"No buts! Like I said earlier, everything is at stake here! I have no time to lose!" Heracles said to his bodyguard before the latter could object to him.
Upon hearing his master, Leonard followed his command. He only thought to himself, 'This is the first time I have ever seen the young prince act like this! To think that he would be forced to kill others at his tender age! Well, I better believe in him! I will just do my best to protect him!'
The two began their journey toward the mountain range as fast as they could. Despite knowing the dangers, Heracles didn't waver a bit, even after they entered the nearest base of the mountain range.
"Where do we go to get some information?" asked Heracles toward his personal guard.
"As far as I know, there's a tavern near here, Sun of the Domain. Maybe we could check some information there!" said Leonard in response.
"Lead the way, then," said Heracles with a serious expression. Before he followed Heracles, Leonard suddenly brought something out of his system storage.
At the next moment, he handed a robe to Heracles, saying, "Here's a robe for you to wear, Sun of the Domain! Your facial characteristic is too much noticeable, so you would need to wear this as to not garner any attention from others."
"Okay, I will wear it for our safety. Now, lead the way. There is no time to lose!" said Heracles as he wore the robe that his guard gave to him.
"I will lead the way now, Sun of the Domain! I will call you 'young master' temporarily to avoid any suspicion. There might be some people who belonged to the attackers of your master!" said Leonard.
The two of them walked toward the eastern part of the mountain base until they reached a small settlement where the tavern that Leonard described was located. After bracing himself, Heracles entered the tavern with his personal guard.
Upon their entry, all the people drinking and eating inside stopped their own businesses just to stare at them. Heracles froze for a moment until Leonard help his arm, which provided the young prince the courage to go to the counter.
"What can I do for you two?" asked the middle-aged lady that are cleaning some utensils on the counter. Leonard answered her by saying, "We came to order some foods and water."
"Wait here," said the lady before going to the kitchen.
After hearing what they wanted, all the people began going back to their own businesses. They thought that the two of them were just passerby, which happens a lot in their little settlement.
As they were waiting for their food, the people on the table near them suddenly began talking among themselves, that piqued Heracles' interest.
"Do you heard that someone got attacked on the road to that palace?"
"Oh really? Did they got attacked by bandits? They are pretty prevalent nowadays!"
"No, they are not just mere bandits! After all, who would attack a friend of someone belonging to the Overlord family?"
"Do you mean they are organi-!?"
Before the man could finish his sentence, a group of people suddenly entered the tavern with a menacing aura around them.
"Give us some food, will ya!?" asked the leader of the bunch. This made one of the server to rush toward the kitchen out of fear.
Upon seeing them, the man at the back table from Heracles and Leonard said to the people on his table, "That's them. They attacked the friend of a person who belonged to the Overlord Family!"
Upon hearing them, Heracles' expression was suddenly filled with overwhelming rage. He was about to do something when Leonard stopped him. "Now is not a good time, young master! Let us see what's going to happen. We need to collect some information at the same time." whispered Leonard to the raging prince.
Although his expression did not change at all, Heracles stopped himself from doing anything rash. 'How dare they attack my master!? I must be patient before making any move!' he could only think to himself as he was filled with anger.
At the next moment, the server rushed to accommodate the people who had just entered the tavern. "I have brought you the usual, sirs! Meat dishes and a lot of wine!" said the server.
"That's what I was talking about!" said the leader of the bunch as he spanked the young lady's butt. The young server had no choice but to suck it up despite being sexually harassed by the tumultuous bunch.
At the next moment, the lady at the counter returned with the food that Heracles and Leonard ordered. "Here's your order. I apologize for those unruly people... They belonged to an organized group that is based on the top of the mountain range," whispered the lady toward Heracles and Leonard.
Heracles looked at Leonard as if conveying something. Upon realizing the prince's intention, Leonard asked the lady discreetly, "Since when they created a base at the top of the mountain range?"
Out of fear for someone to hear her, the lady on the counter whispered to Leonard, "As far as I know, they appeared here in our tavern 3 days before THAT attack happened, which involved a friend of someone from the Overlord Family..."
'What does that mean? Did they just formed their group just to attack my master!?' Heracles wondered to himself. He was trying to stop his anger from getting out as much as he could.
"I see. We better stop talking about them now. It's better to avoid any conflict," whispered Leonard toward the lady. In response to him, the lady in the country gently nodded.
"Let us eat for now, young master. We will do our business when they go away!" said Leonard in a way that only Heracles could hear him.
The two of them ate the foods that were served in front of them as they waiting for the robust bunch to finish their business inside the tavern.
"HAHA! Thank you for the free food as usual!"