Kei weighed his options .
Surely someone had put a bounty on him . He expected that his (Kaiser's) bloodline awakening would have angered others but never thought it would compel them to issue his death warrant .
Kei did not see the face of Madam Butterfly and neither knew her name but had heard her voice and it was gracefully sweet and ruthless.
" There was no emotion in it when she took the bounty, she is a natural killer " Kei's senses told him .
"I cannot go back home , that lady will be waiting to kill me there and frame it as an accident . I have to leave the village and go to Vitium (capital city) . I cannot go to the Temple of Bellicus , that masked man said that there will be others inside the temple . They must have someone on the inside . My only option would be to go the Cruentus Forest and head to the Temple of Caedis ." Kei thought .
He kept eating the food as he made plans to escape . He felt like a rat caught in a trap eating its last meal.
"But if I don't return home tonight, that lady will pursue me in the forest too . She will easily find out that I have left for the forest . I will get a head start if I leave now but if she catches me there I will be out in the open and she will easily kill me. I don't know her strength but considering she is a mercenary she will be deadly in a fight . With my current strength I doubt that I can face her . I will be like a mouse before a cat. " Kei's thoughts spun as he racked his brains .
"I have to think of something to get her off my trail but how ? That masked man , what if .. ? " Kei suddenly stood up and headed towards the lodging section .
He had seen the room in which the masked man went back, and he planned to reconnaissance there .
Kei reached the corridor where the ten rooms were located and headed for room no. 8 .
"Halt , " a voice sounded from behind Kaiser .
As he turned around he saw two rakshasa commoners clad in simple armor approaching him. They were guards, appointed at Fellow Mire Inn on the upper floor, to protect privacy of the nobles who came here .
" Are you residing in any of these rooms ? We have not seen you before" one guard asked .
"No, I was just looking for the waitress to order " Kei lied .
" Then, please leave if you have no business here and go to your table , we will send the waitress" the guard said in an authoritative tone .
Kei went back to his table . The waitress came within a minute and Kei ordered a glass of surah which was immediately served .
Kei took a sip and pretended to relax as he was now being noticed by the guards.
He again started racking his brain.
" I cannot approach the masked man ; those guards are already suspecting me . It was a foolish move ; I should have known that there would be guards here to protect the privacy of this lecher nobles."
"I can run away to the forest now but excluding that mercenary lady there will be other dangers in the Cruentus Mouth (the outer forest area) . I will need bigger weapons other than my talons and will need a good armor too . I won't be able to buy them now , the marketplace in the city will be closed at night. It will open again tomorrow morning."
"I can stay the night elsewhere today and head to Vitium and the forest in the morning but then that lady will trail me easily , I will be a dangling target in front of her . I can go and hide in the capital city . But for how long ? She will soon find my whereabouts. I will be in serious disadvantage . For now, I have the upper hand in this cat and mouse game as I know her location, and she does not know of mine."
"I have to create a decoy , no, a master decoy so that I can fool her . I need another mouse to bell the cat ."
Kei finished his drink .
He had devised a plan and now he needed to carefully execute it .
He went downstairs and approached the counter .
"Your total food expense is 90 ditoso" Reben at the counter said seeing Kei in his brown hooded apparel .
i paid the amount and asked, "Where is the washroom ?" Reben pointed towards a partitioned area just left of the entrance door .
Kei nodded and went inside. After checking that the washroom was empty he swiftly changed into an expensive looking blue colored full sleeved jacket like apparel and put on his hood .
After waiting for ten minutes he rapidly came out and exited the inn before anyone inside could even spot him.
As he came out of the inn , he noticed a female rakshasa in a black cloak standing on the other side of the road . She was facing the inn but was seemingly hesitating to come inside .
It was Saana , the salesgirl .
"My plan just got even better " Kei thought as he walked towards Saana with a smile on his face .