Chapter 25
Izumi and Rey Renold leisurely walked through the nighttime streets of the Royal City of Monotiz.
The magic lamps hanging along the roads emitted a warm glow, illuminating the stone-paved streets that were still crowded with pedestrians.
After several minutes of walking, they stopped in front of a small and rather simple-looking building.
Rey pointed toward the building.
"This is the place."
Izumi looked at the building for a few moments.
"Ooh. Are bars usually this small?"
Rey chuckled.
"Hahaha... no. This bar is specifically for people who don't like crowds."
"Hmm... I see."
"Then let's go in."
The two of them entered.
As soon as the door opened, the aroma of drinks and warm food immediately greeted them.
Inside, the atmosphere was much calmer than Izumi had imagined.
There were only a few simple wooden tables, dim lights, and shelves filled with drinks covering one side of the room.
A young man around nineteen years old immediately welcomed them.
"Welcome to our little bar."
The young man's name was Faust.
However, the moment he saw Izumi, Faust immediately fell silent.
His eyes widened unconsciously.
Inside his heart, he muttered.
So... beautiful...
Who is she...?
I've never seen a girl this beautiful before...
A few seconds later, Faust came back to his senses.
"Ah... Sir Holy Knight. It's been a long time since you've visited."
Izumi and Rey sat down on the available seats.
Not long after, an old man around Rey's age came out from the kitchen.
His name was Derat.
"Rey! I haven't seen you for a whole week. Where have you been lately?"
Meanwhile, Faust still occasionally glanced at Izumi.
Of course, Izumi noticed.
But she chose to ignore it.
Until...
Derat suddenly stared sharply at Rey.
"Eh!? Rey! Who's the girl you brought with you!? Don't tell me you're planning to do that to a young girl!?"
"Hey, hey! Don't think like that."
Rey immediately shook his head.
"Watch your words. This is Miss Rumi. We met when she was taking the training test to become an adventurer."
Izumi then introduced herself with her usual expressionless face.
"Yes, that's correct."
"My name is Rumi. Eighteen years old. An adventurer. An ordinary village girl."
"Nice to meet you."
Faust fell silent once again.
Eighteen...?
That means she's younger than me...
I thought she was around twenty because she's almost as tall as I am.
Derat laughed loudly.
"Woah! A village girl? Hahaha!"
"It's very rare for a village girl to come here."
"Especially an adventurer."
Izumi tilted her head.
"Why is it so rare?"
"Every time someone finds out I'm a village girl, they always say, 'Wow, that's rare.'"
"Why is that?"
Derat answered casually.
"Of course because of monsters."
"It's not safe outside the kingdom."
"You know that yourself, right? Even villages are often attacked by monsters."
"That's why knights are always sent to various villages to protect them."
Derat then looked at Izumi.
"Oh right."
"Aren't you afraid of monsters?"
Izumi answered briefly.
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"No."
Rey immediately laughed.
"Hahaha! Derat, do you think she's some weak girl?"
"Isn't she?"
Derat shrugged.
"I was planning to scare her a little."
"How many kids have become your victims already?"
"Hahahaha!"
Derat laughed loudly.
"What about you?"
"You deliberately make that training test especially difficult for women, don't you?"
"Don't compare me to you."
Rey shook his head.
"I do it for their safety."
"They're women."
"And women are generally a little weaker than men."
Izumi nodded slightly.
"But..."
Rey continued.
"There are many strong women out there."
"Some are even incredibly powerful."
Then Rey patted Izumi's shoulder.
"Like Miss Rumi."
"She's very strong."
"I'm sure she'll become a high-ranking adventurer."
Izumi blushed slightly after hearing the compliment.
Derat raised an eyebrow.
"Ooh?"
"The former strongest Holy Knight in the kingdom is acknowledging her?"
Izumi immediately caught a particular phrase.
"Former Holy Knight?"
She turned toward Rey.
Derat looked confused.
"Hm? You don't know who he is?"
"No."
"I only just found out."
"Ooh, of course."
Derat laughed.
"You're from a village."
"That's normal."
Then Derat began explaining who Rey Renold really was.
About his younger days.
About the many battles he had fought.
And about the reputation he was famous for throughout the Kingdom of Monotiz.
Several minutes later...
"Yeah."
Derat nodded.
"He really is very strong."
"Even comparable to Players."
"Hey."
Rey sighed.
"Stop exaggerating like that."
"But it's true."
Derat laughed.
"In your younger days, you even fought two Magic-Class monsters by yourself."
"Yes, that's true."
Rey nodded.
"But they were already injured from fighting each other beforehand."
"Even so."
Derat leaned back.
"Even Players like Yorn struggle to face a Magic-Class monster alone."
"You're wrong."
Rey shook his head.
"He's not that weak."
"He's just too reckless."
"Always focused on attacking."
"He treats defense and evasion as trivial."
"Even though they're important parts of combat."
Izumi, who had been listening all this time, finally interrupted.
"Are Magic-Class monsters really that strong?"
"Of course."
Rey answered without hesitation.
"Especially monsters that possess skills."
"They're extremely dangerous."
"Ooh."
Izumi looked interested.
"Now I'm curious."
"I want to fight one myself."
Faust immediately froze after hearing that.
What kind of thought process is that...?
Normal adventurers run away when they see a Magic-Class monster.
But she wants to go looking for one...?
Is she really that strong...?
Derat laughed.
"Hahaha."
"You're quite amusing, Miss Rumi."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever fought a monster before?"
This time, Derat's tone became serious.
"A lot of people say things like that."
"They're confident in their own strength."
"That's good."
"But you must never underestimate your opponent."
"Not even a low-class monster."
"One moment of carelessness..."
Derat stared sharply at Izumi.
"You'll die."
Izumi answered as usual.
"Yes."
"I've fought monsters before."
"And I managed to defeat one."
Instantly, Rey, Derat, and Faust froze.
"Woah..."
Derat blinked.
"I wasn't expecting that."
"What class of monster did you fight?"
"Class?"
Izumi thought for a moment.
"Hmm... I don't know."
"Eh?"
Derat frowned.
"Did you really fight a monster?"
"Derat."
Rey interrupted.
"She didn't even know monsters had classes."
"I just explained all of it to her."
"Hmm..."
Derat slowly nodded.
"Maybe it's because she's from a village."
"Could be."
Izumi nodded as well.
"Yeah."
"I think so."
Inside her heart, Izumi sighed.
She really didn't possess any knowledge about the outside world from this body's original owner.
The only memories that remained were sadness.
Bitterness.
And hatred.
There was no knowledge about monsters, Players, artifacts, or the outside world.
Derat asked again.
"In that case."
"Do you know the monster's name?"
"Or at least what it looked like?"
Izumi tried to remember.
"Hmm..."
"If I remember correctly, someone traveling with me to the royal city called it a Giant Mud Slime."
"It was around fifteen meters tall."
"And fairly fast."
"Gi... Giant Mud Slime?"
Derat's eyes widened.
Rey immediately turned toward Izumi as well.
"Did you manage to kill it?"
"Yes."
Izumi nodded.
"It was difficult at first."
"But it turned out to be easy to defeat."
The room immediately fell silent.
Faust swallowed hard.
Giant Mud Slime...?
She defeated that monster alone...?
Is she bragging...?
Derat finally asked again.
"You defeated it by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Wait."
Rey leaned forward slightly.
"Can you tell us the whole story from the beginning?"
"Of course."
Izumi began explaining.
"While I was traveling to the royal city by horse carriage."
"At first, nothing happened."
"But suddenly that monster appeared and blocked the road."
"We were forced to stop."
"We?"
Derat raised an eyebrow.
"Who else was in the carriage?"
"Only three people."
"Me."
"An herb-selling uncle."
"And his ten-year-old child."
Derat immediately froze.
"Eh..."
"What?"
"So..."
Derat stared at Izumi.
"You really defeated that monster all by yourself?"
"Why do you keep doubting me?"
"It's not that."
Rey sighed.
"It's just..."
"The Giant Mud Slime is an S-Class monster."
"Even two Knights and a Priest would struggle against it."
"Its regeneration is extremely troublesome."
"Its attack speed is also high."
"If it catches you, you'll be eaten alive."
"Yeah."
Izumi nodded.
"I heard that from the herb seller."
"And..."
Derat still looked unconvinced.
"You really managed to defeat it alone?"
"Yes."
"Why is that such a big deal?"
Derat looked at Rey.
The two exchanged glances.
As if speaking without words.
Is everything she's saying true?
Yes.
She's not lying.
Meanwhile, Rey was also lost in thought.
The killing intent I felt during the training test...
That aura didn't belong to an ordinary person.
It felt like the aura of someone who had killed thousands of times.
How could a village girl possess such an aura...?
And now she even defeated a Giant Mud Slime alone.
Derat finally shook his head.
"It still doesn't make sense."
"Hey, Miss Rumi."
"I know you're strong."
"But defeating an S-Class monster alone..."
"That's Holy Knight or Player level."
Izumi let out a long sigh.
"Believe it or not."
"That's not my problem."
Faust looked at Izumi once more.
This girl...
She's definitely beautiful.
But her personality is unbelievably fierce.
She talks casually to Sir Rey and my father.
If I did that, I would've been scolded a long time ago.
Izumi then leaned back in her chair.
"Besides."
"Didn't we come here to drink?"
"Ah!"
Rey laughed.
"Hahaha!"
"We got so caught up talking that we forgot why we came here."
"Derat."
"I'll have the usual."
"Understood."
Derat nodded.
"And what about Miss Rumi?"
"Just give me something similar to his."
"But not too strong."
Derat raised an eyebrow.
"Eh? Are you sure?"
"Don't worry."
Just as Derat began preparing the drinks.
The bar door opened again.
Creeeak...
Faust greeted the newcomer as usual.
"Welcome to our little bar."
Someone entered.
It turned out to be Zak.
Rey immediately recognized him.
"Ooh, Zak."
"It's unusual to see you here."
Zak respectfully lowered his head.
"Master."
"I just wanted to get rid of some fatigue."
"Ooh."
Rey smiled.
"That's good."
"Sit beside Rumi."
"Tonight, we'll drink together."
Zak nodded.
Then walked toward their table.
He sat calmly beside Izumi.
At that moment, he had not yet seen her face.
His attention was still focused on his teacher, Rey Renold.
"Oh right."
Rey smiled.
"Let me introduce you."
"This is Miss Rumi."
"The strongest adventurer I've ever met."
"I'm sure that one day she'll become far stronger than me."
Zak was slightly surprised.
Inside his heart, he thought.
Master rarely praises someone like that.
If she's really that strong...
She'll become a tremendous asset to the kingdom.
Then...
Zak turned his head.
And for the first time, their faces met.
Zak's eyes widened.
His body instantly froze.
In an instant...
He recognized exactly who the girl sitting beside him was.
And at that very moment, his heart began beating faster than ever before.