—Randolf Kingdom, Dolfan Capital.
By this time, it was already midnight and several people had fallen asleep. But, still in the hustle and bustle of the night, even now there are still many bars and food stalls open, and it is at this time that they are busy serving the customers who keep arriving.
"Yo, Steven, have you heard the rumors about the holy-sword hero wanting to duel another hero? I heard the event will be held next week in the royal arena. How about it, do you want to come with me to watch?" said a man who was an adventurer, who was currently gossiping in a bar while drinking.
As he said that, his friend— Steven was shocked, he stopped drinking and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the drunken man.
"Are you serious?— No! That's absolutely impossible! You tricked me again, right?" He looked in disbelief.
On the other hand, his friend who said that laughed and took another sip of his drink.
"Huagh~!" He burped loudly and after slamming his empty bottle on the table, his face broke into a wide grin with great satisfaction. "Yo yo, trust me bro. Do you think a drunk like me can lie?"
"I'd be even more surprised if you didn't lie when you were drunk."
"Oh, come on bro, trust me. I'm not lying at all, after all this is already known by many people, it's no longer a public secret, so why don't you believe it?"
"It could be just a fake rumour, right? After all, who would dare to challenge a duel with that holy-sword-wielding hero? I heard before that he managed to beat the Desert King in an instant. Well, I mean, exactly what idiot would dare to fight someone like that?" asked Steven who still refused to believe it.
Hearing his friend's chatter, the man laughed.
"Kuku, be shocked after hearing this, from the rumors I heard. That person managed to defeat one of the Demonic King's Army Leaders, Estella the Crimson Vampire, and not only that, he even managed to defeat Rodan the Demon Dragon in that famous Elf forest, where not even high ranked adventurers dared to set foot there. Because it is a lair of high-level monsters and magical beasts!" he answered in a very enthusiastic voice.
Steven, who was listening to the man's story while drinking his beer, was immediately shocked, and spit out all the beer that was in his mouth.
"Cough! Cough!" He coughed.
As a result, his friend was drenched from the drink he had spat out. "Hoy hoy, don't carelessly throw your drink in people's faces. Aaah~ what a shame for the drink," said the man while wiping his wet face. He didn't seem to care much about his clothes, he was more disappointed with his wasted drink instead.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, the perpetrator of it all opened his eyes wide and held the man's shoulder like a man possessed.
"Wait, wait a minute! What did you say just now? Defeated the Demon King's Leader and the Demonic Dragon?! Is that true?! You're not lying, right?! Come on, Grill, we've been friends for a long time, so why do you always lie like that?"
"I told you I wasn't lying! You're an old friend of mine, so why don't you ever believe me?! If you don't believe me, just wait and see! I'm sure there will be an announcement about their duel soon."
"…."
Steven fell silent, but Grill ignored him in the least. After removing Steven's hand from his shoulder, the man grinned wider and wider. Then, he stretched out his hand, pointing at his friend's still dumbfounded stupid face.
"Let's bet who will win between the two of them later?"
Like that, the night sky in the Royal Capital Randolf was stirred up by rumors about a duel that the world's strongest hero would have, with a hero who had come from nowhere, which would create a new history in the kingdom.
But, because of that too, they were caught off guard and were not aware of the threat that was also near them.
"Dual huh… Kuku, this is sure to be something very interesting," said the man, with a laugh that showed his sharp canine teeth.
Currently, still in the same bar, sitting alone on the end of a chair in the corner of the bar, while wearing a robe that covered his face, that person smiled with a vicious grin.
"I'm sure Demon King-sama would also be very happy if I killed two of the strongest heroes at once."
Hiding in the shadows, the man imagined himself getting the best appreciation for the results he had delivered. Just imagining that, made him unable to stop chuckling.
"Khukuku! Huahahahahahahahaha!! Wait heroes, I will bury you all with my own hands! Ahahahahaha!!" He shouted, continuing to laugh in a loud voice that boomed throughout the room.
But, at that moment, the owner of the bar immediately threw an empty plate to silence the person, because his laughter disturbed the other customers.
'Thump!'
A loud sound echoed throughout the room.
Caught off guard by his own pleasure, the plate perfectly landed on the man's face and caused his body to slam hard, then fainted helplessly.
"Geez, I've been having a lot of weird customers lately," the tall woman muttered, and then she dumped the man who was none other than the Demon King's Leader.