Ri Jestij.

This is not only the name of the kingdom, but also the name used by the royal capital, which is the capital of the kingdom, since ancient times.

As the capital of the country with a total population of 9 million, there is one word to sum up the royal capital, and that is ...... Old.

The meaning of old is not only that it has existed for a long time, but also that the city is old and lifeless.

Most of the houses here are old and rustic, without a trace of novelty and luxury.

Here, there is nothing particularly noteworthy about the scenery, but there are many places that can make people dissatisfied and resentful.

Let's try it soon, everyone. 】

Many of the roads are unpaved and muddy, giving them a look that they don't want to be in the city.

The citizens walked shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the road, silently and depressedly weaving through the crowd, preferring to be crowded rather than take the main road in the middle.

That's because there are carriages passing by on this road from time to time, and the people on those carriages are either nobles or high-ranking officials, and if they get in their way, even if they are killed by the guards, it is not uncommon at all.

Wangduli Yestij is such a city, a place dominated by high-ranking officials and nobles, with poor law and order, and almost no nostalgia.

“…… When will this change? ”

Such a whispering voice came from the country's warrior chief, the man who was called the strongest warrior in the neighboring countries——— Gedjiev Stronov.

At this time, Gurdjieff walked down a street in the royal capital, looking at this old city and its oppressive streetscape, and fell into deep thought.

Maybe it's because of getting older and older, Gerjeff has often been like this lately, inexplicably feeling something that he has become accustomed to.

Especially about the current situation of the kingdom, Gurdjief is becoming more and more worried.

Among the three surrounding human nations, the kingdom is not the smallest, but it is the one with the greatest problems.

Because, at the moment, the country is in a state of division that is not surprising at any time.

Gurdjieff had the heart to change that, but found that he simply didn't have that ability.

It is true that he is very strong, at least in this country, he is definitely among the best, but he is a commoner, and being able to sit in the position of the chief warrior is already a step to the sky, and compared to those nobles who have a profound impact on the country, he is definitely a weak side.

In this way, not only can he not change the status quo of the kingdom, but even it is a laborious thing to deal with the difficulties of those nobles every day.

A few months ago, the encounter in Karn Village had told Gurdjief that some of the nobles of the kingdom were eager to put themselves to death, even if it would cause the kingdom to suffer.

This has made Gurdjieff feel more and more recently, and he feels a little exhausted as a warrior.

If it weren't for the king's loyalty, for the sake of serving the country, Gordjieff didn't know if he would have been able to keep going.

"If it were him, what would he do?"

Gurdjieff remembered the boy he had met in the village of Karn.

Even now, Gurdjieff is still happy about that encounter.

This is not only because his life was saved by the other party, but also because he witnessed a legend there.

Just as Gurdjieff was thinking this, a discussion suddenly came from the crowd next to him.

"Did you hear that? In the last two months, our kingdom has given birth to two steel-level adventurer squads in a row, huh? ”

This is a hot topic in the royal capital and even in the whole kingdom recently.

Steel-grade, the highest level of adventurers.

Adventurers who can reach this level are all characters with the pinnacle of strength, even if they haven't stepped into the hero realm yet, it's not far behind.

Adventurers of this level, even if they searched the entire Rystij, they could only be counted with both hands, and they also formed two teams, becoming the only two steel-level adventurer teams in the kingdom.

Recently, there has been a third and fourth such adventurer.

Gurdjieff was so captivated by the topic that he couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen.

The people who are discussing this topic also seem to be risk-takers.

They weren't wearing much of an armament and seemed to be taking a break, walking aimlessly down the streets while talking like this.

"Is there already a third steel-grade adventurer team and a fourth steel-grade adventurer team in the kingdom?"

"Why did two steel-grade adventurer squads suddenly pop up all of a sudden?"

"Actually, it's not two squads, I heard that one of the squads has only two people, and the other one has only one person, so whether it can be regarded as two squads can only be said to be debatable."

"Has such a small number of people accomplished feats that are sufficient to rise to the steel level?"

"That's pretty good."

"It can't be some kind of trick, right?"

Adventurers, you and I are talking about it, exchanging opinions unscrupulously.

"And then? What exactly did they do? ”

"I don't know, but it is said that the team of two people completed many very difficult tasks in the past two months, such as annihilating the alliance of goblin tribes that suddenly surged out of the Great Forest of Tob, and subduing the Forest Sage who has lived in the depths of the forest for hundreds of years, collecting extremely rare medicinal herbs with the help of the Forest Sage, and also defeating the giant basilisk and the army of the undead from the Kaz Plains, and finally hearing that the other party has defeated a powerful vampire in the northern forest."

"This ...... Sounds really impressive. ”

"No wonder it's steel-grade."

"A team of only two people can complete a task of this level, it seems that they have real materials."

"What's the name of their squad?"

"What color is it?"

The Kingdom's two current steel-grade adventurer squads——— [Rose] and [Vermilion Dewdrop], each have their own colors.

[Rose] is pale, that is, blue.

[Vermilion Dew Drop] is vermilion, that is, red.

This led to the rise of a culture in the kingdom of adventurers in which a certain color was used as a symbol of the squad.

That's why adventurers say this.

However, this ethos apparently did not affect the two objects mentioned today.

"I heard that the team hasn't decided on an official name yet, huh?"

"However, the two steel-level adventurers in that squad have their own titles."

"It seems to be called [Dark Hero] Feifei and [Miji] Nabei, right?"

"Then their color is black, right?"

"So to speak."

Hearing this, Gurdjieff secretly paid attention to the two people mentioned in the topic.

"[Dark Hero] and [Meiji]...... Is it? ”

It is really remarkable that a team of only two people can be promoted to the steel level.

It's a pity that compared to the other person, Gurdjief still feels that they are slightly inferior.

If you want to say why......

"Huh?"

Just as Gurdjieff was about to continue listening to the adventurers, waiting for the topic of the object of his attention to appear, suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he was inadvertently drawn to something.

"Boom!"

There was a sudden thunderclap in the sky, and a light rain began to fall without warning.

"It's raining!"

"Hurry back to the hotel!"

"Let's go!"

The adventurers who walked beside Gurdjieff left in a panic.

The same is true for the people around them, who either quicken their pace and run to a place where they can shelter from the rain, or take out the tools they carry with them and block the rain.

Thanks to this, the topic that Gurdjieff wanted to hear was also forced to interrupt, no one was to discuss it, and he was not in the mood to pay attention to those rumors anymore, but set his eyes in one direction.

There, in a small path where the avenue turns to the right, a man sits on the ground.

He was all dirty, like a beggar sleeping in the open.

His appearance is very sloppy, and even his hair seems to have been dyed by himself, not like a serious person.

There are two reasons why Gurdjieff was attracted to the other party.

One is that the figure of the other party makes him feel a little familiar.

One is on the other hand, holding a weapon tightly.

That's a handful......

"Knives?"

For the weapon "knife", Gerjeff felt quite kind.

It is said that this is a very rare weapon that was born in the deserts of the far south.

Gurdjieff had only seen this weapon from an incredibly strong teenager about two months ago, and he knew how hard it was.

After all, there are not many weapons that can withstand his own [Six Lights Consecutive Slash], but the knife on the young man's body can do it, and he doesn't even need to unsheath.

Now seeing this weapon again, Gurdjief will inevitably be a little curious, coupled with the familiarity that the other party gave him, after hesitating for a few moments, Gurdjieff still walked over.

It didn't take long for Gurdjieff to come to the other side.

“………”

The other party seemed to be aware of something, but his reaction was quite slow, and he slowly raised his head and glanced at Gurdjieff.

Gurdjieff also saw the other party's appearance clearly.

Suddenly, memories revived like raging waves.

"Is that you?"

Suddenly, Gurdjieff was stunned.

…………

Kingdom of Ri Jestij, Border Mountains.

On a snowy mountain here, a figure walked in the snowstorm without wearing any cold props at all.

He walked in the wind, but his steps were unusually steady, as if the blizzard that was raging here was just a breeze, and not even a single snowflake was on his body.

Walking like this, suddenly, the other party stopped.

"...... this?"

As if sensing something, he pulled out a piece of parchment from his bosom.

On the parchment, a line of words emerges without warning.

"I also invited the royal capital to talk about it, and ask for something ——— Gejiev Storonov."

Looking at the handwriting that suddenly appeared, the young man was silent for a long time.

"That's fine."

After a while, the boy put away the parchment.

"Let's go check it out."

So, the boy disappeared into the blizzard and disappeared without a trace.