"Hahaha! You know what? Yesterday, I managed to sleep with that woman!"

"Really? Damn! How did you do it?"

"Hehehe! That’s a secret!"

"Have you heard that the Demon Emperor’s army has attacked the border?"

"Ugh! My head hurts! My debts are piling up everywhere!"

Inside that simple tavern, the voices of the customers could be heard clearly.

Nolan and Evalyn stepped inside and saw the unremarkable—almost shabby—interior.

The place was quite spacious, but a bit dirty. The floor was dusty, and the tables were starting to rot.

The pungent smell of alcohol filled every corner of the tavern.

"Welcome," greeted a waitress.

She was quite pretty, with brown hair braided into two plaits. She was petite, with slightly chubby cheeks.

Two words to describe her—cute and sweet.

"How many people would you like a table for?" she asked.

"One table for the two of us," Nolan replied calmly, holding Evalyn’s left hand.

Evalyn was startled but didn’t try to pull away. She remembered that Nolan had previously said their status in this world was that of a couple.

For some reason, she also recalled the scene on the ship as they were heading toward the Eastern Empire of Izanagi.

At that time, she and Nolan had also played the roles of a couple.

"Alright. Please follow me," the waitress said with a sweet smile.

She then led the two of them to the far end of the tavern, where there was a medium-sized table with two chairs facing each other.

It was the only table left, while the others were already filled with customers.

The waitress handed them the menu, and Nolan ordered some light snacks.

He then offered it to Evalyn, and she chose tea and a few light snacks as well.

Before traveling through time, she had already eaten the food Nolan gave her, so she still felt quite full.

The waitress took their order, then said, "Please wait a moment. Your order will be served in about ten minutes."

Both of them nodded. After she left, Nolan calmly looked around.

He could clearly hear the conversations of the people nearby. However, very few were discussing the war against the Demon Emperor and his forces.

’What’s really going on?’ Nolan whispered. ’Could it be that we’ve entered the wrong era? But that’s impossible. This is supposed to be the era where the heroes defeat the Demon Emperor.’

He was fairly certain of that. Earlier, he had overheard someone talking about the Demon Emperor near the gate.

But that person quickly changed the subject, so he didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation.

Suddenly, a soft voice came from behind him.

"Hey, I heard the Hero of Light managed to break through the Demon Emperor’s front lines. But he’s pretty badly injured."

"Really? Where did you hear that?"

"Hehe... My older brother is part of the hero’s army. He just returned yesterday from his mission and told me about it. But remember—this is a secret. If you let it slip, you’ll be beheaded!"

"That’s terrifying! I-I understand!"

Nolan was startled by the news. The Hero of Light was the title held by the Lionheart family’s ancestor, as he wielded the Divine Sword of Luminus.

Meanwhile, the Hero of Darkness was the title bestowed upon the Asbourne family’s ancestor.

Nolan hadn’t expected the Lionheart family’s ancestor to be injured in that battle.

Still, he knew this was the perfect opportunity.

He stood up and walked toward the two men.

Evalyn was startled by his actions. She was about to ask something, but held back when she saw where he was heading.

’Could he have already gotten the information?’ Evalyn wondered to herself.

"My brother said that—"

Before the man could finish speaking, Nolan was suddenly standing beside him, patting both him and his companion on the shoulder.

"Can you tell me about it?"

The two were surprised. They turned simultaneously and met Nolan’s purple eyes, whose pupils had transformed into symbols of a star and the sun.

Their expressions went blank instantly, as if their consciousness had been pulled away.

The man with the information nodded stiffly and replied flatly, "Yes, I can tell you."

Nolan smiled faintly and ordered, "Tell me everything immediately."

Fifteen minutes later...

Nolan returned to his seat with a calm expression.

"How about it? Did you get the news?"

Nolan was about to answer when the waitress came over, carrying their food.

"Here you go."

She placed it carefully on the table. Once everything was set down, she bowed her head and walked away.

Nolan picked up his food. He had ordered baked potatoes with tomato sauce. When he took a bite, he was slightly surprised.

"It’s pretty good," he whispered.

He chewed, swallowed, and then said, "I’ve got it. Your ancestor has been fighting against the Demon Emperor’s army and is currently injured."

Evalyn, who was sipping her tea, immediately choked. She stared at Nolan in disbelief and stammered, "I-Injured?"

Nolan nodded and explained everything in detail. Evalyn listened intently, and her expression gradually turned somber.

"Just how powerful are the Demon Emperor and his forces, then? Even my ancestor was defeated like that."

The Demon Emperor had always been described as an invincible figure. Many human kingdoms had already fallen at his hands.

One of them was the Ancient Kingdom of Eron, whose territory had shrunk to half its size and weakened significantly over the past thousand years.

Even so, Evalyn had always believed that her ancestor was incredibly strong and capable of easily defeating the Demon Emperor’s forces.

But now, the news that he was injured made her both sad and uncertain.

"Don’t worry too much. According to the story, your ancestor fought against thousands of demons and several of their powerful generals. So it’s only natural that he was injured. The most important thing is that his injuries aren’t fatal, and he’s still safe," Nolan reassured her.

The Demon Race in this era was much stronger than it would be a thousand years in the future.

This was evident in how they were wreaking havoc on human forces across the continent.

Regardless of the Demon Emperor’s presence, it was undeniable that members of the Demon Race also played a major role in that conquest.

Upon hearing this, Evalyn let out a sigh of relief and nodded weakly.

"You’re right. Sorry, I was a bit upset earlier," Evalyn apologized, lowering her head slightly.

Nolan smiled but said nothing. They didn’t leave immediately after receiving the information.

Instead, they enjoyed that brief moment of leisure. After all, an opportunity to return to the past like this wouldn’t come twice.

Half an hour later, the two decided to leave. Nolan left two gold coins on the table.

As it happened, the town of Norham was located within the western territory of the Great Velmora Empire.

Since the empire’s currency hadn’t changed much over the past thousand years, he felt it was fine to use money from the future.

Once the two left, the waitress who had served them immediately came over to clear the dirty plates and glasses.

But suddenly, her gaze was drawn to the two gold coins, and she picked them up.

"Huh? Gold coins?" She narrowed her eyes. Examining the unfamiliar engravings, she wondered, "Which kingdom do these gold coins belong to?"

No matter how hard she thought, she still couldn’t find an answer.

"I’ll have to ask Jack," she muttered.