It felt as if he had almost died from fear.

Slowly, he tried to stand up again and calm his breathing.

,Did that really just happen?´ he wondered.

Some people looked at him questioningly.

One approached him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Kawao looked at him briefly.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

Just as the man was about to walk away, he stopped him.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me where the inn 'The Great Crab' is?"

"It's not far from here. Just down the street at the corner."

"Thank you."

He slowly made his way in the indicated direction.

----------------------------------------

Halfway there, he passed a pub that looked very old and rustic.

Something told him he should go in there.

,Maybe I can pick up some interesting information there!´

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He entered the pub.

Inside, there wasn't much going on. Only a few older men were sitting at the bar, focusing solely on their drinks.

He sat down with them. Slowly, they turned towards him.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"I'm just a... tourist," he replied.

The equally older bartender came over to him and asked, "And what does the gentleman tourist want here?"

"Beer."

"You shall have it!" he replied and turned to his taps.

Slowly, the mood lightened, and the other guests began to converse again.

"Have you heard anything new about Nagasa?"

"The country that almost completely isolated itself since the last war? No, why?"

"Well, I’ve heard rumors that ships have been disappearing in their waters!"

"Oh, those are just rumors. Someone probably wants to protect their 'personal' sea routes."

"Could be."

"Nagasa? John told me about that country! It's supposed to be west of Kasaka."

The bartender placed his beer in front of him. Suddenly, he overheard a very interesting conversation.

"Do you think the new emperor is doing a good job?"

"Well, I heard his father barely taught him anything."

"Where did you hear that?"

"From a former colleague in the army. He still gets assignments at the palace now and then, and he picked up on some things."

"Hm. That would explain a lot of what's been happening here lately."

"At least he inherited his father's Nyd."

"That's something. Without our emperor's power, our country would be helpless against the others."

,There's a new emperor? Did he order the attack on my village?´

Anger slowly boiled up in Kawao. But suddenly there was a violent tremor that shook the entire pub.

"What was that?" Kawao asked, surprised.

"That must be the pirates! Don't worry, this isn't the first time they've attacked us."

"But I've never felt anything like this before!"

Kawao quickly stood up and ran out of the pub.

"Hey, wait!" the bartender called after him, but Kawao had already gathered energy in his legs and was faster than ever.

,I barely know what's going on here, but if this place is overrun by pirates, it'll be harder for me to get off the island! I have to help these people!´ he decided.