"I have a question," The maid spoke as she lead the way towards their first target.
The two had been walking for quite some time now but it seemed as if they were still nowhere near their destination.
"What is it?" Alora calmly asked.
"Why are you trusting me?" Katelin questioned and Alora's footsteps paused for a second.
"Eh...?" Alora muttered in confusion as she lifted her head and looked at the back of Katelin's head.
"Maybe it's because I was sent by Sir Carmen?" The maid guessed with a small chuckle before she questioned, "In that case, why do you trust him?"
Alora frowned as she heard this question but she didn't take it as a joke nor as a threat. She seriously took a minute to think about the answer before she spoke, "It's not that I trust you because of him. You could say it's because of a gut feeling."
"A gut feeling?"
Alora nodded her head, "Carmen doesn't seem to hold any bad intentions. He has a reputation for being kind and helpful so I trust him. As for you, I'd say it's a feeling of familiarity. I might not know you well enough but I still find myself feeling as if we are friends."
"Huh?"
Alora smiled brightly as she spoke, "Don't think too much about it. I'm just trusting you because my gut tells me to. It's the same as the time when I saved you from those hound dogs."
Katelin let out a small sigh that almost sounded like a soft chuckle, "I see."
Without saying anything more, the two continued to walk for another hour or more till they finally reached the palace of mammon. The prince of greed.
As soon as Alora saw the outside of the palace, her eyes immediately widened and she felt a little amazed. It was a palace made out of gold and this was completely expected of King Mammon who had built this place.
From the looks of it, Alora could already guess what the inside of the palace was going to look like and she would surely be lying if she said that she wasn't a little excited to see it.
If she were to put it into words, she would probably compare the anticipation with the feeling of getting ready to go into a museum.
"Miss Alora, there is something that I must tell you before we go in," Katelin's footsteps came to a stop as she spoke with a serious tone.
"Hmm?" Alora side glanced at the girl as she waited for her to speak.
"It must be your first time here so there might be things that may catch you by surprise. However, it is my first time as well so please don't be shocked if I try to hide behind you."
"..." Alora didn't know if she was even supposed to give a response to that.
She couldn't help but compare their thoughts and be a little amused to see the contrasting feelings they had. She felt as if this palace was going to be alike a museum whereas Katelin felt as if walking into this palace was going to be like walking into a haunted house.
"Don't worry," Alora spoke with a soft chuckle, "If something jumps at us, I'll make sure to kill it."
Katelin blinked in surprise as she heard this and although she didn't have that much faith in Alora's strength, she still did not bother saying anything to refute that reassuring statement.
Seeing as how Katelin was afraid of taking the lead from here on out, Alora decided to step up.
It was quite a surprise to see that there were no guards stationed around the gate of the palace, however, upon thinking about it further, Alora felt that this was only natural considering the fact that there would not be many people purposefully trying to walk into this palace.
"Please be careful, Miss Alora," Katelin spoke up in a volume that was barely above a whisper, "It is best to avoid touching things. If you touch anything valuable, the King of the palace would be informed and you might be put on trial."
Alora nodded her head in understanding as she heard this, but after repeating the words in her head for the second time, she stopped in front of the gate and asked, "Everything here is made out of gold so is it really possible to go anywhere in this palace without touching something valuable? I mean... Even the floor has precious stone embellishments so I'm sure the King was already informed of our arrival."
"Uh... That's true, I guess." Katelin looked down at the floor with a frown as she responded, "But I don't think it would matter if we do it unconsciously. It is not the object itself that sends the signal to the King, it is the greed that one feels when he or she touches a certain object out of fascination and a want to possess it."
"Oh~" Alora sang as she nodded her head in understanding and asked, "So if I don't feel any greed, the King would not be alerted?"
"That's right, Miss Alora."
After having heard this, Alora stretched her hand forward to open the gate but soon stopped once again.
"Katelin, is it bad if we alert the King?"
"Of Course, Miss. We are here to meet the young prince Luca and not his father. If his father finds out that we are here, he might throw us out without even letting us relay his Majesty's words to prince Luca."
Alora nodded her head with a frown as she heard this and in the very next moment, she stepped aside as she asked, "In that case, Can you open this gate safely without alerting the King?"
"..."
Alora smiled thinly as she looked at the girl and patiently waited for a response.
At the end of the day, Alora could not completely trust herself since she was still a human. She remembered reading something about the seven sins and according to what she had read, every human had been born with the need to sin engraved deeply into their souls.
"Miss Alora, don't tell me you'd feel greedy if you touch the gate handle...?" Katelin tilted her head and asked with much hesitation.
"I'm not sure," Alora shrugged her shoulders as she casually responded.
The moment she saw this palace, she had already been fascinated by it so according to what Katelin had warned her, it would truly be a risk for her to open the gate.
"I'm sure," Katelin spoke with a thin smile, "I'll definitely feel greedy if I touch that handle so it is better to let you do it."
"..."
Alora pursed her lips into a thin line as she heard this and said nothing.
"If both of us can't open the gate, how about we just get rid of the problem?" Katelin suddenly asked with a small polite smile.
"Huh?" Alora tilted her head in confusion as she heard such a bizarre idea, "What are you talking about?"
"Since it is the crystal handle that blocks us, why not just get rid of it?"
Alora innocently blinked as she heard this and it took her a whole minute to comprehend the words but even though she was somehow able to understand it, she still did not dare believe that she had understood it right.
"Are you suggesting breaking the handle...?"
Katelin nodded her head without any hesitation as she spoke, "I'm sure King Mammon would get it fixed later on and at the moment, this feels like the safest plan to proceed."
"..."
The idea was basically ridiculous. Not only would they be trespassing without permission in a demon's palace but they would also be causing property damage. No matter how Alora looked at the situation, she still felt as if she was doing something wrong.
However, at the same time, Katelin's tone of voice was so calm that Alora couldn't help but feel as if this ridiculous idea actually made a lot of sense.
"In that case... Let's do it!" Alora took a sharp breath in as she exclaimed and she was no longer sure if Katelin was the one ridiculous to come up with such a plan or if it was her who was crazy enough to follow through with the plan.
"Then, I'll leave it up to you," Katelin beamed as she took a few steps back and gave Alora some space.
Alora lifted her right foot and mustered up her courage to kick open the gate.
This gate was made out of precious crystals and gold. It was at least five or more inches thick and looked to be quite unbreakable, but as soon as Alora kicked it, the hinges joining the gate came off and the gate fell forward with a loud 'thud' that seemed to be echoing throughout the whole castle.
"Ah..." Katelin muttered as her eyes slightly widened, "We should have discussed the sound it would cause."
"..." Alora gulped as cold sweat started forming on her forehead, "Please tell me I won't have to pay the repair cost."
"Who dares step into my house without permission?!" A loud voice of a man was heard and both Alora and Katelin felt a shiver run down their spine.