Just before the coachman died, a message was transmitted to Zephyr, asking whether he would be willing to join hands with the necromancer's master. Attached to it was a threat saying that everyone and everything he held dear would be destroyed if he didn't.

The necromancer's master was a villain through and through. And as expected of a villain, he didn't hold back when he threatened.

This time, for some reason, he felt a threat looming in the form of Zephyr and had hastily come up with the method to kidnap…or, if that was not possible, send a warning.

The fact that Corvinus had taken him as a disciple classified him as a potential threat.

Zephyr silently sat staring right back at Aurelia.

Mentioning anything about it would be detrimental. It would act as a seed of doubt that might flourish into a tree in the future. To avoid that, Zephyr kept his mouth shut when she asked if there was anything more to the story.

Zephyr sat silently, contemplating what his next step should be.

Meanwhile, Aurelia created a water ball and threw it directly at Zephyr. Fortunately, it flew slowly before falling on his head. Instantly, the mud and grime covering his face and body flowed down.

Then another spell came, draining the water stuck to him. Soon after, another spell came with warm air, drying Zephyr.

It was different from what he asked. Still, she cleaned him from head to toe.

Enjoying the warmth, Zephyr stood there for a few moments.

Meanwhile, Elenor flew over and gently stood next to them.

"What happened here?" She asked, confused.

"Long story short, the coachman tried to kidnap him and died," Aurelia replied.

"The carriage?"

"Exploded in the process."

"That's why you were late…" Elenor nodded understandingly.

"No, I didn't do it. He did it." Aurelia pointed at Zephyr standing nearby.

He was looking clean and fresh, wearing a bright smile. At a glance, he didn't look like someone who was in battle.

"Don't look at me like that…I am shy." Zephyr winked, breaking himself out of the thought.

Immediately coming to a decision was impossible. The choice of joining the villain was obviously bad. But he had promised the original Zephyr's soul that he would keep his family safe. Could he save them without joining the villain?

Abandoning them for morality and whatnot was easy. However, was it the right decision?

Zephyr stood motionless, hiding the thoughts flying through his mind.

He slowly stood up and asked.

"What should we do now?"

There was a time limit of one month to make a choice. The necromancer's master had said he would send someone to meet him after one month. So, he had some time to think long and hard as to what he should do. Thus, he postponed making a decision.

Hearing his question, Elenor pulled out two red mana cores from her robes. She handed them over to Aurelia and said.

"I buried the troll bodies and grabbed the cores."

Aurelia nodded, turning to look at the carriage.

"It seems like we won't be able to use the carriage."

The carriage was in shambles. The front side was entirely torn, with the harness destroyed. Moreover, the horses have already disappeared into the forest.

"We should find some other way to travel." She added with a frown.

"Should I fly around and search for any village or town nearby?" Elenor inquired.

"We should do that." Aurelia agreed.

Flying the entire way to Mount Shroom, which was two days away in a carriage, was a bad idea. Depleting mana through flight would make them vulnerable. It was better to find a town and hitch a ride on merchant caravans.

Elenor nodded, flying straight up. Then, like a bird, she disappeared into the air.

Aurelia stood nearby, looking at Zephyr. The rain was still trickling down. The robes Zephyr wore protected him from the rain, but he was still getting wet.

"How are you doing?" Hesitating a little, she asked.

Zephyr didn't expect that question. After coming to this world, no one asked him how he was doing. And he never expected the question to come from a spoiled princess like Aurelia.

"Fine." He gave a single-word reply with a nod.

Aurelia sighed. She didn't believe what he said.

"Do you feel angry or frustrated?"

Zephyr tilted his head in confusion.

"Why would I?" He inquired in an even tone.

"Because we left you here alone. That's why you were attacked, right?"

"I don't think so."

Zephyr shook his head.

The conversation stopped abruptly. Aurelia couldn't understand why Zephyr was so calm.

Truth be told, there was no point asking Zephyr, too. Even he doesn't really know why he was so calm and collected.

—-

An hour later, Elenor returned with good news. There was a village nearby.

Soon after, they carried Zephyr and flew directly towards the village.

It was a short journey. Zephyr saw the forest disappearing under them as they flew close to a hill.

Then he began to see green fields layered on the hills nearby. The segmented fields were growing some kind of grain.

Besides the fields, he could see small clay huts. It was the farmers' houses.

Once they reached the top of the hill, Zephyr noticed a cluster of houses standing together. Like all villages, the most important building, the village hall, was huge with a wide area around it to facilitate group meetings.

"What is it called?" Zephyr asked, his body floating horizontally next to Aurelia.

"It's a small village under Baron Ashwick. They call it the Flax village." Elenor replied, flying closer to them.

"Are they cultivating flax down there?"

"Yes."

"To make linen…"

"Yes."

Most of the clothes of the lower class were made of linen. The linen is made from flax fibres.

"Oh!"

Zephyr was interested in the economy of the world. Thus, the flax field piqued his interest. However, it was not the time or place to learn. At least, he had to wait until they landed.

"Will there be a merchant caravan arriving soon?" Aurelia asked.

"Yes. That's what they said when I asked the village chief. They said we can travel with them if we are going to Mount Shroom."

"That's good."

Aurelia relaxed a little.

A few seconds later, they flew to the cluster of huts and buildings above the hill. Hovering above for a short while, they landed near the largest building, the village hall.

Seeing the mages, the village chief came running. The middle-aged man then knelt on the ground and gave a deep bow.

"This servant welcomes the esteemed ones."

The man's head almost touched the ground as he bowed.

Zephyr felt a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end of the bow.

However, Aurelia and Elenor looked as if they didn't mind it at all. They were used to people around them treating them with respect.

"Did you arrange rooms for us?" Elenor stepped forward and asked.

Finally, the village chief lifted his head and looked at them.

"Yes, we have arranged the best quarters in our village." He said, turning to the side. "Moss, come here and guide them." The village chief waved his hand at a young man standing a few steps away.

The young man stepped forward and bowed, similar to the chief.

"Yes." He replied with a pleasant smile.

With a well-built, lean, muscular body, wearing clean linen clothes, the young man looked handsome. Zephyr never expected to see a handsome fella like that in the village.

The village chief smiled in satisfaction as he looked at the young man. Then he turned to the mages again and said.

"He will be there for you whenever you need. You can ask him to do anything." The village chief said with an even more pleasant smile.

However, Zephyr felt something was wrong with it. It was as if the village chief was…

Suddenly, Zephyr paused and looked at Aurelia and Elenor. Now that he thinks about it, both of them were beautiful mages. One was the princess of the nation, while the other was her servant, who was also beautiful.

The village chief didn't know about their status. But just the fact that they are intermediate mages places them firmly in the ranks of upper nobility. Anyway you look at it, their status was multiple folds greater than that of the village chief or even Baron Ashwick, who governs the land.

Zephyr's gaze moved away from the woman standing beside him to the handsome young man.

The young man was still wearing a pleasant smile as he stood up.

Zephyr suddenly thought of a possibility.

'Is this a honey trap?'

Wealthy young woman, flying alone through the world, asking for a place to stay, meeting a young handsome man, falling in love, getting pregnant, staying in the village, elevating the status of the young man, climbing the social ladder through…

Zephyr could see the plot of an entire drama forming in front of him.

'Well, no one can blame him for having great ambition.'

Zephyr chuckled inwardly.

The young man stood up and bowed again before speaking.

"Ladies, please come this way." He spoke slowly.

'Damn it, I am still here. I am not air. I am also a mage. Although they carried me here, you can't disregard me.' Zephyr said in his mind.

Meanwhile, the village chief smiled and said.

"We will provide a separate lodging for your servant. Mr, please come with me."

"Who! Me!"

Zephyr could see the village chief looking at him.

He was exasperated.

'For your information, I am noble too.' He wanted to say it.

But when he looked at his gray, washed-out robes and his unkept appearance, he did look like a servant.

Meanwhile, Aurelia and Elenor were both wearing robes befitting a mage of the Royal Academy. At a single glance, they could guess Zephyr was of lower status.

'Still, to be called a servant.'

Zephyr sighed.

Well, he really didn't mind that. He silently looked at the women beside him, holding in their laughter, and gave them side eyes.

"Yes, I will follow you." He casually said before walking towards the chief.

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