Note: Just to clarify the timeline, from what I searched, Hero Of The South died a year after frieren joined the Hero party. Currently we are in that year, right before hero of south's death.
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Inside the tavern.
Sukuna silently drank the terrible-tasting juice while glancing toward Himmel and his party.
The drink was sour and slightly bitter.
'Damn, how can people drink this stuff…?'
He silently put the cup down and moved it away from him.
It was terrible. How dare they say it was the tavern's specialty?
"Yuck! What in the name of the goddess is this drink??" Heiter complained with a sad look as he put down the juice cup.
'Seems I'm not the only one who finds it bad...,' Sukuna thought while staring at the Hero party across the room.
"As Himmel said, you are indeed a powerful mage, Frieren," Eisen, the dwarf warrior, said in a calm tone, looking at the newly joined mage of their party.
Frieren raised her eyes while calmly chewing on her food.
"I'm not that strong."
Eisen gave her a look.
"You killed half of the monsters with a single magic......."
"It wasn't that strong," Frieren replied.
Himmel looked at them with a smile before saying,
"You also did amazing, Eisen. Without you holding the frontline, Frieren wouldn't have been able to fire that shot."
Eisen stared at him for a moment before slowly chewing his food.
The four of them kept discussing their adventures in carefree voices.
Sukuna kept observing them, their figures from his memory perfectly matching their real-life counterparts, making him smile.
Minute after minute passed.
His gaze never left their table.
Eventually—
Himmel stopped mid-sentence.
"…Hmm."
Eisen glanced at him.
"What?"
Himmel's eyes slowly moved across the tavern.
Then they stopped.
Directly on Sukuna.
Their gazes met across the room.
Sukuna didn't look away.
In fact, he stared back.
Himmel: ?
After a few seconds,
Himmel was the first to withdraw his gaze.
Sukuna smiled in satisfaction.
It was his victory.
Himmel tilted his head in confusion.
"…That person has been watching us."
Heiter looked at the cloaked Sukuna, then back at Himmel before saying with a teasing smile,
"It could be one of your admirers. Heh, it seems you're becoming popular, Himmel!"
"What? An admirer?" Himmel raised his eyes in surprise, then looked back at Sukuna.
'His gaze... it does seem like a fan.....'
Himmel thought with a serious face.
Eisen casually glanced over his shoulder.
He also noticed the cloaked man sitting in the corner.
But unlike the delulu Himmel, he felt the stranger was a little..... unnerving.
Frieren also lifted her eyes.
Her gaze landed on Sukuna.
She stared at him quietly for a moment.
A cloak?
Why is he hiding his identity?
If not for the fact that she couldn't sense his mana, she might have thought it was a demon.
Himmel scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well… never thought I would meet an admirer like this."
Eisen suddenly added,
"It feels uncomfortable."
Himmel laughed lightly before saying,
"I will try and talk to him."
Still smiling, he pushed his chair back and stood up.
"Wait here."
Heiter raised an eyebrow.
With calm steps, the young hero walked across the tavern floor.
The wooden boards creaked softly under his boots.
Sukuna watched him approach without any reaction.
Finally, Himmel stopped beside his table.
Up close, Himmel finally sensed something odd.
'This person....'
His eyes widened slightly as he saw the outline of black marks on the man's face.
'He's strong.'
Himmel unknowingly clenched his hands.
Because Sukuna didn't show any hostility to him, only pure curiosity, Himmel couldn't gauge his strength.
But now, as they were so close to each other.....
The difference became very evident.
There was a faint pressure around him.
Something subtle but heavy.
Still, Himmel simply smiled politely and greeted him.
"Good evening....."
Sukuna slowly lifted his eyes and replied,
"Good evening."
Himmel scratched his cheek and said,
"Sorry if this sounds strange, but…"
He pointed slightly toward his table.
"You've been watching us for quite a while.... um."
He wanted to ask if Sukuna was his fan.
But now, sensing his strength, the thought completely left his mind.
So he changed the question.
"Do you know us?"
"I do, Hero Himmel," Sukuna said with a smile.
"Ah... so you knew..."
'Could it really be my admirer?' Himmel thought in silence.
Sukuna gestured for him to take a seat.
Himmel, filled with curiosity, followed.
The other three party members looked at the scene with curiosity, wondering what was happening.
"It doesn't seem like it has been long since you started your journey," Sukuna said, leading the conversation.
"Yes, just four months ago we had our newest member join us."
"I see....."
Sukuna nodded, then gestured for the server.
"Sir? Is there something you need?" the busty tavern lady asked with a polite smile.
Sukuna suddenly took out 2 gold Strahl and handed them to the surprised lady.
"Yes, take this. Their food is on me; you can keep the change," he said while pointing at Himmel's table.
"Thank you!"
The lady gave him a lovely smile, visibly squeezing her chest to make it appear more prominent before turning around and going back to work.
Himmel said in a surprised voice,
"Sir, we are grateful for the treat, but you don't need to—"
Sukuna casually waved his hand, interrupting him.
"It's the least I can do for the true hero."
Himmel sensed genuine emotion from him, thought for a moment, before saying,
"Then, thank you. Can you tell me your name?"
"Gojo," Sukuna gave an alias.
His real name was quite famous after all.
"Gojo... would you like to join us at our table?" Himmel asked, seeing that Sukuna was waiting alone.
"Hm? Sure."
"Let me introduce you to my party members."
Sukuna rose from his seat with his wooden box.
Himmel looked at it with curiosity before guiding Sukuna to his table.
At the table, Heiter leaned toward Eisen and whispered loudly,
"Did he recruit the admirer?"
Eisen looked up and said,
"Maybe."
Frieren quietly watched them approach; her eyes were focused on Sukuna.
Himmel stopped beside the table and gestured toward the empty chair.
"Everyone, this is Gojo."
He smiled and continued,
"He kindly paid for our meal."
Heiter's eyes instantly widened.
"WHAT?"
The priest stood up halfway from his chair and grabbed Sukuna's hand with shocking speed.
"Sir Gojo, I already like you."
Eisen sighed deeply.
"You have no shame."
"Of course I do," Heiter replied immediately.
"It just disappears when free food is involved."
Sukuna looked at him with a smile.
"Eat as much as you like."
"Wah! Could you be the messenger of the Goddess?! Sigh, if only we had alcohol here...."
After Sukuna sat down, Frieren suddenly said,
"I can't sense your mana."
Sukuna looked at her.
She stared back.
"Are you hiding it?"
Sukuna smiled faintly.
"Something like that."
"You must be a strong mage," Frieren concluded.
Someone who could hide his mana fluctuation from her must be a very powerful mage.
Eisen finally looked up properly.
His dwarf eyes studied Sukuna carefully before asking,
"…You're not a warrior?"
"I am a warrior, but I can use magic as well."
"A magic swordsman?" Himmel analyzed while staring at his wooden box.
"In a way," Sukuna nodded.
Heiter suddenly asked,
"By the way, you are covering your face and holding a wooden box on your back... that's extremely suspicious."
All of them looked at him.
His getup was indeed questionable.
Why would anyone hide their face unless they were doing something suspicious?
Sukuna ignored their questionable gazes and said,
"I am out on a mission, looking for someone."
"A mission? Does it require you to hide your identity?" Himmel asked in curiosity.
"In a way...."
Himmel paused before asking,
"Can you tell us who you are looking for? We might be able to help."
It was to repay the favour for the free meal.
"Oh? Well, I'm sure you must have heard of him..."
Sukuna smiled and continued under their curious gaze.
"Elder Sage Of Corruption, Qual."
"!?!"
Instantly, all four of their expressions became solemn.
Elder Sage of Corruption Qual had become quite famous due to his indiscriminate attacks on human caravans, killing all humans who were unlucky enough to meet him.
Frieren asked without delay,
"You are going to hunt the demon?"
"Perhaps."
Sukuna gave an ambiguous answer.
"The only good demon is a dead demon," Frieren said in a calm tone.
"You're right."
Sukuna agreed, making Frieren look at him in appreciation.
Finally, someone who understood the true nature of demons.
Himmel fell into thought for some time before saying in a solemn tone,
"Please allow us to assist you."
As a hero, he could not see others face danger, especially when they were going after such a powerful monster.
Heiter and Eisen looked at Himmel in silence, not saying anything.
"Hm...."
Sukuna touched his chin, finding the situation quite amusing.
The hero party was traveling with a demon?
Heh.
It would be fun to see their reaction when they found out.....
Sukuna rubbed his nose before agreeing.
"Alright."
Placing his hand inside his robe, Sukuna took out a bag filled with Strahl gold and placed it on the table.
"I won't ask you to work for free. In exchange for your help, I'll give you 100 Strahl gold coins."
*Clank*
Heiter instantly fell back, muttering in a dazed tone,
"100 Strahl gold..... 100 Strahl gold..."
Even Himmel felt his vision go blurry, enveloped by golden light.
Frieren stared at the gold, wondering about all the weird magic items she could buy.
Eisen, the only calm one, closed his eyes and said,
"That is a lot of money."
Indeed.
100 Strahl gold was a very big amount.
Himmel clenched his fists and shook his head, saying in a regretful tone,
"W-we can't accept this...."
"You don't need to worry. This amount doesn't mean much to me....."
Rich man!
They had met a truly rich man!
It suddenly made them very curious about his identity.
"Demon Qual is not an easy opponent. I believe 100 Strahl gold is the least you should be offered for helping me."
"You can also think of it as an investment. I believe you guys will do a lot of amazing things in the future."