Kenzii woke up to the feeling of someone shaking his shoulder. His eyes fluttered, forcing themselves open to get a clear look at whoever was waking him up.
"Kenzii, wake up," a woman's voice repeatedly whispered, accompanied by another gentle shake.
When Kenzii finally opened his eyes completely, Cariz's face welcomed his sight, her soft, gentle eyes looking down at him.
He simply stared at her face for a moment... She had an innocent, sweet countenance that seemed to symbolize a naturally modest and refined provincial lady. It was like her mind hadn't been influenced by the toxic perspectives of social media and city girls. She was a beautiful woman.
Cariz quickly averted her gaze when she noticed Kenzii just staring at her face. She leaned back slightly, moving away from him, and stood up straight beside the bed where the young man lay.
"Uhm, y-you should get up. It's already ten in the morning and you haven't had breakfast yet. Your cousins are also looking for you," she explained before turning her back on Kenzii and stepping out of the room.
Kenzii slowly sat up and massaged his head; it throbbed with a dull ache. He had drank a bit too much last night because the local men in the village kept insisting he join their drinking session.
Last night, Cariz and her mother hadn't allowed him to go home since he had a few drinks himself. It actually annoyed him because his two idiot cousins hadn't even bothered to pick him up or even looked for him. They didn't even worry if he's still breathing?
Once he cleared the fog from his head, Kenzii decided to head to the bathroom to wash his face and freshen up. Figuring he was currently staying in the guest room, he stepped out and walked straight down the stairs. Seeing that no one was in the living room or the kitchen, he finally went outside through the door and was greeted by the noisy laughter and chatter coming from the gazebo.
Kenzii's lips twitched when he spotted his two cousins shamelessly eating breakfast while happily chatting with Cariz's friends.
He could only sigh heavily. He quietly walked toward them, and the moment his eyes met Alas's, the latter immediately smiled—even with his mouth full—and waved his fork at him like a child. Kenzii just raised an eyebrow, grimacing at his cousin's antics.
"Hey Kenzii, my couz!"
Kenzii instinctively lowered his head when the people suddenly turned around to look at him. Straightening his posture, he finally looked up and offered a polite smile to everyone and greeted them good morning.
"Hey bro, how was your sleep? You woke up pretty late," Loui said, immediately putting an arm around Kenzii's shoulder. Loui was a 23-year-old local youth whom Kenzii had met yesterday through uncle John—who seems like didn't forget what he promised, and he had quickly become part of their circle in the village. Unlike Kenzii, Loui was incredibly talkative—just like Alas.
"Hmm, my head hurts a bit," Kenzii replied with a faint smile. He accepted the coffee handed to him by Cariz, who invited him to sit in the empty chair between Alas and Loui.
"Hahaha! You're probably just not used to drinking," Loui teased, putting some food onto Kenzii's plate.
"Tss, well, this guy rarely drinks anyway. He's way too busy with his life," Alas added, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Out of the three of us, you're the only one who loves slacking off and fooling around," Sota chimed in, taking a bite of his pancake.
"Pfft, I just know how to enjoy life, unlike you two stiff blocks of wood," Alas retorted, instantly exchanging a high-five with Loui, who loudly agreed with him.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with having a little fun," Loui smiled, drinking some juice from the table. "Even I join the fun here in the village whenever I have a day off from work."
"Come on, you goof off even when you're supposed to be working," laughed Aton, another 23-year-old local they had met. Sitting next to him was his cousin, Jazz, who was only twenty.
"By the way, what exactly do you do for work, Loui?" Alas asked, glancing briefly toward the older folks sitting at a separate table outside, who had suddenly burst into laughter.
Their younger group was sitting at a completely separate table from the elders. It was always a bit difficult to mingle with the older generation since they couldn't exactly keep up with the conversations and lifestyle of the younger crowd.
"I'm a room attendant at a hotel in the neighboring town of Doksy," Loui smiled, taking a bite of his pancake. Konradov was just a short drive away, a tiny settlement nestled deeply within the heavily forested tourist trails of the Kokořínsko area. "It's my rest-day today, got a two-day off."
Kenzii listened quietly while eating, his eyes drifting toward Cariz, who was also eating in silence.
"How about you? What's your job?" Kenzii asked the young woman.
Startled, Cariz looked up at him, her cheeks instantly turning a shade of crimson under Kenzii's intense, unblinking gaze. Since she's naturally pale, the blush on her face was incredibly obvious, making Loui frown in amusement.
"Whoa, he just asked a simple question, why are you blushing like that?"
"I-It's just cold, Loui. Obviously," Cariz snapped, glaring at the young man before looking back at Kenzii. However, she couldn't hold his gaze for long, feeling as though she would melt under his eyes.
"I'm a... I'm a receptionist at a botique hotel in Kornadov, just here in Blatce." she answered briefly, and Kenzii simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"Actually, almost all of us here in who are around the same age work in the hospitality industry. Just different departments, but Loui and I work in the same hotel. Tourism and agriculture are the main sources of livelihood here," Aton interjected, prompting Sota to look his way.
"That makes sense. This place is incredibly beautiful, quiet, and peaceful," Sota said, nodding in agreement before looking at his two cousins, who were already staring back at him. "We actually have a pretty long vacation ahead of us, so why don't you guys tour us around your town?" Sota smiled.
Alas immediately nodded his head in eager agreement, while Kenzii's eyes narrowed slightly at the sudden idea.
"Wait, seriously?" Loui scratched the back of his neck, a look of genuine disappointment crossing his face. "The problem is, we all have shifts at work tomorrow..."
"I'm sure you can easily file for a leave or just call in sick, right? Besides, we will pay you standard tour guide rates, so we won't be bothering you for nothing." Sota pressured smoothly. The four locals exchanged glances.
"Come on, please? We rarely get a vacation like this," Alas pleaded. He stood up from his seat, moved over to sit next to Loui, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Consider it a request from your new friends. We will pay double—no, we will pay triple." Alas's wide grin made the eyes of the four go wide.
"Sure!" Aton and Loui answered simultaneously, leaving the other two women with no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Wow... you guys must be filthy rich, huh?" Jazz remarked, and the others nodded along in curiosity.
"Not really. It's just a rare occasion, and we really want to make the most out of it," Alas replied, returning to his original seat. He leaned his weight against Kenzii's shoulder, only to be met by his cousin's furrowed brows. "Kenzii and Sota, especially our boy Kenzii here, are always drowned in work, so I really want to enjoy this trip with them."
"What do they actually do for a living?" Loui asked curiously, with Aton nodding along to show his interest.
"Just some office-related corporate stuff, things like that," Sota answered simply, smoothly steering the conversation toward the local attractions and the best places to visit.
It wasn't a good idea to let the conversation revolve around their personal lives since they were currently on a classified mission. They couldn't reveal their true identities and needed to keep a low profile at all times. If these people found out who the three cousins actually were, their behavior toward them might completely change.
.
By late afternoon, the cousins dressed up and prepared to head out to Houska Castle. This afternoon was their scheduled time to visit the infamous, allegedly haunted fortress. Riding in their privately rented car, they arrived at the location accompanied by Uncle John, who happened to work as one of the staff members and regular site caretakers for the property.
Upon their arrival, they were immediately met by two men who were assigned to guide them through the premises.One of them was Pan, the senior regional curator and administrative manager of the site whom Sota had officially coordinated with beforehand to authorize their visit as academic researchers. The other was Tomas, an expert historical guide, who accompanied Pan to lead the private tour. Jacob remained outside by the transport vehicle to wait for the cousins, as he wasn't officially on duty that day.
The very moment Kenzii stepped inside the main threshold of the castle, he immediately tuned in to his own senses. He mentally access his hidden System to see if any notifications would pop up or if the interface would react to the environment. He even checked the pulsing energy in his left hand, but neither the System nor his own left limb showed any physical reaction.
"How is it? Anything?" Sota whispered, glancing sideways at Kenzii while they continued to walk through the stone-walled corridors of the circular fortress. Meanwhile, Alas walked ahead, listening intently to the guides.
Kenzii simply shook his head, his eyes continuously scanning every nook and cranny of the castle, meticulously observing the architecture and ancient artifacts displayed around them.
The historical docent cleared his throat and continued his lecture in a professional tone. "While modern popular culture often sensationalizes this place with folklore about underworld portals, the true architectural history of this structure is far more fascinating. Built in the late 13th century, likely under the orders of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, it served primarily as an administrative center to manage the surrounding royal estates, rather than a defensive military outpost."
The historical researcher pointed toward the unusual layout of the structure. "Notice how the castle's defensive features are oddly reversed. The walls are thickest on the inside, facing the inner courtyard, rather than protecting against external invaders. Historical documents suggest it was constructed to serve as an administrative hub to keep watch over the trade routes, but the architectural anomalies continue to baffle researchers to this day."
As Kenzii walked further into the dim interiors, he took notice of the intricate, small details in every corner. The walls were made of rough, heavily weathered ashlar limestone blocks, covered in patches of fading, centuries-old plaster. In the corners of the corridors stood heavy, wrought-iron torch-sconces, now retrofitted with faint, low-wattage electric bulbs that cast long, eerie shadows across the stone floor.
They passed by narrow, deeply recessed Gothic arched windows that looked out into the inner courtyard. The window panes were made of thick, unevenly blown green-tinted glass, held together by rusted lead cames.
In one corner of the grand hall, an old, dark oak chest stood against the wall, its iron brackets covered in a fine layer of dust, while faded, peeling frescoes depicting archaic heraldic symbols and medieval hunting scenes adorned the upper frieze of the stone walls...
Every inch of the place smelled of damp stone, old wood, and centuries of stagnant isolation.No matter where he looked until the end of the tour, everything he saw seemed utterly useless and disconnected from his current situation. His demonic system showed no reaction, and his left hand remained completely still. He felt absolutely nothing, not even a little bit.