It seems that I have yet to be recognized by him; thankfully, I'm still wearing my hood. Jin thought to himself. He decided to test Piketh, pretending to be terribly frightened, and hesitantly approached him, shrinking with fear.
"Now that's more like it. Do you happen to know where there's an inn in this slum?" Piketh asked, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, never once glancing at Jin, who was lowering his head.
"It... it's just up ahead, not far. Keep walking straight, my lord," Jin replied, his tone awkward and faltering.
"Good. And... have you seen anyone nearby, four people wearing cloaks and hoods? Like you, perhaps?" Piketh continued, his voice indifferent.
"No, I haven't noticed. I usually travel by night, and since there aren't any torches, it's hard to see," Jin answered, continuing his act.
"True, this place is so dilapidated—no torches at all. I don't know what Lord Merlin was thinking, sending me here now," Piketh grumbled.
"Lord... Lord, may I leave now? I still have to continue my journey," Jin timidly asked.
"Yes, yes. Go, go quickly!" Piketh waved him off impatiently. Then, Piketh and his group began to walk in the direction Jin had indicated.
"Shh..." Jin exhaled a long sigh, watching as Piketh's group disappeared into the distance.
"Four hooded figures... This is bad. It seems that Merlin has already discovered us," Jin's expression quickly shifted to one of alarm.
"Sigh, looks like I'll definitely get a scolding from Captain Murphy tonight," Jin muttered in frustration. He glanced around urgently, but there was no shortcut in sight.
"I have no choice, then." Jin bent slightly, looking up at the nearest rooftop, and with a forceful leap, he bounded onto the roof.
"I must catch up." Jin whispered to himself, then sprinted toward the direction of the inn at an incredible speed.
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Will and his companions were preparing to rest. As the only woman among them, Lisa naturally took the room, while Will and General Ray had to sleep on the floor of the common room.
"General Ray, only two more days. If all goes well, you'll be able to return to a normal life," Will quietly spoke, lying beside Ray on the floor.
"Indeed, but the last day will surely be the hardest. We will face a brutal battle. I apologize for dragging both of you into this for the sake of my country," Ray murmured.
"It's alright. If those mages don't leave, my country will eventually fall under their control as well. So, what I'm doing is for my own sake, too," Will replied.
"If only my brother were half as strong as you. Then, I wouldn't worry about him so much," Ray said.
"Jin? He's incredibly strong. In my opinion, when he's serious, he's definitely superior to both you and me," Will said.
"Hahaha, is that so? I don't think so," Ray laughed.
"Perhaps you've never really paid attention to Jin. If you watch him carefully, you'll see that he's truly a powerful individual," Will whispered.
Just then, there was a loud "crash" from the window of their room, and Jin forcibly burst through the closed window. The already shattered glass exploded into fragments.
"Jin?" Will looked at the sudden intruder in confusion.
"No time for explanations. Get up, and follow me now!" Jin shouted to Will and General Ray as he quickly locked the door behind him. The commotion also woke Lisa, who quickly changed and opened her room's door.
"We need to leave immediately. That man, Merlin, has discovered us," Jin said urgently.
"What? Are you sure?" Will asked, unable to believe it.
"Yes! Hurry, I'll explain later, but for now, we need to find somewhere to hide," Jin said, shoving furniture in front of the door to block it.
"Hurry, let's exit through the window before they arrive." Jin quickly climbed onto the already broken window.
"I'll jump first. You two follow me immediately," Jin said without hesitation, then leaped out of the second-floor window.
"Let's go." Will looked at Lisa and General Ray, then followed them as they all jumped out of the window.
Meanwhile, Piketh's group, moving more slowly, had arrived at the inn's entrance.
Knock, knock, knock.
Piketh hammered on the inn's door with force.
"Who... who is it?" an elderly voice responded from inside.
"It's me, Piketh. Open the door, quickly," Piketh called out loudly.
Gradually, soft footsteps could be heard from inside, and an old man with white hair slowly opened the door, holding a lantern in his hand.
"Old fool, opening the door so slowly. Are you trying to hide criminals?" Without further words, Piketh shoved the innkeeper forcefully inside. The old man stumbled and fell heavily to the ground, his lantern shattering into pieces.
"I... I don't understand, my lord," the innkeeper said, panic evident in his voice.
"Tell me, are there four people wearing cloaks and hoods staying here?" Piketh asked, his gaze sweeping across the inn's tavern.
"Cloaks and hoods? My lord, this is a slum. Many of the people here dress like that," the innkeeper stammered, fearful.
"How dare you deceive me?" Piketh kicked the innkeeper with force.
"I didn't, I didn't, my lord!" The innkeeper cried out in pain, lying on the ground.
"Well then, tell me this: have any cloaked and hooded people checked in recently?" Piketh pressed, his foot on the innkeeper's chest, his voice seething with anger.
"Yes... yes, but not four, only three—two men and one woman. They're staying in the first room on the left on the second floor," the innkeeper said, trembling.
"Good! You're coming with me." Piketh ordered, and one of his strong men grabbed the innkeeper, and they headed for the second floor.
At the door of the room the innkeeper had mentioned, they stopped.
"Old man, your life is in your hands now. You know what to do," Piketh said, his voice menacing. The innkeeper nodded fearfully and slowly walked to the door, knocking gently.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Is anyone in there?" the innkeeper called out, but there was no response.
"Something's wrong," Piketh muttered. He shoved the innkeeper aside and kicked the door open with force. Despite his efforts, the door remained blocked by the furniture Jin had placed.
At that moment, other guests from nearby rooms peeked out to see what was going on.
"It's none of your business! Go back to your rooms!" Piketh shouted at them, and they quickly closed their doors in fear.
"Blocked? Let's move!" Piketh retreated a few steps. His two strong men immediately charged at the door, slamming into it with full force. With a loud crash, the door flew open.
"Piketh, there's no one inside," one of the men said after searching the room and returning.
"What?!" Piketh stormed inside.
"The door was blocked with furniture. They must have known we were coming," Piketh muttered as he looked at the debris behind the door. He then walked to the window.
"Glass shards on the floor... Looks like someone took them away from the outside," Piketh observed, crouching to examine the glass.
"Tell me, did you help them escape?" Piketh growled at the innkeeper, his voice venomous.
"No, no, no! I didn't do anything, my lord!" The innkeeper pleaded, trembling on the ground.
"You'll regret this!" Piketh sneered, his eyes glinting with malice.