Ed was refreshed and smiling. And his unintentional smile can always make people easily let people off guard.

He didn't need to play any tricks, the men didn't care how much he drank, and he easily shifted the conversation from "strange girls on the street" to "strangers who have recently appeared on the street".

"That's an icefield barbarian. The brown-haired man sitting across from him said with great certainty that his name was Dured, and that he did not have the marks of melting snow like his two friends, and that he had just come over to have a good time, and when he picked up the silver coins that Ed had deliberately dropped, and hesitated whether to return them to the reckless young man or put them away himself, he had already been dragged to the table by Ed, and drank the free ale with satisfaction.

"Not really. It was Ken who touched Naria's ass for a while, and was instantly knocked to the ground by a hard kick from the knee, and after pouring two glasses of wine, he had long since forgotten about his previous unhappiness, "Barbarians don't shave their beards, they treat their messy beards as treasures like dwarves." And the barbarians' skin is as hard as stone, and you see his exposed muscles, right? It's no different from mine!"

"That's right, I've heard that barbarians are descendants of giants, and their skin is so hard that they can't be cut through with a knife. Dewar, another man chimed in. When he was kicked and grabbed the girl's hair, he was also quickly knocked to the ground, and he was stepped on by someone a few times.

"Really?" Ed's eyes widened with genuine curiosity, his impression of the barbarian was limited to the legend and the stone statue in the Kriesburg vault, and he was not sure that the stone statue must be a barbarian.

His attentive look gave the men a strong sense of satisfaction. They talked about the description of the Ice Barbarians in Anktann legends.

The barbarians who inhabit the northern ice fields are said to have been born from the corpses of giants. The giants' final battle with the gods on the ice field was long and tragic, and when the last giant fell, his shattered body was scattered across the plains, and the beast with whom he had fought, a giant winter wolf, wandered and wailed, refusing to leave, and finally died there. The gods, taking pity on its loyalty, did not want their original creation to be reduced to nothingness, so they created a new race out of the corpses of giants and the souls of wild beasts, allowing them to live on the ice fields, but must always face the harshest conditions and struggle for survival.

On the northern frontier of Anktan, barbarians go and plunder the villages of Anktanen when they lack food, but they never enter the hinterland of Anktann because "the warm climate softens their will." ”

"So, though they are tall and strong, and have a history several times longer than that of humans, they still don't even have a decent house, because their place," Ken knocks on his head, "is a little inadequate." ”

"And they don't like to deal with any other race, they're stubborn and irritable, and they're tougher than the dwarves. Dewar added.

"Well, even if it's not an icefield brute, you'll have to admit that guy is tall and strong. "And the hammer he carried on his shoulder." He looked a little afraid.

The men fell silent. The massive warhammer was the size of two adults' heads, the most terrifying weapon they had ever seen.

"The big guy, is he alone?" asked Ed.

"He also has a few companions, all ordinary people. I'm guessing they're so-called adventurers or something. Dured said.

"They must have gone to the dragon that the dwarves had told us about. Ken's words made Ed's heart skip a beat, "You've come from Visa, you've heard of the one that flew out from under the Temple of Water in Collins. It's hiding in the dwarven pit on the other side of the Silver Fang. ”

Ed opened his eyes innocently a little wider, "But I heard that the dragon has disappeared into the northern ice fields. ”

"The dwarves on the other side of the Silvertooth Mountains say it's back, and want to rob them of their gems. Ken said, "But who knows, we haven't seen any dragons anyway." The dwarves are not taking their words seriously. ”

"I guess it's not the ice dragon who stole their precious stone, it's the ones who call themselves adventurers. Dured laughed a little gloatingly, the Anktanians always loved and hated their dwarven neighbors.

"Who knows how to get in? The rock heads hide their gates tightly. Ken said, "Besides, who would dare to get in? ”

"That's not for sure, if there's that kind of big guy who carries a hammer......"

It wasn't long before it turned into a spittle, illogical argument about the fighting power of dwarves, barbarians, and even humans, and Ed was dizzy, and he had to struggle to stop them from doing anything about it—he didn't want to blame himself for any broken table and chair.

Finally freed to get the drunken men out, Ed rushes upstairs to tell his companions what he's gotten.

"Those adventurers left here almost ten days ago. "We should have set off earlier." ”

Ace ...... I mean Is, is he really in the Silver Tooth Mountains?" asked Tess.

"Isis won't steal from a dwarf!he's not a thief!" Narya was indignant at the unwarranted accusation, completely forgetting that the petite and beautiful red-haired girl next to her was a real thief.

Tess raised an eyebrow and smiled, not mindful.

"If he had been shot by a dwarf, he would probably want revenge. Norway knew he had to be the more sane one, "He's a dragon after all." ”

Dragons, on the other hand, are quite vindictive.

"He's been locked up in a cell under the temple by a paladin for a long time, but he hasn't killed a paladin!" Nalya still insisted on defending her "brother".

"Anyway, to get to the ice fields you have to go through the Silver Tooth Mountains, we can take a little detour and take a look near the dwarven mines. Ed said quickly.

Norway smiled at the young man's innocence - go and see, finding the dwarven pit is probably a more difficult task than finding Is.

"Are you going to drill the mines?" said Tess. She hated the underground! After nearly being buried alive, it was completely understandable.

"If necessary. Hey, we might find something good!" Ed reassured her.

"You mean taking the little stones from under the dwarves' noses? Of all the ideas for death, this is at least the second best. ”

"Where's the first one?" said Ed.

"Take my stuff from under my nose. Tess learned to bark Mochi's teeth at him.

Ed turned around and asked the elf, "Norwe, have you ever heard of a barbarian-like warrior with a hammer?" and he was impressed by the fearful expressions on the men's faces.

Norway shook his head: "No." I don't really know adventurers very well. ”

He had also joined the ranks of two adventurers, but left quickly. After that, he mostly went it alone, sometimes with Tess with him. And where he goes, most adventurers don't care at all, and he always tries to avoid dealing with adventurers.

Ed tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"Well, that big guy is either not really great at all, or he's a novice, so there's nothing to be afraid of. He said.

"Ed Singall, no one is a 'newbie' in front of you. Tess went out of her way to hit him, then turned to comfort Naria, "Don't worry, sweetheart, you're not like him." ”

Naria couldn't help but smile and nodded vigorously.

"What the hell is she not happy with me!" Ed crouched in his chair and wailed against the dark and dilapidated ceiling of the hotel, as he returned to his room. He had already given up on maintaining his image in front of the elves early on.

"She's quite happy with you. Norway smiled and comforted him, "She just thinks it's funny to bully you." ”

Ed straightened up immediately, then collapsed again, the expression on his face changing as if he didn't know whether to be happy or not.

――Like a puppy that pounces on him with joy even if he doesn't have meat or bones in his hand.

That's what Tess said, and the elf thought about it and decided not to tell him.

"What's the use of following this guy?" a few rooms away, someone whispered to his companion, "They obviously don't know where the ice dragon is! ”

"You can tell Baie yourself. The companion's reply was one of exhaustion and helplessness.

The room fell silent, and no one spoke again.