Luckily, Rod happened to be away from his post at that exact moment.
He had been guarding the door silently like a rock every time I saw him, so this was the best timing possible.
“Chirpy, if there’s no one outside, can you unlock the door for me?”
Since there was no telling when he would return, I hurriedly put Chirpy down on the floor and urged it.
Chirpy, bewildered at first, soon understood the situation and slid out through the gap under the door.
Click.
Before long, I heard the welcome sound of the lock being disengaged.
The door wasn’t secured with a padlock but only needed a small bolt to be slid to the side, so it seemed Chirpy had managed it easily.
‘Is he secretly watching me?’
I opened the door cautiously, suspicious, but I couldn’t feel any presence nearby.
The empty corridor was surrounded only by a silence that felt eerily hollow.
“Did he go to the bathroom or something?”
That was the most likely possibility at the moment. He probably wouldn’t be able to leave his post arbitrarily unless it was absolutely necessary.
However, Rod’s words, telling me to wait quietly before the door closed, kept bothering me strangely.
The thought that he might have intentionally left the post, knowing I would come out like this, wouldn’t leave my mind.
‘No way. It must just be my imagination…’
Although I felt uneasy, whatever the reason, it was time to move quickly.
“But how am I supposed to move this quietly?”
A sigh naturally escaped me at the sight of the large cart.
Since dragging it down to the basement was impossible, I reluctantly had to stack the plates, five high.
I wasn’t serving at a restaurant or anything.
I missed my item pouch so much, having to carry all that with only my two hands.
Nevertheless, after much difficulty, I managed to avoid people’s eyes and finally arrived at the parlor.
There were a few moments when I almost got caught, but at times like this, the mansion being unnecessarily large was actually a help.
“Chirpy, you see the button inside the fireplace there, right? Can you push it? My hands are full.”
‘Chirp?’
Rumble-
With the help of Chirpy, who had secretly followed me, I pushed the fireplace button, and the now-familiar space appeared.
At first, I was careful with my movements, afraid of dropping the plates, but I quickly adapted, and my steps down the stairs were bold and unhesitating.
A moment later, as I pushed the iron door open with my back and entered, the attention of the people in the basement was focused on me.
This was already my third visit here.
“Is everyone doing okay? I brought some food.”
“B-bacon…!”
“Give me some first!”
The people, who had reacted calmly just yesterday, knocked on the door, one after another, at the sight of the plates in my hands, unable to hide their excitement.
Since they were all hungry, they were unable to contain themselves at the smell of proper food.
I started with Salim, who was waiting quietly, and was distributing the food room by room when Mateo let out a bitter laugh.
“We have never eaten anything like this… It seems he favors you.”
“…”
I tightly sealed my lips, having no particular answer to that remark.
Even if I received special treatment from that bastard, it would only make me feel disgusted, and I certainly didn’t welcome it.
Just today, a crisis was scheduled for the evening.
But I knew better than to say such things here.
That would be no different from complaining about my hardships to people who were already living in hell.
Because of this, I understood why Mateo was wearing such a frustrated expression.
While some were locked in a place without proper toilets, I was living lavishly in a room fit for royalty.
The difference in treatment was literally heaven and earth.
Even if I hadn’t wished for it, that was an undeniable fact.
“Oh? He woke up.”
I was already on the last plate after going around all the rooms.
I quickly approached the last door.
The man who had been collapsed on the floor just yesterday was now sitting on the bed.
He still didn’t look well, but he seemed to have recovered some of his strength.
“Are you feeling okay? Eat some of this, at least.”
“Thank you…”
His voice, severely hoarse, weakly conveyed his gratitude.
After receiving the plate through the small opening, he began to frantically eat the food.
Perhaps because the wounds had deepened over the past day, his exposed body seemed to have no uninjured parts.
It was frustrating that these wounds could be easily healed with a low-grade potion, yet he was being neglected like this.
“Mr. Mateo, I have a question. You said the poisonous grass only works with S-Rank antidote, right?”
“Yes, as far as I know.”
“That S-Rank antidote is also very rare and hard to obtain. Then, wouldn’t Igor have some?”
Since he was regularly sourcing the poisonous grass, there was a high possibility that he would have the antidote prepared in case of an unforeseen situation.
Moreover, S-Rank antidotes were also comparable in rarity, further increasing that possibility.
“Maybe so. But we don’t know where it is…”
Mateo put down the empty plate and cast his gaze downward with a gloomy face.
His withered eyes no longer showed any will.
Perhaps he had worried about the same thing many times, having been imprisoned here for a long period.
Maybe he was completely exhausted from false hope now.
As he said, even if Igor possessed the antidote, it would be useless if they didn’t know where it was.
“Excuse me…”
Just then, I turned around at the faint voice.
The man, who had finished all his food, was clinging to the small window, glancing at me.
Soon, an unexpected remark flowed from his mouth.
“I don’t know where the antidote is, but I know the location of the treasure vault.”
“The treasure vault?”
I instinctively raised my voice and leaned forward at the unexpected information.
Perhaps a bit overwhelmed by my intense reaction, the man hesitated and took a step back from the window.
“Yes… If you go to the small grocery storage room, there will be a button behind the second shelf on the left. That’s the underground door that leads to the treasure vault. Igor has a habit of checking there first whenever he returns from an outing.”
“How did you know that?”
“At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but he entered the same place the second and third time as well. Thinking something was strange, I secretly went in when I was alone and searched, and there was a button attached to the wall. I was too afraid to press it, though…”
The grocery storage room?
If the man’s words were true, it was a place I had never considered.
Usually, a treasure vault would be hidden in a secret location that couldn’t be easily found.
Yes, exactly like the fireplace in the parlor.
Despite this, the fact that he chose the grocery storage room suggested he wanted a place that was easy to access yet could avoid people’s suspicion.
“So the talk about the treasure vault is…”
“The housekeepers also gossip when two or more of them gather.”
“Ah…”
There was a reason why he was so certain it was a treasure vault.
No matter how meticulously Igor managed things, they were still people with emotions.
The moment control slipped, any secret would eventually leak out quietly.
In any case, information from the housekeepers who moved around the mansion was reliable enough.
“I really intended to press it this time, but unfortunately, I was caught before I could.
At least I was in the dining room, so I think I avoided death.
If I had been caught near the storage room, it wouldn’t have ended with just this.”
“…”
Didn’t they say many people were dragged away after secretly wandering around the mansion?
Perhaps Igor wasn’t worried about their escape but was guarding against the location of the treasure vault being discovered.
“Then I should check there first. Chirpy, did you hear that, too?”
Chirp!
At that moment, Chirpy, who appeared as if on cue, circled above my head.
Seeing the spirit’s shimmering white smoke with a faint glow, the people were speechless, unable to hide their astonishment.
“That’s a spirit.”
“Oh my goodness…”
Most of them were probably encountering a spirit for the first time.
Because of this, some were seen clasping their hands and even praying with expressions of wonder.
Salim, in particular, was looking at Chirpy the entire time, his golden eyes shining for the first time.
“Once we find the antidote, we will escape immediately, so everyone, be mentally prepared.”
At my words, everyone held their breath and exchanged glances.
The people who were listlessly lying on the beds just a few minutes ago now had strangely tense eyes.
“Can we really… get out of here?”
The child’s voice trembled like a leaf with anxiety and anticipation.
I could feel the desolate atmosphere subtly changing since Chirpy’s appearance.
A small spark of hope began to ignite in this place where only apathy and despair remained.
Chirp!
At my slight nod, Chirpy seeped through the gap under the door and soon landed on the boy’s bushy head.
As it wiggled its tail in the shape of a plump squirrel, Salim’s eyes, which had been nervously shaking, sparkled with pure joy.
A bright, childlike smile, befitting a 10-year-old, finally blossomed on his bruised face.
“Yes, absolutely.”
In this world, spirits were considered a mysterious existence and a symbol of good fortune.
Many believed that just seeing one would bring good luck, like an ancient faith.
But I wanted to show them the possibility of escaping this place through Chirpy, not some vain hope.
If that feeling was conveyed to the people, even slightly, that was enough for now.
