Re-Estize.
It was both the name of the Re-Estize Kingdom and its royal capital, a name that had been in use since ancient times.
As the capital of a kingdom with a population of nine million, if one had to sum up the royal capital, Re-Estize, in one word, it would be ancient.
By 'ancient', it didn't just mean the royal capital had existed for a long time with a rich history, but also that it was old and lifeless.
In this royal capital, the buildings lining the streets were mostly worn-down and simple, with no trace of novelty or splendor, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy in the scenery either, as plenty of places in it would only make one feel frustration and resentment. Many roads were also unpaved and muddy, showing a scene that shouldn't exist in the heart of a kingdom.
Meanwhile, as the citizens walked along the roads, they packed shoulder to shoulder, silently weaving through the crowds and avoiding the main road.
Apparently, they would rather stay in the crush of people than walk down the middle of the main road, simply because horse-drawn carriages often used it, and the people in those carriages were either nobles or high-ranking officials.
It was only natural.
If one blocked their way, it wasn't uncommon to be killed by the guards of those nobles or high-ranking officials.
"When will this situation finally change...?"
Saying these words was none other than the Re-Estize Kingdom's Warrior Captain, a man known in neighboring countries as the strongest warrior—Gazef Stronoff.
At this moment, he walked down one of the roads of the royal capital, looking at the old, lifeless city and the oppressive street scenes, lost in thought.
Perhaps it was because he was getting older, but recently he often found himself reflecting on things he had seen a thousand times, noticing things he used to overlook, especially when it came to the kingdom's current situation, he had become increasingly worried.
Among the three human countries, while the Re-Estize Kingdom was not the smallest, it was by far the most problematic.
Why?
It was simply because the current kingdom was in a state where its collapse wouldn't be a surprise at all.
Gazef wanted to change this, but he realized he didn't have the ability to do so.
Certainly, he was strong, at least among the best in the kingdom, but in the end, he still came from a commoner's background.
Just becoming the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom was already a massive achievement for him, but compared to the nobles who had a deep influence on the kingdom, he was undeniably weak.
With his position and status, let alone changing the kingdom's situation, even dealing with the daily struggles caused by the nobles already took a heavy toll on him.
A few months ago, during the incident in Carne Village, he learned that some nobles in the kingdom would go so far as to try and kill him, even if it meant causing harm to their own country.
Such an experience made him feel more and more that being the Warrior Captain was wearing him out, mentally and physically. If it weren't for his loyalty to the king and his desire to serve the kingdom, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going.
"If it were him, what would he do...?"
Gazef thought back to the young man he had met in Carne Village, and even now, he still felt joy when he remembered that encounter. It wasn't just because his life had been saved by that young man, but because he had witnessed a legend unfold.
As Gazef lost himself in his thoughts, a sudden murmur of voices came from the crowd beside him.
"Yo, did you hear? Two new Adamantite Adventurer Groups popped up in our kingdom over the last couple of months!"
Evidently, this had been a hot topic in the royal capital and throughout the entire kingdom.
Everyone knew that Adamantite was the highest rank for adventurers, and reaching this rank meant they were all top-tier individuals who, even if they hadn't entered the Realm of Heroes, were still very close.
Adventurers of this rank were so rare that one could count them on one hand in all of the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Previously, there had only been two Adamantite Adventurer Groups, making them the kingdom's only such groups, but a third and a fourth group like them had emerged recently.
Gazef was inevitably drawn in by this topic, so he couldn't help but listen in as his curiosity was piqued.
Meanwhile, even though the people discussing it weren't heavily armed and looked like they were on break, casually walking through the streets and chatting about this topic, they seemed to be adventurers themselves.
"Wait, there's a third and fourth Adamantite Adventurer Group in the kingdom now?"
"So, you're telling me two new Adamantite Adventurer Groups just showed up outta nowhere?"
"Eh, groups might be a stretch. I heard one's just two people and the other's just one dude. I mean, can we even call them groups?"
"Hold up, you're saying they made it to Adamantite with just that few people?"
"Yeah, that's kinda impressive, not gonna lie."
"Do you think they're pulling some kinda trick?"
As the adventurers continued to chat, freely sharing their opinions, Gazef walked alongside them, listening.
"So, what exactly did they do?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but I heard the two-person group completed a ton of crazy-hard quests over the last two months. Like, they wiped out goblin tribes that popped up out of nowhere in the Great Forest of Tob, then captured the Wise King of the Forest, who's been living in its depths for hundreds of years. And then, with the Wise King's help, they gathered some insanely rare herbs, fought off a giant snake monster, and even took on an undead army from the Kars Plains. After that, I heard they brought down a powerful vampire in the northern forest."
"Damn, that... sounds insane..."
"Yeah, no wonder they became Adamantite."
"Seriously, for just two people to pull off stuff like that... They've gotta be the real deal."
"What's their group called?"
"What's their color?"
Currently, aside from the two groups being talked about, the only Adamantite Adventurer Groups in the Re-Estize Kingdom were 'Blue Roses' and 'Red Drop', each having their own representative color.
Blue Roses was cyan or blue.
Red Drop was crimson or red.
Apparently, this led to a trend in the Re-Estize Kingdom's adventurer circle, where adventurer groups started using colors as symbols for their groups, which was why these adventurers were talking about it like this.
However, this trend clearly hadn't affected the two new groups mentioned.
"Forget about color, they haven't even picked a name for their group yet."
"Still, the two Adamantite Adventurers in that group already have their own titles."
"I think one is called Dark Hero Momon, and the other is Beautiful Princess Nabe?"
"So, their color's gotta be black then?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Hearing this, Gazef secretly took note of the two people mentioned in the conversation.
'Dark Hero and Beautiful Princess, huh?'
An adventurer group with just two members making it to Adamantite was pretty impressive, but compared to the other one, Gazef felt they were a little lacking.
"Hmm?"
Just as Gazef was about to keep listening to the chatter of the adventurers, waiting for the topic he had been following to come up, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
*BOOM!*
A thunderclap suddenly echoed in the sky, causing a light rain to start pouring down without warning.
"Shit! It's raining!"
"Let's head back to the inn!"
"Let's go!"
Saying these words in haste, the adventurers walking beside Gazef immediately rushed off in a panic.
People around them were the same—either speeding up to find shelter or pulling out their rain gear to shield themselves from the downpour.
However, thanks to this, Gazef's chance to hear the topic he was interested in was interrupted, and no one was discussing it anymore.
Regardless, Gazef wasn't in the mood to focus on other people's chatter in this kind of situation either, so he shifted his gaze in another direction.
Over there, at the intersection of the main road and a small alley to the right, a man was sitting on the ground.
He was filthy, like a beggar who had been wandering the streets, and his appearance was also messy, while his hair seemed to be dyed, not looking like a proper person at all.
Gazef's attention had been drawn to the man for two reasons.
One, something about the man seemed oddly familiar.
Two, it was because the man's right hand was tightly gripping a weapon.
It was a—
"Katana?"
Gazef felt a sense of familiarity with the weapon—or, more precisely, the sword known as 'katana'.
It was said to be a rare sword that originated in the distant deserts south of the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Gazef had seen this weapon just over two months ago in Carne Village, on a ridiculously strong young man, which made him have a deep understanding of its durability.
It couldn't be helped.
Not many weapons could withstand his 'Sixfold Slash of Light', but that young man's sword had managed it without even needing to be unsheathed. Now that he was seeing this weapon again, he couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
Adding to the familiarity the man in front of him gave, Gazef, after a few moments of hesitation, walked over to him.
Before long, Gazef stood right in front of the man.
"..."
At the same time, the man seemed to sense something but responded sluggishly, slowly lifting his head to glance at Gazef.
As the man looked up, Gazef could finally see his face clearly.
In that instant, memories surged back like a raging wave.
"It's you?"
Gazef spoke with a dumbfounded expression, utterly stunned.
===
Re-Estize Kingdom's Border, Azerlisia Mountains.
On a snow-covered mountain, a young man casually walked through the blizzard without wearing any cold-resistant items, as if completely unbothered by it.
He stepped forward against the wind, his steps steady as though the fierce blizzard was nothing more than a gentle breeze, with not a single snowflake clinging to him.
As he continued walking, he suddenly stopped.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Seemingly sensing something, he reached into his chest and pulled out a piece of parchment.
On the parchment, words appeared out of nowhere.
"Sir Brynhart, can you please come to Re-Estize to meet me? I have a request. — Gazef Stronoff."
Staring at the words that had suddenly appeared, the young man, who was none other than Riezel, remained silent for a long while.
"Hmm... alright..."
After a moment of silence, Riezel tucked the parchment away.
"Guess I'll go check it out."
In the next moment, Riezel vanished into the blizzard, disappearing without a trace.