This is more of a prologue, so it is fine to skip to the next chapter
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"Hey, have you heard of that lunatic roaming around the tower?" within the confines of a brightly lit, lively tavern, a man asked before he takes a large gulp of the beverage on the small, wooden barrel held in one of his hands, the scent of fermented malt permeating all throughout the air.
"Are you kidding me? Who hasn't heard of him yet?" Sitting across the table from the man who had just spoken, another person replied, the mocking look on his face making it clear that he was someone quite close to the person who had just asked the question.
"Are you talking about… that person?" from another table, another person seemingly interested in the conversation the pair of two is talking about, speaks, the light in their eyes showing complicated emotions towards whoever it is that the topic of their story is.
Given how this new figure seems to be quite agitated hearing this 'lunatic' in the tower though, their voice comes out a little louder, more than enough for it to become the center of attention despite the noisy surroundings due to the people laughing and horsing around.
"Hahaha, it seems that this friend here is also interested in that monster."
"Hey, don't speak like that, you know he doesn't like hearing anyone call him that, right?"
"What is he if not a monster, huh? You saw one time, don't tell me that's not an appropriate term for him?"
"I mean, yes… but still?"
"Besides, he's not even here right now, so don't worry too much about it, just enjoy your drinks, HAHAHA"
Hearing that someone within this tavern is clearly interested in that 'monster', people divert their topic towards this mysterious individual, most of their conversations clearly pointing out just how mysterious this person is, while some of them just straight out call him names that will make those who think too much wonder just what sort of existence this 'monster' or 'lunatic' is.
Among those who took interest in the topic, a man, standing near the center of this clearly drunk crowd, smiles as he fixes the hat perched upon his clearly messy head, an evident sign of that the already flushed face and the circling eyes, an effect of the drink clearly replacing the blood on his system already, a thing that will make any normal man nauseous if not knocked down already.
Yet despite all the alcohol in his system, the man neither cares about how nauseous he is feeling nor how much more alcohol is lined up in front of him, and with a smiling face, he grabs the neck of one bottle just right beside him, swings his head upwards and took a swig of whatever it is that is in that, some of the red liquid spilling due to how sloppy he drinks, yet even then, he continues until he finishes the entire bottle.
"That bard is at it again…"
"Why don't you try being silent for once? You know that guy knows that 'monster' all too well…"
"It's not like he's the kind to tell on us though…"
Seeing how the man easily finished a drink that will terrify even veterans like them, some of the older people in the tavern mutters under their breath as they watch in pity, seeing such precious alcohol being wasted on someone who couldn't even appreciate such a fine drink, only for their words to be silenced as this bard stood up from his seat, clearly trying to walk towards the person who expresses clear interest towards the 'lunatic'.
The keyword is 'trying' to walk, as every step he tries to take, the bard is guaranteed to always trip on nothing, his movements threatening to smash his face right into the cold, wooden floor of the tavern, yet despite all the likely chances that he might just fall and break his high nose bridge on the olden floor of the place, he managed to continue walking, albeit not in a straight fashion, until he reaches the area where the conversation about the 'lunatic' initially starts.
'Hmm? Now this is quite interesting, isn't it' as he stands right in front of the person, the bard saw all the things in their body concealing them, first the hooded cape that obscures their face completely, along with a tool that changes their voice somehow, all these things making him easily realize that whoever it is that is inquiring about that friend of his, they are clearly hiding their identity to the public, something that he often finds in common to the people interested in that 'lunatic'.
'My sworn brother, I can only help you so much…' he mutters to himself as he shakes his head, mostly in order to forget about those matters, yet it is somehow interpreted by the onlookers as him trying to clear his head from the influences of all the things he drank previously.
"Hoh… this friend here seems to be interested in him, and I'll tell you a good thing, that guy, is a good friend of mine… so tell me, do you want to hear some stories of that rumored 'lunatic'?" standing just right beside the caped person, the bard asked with an amiable tone on his voice, a voice that made the people who heard it quite captivated by it, despite the words coming out of his mouth mostly slurred due to the drinks he finished.
Hearing the offer from the seemingly unreliable bard, the caped individual can only shake their head underneath the obscurity of their clothes, a thing that is so subtle that they thought no one would notice them doing so, a mistake that made their interest in this drunk bard increase.
"Friend, don't shake your head too much without listening to my stories first…" the drunk bard said as he slouched upon an empty seat just right beside this obscured figure, pointing one of his fingers up as if he's correcting something, all while revealing an offended expression that is clearly practiced in the myriad of times already.
Hearing the words from the bard, the figure then decided to take their chances gathering any information they could from this seemingly unreliable fellow, and that is after a long deliberation within their own mind.
Reaching one of their hands towards their lower body, the obscured figure took out a small pouch that produces a pleasant, crisp metallic sound the moment that it hits the table in front of them, and with the experienced ears most of the people in this tavern have, they easily deducted just what sort of thing is inside that small pouch without even looking at it, with some of the ones who knows what is inside starts having their eyes glowing part in excitement, but mostly, greed.
"If you know any better, you're not going to try whatever it is that you're thinking right now~~~" hearing the coins, which he is certain is gold, in the small pouch that this figure had thrown, the bard said to no one in particular, the playfulness from his once tipsy voice now changing into one which is filled with serious, violent and danger filled threat, causing whatever greedy thoughts in the mind of the onlookers to dissolve like ice underneath the high sun.
'They're loaded, that amount of money for an information that they're not even sure of… and from that clearly high level materials for the cape, there are only so many guilds that is capable of producing them… besides, that eyes…' looking at the confidence of the obscured person despite clearly showing that he is someone worth risking life to rob, the bard starts to reduce the number of possible places this person might come from, still wondering whether this is an enemy or an ally of his good friend.
'They can only be from one of the seven, the legion perhaps, or maybe the witches…' as he looks at the small pouch of gold, the bard's mind starts to draw out conclusions that will shock the person sitting just beside him, as despite being slightly vague, his guesses are slowly, but surely encroaching and reaching the true identity of this person.
'Well, if it is them, then I guess there's no problem at all, hehe I heard that my good brother still has issues with that witch, this would be interesting to watch' reaching such conclusion, the drunk bard doesn't care anymore as he knows the situation between that witch and his sworn brother all too well, hence why he decided to tell this person some information about his good brother.
"Keep that money to yourself, lady…" the bard said with a genuine smile on his face as he pushed the pouch back near the obscured figure, who was shocked as she heard the way that the bard addressed her.
"How did you even—" getting more wary towards the bard, the figure got cut off as the bard started speaking once again.
"Trade secret, fair lady, would you rather interest yourself in that?" the bard asked with the same amiable smile on his face, causing the figure to shake her head, recovering and recalling what she came here for despite her initial surprise.
Seeing the lady nod, the bard then smiles as he claps his hands, a lute appearing out of nowhere as he makes himself comfortable, the once drunk, disheveled air around him changing into an unfettered, unruly one that seems to just pull everyone's eyes in.
"Now, where should I start… ah yes, we should start from the very top, exactly how that bastard told me how it all begins…"
The bard said with a smile on his face as he started playing the first note.