Free Web NovelChapter 152: Zhen Bugar
The carriage came abruptly to a halt when the tamed monsters, who pulled the carriage, got scared by the large fire attack.
The agonizing cry of the burned monsters was heard loud and clear on the vast field.
"W-what happened?" Lena asked concernedly as she stuck her head outside.
"..."
However, none of the three replied nor did they even pay attention to what she said as they focused on what was in the front.
The silhouette of a man approaching them was visible.
Despite being far away, they realized that the pressure the person was emitting resembled that of people like Elsa and Lereon.
"..."
Soon, the person was in clear sight.
It was a man approximately in his thirties. freewёbnoνel.com
His long black hair was tied and he wore a skintight black shirt, stressing his well-toned body, and loose grey pants.
"That’s..."
Mika connected the dots.
"A member of the Grand Order." Sylvia said sternly.
"Zhen Bugar..." Lily muttered surprised.
He was the fire mage in the Grand Order and thus, the officially strongest fire mage.
"But what is he doing here...?" Sylvia wondered.
Usually, one would not see a member of the Grand Order going out hunting some regular monsters. Most of its members only take action or participate in battles if a request was submitted for them or if an emergency involving demons surfaced.
And people, who could request them, were most of the time people with a great status.
"..."
The man stopped right in front of them.
With his fierce red eyes, he gazed at the three intensely.
Obviously, the three turned nervous in the face of someone, who gave them a feeling of being inspected.
"I suppose you’re Lily Hayth?" he said, looking at Lily.
"Y-yes!" she answered nervously.
"I see."
He leaned closer to her.
"Indeed... This may get interesting..."
A smirk crept onto his face.
Then, Lena stepped outside the carriage, after noticing that the danger had gone away.
"Greetings, Sir Bugar. My name is Lena Hayth. We offer you our utmost gratitude for helping us out. But may I still ask you, how you know my daughter’s name?" Lena asked politely.
Unlike usual, she greeted Zhen in a noble-like manner as she lifted her long skirt a little and bowed.
Her expression also was stern and elegant with no trace of her usual beaming smile.
"It seems like your husband hasn’t informed you yet." Zhen replied.
"?"
"By the request of Louis Hayth, I was on my way to Loogam to check on his daughter, Lily Hayth."
"Check on me? For what purpose...?" Lily wondered.
"He told me that you strive to become a member of the Grand Order. Is that true?"
"Y-yes!"
"Good. Because he asked me to train you."
"E-excuse me, but can a member of the Grand Order really afford to train someone...? Do you even have the time for that...?" Sylvia asked.
Compared to an average request, this one may seem strange for a member of the Grand Order.
"I have already completed my other quests. For now, I have some free time and due to me and Louis Hayth being friends, I decided to train her for a little until I get called back by the captain." Zhen elaborated while still appearing indifferently.
"Captain, huh...?" Mika muttered with a wry smile.
Lily could barely hold in her joy.
"F-f-friends?! You mean, Dad and Zhen Bugar, a member of the Grand Order, are friends?!" Lily directed her joy at her mother.
"H-hahaha..."
But Lena forced her laughter.
A few moments later.
Now, the group was split in two as they were riding in two carriages. Mika, Sylvia and Lily were in the initial carriage while Lena and Zhen were in his.
"..."
"..."
At first, it was silent between them. None of them uttered a sound and just remained stern.
"Let me offer you our gratitude again, Sir Bugar."
Lena began talking as she bowed her head once more.
"No need to go so far. Eliminating evil is a part of my job after all." Zhen stated with crossed arms.
"..."
Without a word, she lifted herself again.
"You came from Avagan, I assume?" she asked.
Avagan. It was the capital of Malnor as well as the hometown of the Hayth family.
Zhen nodded his head.
"I see. This explains how we crossed paths."
With them initially sharing the same starting and end point, it was only a matter of time until they met on the road.
She cleared her throat.
"I will get straight to the point. Training Lily was a lie, am I right?" she said with a fierce gaze.
"..."
He could only return her gaze.
"Your silence suffice as an answer."
She sighed.
"Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you. I’m sure that my husband cooked up something crazy again." she elaborated tiredly.
"Actually, it may do you good to know his- Or rather, our true intentions." Zhen said, leaning forward.
"Hm?"
Meanwhile, in the other carriage.
"Can you believe it?! I will receive training directly from a member of the Grand Order! Is this maybe a dream? Sylvia! Please pinch me, just kidd- Ugh!"
Before letting her speak to the end, Sylvia chopped Lily on her head.
"Calm down, Lily."
Sylvia sighed as if she had gotten tired from babysitting.
"Jeez, are you just jealous that only I get trained...?" Lily pouted.
But that statement made a vein on Sylvia’s forehead pop up.
"Maybe it’s a good idea..." Sylvia muttered with a menacing smile.
"S-Sylvia...?"
"Maybe I should truly pinch you to see if it’s a dream..."
"H-hey... M-Mika...?"
"..."
Lily resorted to Mika for help but he was in his thoughts.
’I can’t grasp it yet but I have a weird feeling about all this...’ Mika thought.
[Do you mean Zhen Bugar?]
’Yes. He told us that his purpose was to train Lily.’
[Do you see a problem in his statement?]
’Well, at first I thought that he wanted to train her in order to nominate her as the next fire mage of the Grand Order if Zhen should ever give up his seat.’
[Are you perhaps referring to the conversation between you and the Rostanta sisters?]
’Yeah, but still...’
’In the case of Olivia, she witnessed my power first hand but Zhen did not see what Lily is capable of yet. Why would he go to such lengths as to train her despite knowing so little about her? Just because he’s friends with her father?’
[Did you also consider the possibility of her father handing Zhen Bugar a report about Lily?]
’Somewhat but in the end, Lily did not return home for a long time, meaning that even her father shouldn’t know how much she’s grown now. I don’t think that Zhen Bugar would take interest in someone who was a B-rank.’
’Still-’
"Hrng!"
"Hey, are you done ignoring us?"
Sylvia was pinching Mika’s cheek.
"S-sorry, what were you talking about?"
Mika rubbed his cheek after Sylvia let go.
"Lily suggested that we should join her training if Sir Bugar allows it." Sylvia said, pointing at Lily with her thumb.
"Huh, well-"
The moment, Mika was about to reply, an explosion occurred.
"What?!"
"It’s coming from the other carriage!"
"Mom!"
Panicked, the three opened the door even though the carriage was still driving at full speed.
"!"
The other carriage, where Lena and Zhen were, abruptly slowed down as its roof was completely blown away by fire.
While Zhen remained calm in his seat, Lena was seen standing with one palm facing the sky.
"What did the two of you agree on? Do you care to repeat that?" Lena said.
Her tone was threatening.
"M-Mom, what are you doing?!" Lily shouted worriedly.
"Lily, calm down!"
Sylvia tried to pull Lily back into the carriage.
"..."
Mika could only stare blankly at the scene in front of him.
"I don’t care if you’re a member of the Grand Order or if my husband is the court mage. As a mother, I won’t agree on this." Lena stated, putting her arm down again.
"I don’t see a reason to refuse this deal. Wouldn’t your daughter benefit from this?" Zhen asked calmly.
"It’s not about the deal itself... It’s the reason behind it."
"..."
"I will never agree on this."
"I respect your opinion, however, Louis and I already signed the contract. Unless, your daughter or her potential lover, if she has one, is stronger than Ren, the contract can’t be nullified."
Lena clenched her fists.
"System, do you know what they’re talking about?" Mika asked.
The carriage the three were riding, finally came to a halt.
Lily was the first one to rush to the other carriage.
"Just what’s going on now...?"
Sylvia scratched her head in confusion.
"I have the feeling we won’t have the chance to rest like Ms. Ross stated..." Mika said, sighing with a smile on his face.
"Heh, was there ever a moment of peace when we three were together?" Sylvia huffed jokingly.
The two walked to Lena and Zhen.
However, the first thing they heard was the following out of Lena’s mouth.
"He’s the one. He’s Lily’s boyfriend."
