Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Miser was led around all the way to the north end of the village where a few bodies covered in simple clothes were kept inside a simple bamboo hut.

On his way here, Miser counted more than two hundred Forest Spring Spirits living inside the village. That was not all, rare and precious plants, herbs grew everywhere in this place.

There were even some that matched the description from the talks of the elite adventurers and some which he heard in rumours and legends. the place was practically brimming with all sorts of treasures that could only be seen in some ancient treasury or in the lockers of a top tier guild.

He couldn't imagine how much wealth was hidden inside the village. Even if he randomly took a stalk of grass from here and sold it in the shops or auction back in the city, he would earn quite a sum.

And that was not all, as all of this was just the tip of the iceberg, the main treasure was the Forest Spring Spirits themselves which was soon going to be his.

Cedar stopped in front of the bamboo house patted Miser on the shoulder and said consolingly "The remains of your comrades are inside. We collected the belongings of your comrade and placed them on the side. If you need help I can..".

However, before Cedar could continue, Miser immediately declined his offer saying "It's alright, you guys already did me a great favour by bringing their bodies along. It's my job now to give them a proper burial". His voice sounded sorrowful. Of course, all of this was just a show to make his lie seem more convincing to Cedar.

He honestly did not care much whether these guys had a proper burial or not; after all, even while they were alive Miser did not care whether they lived or died as he always prioritized his own life during their journey together.

But he thought that since they were useful even after their death and ultimately helped him reach this village that was going to make him rich soon, he could at least give them a burial for their great service. At least this way he would be seen as a kind person in the eyes of these Forest Spring Spirits.

There was a cemetery nearby where the Forest Spring Spirits buried their own. Miser dug few holes and placed the bodies of his former teammates.

After the burial, Miser came back with Cedar to the bamboo house that was located at the centre of the village.

When they reached the house, he was stunned to see a beautiful woman with Dark emerald hair, astonishing curves, and a gentle smile that had a mysterious power to heal one's soul greeting Cedar. With those features of her, the woman was a top tier beauty no matter how Cedar looked.

"Father!... Father, you are back!" suddenly Miser heard a clear jubilant voice and a small girl that had similar features like the woman came running from behind and hugged Cedar.

When Miser looked at the little girl, he couldn't help but frown, that was because the girl was quite different from the other children of her age that he had seen around the village.

The girl had two pairs of wings, her emerald eyes shone as bright as a crystal and mysterious speckles of light followed her wherever she went. The moment she appeared, a clear fragrance of freshly bloomed flowers spread all around the surroundings. The girl was none other than Cecilia.

He couldn't help but find the girl quite unusual; nonetheless, he still believed she was one of the Forest Spring Spirits. It appeared that the little girl was Cedar's child and that woman was his wife.

Miser waited patiently on the sidelines as he formulated his plans. Now that he knows that there are more than two hundred Forest spring spirits living here in the Ghastly Winding Forest, he had to bring a large group of adventurers to subjugate them or else given their number they would be able to put up a resistance or even worse escape from here which would foil his plans completely.

He had to prepare thoroughly and for any contingencies in case things go south. Although hiring adventurers for such a huge expedition would be quite capital intensive and more so when he needed those who would keep this expedition a secret. Having so many treasures in front of him, Miser was not going to give up on it so easily.

Seeing that the conversation between Cedar and his family was over, Miser decided to speak up "Umm patriarch Cedar, I think that it is high time that I leave. I have already accomplished my goals by giving my comrades a proper burial and am mostly healed. It would be asking too much to stay anymore after all the things you guys have done for me. And that is why I ask patriarch Cedar if he could arrange someone who could lead me out of here".

It was also at this moment that Cecilia noticed Miser. The moment her emerald green eyes landed on him, he felt as if his very thoughts were being seen through. Cecilia furrowed her delicate brows and her eyes were distressed as she stared at him. Pointing at MIser, she said "You are a bad person".

The moment he heard that, Miser started panicking as cold sweat drenched his back wet. Fortunately, his acting earlier had paid off since he was able to win the trust of Cedar. "Cecilia don't be rude to the guest. He is already grieving over his deceased teammates, don't add onto his troubles with your pranks".

Cecilia looked unconvinced and wanted to say something when her mother pulled her back into her embrace.

Saying that, Cedar looked at Miser's body and said with concern "Your body is not fully healed yet. I can arrange for you to stay here a few more days, it wouldn't be a problem".

Miser hurriedly declined "No no no, I don't want to give patriarch Cedar any more trouble. You have already done enough, my body has already healed to the point where I can walk back home all the while avoiding the monsters".

He wanted to know how to get in and out of this place and his plans also required him to start preparing immediately therefore he couldn't just heal idly in this village.

Cedar looked at Miser's determined expression and said "Very well if you insist then I shall prepare someone to send you back". "Thank you very much" Miser replied. Soon a person dressed in green clothes came as per Cedar's orders and led him out of the village.

Before leaving, Miser glanced at the unusual little girl once last time. At that time, even Cedar couldn't have imagined what kind of a disaster would befall the Forest Spring Spirit clan by bringing Miser in.

------

Inside the bamboo house at the centre of the Forest Spring Spirit village, Miser snapped out of his daze and asserted with a bootlicking smile towards Laris.

"Sir Laris I'm ninety percent sure that the little girl I saw back then was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit" Miser recalled as he looked towards Laris and said.

After getting out of the Ghastly Winding Forest, he hurried back to the city of Morgress. He looked up the books pertaining to the records from ancient times and the long-forgotten races. After going through numerous books, he finally found a species having similar features to the little girl he saw back then at the village of the Forest Spring Spirits.

The moment he read the description written in the book and the name of the race, He felt as if he was thunderstruck.

Recalling the features of the little girl from back then, MIser was quite sure that the girl he saw was one of the extremely rare species the Forest Spring Royal Spirit. It said that even among the rare Forest Spring Spirit clan there is a one in a million chance for a Royal Spirit to be born.

A Forest Spring Royal Spirit was on a completely different realm than an ordinary Forest Spring Spirit. Not only that, even in the annals of history, it was mentioned that there appeared only one Forest Spring Royal spirit throughout the ancient time.. One could imagine how rare the species was.