"Um… I remember hearing stories from the elders. A dragon is a large and mighty magical creature that already went extinct a thousand years ago." The small girl replied with a hushed voice.

From Seth’s understanding of dragons, they were not extinct, but they found a secluded place where they refused to interact with humans and other creatures.

Seth nodded his head. "Then, has anyone here talked about a dragon? The people are probably wearing dark red robes."

The moment they heard his question, their faces changed, and they looked at him warily. “Why are you asking that?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not on their side. I just want to know if they are here.”

The people he wanted to know were the Demon King Worshipper. They brought a dragon here and made this place called the Cursed Village. Because the magic power of a dragon was strong, the livestock couldn’t stand it and died. Besides that, the Demon King Worshipper didn’t allow anyone to leave the village, and any outsiders who entered would be killed by them.

‘I don’t know why there are none of them guarding the place or how we managed to enter.’ Seth was lost in thought for a brief moment.

He showed the two siblings another piece of bread. The girl gulped in hunger while the boy relented and answered.

“They said that they were experimenting on a dragon. Sometimes we could hear the dragon’s roar from the cave up there.” He pointed to a location on the mountain. “Every day, there are people that go missing.”

Seth looked at the mountain for a moment. ‘They are probably used as an experiment subject to get implanted with the dragon’s bone. It’s a method for the Demon King Worshipper to get stronger.’

"I see. So, what’s your name?" Seth asked because he felt it was unusual that the kids were able to speak fluently. They were different than the other villagers, who were more malnourished and had eyes full of despair.

The siblings remembered that their caretaker said that they should never reveal their names to strangers. However, their caretaker had gone missing for a few days.

The skinny girl, covered in dirt, hesitated before she revealed their names. “My name is Noel. This is my brother Leon.”

Seth nodded before he gave them two pieces of bread.

Celia approached him as she looked at the children with pity. "They look the same. Are they twins?"

He looked back at the children. Their faces were covered in dirt, so he couldn't see their facial features clearly.

"It seems so."

Celia and Seth joined Berko and Orion, who found an empty two-story house on the outskirts. They only needed to clean up the place a bit before they could stay there for the night. After cleaning the place, they sat at the dining table on the first floor.

Celia thought about the starving people. She had never seen such a situation in her own village. Finally, she decided on her plan. "Many people are starving here, and I saw some of them sick as well. That's why I want to give extra food that we have and help them."

Berko sipped on his coffee before he replied. "Miss. Wood, I know it's not my place to say this, but it's not the best idea to help them openly. Especially since we do not know the people living here.”

"Huh, why?"

"Once you give something, sometimes not everyone will appreciate it."

‘What does he mean?’ Celia couldn’t understand, so she looked at Seth for further explanation.

Seth could feel that Berko looked at him as though he were wondering if he understood his underlying meaning.

When he gave the bread to the twins, there were also other people around them. Their gazes were intense, as though they wanted to devour them. However, he knew that they were afraid to approach them because they were outsiders.

Seth calmly explained it to her. "What he means is that we should wait and observe them first before helping them. There are many starving people here, and once we give them the food that we have, they will ask for more, and they might steal everything that we have."

Berko nodded in agreement.

"What? Why would they do such things?"

"I guess that’s just human nature. Not every place is as welcoming as Tudela Village."

Celia was looking guilty and in slight disbelief.

Berko tried to lighten up the tension. "Haha, don't think too much about it. It's not like we are stopping you from helping them. We just need to stay vigilant."

"Anyway, we should discuss how we're going to spend the night safely."

"You don't have to worry about that. I have a device that can protect us against anyone entering this place."

Seth thought traveling with this merchant was much better than the mercenaries.

"Amazing." Celia praised.

Orion, who had been trying to catch a mosquito, finally spoke. "Of course. My dad is amazing."

"You can rest easy. We will be able to sleep peacefully tonight."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

They continued talking, and then they came to a mutual decision that they wouldn't go out for the day.

At night, Celia and Orion were sleeping upstairs while Berko and Seth sat at the dining table downstairs. Seth could see one or two people walking past the place where they lived and trying to look inside.

Using the lantern on the table as a source of light, Berko read a newspaper. "They won't notice us."

"I know," Seth replied. ‘But it’s weird that none of the Demon King Worshippers ambushed us. Sigh, if only I knew about the current situation.’

“Berko, I need your service again.”

Berko looked up from his newspaper and looked at the solemn expression on the man’s face. "So sudden? Is there something going on?"

"I'm going to investigate the curse at this place."

‘The three items I bought don’t have any offensive ability. So, I need anything that could attack and defend me. Because I don’t have any cheating ability with my transmigration, I need to spend lots of money. Still, I’m afraid that the marquess’ treasure will be empty because of me.’ Seth thought.

Berko was bewildered. "That is very unexpected. But it seems like you know about this place."

Hearing no reply, he was amused and pulled out a few items from inside the bag that he always carried. “Take everything that you need. But of course, it’s not free.”

‘Tch.’ Seth looked at the items and then signed another contract. He felt another loose restriction on his magic core that felt as though it would restrict the magic core anytime soon. ‘I'm in so much debt.’

“Then here’s a gift from me. For trying to save this place.”

Berko gave him a silver ring, and Seth looked at him incredulously. ‘Has he been secretly interested in me?’

“Don’t look at me like that. If you put a little bit of your magic power in there, you will be able to contact someone with the same ring.”

“Where is the other ring?”

Berko showed him his right hand, which showed the same silver ring with a huge emerald worn on his middle finger.

Seth looked at the ring on his palm and sighed. “I’ll contact you if anything happens.”

Seth went upstairs to retrieve his space-dimensional box, which had two Potion of Vitality, an Amulet of Warding, and two daggers before he went downstairs again.

Berko was still at the dining table. "Wait. Are you going out like that?"

“What about it?”

“Even though it’s dark outside, you still need to go out in disguise.”

Seth was stumped. “I don’t know how to do it.”

‘But it’s true; it will be troublesome if The Demon King Worshipper recognized my face.’ Seth thought in dismay.

Seth watched as Berko put his hands on the dusty ground and then smeared it on his face.

"Hoho, such smooth skin. Your face is eye-catching if you go out without disguise."

‘This old geezer…’ Seth immediately moved away. "Ugh, enough. I’ll do it by myself."

Seth smeared the dirt on his face.

Berko looked at him up and down. He then pulled out some clothes from his bag.

“Why do you have a rag?”

“Hoho, sometimes Orion and I have to disguise ourselves while traveling. You should wear it.”

Seth didn’t question him any further as he changed his outfit in a secluded place and then returned to see Berko, who was still waiting.

"Does Miss Wood know that you are going out alone?"

"No, it's too dangerous for her." Seth shook his head. ‘I’ll be doing a suicide mission. I won’t bring anyone innocent.’

Berko stroked his beard in thought. “Are there some sort of dangerous people out there?”

“Yes. That's why, if there’s danger, please leave immediately."

"I will do so."

As Seth was about to leave the door, he glanced at Berko. "Please don't look at me like I'm going to die. I'm going to come back alive."

“Good luck then, Seth Whitlock.”

Seth went out and tried to find the twins, and he found them in an alley near where he met them earlier in the day. They were sleeping, hugging together with a thin piece of cloth that couldn't cover their whole body. He approached them silently, and before he could pat one of them-

"Waaaaaa!!!"

Leon woke up screaming, and Noel was woken up by him and also screamed. They both woke up screaming as though they were seeing a ghost.

"Who is this beggar?!"

"Haa?"

"Sis, do you know him?"

"Hey, it's me!"

Noel narrowed her eyes at the tall person and then sighed in relief. "Brother, it's the noble from earlier this afternoon."

Leon couldn’t believe his eyes. "You look more like a beggar than us."

Seth hadn't looked at his face, so he did not know how terrible he looked.

"...I don’t want to hear that. Anyways. I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep. But I'm here to ask you guys to lead me to the cave where the dragon is held captive."

The twins looked at each other before one of them replied, "Everyone stays away from there because the strange people wearing robes will beat anyone who wanders too close to the cave."

“I just need you both to guide me there. You don’t get too close. Besides, I have this.” Seth gave them two pieces of Invisible Cloak. It was one of the items he bought from Berko before he left the two-story house.

“What is this?”

“Just wear it.”

Noel took the initiative to wear it first. When the cloak covered her whole body, the two boys couldn’t see her at all.

As he watched his sister disappear, Leon felt like he was in despair. “Where’s my sister?!”

Seth was surprised that Leon suddenly got angry. “Hey, calm down for a second.”

“You scoundrel, what did you do to her?”

Noel poked out her head and looked down at her body. “I think it’s a magic cloak that makes us invisible.”

Leon stuck himself to her and used the cloak. “Woah, that’s so cool!”

Seth smiled slightly. “Shhh. Don’t be too loud. Although it keeps you both hidden, anyone can still hear your voice. Anyway, will you go with me now?”

Leon looked at the suspicious noble, and he hesitated. “What do we get in return?”

“I’ll give you both more bread tonight.”

There was still plenty of bread that Jake’s grandmother gave to them.

The twins finally agreed. Seth followed their lead, and under the cover of darkness, they navigated into the depths of the forest. There was no torchlight because he was afraid that they would get discovered quickly. So they had to hold hands as they moved.

Seth felt his heart pounding in his chest.

The trees loomed overhead, casting long shadows that danced on the forest floor.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived at the mouth of the foreboding cave.