Zachariel narrowed his eyes as she looked at Diega.
`Why is she smiling? Don’t tell me…`
He secretly glanced at the guard who shouted at him earlier.
The guard glanced alternately between Zachariel and Diega. His widened eyes had a hint of anxiety that caught Zachariel’s attention.
`I see, so that’s how it is.`
He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had transpired earlier.
`That guard first looked at me, and his expression slightly changed when he saw Diega.`
Zachariel opened his eyes and looked at Diega again.
“Diega, let’s go,” Zachariel said.
The guards sheathed their swords and went back to standing and patrolling the area.
The tense atmosphere from earlier was gone.
“Ah, okay big brother Zachariel!” Diega snapped out of her daze and plastered a worried look on her face.
Zachariel mocked her in his mind.
`How naïve of you, Diega. I’ll return this favor another time.`
The two of them left the area.
Zachariel called out for a carriage again.
“Big brother Zachariel, little Diega remembered that I actually have something to do today. I will go now. Goodbye!” She didn’t even wave her hand as she walked away.
`Reporting back to your prince, eh?`
Zachariel guessed what the little trickster was about to do.
“Okay, Diega. Take care!” He waved his hand at Diega.
Zachariel played along for now.
“Boy, where to go?” The carriage had arrived and the driver called out for him.
“To the commercial area, please.” Zachariel entered the carriage.
“Ha!” The driver whipped his horse and it started to gallop towards the commercial area.
…
“Lia, we’ll buy the weapon again another time, okay?” Iria was comforting Lia who had a depressed look on her face.
Earlier, Lia argued with a shopkeeper because she wanted to buy a weapon but it would cost her 20 silver coins.
Their quarreling caught the attention of many passersby.
Soon after, the Imperium guards arrived and the two girls were forced out of the shop.
“Hmph!” Lia pouted. She could not believe that her wish of repaying Zachariel ended up in a disaster.
`I’ll earn tons of money and I’m going to drown that shopkeeper’s face with gold coins one day!`
She was really angered when the shopkeeper did not give her a chance to negotiate with her.
Iria’s face twitched after seeing Lia’s reaction.
She already noticed that Lia wanted to buy that weapon for Zachariel, but she did not expose Lia.
After all, Lia was an archer. What was the use of a polearm for Lia?
“Lia, let’s go eat now. Come, follow me.” Iria’s stomach had long been empty and she wanted to find a restaurant as soon as possible.
“Okay.” Lia followed beside Iria.
“Anyway, why did you want to buy a weapon like a polearm? Are you trying to change your type of weapon, Lia?” Iria asked.
“Oh, Zachariel lost his polearm when he tried to save me yesterday. I wanted to buy a-“
Lia suddenly realized that she had spoken a sensitive matter to Iria. She covered her face, afraid to speak more of the matter.
`Oh no, you big idiot! Lia, you’ve done it really bad this time!`
She cursed herself.
Iria’s expression became dark. She clenched her fists and coldly asked.
“Lia, what do you mean by Zachariel saving you yesterday? Did something bad happen? Did that Amelia hurt you yesterday? Or was it somebody else?”
She exuded an imposing aura as if she was ordering Lia to tell her what happened yesterday.
Lia was still covering her face. Iria had no choice but to grab her. Even though she was smaller than Lia, she had the strength to drag Lia around.
“Come with me!”
They went to a secluded alley. Iria looked around.
She wanted to be sure that no one was nearby.
She went back to Lia and asked her again.
“Lia, say it to me. If you don’t say it to me, I’ll spread the matter to the class and I’m going to tell Sir Rufus about this matter tomorrow.”
Iria had no choice left but to threaten Lia.
Lia slowly lowered her hands. There were tears in her eyes.
`Zachariel, I’m sorry! I’m such a big idiot!`
Iria was shocked when she saw Lia crying. She suddenly felt bad about threatening Lia and was about to say something when Lia started talking.
“Yesterday, somebody abducted me after being knocked out. I was in the woods somewhere inside the city. I was afraid. I thought that I might die or something.” Lia tightly clasped her hands.
She imagined what might’ve happened if Zachariel did not save her.
“Zachariel was nearby and he was able to free me from the abductors. However, he lost his polearm because of it. That’s why I wanted to buy him a weapon to replace his lost polearm.”
She did not dare look at Iria at this point.
Her eyes still had tears flowing down in them. The thought of knowing that she might no longer see her classmates and Zachariel was something she could not accept.
Iria regretted her actions earlier.
`I shouldn’t have forced her. Damn it, Iria. I thought you didn’t want to see your classmates hurt.`
She was the one hurting them instead.
`How ironic.`
“Hmm? Lia? Iria?” A familiar cold voice resounded in the secluded alley.
The two girls widened their eyes.
`It’s Zachariel!` Iria panicked.
`Will he be angry if knows that I knew what happened yesterday?`
Iria looked at Zachariel. His red eyes stared at them.
“Lia? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Zachariel asked.
Lia couldn’t take it anymore and ran to him, crying.
Zachariel looked at Iria with narrowed eyes.
Iria felt a chill on her spine.
`What a dangerous look!`
Her body was drenched in a cold sweat. She gulped as she tried to find the right words to say to Zachariel.
“Zachariel, Lia only told me what happened yesterday. That’s all.” Iria stuttered.
“Is that so?” Zachariel increased the pressure on Iria.
After what happened earlier with Diega, he was having a hard time trusting people, including his classmates.
“Zachariel, listen to me. Lia accidentally told me when I asked her why she wanted to buy a weapon. All I know is that she wanted to replace the weapon you lost when you saved her yesterday.” Iria clenched her fists and withstood the pressure from Zachariel.
“Lia, is this true?” Zachariel asked. His eyes were still locked hard onto Iria.
Lia let go of him and wiped the tears in her eyes.
“Yes.” She responded.
“I see.” Zachariel turned around.
Iria heaved a sigh of relief.
“Lia, you don’t need to repay me by buying me another weapon. I’ll handle it on my own. I don’t want to burden you financially just because of that.”
Zachariel didn’t think that he was worthy enough to be repaid by Lia.
After all, Lia was abducted because of him.
`She must not know of it.`
He thought that Lia might hate him because he had brought trouble to her.
“Let’s go,” Zachariel said.
Iria grabbed Lia’s hands.
“Lia, I’m sorry about earlier. Let’s follow him, shall we?”
Lia nodded back at her and followed after Zachariel.
She had a downcast look when Zachariel said that she didn’t need to pay him back.
`Is it because I’m poor? Or maybe…`
A part of her was still worried that Zachariel rejected her.
“The two of you still haven’t eaten a lunch, right?” Zachariel asked them.
“Uh, yes,” Iria replied.
“Okay, let me treat you two for lunch today.” Zachariel invited them out, though his cold voice didn’t sound so inviting at all.
`I still have two silver coins left. It’s more than enough.`
The three of them entered a restaurant.
`The Wandering Restaurant? There’s also the Wandering Inn. Are they related?`
He remembered staying on the Wandering Inn during the school selection event.
“Hello, young sir and ladies. Welcome to the Wandering Restaurant.”
A staff friendly welcomed them to the restaurant.
Zachariel nodded and went further inside.
They sat at a table on the corner of the building, away from any other people. Zachariel was seated alone, while Lia and Iria were seated together on the other side of the square table.
The staff followed after them.
“Sir and ladies, here is our menu for today.”
He took out 3 tablets with a magic screen on them and gave them to the three customers.
`Magic screens are portable now?` Zachariel scrutinized the magic equipment.
There were wires on the side of the wooden frame.
`It must be an array formation. This is light and easy to use. How innovative.`
Zachariel was awed by how far Pandragea had reached when it comes to the applications of mana essence in their daily lives.
`Dapple Pie, 45 copper coins. Steamed Moonlit Fish, 55 copper coins. Fried Mantis, 15 silver coins. What else?`
He pressed the arrow down button.
`Alacarra Express, 20 silver coins. Demon Beef Steak, 35 silver coins.`
“I’ll take one serving of Alacarra Express, please.” Zachariel put out his order.
“Uh, the two of us will have the same order as him.” The other two girls wanted to eat the dapple pie, but they did not dare do so because it was too expensive.
The staff received their orders and went to the counter.
“Zachariel, was Lia really-?” Iria wanted to confirm what happened yesterday.
“Iria, now’s not the time for discussing such matters,” Zachariel remembered what his grandfather told of him.
It was inappropriate to discuss serious matters like this at the food table.
Iria was dumbstruck. She only realized that Zachariel was from the nobility, and that the nobility was really strict when it comes to teaching their children.
A few minutes later, their orders were given to them.
They ate their food and went out of the restaurant.
“Thank you for coming!” The staff bowed at them.
…
“Iria, do not tell anyone what happened yesterday.” Zachariel reminded her.
“Yes, I won’t,” Iria promised him.
Zachariel looked at Lia.
“Lia, why are you sad?” He asked.
“Uhm, I just wanted to repay my debt to you but you said you didn’t need it so…” Lia shyly replied.
Zachariel patted her head.
“Lia, it’s my own fault that I lost it, not yours, okay? I won’t blame you for it, ever.” He looked at her with a stiff smile on his expressionless face.
Lia was amused about Zachariel’s look.
`You idiot, why do you want to laugh at him right now?!`
She held the laughter inside.
Meanwhile, Iria observed the interaction between the two.
`Zachariel’s behavior had truly changed ever since last week. There’s no way he is this social in public and probably in private.`
She didn’t want to invade Zachariel’s privacy, but she was really bothered about what happened to Zachariel.
What she thought that on her part as being class W-1A’s class president, she needed to know the situation of each student in the class.
“Do you want to go back to your dormitories or do you still have somewhere else to go?” Zachariel asked.
“No, I don’t have anywhere else to go at the moment,” Iria replied.
Lia also shook her head.
“Okay, let’s go back then.”
They walked back to the dormitory area.
Lia and Iria walked together since they were in the same dormitory building.
Zachariel walked alone.
On the way, he basked under the warm red light of Solus.
`How refreshing.`
The wind from the northeast swarmed over his body.
`I wonder if I could still experience this peaceful scenery in the future.`
He was worried about the impending revolution.
The Emperor had locked his sights unto him and his family was in danger. Furthermore, there was Prince Kane who was deliberately targeting everyone close to him in recent times.
He knew that he could not report the matter with regards to Lia’s abduction, or else the Imperium guards might make him the suspect instead.
There was a high possibility that a captain guard and any high-ranking officer were working under the prince or the Emperor’s orders, or a loyal fan of them, and report the abduction to the superiors.
Once they knew about the incident, they will frame Zachariel, and he will have no choice but to be arrested.
`The authority that they possess is something I cannot confront head-on. I wonder what sir Matthias and the rest of the seniors are planning right now.`
He looked to his left, to the direction where the Great Schools were located.
`Damn it. Talent is one thing, converting it to strength and being alive while doing so is different.`
As far as he was concerned, he was simply wasting his talent.
He had still not cultivated yet except the last month or so.
And even though he did cultivate, the results of his effort were nowhere near satisfactory.
While he was walking on the large pathway, he saw two books left behind on a bench.
`What’s that?`
He approached it and read the book cover.
`A Guide to the Perfect Mana Essence Cultivation? Is this a joke?`
For Zachariel, there was no way the knowledge taught from the Great Schools could be surpassed by some random book he saw on a bench.
He picked up the other one and was also baffled about its title.
`A Guide to the Perfect Qi Essence Cultivation. This is getting ridiculous.`
He wanted to throw it away, but he thought for a second before picking the two books back and kept them.
`Hmph, let’s see if whatever this book says is true.`
He carried the two books on his way back. Who knows whether the contents of the two books could be true? He didn’t have any bad reason for rejecting a possible benefit to his cultivation journey.
If it fails, then he could just curse the author of the books for trying to deceive him and any other people that might’ve found it in his place.
As Zachariel’s figure disappeared in the far distance, two tall figures appeared out of thin air near the bench where the books were placed.
One of them was a middle-aged male elf. His bright-yellow hair fluttered as the wind blew on his diamond-shaped face. His yellow eyes looked in the direction where Zachariel went earlier.
“Tarron, are you sure he is the one that Reverend Valoris and Supreme Elder Wyngella are looking for?”
The woman behind the male elf named Tarron asked. Her pleasant voice could enchant any man, but not the elf in front of her.
She was a fairy. The light green wings on her back were almost transparent for the eyes to see.
Her mint-colored long hair covered a quarter of her right face. Her green eyes curiously looked over Tarron. She was wondering what this elf acquaintance of hers was thinking about.
“Arlette, have you heard of what a Primal grade is?” Tarron calmly responded with a question.
His deep voice was something unusual coming from an elf.
“Primal? Is that a grade higher than grade 9?” Arlette was confused.
She had never heard of this grade since she was a child.
“Zachariel is the real Child of Destiny, for only those who are Primal graded beings are the ones qualified to be blessed by a huge amount of sacred essence by the world and the universe itself.”
Tarron replied.
Arlette could not understand what Tarron was trying to say.
“Blessed by a huge amount of sacred essence? The world? And the universe? Tarron, what are you talking about?” She wanted to know what he was trying to say.
However, Tarron did not reply. His eyes were still looking in the direction where Zachariel disappeared.
“You foolish and idiotic humans. You do not know what kind of treasure you possess. Yet you blatantly try to purge an existence that could help you ascend from this world. If that is what you wish to do, then let us, Eldens, do this task in place of your foolishness instead.”
Tarron resumed his ramblings and Arlette could not understand anything.
“Arlette, let’s go back to the Embassy. The representatives from the Elden Conglomerate for the skirmish event will be here by the next two weeks. We’ll need to prepare their accommodations and also plan other things.” Tarron said to her.
“Two weeks? Isn’t that a bit too early?” Arlette asked.
“They just want to visit the Great Human Imperium and have their vacation here,” Tarron replied.
Arlette’s face twitched.
`The Eldens sure are arrogant, but they have the right to be arrogant as well.`
The talents produced each year by the Eldens were something that the humans could not rival.
After the small talk, the two of them vanished into the thin air again.
`Zachariel Strom, I hope that the gift I gave you will help you on your path today, for your role in the upcoming future will be bigger than just being a student in the Great School.`
Tarron hoped to receive any good news from Zachariel in the next few days.
`The Templars. I hope they and their masters have not yet breached the entrance to the altar, or else…`
