Disclaimer:

“Dialogue”

‘Thoughts’

-Author notes-

Chapter 19: Nightly Visit

“Tsk… three coppers.” Zephyr looked down at the coins in his hand and felt depressed.

After buying the map, this was all he had left.

It had taken him years to collect this money, and it was all but gone after buying that old piece of paper.

He did not have enough for a new map, so he had to buy an old one that probably once belonged to some unfortunate hunter.

Old maps were less reliable because beasts tend to migrate once in a while. But for his purpose, this old one should be enough.

Zephyr used his three remaining coppers to buy two more pieces of dry meat and some bread.

He would have liked to buy a carving knife too, but from what he'd been told, even a cheap used one would cost at least one silver.

He had to thank the Goddess that he at least had enough for the map. Otherwise, this would have been a wasted trip.

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In the afternoon, Zephyr spent his time exploring the town.

Zloria was at least twice the size of the village he grew up in and had a population of around two thousand.

On the opposite side of the town's entrance was a hill that overlooked the docks.

On top of that hill were two large constructions. The first one was the Temple, where humans had to come once every month to listen to the Priest's speech and to make their contribution.

Its construction was completely identical to the one they had in Varian Village.

He could already guess that if he ever visited Elmeria Village, he was going to find a similar one.

The other building was a massive manor. This was the place where the Celestial in charge of Zloria town currently lived. It was also where Dalia was working.

Zephyr wondered if she had been there for the past two years since she was taken away from the village, or if she had been working at other places.

Their conversation that morning had been a short one, and he still had many questions left to ask her. But these would have to wait until they were back together.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He could not help but worry when he learned she was working in this town.

Zloria Town was part of the Beastman territory. Of the four Celestial races, it was commonly acknowledged among humans that the Beastmen were the most temperamental and thus, the most dangerous one.

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There was a small forest on the west part of the mount where the manor was located.

Zephyr was able to use the cover of the trees and other plants to approach the house undetected.

He hid behind a large tree and glanced at the wall of the manor.

The wall was made of some type of golden stone and must have been at least ten meters high.

He was not able to see any doors or windows.

There were also no guards or anyone around.

‘This must be the spot Dalia mentioned.’

Zephyr glanced up at the sky. The sun had already started to come down.

‘I'll just wait here then… once she comes out, we can make our way out of town.’

He had carefully planned the best route to leave as he didn't want to waste any time leaving this place.

The Celestial Lord of this town would definitely not be happy when he learns that one of his servants has escaped and will try to chase them.

Hopefully, Dalia can go outside without being spotted, and they can already be out by the time they find out.

Zephyr heard some steps approaching and regained his focus.

Very slowly, he moved his face away from the tree and took a peek.

‘There she is!’ He thought with relief.

She was finally here, and she was alone.

‘Wait…’ He noticed that she was still wearing her maid uniform and didn't seem to be carrying any bag with supplies.

‘How careless… no, don't be so harsh. It would probably have been too suspicious if she left the house with traveling clothes and carrying a big bag.’

“Zeph….” She called softly, not wanting to raise her voice too much.

He immediately left his hiding spot and approached the girl.

“I'm here, Dalia.”

“Ah…. there you are…” Dalia smiled at him, but for some reason, he got goosebumps.

The way she smiled was different from what he was used to.

‘There is something off with her…’

“Dalia, are you okay? Did you run into trouble coming out?” He asked.

“No… no trouble. Everything is fine, Zeph.” She told him.

He got closer to her.

“Well, let's not waste time then. We need to leave as soon as possible.” He grabbed her arm.

Whatever was wrong with her, they could figure it out once they were out of danger.

“Wait Zeph… we can't just leave like that…” Dalia resisted his pull.

“What do you mean?” Zephyr was confused.

“We can't waste time now.”

“I know… but wait, I have brought something for you.” Dalia used her free hand to search for something in the side pockets of her maid's dress.

“Dalia, that can wait. We have to at least get away from-”

[Warning… hostile presence detected…]

If it hadn't been for that, he would have missed it. Dalia had pulled something metallic out and tried to attach it to his left wrist.

Zephyr immediately let go of her and jumped backward.

He then saw what it was. It was a pair of silver handcuffs. Once he had already seen before…the day they took Bill.

“Dalia…what are you doing with that?!” Zephyr shouted.

She gave him a sad smile.

“I'm sorry Zeph…”

[Warning…hostile presence detected…]

A shadow jumped over the wall and descended upon him.

He moved backward again, almost clashing against the tree he had been using as a hiding place.

A large figure smashed its fist against the ground, creating a small crater.

“Tsk…good reflexes.”

“I'm sorry Master, I could not get the cuffs on him.” Dalia bowed.

The figure that had just jumped let out a chuckle.

“That's fine…I like to hunt.”

Zephyr stared in shock at the individual in question.

It was a massive man, well over two meters tall with bulging muscles covered in fur.

“A…a Celestial!” Zephyr exclaimed.