Ryder finished mixing the food with the poison and arranged it all in the hundred plates that he had purchased. He even arranged all the plates before he left the house and walked to the nearest house.
It was a house that looked similar to his but was in a better condition. The house belonged to a lady that opened the door right after Ryder had knocked without delaying as if she was standing right behind the door waiting for Ryder.
Unlike the woman that had barged inside his house, this woman was much older. Wrinkles could clearly be seen on her face, but she still looked perfectly healthy. Her body was a bit too strong. Her muscles were clearly visible.
Her biceps themselves were twice the size of the head of the man Ryder was impersonating.
The first glance itself was enough to surprise Ryder at the physique of this woman, but he maintained his composure. He didn't even know how the man he impersonated used to talk to his neighbors.
He could only try his best.
"Hey, Actually I'm having a celebration at my house. I've prepared a feast. I would be happy if you can come and attend that," he said as he started waiting for her response to see if he had made any mistakes or not.
The woman did gaze at him oddly for a moment.
"You pipsqueak, did you finally gather the courage to talk to me? I often notice you are so scared to even look at people. Anyway, what's the celebration for?" the woman asked Ryder, confused.
"It's because I found ten dark gold coins today. They were dropped by someone. When I returned them, I was awarded one coin in return. But I don't have many expenses, so I thought to use that to give you all a feast," Ryder explained. He didn't know what excuse to give, so he went with this one.
"Hmm? That's quite lucky. Generally, it's rare for someone to drop that much money. So did you spend all that money on food already?" She asked.
Ryder could see a sneaky light shine in her eyes. He was sure that if he said that he didn't, the woman was going to probably snatch the money from him.
"Yeah. I brought the food for a hundred people from chubby place. Their most expensive dish. So they took all my money," Ryder explained.
"Cheh, what a waste. That place is indeed expensive. Fine. You have food; I'll come to eat that. When is the feast?" she asked Ryder.
"It'll start in the evening. I still need to invite more people. So you can come at 6?" he asked the woman. "Will that be alright?"
"Fine. I'm going out now, but I'll come on time," the woman nodded before she left.
Ryder watched the woman go away as he smiled, 'One down. Ninety-eight to go.'
He started walking towards the nearest house. The house belonged to a man who was much more kinder than the woman previously. The man talked more calmly and listened to Ryder with a smile on his face.
The man agreed instantly. He didn't even ask the reason for a feast. Ryder gave him the time of invitation before he moved over to the next house.
One after another, he kept going to the houses. Just to make sure he didn't lack people, he invited hundred people here.
If one couldn't come, he was still going to have ninety-nine people.
The problem was if more didn't come. But he couldn't invite more. He only had food and space for a hundred people.
After inviting a hundred people, he walked back to his house and started waiting for their arrival. Now that most of the work was done, he could only leave the rest on luck and hope that nothing went wrong.
As the time for feast drew closer, Ryder started pacing back and forth as he watched the door to see if anyone was going to knock or not.
"Janus, what are the chances of this plan being successful?" Ryder asked, wondering if Janus could give him some confidence.
Unfortunately, Janus didn't answer him. It was as if that guy was either ignoring him, or he genuinely couldn't hear that guy.
"Fine. Don't talk. In any case, I want my reward from Luke's killing. If I don't get them within twenty-four hours, I'll seriously start cursing you," Ryder let out in anger as he shook his head.
He had thought that Janus was ignoring him because he didn't want to pay the debt he was owed. He had decided to bug that guy even more after he was back.
For the moment, his main focus was going to be on the task at the head. If he was succeeding, it was going to be a significant accomplishment.
He couldn't even imagine the face High Dukes were going to make if they knew that he finished the trial within two days of entering the Royal City of Death Domain.
Just as he was wondering what kind of face High Dukes were going to make, he heard a knock on the door.
"I guess one of them is here already? Or maybe all," Ryder muttered as he started walking towards the gate with an expectant gaze on his face.
He opened the door only to find a person standing outside. It wasn't any of the people he had invited, though.
Instead, it was someone who made Ryder stunned. Ryder remembered seeing that person. That's why he didn't like this development.
He had seen that man just this morning before sunrise. The man was one of the few guards who was running beside the girl who rode on the horse through the empty City.
Just what was this man doing here? Could it be that the woman recognized Ryder as the person who saw her naked? Many thoughts floated in his head.
'No. Impossible! How could that woman recognize me? I'm in a disguise. It's impossible for her. My clothes are different too. Wait a minute, my bracelet?' Ryder suddenly thought of something that might have given him away.
If that woman saw him in the morning and noticed his bracelet, then she was going to know. But he just couldn't remember. Was his bracelet exposed in the morning?
He lowered his head to look at his hand, which had the bracelet of Immortality.
His bracelet was covered by the long sleeves of his shirt. It wasn't visible. If everything was normal, it shouldn't have been visible in the morning either, but he just couldn't remember exactly.
"Yes?" He asked the guard while keeping his calm expressions.
"Are you Jiw?" The man asked Ryder.
"Yeah?" Ryder asked. At Least he was sure that the man hadn't known him. So he could talk to the man as a stranger.
"You need to come with me," the man told Ryder.
"Come with you where?" Ryder asked, confused.
"You need to come with us to the Royal Palace. We have orders to kill you if you resist," the man told Ryder.
"Can you at least tell me what I did?" Ryder asked calmly.
Inside he was bewildered. He was going to be taken to the Royal Palace where the Prince of Death Domain was going to be?
The same Prince that Ryder made a fool out of with the help of the High Dukes? The same Prince that probably hated him to death? If that was the case and the Prince recognized him, it was going to be bad.
But if things were different and he didn't go, things could be bad there too.
"Can I take some time? Give me an hour? I promised a feast to some neighbors. If I don't give it, they might be angry. If you want, you can come in and eat too? I got food from chubby. You will love it. I have extra," Ryder suggested.
If he could make the man eat, that was for the better. That man would die of poison, and Ryder could continue staying here to find the rest of the neighbors.
Unfortunately, that man didn't agree. Instead of saying yes, he shook his head while seemingly fully serious.
"You can't stay here for a minute longer. I need to take you to the Royal Palace right away. As I said, you'll be hurt if you resist. So calmly come with me.
Ryder used his All-Seer on the man. He was already sure that he wouldn't see anything because of his high levels but still used it while hoping for the better.
The luck wasn't on his side, though. It was as he had expected. He couldn't see anything. The man who stood before him was too strong. He could only follow after the man.
"Fine. Take me to the Royal Palace," Ryder let out as he smiled wryly. In his disappointment, he didn't even bother closing the door behind him.
The guard took Ryder with him as they both advanced towards the Royal Palace.
