"Greenwood? As in the city lord's family name?" Gordon said curiously, almost as if he glazed over the first part of his name. "So you're his son then?"
Smiling at how the man didn't recognize his name, he nodded, "Yes, his oldest son. Have you met my little brother, Fenmore?"
"Ah, Fenmore! I have met him a couple of times. He's a playful little rascal, isn't he? Some of us have taken to calling him Little Crow, since he always has a Golden Crow with him. Of course, most of us call him Fen though, since he likes that nickname." Gordon chuckled as he thought of the rambunctious odd-eyed child that loved going around to all of the shops.
"He's definitely special, and I love him dearly. Technically, he's the Greenwood Prince, since his older brother is the king."
"Now that I think about it, he has said his big brother is the king, and is super cool and powerful, in his words... Wait a minute..." The older man's eyes stared directly at Seran with shock and recognition, "That means...?"
Seran put a finger to his own lips in a hushing manner, while giving Gordon a wink, "One of the good things about not being recognized is being able to go around town and not get swarmed or treated differently. I am just a regular citizen of Greenwood Town."
Gordon made a sound of epiphany, "That does make sense. The royal family in Everd couldn't go anywhere without a massive parade..."
The white-haired boy smiled, "I live more like Lady Layla, the Queen of the Elves. My title is only a formality, important during affairs related to the kingdom. All other times, I am just a normal person."
Nodding in agreement, Gordon said, "Yes, I quite like that idea. Your laws already state that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, and even foreign kings are not exempt from them, let alone the local king. If that is the case, why shouldn't you be treated like everyone else?" Gordon started to think about other things, until Seran snapped him out of it with a snap of his fingers by his ear, "Ah, sorry, I do that sometimes. When I start thinking, I tend to zone out."
"That's okay. I've done that more than enough times to know what it's like."
"Well, do you have anywhere, in particular, you want to go, or are you just sightseeing?"
Shrugging, the boy said, "I haven't been in town since the founding, so it should be pretty easy to guess that I know nothing about my own town since then. So, right now, I'm just sightseeing and visiting all of the shops. Of course, it would take some time to visit every single place, so I'm doing it a couple at a time."
Gordon chuckled, "If you need a guide, I'm more than happy to help. Whenever I'm not needed at the restaurant, which is quite often thanks to some new chefs from the culinary career courses at the school and some hired wait staff, I go around town as well."
"Thank you, Gordon, I'd be very thankful for your expert guidance."
"Bah, I'm no expert on anything. I just know almost every place there is since I was one of the earliest people to settle down here after the founding. Not the first, not by a long shot, but I moved here a good week or so after the founding, so I'm pretty close." The restaurateur gladly led Seran to the northern gate before beginning from there. Their first stop was at a general goods store owned by one of the original residence, Sammy's mother, Mary. "Miss Mary, hello!" Gordon shouted as he came forward to the counter, behind which were three ladies and then Mary herself, all of which were running as cashiers and customer service.
Mary, hair bound up in a bun, was just finishing up a transaction when she heard the shout, "Ah, Gordon! On another of your wandering breaks, I see." She had a smile on her face as she recognized the chef that often visited her store.
"Not this time, I'm afraid. I'm giving a tour of the shops to this young man here," Gordon gestured to Seran, who smiled and winked.
"Ah, Seran!" She stepped out from behind the counter and pulled the white-haired boy into a hug, "You little rascal, running off an adventure for nearly a year. Sammy was sad that his big brother disappeared without saying goodbye." Mary couldn't help half-scolding the nearly 11-year-old boy like a mother would after seeing her child come home.
Giggling, Seran returned the hug, "Sorry, Auntie Mary. I wanted to, but I promised Lady Layla that I'd help her, so I had to go. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Fen."
"I know, I know. Our little genius is very busy, can't keep him here forever." After letting him go, she asked, "So, is this a short visit or long-term return?"
"...Both? It's a short visit back to the town, but it'll be long-term after I finish my third quest. I've already been approved for my rank-up, so there are no worries about that. I just want to finish the third quest."
"Greenwood Village's young master has grown so much, already able to rank up as an adventurer. What rank are you about to be, then? Considering what you can do, it's definitely a good one." Mary's question perked up Gordon's interest too. As with all of the residents, he'd heard dozens of stories about his legendary abilities, and wondered if it was true.
Before Seran could answer, a disdainful snort came from one of the store's customers, "What does it matter, he's a kid. Even a genius wouldn't be better than an E-rank. I bet he's only getting a rank up because he's special."
Mary's mother bear attitude kicked into high gear as she heard this customer's words, "What was that, sir? Are you attempting to cause trouble in my store?"
He shrugged calmly, "Of course not, that'd be a waste of time. I'm just stating the truth. He's barely older than ten, just by looking at him. Even the Mage King was only an F-rank at his age. There's no way he's stronger than that."
Silently, without letting Mary continue, Seran flicked his wrist, withdrawing his guild card from his inventory like a magic trick and handed it to the man. The card, as per standard setup, read out:
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Name: Seran Greenwood
Known Titles: World's Strongest Demigod, Greenwood King, Greenwood Demigod, Elven Benefactor, Chimera Tamer, Lich Subjugator, Heaven's Child, Once and Future King
Age: 10
Rank: S (Provisional)
Class: Grand Sage
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