While Karion Ziege took pleasure in tormenting the poor waiter, things are going smoothly outside. Sterne and the gang ate their fill of coarse bread and bland mutton soup to ease the hard texture, at least on the surface that is what they appear to do. After the meal, they quietly head out to the square where most adventurers gathered just in time to hear the most important piece of information.
Tomorrow at first light will be the day the path towards the ruin opens. Different from the boisterous cheers from the crowd minutes ago, a deafening silence fell after they heard the announcement from the city lord.
The ruin's entrance appeared at the foot of Leise Mountain; to get there, one needs to cross the cursed Aster Town first.
Everyone sucked in their breaths.
Although the outside became one of the most frequented spots of eccentrics they still carry enough caution when approaching. For seasoned adventurers, an unexplored area always brings both misfortune and success; it is for certain that the inside will be an entirely different level from the outside. Several more times higher difficulty. Who knows what things lurk within after more than three years.
Everyone looked at each other, uncertain and apprehensive.
"That place? Really."
"But wasn't Aster Town sealed?"
"Indeed. I heard it was cursed."
"If you are so afraid, it's better you pack your things now and return to your homes." A richly dressed young man faced the crowd condescendingly. "Why waste your time coming when you are just going to tuck your tails and drag the rest of us down?"
The recipients of his scathing remark were rendered speechless. Seeing that no one retorted, the young man smiled smugly. He was convinced that they may have been frightened by the announcement and it will only be a matter of time before they quit. The little rivals there are, the better.
About a quarter of an hour a few more individuals arrived. From ordinary people, the ones boarding luxurious carriages and soldiers of various Orders.
Emilia and Viktor's puzzlement gave way to suspicion.
"This is strange, why would these kinds of people come here all at once?"
"I'm afraid this city is up to something. Put on your cloaks." Viktor urged the girls then pulled the hood lower to his head and vigilantly observed the new arrivals.
According to what they heard spoken around these personages came to this small city for the same purpose: uncover the treasures buried within the ruin. However they remained skeptical about it.
Treasures within the cursed town. How are they able to determine when it was sealed?
"You wish the enter wearing such poor equipment?" The young master earlier found a small group of adventurers and began another round of taunts to amuse himself. "Oh dear, I would not imagine throwing myself out there so unprepared. But if one finds living so boring, this might be the easiest way to end it."
The group did not bother to reply to discourage argument but the young master won't give up.
"What do you say I pay you a sum instead to watch over my carriage?" He laughed. "No? Very well then, one person dead is equal to one less competition."
"As expected, it was always dogs who bark the loudest. If not for the bodyguards around you, I'm very sure you will be the first one to be eaten."
"Who talked?"
"Me." A lanky boy sitting by the fountain remarked. No one noticed his presence until he moved.
"Say that again!"
"I'm saying you talk too loud to cover up your fright. You distract yourself by finding faults in others, is that clear enough for you?"
The rich boy's face changed with rage. He looked at the person contemptuously and spat out, "You are referring to me, plebeian?"
Receiving an insult from a stupid commoner in front of the public is not something he could tolerate, ever since young no one answered back to him in such a manner! He signalled the four bodyguards to surround the insolent adventurer and teach him a lesson.
"Let it be clear to this mud-licker whom he should not fight with." He said maliciously.
In a four vs one fight, what can a skinny lad do against these hulk of men? People braced themselves but surprisingly before the opponents could move, four of them were already spitting blood and writhing on the ground.
"What have you done?" The young master stared in horror.
The lad sat back at the fountain and began gnawing on a red apple no one knew where he took.
"G-Get up and beat him. Avenge me, you useless cowards!"
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
The young master took a subconscious step back.
Everyone did expect that the ordinary looking adventurer could move so fast and turn the tables. After dealing with the goons, he turned to give the young master a mocking snort. Since the beginning of history, nobles and adventurers had always been at odds with each other.
Gathering them here in one place, it will be a miracle if a single tile of this square remains intact.
"This is not your playground to play the bully. I suggest you don't run your mouth however you like unless your fists move as fast." He spat coldly and left.
Thanks to that arrogant statement, the crowd's stagnated blood began to boil once again. The scuffle ended abruptly leaving the young master in frustrated anger. With many pairs of eyes looking at him, he lost his temper and flared up kicking his fallen bodyguards mercilessly.
"Are you sure you want to see more of it?" Viktor teased seeing that Sterne was so preoccupied.
"This is how it should be like." She mused. "I never thought that it could be this lively."
Such quarrelsome, crude people and she finds it lively?
"If one's territory does not provide enough enjoyment then a little girl could only search for it elsewhere." Sterne added with a small laugh.
Viktor thought dryly: Ah, yes, what could be more exciting than seeing random people fight each other? No wonder she showed no interest in sightseeing, her attention was already set elsewhere. Just look at her grinning so happily like a cat seeing her favourite fish.
Emilia on the other hand held her head. She had a bad feeling about this. She knew very well that once her young lady finds something she's very interested in she will expend all the time and effort to get it, if not, she will find the second-best alternative. She's very practical and flexible like that. Originally, it was a good trait. It's just that it sometimes leads to complications.
Since she was forbidden to enter Sleeping Forest, the little lady will most probably find a second-best alternative— which she already did, as she announced so cheerfully.
Journeying to Nebel to join the ruin exploration has apparently become the alternative.
As Emilia and Viktor split their heads trying to find a way to talk her out of it, Sterne, on the other hand, was thinking of an entirely different matter. True she had interest in seeing the merry crowd and knowing more about the ruins but the original purpose was far from entertainment. She was merely teasing her companions.
The only reason she ventured out here was for the sake of her dear eldest brother and his alone. Silently, she observed the different people scattered about the square with each of their own goals laid in the open. The assembly fascinated her no doubt but the answer she seeks cannot be found here.
She thought that if Kyrios had not enlisted to join the expedition inside Sleeping Forest he would most definitely be sent here to investigate and is sure to repeat his tragedy.
"Let's go."
Ah...?
Emilia was all astonished when her lady changed her mind so soon.
As the two were still thinking deeply about what to say, Sterne already walked away from the crowd and pushed towards the wide streets of Nebel.
"Milady, aren't you interested in going?" Viktor asked half running to catch up, his eyes darting to Emilia.
"To the ruins? No, of course not. It's reckless for just the three of us to join them. There are plenty of factions within that crowd, and it is inevitable to clash with two or more when it is time to gather treasures. We should have brought more people if we had that intention."
"Quite right." Emilia agreed.
"Then, why did we come here?"
Sterne stopped. "Tonight is expected to become more exciting and I, for one, do not want to miss it."
Is there some kind of surprise festival in the evening? Viktor wondered.
To pass their time before the sun goes down, Sterne and the gang decide to wander around Nebel to see if there are other interesting things they can find.
"Where is Dorn by the way?" Asked Emilia, her eyes narrowed into slits. "That scamp better not be slacking or else…"
"I sent him for a simple errand. Don't worry he will be back later." Sterne assured, almost biting her tongue at the lie.
What she said is true, she did send Dorn for an errand but right now she does not know where exactly he is. As for what the errand was, all she can say is that it was very vital to uncover the secret behind the sudden influx of people in Nebel.
The two looked at her quizzically as if the answers would grow out of her head.
Sterne can practically feel their fiery gazes so she picked up her pace to lessen the damage.
Now that the talks about a ruin appearing became public, the merry adventurers became more and more daring. It doesn't matter if the road leading to Aster is littered with monsters, all they care about is the possibility of exploring an ancient site and earning treasures.
Above the second floor of a restaurant facing the square, men in purple vestments watch as the rowdy crowd grows more and more agitated.
"All has been arranged, the Magic Bureau did a fine job of hiding the information about the sacred beast. Even the people they hired were convinced to believe there is a treasure to be uncovered within the abandoned town." A deacon said.
The priest wearing a gold ring on her left pinky inquired in a cold tone, "Who's the one who spread the false information about the ruin?"
"Of course it is none other than the Chivalric Order." The deacon smiled flatteringly. "They have every place covered with their soldiers. While it is not entirely false that a ruin appeared inside Aster, the said treasures, however, are another matter."
They doubted there could be even one aside from debris and dust.
"Now that it has become like this, we might as well take this opportunity to blend in with the parties, wait for the most opportune time to sneak out and capture it."
"Yes, it's not every day those old mages give us a favour." The priest said rather sarcastically. "By inviting this large a crowd they would not be able to keep track of all the people coming and going. They made themselves susceptible."
Several days ago, the kingdom received an unexpected surprise when a magical force belonging to a higher class creature was felt, throwing the formerly placid atmosphere of several Orders into a fit of competition. The first to make their move was the Chivalric Order who did their best to control the information about the sacred beast suddenly appearing in Leise Mountain. Next is the Magic Bureau who invited hundreds of adventurers under the pretext of exploring the town of Aster. With the two Orders collaborating with each other it was unlikely that anyone would find this activity suspicious.
Of course, with those two powerful factions coming, the Heraldic Order would not stand idly by as they also showed interest in capturing the sacred beast that appeared on top of the mountain.
Right this moment, at the top of Leise Mountain, in the middle of a lake, an intense battle is nearing its end.
"So this is the power of the Sun King's chosen heir. Hah, what a laugh!"
The heavens rolled in thunder like the dwarven artillery amplifying the booming voice of the ancient. Flashes of lightning sliced the blackened clouds hurtling towards the ground with vengeance incinerating everything.
"Have you gone senile, Solis? He is weak. A child in the truest sense of words."
"Everyone starts from being a child." Answered by someone in a lighthearted tone.
"Not for us Sun King. Not for us."
Blue streaks of flames rained towards the heavily wounded boy. Raising his sword, he shielded his frail body from the most critical strike while the rest managed to hit the unprotected part of his body. The searing pain came endlessly but he clenched his teeth as he cut through the barrage combining nimble footwork and lightning fast sword strikes.
One more. Just one more.
From his gripped hand, blood dripped in beads but he held on. In the course of twenty-four hours, he managed to withstand the onslaught of the horde of monsters as he waded his way towards this place. Giving up now will become his life's biggest joke.
"Submit!" The taunt resounded.
"Give it up, you know I will do nothing of the sort." The boy replied, plastering a cold smile making his wretched appearance more salient.
The infuriated ancient unleashed his final attack. The pressure enough to flatten a giant beast is now aimed directly at him. In an instant, it felt as though something had sucked all the air in the surrounding. The boy let out a roar releasing all the pent up force coiling in his body giving him little relief.
Every creature retreated several kilometres before the trial began making him the sole recipient of the abuse.
"What is it you seek?" Finally, the ancient asked. The formidable tone seemingly vexed.
Behind the mist and dust, a pair of fiery blue eyes zeroed at him, beside it is the golden glow of his companion.
The boy shouted in a strained voice. "Answers."
There was a very long tense pause. The storm brewed even fiercer, a thunderclap echoed enough to shake the ground. When the wind howled, the sheer force of it cut the skin yet the boy stood firm. His eyes are resolute. Hopeful.
"Guide me to the path leading to the gryphon's nest. The protector of the south."
The ancient's voice turned dangerously cold, "For what reason would you dare come challenge my fellow divine beast?"
"I wish to put a stop to the awakening of the Black Knight." The boy said, his eyes looking through the wall of mist.
