The room behind the iron gate was decorated as a wine cellar, with several rows of shelves filled with all kinds of bottled wines, giving it a rather upscale look.
Unas casually stole everything; the Japanese soldiers entered the village and left no one alive, sweeping away all the wine. This delayed them a little, and Natasha urged, "What are you going to do with all this useless stuff? Let's go!"
This woman just doesn't understand. Alcohol is an excellent diplomatic tool; it's all about building goodwill with others. How can you say it's useless? Unas didn't say this aloud, but he justified his actions in his mind.
Following instructions, a cabinet was moved aside, and another hole appeared before them. Unas admired Todd's digging skills but had no choice but to continue climbing.
The passage continued downwards, and after a short while, a fork in the road appeared. Before Unas could ask, Natasha volunteered, "Left."
Which way does the right side lead?
Todd's Secret Chamber.
Upon hearing the word "secret room, "Unas stopped in his tracks. Todd must have made a fortune selling prisoners at exorbitant prices, and the secret room likely contained his accumulated wealth. Now that he was dead, someone had to inherit his estate.
"Don't cause any trouble. There's nothing of value in his secret room except some Gold Coins. Let's get out of here quickly."
Sure enough, he was rich. Unas's eyes lit up and he rushed straight toward the secret chamber. Natasha hadn't expected her advice to backfire, and she was so angry that she couldn't speak for a moment.
The night guards wouldn't react quickly enough, and the rioting prisoners should be able to hold out for a long time, Unas reassured himself. There was plenty of time; confiscating their illegal gains wouldn't be too much to ask.
Lost in thought, Unas reached the end of the passage—a dead end. Where was the secret room he was promised? Unas tapped and knocked on the surrounding stone walls, pretending to search for the entrance to the secret room, but actually waiting for the Shadow Priest's hint.
"You've gone too far, turn back a few steps." Natasha couldn't help but say, as she was most reluctant to waste too much time.
Following her instructions, they quickly found the hidden entrance in the cave wall. They forced their way in, Firekiss stab the door open.
The space inside was smaller than he had imagined, crammed with all sorts of boxes and bags. He casually ripped open a burlap sack, and glittering gold and silver coins cascaded onto the ground. Unas's eyes immediately lit up with a golden light.
"I'm rich! "Unas almost cheered. If the sacks here were full of Gold Coins and silver coins, the total would be at least tens of thousands.
Opening several more chests revealed valuable items such as gold and silver jewelry. The largest chest contained a complete set of black armor, which, given its association with the gold and silver treasures, must have been of high quality.
Just then, a noise suddenly came from a large box in the corner, startling Unas. He listened intently and heard a thumping sound, like someone kicking wildly inside. He used his sword to pry open the box lid as if facing a formidable enemy and looked inside. There was a small body, bound hand and foot, writhing inside the box, wearing a black hood, just like when he first saw the Shadow Priest.
Could this be another prisoner who's been stolen and sold? But he's so young, only about ten years old judging by his height. Unas didn't rush to rescue him, but instead asked out of the blue, "Who is this person?"
"A female Gnomes," Natasha, seemingly having read a lot of Todd's memories, immediately explained, "Todd has some peculiar fetishes. Someone tried to trade this Gnomes with him, but he abandoned her here without using her; perhaps she wasn't to his liking."
Todd's peculiar tastes could be glimpsed from the handsome little boy who followed him around. It was unexpected that someone would try to cater to his tastes with Gnomes; it was truly a case of passing off inferior goods as superior ones.
This is a real headache. What should I do with this Gnomes? It would be pitiful to leave her behind, but she'd probably suffocate if I put her in my bag. Taking her along would just be a burden, and I don't even know if she's trustworthy. Rescuing her Gnomes might get me into trouble.
Unas was completely bewildered and could only turn to the Shadow Priest for help. "What do we do now?"
"I told you not to cause any trouble, but you insisted on being greedy," if Natasha were sober, she'd be rolling her eyes right now. "Let's find out what's going on first."
Unas lifted the female Gnomes, who was writhing like a fish, out of the box, removed the hood, and unsurprisingly, a twin-tailed, middle-aged-faced loli appeared before him. A strip of cloth, which looked like a sock, stuffed her mouth tightly, and her large gray eyes stared weakly at the person carrying her.
It was indeed impolite to keep carrying someone around, so Unas quickly put her on a box and then pulled the sock out of her mouth.
The female Gnomes exaggeratedly moved her stiff mouth, panting as she cried out in her characteristic Gnomes's high-pitched voice, "Ugh, I feel terrible!"
Unas got goosebumps just thinking about the feeling of having his own smelly sock stuffed in his mouth. This Gnomes woman had really suffered; judging from how she lay there, barely alive, on the box, she probably hadn't eaten for days.
Unas cast a holy light spell on her to show he was a good person, then asked, "I am the paladin Uther, what is your name?"
"Oh my god! Finally, someone has come to save me!" the Gnomes woman said weakly, her voice trembling with excitement. "Thank you, human. My name is Emily."
"Well... I didn't come to save you," Unas said, making up a story as he helped her cut the ropes. "I'm a prisoner. There was a riot in the prison, and I escaped with my unconscious friend in the chaos. We stumbled upon this secret room."
"Are you prisoners? Are you escaping?" the Gnomes woman shrieked, moving backward as she did so.
"Don't be afraid, we're both innocent people who've been framed," Unas said, his words a mix of truth and lies. "Abbendis's expulsion order forbids the Monastery from harboring outsiders; you must have been kidnapped from outside and smuggled in."
"Is this the Distant Mountain Monastery? Oh my god, I was supposed to be in Venomspider Gorge!" The Gnomes woman's face suddenly turned anxious. "Oh no, my brothers must have been so worried about me these past few days!"
Unas didn't see Gnomes on either of his two trips to Venomspider Gorge. Perhaps they were mixed in with the Dwarves and he couldn't tell them apart. He began to loot the gold and silver treasures in the secret chamber, and had to throw out several sacks of coarse grain from his Spatial Bag for Tengg.
As he packed his things, he said, "Now you have two choices. First, pretend you never saw me and stay here to wait for the prison guards. You are the victim, so they shouldn't hurt you. At most, they'll deport you again, and then you can go back to Venomspider Gorge and reunite with your family. I just hope you can keep this a secret and not tell the guards about me or my friend."
"Or, come with me now, and I'll find a way to sneak you out later," Unas said with a satisfied hum after sweeping everything out of the secret room. "I advise you to choose the first option. You might be interrogated, but it's safer. Following me is too risky; I can barely protect myself."
Emily, the female Gnomes, didn't have a good impression of most humans, but she felt quite comfortable with the young man before her. After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "I think you're a trustworthy and good person, and I've decided to follow you."
Unas was given another "friend zone" card and had an extra burden. He had mixed feelings; it was all his own fault for being greedy, and he couldn't blame anyone else.
However, he was still quite pleased to be called a trustworthy person by someone he had just met, since men who are perceived as reliable by women are more likely to find love.