Atlas goes up to talk to the king.
Atlas-"Hey there Reggie"
King Reginald III-"Oh hello again Sir Atlas"
Atlas-"So there is another thing I wanted to talk to you about"
King Reginald III-"What is it?"
Atlas-"I interrogated that curseborn and think it would be a good idea to let him join the group who tried to free him"
King Reginald III-"You're suggesting to free the curseborn?"
Atlas-"Yes"
King Reginald III appears shocked by the suggestion.
King Reginald III-"Are you sure about this?"
Atlas-"I already talked the matter over with Lord Oswald back at the guild headquaters"
King Reginald III-"I see"
King Reginald III(in his head)-"Is he really suggesting to free the curseborn? Even if Oswald the all knowing said it would be a good idea it still seems outrageous. Still if Sir Atlas has already decided on this there is nothing I can do to stop him, curses"
King Reginald III-"What made you decide to free the... curseborn?"
Atlas-"The glowing dot pleaded me for it, after careful consideration I decided to agree with him. Of course everything I do is for the betterment of the world"
King Reginald III-"Very well then, you have my permission to free him. However, if things go wrong I request to not take blame for it"
Atlas-"Don't worry, if things go wrong I will take responsibility. He would not have been freed without me after all"
King Reginald III-"Well if that's all I will be off, have a good day Sir Atlas"
Atlas-"You as well"
King Reginald III(in his head)-"My son was right, this is embarrassing"
Atlas and King Reginald III walk away in different directions.
Atlas-"Always nice when I can wrap things up quickly"
The group of Julius, Adam, Elise, Joe, and Damion are all sitting together in the cell waiting for Atlas's return.
Julius-"I hope Atlas's talk with the king goes well"
Joe-"I doubt the king will refuse, hopefully"
Julius-"Hey Joe, there is something I was meaning to ask you"
Joe-"Yes?"
Julius-"A while ago you said that you didn't want to stay with our group"
Joe-"What? Oh right back when we were getting to this kingdom. I said that I was going for quit being an adventurer after that wyvern attack because of how dangerous it is"
Julius-"So, is that still true?"
Joe-"Umm, the part about adventuring being dangerous is definitely still true"
Julius-"I see"
Joe-"However, with that being the case. Maybe it would be good, if I stuck around. Help keep you guys safe and all that"
Damion-"I would like to have you around"
Joe-"Thank you"
Damion-"Although I doubt we would need your protection"
Joe-"Huh?"
Damion-"Oh was that also a figure of speech like with the money exchanger interview thing?"
Joe-"I'm having a serious moment here"
Damion-"Sorry"
Julius-"I would really appreciate it if you do stay with us Joe"
Joe-"Thanks man. I'll be sure to help in any way I can"
Joe hands his hand out for a fist bump.
Julius-"Earth skill: stone hand"
Julius creates a hand out of rocks and levitates it towards Joe's fist to preform the fist bump.
Joe-"(laughs) you know for second I thought you were going to just float into my fist, I didn't really think the fist bump through did I?"
The entire group including Joe laughs. Adam and Elise stand up and pat Joe on the back and both give him a thumbs up.
Joe-"Soon you guys won't wear those wooden masks anymore. In fact, you have had them on for a very long time"
Adam (in his head)-"He's right about that, I'm starting to sweat a lot in this mask"
Elise (in her head)-"We've had these masks on so long it would just be embarrassing to take them off before we leave the kingdom. Otherwise it would have been a waste of time. I'm sure Adam feels the same way"
Voice-"Since Adam and Elise are in our group it's likely anyone from this kingdom could easily figure out who the two people in the masks were"
Julius (in his head)-"I think it would be better to not tell them that, I'm sure they feel embarrassed enough as it is"
The door to the cell opens and Atlas walks in.
Atlas-"Good news, I talked with the king and the lot of you are free to go, including Damion"
Damion-"Thank you kind sir"
Damion bows along with Joe, Adam, and Elise.
Julius-"Thank you so much for everything you have done for us"
Atlas-"You're welcome. Now remember, I'm expecting great things from all of you so you better not disappoint"
Julius-"We will do our best sir"
Atlas-"Well I have other matters to attend to, in reality this task took a lot longer than I expected so I have to hurry along. Goodbye for now"
Atlas disappears in a blur with blinding speed.
Julius-"Atlas's speed defies the laws of physics, like actually does"
Voice-"That is what is possible with powerful enough skills"
Damion-"So, do we leave now?"
Julius-"Yes, and I don't think we need to sneak away this time"
Damion-"So you don't want me to wear that disguise?"
Joe-"Disguise?"
Julius-"Last time I had given Damion some brown hair dye and green eye contacts"
Joe-"What are contacts?"
Julius-"Little clear things you put over your eyes, you either use them to make your eyes look different or to help you see better"
Damion-"Do you think I need to wear that stuff again?"
Julius-"I don't think so, I'm sure other people besides curseborns have black hair and red eyes.
Joe-"Black hair is pretty common, I don't think red eyes are though"
Julius-"I'm sure it will be fine. If it does become a problem I can give him some contacts later, is that alright Damion"
Damion-"Sounds good"
Julius-"Well, let's be on our way then"
The group exits the cell and walks back up the stairway. The group walks out of the door with the guards standing there.
Guard-"Sir Atlas already briefed me on what happened, you're free to go"
Julius-"Thank you, have a good day"
Guard-"You as well"
The group continues down the hallway.
Joe-"Now that were in the hall of the castle, I hope that Prince Magnus doesn't show up again like last time-"
Joe pauses and looks around.
Julius-"What?"
Joe-"I kind of expected him to show up again"
Julius-"If you expected him to show up when you said that why did you say it?"
Joe-"I didn't expect that to happen until after I said it"
Julius-"Well it seems he has something more important to do"
The group continues walking and exits the castle and begins walking down the pathway through the houses. The group passes the church and looks over at the building.
Joe-"Remember when we went in there to get some people revived?"
Julius-"Yeah that was only early this morning"
Joe-"I know, it just feels like it was forever ago though"
Julius-"True a lot of stuff has happened"
Joe-"I wonder how Sir Williams is doing"
Julius-"I'm sure he is doing fine, probably been through a lot less than us the past several hours"
Joe-"That's for sure"
The group continues walking until they pass the kingdom walls. Once they make it another good distance away Adam and Elise finally take off their masks.
Elise-"Finally, I hated wearing that thing for so long"
Adam-"I significantly regret making those"
Damion-"Hello there"
Adam-"Um, hello?"
Damion-"Well this is the first time I've seen your faces"
Elise-"That is true"
Julius-"So... off to the next place then?"
Damion-"This is the first time in a while I've been outside of that kingdom so I'm good going anywhere"
Julius-"Any ideas?"
Elise-"There is this forest elf village not that far north from here"
Adam-"Oh yeah one of our old neighbors was from there right?"
Elise-"Yeah that one"
Joe-"Sounds good to me"
Julius-"Let's head off"
The group begins the walk towards the nearby forest elf village. Back at the kingdom Atlas is stretching getting ready to head back to the guild headquarters.
Atlas-"I've spent too long here, I would have left by now but I was sure you had to talk to me"
Prince Magnus along with Theodore and Abigail walk out towards him.
Atlas-"So, what is it that you need?"
Prince Magnus-"Permission"
Atlas-"Permission to do what?"
Prince Magnus-"We want to go to the kaiju archipelago"
Atlas-"Are you sure? Normally only A rank members of my guild go there. Sometimes some B ranks will tag along, I'm not quite sure your little group here is ready for that"
Prince Magnus-"You helped that band of misfits so much I figured I should get something, besides I'm the one whose spine you broke"
Atlas-"Very well, I suggest you stick to the outer isles, you might be able to handle those"
Prince Magnus-"I'll be sure to work my ways towards the center over time. You two ready?"
Abigail and Theodore-"Yes my lord"
Prince Magnus grabs Abigail and Theodore and all three of them blast off at light speed.
Atlas-"Guess he already knows where it is, although considering he can circle the planet seven times in a second he wouldn't struggle to find it"
Atlas looks off towards the horizon and sighs.
Atlas-"A lot of big things are coming aren't they... I hope all of you will be prepared, for everyone's sake"
End of chapter 41.