Dungeons Online

Chapter 130: Unexpected revelations

The road to the Inn that Tom rented proved to be surprisingly difficult. Ever since Tom appeared in the guild for the third time, barely anyone paid him any attention anymore. It appeared as if the novelty of having someone not only as strong as him but also as daring already ran out, making everyone else promptly return to their tasks. 

But the same couldn't be said about the crowds in the city. 

'We are in the middle of everyone's attention,' Tom thought, pretending not to notice the countless stares of the passersby.  'Or rather, they are,' he corrected his thought when he noticed how all those stares were directed mostly at the trio of his slaves. 

"Are we there yet?" Claudia asked in a grumbling tone. Even though she tried to hide it, it was pretty clear that she was dissatisfied with something. 

"Not at all," Tom replied, unwilling to crack open the can of worms of her mood yet. 'Hopefully, she will cheer up once she sees the place,' he thought, lowering his head and pushing ahead. 

The trip to the inn didn't last long at all. Tom was used to the pretty long distance between his farm and the city and even the long walks between different points in the city itself. As such, even though the place they were in right now was likely one of the bigger cities in the area, it appeared as nothing but a small settlement to Tom. 

"Welcome home, master!" Tom shrugged as soon as he pushed the doors to the inn open. In there, from the very doorway all the way to the staircase, a row of maids stood with their heads bowed down. 

"I see you didn't waste any time," Claudia grumbled, averting her eyes when Tom looked at her with curiosity. 

"What's wrong?" the young man asked, finally free from the scrutiny of the crowd outside. Yet, as they moved through the corridor made by the maids, Claudia didn't reply to his inquiry. 

"Master, we prepared everything just as you requested." The servant girl that Tom met before appeared right beside the stairs. With her head lowered down in a graceful bow and her hands cupped right at the height of her belly button, she appeared to be perfectly used to this kind of service. 

"Great," Tom smiled as he replied. "Thank you for your efforts," he added, averting his eyes and moving up the stairs. 

'Why is it so troubling to be received like that?' he asked himself, doing his very best to hide the small blush that invaded his cheeks. 'It's not like I hate crowds. I never got nervous when being in the center of attention either,' he thought, puzzled by his current state of mind. 

"So, which one is our room?" Claudia asked as soon as they climbed to the upper floor of the building. 

"That's the fun part," Tom replied with a small chuckle. "This entire floor is ours for the next two days," he said, spreading his arms as if to point out at every room in the corridor at once. "Oh right, I asked for one of the rooms to be turned into a buffet, so feel free to enjoy the food whenever you like," he said, looking at the girl with hope that this information would mellow her bad mood down a bit. 

"I see," Claudia replied impassively, clearly not impressed with Tom's efforts at all. 

"Well, let's not waste time, then," Tom said before releasing a long sigh. "Come with me for a moment," he said, not directing his words at anyone specific before going inside the closest room. 

"Now, as I said before, I only have a single task for all three of you. I don't care how you will do it. I'm not going to limit your options either," Tom said, ready to reveal the mission he had in store.

"Can I have a moment?" Claudia asked, tugging on Tom's sleeve. Her face was even darker than before, proving that whatever Tom did to anger her, still continued to affect her mood.

"Sure," he replied, eager to learn just where he trespassed on the girl's wishes. "You three, stay here for the time being," he ordered the trio before leaving the room and following after the girl. 

'Just what might be going through her mind?' he thought, watching how Claudia pulled the doors to another room open before standing aside and waiting for Tom to enter. 

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?!" Claudia screamed out as soon as she closed the doors. 

"Huh?" Tom shrugged, surprised by the sudden outburst. "What did I do?" he asked, genuinely puzzled about the reason behind her anger. 

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?!" Claudia smashed her fist into the wall. "I know that this place has its own rules, but slavery?" she said, looking at Tom as if he was some kind of monster. "Didn't we leave it behind as a stain on our history several hundred years old already?" 

'So that's what she means,' Tom thought, biting on his lips. 

"Also, aren't I enough for you?" Claudia posed another question as a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "I know that having a harem of slave girls is every man's deep fantasy, but can't you separate your dreams from reality? Don't you have some kind of mission here?!" she asked, averting her eyes as small tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Huh?" Tom shrugged, surprised by the sudden change of the topic. But as he looked at the girl's face, a flash of enlightenment suddenly struck him. 

'So that's what she was all about,' he thought, barely stopping himself from slapping his forehead with his open palm. 

"Come with me," Tom said, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her back to the corridor, only to enter the room where their three slaves were awaiting next orders. 

"Wait, my face is still a mess!" Claudia attempted to protest, yet Tom didn't pay it any mind. Shutting the doors behind him, he ignored the curious and anxious at the same time looks of the slaves. 

"Take a look at this picture," Tom said, pulling out a small roll of paper that he brought all the way from his home. 

It was one of the last photos of his father, taken barely a week before he went missing. 

"This is your one and only mission," Tom said, presenting the photo to the trio of slaves. "I want you to find out everything you can about this man," he said, only to take a deep breath. "I need the name he goes by, where can he be found, how to contact him, who is he affiliated to," Tom said, listing out everything that could come to his mind. 

"Umm, sir?" one of the slaves attempted to say something, only to be hushed down by Tom in the same instant. 

"This is the easy part of the task. But there is also someone else I need you to find. Sadly, I have no photo of her, so listen clearly to the explanation," Tom added, only to turn silent as he closed his eyes. 

For a moment, Tom's thoughts moved all the way back to the moment where the boss of the bottom floor of the dungeon somehow stopped working. To the moment when that strange girl appeared and requested him to find her on the other side. 

"She is a slim, long-haired woman. Her hair is of a platinum blonde color and reaches all the way to her knees. Her drees consist of an endless number of muslin layers so thin they appear to be made out the air alone," Tom recited everything he could remember about that short meeting, listing every trait he could see in his memories out. 

"Sir, if I may..." the burly man who used to wear full-plate armor attempted to speak up again. 

"What do you want?" Tom asked, annoyed by the man's persistence. 

"Is that really all you need us to do?" he asked, clearly unable to believe it. "I mean, you are not going to bed, my sister?" he asked, unknowingly mellowing down Tom's attitude towards him. 

"And why would I?" Tom asked, opening his eyes wide in shock. "It's not like I need anyone else but my girlfriend, isn't it obvious?" he asked, pointing his hand at Claudia. 

"Then, I think I can already fulfill a part of our mission," the man said, looking up from the photo and then moving his eyes directly to Tom's face. 

"Huh?" Tom shrugged in surprise, although he considered this kind of development to be possible. After all, from how he acted himself, it would be anything surprising if his father made a name for himself in this world as well. "Go on," Tom said, fully ignoring the girl beside him, even though this entire situation was aimed at calming down her jealousy. 

"Sir, the man on this... picture... He is a lord of Katan, the land that recently started the massive war with all of its neighbors," the burly man said, keenly observing the changes on Tom's face. "He is the one responsible for the war that blocks this city from the rest of the world!" 

"Hmm..." Tom muttered, moving his hand up to his chin as he caressed it for a moment. "How about the girl?" he asked, moving his eyes back on the man's face. 

"Sir, I can't be certain with just the description, but she seems to be one of that man's former followers," the slave woman replied, forcing Tom to move his eyes slightly to the side. "And it just so happens that she is one of the leaders of the coalition aimed at toppling Katan's dominion down!"