PLACEHOLDER

"Focusing too much on how this looks, got distracted." Shaking his head, Caelus walked up to the entrance once more, even though he was allowed to go in by the fact that the guards did not question him. Going inside, he looked for either Diana or Sol.

Still in the lower district, he scanned the area to make sure there wasn’t anyone watching him. Though just being cautious.

Sensing Sol’s presence, he headed in that direction, stopping at one of the stalls where he ate. Caelus sat on a bench nearby while watching the guy order some food.

"Never seen him outside of having the fan over his mouth." A little embarrassed, he called someone he wasn’t as well acquainted with a friend, but that was his own fault. If he paid more attention to the people he was with, then he’d know them a lot more, and even some semblance of communication.

As Sol went to walk by, he could smell Caelus due to his... Very strong scent of Fish. "I wonder why he smells like that... It’s probably because he hung out with the Blubbers from what Tellus told me."

Heading over, he sat down across from him, holding his food. He finally spoke to break the silence. "Well, I didn’t think you’d come to talk with me, Caelus. Is there something you need?"

"Nothing much, I just haven’t talked to anyone but Tellus or Elysia as much; it feels weird to think of someone as a friend without actually getting to know them." Caelus rested his elbow on the tablewood, his hand facing up, and his cheek rested against it.

"I guess I can start by asking, what food did you even get? It looks good." His eyes drifted to the food, a thin stick with various fruits and vegetables attached. Though the meat wasn’t something like ’cow’ or ’pig’, it looked and even smelled different, probably from a bigger animal, since cultivators needed more energy.

"This? It is called the Strogen, a weird name since it doesn’t mean anything but the food. But it tastes good. Surprising that you asked that since I haven’t seen you eat at all in a few weeks."

"Well, I don’t usually eat much, or daily, I eat a lot for a single day and use it over time." Caelus assumed this was the case for Dragons, but he didn’t need to eat, though it didn’t mean he wouldn’t. "Speaking of eating, how would cultivators who start as someone from the lower district even get enough?"

"Well, they don’t, the Church forbids them from cultivating unless they are training to join the Military, the Royal Guards, or as Church Officials. It is a law, though the masses are allowed to use Mana obviously, it’s to help with daily life, like lifting objects."

"Some of the schools here for more prestigious people are likely to assume it can’t be used for that since the subjects haven’t been updated and it’s still stuck on what the church believed over eight hundred years ago."

"...Do they take that long just to update their studies?"

"No, Lady Theresia is just lazy. She oversees Education and Defense for the Church, but she rarely acts on it."

Caelus blinked slowly. Staring at Sol like he said something insane. "...Of course she’s too lazy." He didn’t expect her to be, but with someone this old, he expected her to be a little more urgent about teaching the next generation. "That’s... Surprising. I’ve met her before, but she seemed to be doing something with her-"

Caelus paused. "I probably shouldn’t reveal that, even if it is known or not."

"Her what? Is there something wrong?"

"No, it’s just I shouldn’t reveal it since I don’t know if you or anyone else knows." Sighing in relief that he stopped himself. "Do you know where Diana is? I want to talk with her more as well."

"Ah, then I won’t ask, as for Diana I’m pretty sure she has gone to an event for Nobles, so it won’t be accessible unless you marry a Noble or become one yourself, which... Requires the Emperor or whoever will rule the throne in the next succession ceremony to make you one." Sol replied, finishing the food he’d gotten and taking out his fan.

"As for after that, she’ll be in her home for the rest of the day playing Shakhmaty with her brother." He flicked his hand as the fan opened, covering his face.

"I must say, though, to seek out someone to talk to them more because you see them as a friend, it is impressive, not many humans or elves do that, though elves are of the western continent and rarely come in contact with us."

"...Shakhmaty? As in Chess? But why is it in Russian...?" Caelus shook his head; he also heard about elves and Sol talking about everything else, which he had to digest properly."I just wanted to know you more than just talking about cultivation, that’s it." His eyes shifted away with a pinkish color growing on his cheeks.

"Embarrassed are we? Well, no need to be, it is a compliment after all." A light chuckle as he opened his eyes.

"I’m just- Not used to it, is all, especially with how people normally treat me." Caelus calmed down, shaking himself off as he made eye contact again.

"Mhm... I do hope it changes because of you, though, because from what I’ve heard, the Church has tried finding anything they can pin on you so they can paint you as worse."

"...Why are you telling me this?" His brows furrowed, more interested now.

"Because it hasn’t worked, and if it had, then they wouldn’t be telling me who’s one of the lowest ranks within the Church." Closing his fan, he put it away. "And even then, from how you’re acting, you don’t seem to care now if people don’t like you."

"Figured me out that fast. He’s incredibly smart." Caelus nodded once more. His eyes drifted to the side as he watched people walk by, keeping a distance from him. "Or they could be keeping distance because of the tail."

It would make a lot more sense, though his tail was lying down curled on the ground like a snake. He didn’t pay much attention to it since no one was trying to step on it. Realizing he was suppressing his instincts, he instantly let go of it to be at the level he normally is. Smelling smoke from far away, though probably something unimportant.

"Well, I guess I have to go now, I’m thinking about training right now since I need to catch up to Tellus and have a fair spar after all."

"With the pace you’re going, you might pass her; she has just reached the second stage of Soul Formation. But, I shall see you later, bye Caelus."

Disappearing, Caelus teleported to the upper district to see how the place looked now, especially since a rift might appear, releasing his Mana to sense it. He felt a concentration of Mana specifically on the roads. "Hm, it would be incredibly dangerous if monsters jumped out." He didn’t know when it’d open, but he knew the Mission would start soon, and probably be related to this.

Only seeing a few servants outside, dusting the pathways, and some inside the homes, making food. However, he didn’t see anyone forced to do it, probably because most of the work would be done by Cultivation. "A little bit much to rely on Cultivators, but fair enough."

Reaching the end of the Upper District, he looked up at the Castle... Only to realize it was decently big, but not... Emperor level high. And just a place where they discussed, hence the absence of a Throne room, as seen from the inside with his see-through vision.

"Wonder where it’d be."

Looking to the side, he noticed another city, definitely a part of the Holy Tianyun empire, off to the side, far away. "I keep forgetting Empire’s aren’t small... Most of the time."

"Might as well go there, Elysia could be there."

In a flash, Caelus ran out of the Empire, or at least the back, since there were about five paths, and he picked the one that looked the best kept. Going at his full speed, he activated Horizon Step for half a second only to stop it, closing the distance almost instantly.

Stopping at the exterior of it, more guards were blocking the entrance, and he noticed a thin Mana bubble to protect. This city. From the outside, he saw larger homes, probably for vassals or even some nobles. Stepping through the bubble, he was able to go through. Weirded out but shrugging. Continuing forward, the guards kept their eye on him, though ready to ask for Identification, he felt another presence, someone flying out towards him-

"WOOOOO!"

Stepping to the side, Caelus reached out his hand, making her head hit his hand. The lady who was flying out only at Foundation, though getting closer and closer to Virtuoso.

"...You alright, Elysia?" Bending down, Elysia fell to the ground, rolling over to look up. She nodded with a smile, though her body temperature was cooler above and around the eye. Along with that, he saw what looked like a glowing ’nerve’, though it was probably the one for a headache.

"Maybe look at your surroundings before you go flying." A soft laugh as he let go of his hand, grabbing it, Elysia pulled herself up and stood looking at him.

"Was anyone following you?"

"Nope, I was just having fun flying around, that’s all. Also, what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you go to another city other than the one Tellus’s family controls." Tilting her head, she eased her headache quickly.

"I mistook a single city for an entire Empire is why."

"...No way." Elysia’s eyes widened, not in shock but more in disbelief. "You actually believed that?"

"I mean, don’t blame me, I’m a Dragon, I wouldn’t know how Empires work." Caelus blinked slowly.

"Well, yes, but like I thought you would at least talk to one ordinary person, I mean that’s how I got to know what other types of foods I could try when exploring."

"Kind of hard for me." Giving a blank stare, Caelus pointed to his tail while his hands were incredibly scaly.

"Then the only way for you to talk is to listen in or talk with a cultivator instead." Sighing in Exasperation, Elysia didn’t know what to do or say. "I guess I can talk to him about ordinary people instead, I mean, it’s still talking."

"I normally do that, I could maybe get a clone to talk and get to know instead when I get to Soul Formation, but that’s only if I really wanted to."

The smell of freshly cut grass and the sound of animals in the distance began to fill his mind, whether from their movements or their calls to one another. Feeling the change in the terrain, even if they were inside the city. "Do you know where Diana is, though?"

"Oh, her? Hm, I think she’s in this city, she keeps talking about something else when she starts rambling about Cultivation, I think it’s lovely though other people aren’t so much, so I’ll have to warn you on that."

"No, it’s fine, I would love to listen to people talk about what they’re interested in. If anything, I’d like more if she did talk about what she wanted." He wasn’t worried about her rambling, though he was a little worried if she got carried away.

"Well, for now, I’ll see you the next time I train if you want. But I’ll be going to meet Diana." Waving at her, he turned to the side and walked through the entrance. It was incredibly different, more sterile, which his body hated, but definitely better built, leagues above even the upper district of the city, which Tellus is in.

"Hmm.. I should probably ask Tellus what she’s going to do next."