Collector’s Cage - Chapter 3

“Yes! That’s right. Good!”
“You really must be careful. Even if you get caught…”
“I absolutely won’t mention Mr. Dawson’s name. Absolutely!”

After repeated promises, Hermie found a way to sneak into the Mage Tower.

Dawson was working as a kitchen assistant there. Since he was in charge of managing the kitchen ingredients, she planned to hide in a cart delivering food supplies to the tower and then sneak into the dining hall with Dawson’s help.

You damn delinquent debtor. Just you wait till I catch you. If you won’t pay up, I’ll at least get the goods back. Hermie clenched her fist with determination.

The next morning.

Since this was a sensitive security operation, Hermie didn’t even tell the guild members and hid herself in the cart. She only informed Uncle Jen, who was making the delivery to the Mage Tower, about today’s plan. He was worried about her, but after hearing that the future of the Pumpkin Flower Guild was at stake, he had no choice but to join the operation.

Crouched inside a box under the tarp, Hermie waited for the cart to enter the Mage Tower. One hour passed, then two, but the cart showed no sign of moving.

‘Ugh, my back.’

Her body ached all over from being curled up. Just as regret for unnecessarily putting herself through this ordeal began to creep in, the cart began to move with a jolt.

With every rattle of the cart, Hermie’s heart rattled along.

The cart would head straight for the Mage Tower’s food storage warehouse.

She just had to hold on there until Dawson arrived. Whenever anxiety crept in, Hermie soothed her nerves by recalling the plan.

Soon, the cart stopped, and Uncle Jen’s voice could be heard.

“Ah, good morning. Here are this week’s food supplies.”
“Uh-huh, go ahead.”

She also heard the voice of a Mage Tower guard, lazily waving them through without even checking inside the cart.

Now, all that remained was to enter the unknown interior of the Mage Tower.

What if they’ve installed detection magic at the gate? Wizards were inherently unpredictable, making it impossible to guess what kind of traps they might have set up in their own stronghold.

Clatter-!

The sound of crossing the tower’s side gate was heard. Thankfully, nothing happened. It seemed they hadn’t installed surveillance magic on the servants’ and merchants’ back entrance.

It was also possible that Hermie, being a woman with no magical power, simply wasn’t detected by the surveillance magic. Either way, she had safely passed through the back gate, meaning she had cleared a major hurdle.

“Oof! Why is this one so heavy?”
“Lift it properly, you rascal! Don’t drop it! I-It’s full of eggs, I tell you!”

They moved the boxes from the cart to the food storage warehouse. When the box Hermie was hiding in was moved, a groaning sound escaped from the mouth of the tower servant.

Only Uncle Jen, who knew what was inside the box, grew anxious and repeatedly warned them to be careful.

Jen planned to return to the tower later in the evening, claiming he had made a wrong delivery, and that’s when Hermie would escape by riding in the cart.

Bang-!

Once all the boxes were moved, the warehouse door closed. Hermie cautiously waited inside the box without coming out, waiting for Dawson. It would be a disaster if she carelessly ran into someone else.

After what felt like a long wait, creak… the door opened cautiously, and a small voice calling her name was heard.

“Hermie…?”

It was Dawson’s voice. Hermie quickly pushed open the lid of the box and poked her head out.

“Dawson?”

“Good heavens, Hermie…! You really got in?”

Dawson came running up, panting. His panicked look, as if he’d been caught in the middle of a joint scheme, was a sight to behold. Seeing Hermie actually sneak into the Mage Tower left him at a complete loss, looking utterly flustered.

“Of course. The very survival of the Pumpkin Flower Guild is at stake here.”

Hermie’s eyes were wide, her hair a bit disheveled. Dawson pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Sigh. This is really a mess.”