Published at 18th of January 2023 7:47 pm

Side Stories: Chapter 6

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As if the frown on her face had been an illusion, Lubella greeted Wesker like nothing happened. She greeted him with perfect etiquette and politeness that it was unbelievable that she had been complaining about the man in front of her not long ago.

“I sure am lucky. I thought I would've had to return without seeing the Saintess today.”

“I apologize that I couldn't keep my promise. It was for a very important matter, so I hope that you will quell your anger.”

“Are you insinuating that I'm angry? How could I be? Hasn't it already been agreed between us that if the dragon slayers come, you would prioritize them above the promise we made between us? Of course. It's only natural that you would place the dragon slayers above a mere duke's son.” Although Wesker smiled and said that he completely understood, anyone could tell by his mocking tone that he didn't truly mean his words. Weig's fingers itched to move. At that instant, he wanted to pull out his sword and crack this arrogant guy's head.

“Thank you for understanding.” In comparison, Lubella calmly bowed her head and asked, “But sir, I thought you returned some time ago. Did you have something else to attend to?”

“There was nothing like that. I finished my conversation with His Holiness already. I was just looking around the temple because it has been a long time since I've been here. The sightseeing was truly worth it since I happened to meet you,” Wesker said amiably. However, everyone also knew Wesker had been waiting for Lubella the whole time and that sightseeing was simply an excuse; no, perhaps, Lubella wasn't the only reason why he waited.

“So, is this person the legendary dragon slayer?” Wesker asked, glancing at Zich and Lyla. His eyes looked up and down at them.

‘He really is an easy guy to read,” Zich thought. Although he was trying to hide it and apparently concealing it pretty well that people without keen eyes wouldn't be able to catch it, Zich knew the emotions in Wesker's eyes: envy and jealousy. These emotions deepened the moment his eyes darted to Lyla and returned to him. Not only did Zich have the title of dragon slayer and was close enough to the Karuwimans that they would push off their promise with him, but Zich had a woman with incomparable beauty standing by his side. Even Zich thought he was in the perfect position to attract envy from shallow men.

“Nice to meet you, sir. If I'm not wrong, I think you are probably the one called the best and strongest among the dragon slayers, Sir Zich? Am I right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I heard that you are also called the Hero of Strength?”

“…That is also true.”

It seemed like the damn nickname that started in Violuwin was still following him here. However, it was a natural occurrence. After all the great accomplishments he had made, numerous people were curious about Zich's past and many actively worked to find out about it. As Violuwin continued to promote Zich and his party's heroic deeds to promote their tourism industry, it didn't take long for the fact that this same group was also the dragon slayers and ones who annihilated the Bellids. All these accomplishments were attributed to one person, and Zich's fame exploded even more.

Violuwin obviously didn't miss this opportunity. These legendary heroes had left huge marks in Violuwin, so the city began to promote Zich and his party even more. The titles they attached to these heroes became firmly established. Of course, Zich wasn't pleased by his hero title even though he didn't get chills every time he heard it.

“Then, the lady next to you must be the mage hero, Ms. Lyla.”

“It's as you say.”

“She's as beautiful as the rumors say.”

“Thank you for your compliment.” Lyla felt disgusted by his lecherous gaze, but she passed over the matter. She was already used to these gazes, and a look from a stranger didn't faze her in the slightest. Seeing Lyla's indifferent response irked Wesker, and Zich felt Wesker's jealousy deepen even more.

“I've tremendously enjoyed hearing all the stories about you both. It felt as if I was listening to fairytales I read in my youth a long time ago. If you both aren't busy, perhaps, I could hear those stories in person…”

“I'm busy, sir,” Zich said instantly and cut off Wesker's proposal. There was a slight falter in Wesker's smiling face. His wiggling eyebrows hinted at his emotions. It almost seemed like Wesker's fake mask was breaking too easily, but it was understandable considering his status. At Miftil, no one could refuse him like this as the duke's son. Even if they went as far as refusing his request, they, of course, refused him with utmost politeness. Thus, Zich's response was a level of rudeness he had never encountered before and it was only natural that his façade broke slightly.

However, Wesker didn't react any more strongly than this. He was a noble to the core and the education and social etiquette that he received since his youth allowed him to restrain himself.

“…I see. That's disappointing to hear, but I suppose it can't be helped.”

Wesker took one step backward. If he could, he wanted to drag Zich this instant and slice his head off, but it was impossible. Instead, Wesker etched this incident deep into his heart.

“Since I managed to see the Saintess and the great heroes, I will make my leave now.” Wesker bowed once and left the company.

“He surprisingly backed away calmly,” Lyla remarked.

“It's his loss if he fights here. Not many guys can act without a second thought like me,” Zich responded.

“Sir Zich, I guess you are also well aware that you act without thinking.”

At Lubella's words, Zich puffed his chest with pride. “Of course.”

“The Saintess isn't complimenting you,” Lyla said.

“Of course I know that too.” Nothing got through him, and his shamelessness was really admirable. It was to the extent that the three people who were already used to Zich's personality clicked their tongues.

“Honestly, I'm sure that the Saintess felt glad inside her mind, regardless of what happens afterward.”

“…I'm not going to answer that.”

“Just saying that is a confirmation already.”

“Is this really all right? He's the Duke's heir of the Miftil Kingdom. If you make him your enemy, you might have to make not only the dukedom but the whole Miftil Kingdom as your enemy,” Lubella asked with concern.

“So, is that a problem for me?”

“There is…” Come to think of it, this wasn't a problem for him. No matter how strong the Miftil Kingdom was, it was quite far from Zich's range of activities.

“They might send assassins…” Lubella murmured her last words. She also knew very well that assassins couldn't beat Zich.

“See what I mean? No matter how angry he gets, he doesn't have the power to do anything to me.”

“Even then, Sir Zich, you should still be careful. There's nothing good about turning a whole kingdom into your enemy.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Although he said this, Zich had no intentions of changing his attitude even if the situation really turned for the worst and the Miftil Kingdom turned against him.

‘I can easily crush one kingdom.” Zich calmly thought things that others wouldn't even dare to think.

Even Lubella and Weig had grown quite accustomed to Zich's mindset, but they would gape in shock if they could read Zich's thoughts. Then they showed Zich and Lyla to their rooms and left. The room assigned to them was extremely luxurious. Lyla jumped into bed, and the soft blanket enveloped her.

“So that's Wesker Grashane.” She moved her neck and looked at Zich.

Zich pulled out a chair nearby and answered “Yeah, you never met him in person.”

“Yeah, I just have him in my memories.”

“His arrogance knows no limits.”

“But his skills aren't bad.”

“It's way better than ‘not bad.”. Rather, he's one of the best when it comes to talent and ability. In the Era of Demon People, he even defeated some of them. But that's the extent of his talent. He's way too drunk on his own strength and doesn't know his place.”

“To the point where he tried to fight head-on with the Demon Lord of Strength, Zich Moore, right?”

When Lyla said this playfully, Zich chuckled and said, “Back then, I wasn't called the Demon Lord yet, so it's understandable that he tried to fight me with his overconfidence. I don't have that good of a memory, but I clearly remember what happened during our fight. His skills were pretty good, but most of all, the expressions he made after being crushed mercilessly by me were hilarious.”

Wesker had been an extremely fun toy, perfectly suitable for Zich's sadistic hobby. However, Zich wasn't able to kill Wesker then, and it hadn't been on purpose.

“If Glen Zenard hadn't intervened, I would have played with him a little more.” Zich had hoped for a rematch with Wesker because he hoped Wesker could entertain him again. However, Zich wasn't able to fulfill his expectations.

“I had no idea that Glen Zenard would beat me to it after rescuing Wesker.” When he heard this news, Zich clicked his tongue in disappointment. It was the same feeling of loss that a child felt after their toy broke. “Come to think of it, was that also part of Glen Zenard's plan?”

“Yeah,” Lyla answered.

“Geez, that guy is involved with everything. Then, was Grashane's personality created by Glen Zenard too?”

“No, that's not it. Grashane has always been like that, and Glen Zenard just used his personality to his advantage.”

Zich sarcastically replied, “So Wesker always had such a cool personality? Wow, he's really an amazing guy too.”

“Will it be all right?” Lyla asked.

“What do you mean?”

“About Grashane.”

“Are you concerned that he'll cause problems at the festival? Don't worry. I'll personally finish what I started before Glen Zenard beat me to it.”

“Considering his personality, it's highly possible that he'll cause problems at the festival, but that's not what I'm talking about.”

“Then what is it?”

“They said the other kids would be arriving later too.” The kids Lyla was referring to were Hans, Snoc, Elena, and Lara—in short, all the disciples. Since they were all dragon slayers and received parts of the dragon, it was only natural that they would be invited to the festival.

“What's wrong with that?”

“He's Lara's fiancé.”

After hearing Lyla's words, Zich recalled that Lara's surname was Browning, and her family was the Marquess family of the Miftil Kingdom. Zich said, “On second thought, I think I've also heard something about that.”

“Of course, the engagement was broken when Lara ran away from the family and got expelled, but Wesker won't easily let her go if he meets her. He's the type that obsesses over things that he considers as his.”

“His…what an interesting mindset. Well, I won't say I'm surprised that he thinks like that.”

“That's the reason why he clashed with Zenard in the first place. He started conspiring after he saw that Lara had a crush on Zenard, and Zenard used that situation to increase Lara's affinity for him.”

“I guess it was a battle between the two pieces of trash.”

Lyla felt extremely sorry for Lara who was stuck between them.

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