They said goodbye to the horses after keeping them company. The horses snorted in response, probably demanding the two leave after disturbing their sleep. Michael tried to find some way to properly thank them as if he could speak horse-language but they could hardly bother with him anymore.
Michael decided for them to find some type of living in Aldoria. Even walking through the city again, he's been wrong about how huge this place really was. It was almost thrice the size of Alanor and that place was already big enough. He never got the chance to glance over at the tall castles in the far back of the city, just resting over the horizon. Aldoria was the capital of Wilmere, probably its biggest city yet so he assumed that's where the royals lived.
The royals were the ruling family of Wilmere. The king and the queen, and whoever that was related to them in blood. Nobles were just the people that lived under them and worked as diplomats for the kingdom. Michael never really had the lesson from his mother about politics but this was the general gist of it. His mother and father were both commoners, falling under the profession as adventurers. And to be fair, some people didn't consider adventuring a profession at all. Exploring lands for the kingdom, clearing out invading beasts, and competing against other people for the commendation of the king. Still, they were paid with money like any other job.
When Michael's parents died, the news was brought to him by a fellow adventurer from his mother's party. He didn't know what to do. His mother and father didn't leave anything behind. Michael only had the choice to sign his life into the worker's union or as a slave, is what he started calling them. It was most likely worse than being a peasant. Peasants have their own homes and settlements outside of the kingdom, somewhere in the outskirts but still falling under the jurisdiction of Wilmere. As for slaves, they get told when to eat, when to sleep, and how to live their lives according to the guards. Michael was just tired of that.
Aldoria was different from where Michael was from. There wasn't anything here that reminded him of his home. A fresh new beginning, just like he imagined to achieve. All with that, he's bonded with a magical sword that promised him the same.
They still had a major problem though, the issue of not having any money. Michael didn't want to run around the city and rob restaurants for the sake of eating food. Back then, he wouldn't have minded that at all. But right now, he had a reason to change. He wanted to live as normal as possible. Not as a slave, but as a commoner like he was in his childhood. Somewhere to live to call his own home and return to.
"Look at that," she dragged him to a fountain. The fountain was huge, almost covering half of the avenue. They must have walked all the way to the center of the city, looking how open the area was. She dipped her hand into the water.
Michael did the same. It was cold, he noticed, and resisted the sudden urge to dunk his head into the fountain. He looked over to Evelyn as if she could read his mind again.
"What're you thinking about?"
Michael sat against the fountain. "What you said yesterday, about becoming an adventurer? I think that's a good idea."
"Of course it is. I mean, when was the last time I was wrong?"
Michael contemplated throwing both of them into the water. He retracted that decision knowing how cold it would be.
"You said you wanted to be one before, right? Are you scared or something?"
He was scared. He knew how adventurers acted throughout his life. Their description of being the good-people of the kingdom was nothing more than a lie. Michael knew the other side of adventurers, the one that only cared for riches and for women. The pursuit of only satisfying their pleasures. His mother and father were the prime example of that, not even giving Michael any effort when he was born. Michael had a house but he didn't live with anyone. His mother even told him to never think about becoming one just in spite of his father.
Though it was true, Michael always wanted to know what adventuring felt like. He knew there was some freedom in it. The ability to do what you want, whenever you want, and without the spitting guards in your ear. It was just that bringing Evelyn into the question could have made it worse.
Adventurers were greedy. They always want to rank higher than the other person if it meant committing something unforgivable. Either to become richer or stronger, it didn't matter as long as it benefitted them. If anybody knew what Evelyn was capable of, Michael would be an easy target of all of them.
Michael was weak. He knew that himself, just remembering how hard it was to pull Evelyn's weight over. He was still shorter than the average male but he couldn't use that excuse again. Michael didn't have any muscles, he didn't have any training, nor any experiences in fighting. What if he messed up? Being an adventurer was worse than a slave. He wasn't going to be arrested by the city guards like last time. If he messed up, he could endanger Evelyn's life.
Evelyn dipped his hand into the fountain.
Michael was shocked awake from the cold, pulling his hand away.
"You stare off a lot," she said. "Did you even hear me calling your name?"
He apologized. He was more focused on imagining the worse fate for Evelyn because she had bonded with him. Sometimes, Michael felt more relieved that she couldn't hear these types of thoughts.
"So, becoming an adventurer." she decided. "That's what we're going to do."
Michael felt like he was stepping into the wrong decision. He could barely fight or hold his own. He brawled with the older men at the union but he wouldn't find any experience like that in here. Adventurers were different, more suited for battle, and sounded more intimidating than the guards. They've probably seen stuff Michael would never imagine.
But he had slain a weakened mana beast. That was his greatest feat.
***
After asking the locals about becoming an adventurer, Michael was surprised that none of them were weirded out by the request. Apparently people even younger than him registered for adventuring. He didn't know the age requirement but that's what he was told. Although, he couldn't gloss over the fact some people questioned why he would ever become one. Adventuring was dangerous. They were putting their life on the line just for a few drops of coin. In reality, they were still working for the kingdom despite advertising the freedom you were given.
Michael would still be a slave, working to conquer more lands for Wilmere and clear out beasts so more citizens could settle. Evelyn didn't look to mind this fact at all, she just wanted to experience something new again. And she didn't want to sleep in another stable that reeked of manure.
They walked through the city again, following off the direction where the commoners pointed to the nearest adventuring registrar. He knew he was getting close as real adventurers passed in and out behind him.
He needed to learn how to ride a horse as well, he told himself, he needed to learn practically everything.
He knew he was here, not from the letters of the buildings, but from the noise that came inside. He thought they were having a party just hearing how loud it was. Horses were stowed outside as more people passed by and greeted another. People moved in groups, it was rare to spot anybody that walked alone.
The building spread to at least three blocks wide and was two stories tall. The place must have been packed with people since they had come during the morning.
"Are you sure this is it?" Evelyn looked around. "This looks nowhere near the place for adventurers. These people look way too happy."