Rude

The two met their eyes.

One was gentle, with a hint of cunning concealed in the depths, and the other was surprised and a bit annoyed.

'What is this girl doing here?' Atlas thought, looking at the graceful young woman in front.

Clearly, she was the same woman he had met in the Mercenary's Guild a couple of hours ago.

The one who gave him a strange feeling from the beginning.

"What do you mean? You suggested this place to me, and this is a shop. What do you think I'm doing here?" She replied courteously, overlooking his somewhat rude manners.

"Well..."

Atlas wanted to answer, but Grandma River interjected before he could do it.

"Atlas... do you know this beautiful little girl? Don't tell me she is another of your secret lovers. How have you become so bold in the last few weeks?"

Grandma River's words didn't mean any harm.

She was just teasing his little nephew a little, but who knew that they were just the beginning of a bloody mess?

"Grandma River... stop teasing me. We just met a few hours ago. I don't even know her name..."

"Ohh... so she is not Aurora... what a pity... I was so curious about this so-called enchanting young woman."

Her words were simply alimenting the flames that were ready to erupt at any time.

'Hum... she still remembers about her? What an annoying mess... it was just an innocent lie... come on!' Atlas thought, looking at her with an embarrassed smile.

Meanwhile, another mind was bubbling...

'Mhm?! Aurora... who is she? Wait... why should I care about that? And why don't I use this embarrassing situation to my advantage?'

The young woman acted as if she heard nothing and approached him.

As she drew near, Atlas automatically stepped back, assembling a funny show for the old woman standing to the side.

They needed almost five steps to alter this stupid act, more than enough to make things even more strange.

Sensing the wall behind him, Atlas lifted his hand and spoke: "What are you doing?"

"Well... I should ask you this question... What the hell are you doing? Do I look so scary to you? I just wanted to introduce myself properly, but who could have thought that you were such a weirdo..."

The young woman could no longer bear it and vented all the anger that had built up inside her in the last few days, showing the world her best side.

Her bearing took him by surprise, but how could he let her treat him like that?

"Well... your current expression is indeed quite scary. Are you related to an old wraith or what? Anyway, who knows what you would do... I don't even know you."

Poisonous words, to say the least...

"You..." She was mad. Truly mad at him.

She was trying to act appropriately, but this man was simply too much to bear for her.

Who had ever told her something like this before? Or even acted in such a way in front of her?

"Bastard... listen well, my name is Scarlett... and our next meeting will not be so pleasant..."

Scarlett consecrated her speech with these words and then left the store to avoid beating him to a pulp.

All happened so fast that Atlas only felt a strong wind passing closer to his face. And it was the sonorous chuckle from Grandma River that woke him up from the stupor.

"HAHAHA... well, that's interesting. Young people are so funny..."

She kept laughing for a while until she felt satisfied: "Anyway... little boy, your words were a little too much... It's not so strange that she was so angry... But little fellow remembers... never hurt a young woman's heart, otherwise..."

"Who cares... as I said, we have no relationship. That unruly woman is just a passerby..."

Feeling freed from a heavy load, Atlas cared nothing about the young woman's words.

Indeed, why should he care so much?

Clearly, Grandma River had another opinion about this messy situation and tried to reason with him: "Little Atlas... the future is unknown. What if your paths met again? What will you do to placate her wrath?"

"You saw her now. She ran away like a scary cat... So, I will just use my tongue to scare her again... hehe..."

Grandma River looked at him like he was a complete idiot.

Did his brain go to waste or what?

Did he not know how to treat with the gentle side?

In a flash, she reached his head and slapped him with so much power to make him stupid.

Even his renewed body was useless against her 'soft' touch.

"AH!!! Grandma River... what are you doing?"

"Little bastard... I'm teaching you a lesson..."

PHA! PHA!

More slaps came, and Atlas could do nothing about it.

"Hey... Grandma, stop it! Please..."

"Damn... it's even my fault, after all. I taught you much, yet I never told you how to be a gentleman. Let your grandma explain how to handle these situations and be a real man..."

A power-locked the door, leaving the two people inside the small shop alone and undisturbed by the world.

Atlas felt brought back to his youth.

Days immersed in books and stories of a life spent adventuring this world filled with surprises.

The clock was ticking, and Atlas was filled with so many details that he felt sick.

Those pieces of information were all from a woman, so it was not a strange result if Atlas felt like this.

"Grandma River... I can't take it anymore... I understand now. If I met her again, I would do as you told me..."

Atlas's lamentations came directly from his heart, but his mind thought otherwise: 'It's all that annoying woman's fault... Damn her...'

Grandma knew him well and could discern each of his moods, so she could imagine what his mind was thinking: "Atlas... Marigold should have taught you this long ago. You have grown into a beautiful young man. Don't you think it's time to find a companion? Living a life of solitude is the worst regret for us. Trust my words..."

"Mmm... Grandma River... If I ever found one or more than one... I will surely follow my heart..."

As he spoke those words, the image of a young woman with blue irises and distinctive hair appeared in his mind.

It was just a brief moment, yet he felt happy somehow.

'What am I thinking about? We will never meet again...'

As he was lost in thought, Grandma River cleaned up the desk while looking for something specific.

She returned after a while and woke the young man, who was still daydreaming.

"Atlas!... These are the books Marigold asked me to give you... I am glad to hear that you can finally cultivate, yet you must steel your heart and prepare for your future before you."

River looked at him with a warm smile as if she were looking at her precious son: "Nothing is impossible, even if the target seems unreachable. Therefore, attain heights no one in this world has ever grasped and make this destiny your own."

Those encouraging words came at the right moment and helped his tormented mind to recover his lost determination.

After encountering one obstacle after another, Atlas was indeed a bit demoralized.

"Mmm... I understand..."

Atlas nodded thoughtfully and then started looking at the scrolls on the desk.

Those were all Earth Elemental Techniques at the Primordial Chaotical Technique.

Their prize was not to be underestimated, and if he could pay them with his own money, he didn't feel like putting on a stand in front of them anymore.

Grandma River let him pay for the Heartly Blessing last time because she wanted to teach him a lesson, but now there was no need anymore.

There weren't many scrolls, yet they were the best in this shop.

"Pick those that suit you the best, but don't overdo it. There is no point in wasting time with too many techniques."

Atlas knew that well, so he started reading the content carefully...