Awsperg. Awsperg. There was no doubt about it. This was the same cursed town from where the Protagonist arose.
Ethan belonged to a very rural and backward town where he used to work as an adventurer from a very early age because of his mother's health. But he used to get bullied because of his short stature and frail physique, creating an emotional sentiment in people's heads for the Protagonist. And they desire to see him get stronger.
There was a master of Ethan who initially trained him and taught him how to not dwell in despair and look forward to a better future. And little did he think that the master of the Protagonist would be so closely connected to Richard.
Richard initially didn't pay attention to these pre-canon events much since he knew interfering with them would cause this world severely.
But now, there was no chance for Richard to stay away from it.