Back in his homeland

Ace appeared on the outskirts of the New Wheats village in a flash of pale blue light.

"..."

He raised his hand, looking at the deep-blue bracelet around his wrist with an apologetic expression.

"I went way too far… I didn't think Laz would get that worried… I will have to apologize properly when I get back to the Academy."

Ace muttered to himself while moving ahead, not entering the village but rather walking around it at a brisk pace.

"Hey, you! Youngster!"

"...?"

He thought he was in the clear, making his way onto the mountain road out of the village, when someone called out to him.

"Yes?"

Ace asked, looking at the old man sitting in an open widow of an old hut that stood right by the crude palisade.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Those aren't exactly my parts, no."

The man squinted his eyes at him and asked, to which the green-haired young man shrugged his shoulders and admitted.

"Going around looking for a job, eh? I bet you don't get many friendly gazes with that hair."

The old man pointed out with an insightful smirk.

"My hair is the problem…?"

"Phaha! Of course! It's similar to the hair of that brat from the family of traitors who sold out to Diamondium! You have hair like the Diamondium's puppet on Silveria's throne!"

Ace asked, and the old man snickered back at him for being so dense.

"Adonis family, ptfu! Those traitors fabricated some dirt on the previous consul - bless him, the man actually cared for our people - and then paid a hefty sum to the new one, a blasted tyrant of a lustful pig that one, to get the title of the King for their brat! And under some idiotic pretense of helping calm down the citizens' unrest! As if anyone cared what Diamondium's puppet is called, Prince, King, or even god itself!"

"..."

The old man spat to the side and started ranting on and on, but Ace didn't walk away, which clearly encouraged him.

"I've heard another version… but still, everyone knows that story. But isn't that guy kind of useful? I've heard he goes around catching bandits and all."

Ace let out a sigh and pointed out, not even trying to correct some blatant fabrications.

"Pha! Who do you think he catches them for?! Diamondium kingdom! It's an attack against the people of Silveria dressed up as heroism! But everyone with a bit of brain and good ears knows what is really going on!"

"Hold on. How is catching bandits alive aimed against the people of Silveria?"

The old man scoffed and waved his hand at the green-haired youth, making him flinch and ask in disbelief.

"How, you ask? Those bastards stationed in our cities and towns imprison only the citizens of Silveria, who had no other choice but to resort to banditry because of the abhorrent taxes established by the new consul! The real bastards who came thieving from Diamondium get released and return to terrorize us!"

"WHAT?!"

The old man laughed, and Ace couldn't stop himself but raised his voice at the outrageous revelation.

Although he quickly shook his head, being reminded that a chunk of the information the old man had was untrue, meaning that the last part had a pretty good chance of being false, too.

"Speaking of which, you're going to see the ruins of the ancient Draconid's city, aren't you?"

The old man asked, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly changing the subject.

"I do. Everyone in Silveria needs to see the ancient ruins at least once, and all of that talk… but why did you say speaking of which…?"

Ace raised his hand and waved it dismissively, stopping himself from rolling his eyes and repeating the catchphrase that his own family came up with to boost the popularity of the otherwise rural region before inquiring.

"Why? Because those blasted bunch of freed scum holed themselves up in there! The travelers who escaped alive tried reporting it to the local guards, but those lousy bastards on Diamondium's payroll can only twiddle their thumbs and look away! I can bet my house that the bandits will come down to raid our village any day now! Anyway, do not go there if you value your life. Those ruins aren't going anywhere. Come back another time."

The old man scoffed and raised his voice, angrily slamming his fist against the windowsill.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind."

"You're a smart lad, after all. Oh, and do cover your hair if you are going to stop by the tavern. Local lumberjacks take things too far after a couple of drinks and even beat up some traveling merchant with slightly greenish blond hair last time."

Ace nodded and turned right around, which made the old man nod with a satisfied smile before giving one last piece of advice.

"...I didn't even need another reason to check out the ruins, but might as well…"

Ace muttered to himself, putting on his hood and sneaking around the old man's hut and into the bushes by the road, from where he took a slightly roundabout path used by local hunters.

It wasn't his first time in the village nor in the ruins, and he knew his way around quite well.

He even recalled seeing the old man in the past, although, in his memories, the man's hair was only beginning to turn gray.

Either way, Ace took out his golden dagger just in case and made his way to the site of the ancient Draconids' city.

And there it was.

Hugging the side of the highest mountain in the region, despite the site being described as the ruins of the ancient Draconid's city, the actual size of it was rather that of an average village.

There were some tunnels underneath it, but multiple digging attempts proved it not to be anything on a grand scale.

Funnily enough, over a decade prior, it was none other than Ace who discovered that there were any tunnels at all. However, some would argue that slipping and falling into a passage miraculously opened by a thunderstrike shouldn't be counted as discovery.

Nevertheless, as someone from a family that invested copious amounts of money in turning the area into a tourist attraction just for them to be later banned from visiting by the decision of the consul, Ace knew his way around.

That's why he knew where the best positions for guards and sentinels should be stationed in case someone did take over the site - and lo and behold, a few sneaky peeks through the bushes by the hunter's path proved him correct.