The World Tales - Twisted Story of a Hero and a Demon Lord

CHAPTER 9

Heeding Alexia's wish—and also Ennario's, Zefrael finally nailed off his feet from the ground. He took his place beside the girl and started to walk with the group in the same speed.

"So," he started, throwing his question towards his dragon friend who was walking by the girl's opposite side, "If the destination is the eastern village, why are we here then?"

Ennario peered him with doubtful look, as if Zefrael wasn't suppose to ask him that, but nevertheless, he answered him, "That eastern village is pretty far from here, considering the distance, we wouldn't be walking—"

"Huh?" Zefrael interrupted with dubious look, "We're not walking there??"

"Nuh-uh," Ennario shook his head, "It's not recommended."

The demon lord seemed surprised by the answer. His eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion. "B-but I thought, adventure is done by walking throughout the world."

"Hah! And spending years to reach a single destination?? You amaze me, shitlord."

Alexia couldn't help to cynically intrude the argument which was passing through her ears. They literally talked between her that she just couldn't listen quietly. All the more when the weird demon lord was spouting nonsense again, at the very moment she felt so uncomfortable because of the crowd.

But, Zefrael only stared her with a dumbfounded look.

"It took years to reach that eastern village??" he repeated in surprise. His purple eyes glinted with amazement and excitement. "Wow, I never thought this continent is extending that far."

Alexia instantly rolled her eyes, feeling too bothersome even to retort at his nonsensical remarks. She admitted that she didn't know which eastern village Ennario had been talking about. There were too many settlements in the east that she was unable to pinpoint the exact place. Still, in her visualized estimation, the edge of the continent would only take a year, tops, there was no way the dragon boy's eastern village would go over it.

She was being sarcastic and had coaxed her words in annoyance, yet Zefrael actually believed her nonsense. She didn't even care if it was true or his usual faking act, but it seemed the dragon boy did care.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Ennario asked warily. "Or you really don't know?"

Zefrael shrugged his shoulder. "Sorry if you guys had high hopes for me," he answered with a mumble and showed a disappointed look, "I would want to joke around, but sadly, it's the latter."

Ennario breathed a long sigh. "Yeah, no wonder. You holed up in your castle all the time," he commented. "Seriously, do you ever get out? Don't tell me this is your first?"

"First...well, probably," Zefrael said quietly. His violet purple eyes glanced towards his dragon friend, before they moved to Alexia with a tinge of amusement. "You guys know why I can't leave," he said haughtily while placing his hand on his own chest, "I have a duty to wait, you know. If I'm not in my castle when the Chosen Hero arrived, that would be my blunder. So," he continues with a smile, "In that case, I would rather stay at home, don't you think?"

Ennario sighed wearily while shaking his head a few times. The short tassels of his bandana are swaying vaguely. "Why don't you say that you are a standard shut-in, huh, Zef?"

"Well, duh, because I'm not, Enna. Evidently, I got out, didn't I??" The demon lord protested while discontentedly staring at Ennario, but not for long, he shifted his eyes through the crowd of people, far into the distance with a contemplation look, "but really, I never needed to get out in the first place. At home, I could know everything."