Edited by: Piamo

After breakfast, the group of people, which now included Atlas and Sir Walter, headed out of the forest. They had already marked the way to the center of the forest, so it was easy for them to exit. 

One of the knights in the group was erasing their tracks while the rest traveled with ease. It was to make sure that others didn’t use the tracks to get through the Great Dragon Forest. The forest was incredibly dangerous, so it was best if people did not trend deep into the Great Dragon Forest.

Cyrus gave a detailed explanation of life in the Hirean Empire. Though he wasn’t allowed to go to social events like normal kids, as a member of the nobility, he knew what was going on in high society at any given moment. He also explored the capital on his days off and was allowed to travel outside of the capital. 

“Though my parents are worried about the Holy Kingdom learning of my existence, we will also have to hide your existence from the Imperial Family and the main Dragon’s Temple for a while.” 

The Dragon’s Temple and the Imperial Family of the Hirean Empire would no doubt scramble to bring Atlas into the Imperial Family or Dragon’s Temple’s clutches… 

Atlas nodded. “That’s fine. I want to learn about this world… in peace.” 

Cyrus couldn’t help but agree with that. If he had everyone’s eyes on him, it would be… a pain in the ass. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if the Holy Kingdom found out about his existence. 

Wallace decided to dump cold water on these two. “Well, the both of you still have to debut in four years, so you better cherish that peace while it lasts.” 

“Don’t remind me, Master. I really don’t want to.” 

“Is it really required?” 

Cyrus explained to Atlas, “Yes, as long as you don’t have a contagious illness, you must attend, even if you need mobility help. When they come of age, all noble teens must debut to become part of high society. This will also allow them to attend the Royal Balls that happen a couple of times a year. Kids can only go to informal gatherings to get used to high society, but once you debut, that narrative will change. The first Emperor made it a rule that you must attend at least one Royal Ball per year. Most people will go to all the Royal Balls though.” 

The Royal Balls were used as a place for nobles to gain new connections or continue to maintain those connections. Also, the Royal Balls dictated what fashion trends would be in season. This was important for merchants who were able to attend the Royal Balls. 

“Well, that’s annoying.” Atlas knew that he would probably have to learn etiquette. Having lived in a forest for almost two years, running amok with leaves for shoes, he knew he was probably a lost cause… 

*****

It took several days of traveling to leave the Great Dragon Forest and enter the Hirean Empire. The nearest town was an hour's walking distance from the forest, so Atlas and Cyrus put on hooded cloaks for the rest of their travels. 

The hoods were enchanted, so that when the user put it on, it changed their hair and eye color. It would allow Atlas and Cyrus to travel around without drawing attention to their coveted blessings.

Sir Walter had already shrunk down to the size of a puppy. He was nestled in Atlas’ arms, curious about the world outside of the forest. 

“Since we are almost to the first town, here’s your ID card,” Wallace said while handing Atlas a white, blank slate about the size of a smartphone. “All you need to do is put some magic into it and it will show you your status. You can change what is shown by putting more magic into it while thinking about what you want shown to other people.”

Wallace chuckled. “Usually, it’s given at the church, but you are a special case…” 

Cyrus explained, “People usually show their name, age, sex, titles if they have one, or their adventurer’s rank. Everything else is usually hidden. Though some titles are automatically hidden, like the ones you and I have.” 

Wallace didn’t know what titles he was talking about, but Atlas knew. 

“Okay, I will do as you say!” 

Cyrus added, “Hmm, in the future, if you find a faithful and trustworthy partner, it should be okay for you to show them some of your titles or blessings. Other than that, always keep it hidden.” 

“Can I show you too?” 

“Well, if you want… but if you aren’t comfortable, you don’t need to. I will show you mine if you show me yours, though.” 

“Hmm, I will show you when it’s just the two of us. I trust you.” 

Cyrus felt his heart warm hearing Atlas say that. He also trusted Atlas. They saw each other every night in the Divine Realm, and Cyrus could proudly say that Atlas was his first best friend. He hoped that would never change. 

“I trust you, too.” 

“Alright, enough of your sappy talk. We’ve just reached town, so get your ID cards ready,” Wallace cut into Cyrus and Atlas’ conversation. 

Atlas already put his magic into the ID card and hid everything that needed to be hidden. He didn’t show any of his titles. Just his name, age, and sex. 

With his new ID card, he was able to enter the town with no problems. It wasn’t a large town, but it had a lot of businesses and adventurers walking around because it was close to the Great Dragon Forest. 

The houses were made of stone and wood. It looked like the old countryside of some European country, but the sewer and plumbing system was much more advanced than one might expect from its appearance. All the houses were the same brick color with red roofs. Even so, there were a lot of stalls along the main road. They were selling produce, animal and monster products, as well as clothes and jewelry. 

Cyrus explained the different aspects of the Hirean Empire that he was proud of, “The Hirean Empire has focused on technology and infrastructure, so we don’t need to worry about hygiene even in the slums. They call it the slums, but it’s just a place with communal housing that can be rented out for really cheap. The space is quite small but it protects people from the wind and rain. Also, if there are orphans, they are taken care of by the church’s orphanage, so you don’t really find orphaned children in the slums.” 

As someone who made game plots and written stories, it was the first time Atlas had heard about the slums being decent. Even if it was smaller than what was considered normal, at least people weren’t sleeping on the streets. 

Atlas looked around with curious eyes as Cyrus explained the state of the Empire. 

Wallace was a little surprised to see Cyrus talking so much. Usually, he was cold and quiet, talking only when he had to. It was the first time he had seen Cyrus so willing to talk with someone. He also had a faint smile on his face and his eyes were brimming with excitement. He really looked his age. 

He felt it was a good thing that Atlas was here. 

“Alright, let’s rest at the inn and then explore the market!” Wallace suddenly shouted, his men saluting after him. 

They were not conspicuous at all…. 

It didn’t take very long to find the inn they were looking for. It was the nicest one in town, so only nobles or rich merchants stayed there. Atlas and Cyrus had item boxes, so they didn’t have to leave anything in the room. The others also had spatial rings and bracelets, so they didn’t have much luggage. They just went there to check in and grab their room keys. 

“We’re leaving first!” Cyrus shouted at Wallace who was standing in the hallway, making sure everyone got into their rooms.

Atlas was holding Cyrus’ hand and using the other to wave goodbye to Wallace. 

“Be careful you two. If you need help, crush the distress signal.” Wallace waved back. 

The distress signal was a small red orb. It was created using magic engineering. If a person needed help, they could crush the orb and it would send out a beam of red light into the sky. It would stay like that for 2 hours and follow the person who activated it. Only the rich had it because the materials used to make it were expensive. 

“If you see anything you want, let me know,” Cyrus explained. “I’m super rich, so don’t hold back.” 

Atlas felt like he was looking at a rich man who was showing off his money. Still, he felt it was kind of funny to see Cyrus that way. 

“Alright, if I find something, I will let you know!” 

In comparison to Cyrus, Atlas was broke. He had no money coming to this world. Actually, he only had one pair of clothes. Being rich had to be nice… Well, with Cyrus as his big brother, he was a rich man now! 

Atlas and Cyrus perused the market. The only things that caught Atlas’ eyes were clothes and a pendant. The pendants in the market weren’t expensive, but a lot of them were pretty. A lot of them came with earrings, but he wasn’t that interested in those. 

He had his eyes set on a large pendant that used a jewel that was similar to a citrine topaz. For some reason, he felt a kind of aura coming from the topaz, but he had no idea what it was. It also came with dangling earrings that were fairly but it was in the shape of a teardrop.

“Do you want this one?” Cyrus asked while picking up the pendant and the earrings it came with. “It suits you.” It had a similar color to their gold eyes. 

“Yeah, is that okay? I hope it’s not too expensive.” 

“Nah, it’s fine. I could buy a thousand of these and still have enough to eat for a lifetime and more,” Cyrus whispered into his ear. He didn’t want the salesperson to jack up the price after hearing that.

Atlas truly felt what it was like to be in the graces of a rich person at a market.

“Excuse me, sir, how much are these?” Cyrus held it up.

“That would be 2 silver pieces. It’s used with an unknown stone, so it’s sold for cheap.” 

“That’s fine. Can we put it in a box? I can pay extra for that.”

“Sure thing, Noble Sir.”  

Cyrus paid the salesperson and handed the box to Atlas. 

The coins in this world were split into 3 main groups: copper, silver, and finally gold. Each coin was called a piece. 1 copper piece roughly equaled a dollar. 1 silver piece was roughly 10 dollars, and 1 gold piece was around 100 dollars. There were also coins that were made out of platinum, but they were mostly used by nobles so the common folk disregarded them. One piece of those was worth 1000 dollars. 

“Thank you, Cyrus! I will find something that suits you so we can have matching earrings!” 

Atlas went looking for purple earrings, hoping to find one that was as unique as the ones he picked out. 

In the end, they were able to find amethyst earrings, but it was a bit more expensive. Even so, Atlas felt it really suited Cyrus. 

“They look just like your eyes! It’s a perfect match.” 

“Thank you, Atlas.” 

Cyrus felt his heart warm just looking at the earrings. He couldn’t wait to wear them… 

The two left the jewelry stand and continued to explore the market. 

Atlas didn’t find anything he wanted until he caught a whiff of something sweet. 

“Hmm? This smell…” 

He looked around and saw a man with a cooler-like object. The man stuck his hand into the cooler and scooped up something creamy and white. He put it into a bowl and handed it to the customer. 

The customer took a big bite and felt like he was going to heaven. “Delicioussss….” 

On a hot day, ice cream was perfect.

“Ice cream!?” Atlas tugged on Cyrus and pointed at the ice cream seller. “We have to get some ice cream!” 

He had died eating ice cream in his previous world, so he felt deprived just thinking about ice cream. To be able to eat ice cream in the new world as well was a blessing! Finally! He could finish a cup of ice cream. 

He wondered what flavor of ice cream they were selling… Atlas wiped his drool and dragged Cyrus over. 

“Welcome to my ice cream stand!” the ice cream seller shouted. He looked excited to have more customers. “We have vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and a vanilla flavor with fruits in it. Which one do you want?” 

Atlas looked at the containers containing the ice cream and wanted to pick up all 4 of the containers to take with him… “Can I get one scoop of strawberry and a scoop of vanilla?” 

“Sure, and what can I get you, Noble Sir?” 

“Hmm,” Cyrus mused, “can I get one scoop of vanilla with mixed fruits as well as the chocolate one?”

“Of course, here you are, Sir!” 

He handed them both to Atlas and Cyrus. Cyrus then paid the man 6 copper pieces.

Atlas and Cyrus went to the town square to eat their ice cream. There were many benches scattered around, so they picked an empty spot to sit at.

Atlas felt like crying while smelling the ice cream. It smelled just as good as his previous world. He took a bite and felt the creamy vanilla ice cream melt in his mouth. It was refreshing and a bit sweet, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel like he had cavities. 

“Ahhh… this is so good.” 

Finally! Finally, he was able to eat and finish his ice cream. It had been about two years since he last ate some ice cream, so he ate it a bit quickly but savored it as much as he could.

Cyrus knew why Atlas was emotional so he didn’t say much, just gave him some good news. “There’s more variety in the capital, so you can eat as much ice cream as you want when we go back.” 

The tears of joy finally formed in Atlas’ eyes. “Oh, thank goodness there’s ice cream in this world! I was prepared to make my own ice cream even though I don’t really know how to do that…“It’s just ice, milk, and sugar right?” he mumbled to himself. There was probably more stuff to go into it but that should be the basics….right? 

Atlas’ first trip to town after two years of living in the forest was the best because he could finally eat ice cream. 

He really was happy.