The woman nodded. "But..."
She turned around deliberately looking at Vir openly despite her flushed and downcast face.
"Before I go," she said again. "Can you tell me what your name is?"
On the other side of the river, at the other end of the old stone bridge, someone had been watching Vir who was talking to the woman.
The dimly lit conditions slightly disguised the figure's presence.
"Don't do it, fool!" she muttered half inaudibly. And it sounded like the voice of a child. "Don't be provoked, or you'll never survive again after this, stupid man!"
Back to Vir who was smiling happily. There will definitely be a next time we meet, he thought.
"Vir," he said. "You can call me Vir."
"Vir..." murmured the woman with a smile and a wink at the man. "I will remember this."
And with that, she walked away from the riverbank, disappearing into the forest on the west side of the river quickly.
Vir smiled broadly and shook his head as he splashed water over his shoulder. This is something promising, he thought.
But...
"Ahh, it's a good thing she didn't see!" he muttered half inaudibly.
Vir rubbed his right waist, where there was a triangular star tattoo. It was a traditional tattoo that every Vulcher descendant had.
"Fool!" he muttered again as if he was saying it to himself.
Well, if that woman had seen the tattoo, then it was likely that he would no longer be safe to travel from one region to another.
With more caution, he continued to soak in the river.
Vir was not afraid of being in the river alone, in the middle of the eastern forest of the Southern Country, because he knew well enough that no wild animals inhabited this forest.
Except for small predatory animals, most of which were harmless to humans.
After bathing and getting dressed, Vir arranged some twigs and dry leaves on the ground to make a bed beside his cart.
He took out a loaf of dry bread the size of two adult fists, wrapped in a thin cloth, from inside his cart.
While lying on the bed he had just made, Vir enjoyed the bread in his hand, looking at the night sky which was quite beautiful this time until he finally fell asleep.
"What a stupid man!" muttered the mysterious figure who was still watching Vir. "It's a good thing you weren't tempted. Otherwise, your ancestors would be crying in the afterlife!"
The figure seemed to take a deeper breath before finally moving away from the spot, leaving Vir to sleep alone.
Early in the morning, Vir woke up. He was writhing in such a way because he had slept so well. He washed his face and short hair on the river bank.
While putting things in order in his cart, Vir found that the dry bread he had stored there was only a little bit left, and it was not wrapped properly. In fact, the bread was still intact last night, and he had wrapped it before storing it.
Vir looked at the trees along the riverbank, then smiled with a shake of his head.
Maybe a squirrel or a forest rat has stolen my food, he thought.
After that, Vir resumed his journey, crossed the old stone bridge, and continued eastward while pulling his cart.
***
The Western Land, which is separated by a sea from the Southwestern Land, is also known as the land with the largest area among the other lands.
The West Country is also known as the land that never sleeps. From morning to morning, there were always people doing things, and it was not uncommon to make noises.
Like this time, here and there, people were always talking about riders mysteriously disappearing, along with their dragon mounts.
In the past ten years, there have been more than a thousand riders who have disappeared without a trace.
So far, it has been recorded that most of those who disappeared were riders riding wyvern-type dragons, and only a small number were riding dragons of the dracael type. While the dragons of the terrac, hydra, and others are not at all.
Thus, this became a separate fear for the wyvern riders.
This also made the nobles, landlords, and other elites in the West Country uneasy and worried.
After all, the West Country was also known for its wealthy population, they were the ones who used the services of the riders the most for one reason or another.
Of course, the disappearance of some riders and their dragons automatically destabilized their economy. And eventually, this problem would have a major impact, extending to the other four lands—the North Country, the East Country, the South Country, and the Central Empire.
In one of the largest bars in the westernmost part, a bar was often used as a meeting place for riders from all over the country.
The bar, which provided a wide variety of drinks, food, rooms for riders to stay and have fun in, as well as girls in near-naked clothes who catered to whatever the riders needed, was adjacent to a beach on the west side.
The bar also had a huge backyard and large specialized stables that served as resting places for the riders' dragons. As well as lackeys who are always ready to feed, drink, and even take care of the dragons.
Because of the complete facilities provided there, the bar became very famous and was always the main destination for riders after doing one thing or another to get pleasure or just rest.
Of course, the bar is very expensive, but it's worth it for the facilities and services provided.
Riders are free to have sex with any servant girl they like. Not only in the available rooms, but also on tables in the crowd, among other drunk riders, or on the beach. Two, three, or even more, there are no rules at all.
Except, of course, for specific things that have to do with the safety of the riders and the girls.
Or the gambling between them, where everything is at stake. Ranging from money, and valuables, to items that are classified as very rare.
The bar was never quiet, from morning to morning it was always crowded and noisy. That's why there were no houses near the bar.
In short, the area that was actually a village had been transformed by a wealthy man into a large bar.