this appeared.

“You’re here?” As Louis descended the stairs with his hands tucked in his pockets, Douglas sprang up and rushed toward him. Victor’s eyes widened at the sight of Douglas bowing deeply to Louis.

Douglas wore a subservient grin, reminiscent of a sycophant, as he swiftly pulled out a chair for Louis. It was an ornate throne-like chair that Douglas had crafted over the past few days specifically for Louis, albeit sized for a child.

Louis effortlessly took a seat, and as the twins crossed their arms behind him, he smiled and asked, “Isn’t it a perfect night for chaos?”

Victor felt chills run down his spine at these words.