*Knock *Knock *Knock

The girls lightly knocked several times on the door leading to Tyler’s chambers but received no response even after waiting for a while, the place was quiet so they assumed he must’ve left the room for somewhere else in the castle. The only problem was, the place was massive and they had no idea where to start from.

Moreover, wandering the castle aimlessly and without permission was probably not a good idea, given the situation they find themselves in right now. Pondering this, Erin made a suggestion, their best bet was to ask Albert about it. He had been moving around this castle since they arrived and he should be aware of the whereabouts of Tyler. It was also easier for her to find him due to their connection.

Rain had completely forgotten who she was talking about and had to be reminded by Liz that it was the old man she almost attacked. She chuckled in embarrassment, not entirely sure what had happened to her but her emotional state had been a mess.

The girls finally came to a decision on their next move, so they headed down the stairs in search of Albert who had left their room earlier. Thanks to Erin they were able to find him pretty quickly on his way out of the castle.

Albert was about to go check in on Azar who he was told had gone to the

stables with a couple of the previous Red settlement guards to feed the Six-eyed bulls and maintain the carriages. They had finally settled in on the servants quarters along side the kobolds who were still getting used to being around other races.

Kobolds weren’t very sociable to begin with, perhaps it was their mischievous nature or a sense being ostracized by the other demi human races for being weak. The only one they had been able to freely communicate with was the female Dragonwrought kobold.

The previous energetic bunch had fallen asleep after the fatigue they had accumulated from explo— cleaning the massive castle and the battle that had happened yesterday and the day before.

Albert saw the girls heading towards him and halted his steps as he turned to face them. Rain then quickly apologized about her previous behavior this morning which Albert had no longer bothered with. The event had even further increased his resolve to improve himself, at least to the level of the two girls, aiming for Erin’s level was unrealistic.

He also didn’t want to hinder his new master in anyway, he felt like with his current strength someone like him didn’t deserve to offer his life to someone at his level.

He regretted ever being satisfied with his current strength and although his magic potential wouldn’t increase, his swordsmanship should be able to close the gap. He could also try to improve his stamina so he could learn more secret Techniques. After Rain’s apology was done and Albert’s acceptance, Erin then informed him of their intentions to find Tyler, although they didn’t mention the reason why.

Albert saw no reason to hide the truth from them since he still wasn’t sure of the relationship between the two girls and his master. He decided to tell them everything. Well, he didn’t really tell them everything as he failed to mention using a skill in his master’s chambers and receiving a severe backlash. He also didn’t mention his thoughts on the matter, only that he thought Lord Ty was busy in a secret section of the castle.

The girls had no trouble accepting this as they were well aware of the true ins and out of the demon society. They knew full well the value the Great Five had placed on this castle and how hard it was to enter. The fact that most of the directions the development of the demon continent have taken so far revolves around this Castle was prove of that. They all knew that this place must’ve contained a vast secret, and the one who is able to enter at will would obviously not be oblivious to that.

“What now?” Liz asked as she turned her head to face Rain. Rain shrugged as she casually responded. “I don’t have any of my daggers so it’s not like we can leave. We just have to wait.”

“Oh…”

Albert hearing their conversation realized they were not as close to his master as he had thought and decided to take note of that. Erin then asked Albert what he was up to and he informed them about Azar, since they didn’t really have much to do they decided to tag along. Rain was surprisingly really interested in the Six-eyed bulls than they thought as she seemed to have a thing for strong mounds.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the large stable by the side of the castle. However, looking at the building it was almost an insult to call it a simple stable. The building was made with bricks and was about three storeys high with intricate runes carved on the walls.

They spotted Azar’s huge frame from a distance, he was giving directions to some of his men and a few large hulking creatures. Albert soon approached him and he stopped his work to greet the group. Since the girls weren’t interested in what both men had to say, they went inside the stable to show Rain the mounds.

“I’m surprised you were able to get the trolls to listen to you so easily.”

“Oh that, hehe… It’s all thanks to this weapon on my back, once they saw it their attitude immediately changed and they turned obedient, Almost like dogs. I have to thank lord Ty for bestowing it upon me.”

“Oh I see, it seems the last owner of the weapon had really traumatized these trolls.”

“Hahahaha… I know, isn’t that great.”

“Sigh… Not necessarily. Anyway how is your work going.”

“As fine as it possibly could.”

“Well that’s good.”

Since their exploration had allowed them to clean the interior of the castle. There was no longer much that needed to be done this instance. Well there was yu broken main door and main gate of the castle, as well as there other fallen parts of the outer wall, but, these things weren’t exactly urgent. Thanks to the barrier, they had enough protection from the outside, unless a Demon lord suddenly attacked personally.

Perhaps they would also need to reset the traps in the outer and ward and walls as well as fixing the broken ones. The problem was, they didn’t have any of the tools necessary for things like that, and they wouldn’t know if they were overstepping their bounds.

Although, with the additions of the kobolds who were adept at trap magic, they might not need any tools, and besides Tyler had told him to do as he pleased.

Albert suggested the idea to Azar’s who suggested they wait till the kobolds were fully recovered, they still had to take care of themselves untill Lord Ty returns. Albert then gave some instructions to Azar about resting after he was done, then he told Erin he would be returning back to the castle to rest for a while, after all he hadn’t slept in days and even though he could go months without it, it still wasn’t a good idea.

The girls had gotten some sleep last night so it wasn’t like they needed it. Erin nodded to Albert and they continued to play with the large bulls in front of them. Although wether Rain was actually playing with them or torturing them, she had no idea.

When Azar and his workers were done feeding the bulls and maintaining the carriages, they left some food for the trolls, and the girls, having gotten bored followed behind. They didn’t know what else to do since now that Rain and Liz knew someone occupied the castle, they didn’t feel like they could explore it anymore, at least without permission. So they just loitered around the castle’s exterior until it was past noon when the ogres finally woke up.

They spent the time discussing and getting to know each other better, although they didn’t reveal any secrets, they slowly built the foundation for their friendship. When most of the female ogres woke up, Azar who hadn’t slept at all for some reason provided them with the provisions to prepare lunch for everyone. Even though they had relocated in such a hurry they still had emergency rations that would last them for months so it wasn’t a problem staying here for quite a while.

Getting everyone together for a meal was a one of the best ways to get to know beach other and although they finally felt terrible for abusing the freedom Tyler had given them to roam the castle, Albert had to reassure them that it was fine.

The castle had several dining halls and also a very large one most likely for occasions. The entire settlement was contained in that single hall and they ate and chatted merrily with the inclusion of both Liz and Rain.

They spent the rest of the day together as well and also had dinner in the same fashion. Like this the day ended and everyone went to bed in their self assigned rooms. Liz and Rain also shared a room and invited Erin to bed with them leaving Albert alone for the night.

The night was cold and quiet but the group slept peaceful untill the next day.

The cold wind woke Albert up at his usual time and he got up and ran through his usual routine. He opened the window to let the mourning air in only to see specks of snow falling down from the now clouded sky.

Snow rarely fell during winter in this region of the Demon continent so Albert was actually ecstatic about this. With just the cold, it was easy to counter but the snow was not, most of his fears was alleviated, well, at least untill Spring comes. It was currently the 5th day of the Kaz Merian month so they had about three months untill they would have to truly worry about the scouts.

With a sigh of relief he left the windows and entered the bathroom. After washing up he put on his suit and left the room. His master had left the managing of the castle up to him so he needed to make sure things ran smoothly until his return.

As Albert descended down the stairs he saw Azar coming out of his room with a yawn, even though the weather was extremely cold he still had no shirt on, his dedication to his style was impressive, then again, perhaps he was just busy doing something that did bit require a shirt and would keep him warm.

“Arghhhh….. Morning Albert, you’re up early as usual.”

“Well of course, it’s already an habit.”

“I don’t know how you’re so serious so early in the morning.”

”…”

“Well, what are we doing today.”

“…I suppose we can try fixing the main entrance, then I plan on getting the kobolds to fix the traps.”

Azar looked at Albert with a knowing expression. The main door to the castle was massive and even with his strength he wouldn’t be able to balance it up while fixing it. It also didn’t look like it was made of normal wood, and he wasn’t sure if the brutes from the Ogre race could be delicate enough to fix it, and obviously this eliminated the trolls from the equation.

“We should ask him for help then.”

“You don’t really mean him do you?”

”Who else would I be talking about. We no longer have a craftsman or Carpenter amongst us so we have no choice in the matter, besides all of the hinges are made of Duranium and the doors are also lined with Tritanium, he’s the only one we have that can handle such high level materials.”

…Pwaaa… Azar sighed loudly and exaggeratedly before adopting a look of resignation. “Fine… I’ll go call Bungo.”