Staying Longer At The City

Arden found himself standing on the bustling city after he left the Dragonmane keep which the ceremony happened in there. He is a little bit confused about what to do next and just began walking to god knows where.

That's when someone bumps into him from behind and it took his attention. He looked behind to see an old man sitting at the road with his tools scattered everywhere and his hand on his own head.

Arden began helping the man by extending his arm out and gestured his body signalling he is trying to help. The person took his arm and both of them began gathering the tools on the ground.

Once they are done, Arden made eye contact with the man and realized how short he was. The person standing in front of him is barely 0.75 of his height but looked like a bulky man.

That's when the person said to Arden, "Sir, thank you for helping me, I'm Daulitos, a member of the blacksmith society in this kingdom"

Arden looked at him for a few seconds and raised his eyebrows, he visibly could be seen doubting that any person could be any lower than him in height.

Daulitos saw this and his mood began going down, he lowers his head and muttered under his breath, "I knew it! Everyone always looks at me as a kid even though I'm already at the same age of Duke of Aswen himself"

Arden could clearly hear this and giggle for a few seconds before saying, "Sorry Daulitos, I didn't look down at you at all, I'm Arden, nice to meet you!"

Daulitos raised his head and cheered up, "No problem, anyway, I need to go now since there is an urgent thing I need to take care of, just go to this address if you want to see me!"

He gave a small piece of paper to Arden before going on his own way. In a matter of seconds, Arden couldn't see him anymore running down the street.

That person left Arden standing in the middle of the street like a stupid person and didn't know what to do. That's when Arden looked at the address written on the paper and carved it in his memory and placed the paper at his pocket.

He then makes his way toward the pub and was about to pack his thing up. When he was already in the local pub, he could see a person standing in front of his room.

He squinted his eyes before seeing who the person is. It was no other than the guard that always brought him to the king to train the king.

He calmly approaches the guard and it was about 3 metres away before he asked, "Hello, what can I do for you today?"

The guard turned his head and looked at him before responding, "Sir, you have the appointment with the king, don't you remember?"

Arden looked at the guard and confused about it before asking about it, "What appointment? The training? Isn't it already over because the ceremony is over?"

The guard looked at him before realizing his mistake. He was about to make his way toward the stair. As he walks past Arden, Arden could see the guard's expression sadden.

It was then he made the big decision on his life and stopped the guard for going any further, "Stop! I'll train the king until he masters the art of combats"

He sighed after saying this but the guard expression suddenly raises up and he cheered up. He said to Arden, "Let's not waste any more time then! We need to depart from here right now"

Arden sighed before following the guard to the keep and then from the keep to the training grounds. In a few minutes, he could feel himself standing at the wide and green grassland he usually used.

He trained the king and spar with him every time the king asked to do it. They did it from the noon until the evening almost every day since Arden said he would train the king until the king master the art of combat.

…

In a blink of eyes, several days have passed since the ceremony of King Astria the Second raised to be the king of Avalon. To be precise, it has been 7 days from that day.

Arden went out of a walk at the morning and came back to the pub before noon and just waited for the guard to come up and ask him to go and train the king.

Several minutes pass as he waits for the guard that usually takes him from the pub to come, but he never came. He thought the guard was just late or something and decided to lay his head at the pillow.

It ended up being a 3 hours nap, and it's now 3pm. During that time, he never once was woken up by the sound of knocking on his door. 'The king must've given me a free time today!'

He cheered after realizing he didn't need to waste his energy under the sun anymore. He began thinking of various activities he could do at the city, 'What should I do this day? Play around and just visit every store I could find?'

He sat down at the bed and then realized he was feeling lonely at that day and regretted his decision as he did 4 days ago. 'I shouldn't have sent that 3 people to my land, I wouldn't be lonely I didn't send them away'

That thought lasted for a few seconds before a new thought came up, 'I mean, I didn't need to pay for their expenses anymore, I take my words back and didn't regret my decision. To be honest, I haven't taken Maverick as my Squire yet! He is still 13 if I'm not wrong, he didn't have the right to stay beside me!'

He stood up energetically and laugh loudly before saying, "I'm going to sleep all day if there is nothing interesting to do! Hahaha"

That's when a slip of paper slip out of his pocket and fell to the ground. Even though it was a small one, it still attracts the sight of Arden himself.

He crouched down and picked it up from the ground and opened it. As he read the paper, he thought it was some random piece of paper, 'What is this piece of paper from out of nowhere?'

That's when he realized the encounter with that member of blacksmith society or something. He stood there doing nothing for some moment, deep inside his mind, he said to himself, 'guess I'll pay a visit to this address since I have nothing to do, anyway'

After he said that, he began making his way toward the address. He has a hard time to find the place and asked a lot of people on the street about it.

With the help of the answers provided by the people on the street and his childhood memory of living in the city. He found the place in no time.

Arden found himself standing in front of a big building with 5 floors on it and just as luxurious as the keep in the middle of the city itself. He took a gulp before gathering his courage and went inside his building.

After he went inside the building, he could see blacksmith everywhere and every corner of the room. In the middle of them was a table that looked like a receptionist to him and a woman behind the table.

'I think that's the receptionist! I should approach her and ask about Daulitos!' After his mind said this, he made his way toward the table.

He leans against the table and before he could even open his mouth, the girl behind the table said, "Sorry sir, we are not giving you any money, please go away from this place!"

Arden was taken aback because of this and was about to open his mouth to say something. But his effort was interrupted by the familiar and uncomfortable voice of a person he hates.

He looked behind him and saw her, it was no other than the Karen herself with some nobles behind her. The Karen is wearing an extremely decorated, beautiful dress to a place… where all the blacksmith gather.

"Why are you here? You are not supposed to be here! How can a beggar like you enter this building" Before Arden could even answer, the girl behind the table that is supposed to be the receptionist said.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'll get the guards to take this beggar out of this place" Both of the women are now working together against him while the nobles that followed Karen didn't do anything and just whisper to each other.

"Guards! There is some intruder here!" The woman behind the table shouted to call the guard while snapping her finger around.

The most important lesson carved in his mind by the one that took him as a squire. 'Be calm and don't panic, everything will go smooth'

He repeated this in his own mind while waiting for the guard to come.