Zaos was pretty sure that Ameria would be completely safe inside the mansion and during the party. He was planning to check every single guest using Magic Perception from a distance, after all. Regardless, now he was invited to the party, and to refuse it would be way ruder than compared with his choice of not sleeping inside the mansion the previous night.

"Hmm… did something happen?" Erean frowned when those four appeared in front of the servants' building and frowned, even more, when Zaos put a dead boar in front of him.

"Don't ask… it is not a good time," Zaos said. "Apparently, boars are quite good, but you should eat them on the same day they were killed."

After saying that, Zaos left with the others. Erean didn't understand why, but he knew that Zaos was in a bad mood, but he still carried some very heavy boar for the guards and the maids to eat a type of delicacy.

"Hey, Zaos," Ameria suddenly said. "Why don't you kill the next boar that we find? That way, Noemi will see what you can do." 

Why should I do that… that was what Zaos was planning to say, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to be that bad-humored in front of Noemi and on the day of her fifteenth birthday. Since it was better to get that over it, Zaos looked for a boar using Magic Perception. Despite that it took quite a while to find a new one, the group had to walk for half an hour and to the point where they couldn't see the mansion anymore.

"Is it all right for you to get away from your home like this, Noemi?" Ameria asked.

"It is all right, when I am bored, I tend to come to these parts in order to kill time," Noemi smiled. "I always get scolded when I return home while running away from a boar, though."

"I wish that could have be same liberty that you have," Ameria said. "Usually, when I leave the castle, I am surrounded by dozens of guards and when I leave the capital I barely can relax. This is the first time I have moved so far away from home and with so few guards."

"Maybe some of them gave up on the job…" Zaos said in a low tone, but Ameria still heard it.

Before Ameria could complain, Zaos found his target, and as if they had some crazy instincts, the very moment Zaos put his eyes on the beast, it charged toward Zaos. Using Wind Sword will probably split the monster's head in two, and since Zaos didn't want to dirty his armor with blood, he decided to use something else. Fire Sword wasn't good either since the animal's fur would burn nicely and ruin the meat. In the end, Zaos fired an Earth Sword. The projectile pierced the forehead of the creature, but not all that much. Despite that, the boar stopped charging and rolled on the ground. The impact and the weight behind the Sword cracked the skull of the beast and damaged the brain.

"Hmm… I thought Zaos magic would show us quite a bloody scene," Drannor said. "I guess he is getting rusty."

Zaos ignored Drannor and then put the heavy animal on his right shoulder. The demonstration was over, so it was time to give the spoils of the hunt to those who could make good use of them.

"You guys know a weird way to kill time on a day off…" Erean said when the group returned with another boar.

"Your magic is really different from ours," Noemi said once they returned to hunt for another boar.

"Really? How so?" Zaos asked, visibly interested since his research might improve by leaps and bounds if he uses the knowledge of other nations.

"Well… we use it most to cure diseases and heal wounds," Noemi replied. "It seems yours is more war oriented."

"Oh? Is that so…" Zaos said and then lost interest.

"Zaos can also use healing and defensive magic," Ameria said. "I told you, but he even discovered some new healing spells and other utility type ones. Have you heard of Sanctuary, Pain Nullification, and Cleanse?"

"No, I don't believe I have," Noemi said. "Zaos created them and they are basically fresh new. Maybe Zaos can teach the people here."

"Nah, I am not taking any more students," Zaos said. "They cause too much headache. The magic books are there to be sold, so anyone can acquire them."

"So, you are planning to sell them in other countries?" Drannor asked.

"Why wouldn't I? I will gain more money by doing so," Zaos said.

"Well, because there is the issue of international laws," Drannor said. "You can't just show up in a country to sell your stuff. The leaders of the countries have to negotiate that. Things are even more complicated when it involves knowledge and technology that might change the balance of military might between countries."

Zaos could tell that a frown was forming on his forehead. Merkin did his best to sell as many magic books as possible. Still, he didn't consider that Dalyor would have to enter the play… he probably couldn't care less about what Zaos thinks of him, but unless he wants to look even more suspicious in Zaos's eyes, he'd better not get in his way.

In the end, for some odd reason, the group didn't find any other boar. Those creatures sure have some good instincts since they had no chance against them, so their only option was to hide. Once noon arrived, they decided to stop and rest for a while since the night would probably be wrong.

Once the sun started to set, several people all over the island began to appear at the mansion. Weirdly enough, the parties of those who were becoming fifteen years old were a bit different from the ones in the Sairus kingdom. Not only kids around Noemi's age were invited, but their whole families were also showing up. Maybe that was why Zaos's feeling of uneasiness was increasing.