After what felt like hours of awkwardness, teasing, and emotional chaos, the royal bath ordeal finally ended. Dila and Fran, both now fully clothed, stood just outside the massive steamy gates. Somehow, without explanation, their outfits had been magically washed and dried—probably enchantments woven into the royal bath itself, but neither of them questioned it.
Fran stretched both arms high, her fluffy tail flicking lazily behind her, ears perked with satisfaction.
"Ahhhh~ yeahhh~! That was sooo refreshing, Sister!" she beamed, eyes sparkling. "And I got to hug Sister fully! Hehe~ I can die with no regrets now!"
She placed both hands behind her head, grinning like a cat who'd finally caught the fattest fish in the river. Her whole posture practically screamed: Mission Complete.
Dila, however, was a completely different story.
Standing stiffly beside Fran, she looked like a malfunctioning robot. Her face was bright red, from cheeks to ears, eyes locked straight ahead, refusing to even glance sideways at Fran.
She muttered, deadpan, "Why… why does my life never give me a normal morning…?"
Fran simply swayed side to side, tail flicking, utterly satisfied.
Meanwhile, Dila—blushing heavier with every step—swore silently that next time, she'd barricade her door if Fran ever suggested "bath time" again.
Suddenly, the shadows along the castle corridor twisted like living smoke.
A deep vortex spiraled open near Dila and Fran, the air warping as if reality itself bent. Then—with a crackle—Zeon stepped out smoothly, arms folded, the swirling blackness dissolving behind him like ink down a drain.
"Muahahahahaha!!"
His laughter echoed through the hall as his figure fully materialized.
Dila and Fran both jumped like frightened cats.
Fran even yelped, grabbing onto Dila's arm and puffing her cheeks. Dila instinctively half-drew her magic staff in her palm from her Dimensional pocket and has partially activated a spell circle before freezing.
But instead, Zeon kept laughing, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes as his grin stretched wide. "I-It's just… hahahaha… the way you both reacted inside that bath! Absolutely priceless!"
Dila's eyes bulged. She pointed a shaking finger at him, her voice cracking as she shouted, "W-WAIT… Y-YOU MEAN—YOU PEAKED!?"
Fran's ears dropped. Her face turned so red, it looked like her blood had boiled. She backed up shakily, then slumped straight to the floor, knees giving way as she whimpered, "I… I thought Sister and I were the only ones... I thought it was our moment…"
Meanwhile, Dila's expression darkened to the edge of murder.
Her blush hit critical levels as she jabbed her finger toward Zeon like a dagger. "You—you stupid freak hero! Are you telling me… you were inside the bath? With us? Watching everything!?"
Zeon shrugged casually, raising both hands like Who, me? "Nope." His tone was annoyingly casual. "I just sensed everything happening inside the perimeter." He chuckled darkly. "Perks of being a top assassin, Princess."
Then, without shame, he clutched his stomach and laughed even harder. "Hahahaha!! But imagining your faces! Especially Fran's panic and your 'kill me now' expression—ah, legendary."
Dila deadpanned hard, her soul visibly leaving her body.
"I… I never realized… the so-called Hero of the Elves… was actually a shadow-lurking, bath-spying pervert…" she muttered.
Zeon threw his head back, laughing harder. "I prefer the title: Strategic Information Specialist."
Fran whimpered on the floor, face buried in her hands, her tail twitching like it was traumatized.
Dila glared at Zeon, her voice dry.
"Note to self: assassinate Zeon. Publicly."
"Oi, oi! That's not very hero-like of you, Princess." Zeon winked.
Dila shouted."Who said I'm a hero!!! Hmmm!!" Her left eye browse lifted.
Then Dila's eye twitched. Fran collapsed into full emotional damage mode.
And Zeon? He just kept laughing like the troll he was.
Dila suddenly clapped her hands sharply.
"Enough of this nonsense!" she snapped, glaring as if her patience bar hit zero. She let out the longest, most exhausted sigh known to elves.
"Alright. Just—forget everything." She gestured like wiping a slate clean. "Now… tell me where the Alchemist Smith is. I need to create something."
Zeon tilted his head, raising one eyebrow with a dramatic pause. "Wait... you're an alchemist now?"
He blinked twice, processing. "Last time I checked, you're a support mage." He pointed lazily at her like she owed him an explanation.
Dila's eye twitched. "Didn't you know? Last time we fought, I used a potion, genius." Her tone deepened into a growl as her face darkened. Her blue eyes flickered with an eerie, glowing light. "What did you think boosted my power, your luck?"
Zeon leaned back, scratching his head, then casually started cleaning his ear with his pinky finger. "Ah… chill, chill." He looked sideways, totally unbothered. "OHHH… now I remember."
He snapped his fingers in slow realization.
"That explains it! That's why your dumb golem suddenly went Hulk-mode last time." He grinned. "You popped an unstable potion like an energy drink."
Then he laughed. A slow, smug laugh.
"Weakling. HAHAHAHAHA!"
Dila visibly glitched.
Her aura darkened like a death storm, and somewhere, thunder cracked.
But instead of screaming, she just whispered to herself through gritted teeth.
"...Calm down, Dila… Calm down… Don't turn him into fertilizer… the problem is if i can turn him, either way Not yet..."
Zeon, meanwhile, kept laughing like the smug maniac he was.
Fran, still emotionally fragile from earlier, just whispered softly while tugging Dila's sleeve, "S-Sister... calm down. I think he's already dumb by birth…"
Dila suddenly puffed her cheeks, holding back a laugh… until she couldn't anymore.
"Hahahahahahaha!!" she burst out laughing, almost choking as she bent forward. "Where–where did that come from!?"
Zeon, deadpan, pointed at her. "Hey. I heard that."
But Dila kept laughing like a gremlin. "HAHAHAHA! That's my revenge, idiot! Revenge for hurting me and Fran specially my friends last time!" She slapped her thigh, barely breathing from laughing.
Zeon blinked, confused. "Huh? When did I hurt you?"
Dila froze mid-laugh. "Eh?"
Zeon raised a finger, matter-of-factly. "Last time we fought, you hurt yourself like a masochist. Using your own potions, your power, your soul—boom! Self-inflicted wounds. Your golem suck the life out of you."
Dila's eye twitched. "That... that was strategy."
Zeon ignored her. "And for the record, the one who nearly killed you in that underground duel was Evos. Not me. I was just watching the comedy show."
"HUH?!"
"You're too funny beyond belief, Princess." Zeon wiped imaginary tears from the corner of his closed eyes, laughing again. "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Dila clenched both fists, shouting like an angry raccoon. "IF YOU KNEW EVOS WAS THERE, WHY DIDN'T YOU BAIL ME OUT BACK IN THE EXONORY UNDER GROUND GUILD BAR?!"
Zeon calmly wiped more imaginary tears. "Oh? Simple."
Dila glared, waiting.
Zeon raised a finger again. "I only step in when you're about to die."
Then he grinned ear to ear.
"THAT'S when I'll help."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Dila threw her hands in the air. "OH COME ON!!" She rolled her eyes so hard it looked like she might faint. "Stop laughing like a maniac, for pity's sake!!"
Zeon just kept laughing.
Fran, off to the side, whispered softly like a narrator, "Sister… why does it feel like your life is a comedy show…?"
Dila let out the longest, most defeated sigh possible. "Fran… because it is almost a comedy show. I can't control myself well. My power's limited… and I break too easily. If only…" Her voice lowered. "If only I had my Berserker… everything would be different. Everything would turn out the way I envision."
Fran tilted her head, ears twitching. "Berserker…? What's that?"
Zeon, who looked like he wasn't paying attention, suddenly twitched. He slowly turned, eyes half-closed but obviously listening. "For some years you've been kidnapped… and now you admire that Berserker?" His smile was dry, eyes sharp.
Dila's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? There's no other Berserker but me."
Zeon eyed her from boots to forehead. "Oh? Is that so?" He rested his chin on his right hand and examined her like a lazy scholar staring at a talking vegetable.
"Hmm…" His tone was skeptical. "You? A Berserker?"
He chuckled. Then he laughed.
Then he exploded laughing.
"HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!! There's no way! You've been kidnapped fo so long, that 'Berserker guy' must've imprinted in your head like a fairy tale!! HAHAA!"
Dila's eyes twitched so much it looked like Morse code.
Zeon, wheezing, wiped his imaginary tears again for a couple of times today. "Listen, kid. Berserker's a legendary class. And only one exists. That guy's called The Destroyer."
He smiled dryly again. "And trust me… it's not you."
Fran, dead serious, nodded with innocent curiosity. "Ohhh… so is a Berserker is a class…?"
"Yes fran it is" she responded while still looking at Zeon.
As Dila stood frozen, blinking, looking like a traumatized, betrayed plush toy.
Then Zeon walk.. leaned slightly towards Fran, grinning smugly. "Yep. And your sister thinks she's it."
Dila, her aura darkening, quietly mumbled, "Fran. Remind me to throw this freak hero down a ravine later."
Fran raised a finger, smiling, "Okay, Sister."
Zeon smirked over his shoulder, his usual grin glued across his face as he casually strode ahead. "So, Princess… looking for the Alchemist Smithing area, right? I know where it is. Come on, follow me."
His boots echoed lightly in the hallway as he led the way like he owned the whole castle.
Dila frowned, arms crossed, glaring at his back. "You look shady with that smug face."
Without missing a beat, Zeon looked back, eyes still half-lidded with his usual unbothered expression. "That's just my face."
Fran, tail flicking behind her, giggled. "He's not wrong, Sister."
"Ugh… fine. But if he leads us to a dungeon or something, I'm blaming you, Fran."
Fran just smiled and cheerfully skipped after Zeon. "Okay~!"
Dila followed, grumbling to herself. "Why does everyone around me act like this…"