I showed the note to Sten.
And I explained that the riddle was about finding a person.
Since it was uncomfortable for both of us to keep using honorifics, and we were the same age, we decided to speak casually.
“How about it, Sten… I mean, Sten. Do you get anything from this?”
“To the one who wields the sword, shall be led. No matter how you look at it, this seems to mean the Sculpture of King David the Hero.”
But… Wing of the Wind, I don’t know about that.
“William, I think the first riddle is just that… The Wing of the Wind shall guide the one who wields the sword. This feels like a story about the Hero Party.”
Ohh… as expected, you really are a Bard.
“The moment I saw Wing of the Wind, I had a hunch. The Wing of the Wind is the name of the bow used by Hero Artemis. Artemis is said to be the one blessed by the Wind Spirit. Remember when we walked around the village earlier and saw a sculpture holding a bow? That’s Hero Artemis. And the one wielding the sword. That should refer to the Sculpture of David the King. Among the sculptures of heroes, he’s the only one holding a sword…”
Sten furrowed his brow in thought.
“I’ve solved the riddle.”
Sten took out his Note and Pen.
Then he started to draw a Map of Suksu Village.
The lines he drew formed a clear and easy-to-understand map of the village, as if he’d seen it all with his own eyes.
Sten marked the locations of the four sculptures with an X, and next to them, he began sketching the sculptures of David the King, Artemis, and the other heroes.
After a short while, four sculptures were drawn next to the marks on the map.
The drawings were simple but captured the characteristics well.
“Wow, Sten, you’re really good at drawing.”
Thanks to the detailed drawings, like marks on a treasure map, I could pinpoint the locations of David the King and Artemis exactly on the Map.
“To be honest… drawing is my hobby…”
Unlike when he sang before, his tone now was lively.
Then Sten drew a line between the sculpture holding the bow and the one holding the sword.
A single line connected the two sculptures.
“If you follow the direction Artemis is aiming her bow, a line connects straight to the King. Somewhere along this line, the next part of the riddle must be.”
Sten’s drawing skills were impressive, so it was easy to understand.
We set out immediately.
Arrived at the place where Artemis’s sculpture stood.
Just as in Sten’s drawing, the sculpture of Artemis was holding a bow.
We advanced from the sculpture toward the one holding the sword.
“William, look at that path.”
Halfway toward the sculpture, we saw an inn.
A familiar inn.
“Look at the name of the inn.”
On the signboard, it read, [Inn for Travelers].
The second riddle was:
[The Traveler shall drink a glass of Rum at the Shelter…]
Of course, the Shelter of the Traveler was the Inn for Travelers.
Having solved the first riddle, we’d found the second location.
And then…
“This is the place I stayed at yesterday…”
I had returned to the inn where I had checked out that morning.
Since it was around lunchtime, Sten and I decided to eat together.
“Oh my, sir. You left in the morning and came back? Will you be staying another day?”
“I’m not sure yet. For now, could we have two lunch sets, please?”
We ordered two lunch sets, similar to a set meal.
“And… Great Mother, please bring us two glasses of Rum as well.”
In this world, you can drink alcohol if you’re over fifteen, so I ordered Rum without hesitation.
“Oh my, you must have heard our Rum is famous.”
“Is the Rum here really that well known?”
“Of course! It’s a must-buy souvenir for tourists…”
Though this village was mostly poor, you couldn’t sense that at all in the inn. Maybe it was because the Rum was famous.
The kind Great Mother brought us two glasses of Rum along with our meal.
Sten and I each took a sip of the Rum.
It tasted like Flavorbird Rum, a Rum with added fruit, with a lime flavor and sweetness.
It tasted quite similar to a Mojito.
“This is delicious.”
“William, this is really good!”
We marveled as we drank the Rum.
“Hm… Even after ordering Rum, I don’t know how to solve the riddle…”
[The Traveler shall drink a glass of Rum at the Shelter.]
‘Maybe nothing’s happening because I ordered two glasses instead of just one…’
Well… since I had a glass, let’s just eat first.
“Sten, eat up. It’s my treat.”
“Thanks, William. I’ll enjoy the meal.”
I treated Sten to a meal for helping me solve the riddle.
The food, compared to the Rum, was ordinary.
Sten naturally took out a Pen and some paper, and started drawing the Rum.
“Sten, what are you doing?”
“I thought, maybe this is the drink the hero had… so I want to record it.”
“I see.”
We ordered another glass of Rum each, and leisurely drank.
It felt like we had become much closer.
“I don’t think singing is really for me.”
Even though there was no gold, the counseling began.
“Hmm… Sten, from what I’ve heard, that song sounded like something only a Demon race would sing.”
“I know. My singing is terrible… That’s why I only sang it when no one was around.”
“But I still heard it… By the way, does your Bless Family only perform with songs?”
“No. Bards are divided into many arts, depending on their jobs.”
“What else is there besides singing?”
“Writing… Any art form that tells a story except for writing is generally allowed. At first, only singing was considered an art. But any family member who pioneered a new art form gained great fame. Now, we have Singing Bard, Drama Bard, Recitation Bard, Puppetry Bard—those four main branches.”
“There are more fields than I thought…”
“But I’m not talented at anything else like I am at singing.”
With a sullen look, Sten took another sip of Rum.
“Sten, you’re good at drawing, aren’t you? Isn’t drawing considered a Bard’s art?”
“Drawing Bard is a great field, but… our family is a bit different. Like Dancer Bard, Instrumentalist Bard, and such, we don’t recognize arts that don’t have a story. We believe a Bard is, above all, a storyteller… But other families do recognize those arts as Bard’s as well.”
As expected from an old Noble House, they have clear rules.
Arts that convey a story together…
Sten took out a notebook from his leather bag.
“Want to see some of my drawings?”
I nodded, and Sten carefully opened his notebook.
Inside were drawings of various people.
One was swinging a sword, another was blocking a monster’s attack with a shield. There was even a beautiful woman casting fire magic.
“These drawings?”
“I imagined the appearances of several heroes and drew them. Actually, these are my favorite heroes.”
Sten’s eyes shone.
“Amazing.”
“I call these people the Demon Hunters. Though there are countless tales of heroes from countless countries during the war against the Demon King, if not for the eight heroes who defeated the Demon King on this continent, I don’t think peace would have come.”
“Demon Hunters—that’s a perfect title for these illustrations.”
It really brings to mind a group of superheroes.
“To be honest, I really, really like drawing.”
Though a bit lonely, Sten’s eyes shone brightly.
Sten really loved to draw.
And if there’s a story, he could even create a new Bard job.
Stories of the Hunters… Huh? Was there nothing like that in this world?
“Sten, sorry, but can I doodle on your drawing?”
Sten looked surprised but handed me the notebook.
Among the drawings was David the King, the hero.
I drew a big, round bubble on the upper part of David the King’s head.
“What’s that?”
“Haven’t you seen these? This is called a Speech Balloon.”
“A Speech Balloon?”
I drew a Speech Balloon, and inside it, I wrote:
[I fight for hope.]
This was the famous line from [Oath Beneath the Moonlight].
“That’s the famous line from Oath Beneath the Moonlight, right?”
As expected, Sten recognized the iconic scene right away.
“This is something called a Comic. It’s a way of telling a story through drawings and words. With this, you can use pictures to convey a story.”
Sten looked stunned, as if he’d been struck in the head, then muttered to himself.
“Comic… telling a story through both drawings and words.”
After thinking for a while, Sten spoke to me.
“This Comic thing… could it become a new art for our family?”
Definitely. It might be a first for this world, but on Earth, it’s a wildly loved art…
“What if you draw the heroes’ stories as Comics? Depict their various adventures as ‘manhwa’.”
Sten shouted, all excited.
“If I draw each of the eight heroes’ stories and then show them joining up to fight the Demon King as a Hero Party, wouldn’t that be even more amazing?”
“That’s a really cool idea…”
Drawing each hero’s story and then their tale as they join together… That’s awesome.
A Demon Hunter assembly!
“I need to get permission from the family right away. If they approve, I could draw as much as I want and raise the family’s honor too. Thank you, William.”
Sten almost ran out at once but then stopped and looked at me.
“Oh, I should help finish the riddle, shouldn’t I?”
Though Sten’s heart was already off in another field, he asked me.
I answered with a smile.
“I’ll solve the rest myself. It’s already a huge help that you solved everything with me up to now.”
Sten’s face lit up.
He must really want to start drawing what’s in his head.
Sten thanked me and was about to leave but paused again.
“William, what’s your goal in traveling?”
“My goal? Well… if I have to say, it’s to create my own amazing story here on the Yuras Continent.”
It’s a bit embarrassing to say I want to become a Hero myself.
But I can’t exactly say I want to become a Swordmage, Merchant King, or start a Startup…
Sten smiled and said,
“Then, if I get permission from my family, can we travel together someday?”
“Huh? But you’re going to be drawing Comics, aren’t you?”
“Well… If I’m with you, I might be able to create a new story, not just one that already exists. For a Bard, the best path is to walk alongside a new Hero.”
His answer, as if he saw me as a future Hero, made me smile widely too.
“I’d be honored. I haven’t started yet, but soon I’ll really begin. Join as my Companion when the time comes.”
“It’s a promise.”
Sten thanked me again and left the Shelter of the Traveler.
What a shame… If we’d met just a little later, I would’ve asked him to start a Startup with me.
But I haven’t even made the Merchant Group yet…
I have a feeling we’ll meet again soon…
***
Much later, on the Yuras Continent, Comics that tell stories through drawings and Speech Balloons were born.
The very first Comic artist and the father of Comics: Sten Bless.
His representative work was the hero stories made by the Bard Bless Family.
“In short, Bablestory.”
And Bablestory, which began with the stories of the famous heroes who were active in the Age of the Demon Tribe and the Era of Ten Kings, became a huge hit by depicting the heroes of a new era.
The protagonist of that Comic was William.
But William and Sten would not meet again until after William had started several Startups.
***
After Sten’s sudden departure, I was alone again.
“Great Mother, another glass of Rum, please.”
This was already my fifth glass of Rum.
Am I going to get drunk at this rate?
Though I was toughened by a lifetime of drinking, I was starting to feel tipsy…
Great Mother brought another glass of Rum, smiling.
“Is it really that good?”
“You’re the ‘Sailor at 2AM’, drinking so much in broad daylight… This drink tastes even better at dawn, you know.”
No, but it tastes great in broad daylight too… Wait, what did she just say?
“Great Mother, what’s ‘Sailor at 2AM’?”
“You didn’t even know the name while drinking it? That’s the name of the Rum you’re drinking. The owner of this inn used to be a sailor. He told me 2AM was the hardest time, and asked me to make him Rum. That’s how this Rum was created. It’s quite famous; a lot of tourists buy it as a souvenir.”
Great Mother winked at a man clearing the table—probably her husband, working with her.
“Sailor at 2AM… sailing in the 2 o’clock direction.”
The Yuras Continent, like Earth, uses the Euras Calendar, dividing a day into 24 hours and a year into 365 days.
And their clocks are the same as ours—twelve-hour circular clocks.
Which means if I sail in the 2 o’clock direction… no, if I head that way, I’ll reach my next destination.
I paid the bill, quickly gathered my things, and went outside.
Then I started walking toward the 2 o’clock direction.
A small forest appeared, and after a while, I found a beautiful white wooden building in the forest.
On the sign of the wooden building, the Nokdae pattern was engraved.
“The third riddle… Duty shall transform into the Dead Deer’s Horn…”
Nokdae has appeared! This is the third location.
“I’ve solved the second riddle too!”
I raised my arms and shouted.
Though it was just a tiny ant’s whisper…
By the end of lunch, I had finally found the target in the second clue.