The tavern was doing booming business. It seemed the recently discovered "ruins" had drawn a huge number of outsiders to the area, and naturally, places like this local tavern were where the most outsiders gathered. Ai Lu and I had a hard time finding two empty seats against the wall, but there were already people seated across from us: a middle-aged man, and beside him, a slight figure completely concealed beneath a black hooded robe.
"Are you here to search for the ruins too?" The middle-aged man across the table had heard Ai Lu eagerly telling stories about the great forest and adventuring parties, so he glanced at me curiously.
I looked up at him. He was a burly man in his forties, with slightly dark skin, solid muscles, short black hair, a square face, sharply defined brows, and an altogether dependable appearance. His clothes were very different from the locals' short robes. They looked like a short-sleeved training uniform. The gray-black fabric was somewhat old, but clean. It clung tightly to his muscles and seemed a little ill-fitting—but it certainly showed off his strong build.
Leaning against the wall beside this middle-aged powerhouse was a huge black sword nearly as tall as a person. Needless to say, it was his weapon. So... he was a warrior, then. Probably one of the "adventurers" Ai Lu had mentioned.
"I'm somewhat interested." I still had not fully figured out the situation here. I had no idea what the so-called ruins, local church, or forest monsters—assuming there even were any—actually meant, so I could only answer vaguely, hoping to get more information from the conversation. "I'm a scholar traveling from place to place. I'm interested in strange tales and unusual events from all lands. I didn't come here for the ruins themselves this