Silence returned to the cave, but Donovan's eyes remained fixed on the corpses of the bandits scattered within the cell.
"So, what about these bodies?" Donovan asked, breaking the silence. "We can't just leave them here to rot, can we?"
One of the adventurers from the party, still sitting in the corner of the cell, spoke up. His voice still trembled slightly, but he tried to offer professional advice. "You should take those bodies to the Adventurers' Guild in Antrows City. This bandit group consists of high-level fugitives. There's a massive bounty promised to whoever manages to exterminate them."
Hearing the word "bounty",Donovan's eyes sparkled. As someone who had just started a new life from scratch, gold coins were incredibly precious. "I agree. That's a great idea. That reward could be our starting capital."
However, unexpectedly, Keyzier shook his head firmly. "No! I refuse that suggestion."
Donovan's jaw dropped as he stared at his friend in disbelief. "Why are you refusing? Won't we get a reward for wiping out this bandit crew? This is our chance to make a name for ourselves in the city!"
Keyzier let out a long sigh, his gaze turning deadly serious. "Novan, have you forgotten? We aren't registered adventurers yet! We are just strangers from a remote village. If we turn in these bodies, besides the money, the Guild and even the Kingdom will put us under strict surveillance. They'll ask how two people without status could slaughter forty-seven bandits alone. I want to travel freely without spies tailing our every move!"
Donovan was about to argue back, but he stopped when Keyzier continued, "We have secrets to protect, Novan. If we stand out too much now, it will only make things difficult for us later."
"Then what about the money to buy gear and clothes for Novalia?" Donovan asked again, still a bit skeptical. "We need a lot of capital to enter city life."
Keyzier snorted dismissively. "Why are you asking such a ridiculous thing? Isn't it obvious that I'll just take a small portion of the gold from this bandit crew? It's much safer than asking for an official reward from the Guild."
Donovan fell silent for a moment. He looked at Keyzier's face, then turned to Novalia, who stood between them. A thought crossed his mind. He's right. If we are watched, our journey will become dangerous. Especially with Novalia part of our party, an escaped noble daughter. If the Kingdom gets involved, her identity could be exposed in an instant. Ah... this is truly a headache!
Without wasting any more time, Keyzier walked toward a private room located behind the main hall, followed by Donovan and Novalia. The room had a thick wooden door with sturdy iron hinges.
The moment Keyzier pushed the door open, Donovan and Novalia felt as if they were struck by a blinding light. Both of them stood frozen, their mouths slightly agape at the mountain of treasure inside the room. There, gold was no longer just coins; it was a pile resembling a small hill. There were many other treasures they saw.
Keyzier paid no mind to the grandeur. He walked straight toward a large chest in the corner, believed to be the primary vault belonging to Adolf and his high-ranking officers.
As the chest was opened, a costly metallic click was heard. Inside, rows of pure gold coins were neatly arranged in leather pouches, sitting alongside exquisite gold jewelry. Keyzier was delighted to see the sheer amount of money before him.
With practiced ease, he began taking the gold coins one by one. He placed about 1,200 gold coins into his inventory. That amount was more than enough to live luxuriously in Antrows for years, while also purchasing top-quality adventurer equipment.
"Key, did you get the amount we need?" Donovan asked from the doorway.
"Yeah! And the money is already in my inventory!" Keyzier replied, closing the chest with a heavy thud.
"In that case, I'll call everyone to help us move everything in this place!" Donovan said. He knew that even if they didn't take the Guild reward, these goods had to be returned to their rightful owners.
Donovan went outside and gathered all the now-freed captives. Shortly after, everyone arrived at the treasure room. Faces that were once pale with fear were now filled with hope. They were immediately asked to help move all the plundered goods into the merchant wagons parked at the cave exit.
For about an hour, the cave was a hive of activity. The cooperation between the merchants, adventurers, and other captives made the relocation process swift. Everything was successfully moved, and they finally prepared to leave that haunting place.
Keyzier walked over to the members of the adventurer party who were checking their gear. "You're an adventurer party, right?"
"Yes, we are a B-rank party, TheSky!" the party leader replied with a now-evident tone of respect. He knew the youth before him had just slaughtered an entire stronghold in a short time.
"What a coincidence!" Keyzier said, crossing his arms. "It would be better if you were the ones to report to the Guild that this bandit crew has been exterminated!"
The entire members of TheSky were shocked. They looked at each other in confusion. As adventurers, they knew how valuable the achievement of wiping out a bandit group of this caliber was for their reputation, but they also had pride. They didn't want to take credit for an achievement that belonged entirely to Keyzier.
"We can't do that," the party leader protested. "This is your victory. We were just captives you rescued."
Keyzier did not accept the refusal. He looked at them with a gaze that began to sharpen, forcing them to accept the decision. "Just say you were assisted by an unknown wanderer in annihilating the bandits! You just take the credit as the group that performed the final cleanup."
"But... there's no way the Guild will just believe what we say!" the party leader tried to argue further. "The wounds on their bodies show high-level magic and technique; they will definitely be suspicious."
"Is that so?" Keyzier smirked, then pointed toward the dozens of merchants and former captives. "Ask everyone here to testify. I'm sure they'll be willing to do it for their own safety, right?"
Everyone looked at each other in silence. The atmosphere suddenly became very tense.
"Why? Do you not agree?" Keyzier's voice suddenly dropped, yet every word carried a tangible threat. "I'm not an adventurer yet and I don't want to be monitored by the Guild or the Kingdom! If you refuse, I'll be forced to kill you all right here! Besides, no one in the outside world will know that I finished you off inside this cave!"
The threat was like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. Feeling they had no other choice and realizing the youth before them was truly capable of it, everyone finally agreed to his selfish request. They promised to keep quiet about the true identity of the bandit slayer.
In his heart, Keyzier was overjoyed, smiling with full satisfaction in front of everyone. His plan worked perfectly. The money was in hand, his identity was secure, and now he had a "scapegoat" to carry the burden of the reputation he didn't want.
And so, they left that cold cave. The sunset greeted them outside. Hitching a ride on the wagons of the immensely grateful merchants, they began to move away from the cave, heading toward the towering walls of the magnificent city of Antrows.