CHAPTER 71: EAT

Zephyr caught a large red snapper and was grilling it on an open fire when he sensed a person flying above him.

The person quickly came over and floated down.

’Aurelia?’

Zephyr sighed.

’At least let me eat something.’ He complained in his mind.

"Zephyr Venturi, you are invited to appear before the masters." She dropped down and spoke.

Zephyr acknowledged her presence and nodded.

"Come with me." She added.

She could see that Zephyr was not thrilled to see her. Holding back her irritation, she motioned, asking him to stand up.

Zephyr was grilling the fish, occasionally moving the stick he used to skewer it.

"I am busy, as you can see." He said plainly.

The reply irritated Aurelia even more. The young man was not playing according to the rules. As a higher-ranked mage, an intermediate specialist of fire magic—a pyromancer, she deserved to be treated with respect. But the young man...was treating her with pure indifference.

Besides all that, wasn’t she pretty?

How can he treat a pretty lady like her this way?

She was used to the fawning eyes of men around her. Calming herself, she began to speak.

"You don’t have a choice. We would like to question you about what happened here. The Masters are waiting for you near the temple ruins. Come with me."

Zephyr raised his head to look straight into her eyes.

"The thing is that I always have a choice." He replied with confidence. "As long as I am willing to bear the consequences, I can do whatever I want. Today, no one can stop me from eating my breakfast."

His reply made Aurelia choke.

Was he really doing this for a fish—a grilled fish?

She couldn’t fathom what was going on in his mind.

"You can eat it later. Come with me right this instant, Zephyr. Or else, you will be punished." She tried to make him understand the severity of the situation.

"Punished for what?" Zephyr asked nonchalantly. "For grilling a fish? Does the Royal Academy and Storm Tower think they own me?" he scoffed.

"Ah!?"

Confused, Aurelia looked around. Fortunately, no one was there to hear what he said.

"Do you really want to do it this way?"

She raised her hand.

Zephyr stood up.

"Are you going to take me by force?"

"What if I do?"

"You can’t."

"Who says?"

"I don’t know."

Aurelia tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t mean anything."

Zephyr shrugged.

Aurelia frowned.

"You are not making any sense."

"I know that."

"You do! So, what are you intending to do?"

"Nothing much." Zephyr flipped the fish on the pike.

"You!"

"What?"

Zephyr wasted another minute with pointless banter. Then he flipped the fish again, perfectly cooking it.

The aroma of the well-seasoned fish flew into her nostrils. Aurelia took her eyes off Zephyr and gazed at the cooked fish.

The meat was steaming as he brought the foot-long fish out of the fire. Zephyr gently placed it over a large wooden board.

"What fish is it?" She instinctively asked.

"A red snapper. It’s known for having tender meat with a hint of umami sweetness to it." Zephyr replied.

"Umami?"

"I meant savouriness."

"Oh!"

Aurelia took a deep breath. Instantly, a flood of saliva flowed into her mouth.

She wanted to eat it.

Momentarily, forgetting her task, she walked closer to the fish placed on the board.

"Hey, do you want some?"

"Hm..." She nodded like a kitten waiting to get fed.

Zephyr smiled.

The trick of wasting time by speaking nonsense worked. Furthermore, she was hooked on the aroma, willingly asking him to give her a portion. That meant he could buy a few more minutes to eat it before leaving.

Tapping on the wooden stump next to him, he motioned her to sit. Then, swiftly, he cut the fish into two portions.

He didn’t know if the princess would like the taste, but he gave her a portion without hesitation.

Aurelia looked at the wooden board placed before her curiously.

"Use your hand," Zephyr suggested.

He had no cutlery to give.

"First, wash your hands." He added.

Promptly, Aurelia cast a small water ball, much smaller than a normal intermediate mage could. She cleaned her hands and grabbed a piece of warm meat.

It looked like white gelatin.

She raised it and placed it on her mouth. The tender meat, as described by Zephyr, was truly delicious. Even at the royal feast, she never ate anything this fresh and fragrant.

Licking her lips, she continued to consume it in a hurry.

Zephyr followed suit.

When they were finishing up the last couple of pieces, another mage flew down from the sky.

"Milady, what are you doing?" The young woman who landed was also an intermediate mage.

She was exasperated when she saw Aurelia gobbling down a fish, sitting next to Zephyr.

"Ah!" Aurelia stood up in panic.

She quickly wiped the oil sticking on her lips and coughed.

"Ah! Elenor, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"What do you think? I came here looking for you. Everyone is waiting for you to return with the accused."

"Oh!" Aurelia suddenly realised her blunder. "How long has it been?" She wondered aloud.

"Long enough."

Aurelia promised to bring Zephyr back quickly when she left. It would have taken her only a few minutes to find and bring him to the village.

However, she failed to do it for a long time, raising concern.

’Hm...has it been that long?’ Zephyr wondered, hearing their conversation.

’The Aurelia chick was too easy to fool. Maybe I lost track of time.’

’Anyways, it’s time to meet the old men.’

"Elenor, let’s leave. Bring him with you." The princess tidied her appearance and said.

"Ok."

Elenor released a binding spell, catching Zephyr before flying away. If he wanted, Zephyr could have done more than one thing to escape.

However, he didn’t mind being captured this time. There was no point in trying to avoid Master mages of an 8-star rating. They will find and catch him if he tries to escape. It was better to cooperate.

With his stomach satiated, he accepted his fate and silently stood under the influence of a spell.

In a matter of moments, he flew across the beach and reached the remains of the temple.

’What do they mean by accused?’ He wondered as they landed.