Of course, the man and woman in cloaks were Riezel and Lizbeth, who had come all the way to Sinielle from afar.
It had already been three days since they entered the Neutral Territory.
In other words, they had spent two whole days traveling through the desert before finally arriving at Sinielle, which was situated in an oasis.
Along the way, the two of them had actually lost quite a bit of time because of various incidents.
Although the Neutral Territory appeared to be an uninhabited wasteland, the dangers hidden here were far greater than those in the Mavros Territory.
Over these two days, Riezel and Lizbeth had encountered more than one sandstorm and had nearly lost their way in the desert.
There were also many monsters lurking in the sands—some lying in wait on the sandy ground, others flying through the sky—making it difficult for Riezel, even while carrying Lizbeth and flying at full speed, to avoid being obstructed several times.
They had also passed through an old battlefield, where a group from Jinas and another from Reiburg were engaged in combat. Even though neither side seemed to be wearing proper military equipment, no one could say for certain what was really going on.
At that time, Lizbeth had attracted the attention of those people due to her striking appearance and ended up getting drawn into the conflict. In the end, Riezel himself had to step in and kill several people, staining himself with quite a bit of blood.
Because of that, after arriving in Sinielle, the two of them had put on cloaks to conceal their faces and avoid unnecessary trouble, and also because they truly needed protection from the wind and sand.
Otherwise, the dust on their bodies would have been unbearable.
It had only been two hours since the two of them finally arrived in Sinielle and stepped into this famous neutral city.
As for why Riezel had brought Lizbeth to the Sunset Tavern, it was entirely because of some information he had picked up along the way.
When Riezel had asked a few passersby where one could get the most inside information in Sinielle, almost all of them had given him the same answer: go to the Sunset Tavern.
Since the Sunset Tavern had a great reputation in Sinielle and a powerful background, even ordinary people knew that it dealt in both legal and illegal matters. They had told Riezel that if he ever ran into a problem, he should spend some money there, and it would be solved in no time.
However, they had also warned Riezel that the average person was not allowed inside the Sunset Tavern.
Because the people who frequented the place were either violent and unreasonable mercenaries or lawless underground workers—and there were even some famous Sword Masters among the regulars—if one was not careful, it was easy to get caught up in nasty business.
Naturally, Riezel did not care about any of that.
He brought Lizbeth along and planned to gather information here about the ancient ruin that had recently been unearthed near Sinielle, so he could make further plans.
However, as things stood, it seemed this would not be so easily accomplished.
'Yeah, that makes sense.'
Riezel picked up the freshly delivered Serpent's Blood Wine, silently mulling things over.
'If it were so easy to get information about that ruin, then the Frenzel family wouldn't be completely in the dark about it.'
According to Yuri, both Jinas and Reiburg had sent people to Sinielle to investigate the ancient ruin, but afterward, both kingdoms avoided speaking of it—even Hendrick himself was reluctant to mention it.
Sinielle's city lord had also blocked all news about the ruin and forbade anyone from approaching it.
Although it was unclear what had really happened, given the current situation, the existence of the ruin clearly involved certain secrets—secrets that could not be spread or casually mentioned.
'If that's the case, maybe this subject really is a taboo here in Sinielle.'
With this thought, Riezel absentmindedly took a sip of the Serpent's Blood Wine, which looked like red wine but gave off a strong scent of blood.
With just one sip, Riezel immediately felt as though he had swallowed a block of ice with a burning flame trapped inside—the ice seemed to melt the moment it slid down his throat, allowing the flame to flare up and scorch his throat with a sharp, searing pain.
'So this is the magical wine made from the blood of a twin-tailed serpent?'
Riezel, his face slightly flushed, could not help but shift his focus, feeling the burning sensation as the wine flowed into his stomach.
Once inside, the wine slowly seeped through every part of his body—his internal organs, his blood, even his muscles—making him feel an itch crawling across his entire body.
'It really can nourish the body and gradually boost one's physical ability?'
Riezel sighed inwardly.
Though the effect was neither strong nor immediate, this Serpent's Blood Wine truly lived up to its reputation as a magical wine.
If an ordinary person could withstand its power, it would no doubt bring great changes to their physical condition. And if one could drink this kind of wine regularly, it might even strengthen the body and prolong life.
'What a shame, just one glass of this costs a hundred gold coins. Ordinary people could never afford it.'
Riezel sipped slowly, prompting another round of hushed discussion among the onlookers.
"Master."
Lizbeth, who had been watching her surroundings the whole time, noticed that the tense atmosphere had not eased, and people were still pointing and whispering about them, which made her uneasy.
"What happened to them?"
Lizbeth still seemed rather uncomfortable.
Surrounded by a crowd of outlaws, this little princess looked like a helpless lamb thrown into a pack of wolves, and her intuition told her something was wrong.
"Just ignore them." Riezel did not spare another glance at the crowd and spoke in a calm voice while sipping his drink. "Right now, they're sizing us up, trying to figure out where we're from. Maybe a few of them are already planning something bad, so the more you pay attention to them, the more likely they'll come over and mess with us."
Although he did not raise his voice when saying this, he did not try to keep it down either.
At the very least, the nearby tables could clearly hear what he said, proven by how those people immediately started glaring at Riezel and Lizbeth with dangerous intent, causing her to tense up.
At that moment, a woman sitting alone at a table, with no companions nearby, suddenly spoke up.
"Don't stress, these guys won't dare lay a finger on you."
She was one of the few women in the tavern.
Like the other mercenaries, she was fully armed, a sword at her side, and her appearance was quite decent. If women like Lizbeth and Yuri could score a 9.9, then this woman, who looked to be around twenty-five, could get an 8.
Unfortunately, despite her good looks, the woman's speech and mannerisms gave off a rough, unruly vibe.
Her skin was slightly tanned, and instead of looking like a battle-hardened female mercenary, she seemed more like a domineering female mountain bandit—brazen and not shy at all.
When she noticed she had caught Lizbeth's attention, she immediately flashed a big grin.
"I don't know how strong you are, Missy, but your buddy here can order a glass of Serpent's Blood Wine without even blinking, then down it like it's nothing. With some sense, who'd dare mess with you two?"
As mentioned by the staff member who served Riezel before, Serpent's Blood Wine was a magical wine that could knock out even a Sword Master with just one glass, so ordinary people simply could not handle it, and drinking it might even burn out your throat.
And yet, Riezel not only ordered it but drank it calmly in front of everyone, without being affected at all.
Was that not proof enough of something?
"Judging from your voice, you don't sound that old."
Turning her gaze to Riezel, the woman spoke bluntly and somewhat teasingly.
"You're still young, but drinking Serpent's Blood Wine like it's just water—I like guys like you. Kid, wanna head upstairs and have some fun with this big sis?"
Her tone turned teasing, causing quite a few people to look at Riezel with envy.
Only Lizbeth seemed completely lost after hearing that.
"Mm, there are rooms upstairs that can make people have some fun?" Lizbeth looked puzzled and marveled. "Amazing rooms... Are they some kind of rare magic item?"
Upon hearing this, the entire tavern fell silent for a second before bursting into laughter.
"What the heck? She's really that innocent?"
"Tch, tch, there are still girls this pure in the world?"
"Heh, that's pretty wild."
Many people began making jokes, and their gazes at Lizbeth became even more heated.
Meanwhile, the woman could not help but laugh for a moment, then spoke to Lizbeth.
"Well, that's not what this big sis meant, but you'll get it eventually. If you still don't, just ask your buddy over there. With a figure like yours, you've gotta be a real beauty. I'm sure your buddy would be more than happy to teach you what's fun."
"R-Really?" Lizbeth said nervously, then immediately turned to Riezel. "Master, would you teach me?"
"..."
Riezel found himself at a loss for words.
As the laughter grew louder and the atmosphere grew more hostile, Riezel's brow furrowed, and a dangerous feeling quickly spread.
*Click…*
In the next moment, Riezel quietly pushed the hilt of the black sword at his waist, revealing a sliver of the blade—the faint sound echoed through the tavern.
"!!!"
In that instant, everyone in the tavern felt a chill run down their spine because they could tell they were being targeted, alarm bells ringing in their minds.
Now, when people looked at Riezel, their gazes changed once again—this time filled with wariness and fear.
Even the woman's expression shifted, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at Riezel.
"We're leaving, Lizbeth."
Riezel spoke coldly, rose to his feet, and walked away.
"Ah!"
Lizbeth, not expecting Riezel to leave so suddenly, let out a surprised cry and quickly followed.
Meanwhile, the rest of the tavern watched the two leave, and after they vanished, the place erupted into a buzz.
"Who's that guy?"
"Scary as hell..."
"Looks like some real tough guy just rolled into our city."
"Spread the word—tell our people to lay low and not stir up trouble around here for a while."
Amidst the chatter, some people quietly slipped out of the tavern, following after Riezel and Lizbeth.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]