Zoella

Part 3

Zoella stared at Hayes with a surprised expression that showed clearly. What he suggested just now sounded really strange. Why did he suddenly offer something like that?

"Uncle, I think you broke her."

She blinked her eyes to bring herself back to the present.

"Excuse me. I'm just quite surprised."

Zoella smiled nervously as she still proceeds with his words in her mind. On the other hand, Hayes seemed not to think deeply about it. He leisurely put a piece of meat in his mouth.

Once he was done chewing, he put his cutlery down and started to speak.

"I can vaguely guess the situation you're in since I have some friends from an orphanage as well."

Zoella was still confused by his words but she still listened to him carefully.

"Judging by your appearance, you still haven't reached adult age yet. Thus I was gonna ask you if it's okay, I would like to be your guardian."

"Then, what about the student thing?"

"We will discuss it once we're done eating."

With that, she didn't ask any more questions. But her mind still couldn't follow what was going on.

As they continued to eat, a thin string of light started to form. Of course, Zoella and the two boys beside her didn't notice this. More like, they could neither feel nor see it.

The string naturally came out of Hayes's hands. The moment he saw Zoella, he knew that this girl had the potential in becoming a mage. He felt a quite big amount of mana from her. And he felt that it was a pity to waste a talent like this.

***

Zoella was supposed to discuss something with Hayes. But right now, she was dragged around by the twins, Rowan and Rigel.

'This house is quite big. Is he a noble? But I don't see any servant.'

She didn't really observe the house when she woke up because her mind was still chaotic. Now that her mind had calmed down, she slowly tried to process and accepted everything that happened except for how she ended up in this place.

"Sister, look! This flower has the same color as your eyes!"

"Rigel is right. Sister, do you know these flowers' names?"

Zoella smiled at the question of the six years old boys.

"Their name is Bellflower. Do you know why people call them that?"

"Is it because they look like a bell?"

"That's right. Our Rowan is smart."

Rowan puffed his chest and smirked at his twin.

"I was the one who found it though."

Rigel turned his face away as he mumbled those words. Zoella could only snicker when she saw their interaction. Somehow it felt refreshing to her.

"Kids! It's time for your bath now!"

"Awww."

The twins showed their puppy eyes to their uncle hoping he would let them play for a little longer. But Hayes didn't budge at all. He picked up the twins and gets them inside the house followed by Zoella.

While waiting for Hayes, Zoella's eyes traveled around scanning the house. It didn't have that much furniture. The interior was also simple yet elegant. If he really was a noble, she doubted that this was his main house.

'It's not uncommon for a noble to have multiple houses. Let alone the nobles, even the celebrities in my world have multiple houses with crazy prices.'

Even though Zoella didn't read many fantasy books, she was quite familiar with them because Gina would always ramble them to her.

'I wonder how Gina's doing. Wait, if I'm here and it's not my body... Am I dead in my world?'

Zoella's body slightly trembled at that thought. She still couldn't figure out if this body was hers or not.

"Sorry for troubling you with those brats."

Her mind was cut off when she heard Hayes's voice. He put some refreshments on the table before sitting down.

"No, it's alright. It was me who should've thanked you for taking care of me."

Hayes smiled and nodded his head.

"Zoella, have you seen a mage?"

"No, but I've heard of them."

A mage is a person who could perform magic. Although Zoella didn't know for certain, she knew that a mage is a powerful person in a fantasy book.

"Mage is not uncommon but also not easy to be found. I myself am a mage."

Zoella was a bit shocked and confused by the sudden confession. She didn't know where this conversation going to.

"I will apologize first. I was checking you out without permission."

Zoella's face turned odd. She looked at Hayes as if he was a pervert right now.

"It's not what you think! What I'm saying is I was checking the mana inside your body."

Hayes shook his hands as he quickly tried to correct his words. Thankfully, Zoella's expression softened. She understood what he was saying.

Mana is something a mage needed in order to use magic. The amount of mana is different for each person. Thus, mages were classified into some grades based on their mana and their abilities. Right now, there were only 3 people who reached 5th-grade. And mostly were 3rd-grade.

"I was surprised when I felt the flow of your mana and its amount. If you want to learn, you can easily be a 4th-grade mage or even 5th-grade."

"So that's why you wanted me to be your student?"

"Yes. That's right."

"I'm not interested."

Hayes flinched. He didn't expect her to reject his offer that quickly.

"Why? You have the talent, Zoella. All you need to do is learn."

'That's the problem. I don't want to study. I want to play!'

Zoella looked at him with a bored expression. Now that she was in another world, she at least wanted to do whatever she wants.

"Look, Zoella. I don't want to force you to be the 5th-grade like myself. But you need to at least know how to control your mana."

"You're a what? 5th grade? You, Sir Hayes? And what will happen if I can't control my mana?"

"Oh, you don't know? I'm the youngest one, you know. The other mages were already grandpas."

Zoella looked slightly disgusted as he laughed proudly. She could as if saw his nose become longer.

"Ahem. There's no side effect actually but if you come across a black mage, they most likely will steal your mana and you'll be dead. For now, there is no trace of them but better safe than sorry, right?"

She nodded her head after Hayes finished his explanation. However, she still hesitated to accept this offer.

"For three months. I'll teach you everything you need to know for three months. After that, if you wish to stop then we'll stop."

"Alright, then. I'll be in your care, Sir Hayes."