My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 273: Dishonoured (4)

Kace slammed his shoulder into the bookshelf, shattering it into pieces and scattering the books it housed. The bookshelf had hidden a secret passageway in the walls. A blade lashed out in response to his sudden assault. A metal clang resounded as Kace blocked it with the bracer that covered his right forearm. 

Kace retaliated with a brutal kick towards his opponent's legs, seeking to unbalance him. His opponent turned out to be quite nimble as he deftly avoided the blow in time. In the narrow passage, the two quietly took stock of each other, even as Grugda moved to back Kace up. As Kace glanced over his opponent, he noticed the familiar leathery rags that covered his body.

Although his face was covered, Kace had an inclination of who it was. 'Is this the same guy that guided us here?' He continued to scrutinise the native, who did not seem enthusiastic about continuing their fight. Eventually, the native lowered his blade, sheathing it behind his back. He tried to make it apparent that he was not hostile. Kace relaxed his own stance but remained wary. 

"Who are you?" Kace demanded with an authoritative voice.

"We have already met. I brought you here." The figure replied with an intensely masculine voice.

'Seems like I was right.' Kace continued to study him. 'What's his goal, though?'

"I am Jalthrug. You can call me Jal." The figure continued when he saw that Kace had remained silent. "This city needs your help."

"Why me? Surely there are plenty of qualified people here that can sort this mess out." Kace asked curiously. It was a question that had played on his mind for a while.

"It's because you're an outsider that you can be trusted," Jal responded in a slightly distressed tone. 

Kace frowned at these words. This confirmed his suspicions that there was something too shady going on in this city. 'Still, that doesn't mean that this guy is on the right side.' Kace tried to visualise what this guy might gain from his interference. If he was manipulated in the right way, then maybe Jal was aiming to use him to take over the city.

"If you are sincere about cooperating, then why don't you remove those wrappings from your face?" Kace smirked. 'No matter what. If he wanted to build a good reputation with us, then he shouldn't be hiding his identity.' Kace sincerely thought he had caught the cat by its tail.

"I'm afraid I cannot." Jal sighed, "This is a cursed item. Forced on me for my failure. To my own people, I may as well not even exist."

"That's a pretty convenient excuse. How can I believe you?" Kace was having none of it. 

"You are welcome to try and remove them yourself. Will that be enough?" Jal sounded confident in his proposal.

"Hm, no," Kace replied bluntly after considering it for a few moments. "By your own words, you said that it can't be removed. Which may be true. Even if it is. How does that prove that you did not do it to yourself? It would make sense if you wanted to make sure you were not accidentally revealed."

"Is there anything else I can do! I only want what is best for our city!" Jal sounded rather emotional. It seemed like he had given up on arguing about his face coverings. The logic behind Kace's own argument probably forced him to abandon this line of convincing them.

"Hm," Kace raised an eyebrow. "How about this. You come out of there and tell us everything you know. Starting with who you were exactly."

Jal paused for a moment. Kace's request was more than reasonable. Especially if they wanted to build up some trust. Jal only hesitated because if he left the passageway, then he would be vulnerable. Kace and Grugda would be able to flank him, which would turn into a significant disadvantage if it turned into another fight. After a few more moments of deliberating, Jal slowly walked towards Kace.

Kace backed out of the passageway in response. There was not enough space for the pair to move side by side, so he had to make way. Kace's golden eyes fixated on Jal's body language. It was tense but showed no signs of being prepared to make any sudden movements. Kace nodded inside his mind. 'At least he's smart enough to take the first step.'

Grugda looked between the two as he copied Kace's movements and allowed the figure to pass. He did not own a means to translate the language, so he was relegated to becoming a background character in the upcoming discussion. He would just have to guess at the contents from whatever Kace said on his part.

Kace saw the concerned expression on Grugda's face and smiled ruefully at him. He remembered how he felt when he had to watch silently as Sophia conversed with the natives on his behalf. 'He should be feeling something similar right about now. However, maybe this guy can shed more light on the Phoenix Feather. Sorry, Grugda. But I don't want anyone else knowing about it for now.'

Kace turned his attention back to Jal, staring at him as he took a seat at one of the reading tables in the room. This position alone put him in a worse state to counteract Kace and Grugda's movement. It was like displaying his own weakness on purpose to gain their trust. Kace appreciated this manoeuvre. It showed that Jal was serious enough to put his life on the line just to gain their trust.

"Now that you're comfortable, why don't you tell who you are? We know your name but nothing else. From what I can see, you must have worked here in the palace? Otherwise, you would not have known about that passage." This detail actually perplexed Kace a bit. They had not discovered any signs of these passages at all. He only picked it out because of Jal's presence inside the wall.

"As I said. I am Jalthrug. I am Sorry. Was... Captain of the royal guards. I failed in my duty to protect the prince. Lady Rysa's son. As such, I was branded with this mark of dishonour' Jal stroked the wrappings on his face