"Now do everything as I said"
The guide whispers to Edward as they appoarching the gate to the mother city of Dawnspire,the gate was heavily guarded with knights along with their Big gray sword on their belt,the guide appoarch the knights right beside the gate along with Edward behind the Guide.
"Halt,enter and exit permit. "
The Guide grabs a piece of paper from his pocket and then hand it to the Guard.
"..."
The guard examines the permit carefully as he examines Edward secretly
"Who's that " The guard asks with curiosity as he slowly walks towards Edward.
"It's none of your business." The guide replies as he grab the Guard by the shoulder and give him a glare
"We need to know,young man may I have your Citizenship certificate-"
"I said,it's not of your business"
The Guide shows something on his arm that make the guard goes silenced..slowly the guard backed up
"O-open the gates.." The guards shouts to his colleague with a stutter,his colleague opening the gate..
"H-have a good night sir"
The guard salutes the Guide and Edward while trembling as the two of them entering the city
"Welcome to city of Heliora" The guide said while guiding Edward into the city,Edward followed the guide from behind while feeling a little nervous about his appearance.
"It's pretty late, but there might still be a barber shop open." The city of Heliora is very quiet at night, with only the sound of the knights' horses patrolling, accompanied by the chirping of cricket
The city filled with colourful buildings, and each building has a glass jar containing star-shaped light magic, which is hung right in front of the building to illuminate the street at night.
The guide along with Edward walks toward a barbershop,
"Don't do anything stupid"
The Guide whispered to him before opening the barber shop door and entering, followed by Edward, who was still nervous despite being covered in his red cloak.
"Ah, welcome, welcome." The barber greeted them with a warm, friendly smile.
"So, who wants to get their hair cut first? The blue cloak or the red cloak?"
"My friend here is an explorer who hasn't had a haircut in a long time, so he wants to get clean."
said the guide kindly, gesturing for Edward to open his cloak, which he did with a hint of embarrassment..His hair was messy and reached his shoulders, his face was covered in dirt and dust,the clothes he wore were covered in brown stains from the soil and dust in the wild.
"Wow..that's uhh,a pretty interesting traveler"
The barber laughed awkwardly with his eyes closed,The two of them looks at the barber blankly
"Uhh,so..take a seat! "
The Barber points at the seat with a little bow,allowing Edward to sit on the empty seats..
Edward sits on the red cotton chair and look at his reflection on the mirror while the barber tie the fastener part of the hair-cutting cloth around his neck.
"So,what kind of model would you like? "
"Just make him more handsome"
The barber chuckled "Alright boss. "
The Barber replies with a friendly the as he grab his stainless steel scissors and began cutting the boy's long hair
"So kid,what's your name? "
The Barber asks with curiosity.
"It's ed-"
"Noah,his name is Noah" The Guide suddenly interrupts Edward's words.
"Ah Noah,lovely name"
"Yeah,haha" Edward chuckled awkwardly.
"The name's Johannes,call me Joe for short" The Barber replies while cutting the boy's hair
"Nice name. " Edward responds
The room filled with the sound of scissors and the humming of Joe
"Well,I'm gonna head out..get some new fresh clothes for Noah."
The Guide rises from the bench then walks towards the door.
"See you later. " The Guide exits the barbershop leaving it filled with scissors sounds
"So uhh joe,at what age you started this Barbershop? "
Edward asks to avoid awkwardness
"Oh,i started this Barbershop when I was 15!-"
And the whole hour filled with Joe's journey from the Celestian kingdom and migrated to the Dawnspire kingdom for a new start
1 HOUR LATER
The Guide arrives with a new clothes,he scans the barbershop searching for the last callistar,suddenly his eyes Capture Joe..A man with a dog T-shirt and thick beard.
"Where's the kid? " The Guide asks calmly while still scanning the Barbershop filled with dog pictures
"Oh,Noah is at the bathroom..taking a bath" Joe responds while sits on his sofa.
"Oh yea,that's gonna be 7 Golden coin" Joe said while extend his hand for the fee
The Guide reaches for his pocket and quickly hand the golden coin to Joe.
"Thank you"
"No problem"
The Guide slowly appoarch the bathroom at the end of the room then knocking on it
"Kid?,you there? "
The Guide asks with a high tone.
"Yea yea! "
"I'm leaving the clothes on the door alright?"
The Guide puts the new clothes on the shelves beside the yellow bathroom door.
A minutes later,Edward grabs the clothes and quickly wears it..the warm clothes relaxes his skin
"Whew..what a nice clothes" Edward mumbles about his clothes as he steps out of the bathroom
Edward steps out while wearing a maroon hooded long sleeve shirt with an a blue jeans complete with an black old leather belt along with a brown leather bracelet and his new short hair.
"Whoowie!,you sure gonna steal a lot of lady's heart! "
Joe says with a mocking tone while pats Edward's back
"Alright,now we gonna go to a nearby inn..thanks Joe" The Guide slowly appoarching the while waving at the Barber.
"Thanks Joe" Edward adds while waving and smiles warmly at the Barber
"See you guys later!" Joe replies the waves with a warm smile as watching them exit his Barbershop
"So..what now? " Edward whisper at The Guide while following him from behind.
"Nearby Inn..the Law office is still closed..its 2AM in the morning. "
The Guide respond while walking to a nearby inn.
"Oh..wait,I didn't get your name..what's your name? And how did you know me so much? "
Edward leans closer expecting an answer
"None of that matters,what matters is you join the hunters and survive. "
The Guide respond in a cold tone while keep his gaze at the inn.
"..Stop playing mysterious with me plea-"
The Guide stops and shifts his gaze at Edward behind him.
"It's none of your business kid and it's for your own safety..none of that matters to you"
The guide responds with an cold tone and a terrifying gaze.
"(Sighs),Alright alright.. " Edward scarcthes his head while they continue to appoarching the Inn
The two of them enters the inn,the receptionist a lady with a black rose tattoo on her neck looks at them with excitement
"Ah..you are the one who reserved 5 hours ago right?.. Welcome welcome? " The Receptionist lady smiles warmly
"Room 50 right?" The Guide asks
"Yep, room 50 second floor" The Lady respond as he hands the key to Edward
"Have a nice night!" The lady smiles warmly
"Thank you" Edward responds with a warm smile.
"Well,I'm gonna head out,see you tomorrow. "
"Huh? Oh.. Alright. "
Edward waves at the Guide as he exit the inn and disappeared into the night, Edward stands there while sighing
"That's your family? " The receptionist asks while took a little glare at his face.
"Nah,just a random good guy I met, anyways goodnight"
Edward walks towards the wooden stairs and takes the stairs to second floor,where he unlocked his room,he was instantly greeted with a warm and cozy vibe of the room,Edward enters the room and locked it from inside then quickly to the comfortable thick bed.
"Oooh..it's been so long. "
Edward hugs one of the pillows and smiles gratefully,he stares at the ceiling of the room,reflecting on his fate so far and his goals before finally falling asleep on the comfortable bed.