"Are you sure about that?" a sharp voice interrupted.
"Yes, come a little closer," another replied, this one deeper. "A hero has arrived in town."
Two men were talking in the middle of a tavern. The sharp voice belonged to a pale man, while the deeper one came from someone with a large beard. Both wore simple black-hooded cloaks, whispering as if sharing some grand secret. Eídal, seated just behind them, could only thank fate for such valuable information.
The tavern was a gloomy place, its atmosphere bathed in dark browns and dusky tones, characteristic of old wood. The only light came from oil lamps hanging from the high ceiling. Behind the bar stood a skinny bartender, cleaning mugs with a rag.
There were only four people in the bar: the two men, the bartender, and Eídal. It was that time of night when the liquor brought out an unintentional sense of honesty in the patrons.
'Perfect for gathering information,' Eídal thought.
He was determined to carry out his mission, no matter the cost. There was no longer room in his mind for denial, anger, bargaining, or sadness; only acceptance of his harsh reality remained.
"Here? In Cardinal City?" the pale man asked.
"Yes," the bearded one nodded. "Most likely, they've come to buy minerals or gems. After all, when it comes to trade, this city is the best in the entire kingdom of Longer."
Eídal had been visiting the tavern for days, hoping to catch news about the heroes. Today, that wait was over. From the depths of his heart, he offered a silent prayer for those two men, wishing that the liquor they drank that night would taste better than ever.
"Really?! Which hero are we talking about?" the pale man sounded eager. "I hope it's the Blade Hero. Come, come closer. Just between us... I heard he put on displays of his power in every city he visited."
"It's not him," the bearded man said, calming him down.
"Then, is it the Chain Hero? Come, come closer. Just between us... I heard he now calls himself the Hero of the Dead. They say his demeanor and armor are otherworldly."
"No, not him either. It's—"
"I know! Come, come closer. Just between us... I heard the Attack Hero can be quite grumpy. And that the Defense Hero is a total oddball."
"Tsk. Will you let me finish? 'I heard' this, 'I heard' that—can't you say something else?!"
"Huh? You don't have to get mad. Wait, are you mad? See? You're mad!"
Frustrated with his friend, the bearded man took a long swig from his mug, then slammed it on the table with a thud and stopped talking.
'This is bad,' Eídal thought. 'Will I have to ask them myself? Something like: "Hey there, old buddy! Long time no see! Why don't you finish that story you were telling? Haha…" Yeah, as if that would work.'
Eídal knew it would be tough for him to string together a sentence that didn't include "Eh..." "Uhm..." or "Well...". So beyond being a fleeting illusion, talking to them directly was out of the question.
"Come on, spit it out. It's bad manners not to finish gossip, you know?" the pale man said.
Eídal nodded to himself as if he agreed. Then the bearded man continued:
"Alright, but buy me a drink first."
"You… That's all you wanted! Admit it!"
"Ha! It's not any of them. And before you ask, it's not the Monk Hero either. It's the Spear Hero."
Eídal held his breath. It was true that his master had informed him of a hero's arrival, but specifics like the exact date or identity had been vague.
No doubt, visiting this place for days had paid off. Ordering a drink and idly playing with it while the drunks spilled the city's secrets was finally bearing fruit.
"The Spear Hero, huh? From what I've heard, she's an incredibly beautiful woman," the pale man added.
'A woman?' This was new to Eídal. 'A heroine, huh?'
"Yes, very pretty. Also, they say her strength is unmatched compared to previous generations of heroes."
What the bearded man said was true. Next to the Spear Heroine, Eídal was nothing more than an ant. Defeating her would be like trying to block the sun with a finger—impossible! Even so, he wouldn't give up just because something carried that label. After all, his family's survival depended on his success.
Gripping the box hanging from his neck, Eídal tried to draw strength from it. This box was his trump card. No, it was, in fact, the only thing he'd been given to defeat the heroine. For their first encounter, he'd have to use one of the four thorcams it contained.
In this world, there were two types of magical items with different abilities: thorcams and artifacts.
First, thorcams were natural objects. It bears repeating: natural. They were imbued with enchantments that granted abilities far more powerful than those of ordinary mages or fighters. These abilities included things like [create permanent water], [preserve food], and even powers such as [mind control], [beast taming], and [corpse restoration].
As mentioned, thorcams could only be found in nature. They were formed from branches and roots of trees, taking on irregular shapes that might resemble knives, earrings, rings, and more. They weren't carved wood but rather natural formations of branches and roots. Everything depended on the natural growth of the tree: roots or sticks in the shape of a knife, an earring, a ring, or even strange forms.
It's important to note that a thorcam itself was an object of exchange. For example, it might give you light in exchange for darkness, water in exchange for fire, and so on. In other words, to use it, you had to give something of equal value but of a different nature.
Artifacts, on the other hand, were artificial objects. Although they shared some similarities with thorcams, artifacts were less powerful. They only granted access to abilities typical of ordinary fighters and mages. However, they didn't require the exchange that thorcams did.
Eídal recalled that some people said, "Artifacts are just an attempt to replicate thorcams."
To be specific, the abilities of the four thorcams he had been given to face the heroine were: [suppress emotions], [steal objects], [track objects], and the last one, [great explosion]. That, along with a hundred silver coins, was all the weaponry he had.
"But…" the pale man hesitated. "Come, come closer. Just between us… I heard—"
"There you go again."
Eídal paid closer attention to the conversation behind him and accidentally grabbed a lemon, which was always served alongside the drinks.
"Let me finish. I heard that girl likes women."
"Co—cough!" Eídal choked.
"Are you alright, kid?!" the two men asked.
The bartender just raised an eyebrow. Finding himself the center of attention, Eídal waved his hand and shook his head as if nothing was wrong. The lemon he had bitten into left his throat sour.
'Ugh! I shouldn't be drawing attention,' he thought.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, he searched for something to get rid of the acidic taste. He ended up grabbing the mug on his table. Meanwhile, the pale man continued:
"They also say that all the women in her group are her concubines."
"Pffft!" Eídal spat out his drink, not only because of the man's statement but also because he had just realized it was liquor.
It was his first time tasting it. Although it was sweet, the fermented fruit flavor was not to his liking.
"Hey, kid! Are you okay?!"
"Huh?! Um... N-no, no, no, I-I'm fine. Sorry."
"Are you sure?"
Seeing the blank stares of both men, Eídal regretted his clumsy response. Unable to bear the embarrassment, he buried his head in his arms.
'Ugh! If I used the thorcam [suppress emotions], I could talk like a normal person,' he thought. But after giving himself a few pats on the cheeks, he shook his head. 'No, no, no. I'll use it when the time comes.'
Determined not to make any more mistakes, he pushed the lemons and the liquor mug away from his table and refocused on the previous conversation.
'So, she likes women, and her companions are her concubines? Now that's a surprise.' It was the first time Eídal had heard of someone with those kinds of preferences.
Would this new information affect his mission? He couldn't deny the possibility. He needed to think about his next move.
'This is going to be tough, but... I'll be useful this time.' Accepting his reality, Eídal found himself lost in a sea of thoughts that night.