There's only one tavern outside of the capital that serves top-notch beer that's said to be as popular as the beer in the Sigor Family's Castle. It's not hard to find this tavern which, even though everyone who visits knows these quality-flavored drinks are just knock-offs and concoctions from Siege Huston, the owner himself, is getting more and more crowded as it stands on the outskirts of Rysdale. Obviously, it was very far from the Elayne region, where Sigor's castle stood.
No one knew how Siege Huston, the old man with one blind eye, knew how the Sigor Family's premium beers tasted in his brews. You could say that maybe no one cared, not even what ingredients Siege mixed into his beer, after all, the most important thing was that patrons could enjoy a delicious glass at a pocket-friendly price. Better than getting drunk on horse piss-flavored beer.
There was so much interest in this tavern that not only the local residents, patrolling soldiers, or even adventurers, but also criminals and fugitives. Inevitably this tavern also made the residents start to worry about the increasing crime rate in this city.
Rysdale Town was a small town located in the easternmost part of Caltherion. It was far and remote from the imperial capital, so there was a lack of soldiers assigned to the town. Moreover, from the very beginning, the townspeople could not rely on those fat-bellied soldiers who liked to collect illegal tax money. The work of these slackers, of course, was to flirt with the young women in the city and get drunk day and night at Siege Huston's tavern. You could say that these cheap soldiers were just as unscrupulous as the criminals in the tavern.
"Wow... What is this? Is this what they call venison? Wow... The texture is so unique! It's delicious!"
Just like now, the two soldiers with reddened faces were staring with hidden intentions at a black-haired boy who was eating his dinner accompanied by a large tankard of beer at the Siege Huston tavern. Actually, not only the two pot-bellied soldiers, but almost all pairs of eyes in the tavern were watching the boy. Not because of his enormous portion of food, or even the fact that he almost drank a keg of beer like he was drinking water, but because of the boy's appearance that was in stark contrast to his surroundings.
Everyone would agree that with just one look, this boy was clearly a member of a noble family. This spoiled brat must have gotten lost. What a fool, to have dared to escape from the cozy castle and now frolicking in a den of villains. Of course the child was a very easy target.
One of the soldiers stood up, who knows what devious intentions were in his little brain at this moment, with staggering steps he walked over to the child's table.
"Auntie! Can you add more meat stew? And please fill up the water!" The boy didn't seem to realize what kind of predicament he was in. He casually took a big bite of the roasted venison in front of him. Completely different from the image portrayed by the people around him, this boy's way of eating was completely devoid of elegance. Well, what could be expected from a kid of his age.
"Hey, kid, shouldn't you be home by now? Your parents must be waiting--"
SLASH!
"--Eh?" Dug, dug, dug. The head rolled on the wooden floor of the shop. The headless body fell afterwards with blood starting to ooze and soon it would definitely create a puddle on the floor if the corpse was not removed immediately.
"Ck." The boy clucked. His gray eyes glanced at the corpse out of the corner of his eye.
Everyone in the room was wide-eyed. Disgusted, horrified, and more than that shocked by the scene before them.
"KYAAAH!" the waitress's scream broke the shock and silence of everyone in the place.
A commotion immediately ensued. The people near the corpse immediately jumped to their feet. The dozen or so people who were still reasonably conscious immediately pulled out their weapons.
"What's the fuck!" one of them exclaimed.
There was no answer. It happened too fast for their eyes.
Their attention naturally returned to the boy who was still casually munching at his table. Even though there was clearly a corpse under his feet, the boy didn't move from his spot and didn't even seem to care.
Of course, suspicion immediately fell on the boy. Vigilance began to show on the faces. They almost forgot that on this continent not only the human race, there were also various races of other terrifying creatures that could kill their prey in a second. And they realized, it was possible that the boy was one of those races of creatures.
An axe swung, landing on a table and splitting it in half. All the food spilled out.
"That! Isn't that Jim!"
"Jim the Destroyer!"
"The man who took out the Troll! He's the Legendary Weapon Owner!"
The whispers around the place explained the man's identity.
"Finish off that monster brat, Jim!"
The tension in the place began to ease. They thought that with this man, they had nothing to worry about.
Yes, it was Jim the Destroyer, the Legendary Weapon Owner. He was one of the strongest adventurers on the continent. There were so many monsters he had faced, Witches, Direwolves, Goblins, Trolls, all of those creatures had felt the axe he swung. Maybe even the dragon that burned down a city some time ago, he was very confident that he could defeat it. Only this little monster before him was no match for him. The burly man stared intently at the child. His towering body really made the boy look like a little rabbit in front of him. "Are you the culprit?!"
But, the child was not bothered at all.
"Troublesome." Instead, he muttered indifferently. But, it was too loud for Jim to hear, and clearly made the man even angrier.
"What did you say?!"
Still sitting on his chair, the boy looked up, his smile expanding. However, it clearly did not reach his eyes. "Ah~ troublesome," he repeated in a bored tone.
"This little bastard!" Jim swung his axe again.
The boy jumped up. This time he stood on his chair. It didn't falter at all. His eyes glanced at his food which the man in front of him was now unconsciously stepping on. "What did Uncle do to my dinner?"
"To hell with your dinner! I warned you, don't make me repeat my question! I don't have enough patience for that!"
"Geez... this old man. Alright, alright, I'll answer it." The child glanced at the corpse as if looking at a pile of trash. "Look... actually, I really wanted to suppress my desires as much as possible before getting to Gate End. And, wow! It seems like I can, because during the one-day journey from home to here, I haven't killed a single person. That's amazing, right? But, as it turns out, my body can't be compromised, it will immediately go into attack mode when a threat approaches. So, well... I'm very sorry, Uncle, that I unintentionally killed your friend. Hm, but, isn't it actually that Uncle's fault? Why did he suddenly touch me--"
"Don't joke with me!" Jim swung his axe. This time with all his strength. That would kill the little monster instantly. He thought.
However, the man was too confident. His axe didn't touch a single piece of flesh. There was only a broken chair in front of him. However, there was only empty air in front of him. The child's figure had disappeared.
"Like this."
Jim didn't even blink his eyes when he heard the iron plate of his axe shatter onto the floor. The man looked at the weapon in his hand that had been cut off and then at the floor, before seeing the figure of the boy again standing beside him.
The man jerked back.
This child's speed and strength were clearly abnormal. How could that little monster cut off his legendary axe with just his bare hands?!
"Y-you... w-who are you exactly?" His guts instantly shrank.
The child grinned. "My name is--"
"Not your name! But, what kind of creature are you?"
In his gray irises, the reptile-like pupils thinned. The child's smile widened fiercely, "I am Serpent."