Knight Roland left, continuing his journey through the Duchy. Traveling with him was the legendary tale of Veylin the "Serpent Slayer."
Veylin had kept a tight lid on the Gray Marsh Fief's successful hunt of a Level Five Magical Beast, and every participant had signed a magical contract to ensure that not a single detail leaked.
Yet no secret stayed hidden forever.
Half a month later.
White Whale Harbor, the most prosperous port city in the Seven Harbors Alliance.
Inside the Rotten Fish Tail tavern, an old sailor boasted to those around him, spittle flying. He smelled worse than the tavern's dishwater.
"...You should've seen it! The whole marsh was shaking! I swear, I saw countless vines burst out of the mud and bind that giant serpent tight!"
He paused to gulp down a mouthful of ale, then wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
"Then seven or eight giants made of rock stood up, taller than the lighthouse! They hurled steel spears from far away, one after another, and skewered the beast!"
The drinkers around him burst into laughter.
"Give it a rest, Flynn. You've had too much again," a mercenary jeered. "Last time, you said you'd seen whole swarms of sea folk in the Shallow Sea."
"It's true this time!" Flynn snapped, slamming his mug onto the table. "I've got a nephew who trades down south in Sabertooth Province. He told me in secret! That Baron Klein knows spells that make vines come alive like snakes, and he can grow steel out of the ground!"
"A Pioneer Knight killing a Level Five Magical Beast? Flynn, tell that story to the bards and they'll be paying you instead."
Everyone laughed again. No one took it seriously, dismissing it as another drunk's nonsense.
In a corner, a man dressed a cut