A large, muscular knight in full plate armor and a tiny mage girl with an impressive magic staff were hiding behind a rock. A huge, evil green dragon looked at them and released a stream of fire, making the world around them hotter than Hell. The flame burned the stone, and it, turning into lava, began to flow down and decrease.

- At this rate... We're finished. - The knight said heavily, looking around at his wounded, unconscious comrades, whom the mage had hidden from the dragon with her magic.

Initially there were six of them, but now they were left alone. And when the dragon defeats them, he will deal with the entire squad. The knight sadly looked at the fragile, short girl in front of him. He knew he couldn't stress her out. She was already spending all her energy maintaining a protective barrier around their friends. He had to cope on his own... Alone...

- Hah, just like in my youth, when I acted alone...

The man waited for the moment when the lizard stopped to breathe, and ran out from behind the stone, heading straight for the fire-breathing monster. He instantly reacted, directing a stream of his fire at the knight, who covered himself with his beautiful sparkling shield and was thus able to survive the attack. This shield was an extremely powerful magical artifact, passed down through the knight's family, which protected its owner from the very beginning of his journey. And now it flowed like liquid metal onto the burnt ground. The artifact was incredibly good, but even it could not compete in strength with the legendary beast.

- Goodbye, old friend. – The knight looked with regret at the remainder of the shield, and, taking the sword in both hands, ran towards the creature, preparing for death.

And at that moment the music started playing. "Brung!" - the adventurer learned with shock. So he didn’t run away when he saw the dragon, and now he’s back to help! The elderly bard stood on the edge of the cliff in all his glory. There were gold rings in his ears, eyebrows and lip, and in his hands he held a large violin, converted so that it could be played without a bow, and a hard, aggressive martial melody flowed from his instrument.

- Go! Kill this creature! – He shouted to the knight, playing with a wide smile on his face.

The monster, attracted by the provoking melody, turned away from the man with the sword, pouncing on the annoying musician. His mouth, full of hundreds of sharp teeth, opened on a defenseless person, and the magician girl, watching this from behind a stone, screamed in despair:

- Brung, nooo!

And the dragon’s mouth closed on the bard, swallowing him whole under the tearful cry of the sorceress.

-...And then I died! - the old grandfather, sitting opposite Klein, who was dining in the company of Vasily and his two daughters, finished his story. The girls gasped in shock and fear, and the youngest, who had just turned five, began to cry in fear.

Klein looked skeptically at the old man, who looked contentedly at the reaction of the public, and greedily took a sip of the mug of beer that Vasily bought him. The paladin could not resist and commented:

- Well, what kind of nonsense is this! You died, yeah. Then how are you sitting here and telling us this story?

- Yes. Surprisingly, this idiot is telling the truth. Your story doesn't add up, grandpa. - noted Anya, who, it is unclear when, appeared at the same table with the company. Klein didn't even notice this moment. Was he really so captivated by this drunkard’s stupid tale!?

- Hehe, you caught me. It's immediately obvious that he's a smart guy! A great future awaits you! I see it. But believe me, I have a good eye! “The old man meekly spread his hands, and the look of Vasily’s daughters became somewhat disappointed. The eldest, seven-year-old Laura, asked:

- So this is not true? Lies? Just a fairy tale? How about for little kids?

- What? Of course not. – Old Brungdebald winked slyly. “I really died then.” But I survived!

- Ah! – A chorus of three girlish voices rang out. Klein stared in disbelief at the girls, with their mouths open, fascinated by every word of the narrator. Klein insisted:

- Yes, this is nonsense! You are no hero, and you did not travel with Dragonbane! If all this is true, at least tell me what the name of this dragon was!

- Bebarpakabushlek. – Without thinking for a second, the gramps said without hesitation.

Klein looked seriously into the smiling eyes of his fellow archer and addressed him:

- Vasily, did you hear the same thing as me? It literally sounds like a random string of letters spewed out by an old man's drunken mind! Yes, he probably won’t even be able to repeat it now!

- Bebarpakabushlek. – Brungdebald immediately repeated, and the girls nodded their heads seriously, making it clear that this was clearly a very creepy name for a very dangerous dragon. The children's father quietly answered the paladin with a smile:

- A fairy tale, not a fairy tale, what's the difference? The kids are happy, which means I’m happy, and it’s worth it. Just enjoy the story, and its truthfulness is no longer so important.

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- Well, I do not! – Klein was stubborn. – If you are such a great hero as you say, will you allow me to use [Inspection] on you? After killing that dragon, even if you didn't contribute much, you should have gained a ton of levels!

- Of course, look as much as you want, I have nothing to hide! “The grandfather answered calmly, and Klein didn’t have to wait long.

He announced the old man's statistics:

- Level seventeen. Quite a lot, but by the age of seventy-three, it’s possible to raise it without fighting too much. A rising level for an ordinary person, a meager level for such a hero who is capable of fighting a dragon! Regular stats, regular bard skills, regular titles. Oh, the title of a storyteller! That's all! You are no hero, just an ordinary old drunken charlatan!

Klein smiled contentedly, bringing the old brat out into the open, but was discouraged when he saw the evil looks of the three girls. The old man, to the surprise of the young man, chuckled:

- Hehe, as I thought. You are weak, young man. Surely, it’s not even level forty yet...

- It’s true, - Anya confirmed, and Klein couldn’t argue with her.

- ...And that means you can’t see my true power, which is hidden by this legendary magic ring!

- May I? – Klein asked, pointing to the ring that Brungdebald showed him. The latter nodded, and Klein, having received permission, used the miracle:

- [Inspection]. Hey granddad. It's just a rusty ring without a drop of magic. My [Inspection] doesn't work on him.

- Well, of course. This is a legendary ring. What would be the point of him if you could see through his disguise so easily?

- Gramps, tell me how you survived in the dragon’s mouth? Was it scary there? Hurt? – Agnes, Vasily’s youngest daughter, with sparkling eyes, asked the elder to continue the story, covering her eyes with her hands, preparing to hide from any terrible episode.

- I would love to, baby, but the evil boy accuses me of lying and doesn’t want me to be here... And I don’t like it when people are uncomfortable with my company, so perhaps I’ll just go so as not to bother him...

- Please, gramps, no! – Agnes squeaked in fright. - Let's better leave the evil boy! Stay, gramps! Dad, drive away the evil boy!

Anya and Laura nodded their heads in agreement, looking aggressively in Klein’s direction, and he simply sat with his eyes wide open, amazed at the impudence of the old man. Vasily turned towards the guy and said:

- The word of girls is law for me. But let's give Klein one more chance, okay? He is my friend. Shall we allow him to sit here if he remains silent?

- No. – Anya reacted instantly, but the little girls began to dissuade her for the sake of dad, and he, barely holding back tears of tenderness, watched them.

- So, the evil boy is allowed to stay, and you, grandpa, continue. – Laura summed up with her younger sister nodding in agreement.

- The angry boy is very grateful for your leniency. – Klein remarked sarcastically, but everyone ignored him, waiting for Brungdebald to continue the story.

- I would love to…- the old man said upsetly, looking into the empty cup. - But I have to go earn some money... You see, this gramps is very poor, and he doesn’t even know if he will have anything to eat for dinner...

- Sorry, innkeeper! – Vasily shouted, raising his hand. - Pour this good gentleman another glass of the best beer!

Brundebald nodded contentedly to Vasily, raising the brought mug to his health.

- Well, if that’s the case, then I can sit with you a little longer and tell you another story. Tell me, little lady,” the old man turned to the five-year-old girl, “who do you like stories about?”

- I... Oh... About princesses. And beautiful knights... - Agnes answered shyly. - And so that there would be a dragon, and the poor princess would be kidnapped, and a knight would save her, and they would live happily ever after!

- Great taste, baby. And you, the eldest, are clearly a lively and strong girl! What stories do you like?

- About princesses and knights. – Laura confirmed. - But let the princess herself be a knight! And she beat everyone! And she was the coolest! And generally speaking! I will become like this myself! You'll see!

- Well, - Anya intervened, - a princess-assasin is cooler than a princess-knight.

- Heh, unfortunately, I don’t have stories about killer girls or thieves. There are no strong representatives of the fair sex of these classes in our kingdom...

- Oh, - the young assassin girl frowned, - I see where this is going. I've seen this more than once. This is all because girls are weak, soft, and will not be able to do this kind of work on an equal basis with men!

- No, no, I wanted to say that this only means that you, Miss Adventuress, will become the first such girl in the country.

- Oh... This... Much better. Hehe. Yes, continue. – Anya was absolutely satisfied, and now she didn’t care who the next story was about.

- So, - Brungdebald began the story, “you know the great warrior Rita Silver Lightning from the Golden Halo?” She is an incredibly brave and powerful beautiful maiden! She makes people's hearts beat faster with love, and monsters and villains with fear! She without a doubt rushes into the thick of battle, defeating any enemies from ordinary bandits to great demons! But do you know what she was like in her youth? I know, because I was traveling with her party at the time!

- Well, of course! What great hero are you still familiar with? Maybe you were in the same detachment with the Ground Angels? – Klein couldn’t resist. The young listeners began to angrily shush him, and the guy gave up, raising his hands. - That's it, that's it, not a word more! Please continue.

- Hmm, so, I raised her, and you know what? When she was very little, this future great swordswoman was afraid of everything! Even the shadows could be scared! She was so small and weak, despite the fact that she was already fifteen years old! And many laughed at her! And then one day, she decided to prove to everyone how brave and mature she is! And without listening to adults, including me, one night she escaped from the camp alone and went to a scary, scary dark, dark tower with villains and monsters! And she defeated everyone in her path, and obtained an ancient cursed artifact! But since she didn’t listen to adults, she didn’t know that the artifact was cursed, and upon touching it, it instantly turned her... into a toad! A big one, swamp-colored, and with lots and lots of warts! And she remained such a terrible terrible toad for three whole months, until we found a way to dispel the curse! And since then she has always obeyed her elders!

- What a nightmare! – Agnes squealed, hugging her father with all her might. - Daddy, I will always obey you, and I will never run away!

Vasily held back a tear of happiness and shouted to the innkeeper:

- Dear, please give this most wonderful husband a plate of selected porridge with meat!

Satisfied Brungdebald in response again raised the cup of beer, winking at the man.

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After such a dinner and another lesson from Askeltak, which had become the norm for a paladin, Klein went home full of emotions. And only approaching the temple, he realized:

- Damn it, the damned old man never told how he escaped from the dragon back then!

However, upon entering, the young man’s thoughts changed to a completely new topic: Abbot Arthur had returned.