Through the bustling streets of the city, he walked with his familiars following right alongside him. As always, the many streetside vendors attempted to peddle their wares tirelessly–
"Fine jewels! The finest in Galios!"
"Try our new spiced wyvern! Tough, but packed with flavor!"
"Need a weapon? It doesn’t matter if you’re an adventurer, or just defending your hostead! The sharpest and the best are here!"
Though he did his best to ignore the rchants, he found himself directly confronted by one such, who intercepted his path:
"You! You’re a Heavenly King, aren’t you?!" The short, stocky vendor with a scratchy beard asked enthusiastically.
Gael tried to keep moving, "Look, I’m not interested in buying–"
"Buying?! I wouldn’t dream of taking your gold, my lord!" The rchant assured, moving frantically as he picked up an object from his table of wares.
Matteo stepped in, "Listen, if the Boss doesn’t want to be stopped, then you’d best get out of his way."
In the sa manner, Florentine carried her hamr over her shoulder with a sharp look in her eyes as if seeing the vendor’s head as a waterlon.
"Gurk–!?" The rchant swallowed a lump in his throat at the clear threat.
Gael sighed, "Alright, alright. Ease up, guys. It’s not like he’s causing any harm. Besides, we’re not in any rush...I’m just heading to et the others at that restaurant."
The rchant exclaid his joy, "Thank you, thank you for your patience, my lord! Please, I just want you to accept this gift–!"
What was offered was a small blade, holstered in a black, leather sheath. As he took it out of the man’s calloused hands, he unsheathed it partially, looking at the engraved blade before looking at the rchant.
"Thanks, I’m sure it’ll co in handy," Gael accepted, attaching the sheath to the back of his belt.
"Ah! I’m glad!" The rchant said, clasping his hands together.
As he continued to move along through the busy streets, the looks he got from the passing people of Galios was certainly different from the initial impression he got, or the lack thereof. He received many thankful nods, even thumbs-up from adventurers on their way to arduous quests.
"The people of Galios really admire the Heavenly Kings, don’t they?" Florentine remarked.
"It’s not surprising. Everyone here hates Mastorn, for one reason or another. From what I’ve heard, a lot of Galios’ people are refugees from places Mastorn has attacked, or from Mastorn itself," Gael recalled.
Looking up, the sight of the bridges in the sky, connecting the buildings of the city, still stood out to him.
"Anyway, you guys are free to go explore the city today. I’ve got my own business to attend to," Gael said, looking at his companions.
Florentine excitedly accepted, already moving away, "I’m going to drink myself into a good night’s sleep today!
"Well...I’m not surprised," Gael muttered, watching the warrior barge through the crowd before looking at the man in glasses. "What about you, Matteo?"
"Mm, good question. I think I’ll check out the library," Matteo answered, giving it so thought.
"You’re always studying everything you can, aren’t you?" Gael asked with a small laugh.
"It’s just how I am," Matteo explained with a smile, tapping his own head. "Curiosity is one and the sa with the human spirit."
"Well, good luck with that," Gael said, waving as he began to walk his way.
Matteo returned the gesture, "If you find yourself in trouble, don’t hesitate to summon ."
"I know."
Heading through the busy streets, he felt himself moving with a hurried pace.
’Crap, I sorta lost track of ti. This is my first, real impression for the others—I can’t ruin it by being late,’ he thought.
In an attempt to cross the street, quickly passing in front of a scaled beast man, he was run over. A carriage led by a lizard quickly passed through, with the wheels narrowly missing his toes. It hardly made sense to him how carriages could co-exist with how much foot traffic filled the city.
’I never thought a fantasy world could remind of downtown streets, but here we are,’ he thought.
As he hurried himself across the road, he found his way in front of the establishnt he sought:
"The Golden Goose."
It stood out among the other restaurants, commanding its own building that spanned the length of multiple, with the welcoming aroma of savory dishes pouring out from within its confines. As soon as he stepped through the front doors, the stomach-enticing sll reached him stronger.
’I totally skipped breakfast because I knew I was coming here, but maaaaan...I’m starving,’ he thought.
At the very front, a man with a pencil mustache, wearing an immaculate suite stood behind a podium with an open book of nas.
"Have you made a reservation today, sir?" The host asked with a certain furrow to his eyebrows like that of a person born of higher class.
"I, uhh...I’m with others–" Gael answered.
"That’s not what I asked–" The host promptly responded.
The conversation was cut through like a knife by the boisterous voice coming from the dining area itself, "Yo, Gael! Gael, over here!"
Looking past the host towards the center of the dining area, he saw the tall, brawny man sticking out like a thumb, waving his hand frantically in the air with a giddy smile like that of a child.
"Over here, Gael! C’mon!" Rowan waved.
In another seat at the sa table, Astrid looked a mont from having a blood vessel pop, holding her head as she sighed, "Have you ever heard of manners?"
Jaxon leaned back in his chair, "You’re wasting your breath, y’know? That’s just how the man is."
As Gael made his way over, he found there was already a feast present on the table, though none of it had been doven into yet by any there.
"My bad, it’s hard getting around this city," Gael apologized, taking the seat between Jae-Seong and the woman in the witch hat.
Right across from him, Astrid had the sa look in her eyes that was always out of patience, "Hopefully you’ll figure it out soon enough."
"Yeah, hopefully," Gael responded, glancing down at the plate in front of him that was already stacked with steak and greens.
Jae-Seong clapped his hands together, "Cut him a break, it’s only a few minutes–we planned to get here a little early, anyway."
"It’s a special occasion, of course! It’s a celebration and welco for our new brother!" Rowan cheered, lifting a mug full of foamy, amber liquid. "To Gael!"
"Ah–I–" Gael reacted, surprised by the sudden show of camaraderie.
Everyone at the table lifted their glasses, so of ad, so of wine, all toasting to his presence in their group. It was sothing he wasn’t exactly used to, finding himself stunned at the gesture.
A light nudge to his arm ca from the elbow of the man seated beside him, bringing him to look over.
Jae-Seong gave him a wink, whispering, "C’mon, man. Don’t be shy."
"Right..." He said with a nod, raising the mug set in front of him, bringing it forward to et the others at the center of the table.
As the glasses lightly knocked against one another, causing the liquids in each to swish around like the waves at sea, seeing all their hands united in the middle, he felt it–
["I’ve found my people. In this world, far away from my own, in a life far different from the one I led, these people are just like . It’s not a lonely journey, not anymore."]
They each indulged in a drink, though as he took a sip, he looked over to find Rowan already downing his entire mug in one gulp. Just as one glass was slamd down, the man of a stature like a Greek god grabbed another that was already set, guzzling it down without so much as taking a breath.
"Woah," Gael watched in quiet admiration for the feat of booze-drinking.
To his right, the quiet woman in the witch hat laughed softly, though it sounded more like a broken-up exhale, "Rowan always goes two-hundred percent with everything he does. It’s what’s endearing about him." Esralda told him.
Glancing over at the curly-haired woman’s plates, there wasn’t one sight of anything savory, only discovering pie, cookies, and muffins–all dessert.
’Talk about a sweet tooth...She has the palette of a four year old,’ he thought.
Eralda spoke, looking up at him as her curly, lavender fringes hardly obscured her athyst eyes, "I’m not much for savory food...Sweets are yummy, though."
It was as if she read his mind, which imdiately made him feel guilty about comparing her to a child, though the soft smile dissuaded any notion of an insult.
"I see," Gael said with a smile.
"What about you? What sort of sweets do you like?" Esralda asked before happily biting into a glazed scone.
"I guess chocolate pudding, if I had to pick?" Gael answered, though finding the question a bit off right on the spot.
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