The Pains of Illiteracy.

The revenge and repayment would come in the future. For now, Atlas decided to focus on the present.

"Tell me, Baron Helm. What is this place? What are you doing here? And why was my family heading to this place?" he asked.

He had intentionally avoided talking about this topic during their conversation as Atlas wanted to first gather as much information as possible.

Being thrust into a random body without any knowledge of the setting or plot has been a frustrating experience for him. All his words and actions had to be carefully measured, being careful of not exposing himself through his ignorance.

Now, after judging that he had gained sufficient understanding of his identity and the world, Atlas finally broached onto this topic.

"I was hoping that you would ask me that, my liege." The large-bodied man replied, his face turning pensive. He then began his narration.

"The territories of my Helm Family are neither large nor rich. It rests on the very borders of the Brooding Dark Forest, adjacent to a repulsive swamp. All in all, it is unremarkable and unimportant." A bitter smile appeared on his face as he continued, "However, it was also these very same properties that made the invaders overlook this place and spare the lands."

Getting up from his chair, the Baron rushed towards a shoddy wooden drawer adjacent to the door. Opening it, he brought out a letter.

"Last month, three days before the capital's fall, our wise king sent me this letter." He handed it over to the young prince for his perusal.

Atlas received the white envelope with his hands. He noticed that the cover was unmarked before turning to its back. Noticing the elaborate wax seal, he ran his fingers over its surface, noting its ridges and peaks.

'An elaborate symbol. Is this the Constantine Family's emblem?' Atlas thought to himself. Honestly, he couldn't garner much from the broken wax seal's image. All that he saw was an overly complex symbol.

Mentally shrugging, Atlas opened the envelope and pulled out the carefully folded letter within. He immediately noted the rough feel of the paper.

'Not as smooth or white as modern paper. Looks like the paper/printing industry is very backward in this world.'

Well, there at least seemed to be an industry. Imagine him finding out that everything within this world ran with magic and magic devices without the slightest mechanical innovation.

That would be a nightmare for a person originating from a non-magic world.

Fortunately, that was not the case with this world as Atlas had learned from the Shadow Monarch. While magic still dominated humanity's study, there were also developments on the sciences and mechanics side. Of course, many years had passed since the Shadow Monarch's passing leading Atlas to hope that the field hadn't been a passing fad.

Opening the folded sheets, Atlas laid his eyes on the foreign language of the alien world for the first time. The result…

Was unexpected.

'What the fu*k!? What are these symbols? Are they the alphabets of this world? Why can't I read it!?!' Atlas felt his face stiffen.

This was bad. Very, very bad. Not being able to read and write would severely impact his abilities.

'Why can I talk and understand the language just fine then!? Who the fu*k was in charge of my transmigration? What is this!? Why are you doing such a sloppy job? If you're giving me a cheat, give it to me fully!!'

It seemed that God had given him the ability to translate the alien language while speaking but failed to extend this service to his reading and writing.

'God must be a sadistic pervert. How else can you explain everything that has happened to me so far?'

"My liege? Is something wrong?"

Even the Baron seemed to have noticed Atlas' distress.

Hearing his question, Atlas knew that he had to answer. More importantly, he had to make a choice. A choice that might potentially reduce all of his built-up favorability with the Baron.

'I need to do this! Dammit!' Atlas gritted his teeth and decided to come clean.

"I-I can't read. I haven't been taught yet."

"Ah? Ah!" The Baron took a moment to process his answer. "B-but, you're already thirteen years old, my liege!"

Pity and uncertainty filled the large Baron's eyes.

'This is one thing that I wouldn't be able to lie out of. Better come clean.'

"I-I know. It's just that I've always found the process of learning, boring. Father and Mother were also compliant to my demands." A crestfallen expression appeared on his face. "B-but now I've realized its importance. You'll teach me right, Sir Baron?"

Atlas could only show the best 'sad puppy dog' expression that he could make and hope that the Baron took pity on his character. His gaze unflinchingly stared at the flustered Barons' face, praying that the larger man would concede.

"O-of course I would, my liege! To teach a prince would be this one's honor!!" He passionately declared, thumping at his chest.

'That worked!? So quickly too?'

Atlas felt baffled. Honestly, he was expecting a lot of verbal back-and-forths followed by pleading and crying. Surprisingly, it had taken him nothing to get the intended result.

'Is my charm that high? Now that I think about it, I have yet to check my looks in this world? Seeing as to how I'm a Prince, it should be very high, right?'

He sure hoped that it would be high. The narcissist he was, Atlas couldn't imagine life having an ugly face.

"Could Sir Baron tell me what's written on this letter?"

Thoughts about his appearance could wait. There were more important things in hand now.

"Yes, my liege! The letter details the current state of the war, and how our wise king was unsure of our Kingdom's victory. He then asks me to gather the inhabitants of my fief and establish a small recluse within the forest. Somewhere that is hidden so that His Majesty and his family could stay hidden from the invaders."

"The moment I received the letter, I did just that. I packed the necessities, gathered my servants and citizens, and found a place where a simple town could be established, hidden from the outside and not easily found."

"So that is where we are, huh?" Atlas absentmindedly asked. He stared at the poorly-constructed ceiling and felt the facts click within his mind.

'That explains why a Baron would be willing to stay in such piss-poor conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if this house is one of the best-constructed buildings within this town.'

Noticing the young prince blankly staring at the ceiling, the Baron scratched the back of his head and embarrassedly said, "I understand this isn't much compared to what my liege is used to. But this is the best that the town has to offer."

"I want to see the town."

Atlas suddenly spoke.

"My liege?" the Baron blankly stared. He then immediately shook his head and said, "Definitely not, my liege! Your body was terribly bruised when you were brought here. You have to rest!"

"Baron Helm."

Atlas spoke with an unnatural firmness in his voice.

"I WANT to see the town."

"...as you wish, my liege."

The Baron heeded the young prince's orders.

---

The young prince's tour had to be delayed by a few dozen minutes. After gladly getting up from the hard bed, Atlas noticed the article clothing his body; it consisted of a single oversized shirt, gladly donated by the Baron. His previous set of clothing had been lost in the river stream.

Releasing that he couldn't leave the house like this, Atlas demanded the Baron for a new set of clothes. This proved to be difficult as the Baron himself did not have children or family to call his own; a fact that frankly surprised the prince.

With how gently his bear-like physique hugged the prince, Atlas automatically assumed that the man had children. However, an instant's thinking bore him the answer to why this man was yet unmarried.

His bear-like physique and piggish face.

Atlas couldn't imagine any woman assenting to marrying that.

After waiting for some time for a servant to go and borrow a set of clean clothes from one of the families settled in the town, Atlas wore a coarse set of pants and starched, baggy shirt, and finally began on his tour. The large-bodied Baron guided him.

Leaving the confines of the Baron's house, Atlas was immediately struck with the realization of why the Baron chose the words 'repulsive swamp' to describe this place.

It was quite literally a repulsive swamp.