012. Alice

Sunlight entered through a large hole in the wooden wall, shining on the face of a young woman that sleep on the old wooden floor.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked around with her green emerald eyes. Her slightly shabby skin did not fade the beauty of her white skin. 

She looked at herself wearing only a simple tunic shirt that extended to an inch above her knees. She looked to the side and found a set of armor leaning neatly against the wall as well as the long tunic pants folded right beside it. 

There was no one around the area where she was staying for the night. An old hut with worn out furniture and lots of cobwebs. She stood up and stretched a little. Although he was only wearing a tunic shirt, it was long enough to cover his lower half. 

She put on her pants quickly followed by her armor, complete with sword and combat helmet.

"Time to move on," said the woman stepping out of the hut.

Her name is Alice and she was ready to go on her journey, meeting the hero who had killed the Demon lord.

Alice walked through the rivers, hills, and some fields. She walked without stopping until the sun was directly overhead and the shadows were directly in the center. Not long after, she saw a small town.

Alice was greeted by a human head stuck on a wooden peg. She covered her nose and mouth because of the strong smell of carrion. As she walked past several buildings, all she saw were inns, brothels, blacksmith, and coffin sellers. 

At the end of the street, there was one building that was 3 times larger than the rest. It was a 3-story bar and was the only bar there. Alice walked into the bar and found many men wearing armor. There were also several men who were not wearing armor, but had several swords or knifes attached to their waists. 

All activity suddenly stopped and everyone stared at Alice who walked towards the bartender. All of them were in a state of readiness and holding the hilt of their swords. Alice sat on an empty seat and looked at the woman in front of her who looked to be in her late twenties.

Her hair was long and black, she always had a faint smile ever since Alice stepped into the bar. Her body shape was well-proportioned except for her breasts which were much larger than this armored woman.

"Can I help you?" asked the woman who was the bartender of the place. 

Alice took off her helmet and shook her hair slightly in the heat. She placed her helmet beside the chair then looked at the bartender with relief.

"What kind of food you got here?" asked Alice.

"Ara ara, this is very rare. A female knight. Anyway, as for food, we have potato soup and pumpkin pie. I highly recommend trying the pumpkin pie because it's very sweet." The bartender replied a little surprised at first.

"Alright then. Bring 5 plates of them and the water too."

"Alright, coming right away." The bartender walked to the back and told a woman to cook the order.

Meanwhile, a few men approached Alice and one of them tried to grab the blonde girl's face.

"Get your filthy hands off me." Alice brushed off the man's hand.

"Woah, so cold. Come on lady, I know you want it too," the man said with a slight chuckle.

Alice had been mobbed and everyone was looking at the woman while chuckling. All of them had the same thoughts and make Alice disgusted even more.

When one of the men tried to hug Alice, she knocked him away and simultaneously all the swords were pointed at Alice's neck.

"Don't be naughty like that, sweet lady," one of the men said with a small chuckle.

Alice's hand already grabbed the hilt of her sword and was ready to cut down all the lecherous men in front of her.

"Ekhem, if you want to make a scene, please don't do it in here," the female bartender admonished with a smile on her face.

"Tsk, okay, Ma'am Nala."

Everyone immediately lowered their weapons and returned to their tables. Alice was surprised by their reaction and immediately looked at the bartender.

"Who exactly are you?" Alice asked curiously.

"I'm just an ordinary woman who happens to run this place," Nala replied with her trademark thin smile.

Although still in disbelieve, Alice decided to go with the flow and started chatting with Nala.

"By the way, what made you come here?" asked Nala a little curious because someone like Alice shouldn't be in a place like this.

"I'm just stopping by temporarily before continuing my journey."

"Oh, something like that. But I'm amazed a royal knight would stop at a place like this."

"I'm not a royal knight. Despite looking like this, I'm not part of the kingdom."

"Ara... Ara... it's even more interesting than I expected. Would you like to have a glass of beer? It's on the house."

"No, thank you. True knights only drink water."

Nala chuckled slightly for a few moments before returning to her usual expression.

"You're even more interesting than I thought, so, what's the purpose of your trip? I'm sure it must be something related to justice. Right?" asked Nala as she rested her chin on both of her hands.

"I want to meet the heroes. I believe they've defeated the Demon lord already and are on their way home."

Suddenly laughter filled the room. All the men in the bar burst out laughing.

"What? Heroes are on their way home?" shouted one of the men who fell to the floor from laughing.

"Hahahaha! Keep dreaming."

"Ma'am Nala, this one is very good as a clown."

"Turns out girls can be funny too."

Hearing the insults and laughter, Alice immediately pulled the sword from the sheath and pointed it at the entire bar.

"If you dare insult Shouji, I'll cut out your tongues!" Alice shouted with her face flushed with rage.

"It seems like this little lady doesn't understand at all. Haven't you ever heard the hero's curse?" asked one of the men sitting casually drinking his beer.

"Hero's curse? What nonsense is that?!" Alice shouted with more anger.

"Since the first hero, no one has been strong enough to defeat the Demon lord and return alive. All of them died together with the Demon lord. They are not that strong. Including the hero of this time."

"Enough! I don't want to hear this insult anymore! Shut up!"

"If I don't want to shut up, what do you want? Little girl." said the man standing up while holding the sword and simultaneously the whole men in the bar did the same.

A bluff or a challenge? It doesn't matter anymore. To Alice, all the men in front of her right now needed to be taught a lesson.

"I'll fight you all, you depraved cowardly bastards!"

Nala clapped her hands once then raised her voice slightly, "No one fights in the bar."

"Let's settle this outside," said one of the men who walked out followed by all the other men.

"Are you sure it's okay? You might be get killed," Nala said a little worried.

Alice just smiled. "Of course I'll be fine. After all, I am the descendant of the first hero."