A New Day, Peculiar Rumors

Time passed quickly, and a new day had risen over Ivanov; the warm morning rays rapidly pushed away the darkness of the night, giving the entire town a welcoming and fresh atmosphere from the cool morning breeze.

The bustle had already started as many sounds could be heard from the outside, popular Centuarians Coaches, regular horse drove carriages, and even strangers mounted onto wild beasts roamed the streets as they went about their daily business.

This very scene painted the entirety of the town with a lively vibe, fitting for its fame across the entirety of Alvaria. By now, Marius and his family had already awoken; they cleaned themself up and assorted their items readying themselves to join the guests downstairs for dinner.

Marius gave Ria a light smile as Ria looked at him with her pure eyes showing rich affection, her face slightly reddish as she recalled their wild night. While it had been a while they bonded, they had let themselves loose in the hours prior, and luckily for the children, their antics were shrouded by Ria's soundproofing magic.

Marius held Ria's waist and spoke, "Let's go and eat; we'll need to finish our registration for this inn and find out some more details about that Royal Branch Academy. If possible, we can try and figure out how to enroll Grevlin..."

Having discussed this matter after their affairs last night, they had already decided that it was better to let Grevlin grow in a school, where he would have more knowledge of the world and its customs.

Ria smiled and replied, "Alright, dear, let's not keep up any time."

Little Rose, who was dressed adorably today, looked at Ria as she ran in an unsafe manner before standing directly before her. She then lifted her hands and spoke, "Mama, I'm hungry."

Ria worked loose of Marius's arms and stooped down before she picked up her daughter. She poked her cheek and replied, "Okay, okay, my Little Rosey, come, let's go eat."

Little Rose was excited as she clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Yay!"

Grevlin smiled at this as he followed along, leaving the two tiger cubs behind on the pillow; it seemed that they tend to sleep a lot more like other animals due to their infant growth phase.

As Marius and his family left the room and headed towards the stairs leading down to the inn's dining area, many others looked at them with strange looks.

However, most had their eyes fixed onto Ria, who had a charming radiance; her entire body was no different from a curse that could bewilder the spirit of too many souls.

At this moment, within the dining hall, a few personnel were chatting about a recent rumor, filling the entire inn with a strange atmosphere as others eavesdropped from a nearby corner table.

"Hiccup! I was right; those rumors were true."

A bony old man said, he was garbed in worn-out leather armor as he slammed his mug of liquor on the wooden table. His face and ears had a tinge of reddish, showing his drunken state of being.

"Huh? Are you sure about that? I don't like hearing false news, so you know better than to spout nonsense, you darn old drunkard," A muscular fellow said with a set of fierce-looking eyes.

The old drunkard hiccupped once more with his mouth drooling slightly, causing the muscular man to frown; he was about to lash out, but the bony man spoke once more.

"Hehe... yes, I'm sure, I've seen it with my own two eyes the conflict seething between those of the Wilborn's and the High Merchant Clans. Not only that, I've recently inquired news from the royal city."

After hearing those words, not only the muscular man but many others also looked at him in surprise as they didn't care about the Wilborn's. Instead, their eyes lit up when they heard the royal city.

"I don't care about the Wilborn's nor their conflicts, so tell me, drunkard, what's that rumor you heard about the royal capital?"

The inn grew even quieter as one could even hear a pin if it dropped; the drunkard smirked, seeing the change as he spoke again with eyes that seemed sober.

"While no official announcements have been made yet, I've heard that it has to do with the new talent in the palace. Yes, that very same fourth prince, even though young at the shy age of 10, because of his innate gifts, the Royal Knight Academy has decided to accept him earlier. In celebration of this, they're also going to be opening its doors to all branches early next year."

"What?"

"That's outrageous! Since when did the rules change! Is the recent born prince that much of a genius?"

The crowd burst out in alarm as they didn't believe the words of the old drunkard; they all knew full well how much those of the royal capital looked down upon the average cities talents, even more so for those in branch academies.

Heck, one would be hard-pressed to find talent from any branch academy that had successfully enrolled in the Royal Knight Academy; those who do so are typically the most incredible talents ever known or those from noble lineage.

"Crazy, just how talented is that royal talent for them to go so far," The muscular man said with surprise on his face.

The old drunkard also had similar thoughts as he, too, wondered about the current change. Still, unlike everyone else, the familiar middle-aged man who had observed Marius's family from last night made a sly smile as he sat between them.

The old drunkard and muscular man glanced at this fellow with an odd look as they wondered if he had gone mad. Looking at this man more carefully, one would notice that he wore fine under armor below refined cloth edged with a faded symbol of two swords crossed over.

He had an aquiline nose, angular shaped face with a trimmed beard, along with a scar across his lower lip, his messy black curly hair fell to the sides of his face. Looking at the corners of his eyes and a few other areas on his face, one would even notice traces of wrinkles, giving him a wise look.

As if the man didn't care about their stares, he looked towards the nearby window at the night scene with sharp eyes. By now, his mood shifted as if he had finally sobered from his prior manner.

"It's far more than you can both imagine... for a new era dawns upon us."

When the middle-aged man spoke, the muscular man felt strange as he looked into his eyes, filling a surge of dread due to the aura that now lingered onto his being.

'This crazy fellow, he's no joke either...' The muscular man thought as he gave him a good look before shifting his eyes elsewhere.

The old drunkard also had a similar line of thought; he snickered as he looked at his mug and prepared to drown himself drunk once more. But before he could even do so, his eyes narrowed as he turned towards the entrance of the inn.

Not only him, the muscular man and strange middle-aged man with a few others also shifted their eyes towards the stairway with pensive looks on their faces. Moments later, a new group entered the dining hall, a handsome and tall man with a bulky frame and a beautiful green-haired woman who held a lively child as another child followed at her side.

'Hmm, a family at this hour? Where did they come from?' The muscular man thought as he looked at them, a few others also had similar thoughts.

However, unlike them, the middle-aged man smiled as he recalled them from last night. He stared at Grevlin before looking at Marius as he pondered, 'My wait was worth it; I'll need to find a chance to speak with them.'