Antihero In the Hero Academy: I Can Connect the Past Heroes
Chapter 177: Famous Small Town (1)

Chapter 177: Famous Small Town (1)

The next day, the real action began. Cassandra suddenly asked Atlas if he wanted to see the duchy, which was almost complete.

Atlas, of course, answered "yes.".

It seemed like a short ’holiday’ had arrived... Of course, even a holiday could turn into hell for them.

A group of five, including Irene, Bellatrix, Cassandra, Juliet, and Atlas, set out the day after that question was asked.

They knew that teleportation would have been better, but they did not do so at Atlas’s request. The only reason was that Atlas wanted to see the roads and the existing signs.

The western part of the north, the region on the side of the continent facing the sea—the [Shorekeeper] region, named after Atlas’s surname—was the coldest place in the north outside of the dwarf kingdom. This is why the possibility of road damage was concerning to Atlas.

They had quickly grown accustomed to the road they had taken from the academy. However, there was an odd restlessness among the trio of Bellatrix, Juliet, and Cassandra.

After all, the trio, who had been teleporting or flying to places for a long time, were naturally uncomfortable with the carriage they were currently in.

Still, Atlas and Irene were quite happy. Even though Irene had never been on such a journey before, she wanted to see the city of Shorekeeper, which Cassandra had advanced to a high level of development.

After nearly two days of non-stop travel, the vampire driving the carriage could no longer endure it and suggested taking a break.

Even though the horses pulling the carriage had been enchanted and were strong enough never to tire, the same could not be said for the vampire himself.

That was precisely why the vampire seemed to want to rest.

After setting up a tent, the group began to rest. Atlas, however, had left with Juliet, who had come with him, to explore the area.

They had almost reached the halfway point between Herria City and Shorekeeper City, and as far as Atlas knew, there should be a small town along the road where Atlas and Juliet were travelling.

As the two continued along the road, they did indeed manage to spot the sign for the small town. The townspeople began to watch the pair with astonished eyes as soon as they saw them.

Of course, this was only natural. The likelihood of strangers passing through this town was virtually impossible. The absence of anything to the west made life difficult for the townspeople, but despite the bitter cold and the danger of monsters, the town had managed to survive.

On top of that, the number of deaths in a year was exactly zero. There were several reasons why they were able to survive in such impossible circumstances.

The support of the villagers for one another, people strong enough to hunt even the monsters classified as [A] grade by the hunters’ guild, and the coal mine itself, which descended deep into the small cave-like area behind the village.

These three factors kept them all alive.

"Welcome," a voice suddenly said from the area to their right.

The voice came from an old woman sitting in a rocking chair in front of a cabin, her skin wrinkled with age but her eyes shining with hope and love.

When Atlas turned towards the woman, he did not think about his rank or the noble title bestowed upon him; he simply bowed his head and said, "We are happy to be here, ma’am."

Juliet had begun scanning the entire small town from the moment she saw it. There was not a single person who worshipped the devil or an angel. There was not a single member of a race with negative karma in the town. Juliet had to admit it; this town was too pure.

"What a sweet young man," the old woman said suddenly, struggling to get to her feet.

Atlas immediately stopped her, saying, "Please don’t trouble yourself!" and ran to help the old woman sit back down.

"What wind brought you here, young man?" the kind old woman asked suddenly.

Atlas looked into the old woman’s eyes and said, "My name is Atlas Shorekeeper, ma’am. We are going to Shorekeeper City."

The old woman’s eyes were filled with the same astonishment as those of the crowd gathered around her.

"Aren’t you the Duke of the Empire?" the old woman asked gently and stood up again. Of course, Atlas stopped her and said:

"Even if I were, it is only a title; I am still an ordinary person. Please calm down."

Upon hearing Atlas’ words, one of the villagers immediately left to call the village headman, and shortly thereafter, the headman arrived at the old woman’s house at the entrance of the village with his entire family, in a state of great agitation.

"Welcome, Your Majesty, forgive us for not knowing of your arrival!" said the mayor of the village suddenly.

When Atlas heard the term ’Your Majesty,’ he paused for a few seconds. Of course, he knew that the duke’s daughter was called princess, his son prince, his wife duchess, and himself duke. However, in the absence of the emperor, the term "Your Majesty" could be used directly.

"Please calm down. We set up camp nearby. I came to check because we were aware of the village’s existence and it was closer to my region than Herria City. I’m sorry for coming without notice," Atlas said calmly.

The majority of the townspeople were half-humans. Like Leon, there were dozens of human-animal hybrids. It was truly a beautiful sight; Atlas had not seen so many half-humans together since leaving the capital.

"How dare we..." muttered the mayor, then cleared his throat and introduced himself:

"My name is Kai, sir. My family has been leading this village for generations. This is my wife Aleyna and my daughter Mona."

When Atlas heard these words and names, he prepared to formally introduce himself, but Juliet’s voice suddenly interrupted:

"Atlas, we must return."