"I see," Noah muttered almost completely unfazed by the man's words. It felt quite intriguing, however, that a town's head would have his daughter in the hands of bandits.
"Why hasn't there been any report to the royals or something?" Noah asked realizing how ignorant he was about the procedures to report a crime.
He had never required such since he had always had sufficient power to deal with people. Moreover, he had hardly been around the public or delved deep into the matters of politics and society.
"Unfortunately the bandit's head had informed the public that such actions would lead to the death of her and the other hostages," the barman explained shaking his head in pity.
"There are others?" Noah asked, a bit taken aback by that revelation.
"Yes. A bit more than fifty people actually. Some were taken as a result of the bandit's price not being met. They ask for a monthly tribute and each time the people have to gather money to pay them, but lately, the price for the lives of the hostages has increased."
"We are becoming unable to meet up to their demands, and fear is beginning to spread. But most people have relations with the hostages. Like I said we almost all know each other," the man continued heaving a sigh before dropping the cup and picking another one to begin cleaning.
'This is almost hilarious,' Noah commented inwardly. 'They are constantly being stolen from and there seems to be nothing they could do,' he shook his head inwardly. There was still much he didn't understand.
"How strong are these bandits?" Noah asked, he believed the issue had to stem from the power level, and the man's answer proved him right.
"Apparently the leader of the bandits is at the peak of the third tier, and he has two others in the higher stages and tens in the middle stage."
"It is rumored that there isn't a single tier 2 in their midst, making them a force to reckon with for a town such as us," the man explained and Noah could only nod in understanding.
The power level of that town was severely lacking to deal with a threat such as the bandits. But still, Noah wondered what deal had been made between the bandits and the town head.
At least the hostages should have been released, not retained. It's obvious that there would be no end to the requests if their precious people were still in the hands of the criminals.
"Is there a time frame in which the hostages will be released? I'm certain you understand that the request will continue if they keep the hostages within their hold," Noah voiced his thoughts and confusion about the matter.
The barkeeper furrowed his brows but nodded. "Yes, apparently one year was agreed. The bandits promised that no harm would come to our people during that time frame, and at its ending, our people will be released."
"It's been six months since they started."
"They come every two weeks displaying apparently most of the hostages, but they don't announce what time of the day they would come."
"So far they've kept their word but the increase in demands has begun to worry most of the people. I know because they usually spill their worries over these tables," the man swept his gaze on the tavern filled with chatter and laughter.
"They seem happy but great sadness dwells within most of them. There's not much they can do with their low power and being surrounded by lands filled with dangerous things."
"It truly is a sad situation," Noah commented meaning his words.
The bartender remained silent at Noah's words before bringing forth a small cup and filling it with beer. Beer that Noah would consider low quality. But it had a low concentration of mana so he could bear with it for a while before feeling the urge to puke.
"What is a fine man like you with power far above the average level looking for in a town like this?" The bald man asked more optimistic than before.
"Just traveling. I saw this place on the map and felt curious about its location," Noah revealed, rather genuinely, while sipping the beer and cringing. He had only tasted their food and it was above average. The beer wasn't. At least to him.
'It seems luxury life has made me soft,' Noah grimaced inwardly, but kept a soft smile on the outside, he had required removing his face mask to drink and had seen that move coming long before.
The barman seemed to be stunned by his appearance as he stood in shock for a few seconds before regaining his composure. Noah's face had also been seen by a few others and they almost couldn't stop staring.
"Now I understand why you have that on," the man commented, clearing his throat, still in a daze.
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Yes," Noah responded sipping a bit more from the cup while giving the outlook that he was satisfied with it.
"I honestly thought you had an ugly scar there or something," the bartender revealed with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"I can imagine," Noah nodded his head slightly, the both of them falling into silence.
"I am Diro, owner of this humble establishment," the bartender announced spreading his arms and catching the attention of those who had been focused on Noah's tall and nicely dressed figure.
"I am George, a traveler looking for interesting things," Noah announced with a soft smile and both of them fell into another long conversation, but to Noah's slight annoyance Diro introduced others to Noah.
He got their names and bits of their personalities in the hours of talks they engaged in. He even managed to learn certain rumors about the bandits since they seemed unable to stop talking about them.
All in all he managed to enjoy himself there even if he didn't like the crowd.
Noah eventually left late in the night, he had found a lodge at some point during his short tour of sorts in the town.
Although the place was run down it was sufficient for him.
Noah got settled on the bed ready to rest for the night when the sound of commotion could suddenly be heard.
In the span of minutes, the whole town seemed to be awake, and he was forced to check it out. He had heard loud voices coming from the entrance of the town, filled by an aura well into the third tier.
Noah had thought it was as a result of the guards, but stepping out of his lodge immediately brought the answer to him.
"Oh," he muttered sitting on top of a building and gazing at the entrance of the town which had a people gathered around there, and there were individuals dressed in odd uniforms.
"Today is the day they show up with the hostages," he muttered recalling Diro's words and the words of the guards at the gate earlier that day.
They were announcing something, and the people didn't seem to like it.
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