Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

After eating their food, they stepped out of the private room and left the restaurant.

Alaric turned around and looked at the restaurant’s signboard.

Mystic Cloud… Even her naming sense sounds mysterious.

“What’s wrong, my lord?” Elena’s voice drifted into his ears.

Alaric smiled faintly. “Maybe we will revisit this place so I want to remember its name.”

Elena didn’t think much of his response, but Hershey seemed to have noticed the look of curiosity in his eyes.

Alaric walked toward the carriage and made a ‘this way’ gesture. “Let us get going.”

The two ladies smiled and stepped inside the carriage.

The next moment, the group left and headed to the Garden of Roses.

Before they even arrived at their intended destination, they noticed an increase in the number of pedestrians. The road was also filled with carriages heading to the same location.

“It truly deserves to be one of the best tourist attractions in the empire,” Alaric remarked as he looked at the drove of people walking along the streets.

The two ladies nodded in agreement.

Soon, they reached the end of the road which was also the entrance to the Garden of Roses.

Alaric sensed the presence of many powerful warriors in the vicinity. He even discovered an Elite Knight roaming around, ensuring the safety of the visitors.

It looks like the officials of Vale put a lot of effort into maintaining the security here. There are also warriors from Lord Argus’ household.

The security was very tight. There were warriors patrolling in pairs every hundred meters. With the security of the place, even a big criminal organization would think twice before attacking this place.

Alaric didn’t bring the rest of the escort team inside the Garden of Roses. He only brought Galanar and left the others at the entrance to wait for them.

Galanar didn’t stay close to them. He followed them at a certain distance, just enough for him to react if something unexpected happened.

“So this is the Garden of Roses…” Elena’s eyes widened when he saw the vast expanse of colorful roses. It was so vast that she couldn’t see the end of it.

“From what I know, the first owner of this garden was from a common family.”

Hershey, the walking encyclopedia, displayed her knowledge once more.

“He planted ten thousand roses on the barren land near his home in memory of his late wife. The officials of the city were moved by his story so they allowed him to use the barren land to plant more roses for his wife, which he did. As the years went by, the number of roses grew to a hundred thousand…”

Alaric and Elena were engrossed by the story. The man’s story made them realize that love could truly make someone do even the most impossible things.

“When the man died, his children continued his legacy. They turned the flower garden created by their father into a tourist spot… and that was how the Garden of Roses came to be.” Hershey smiled after telling them this story.

“Who owns the garden now?” Alaric asked.

Hershey glanced at him and replied. “The garden is still owned by the original owner’s family. The one who manages everything is his great-grandson, a man named…”

Alaric and Elena asked her a few more questions which she answered one by one.

“How did you know all this information, my lady?” Elena stared at her with awe. Hershey was the next person she admired after Alaric.

Looking at Elena’s curious face, Hershey felt the urge to pinch her cheeks. “I have read about it in a book. If you want, I can give you that book.”

Teary-eyed, Elena rubbed her burning cheeks. “Ow! Ow!”

While chuckling, Hershey patted Elena’s head. “How about we read it together?”

“Really?” Elena’s eyes lit up. She wanted to be a knowledgeable lady like Hershey so she was excited to hear this.

“Of course!”

Unknowingly, Alaric became a backdrop. He intentionally slowed down his pace, but the two ladies didn’t even notice.

With an awkward smile, Alaric shook his head.

I am happy to see them getting along, but why do I feel like I am not needed here?

Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but laugh in amusement.

The trio spent almost five hours touring the Garden of Roses and they only left when the sky was about to turn dark.

Since it was already nighttime, the group decided to find a nearby inn. Coincidentally, they found a suitable accommodation near the restaurant called ‘Mystic Cloud’.

The inn they found was only a few blocks away from the restaurant which made it convenient since Alaric wanted to have dinner there.

When Alaric’s group arrived at the restaurant, the staff were startled. They didn’t expect them to return for dinner.

Alaric booked the same private room, but this time, they ordered a different batch of dishes.

A moment later, the staff came to the private room to serve their food. Surprisingly, the restaurant manager came with them.

It was a middle-aged woman dressed in common attire. She didn’t look impressive at first glance, but Alaric felt that there was something unusual about her.

“My lord, I apologize for not greeting you so soon. I am the manager of this restaurant. You can just call me Barbara.” The middle-aged restaurant manager bowed after introducing herself.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric exchanged greetings with Barbara while secretly using his Appraisal trait on her.

Linda Barnaley [Transcendent Knight] EXP: 3721/5000

Potential: B

Traits: Close Combat (A), Horseback Riding (A), Hunting (A), Tracking (A), Disguise (S), Assassination (A), Camouflage (B), Torture (B), Chain Mastery (S)

Strength: 237

Stamina: 222

Agility: 250

Vitality: 160

Endurance: 150

Mana: 176

Barbara? Who do you think you are trying to fool here?

Alaric was alarmed when he saw her attributes and traits. All her traits were focused on assassination and she also had a strange weapon choice.

There is actually someone who uses chains as a weapon?

Alaric was stunned by her unusual weapon choice, but what made him even more surprised was her high mastery of this weapon.

Linda Barnaley… Who the hell is this woman?!

Alaric tried to remember all the warriors in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard, but he couldn’t remember anyone with the same name as her.

How is this possible?!

The imperial family was the one who managed the ranking in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard. They had a huge network of information and practically everything that happened in the empire was reported to them. Then, how did this woman remain undiscovered all this time?

Disguise… It must be this trait…

Alaric tried to remain calm as he interacted with the restaurant manager. The only thing that made him feel safe was Galanar’s presence. If he wasn’t here, Alaric wouldn’t have dared to have a casual conversation with this suspicious woman.

Alaric took a subtle glance at Galanar and saw that he was staring intently at the middle-aged woman.

Galanar must have sensed her strength too.

Alaric took a deep breath.

If she is hiding her identity, why did she come out to see me and risk exposing herself?

Alaric had so many questions, but he knew that it wasn’t the right time to ask.

While he was immersed in his thoughts, the restaurant manager handed him a jade box. “This is a gift from the owner, my lord. She wanted to give it to you in person, but she is occupied by some matters so she asked me to send it to you instead.”

Alaric was taken aback. He absentmindedly took the jade box. He only regained his senses when he saw what was inside.

“This is!”

Inside the jade box was an intricately crafted piece of jewelry. It was a bracelet meticulously decorated with many valuable gemstones. Furthermore, Alaric also discovered that it was a relic-level item engraved with an ability!

Upon seeing the look of surprise on his face, the middle-aged woman chuckled. “You have guessed it right, my lord. That is a relic engraved with a healing ability.”

Alaric and Hershey were shocked, while Elena revealed a look of confusion.

“This is too valuable! How could I accept this gift?” Alaric suddenly felt the bracelet getting heavier in his hand.

Why would a stranger give him a relic? Was it to bootlick him?

No!

Alaric wasn’t foolish enough to believe that it was the case. He felt that there was an underlying reason, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

The middle-aged woman who had introduced herself as the restaurant owner waved her hand anxiously.

“Please accept it, my lord! Otherwise, the owner might punish me…” She revealed a troubled look.

Alaric was almost convinced by her acting. If he hadn’t seen her attributes, he might have been fooled by her.

“Then can you tell who she is?” He probed.

The restaurant manager’s face suddenly turned serious. She stared deeply at him and shook her head. “I cannot answer that, my lord. Please forgive me.”

Alaric frowned.

What is going on here?