Jiuye didn’t care what anyone thought of him or whether they laughed at him. He just focused on eating his noodles. He was starving right now. First, he needed to fill his stomach.

Jiuye had lived pretty well on the way to Gran City. Whenever he got hungry, he could hunt some game to eat, and that wasn’t something you could have whenever you wanted. But even your favorite food would get tiresome if you ate it for every meal, day after day. And these weren’t even his favorite foods. Still, Jiuye was quite satisfied with this bowl of noodles, plain as they were, without a single seasoning.

He focused on his food, savoring a delicious meal he hadn’t had in ages—but he wasn’t idle on the other side, either. His mouth was busy, and so were his ears.

At the table right beside Jiuye, two burly men were still talking about “That Lord.”

Two years ago, people across the world suffered as the Demon Race ravaged their lands, leaving countless lives in ruin. Then, at that very moment, a mysterious person boldly stepped forward, defeated the Demon King, and rallied the warriors. Under his leadership, the Demon Race was driven back again and again, until they had no choice but to retreat to the Demon Realm.

After that battle, the mysterious person vanished, leaving behind only a legend. No one had seen his true face. No one knew his name or where he had gone. From then on, people everywhere agreed to call the mysterious figure “That Lord.”

In Jiuye’s eyes, Gran City really was too remote, with far too narrow a view of the world.

Jiuye wasn’t deliberately putting down the people of Gran City. It was just that he’d encountered too many “That Lords” on his way here. Almost every city seemed to have one.

Thinking back to what had happened at the city gate, even Jiuye couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, this time That Lord went deep into the mountains to wipe out some monsters, and he only took one attendant with him. He was practically on his own. All those Spirit Masters in the city couldn’t beat that monster, but That Lord took it down single-handedly. Just how strong do you think he is?” a fat man asked.

The skinny man beside him shook his head.

“Who knows? Anyone who can defeat the Demon King is no ordinary fighter. All you need to know is that That Lord is incredibly strong. If he hadn’t been here these past few months, who knows how many more people would’ve suffered? Long story short, he’s the guardian deity of Gran City.”

The fat man nodded and grinned. “You’re right. That Lord disappeared for two years, then showed up right here in Gran City. We’re really lucky to have him. With him around, there’s nothing left to worry about.”

The skinny man slurped up his noodles and said, “All right, all right. Let’s drop it and eat. We’ve still got things to do later.”

The skinny man’s build made the fat man think twice about saying more. He lowered his head and started eating.

Listening to their conversation, Jiuye said nothing. He simply went on enjoying his delicious meal.

The two men finished soon after, paid, and left.

Jiuye had finished his noodles too, but he couldn’t bring himself to abandon the broth as carelessly as those two had.

He sipped it slowly. Sitting here for a little while was a small chance to rest after the long, hard journey into the city.

Just as the young man was savoring the broth’s sweetness, a loud “smack!” rang out nearby, almost making him choke.

He lowered the bowl and turned to look. A new customer had taken the table where the fat man and the skinny man had been sitting.

Jiuye’s gaze first fell on the long sword lying quietly on the tabletop—the one that had just struck the table with a loud clack. Only then did he look up at its owner.

She was a girl who looked about his age. Her long pink hair was untied, falling freely over her shoulders and back, giving her a relaxed, comfortable look. Her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat narrow, lending her a more mature air. Her small, delicate lips were just the right shape, and her oval face made her features all the more charming.

Though the girl was sitting down, Jiuye could roughly tell that she was about 1.7 meters tall. That was quite tall for a girl. Her figure was shapely, adding to her charm.

From the distinctive red-and-white patterns on her clothes, it was easy to tell that she was a Spirit Master—and probably a high-ranking one.

The monsters that appeared in a remote little city like this were never very high-level. So what did it mean for a high-ranking Spirit Master to show up here? Perhaps something interesting would happen in Gran City over the next few days.

When the owner saw the katana, over a meter long, resting on the table, his expression shifted. He hurried over to greet her.

“Oh, hello there! What would you like to eat?”

The girl glanced at the wooden board with the menu written on it, standing off to one side.

“Could I get a bowl of beef noodles, but without the beef?”

Jiuye, sitting at the next table, froze. Why did that sound so familiar?

He turned and saw that the owner was looking at him with the exact same expression.

Feeling a little awkward, Jiuye lowered his head and went back to sipping his broth.

The owner gave the girl a broad grin.

“Of course, of course. Just a moment.”

After politely replying, the owner walked away.

Thinking of how respectfully the owner had treated her, Jiuye felt a little indignant. Why was he treating them so differently when they’d said the exact same thing? Was it just because the girl was pretty? If so, then he was handsome too!

Was Jiuye handsome? Of course he was. But the owner wasn’t into men. Besides, he hadn’t been looking at the girl’s face at all. It was the katana that had caught his attention.

Without giving it any more thought, the young man gulped down the rest of his broth, set all his copper coins on the table, and got up to leave.

Jiuye had no idea that, just as he turned to leave, the pink-haired girl glanced over at him.

Money can’t buy everything, but you can’t get by without it. Jiuye was a perfect example. He’d just spent his last few copper coins on noodles, and now he was completely broke. At this rate, he’d probably be sleeping on the street tonight.

Jiuye had spent so long out in the wilderness, and he’d finally made it to Gran City. Now he had no money for an inn. What a miserable situation. It felt like the heavens were playing a joke on him.

The young man crouched by the street, watching passersby with a bitter smile.

“Sigh. If only I’d charged people along the way. Then I wouldn’t have ended up like this. I’ve got to find a way to make some money.”

…