When Sophie realized that Atlas was only listening to them and couldn’t be a part of the conversation, she changed the subject by moving the focus of the conversation onto Atlas. “Oh, look at us getting carried away. Lord Atlas, you have only been in the Hirean Empire for about six months, right? Do you like it thus far?” 

“Yes!” Atlas was a little surprised that Sophie changed the topic of the discussion, but he was happy to reply, “Cyrus and the rest of the Alnhart family have been treating me well. Recently, I have been officially adopted, so I am grateful to the Alnhart family for taking me in and treating me well.” 

“That’s a relief.” Sophie put her hand on her chest and gave a small sigh of relief. It showed that she did care and worried about Atlas even if it was their first time meeting. “Have you been able to explore the capital city yet? There are many stores and restaurants in Hirim that are unique to the Empire.” 

“Cyrus has taken me to the shopping district when we are not studying. There is a very delicious restaurant called Roy’s Bowls. It’s nothing too fancy, but the food is tasty. Everything is in a bowl so it’s amazing to see how creative they are with their dishes.” 

“Ah, yes! I have been to that restaurant. It’s popular with nobles and commoners alike. My favorite is their stewed beef and rice bowl. The meat melts in your mouth and the potatoes and carrots soak up the broth very well.” 

When Sophie talked about the food, her elegant and cold demeanor disappeared and she acted her age. She loved to eat delicious cuisines and made sure to explore the capital trying out stalls and restaurants for the best food. 

After finding out Sophie was a foodie just like him, Atlas was quick to talk about his favorite dish from that restaurant, “That dish is really good! My favorite is the creamy chicken and bread bowl. The bowl is actually made of bread and the creamy chicken soup is poured inside. I love the broccoli and the potatoes they add to the stew, making it a hearty dish. It’s perfect for colder days.” 

Sophie and Atlas left behind Cyrus who wasn’t a foodie like they were. Cyrus liked to eat, but he wasn’t that passionate about it. If the food was good, he would eat it. It didn’t matter where he ate just as long as he got to eat his fill. 

Seeing Sophie and Atlas getting along made him relieved. He wasn’t too worried that they wouldn’t get along, but there was always a possibility that the two wouldn’t click. Since they both had a common interest like eating and trying out new foods, he felt they would be good friends. 

The trio talked for hours, about all sorts of topics. By the end of the day, Atlas and Sophie became best friends. 

*****

A couple of hours before dinner time, Atlas and Cyrus were at the main entrance with Sophie. 

The magic-powered carriage was out front, ready for her to get inside. It looked like a carriage, but it had no horses or other animals pulling it. In the front, there was a bicycle-looking handle for the driver so the carriage could stay straight or turn with ease. 

As for how it worked, Atlas wasn’t sure, but he thought it was cool. 

“Thank you, Lord Cyrus and Lord Atlas for this wonderful meeting.” Sophie turned back into her cool, calm, and collected self, different from the foodie whose eyes would sparkle when talking about food. 

Cyrus gave a semi-formal bow because he was in front of others, not just their personal servants. “It was an honor, as always, to meet with you. If nothing goes wrong, let us meet again next week.” 

Both of them had the same expressionless face, which was quite normal for them. 

“I should be free at the same time we met today. If that is okay with the both of you?” Sophie automatically assumed that Atlas would also be there, which wasn’t wrong. 

“That’s also fine with me. We can make it a regular thing from now on.” Cyrus also assumed that Atlas would be joining him. 

Atlas, the one who was down for anything involving Cyrus, also agreed with this meeting time. 

With their next get-together scheduled, Sophie said her goodbyes and boarded the magic carriage. Atlas and Cyrus stood at the entrance and made sure that Sophie left their estate safely. Once her carriage was out of view, the two walked back inside, going to do their own thing before dinner time. 

Atlas was going to go find Sir Walter who was probably running around while Cyrus was going to go to his study to read some books. 

Even though the two were best friends, they also spent time away from each other to do their own thing. 

When Cyrus left, Atlas ran to the garden to call Sir Walter. Well, someone helped him get to the garden because everyone knew he was directionally challenged… 

“Sir Walter!” He called out as loudly as he could. 

Sir Walter, who was running around the estate grounds, heard Atlas’ call and ran in that direction. He was a bit far, but it was nothing for him. 

“Atlas, was Cyrus’ fiancée nice?” Sir Walter knew about the meeting and he knew that Atlas was a bit worried that she wouldn’t like him. That was why he was worried about Atlas and couldn’t wait to ask him! 

Atlas nodded and replied, “Yes! She’s a really nice person, just like Cyrus. She’s also a foodie like me so we are definitely friends now. We have plans to eat at a restaurant soon.” 

“That’s good! I wish I could meet her too but we have to keep my identity a secret for now.” 

That’s right. The fewer people who knew about Sir Walter the better. He was a divine beast, a protected creature by the temple. If the temple found out, they would try to tie Sir Walter to them, which was something Atlas didn’t want. 

“Are you ready to do some training?” Atlas asked after giving Sir Walter all the head pats. 

Every day before dinner, Sir Walter would train with Atlas. It was something they did in the forest and a habit they brought to the Alnhart’s estate. 

“Yes!” He gave a howl that wasn’t too loud but still enough to show his majestic side. 

The two ran over to the training grounds with lots of energy. Their sparring not only to help Atlas but to help Sir Walter blow off some steam. It was empty at this time, so Atlas and Sir Walter didn’t have to worry about injuring other people. 

If someone looked at the training grounds, they could see magic flying in many directions but never hitting anything important… 

*****

Meanwhile, Cyrus was talking with Sirius. They were sitting on the only sofa in the room.

Cyrus looked at Sirius with a grim expression on his face. “Brother, are you sure?” 

Sirius put down the water he was drinking. “Yes, the Imperial Family wants to know more about Atlas and why he was suddenly adopted. They also want to meet you, but we have been doing our best to hold them off.” 

As the heir to the Prime Minister, he could not be childish, so he looked and talked like an adult. 

“How long do you think the family can hold them back?” 

“When you both have to debut. You also won’t be allowed to hide your hair and eye color while you are in high society. The same goes for Atlas.” 

“I am not worried about myself, who I am worried about the most is Atlas… he…” 

“Yes, I understand what you mean. He is not suited for high society. He is too kind and high-spirited. He can easily be taken advantage of if he is by himself. Luckily, he is not too stupid to trust everyone he meets, but if he does get tricked, it will be hard for him to not trust them.”

The two looked at each other in understanding and sighed. 

Cyrus could protect himself, as he had always been doing, but Atlas could not. 

In Atlas’ previous life, he was showered with love and those were the memories he had that shaped him to be who he was. He was not equipped to fight snakes and praying mantises that were lurking in the shadows. 

“I will do my best to protect him in the forefront, so big brother, if you can help with those lurking in the shadows when the time comes…” 

“Of course, you don’t have to worry about that. I will be doing that for both of you, so do your best to protect him and yourself. Leave the more complicated stuff to me.” 

With Sirius backing him up, Cyrus was relieved. In times like these, he was grateful that Sirius was heir and not him. Sirius was resourceful, ambitious, and quick-witted. All of these qualities were needed to be a leader and Cyrus was not sure he could be a good leader. He really looked up to his older brother and hoped that he would be able to learn from him to complete his mission.

The two began to plan for the future until dinner time. Even if there were a lot of things that needed to be done, for now, they were children so their preparations weren’t anything too complicated.