It was the same Pallum from earlier. As though he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world, he clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?!" The red-haired man, the most hot-blooded of the group, couldn't hold back. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the tavern's other adventurers. Cheers, whistles, and laughter echoed through the room as everyone eagerly waited to see where the entertainment would lead.
"Of course it's funny," the male Pallum looked at them mockingly. "Who wouldn't laugh? You actually said you wanted to catch up to Aurora Polaris. No matter how overconfident you are, there's got to be a limit." He deliberately raised his voice so the entire tavern could hear.
"Hey, did I hear that right?"
"Hahaha! That's hilarious!"
"As if anyone could do that!"
"Aurora Polaris isn't even human!"
"Who reaches Level 5 in three months?"
"Who defeats a Level 2 adventurer as an ordinary person?"
The tavern erupted into laughter. At the center of it all, the white-haired boy bit his lip. He knew he could never match that kind of record, but being denied and ridiculed in front of so many people still made him instinctively shrink back. He'd only said he wanted to reach Aurora's heels.
"Ha!" The red-haired man planted his hands on his hips. Completely unfazed by the crowd's ridicule, he laughed proudly and mocked the entire tavern in return, even including himself. "Of course, you people can't do it! You're all losers who can't even level up once in a year! But that doesn't mean Bell can't!"
"Bell? Bell Cranel?"
"The guy from the Hestia Familia that was in the newspaper the other day?"
"The one who reached Level 2 in just over a month? The fastest after Aurora?"
The adventurers who had been about to join in the ridicule immediately shut their mouths. Most of them were ordinary Level 1 adventurers; they weren't about to argue with someone who had already become a high-level adventurer.
Besides, Bell had genuine achievements to back him up. At that point, arguing would only invite humiliation.
"Thank you, Welf!" Bell looked gratefully at the red-haired young man.
"Tch." The Pallum's face darkened.
"Ha! Nothing to say now, huh?" Welf laughed triumphantly.
"Ah! Why'd you hit me?!" The Pallum's expression suddenly twisted. The next second, he dramatically threw himself backward onto the floor and shouted at Welf in an aggrieved voice.
"Huh? I didn't touch, " Welf stared blankly, completely confused.
Kid... you still haven't learned how deep the world's tricks can go, Ryoji thought to himself as he calmly continued eating his dinner.
Bang!
The instant the Pallum hit the floor, his companions moved like the wind. Before Welf could react, one of them drove a fist straight into his stomach.
"Urgh!"
"Welf!"
Bell's face changed as Welf dropped to one knee, clutching his abdomen with a pale face. Anger slowly rose in his eyes.
Just as he was about to stand, the chestnut-haired Pallum girl beside him hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Wait, Bell-sama!" She stared at the insignia on the four men's uniforms: a golden sun crossed by a bow. It was the symbol of the Apollo Familia.
Bell immediately froze. The Apollo Familia was one of Orario's overwhelmingly elite Familias. They possessed multiple high-level adventurers, and even their captain was a Level 3 second-class adventurer. The Hestia Familia was in no position to provoke an opponent like that.
"Hmph," the young man who had punched Welf looked down at them coldly. "So in the end... you're nothing but cowards."
The young man was quite handsome, but the way he looked at Bell was filled with undisguised hostility. His sharply raised eyes and arrogant expression ruined what would otherwise have been a pleasant face.
"Isn't that the Sun God's favorite?"
"The captain of the Apollo Familia! Level 3, Hyakinthos!"
"Oh? That's a big name."
The tavern instantly buzzed with discussion, gasps rising one after another. There were far too many famous people showing up here tonight.
"Hah! The Apollo Familia..." Welf slowly forced himself back to his feet, trembling as he flashed the handsome young man a fierce grin. "So what if you're from the Apollo Familia? I came from the Hephaestus Familia. Have I ever acted proud because of it?"
The Hephaestus Familia? Hyakinthos and the Pallum exchanged glances, both frowning. That was unquestionably one of Orario's top Familias, easily among the five strongest. Its captain was even a Level 5 first-class adventurer.
"Wait... isn't he Welf Crozzo?"
"The magic swordsmith who refuses to forge magic swords?"
"I heard he's practically an outcast in his own Familia."
Welf inwardly cursed. There were too many people here who recognized him, and his bluff had fallen apart immediately. It was true that he belonged to the Hephaestus Familia, but he wasn't particularly valued there.
His relationship with the other members was strained, and even if someone bullied him, there was no guarantee anyone would stand up for him.
"So you're just some useless low-ranking smith," Hyakinthos quietly relaxed, sneering again.
Crozzo? Ryoji's ears perked up. The famous Crozzo family of magic swordsmiths?
"Hahaha! Just as I thought, a bunch of cowards!" The Pallum finally relaxed and threw back his head in laughter. "Looking at you lot, I bet your patron god isn't anything special either. No authority. No dignity. Probably some third-rate nobody!"
"You...!" For an instant, Bell looked exactly like an enraged rabbit, his expression darkening as his fists clenched tightly.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind cut through the tavern. The Pallum's vision blurred as a silver flash shot past.
Hyakinthos's entire body tensed. Following the streak of light with his eyes, he saw a fork buried deep in the wall behind them, its handle still vibrating.
The entire tavern fell silent.
"W-Who was that?!" The Pallum yelped and hurriedly hid behind Hyakinthos.
"...Was that you?" Hyakinthos fixed his gaze on the black-cloaked figure seated at the neighboring table, his expression becoming extraordinarily wary.
"So it was you. You actually dared attack the Apollo Familia!" The Pallum shouted bravely from behind Hyakinthos, though his pale face betrayed how badly he'd been frightened after nearly taking a fork to the face. "Who are you? What Familia are you from? Are you looking to die?"
Every eye in the tavern turned toward the cloaked figure. Some quietly laughed at the fool reckless enough to provoke the Apollo Familia; others wondered just how strong this mysterious person must be if even Hyakinthos hadn't reacted in time. All kinds of expressions appeared throughout the room.
"You were just talking about me a moment ago." The black-cloaked figure remained seated, not even bothering to stand up.
"...Talking about you?" Hyakinthos frowned. "Hah! Don't flatter yourself. We're from one of Orario's top Familias. Why would we waste our time talking abou, "
The Pallum never finished his sentence. The cloaked figure across from them calmly reached up and pulled back his hood.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395