Zoella

Part 90

"You've been improving so much lately, Margaret."

"Really?"

Margaret's voice sounded cheerful as she looked at Zoella who sat beside her.

"Yes! Your mana control is really great and you can materialize things perfectly now."

A wide grin appeared on her face and her eyes twinkled.

As usual, Zoella and her friends gathered on the field behind the dorm to train. Actually, this was the first time Zoella saw Margaret back to train with them.

It had been a week since Margaret secretly trained her magic with Anthony. He also made her take a red liquid which he claimed to be a potion that could accelerate her progress. Anthony gave her ten bottles of that liquid and she needed to drink it once a week.

"If Zoella said that, you might be able to catch up to her."

Lilian, who was currently training Oscar, commented. Hearing that, Margaret's smile got wider.

'That means Sir Anthony's method works! I need to thank him later.'

"Probably. If she keeps progressing this way, she might."

Zoella replied with proud eyes shot at Margaret while her hand petted Eirwen, who was munching on his snack in front of her, gently.

When she first took Eirwen to the field, her friends' reactions were the same as the workers in her house. They were fascinated to see how well-behaved Eirwen was considering the fact that he was a bird.

And of course, Zoella and Tyrael couldn't tell them the truth.

As she stared at her pet closely, Zoella realized that she didn't have enough knowledge about wild beasts. The thing she knew was wild beasts were different from monsters. They were intelligent and they could only be encountered in the Silevea forest.

Zoella glanced at Warren who, as usual, was drowning in his book. And then she glanced at Tyrael who started sparring lightly with Lilian. Seemed like she ended Oscar's training for today since Zoella saw him take a seat beside Warren.

'No way he'll answer me now.'

She glanced back at Warren again. He looked so focused that Zoella didn't have the heart to disturb him but she also couldn't wait long to ask.

"Warren, did you know anything about wild beasts?"

Within a second, Warren shifted his attention to Zoella. His brows furrowed wondering what his friend was up to now.

"Where did this come from?"

His voice was laced with suspicion. His eyes became sharper as he looked at Zoella.

"I just want to know for... additional knowledge?"

Warren took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Wild beasts, huh? Not much is known about those creatures and in fact, the last time they were seen by humans was more than 500 years ago. Some researchers believed they had gone extinct but others believed they were still roaming around deep in the forest. Which forest? No one knows."

"..."

"They were also a myth about them being holy creatures under Antaboga's, the great dragon, command. But again, since no one has seen them for that long, I'm not even sure if they still exist."

"Senior, how many types of wild beasts are there?"

Oscar chimed in. A look of curiosity was spread across his face.

"Well, if we're talking about the ones recorded in a book there are 10 types of wild beasts. However, they believed there are more types of them out there."

Zoella hummed after Warren ended his explanation. As he said, there were too few records about wild beasts so there was not much information about them.

At this rate, Zoella might need to ask Edwin about them. Maybe the Principal who somehow had a friendship with the elves also had some knowledge about wild beasts. Not that she thought Edwin would mind if she asked but Zoella was still reluctant to look for him herself.

"Are you all done talking? Let's go back now!"

Lilian announced. From the looks of it, she and Tyrael just came back from returning the equipment they borrowed from the warehouse.

"Alright!"

Zoella replied as she placed Eirwen on her shoulder.

While they walked back, Warren stole a glance at Eirwen from time to time. For him, it was highly uncommon for an animal could be that smart, especially around humans. Their first instinct should be to avoid humans.

Not only did Eirwen not avoid humans, but he also seemed to be really comfortable and somehow understood when his friends were talking to him.

And today, Zoella asked him about wild beasts. There would be no way this and that weren't related. Zoella wouldn't ask him something just for additional knowledge. Even so, it was just his own speculation. And Warren didn't have any proof of his suspicion.

***

In the quiet dark of night, a carriage running through the street broke the silence with the gallop of its horses. Inside, two men sat across from each other.

"Do you really need to go to the temple at this hour?"

A low-pitched voice laced with annoyance was heard.

Ezekiel who was dragged into this carriage while he was working by Antaboga couldn't help but feel irritated at the dragon before him.

"Don't have a choice. The temple is busy for a whole day so this is the only time with fewer people."

Antaboga retorted as he shrugged his shoulders.

For the past week, he had been coming to the temple but it seemed to be always packed with people. Even in the evening, some people still roam around the temple. Since he needed to have a word with Maharin, Antaboga obviously couldn't let people near him as he did so.

Thus, combined with Ezekiel's position as a Grand Duke, Antaboga assumed it would be possible if he wanted to visit the temple at midnight.

Though he wasn't wrong, it didn't mean Ezekiel would gladly go along with him. Ezekiel would rather finish his piled-up documents so he could spend his time with Zoella tomorrow afternoon.

As the temple came to their view, the coachman steadied the horses so they slowed their pace. After the carriage stopped right in front of the temple, Antaboga and Ezekiel exited and were greeted by a priest.

"Welcome to the temple, Your Grace."

A slender man in his forties with an all-white attire bowed.

"Thank you. And I apologize for coming to the temple this late."

"No need to apologize, Your Grace. The temple is always open to everyone every time. Please, come inside."

The man led the two of them to a room far enough from the front of the temple. Ezekiel had requested this in his letter before he departed.

"Here's the praying room as requested, Your Grace. I will be outside if you need something."

"Thank you."

After the man left, Antaboga closed the door and took a big stride toward the Maharin's statue.

He glanced at Ezekiel who sat on the long chair with a bored expression across his face.

"Sleep."

Antaboga whispered and within seconds, Ezekiel slumped on the chair with his eyes closed.

After he was sure Ezekiel was asleep, Antaboga approached the statue and channeled his divine power as he touched it.

The statue began to glow dimly, a light voice called out to him.

"You're finally here, Antaboga."