"So, what should we do now?" Evalyn asked, trying to calm herself down.

She looked around at the dense forest surrounding them, then continued, "This place is very remote and shows no signs of life at all. I’m sure there are plenty of monsters hiding here."

Nolan straightened up, rubbing his stomach, which still ached.

But that was still worth it compared to having to deal with Evalyn sulking and refusing to speak to him.

"Since we’re in the past, that means this era is when the two heroes defeated the Demon Emperor," Nolan explained, his voice brimming with excitement.

It should be noted that he had long wanted to meet the heroes, especially the one who was the ancestor of the Lionheart family.

Both were humans summoned from his world. It could be said that he and they came from the same hometown.

In this vast world, Nolan had only ever met one person from his previous world—Levi the undead.

However, that man had become a living corpse, and his sanity had long since become unstable.

Furthermore, Levi came from the 18th century, so there was a generational and temporal gap between them.

On the other hand, those two heroes were different. They were people born in the same era as him.

How could Nolan know that?

The answer was simple—Nolan realized that the flow of time in this world compared to the modern world likely differed by a vast margin.

A thousand years here might only be ten or twenty years there.

Although it was still just a guess, Nolan was fairly certain. The hero who was the ancestor of the Lionheart family left behind a biography, and Nolan had read parts of it.

What he remembered most were mentions of cars, tall buildings, and the man’s longing for a flour-based food, which turned out to be noodles.

Therefore, with the chance to return to the era of the heroes, Nolan wanted to ask them directly.

"The era of the heroes, huh?" Evalyn muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly.

She had already suspected as much, but hearing it directly from Nolan still surprised her.

"In that case, let’s go. At the very least, we need to get out of this forest first," she said.

Nolan nodded. But then he realized something was missing.

He looked left and right, but couldn’t find the little girl—Eira.

"Eira... where is she?"

"Huh? Eira?" Evalyn’s eyes widened.

Only then did she remember that the little girl had come with them. She quickly looked around anxiously.

"She’s not here. Let’s go find her!"

But Nolan immediately pulled her back and stopped her.

"No need. I can communicate with her."

He closed his eyes and called out in his mind.

"Eira, where are you?"

A few seconds later, Eira’s anxious voice, tinged with fear, came through.

"Master! Where are you?!"

Nolan breathed a sigh of relief, then reassured her, "I’m in a dense forest. The exact location is unknown. What about you? Where are you?"

"I don’t know," Eira replied, her voice trembling. "This place is huge! It feels like a limestone cave. And there’s a growling sound coming from ahead. I’m really scared, Master!"

Nolan’s brows furrowed, but he maintained his composure. "Don’t worry. I’ve left plenty of ways for you to save yourself within your body. You won’t die that easily. Even if a catastrophe-level monster appears, you’ll still be safe."

"Really?" Eira’s voice sounded relieved, though she still carried a hint of doubt.

"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"

"Mhm... No, you’ve never lied to Eira!"

Nolan smiled. "Just explore the cave. You might find a treasure or something. I’ll come pick you up as soon as I can. Got it?"

He wasn’t the least bit worried about Eira’s safety. Aside from the many protective measures he had placed on her, Eira was a dragon.

By bloodline, she was among the purest dragons.

Even Arnold, who had a connection to the dragon ancestor, had once said that he himself got goosebumps and felt a faint pressure from Eira.

That little girl was certainly capable of suppressing various monsters with her bloodline, let alone facing another dragon.

"Treasure!?" Eira’s voice rose with excitement. "Alright, I’ll do it!"

After saying that, their communication cut off.

Nolan turned to Evalyn and said, "Eira and we seem to have been separated while passing through the space-time tunnel. But it’s okay. She’ll be fine. After all, she’s a dragon."

Evalyn calmed down and nodded.

"I trust you."

The two exchanged a few more words before deciding to head east.

***

About eighteen kilometers to the east lay a small town named Norham.

The town wasn’t particularly crowded, though quite a few merchants had come from all over the region.

"Next!"

A soldier called out loudly.

A man stepped forward and waited for the soldier to inspect him.

Once the inspection was finished, the man walked into the town. A woman then approached and waited calmly for her turn.

After receiving permission, she walked in as well. The man was waiting for her.

When he saw her, he nodded and walked away.

"I didn’t expect they still do inspections like this," the woman said with a small chuckle.

She was Evalyn in disguise. Meanwhile, the man beside her was Nolan, who had also changed his appearance.

"This is a thousand years ago. The system of using magic to check those entering wasn’t popular yet," Nolan explained casually.

Come to think of it, it was the Blue Moon Trading House that popularized the magic-based inspection device nine years ago.

Of course, the concept already existed and was used by many cities in the empire and other kingdoms.

But that trading house improved it and made it far more efficient.

"That makes sense." Evalyn nodded in agreement. "So, what should we do now?"

Nolan rubbed his chin, staring at the bustling crowd passing in front of him.

He knew they were all from the past and had long since passed away.

But seeing them in person still felt a bit unsettling.

"We’ll gather information first," Nolan replied calmly. "What we lack right now is information. We need to know where the two heroes are. That way, we can fulfill the purpose of coming to this era."

Evalyn was on the same page and agreed without hesitation.

With that, the two walked deeper into the town.

If there was one place that served as a source of information, it could only be the tavern.