Iron Boot Town.
Warm sunlight filtered through the somewhat dusty windows of the Old Oak Tavern, spilling across wooden tables and pewter mugs brimming with ale.
In one corner of the tavern, the atmosphere was especially lively.
"Cheers! To escaping death by a hair's breadth, and to making a fortune!"
Kelvin raised his mug high, his face glowing with an unprecedentedly sincere smile.
"Cheers!"
Bloom slammed the table with a palm as broad as a cattail fan, his face flushed red as he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! To little Ella's swing of the club."
Ella's cheeks were rosy, filled with excitement and a touch of embarrassment.
"Uncle Bloom, stop it... I was just scared and swung wildly."
Kelvin drained his mug of ale in one gulp and let out a satisfied breath.
"Guys, for us to come back alive this time and rake in such a huge haul, besides being lucky and working well together, we have someone else to thank."
He paused, his voice filled with sincere gratitude. "Yano the 'Miracle'! He was the one who showed us the way."
"That's right! A toast to Yano the 'Miracle'!" Bloom raised his mug again.
"To Mr. Yano," Ella echoed softly.
At the corner of the bar, upon hearing the name "Yano the Miracle," a traveler's hand holding a cup of water paused slightly.
The woman had long light-brown hair simply tied behind her head, revealing a face whose lines were somewhat stern yet strikingly valiant.
She sat as straight as a spear. Even her understated attire could not conceal the military bearing etched into her bones or the faintly noble poise she carried.
Beside her, her companion, a warrior who looked sharp and capable, vigilantly watched their surroundings.
Alice set down her cup, turned around, and directed her calm gaze toward Kelvin's table.
"Pardon me for interrupting. I haven't been to Iron Boot Town in a long time, and I heard you mention Yano the 'Miracle'... Who is he?"
Kelvin was in the middle of an animated tale. Seeing someone join in—and a woman of such extraordinary bearing and heroic presence at that—he immediately responded warmly.
"Oh? You've heard of the legendary figure of our Iron Boot Town too?"
"Was this Mr. Yano once a Knight Squire?"
Kelvin's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh.
"Yes, yes, yes! That's him! Yano Belmont! You know him?"
Alice shook her head slightly.
"No, I had only heard the name. Thank you for telling me."
"Good luck to you all."
She rose and gave Kelvin and the other two a slight nod. With that, she led her adjutant straight to the tavern door, pushed it open, and walked out.
The afternoon sunlight lazily spread across the outskirts of Iron Boot Town. In the distance were hills cultivated into terraces, dotted with golden waves of wheat and lush green orchards.
Nearby, a clear brook murmured past. The windmills of several mills turned slowly, while smoke curled from white-walled, red-tiled farmhouses, painting a tranquil and peaceful pastoral scene.
Alice and her adjutant left the town gates and stood by the roadside. She drew in a deep breath of air fragrant with earth and fresh grass.
Her adjutant, Karen, followed behind her and could not help asking in a low voice, "Commander, that Yano in the tavern just now... was he really that young man from the Border Garrison Legion reserves?"
"It should be him."
"Yano the 'Miracle'... To survive in a place like that and find a way to make a living truly deserves to be called a miracle. It's just a pity..."
"A pity?" Karen did not understand.
"Petrification Disease. That was why he had no choice but to withdraw from knight training."
"It is a slow and cruel noble curse. It requires costly alchemical medicines to slow its progress, and it cannot be cured. No amount of wealth can likely buy back a healthy body and... much time."
"It is regrettable. He could have become an outstanding Knight... May Kardos watch over this pitiful talent."
As the two spoke, Iron Boot Town's sheriff, a middle-aged man in a leather breastplate, came running over, panting heavily.
"Commander Alice! You're here? Why did you go to the tavern?"
Alice turned around, her expression returning to businesslike calm.
"Sheriff Viller, good afternoon. I merely stopped by to observe the adventuring atmosphere in Iron Boot Town and learn about local conditions."
Then her tone shifted and became serious. "Also, the Border Garrison Legion has received its latest report."
"The weather station has observed signs of large-scale Mana Riot activity in the Miasma Mountains recently. It may very well trigger prolonged torrential rain."
"Summer is approaching. Iron Boot Town lies in a lowland downstream and is close to the Swamp Forest. You would be best advised to prepare in advance."
Sheriff Viller's expression tightened, and sweat instantly beaded on his forehead. "Yes! Yes! Thank you for the reminder, Knight Alice! I'll make arrangements immediately!"
Daring not to delay, he hurriedly saluted, turned, and ran back into town.
Watching the sheriff leave, Alice said to her adjutant Karen, "Let's go. We still have a mission."
Karen watched the sheriff's retreating back, then could not help looking toward the Swamp Forest.
"Commander, aren't we going to inspect the swamp, and those Corrupted Lizardfolk that suddenly began wandering near Reed Riverbank?"
"No. Corrupted creatures are extremely troublesome. Their vitality is tenacious, and killing them wastes a great deal of time. And that swamp..."
She paused, as though recalling something.
"It is far more dangerous than it appears. Without a detailed map and sufficient Antidote Potions, rashly venturing deep into the swamp and getting lost there would be no different from seeking death oneself."
A clear look of astonishment appeared on Karen's face.
"Even you... aren't confident you could make it through that swamp?"
In his mind, this Knight from the Border Garrison Legion—powerful and unwavering in her faith—was almost the very symbol of omnipotence.
Alice glanced at Karen. Her eyes were calm and undisturbed; there was neither anger at being questioned nor any hint of boastfulness. She was merely stating a fact.
"My strength is enough to handle most threats on the outskirts, but to venture into the core, face unknown Demonic Beasts and poisonous mist, then find a way out alive—the chances of success are very low."
"Even a formidable legion commander would not do something so foolish."
She swung herself onto her horse, her movements smooth and vigorous.
"The mission comes first. Those sly rats of the Rusty Keys will not wait foolishly for us at the Outpost Ruins. It won't be easy to catch their tail, and we cannot let this lead slip away."
She pulled on the reins, her calm gaze fixed on the distant Miasma Mountains, shrouded in thin mist and seeming gloomy and mysterious.
Only she knew that tracking the Rusty Keys, the Rogue Guild active among the border ruins, was not the sole purpose of her journey—nor was it even the main one.
Outpost Ruins. The name weighed heavily in her heart.
It had once been a border fortress during the White Horse Kingdom's glorious age. Later, because uncontrolled Mana Riots erupted there time and again, it became a land of death and was abandoned by the kingdom.
Over the past decade or so, it had become an adventurer's graveyard and a breeding ground for illegal activity.
On the surface, she had accepted the mission to investigate the thieves because it was the Border Garrison Legion's duty.
But deep in her heart, what had driven her to this borderland was her elder brother, who had vanished in Iron Boot Town more than a decade ago—a legion Knight who also believed in Kardos.
She had recently received clues that her brother had actually last appeared at the Outpost Ruins.
For more than a decade, there had been no news of him. Neither living person nor corpse had been found.
This time, no matter what dangers and secrets the ruins concealed, she would enter them.
Even if all she found in the end was a weathered skeleton, she had to give him—and the Lineage—an answer.
Alice clenched the silver longsword pendant against her chest.
Under Kardos's witness, courage and protection were vows she would never betray.
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