The Mysterious Black Magician

Two days had passed since the fight against the Abnormality Beast.

In the Encantasia Empire there was a gossip. It was a gossip about a mysterious young man veiled with a powerful black aura.

But the gossip wasn't just an ordinary gossip as there was a video to prove it.

Every concerned individual started to question his identity. But beside of him being a human, nothing about his information was easy to gather.

He's like a mirage of lies and truth. He appeared and disappeared from out of thin air.

In the Flamingo Town, inside the pub, a middle-age man was questioning the bartender for the same question that most tourists who visit the town would ask.

"Did you say that it happened several days ago?" Asked the middle-age man while pushing a pouch of silver coins towards the bartender.

The bartender made a squinted smile before opening his mouth. This kind of activity was a common deal if one needs an information. And there was no better place to gather information rather than the pub.

Most people in the town would come and go here, to eat and drinks together with their families and friends.

When the devilish effect of beer and rum started to turn their world upside down, everyone would start to bubble information from their uncontrolled mouths.

It was an early hour of the morning, and in this time of the day the pub wasn't as busy as it would be later.

Inside the pub, a middle-age man was sitting in front of the counter. He came here for a mission given to him from Her Majesty Empress Elleanna.

"Yes, kind sir. It happened not long ago. As you already heard, on the north of this town, there was supposed to be a cursed swamp..." the bartender noticed Mr. Sauro Browne was nodding his head.

He then started explaining of how the swamp called a Cursed-Swamp and that many lives lost in their.

"This town was used to be a small and lifeless town out of all the town in the empire; that wast still true until that person came and took care of the hiding monster in the deep of the swamp..."

"Do you mean someone defeated the high-ranking beast that lurking in the deeps of the swamp?" Sauro Browne asked with great ineterest.

"Yes, kind sir. In fact, no one know that it was the monster's doing that many of the townpeople had lost their lives in the whenever they came near it. The curse about the swamp was only put in light after it was taken care by that person," said the bartender.

"Can you tell me more about that person?" Sauro asked once again. But the bartender shook his head. This was the only information he could disclose. "I advice you to visit northern part or the Main Park of the town, kind sir," said the bartender.

Sauro decided to walk out of the pub and proceedes to the Central Park of the town. There he saw a huge painting. Although it wasn't as good as the painting painted by the popular Miss Ella, the painting was also a good sight. Probably, it was the main attraction of this town.

Manytourists came to see the painting; not because it was a perfectly drawn painting, but because the subject of the painting was what took their interest.

Like the other days, this day also, it was crowded by people. They came here together with their friends or families, and some even came alone. Many of the tourists took a picture with it as the background. 

"Excuse me! Excuse me...!" Sauro Browne made his way through the crowd of people. 

After coming in front of the painting his eyes widened in disbelief. Not only him, but also the others who came for the first time had similar reaction as him.

Most of the people who come here today is of the same reason. To prove if the hailed Mysterious Black Knight of Her Grace Htraerea was the same person as the mysterious youngman who save the soldiers and the guards from total annihilation against the Abnormality Beast.

As expected, everyone of them saw an identical black aura covering both of them. It only added more points to their hunch.

After seeing the painting, Sauro asked the townpeople who were currently in the area. About the Mysterious Black Knight.

But to no avail, everyone of them was telling him identical answers -- thst it was thanks to Her Grace Htraerea for sending her Valorous Black Knight to save the town from the curse.

Aside from it being called as Black Knight by the residence, he could not get much information regarding his identity.

However, here was a chance that they were the same person.

Hah! He sighed. "Looks like it's no good asking these people," he mumbled. 

He then decided to proceed to the northern part of the town.

Around this time, in the western part of the empire, Yman woke up from the sudden slammed of the wooden door of the stable.

He jolted up and glanced left to right just to see a beauty in her white dress and a white hat. She was standing near the door with an empty basket in her hand.

But,

KYAAAAAAHHHH!!!

"Why you are naked?!"

It was Rea.

<What? What? Enemy attack! Enemy attack!> Sistela who was supposedly in a sleep mode near his face, jumped and put a fighting stance while shouting.

Yman scratched the back of his head. "Good morning, Rea," he greeted casually.

"What are you doing!? Wear your clothes!" She yelled and shut the door with a loud bang.

He wondered what made her to cause a ruccus here in the early morning. But it looks like she just flustered after seeing him topless.

After putting on clothes, she started saying how neglectful he was as a bodyguard. He should be the one who woke up early than the person he was guarding.

"By the way, why are you in such attire?" He asked without minding her words.

"A-Ahem! I will be going to the little market to take the herbs I ordered recently. And also, weren't you looking for a good Synthesist? I know someone. I might as well reccomend him to you."

He remembered that he truly told her that he wanted to learn how to synthesize a medicine.

"I see. Then let's go?"