Return of the Fallen Nobleman With an SSS-Rank Talent-Chapter 79: Is the princess in this city?

After an hour and a half, as the murmur of the crowd gradually grew into a constant buzz, the carriage came to a stop with a faint creak of wood and the weary squeak of the wheels.

Adam opened his eyes lazily, his brow slightly furrowed. Sleep still weighed on his mind, vague yet unsettling, as if something within him refused to fade away completely.

He blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the light filtering through the cracks in the carriage.

Then...

The sounds of the city hit him all at once.

The shouts of vendors hawking their wares, voices overlapping in a chaos that was hard to follow.

The patter of footsteps on stone.

The scraping of boxes.

Laughter, arguments, haggling.

The salty smell of the sea mingled with hot food, intense spices, and coal smoke—heavy, almost sticky in the air.

Bretan.

Adam stepped down from the carriage calmly, setting first one foot and then the other on the stone pavement. His boots echoed with a sharp, firm sound, slightly muffled by the dust that had settled on the street.

The air was more humid than he had expected.

It clung to his skin.

All around him, people kept moving.

A constant, almost unstoppable flow.

Merchants carrying reinforced wooden crates, some marked with symbols Adam didn’t immediately recognize.

Sailors in worn-out clothes, soaked in salt and sweat, their skin weathered by the sun.

Armed adventurers walked among them, wearing tattered cloaks, their weapons visible, their eyes weary... but alert.

Adam adjusted his clothes slightly and moved forward.

He was in no hurry.

Not for now, anyway.

After days of travel, all he wanted was something simple.

Eating.

His eyes scanned the streets as he walked. He observed without seeming to, taking in every corner, every shadow, every person who passed by.

After a few minutes of walking through the bustle, his eyes settled on a two-story wooden building.

A sign hung above the entrance, swaying gently in the wind.

An inn.

Adam went inside.

The street noise faded immediately, replaced by a more subdued murmur. Warm torches lighted the interior, and the air was thicker, heavy with the scent of roasted meat, fresh bread, and beer.

Several tables were occupied.

Men were laughing.

Others were arguing in hushed tones.

A group of mercenaries was drinking in a corner.

Adam made his way over without drawing too much attention to himself and sat down at an empty table near the wall.

A waitress approached shortly afterward.

"What would you like, sir?"

Adam looked up.

"Something hot. Whatever you have ready."

The woman nodded and walked away without asking any further questions.

Adam rested his arms lightly on the table.

The food arrived shortly afterward.

A simple dish.

Meat, thick and poorly cut, with the edges barely seared and the center still moist. The fat had melted and was slowly pooling on the wooden plate, mixing with the dark juices that left a shiny trail in the dim light.

Coarse bread, with a hard, cracked crust and patches of unevenly distributed flour. When broken, the inside was dense, slightly moist, as if it hadn’t quite finished baking.

The dish was lukewarm, not hot.

Adam watched him for a few seconds. Then he began to eat, and the taste was... normal.

Each bite filled the void he had ignored throughout the entire journey.

For a few minutes, he thought of nothing.

All around him, the conversations continued.

Snippets reached his ears.

"...they say that up north... a caravan disappeared and the price of mana stones went up again..."

So the barbarians are already preparing for their second attack...

Upon hearing this, memories of his past life surfaced in Adam’s mind.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the rise in the value of mana stones in the north had a single cause: a massive attack by the barbarians who lived near those lands.

They were not enemies with whom one could negotiate.

Years of war had proven it: between them and the north, the only possible truce was the total annihilation of one side.

But that was none of his concern.

His family’s territory was already on the brink of collapse. He had no reason to get involved in a war that didn’t concern him.

Not long after, he set his cutlery down on the wooden table, the faint clink of metal breaking the murmur of the room.

He exhaled slowly, letting the air trapped in his lungs escape.

His body felt lighter, as if an invisible pressure had dissipated... though not entirely.

Adam raised his gaze slightly, his eyes scanning the surroundings with measured calm.

The tavern was full, but the atmosphere was not relaxed; low voices, evasive glances, barely contained tension. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

That’s when he noticed it.

At one of the nearby tables, a group of men was staring at him openly.

Realizing where this was headed, Adam released a fraction of his mana.

It wasn’t an explosion or anything visible... just a subtle pressure that radiated from his body, rippling through the heavy air of the inn.

The candle flames flickered slightly.

The murmur of the room seemed to falter for an instant.

His aura made one thing clear: a mid-ranking knight.

He had no intention of playing along with those guys, who, from the very beginning, had made no secret of their bad intentions.

Leaning back calmly in his seat, Adam watched out of the corner of his eye.

The reaction was immediate.

The group of men tensed up, as if an invisible hand had gripped their chests.

The message had been understood.

Much better.

Adam stayed at the inn a little longer, ignoring the background noise and the smell of stale food mixed with spilled beer.

He still had unfinished business.

Before leaving, he had to meet with the merchants to whom he had offered his protection services.

...

Night had already fallen completely over the city, shrouding the streets in a thick gloom, barely broken by poorly maintained oil lamps.

Not far from there, in the city center, stood the local lord’s residence.

A sprawling structure, surrounded by stone walls and guarded by armored sentries. It wasn’t an imposing place... but it was solid enough to remind everyone who was in charge.

Adam walked forward without hesitation.

The guards saw him approaching and, almost instinctively, tensed up. One of them stepped forward.

"Identify yourself."

Adam didn’t answer right away. His gaze lingered briefly on the man... and then he replied:

"Adam Hall."

The guard paled slightly.

"...Go ahead."

He asked no further questions.

Adam walked through the doors.

The interior was warmer, but no more welcoming.

Torches lined the walls, illuminating a long hallway decorated with old, worn tapestries depicting past victories... likely exaggerated ones.

A servant stopped him halfway down the hallway.

"Noble Adam?"

He nodded.

"This way."

He led him in silence.

As they walked, the murmur of voices grew louder.

The meeting room was spacious, with a long, dark wooden table taking up the center. Several figures were already there, dressed in expensive yet practical clothing: merchants.

Men who knew how to count coins... and lose them.

When Adam walked in, all eyes turned to him.

At the head of the table sat the town’s lord.

An older man with a stern face and sunken eyes, dressed in fine clothes that could not hide his weariness.

Adam took one of the empty seats.

Silence fell for a moment.

One of the merchants, the same one he had dealt with, was the first to speak.

"Sir... I’m glad you came."

Adam gave a faint smile, barely a curve of his lips.

"It was the least I could do before continuing on my journey."

The stern-faced older man—the nobleman of that territory—stepped forward. His dark cloak brushed softly against the stone floor, breaking the silence that had begun to settle.

"You cannot leave yet. We need your help."

"..."

Adam was silent for a moment. His eyes swept across the room: the merchants, tense; the guards, stiff; the nobleman, expectant.

"I’m sorry. I can’t help you."

He mustn’t get involved. Not now. He had a clear goal, one that brooked no deviation.

Staying... would be like destroying the Hall territory with his own hands.

Exactly what he had been trying to avoid.

The man let out a long sigh, as if that answer were exactly what he had feared hearing.

"We need you to escort the princess who is in my territory."

Adam looked up slightly.

"Is the princess in this city?"

"Yes."

"..."

Silence fell once more, even heavier this time.

Outside, the wind gently patted against the windows, carrying with it the distant murmur of the city.

Adam stood motionless.

Now, more than ever... he wanted to stay.

He frowned.

Something didn’t add up. The princess shouldn’t be in Bretan. According to his memories of his past life, that was supposed to happen in a few months, and at that time, an incident would shake the entire kingdom.

Without a second thought, Adam got up from the table and started to leave, with voices ringing out behind him.