A Degenerate's Tale

"Is there a particular place you want to go?" Earl asked the Princess as they exited the Royal Palace.

"Amazing..." Princess Sharon let out a sound after walking out the gates of the Royal Palace. Her pretty blue eyes darted around as she absorbed all the information around her. The scent of the city... The buildings that she could only look at from afar before... She would remember all of this.

Earl did not interrupt her little moment. In a short while, she snapped out of her daze and blushed in embarrassment.

"...You could've said something..."

"I didn't want to interrupt you. It's your first time outside after all. What do you think, Princess?"

"It's amazing! I want to see more!"

"Okay. I'll show you some of my favourite places then."

"Sounds good!" Sharon jumped and ran in front of Earl. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

They arrived at the Merchant District via a carriage.

Despite the parade taking place in the city right now, the Merchant District was as lively as ever.

"So many people..." The Princess stopped on her tracks after exiting the carriage.

Earl tossed the driver a few coins and hurriedly pulled Sharon by her hand. "Be careful, Princess. You are small so people might bump into you without knowing."

"Ah." She let out a voice of realization before pouting. "You've been taking care of me a lot today. I'm the older one you know?"

"Yes, yes. Just consider this a junior helping his senior, okay?"

"Not just his senior. His Princess!" Princess Sharon exclaimed and hugged Earl's hand.

The display was too cute for Earl to not let out a chuckle.

"Are you laughing at your Princess?"

"Not at all. Come, there's a lot of things to look at."

Earl led Sharon by the hands as they walked through the busy streets of the Merchant District. Passing by each stall one by one, the Princess was slowly becoming more educated about the outside world. The practices of merchants. The steady stream of tourists in Ablax. Pricing of goods and et cetera.

"Princess. Would you like some crepe?" Earl stopped and pointed to a certain stall.

A certain brown stall was situated with a steady line of people. At the top of the stall was a menu that listed the choices of crepe fillings.

"Crepe? This Princess has never tried such a thing!" Sharon said with great confidence.

"I'll take that as a yes. It's what the people around us are eating. Smells good, doesn't it?"

The Princess sniffed the air and eyed Earl intensely. "...Yes."

"What filling does the Princess want?" Earl pointed.

"What does Earl like?"

"I like the salted caramel."

She nodded. "Very well. I will take that then."

A few minutes later, the two walked away with a freshly made crepe in their hands. Earl led the young princess to a nearby bench for them to sit down.

Princess Sharon had the salted caramel filling whereas Earl had the blueberry sauce and honey.

"How come you got a different one from what you said you liked?" She asked curiously, tilting her little head to the side.

"So we can share and have variety." Earl placed his crepe near the Princess's lips. "Have a bite."

Sharon blushed and said her characteristic line before chomping down onto the crepe. "W-well, since you've offered..."

Her eyes closed as she savoured the taste.

Gulp.

"This is delicious!" She beamed happily. She then repeated what Earl had just done to her, extending her crepe to Earl's mouth. "S-since you offered yours, I guess I have no choice but to offer mine as well."

"Thank you, Princess." Earl took a bite of the salted caramel crepe.

The crunchiness of the crepe. The sweetness of the caramel was balanced out by the salt. It was perfect.

"So?"

"It's even better than usual since it's yours, Princess."

"Y-you got that right!"

The two was able to enjoy their crepe together at the bench in the Merchant District without any interruptions.

"I want to see where you live next!" The Princess told Earl after finishing her crepe.

"Okay. We would need to head over to the Mage District then."

"Mage District? Is there anything exciting to do there?"

Earl thought for a moment and said. "There is a museum that houses many magical instruments in the Mage District."

"Magical instruments? Merlin's old bones are probably going to end up in there someday..."

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing at all! Let's go find a carriage!" Sharon grabbed Earl by the hand and dragged him to find the nearest carriage.

It did not take long to find one. Earl tossed the man a few coins and the carriage began moving to their next destination, the Mage District.

The city was divided into four. Crossing from one section into another involved crossing over a bridge. This was because the city was divided by an artificial river which is also used as a water system.

"Woah..." The Princess let out another sigh of amazement when she saw the water system from the carriage window.

The Mage District was almost like a different city compared to the Merchant District. The busyness of businesses was nonexistent. There were only families taking walks. Most were young mothers taking their child out on a stroller.

Houses appeared to be clean and each was unique, decorated by various magic artefacts. Neatly trimmed bushes lined the streets and there were a few trees here and there. Overall, it was a calm and relaxing area of the city.