The next day Caelus didn't even wait for day to break properly while everyone were still in bed he left the palace
For a moment, he paused and just stared at it.
"Hopefully the original Caelus isn't upset with my decision" he laughed nervously "That said…..my new life begins now"
Then he continued forward without looking back at the castle again
—
The moment he fully stepped into the city, everything changed.
He had already seen a little bit of it before the only difference was that this time he wasn't being escorted and no one was watching him either, he simply was just another random person in the crowd
He adjusted the hood he wore before leaving the castle over his head slightly, making sure it covered enough of his face. The last thing he needed was someone recognizing him and causing a scene.
"…Damn."
The word slipped out without him realizing.
The streets were far cleaner than he had expected. The buildings were well-kept, not some rundown medieval mess like certain stories or videos on Otube made it sound. Shops were neatly arranged, people moved around without any chaos.
"Okay, this is way better than I expected," he muttered, glancing around like a tourist seeing everything for the first time.
Vendors called out to passing customers, merchants negotiated prices, and groups of people chatted casually as they went about their day, little kids playing on the streets. It wasn't loud or overwhelming if anything it felt similar to some days back on earth.
For a while, he didn't even realize he was smiling. "If this is enough to make me feel this way" he stared into the horizon "how much more what's out there"
Suddenly his stomach growled, snapping him back to reality
"…Right."
He hadn't eaten before leaving the palace as he didn't want to deal with questions from Kaelen so he hurried out.
After asking around briefly, he found a small food stall and ordered something simple. Nothing fancy, just something to fill his stomach.
Once he was done eating, he paid the vendor and stood up to leave but it didn't take long for him to realize that he didn't know anywhere outside the kingdom which made him pause and turn back.
""Hey… um, sorry to bother you, sir," Caelus said, rubbing the back of his neck a little. "Do you know where I can find an Adventurer's Guild?"
The man looked up from what he was doing, blinking once as if he hadn't expected the question. He scratched at his beard, brows furrowing slightly.
"…Guild?" he repeated.
"Eh, perhaps they don't have those in this world??" He thought to himself
But shortly after, the man let out a short chuckle while shaking his head.
"Ah, you're not from around here, are you?" he said. "Sadly, there's none in this kingdom."
"…None?" Caelus repeated with a mix of surprise and confusion on his face.
The man nodded, leaning back slightly as he spoke.
"This is Solaris. With how strong the kingdom is, there's never really been a need for an Adventurer's Guild," he explained. "Whenever something happens be it monsters, bandits, whatever it may be, the royal knights are able to easily handle it."
"Makes sense, a powerful kingdom has no reason to rely on adventurers when they already had an elite military." He thought to himself before speaking out loud again "So where would I find one?"
The man tapped his chin briefly before answering.
"Closest place would be Luminaris."
"Luminaris" Caelus repeated under his breath. "How far is that?"
"A couple of weeks if you plan on walking that is but If you've got the coin, you can easily hire a carriage"
Caelus nodded slowly, already starting to think things through. The problem was obvious, money. He had some on him, but not nearly enough to comfortably hire a carriage for a trip like that. When he left the palace, he'd intentionally avoided taking too much. If he was going to live like an adventurer, he couldn't start by throwing around royal wealth.
"…Yeah, this might be harder than I thought." He thought to himself as he stared up at the clouds
Caelus was still standing there, lost in thought, when another man approached the stall.
"Ah, you're here already," the vendor said casually, giving him a small nod.
"Just got in," the man replied, returning the greeting with ease. "Loading's almost done. I'll be heading out soon, I've got a massive delivery to make in Luminaries."
The name caught Caelus's attention immediately.
The vendor let out a short laugh, gesturing lightly toward him. "What are the odds? My new friend here was just asking about that place. He's trying to get there, but you of all people should know that walking all that way isn't exactly ideal."
"Ohh really, then I could give him a ride," he said simply. "I've got space on my carriage if you're down"
Caelus blinked, clearly caught off guard. "…Seriously?"
"Of course," the man replied, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"…I'd appreciate that."
The man gave a short nod in return. Caelus waved the old man farewell and went along with the merchant.
—
They walked together toward the city gates, eventually stopping in front of a carriage loaded with goods. Wooden crates were stacked neatly, tied down securely, clearly prepared for a long journey.
But they didn't leave immediately Instead they stood there waiting for several minutes
"…Is there anything else you're waiting for?" Caelus asked, glancing around the carriage and the goods already packed.
The merchant shook his head lightly. "Not exactly. Just one more person."
Caelus tilted his head. "Someone else is coming?"
"Yeah," the man replied. "An adventurer. I hired one as an escort for the trip."
"…An adventurer?" Caelus repeated
The merchant nodded, adjusting one of the crates absentmindedly. "Bandits, monsters… roads like these aren't exactly safe. Better to have someone who knows how to handle that."
Caelus gave a small nod. "…ohhhh."
On the outside, he stayed completely calm, but inside, he was super excited. For the first time in his life he was gonna meet an actual adventurer; not a drawing, not a story nor something he had made up in his mind but a real one.
It didn't take long after that.
"Yo," A man greeted as he approached, voice easygoing, like he hadn't a care in the world. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"Right on time," the merchant replied, clearly relieved.
The man stood tall, broad-shouldered, with a presence that immediately set him apart from everyone else around. Resting against his shoulder was a massive claymore, the kind of weapon that didn't look like it should be wielded so casually, yet he carried it like it weighed nothing.
His gaze shifted, landing on Caelus.
"…Didn't know we had company."
"He's coming with us," the merchant said. "Heading to Luminaries."
"Ah."
The adventurer stepped closer, eyes briefly scanning Caelus before a grin spread across his face.
"Name's Varek." The man stretched out his hands for a hand shake
"Caelus." He replied as he shook the man's hand
"Alright now that everyone's here we can get moving immediately"
——-
The carriage rolled forward, wheels creaking softly against the dirt road as the kingdom slowly faded behind them. At first, the conversation was light, almost effortless. Varek couldn't help but talk a lot; throwing in small jokes, pointing out landmarks, occasionally mentioning past jobs without going into too much detail.
"Listen here, young one since you're gonna become an adventurer and all might as well give you some pointers," Varek said, leaning back. "One, Don't get cocky. Most rookies don't die because they're weak, they die because they think they're stronger than they are."
Caelus nodded.
"Second, watch your surroundings. If something feels off, it is."
"…And the third?" Caelus asked.
Varek smirked. "Knowing when to run, that's normally the hardest part for some people."
Caelus glanced at the road ahead, exhaling softly. "…So it's not just fighting monsters and getting stronger."
"If it were that simple," Varek laughed out loud, "everyone would be an adventurer."
For a while, the journey felt calm, then the carriage jerked to a stop.
"…What happened?" Caelus asked, grabbing the side.
"Don't move!" Voices echoed outside the carriage.
"Drop everything and maybe you walk away!"
"…You've gotta be kidding me." Varek sighed, already stepping down. "Welp guess that's my que."
One bandit rushed first.
Varek moved and with a single swing
Clang.
The man's blade was knocked aside instantly. Before he could recover, Varek's follow-up strike slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground.
Another came from the side.
"Tch don't charge at him alone you retards, take him all at once!" someone shouted.
Three charged at once
"I swear these bandits never know when they're out matched" he thought to himself
One tried to flank him but Varek easily caught the strike, twisted, and drove his elbow into the man's face.
Another lunged.
"Too slow." He said in a mocking tone and followed up with a sharp kick to the chest which sent him flying
The last one hesitated for a bit before running off in fear
"…That was insane." Caelus screamed
"Heh just a warm up nothing more" Varek rested the claymore on his shoulder but it didn't take one to tell that he was flustered.
—
A few days later, they arrived at Luminaries.
"That building over there" Varek pointed ahead. "That's the guild just head there, the rest is pretty straight forward."
Caelus stepped down. "Thanks for the ride."
"Of course, take care young one," the merchant said followed by a chuckle. "Maybe someday I'll hire you"
Varek waved. "Try not to die."
Caelus waved them both goodbye, then he turned and walked toward the guild