Chapter 49 Provision For The Future
That day, a strange scene played out as Ethan strolled into the bazaar with two beautiful girls alongside him.
But that wasn't the strange part, the strange part was that he did not shy away from interacting with the people present. He chitchatted with them as if he was one of them.
For example, after having the delicious skewers; he entered further into the bazaar and checked out the puppet show that was going on.
Just like before, everyone was shocked and unsure when Ethan suddenly showed up. But his kind and easygoing demeanor gradually melted their hearts like butter.
Ethan and the girls together watched a puppet show as they stood among the common folk without any hesitation. The show was made on the battle between a hero who slays an evil dragon. Ethan thought the story was pretty generic as he was from earth but Anicia enjoyed it to no end.
And as they say, gossip spreads faster than a coronavirus—the word spread throughout the entire bazaar from mouth to mouth that Ethan was just chilling as he wandered one stall to another and shop to another shop with two beautiful girls.
While exploring the bazaar, he bought a few handmade items from the peddlers and paid a gold coin for each making a strong impression on the populus.
Even though he had a reason for doing what he was doing, he truly did enjoy the little outing, especially the bazaar as it reminded him of Earth.
"Master, may I know what your intention is by doing this?" Afriel asked with curiosity directly voicing out his doubt in Ethan's head. 𝗳𝒓𝚎e𝚠𝒆𝐛𝐧𝐨v𝚎Ɩ.co𝓶
"Oh? You can also do this?" Ethan flinched momentarily and then calmly thought inwardly in surprise expecting that the thought would reach Afriel.
"Yes, forgive me for intruding like this. Ever since you comprehended a bit of your strength the temple also gained more room for activity." Afriel explained humbly.
"I see, and as for your question. Let me ask you a question in return, Is it truly so odd what I'm doing?" Ethan asked telepathically while walking as he along with others were heading back to the carriage after having done exploring most of the bazaar.
"It may not be strange for you as you are from another world but for the people around you, it is. And I know that you are not doing this on a whim. What is the point of getting friendly with commoners?" Afriel asked.
He was the wisest among all wingless angels but at the core, he still was a higher existence. He could not understand what benefits could the weak commoners bring to Ethan or his cause.
"This is all a provision for the future. You will understand when everything plays out as I have predicted. But if you are curious, then let's say that one should never underestimate the power of a common man." Ethan answered with an enigmatic smile on his face.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Anicia asked peering into Ethan's eyes.
"Nothing... It's fun wandering the city like this, no?" He smiled and dodged the question.
"Yes! We should come more often!" Anicia said with a cheerful smile on her face. Ethan smiled inwardly and thought, 'Oh I'm undoubtedly coming here every day alright'.
A momentary silence ensued as all of them continued strolling along. The sun was over the head but despite that, it wasn't much hot.
"It... Certainly wasn't as bad as I thought." Earlene muttered under her breath.
"Right? You should be more open-minded. Miss Earlene." Ethan jabbed and chuckled.
Earlene harrumphed and rolled her eyes as she thought, 'And since when did you become so kind? Don't think that no one knows your true nature!'
After spending nearly two hours in the massive bazaar, Ethan, Earlene, and Anicia boarded the carriage once again under a few gazes; some baffled, some happy, and some satisfied.
Before leaving, Ethan peeked outside the window and waved his hand at the many people that were watching him.
"Y-young Master... Come again!" The skewer seller yelled timidly with some hesitation and all the courage he had.
"Sure, I will!" Ethan yelled back with an amiable smile.
The carriage finally left the bazaar as a loud sound of cheering and applauding rang behind.
Anicia had never seen something quite like this in her life, she stretched herself and inched closer to Ethan who was sitting on the window side, and waved merrily.
The carriage then went over to the commercial district where will the branches of major organizations were located, such as the Merchant Association, Mercenary Union, etc, along with individual workshops of blacksmiths, craftsmen, and carpenters.
This was a very developed and grand part of the city with major infrastructure and beautiful, lavish tall buildings.
Ethan did not bother to spend time going inside each building as there was much else to see and do. He simply looked at each building of the major important organization from the carriage for a few moments and mentally noted their general location for future convenience.
The carriage then passed through the residential district where houses and mansions were lined up systematically much like in 18th-century London.
Ethan was now sure that Adenberd city indeed live up to its hype. The people were mostly happy, it was developed and everything seemed to be going well.
There was so much to explore that time was running out, from morning to late afternoon the carriage traveled endlessly going places such as beautiful and green public parks, busy inns, lively taverns, the bustling city square, town hall, army quarters, training facilities, public library, and other countless things.
"This city truly is quite something," Earlene muttered as the image of her hometown flashed in her mind. The difference was greater than heaven and earth.
"This is the accumulated growth and development of centuries," Ethan said nonchalantly gazing outside the window with a melancholic look on his face.
Both Earlene and Anicia looked at each other, sighed, and then nodded with bitter smiles on their faces.
"It's way much larger than I first imagined it to be I must say. It's almost evening now... I think we have been to most places. Where to next?" Ethan averted his gaze from the window as he looked at the two girls and asked.
"Hmm... Let's see... I think we have been to almost all of the places now as far as I know... Oh right! There's still the church left." Earlene said, recalling her trip to the city as she crossed off all the places they had been to.
"The Church eey?" Ethan muttered and once again moved his head toward the window as he fell into a trance seemingly having something on his mind as he peacefully gazed at the distant blue drifting clouds.