Zero to Hero

Chapter 34. Shadows of the Past

SLAP!

The sound echoed through the crisp air, punctuating Tina's frustration. "Why are you always spaced out when I'm talking to you!"

"Tina... Do you know what this place is? This is Yelwraek City, the capital of the most powerful kingdom. The city where the most formidable being, Zishell, resides."

Candace couldn't resist interjecting, her voice laden with unnecessary detail, "The place where he lost his lovers. The place where he was beaten to a pulp and left for dead. The very place that turned him into a hermit for five long years."

"My grandfather said the defeat was brutal. Zishell obliterated him, while his former girlfriends had to plead with that fake king to spare his life," Carla added monotonously, her words falling like stones.

After a month of journeying with the corrupted elf girl, with her devilish horns, strange tail, and glowing red eyes, I still barely knew her.

She was never one to initiate conversation, often preferring silence, punctuated only by sporadic remarks. Every attempt I made to engage her in meaningful dialogue was met with terse replies or stony silence. The only subject she seemed inclined to discuss was the tragic saga of her grandfather and the usurpation of the throne by the king of Yelwraek. She harbored a fervent belief that one day her grandfather would reclaim his rightful place.

But I had little interest in the melodrama of a self-proclaimed king, whenever she began to recount her family's tale, I would quickly redirect the conversation and the girl would fall into silence.

"STOP IGNORING ME!" Tina's shout jolted me back to the present as we drew nearer to the towering walls of the city.

"What... What do you want?" I asked wearily.

"I said we need to enter a tournament here and kick some ass!"

"More like getting your ass kicked," I retorted as the wolf girl leaped from her horse with a flying kick.

"Why are you always so unhinged!" I shouted at the fool who had startled both our horses, setting them into a frenzied panic.

Fortunately, Yami had experienced another substantial growth spurt in the past month and now stood the size of a large horse. Swiftly maneuvering in front of our terrified mounts, my formidable wolf companion skillfully calmed them, granting me control of the tumultuous situation.

"Thanks, Yami. The only one I can depend on in this group of crazies."

"Hey! How am I crazy?"

"Candace... You've tried to sneak into my sleeping bag or my bed at an inn every single night! If you're feeling that horny, find yourself a handsome guy instead of trying to seduce me when I'm not interested."

"Who are you calling horny! You're the odd one for not wanting to have a romance with someone as stunning as me!"

"He probably likes men. None of those I guide to Yelwraek City could go a day without needing me in bed, and this whole month he hasn't asked for it once." Once again, the elf girl randomly chimed in, delivering a completely absurd statement with a deadpan expression.

"Both of you, shut up... After more than five years of abstinence, I've come to the realization that sex is nothing without love," I declared with a blatantly false assertion.

As much as I cherished my past lovers and resolved to maintain self-discipline, the struggle persisted to resist Candace's relentless provocations and Carla's unsettling resemblance to Clare and Cecilla.

"Do we have to go through the guards, or do you have some special underground passageway like in Aenwyn?" I inquired of the horned elf girl, attempting to steer the conversation away as we drew nearer to the city walls.