Chapter 2108: Chapter 2108

"As the steward, I do have a map of the castle, but adventurer..."

The old steward finally stopped wringing his hands. Instead, he made a gesture of rubbing his fingers together at Jenkins. Jenkins was taken aback:

"Have I misunderstood something? You're the one hiring me to 'clean' the castle. Why do I have to pay for a map?"

"You can choose to go without a map, but I must remind you again, this castle is extremely dangerous."

After saying that, he began wringing his hands again. At that moment, the man was like the very personification of the word 'greed'.

"Alright then. If I want the map, what's the price? That is, what do you want?"

Jenkins assumed the man would ask for Sin Coins.

"Besides the monsters that have broken in, the castle has other troubles. If you want the map, you'll need to solve one extra problem in addition to dealing with the four monsters."

The old man pointed toward the ancient castle:

"'So, getting the map means increasing the difficulty of clearing this Mysterious Realm. That's rather interesting.'"

He thought to himself, then asked:

"So, besides the map, can I get any other help from you?"

"Of course, of course. But to receive help, you must solve my problems. Including the map, I can offer you a total of three forms of additional assistance."

"'So that's where the three comes in.'"

Jenkins muttered inwardly.

"To get the map, you must enter a hidden room on the second floor of the castle and bring me a painting. Among the castle's servants, some are capable fighters. I can have one of them assist you, but in return, you must go to the tower on the right side of the castle and retrieve the scarlet gem within. Furthermore, as an extra reward for cleaning the castle, besides being shown the way out, you may take any one item from the castle with you. However, some rooms cannot be opened unless you have my, the steward's, 'master key'."

"You're the steward here, yet you have a master key? Does your lord really trust you that much?"

"This so-called master key can only open a few specific doors. And as the price for the key, you'll need to clean out that large spider in the basement. So, what do you say? Do you require this assistance?"

"'The map makes exploration easier, a servant provides extra help, and the key increases the final reward. At the same time, this assistance also increases the difficulty... This is becoming more and more like a role-playing game.'"

Jenkins thought to himself, then asked:

"Before that, may I have the honor of learning the name of the lord here? Speaking of which, I'm a descendant of nobility myself."

This wasn't a lie. As a descendant of the Middleton family, he was indeed of noble lineage.

"No, you do not have that honor."

The old steward was firm and decisive, so Jenkins didn't press the matter:

"Very well. I'll pass on the master key; I have no intention of offending the lord of this place. I need the map, and I need the help of a servant."

Jenkins was certain that the Difference Engine had laid a trap within the old steward's three offers. Thus, the most obvious choices—'take everything' or 'take nothing'—were out. Of the options left, the one he needed least was a 'servant's help.' He worried the trap-setter would anticipate this, but it was far more likely it would anticipate that Jenkins, with his intellect, would anticipate that. It was a double bluff. Therefore, he had to choose the servant.

Between the other two options, the map was essential, so he refused the master key.

"Very well. But be warned, if you fail to complete the two additional tasks, I will likewise not show you the way out."

With that, the old steward first pulled a roll of brown parchment, tied with a piece of straw rope, from his wide robes and handed it to Jenkins:

Then, he called out into the darkness near the castle:

Three humans with somewhat dazed expressions walked over. Two men and one woman. Judging by their attire, none of them looked like servants.

The eldest man wore typical priest robes, while the younger man was dressed in leather armor and carried a sword. He looked more like an adventurer than Jenkins did.

The remaining person was a woman, and surprisingly, she was an elf. She carried a beautiful blue longbow on her back, its body engraved with complex, vine-patterned runes. Even in such low light, the bow emitted a faint glow. Because she was an elf, Jenkins couldn't accurately judge her age by her appearance, but she looked young.

"Are you sure these are castle servants?"

Jenkins asked skeptically.

"Of course they're servants. They were once adventurers like you. Since they failed their mission, they stayed behind to earn a living."

"'All outsiders from the Mysterious Realm? But didn't Papa Oliver say long ago that a Mysterious Realm collapses after it's been used once... Having been through so many of them, I've come to understand that humans really don't know anything about them. All sorts of Mysterious Realms are formed for different reasons. Replicable ones must also exist, but the intervals between their appearances are so long that the Church has no real understanding of them.'"

At this thought, he nodded and asked:

"You'll stay behind as well. Don't worry, the food here is excellent. Which one will you choose as your companion? You can only pick one. And if you successfully complete your mission, you can choose to forgo the extra reward from the castle and take your chosen companion with you instead." The source of thɪs content is novel·fiɾe·net

Jenkins sized up the three in turn. None of them were supernatural beings from the Benefactor system, so they had no ability light points. He could only judge their strength by their auras. The strongest, of course, was the man in the priest robes. The elf lady with the blue longbow was stronger than the young swordsman.

Considering his own situation, Jenkins didn't need an extra healer or divine support, and he could handle close-quarters combat himself.

He pointed to the elf.

The other two turned and walked back, stepping once more into the impenetrable darkness. The elf, however, trembled violently, and the light of awareness finally returned to her vacant eyes.

With a harsh creak, the two large, previously sealed iron doors of the ancient castle began to open slowly before them. The old steward stooped over and made a welcoming gesture, but his expression looked anything but well-intentioned.

Jenkins looked at the elf. After regaining her consciousness, her gaze was unfocused as if she were lost in memory, but she quickly grasped the current situation.