Chapter 540: The Lion’s Gauntlet

Adam set his cup down and rose from his seat.

"I’ll go gather some information."

Sylphy, who was busy stuffing another piece of cake into her mouth, glanced at him.

"Huh? Wasn’t that enough already? We’re only going to the temple, right? Besides, I still remember what the inside looks like!"

Sylphy shot him a sharp glare, clearly offended that Adam seemed to doubt her usefulness.

Adam glanced at the tiny spirit.

"This is about something else."

"Something else?"

"Something that might be worth knowing before we leave."

Without explaining further, Adam turned toward the table where the earlier conversation had taken place.

Azrynn watched him go, then took a small sip of her drink. She seemed curious about the rumor as well, although she made no move to follow him.

Adam approached the group with a relaxed smile, as though he had simply noticed some acquaintances and wanted to join their conversation.

"Mind if I sit here for a moment?"

The men looked up at him. Their expressions suggested that they weren’t particularly interested in entertaining a stranger, especially one who had interrupted their discussion.

"Do we know you?" one of them asked.

"Not yet." Adam pulled out a chair anyway, then placed a silver coin on the table. "But perhaps we can change that. I happened to overhear your conversation about the Seven Deadly Sins Artifact of Greed. I’d like to hear more about it."

The atmosphere changed almost immediately.

The man who had originally shared the rumor reached for the coin, while the others leaned forward with renewed interest.

"Well, why didn’t you say so earlier?" one of the men said, suddenly wearing a knowing smile. "You’ve come to the right place. We know quite a bit about these things."

"Really?" Adam asked pleasantly.

"Of course! An artifact of that caliber isn’t something you hear about every day."

Another man quickly interrupted.

"Don’t listen to him. I know far more about the Seven Deadly Sins than he does. They’re ancient relics, each possessing powers that ordinary magic items can’t compare to."

"That’s exactly what I was about to say!"

"No, you weren’t!"

Their earlier dismissal of the rumor had mysteriously transformed into a competition over who knew the most about the subject.

Adam kept his smile in place.

’People really do become experts the moment there’s a silver coin involved.’

He let them argue for a little while before turning to the man who had first mentioned the rumor.

"You were the one who brought it up, weren’t you? I’d rather hear what you actually know than listen to everyone else’s bullshit."

The man seemed pleased to have his credibility restored. He shot an irritated glance at the others before leaning closer to Adam.

"Well, if you want the original story, I heard it from a merchant who recently arrived in Ferrund. According to him, a man named Lento Roman is supposed to participate in the tournament."

"Lento Roman?" Adam repeated.

"That’s right. If I remember correctly, he’s a lion beastman."

The name was unfamiliar to Adam, but the description immediately gave him something to work with.

"A lion beastman who possesses the Artifact of Greed," Adam mused. "And what does the artifact look like?"

"It’s supposed to be a gauntlet," the man replied. "A magical gauntlet with some kind of special power. I think its name was... Nemean Cestus."

He scratched his cheek, looking less certain now that he had to provide specific details.

"At least, that’s what I heard. I can’t guarantee the name is correct, and I certainly haven’t seen the thing myself."

One of the other men scoffed.

"See? He’s just repeating a merchant’s story. For all we know, this Lento Roman doesn’t even exist!"

"Shut up! I never said it was confirmed!"

"And yet you were the one shouting about it earlier!"

Their argument resumed, with the original storyteller growing increasingly irritated.

Adam ignored the bickering and considered the information he had received.

There was no guarantee that any of it was true. The name of the artifact could have been distorted through several retellings, and the merchant might have confused an ordinary magical item with one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Still, the details were specific enough to warrant further investigation.

"One more question," Adam said. "Did the merchant mention why this Lento Roman was coming to Ferrund?"

The man shook his head.

"No. Just that he was supposedly going to participate in the tournament. That’s all I’ve got."

"I see. Thanks for the information."

Adam slid another small coin across the table before standing.

The man’s irritation vanished as he pocketed the payment, while the others watched Adam with newfound interest, apparently wondering whether they could squeeze a few more coins out of him.

Adam had no intention of indulging them.

He returned to his original table, where Azrynn looked at him expectantly.

"Did you learn anything useful?"

"Maybe." Adam pulled out his chair and sat down. "There’s a rumor about a lion beastman named Lento Roman who supposedly possesses the Artifact of Greed. Apparently, he’s coming to participate in the tournament."

Azrynn rested her chin on one hand, her cheeks already tinged with a faint blush from the alcohol.

"So... are we going to check it out?" she asked.

"No."

Adam answered without hesitation.

"We have a more important objective. Let’s focus on finding the temple first."

Azrynn tilted her head, seemingly considering his words with great seriousness.

"But... it could be interesting..."

"Azrynn, are you drunk?"

"I’m not drunk."

Her answer came almost immediately, but the redness spreading across her cheeks made her denial considerably less convincing.

Adam stared at her for a moment.

"Didn’t I tell you not to drink too much?"

"I only had a little..."

"Then why are you talking like that?"

"Like... what?"

She blinked at him, her expression unusually vacant. Then she seemed to remember something and nodded to herself.

"Ah, yes. I understand..."

Adam was confused by what she said.

Azrynn continued staring at him.

"...Understand what?" Adam asked.

"Hmm..."

She appeared to be searching for an answer somewhere deep within her thoughts, but whatever she found must have been rather fascinating, because she suddenly smiled to herself.

Adam let out a long sigh.

He had expected Azrynn to handle a little better than this, especially after she had insisted that she could manage it. Apparently, her confidence had been considerably stronger than her tolerance.

As he was contemplating how to get her back to their original plan, Adam noticed something else.

The little spirit who had been enthusiastically devouring pastries earlier was now floating beside the table with her eyes half-closed. Her movements had become sluggish, and she was occasionally nodding off in midair.

"Sylphy?"

"Hmm...? What...?"

"Are you sleepy?"

"No... I’m not sleepy..."

She yawned in the middle of her denial.

Adam glanced at the empty plates scattered across the table.

’She ate enough to feed a small family. I suppose even a spirit needs a nap after that.’

With Azrynn barely able to hold a coherent conversation and Sylphy on the verge of falling asleep, continuing their journey tonight was out of the question.

"All right. We’re finding an inn first."

Azrynn raised her head.

"An... inn?"

"Yes. Somewhere you can sleep off the alcohol."

"I’m not drunk..."

Adam didn’t bother arguing further.

He carefully lifted the drowsy Sylphy and slipped her into the pocket of his outer garment. The little spirit barely protested, curling up inside with a sleepy murmur before promptly closing her eyes.

At least she was quiet now.

Azrynn, however, presented a slightly more complicated problem.

Adam helped her stand, supporting her by the arm as they left the bar. She managed a few steps on her own, but her balance wavered enough that he had to steady her before she stumbled.

He looked down at her.

"Azrynn, are you still conscious?"

"Of course..."

"Then tell me what we’re doing."

She looked up at him with her eyes, which seemed a little unfocused beneath her flushed expression.

"We’re... going to..."

Adam waited patiently.

Azrynn’s lips moved as she struggled to form the rest of the sentence.

"...Somewhere."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"That’s right. Somewhere. Very impressive."

Azrynn seemed satisfied with his response and leaned a little closer to him as they continued down the street.

Adam adjusted his grip to keep her steady.

"Honestly, you’re lucky you’re pretty."

"Hmm...? What was that?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

Despite his complaints, he kept his pace slow enough for her to walk comfortably. The streets of Ferrund remained busy, with merchants packing away their goods and adventurers gathering in groups to discuss the upcoming tournament. Finding an inn shouldn’t have been difficult.

However, after they had walked for several minutes, Adam noticed something unusual.

’Someone’s following us.’

He had noticed the presence a little earlier, but the crowds had made it difficult to determine whether it was coincidence or deliberate surveillance. Now that they were moving through a less crowded part of the city, the pattern had become clearer.

He continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Rather than heading toward the busier streets where they were more likely to attract attention, Adam turned down a narrow side road. He passed between two buildings, then took another turn into a quieter passageway.

The footsteps followed.

A faint smile touched his lips.

’So they really are after us.’

Adam kept walking until the passage opened into a dim alley, its entrance partially obscured by stacked crates and the shadow of a nearby building. The noise of the main street faded behind them, leaving only the distant murmur of the city.

He stopped near the far end of the alley and gently steadied Azrynn.

"Wait here for a moment."

"Hmm...? Why...?"

"Just stay still."

Azrynn blinked up at him, then nodded with exaggerated seriousness.

"Okay..."

Adam turned toward the entrance.

A few seconds passed.

Then several figures appeared at the other end of the passage, their silhouettes emerging from the shadows as they blocked the way back.

Adam’s faint smile remained.

"Well," he said casually, "since you’ve followed us all this way, I assume you have something you want to discuss."

He shifted his stance slightly, placing himself between the strangers and Azrynn.

"Why don’t we get straight to the point?"