Chapter 98

If you are patient in a moment of anger,

you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

- RoMa

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The deeper it gets the lower the temperature drops. Goosebumps rise on my pale arms, and I start to circulate my fire element throughout my body to regulate my body heat. I hear paw prints as they take carefully measured steps on the forest floor. However no matter how quiet the animal tries to lurk, they are no match for my cultivated haring.

I wait for the animal to launch a surprise attack before I knock it down. I only have one mission and that is to bring back Akiko.

The animal stays cautious, I guess he has a higher level of intelligence compared to the lower ranked beats. That gives me an idea on how much energy I'd have to use in order to deal with this troublesome creature.

I walk for some time looking out for energy hint that Akiko could be nearby. Not looking where I was going I twist my ankle and fall. During that time where I was momentarily distracted the animal uses this as a perfect opportunity to finish me off.

From the corner of my eye an orange hog speeds past. I narrowly escape its vicious horns when I jerked my head to the side, there is not a scratch on me except for some loose hair. Seeing that its first attack was poorly executed the hog turns around and dashes at me again, expecting me to be too flustered to think of any quick life saving moves. Fortunately during the quick moment where I fell and touched the forest floor I was able to send a signal out through my fingertips into the ground to summon up the power of the trees.

As the hog barrels toward me I raise my hands up and capture the hog in a deadlock with two thick branches levitating its body off of the ground, coincidentally forming the letter V. The hog struggles for a bit, air rushing out from its snout in waves like a tornado before it finally gives up and lies limp. There are grey swirls on its otherwise dark brown body. This is a wind beast. Probably a low grade as it was so easily defeated. Eh, I dust my hands off and continue on my way. Some other beast could probably use the extra protein from the hog anyway.

It has been ten minutes and still there's no sign of Akiko. I decide to speed things up by using the wind element in order to make things go faster. I summon the element at the bottom of my feet and start to run. It is very efficient and saves me a lot of physical energy.

I start to smell burnt wood, a thick smell of smoke practically taking over the oxygen supply. The beautiful trees now scarred by the fire are a horrendous black, it is like something you would picture in a horror movie. I graze my hand across the burnt bark, and watch as it crumbles delicately in my palm, the wind blowing it away into the distance.

I soon see a fragile form cuddled into a ball. Her mount standing beside her keeping guard. Hearing my footsteps the animal gazes towards me, his eyes filled with hostility as his teethe are bȧrėd, prepared to fight at anytime.

"Woah there pup, don't start a fight you know you're going to lose." I let my killing intent surge out, suppressing the loyal mount into submission. 'That's much better', I think when I see his neck lower.

Akiko raises her head. Her eyes are red, a light blush coating her cheeks from all the crying she did. Akiko looks like a broken fairy, she's really beautiful. I hope she wasn't fighting with Elizabeth over some random guy, she should have more respect for herself. Akiko looks at me with a surprising amount of hate, maybe she's in one of those moods where you're just mad and anybody and everybody.

"What do you want?" She spits out, her eyes examine me haughtily. She probably already has a bad impression of me and I haven't even done anything remotely evil yet.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Only heaven knows its too early to get into an argument with an entitled princess, but she needs to know that I am not the one to mess with.

"It's not my fault you were too weak, please get up and follow me, the teacher is in need of your presence to carry out the remainder of the class time."

Her face is stunned that I dared to talk to her that way. News flash! I'm a princess too okay!? I can afford to be petty.

"You're one of the rare few that dared to talk to me that way." She says with hidden anger. I'm suddenly hit with a feeling of Deja vu, isn't that something the domineering male lead usually says to aggressive female lead when they first meet?

Suddenly all of the hairs on my body stand up and I clear my throat unconsciously. "I really don't have the time to be involved in whatever melodrama you, Elizabeth and Maximus have conjured up. Please, I have more important things to do. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding my manners."

Though my mind is a bit fuzzy when it comes to matters regarding Akiko, I do know that she is a concubine born daughter in Maximus Father's Imperial harem. Another cannon fodder that failed to destroy the female lead and instead became a stepping stool for Elizabeth and a male lead's relationship. If we are being more specific however, that male lead would be Maximus. Her ending was particularly bad, she spread news on Elizabeth's black history garnering scorn from Maximus. He made her marry a particularly ŀustful Marchioness, and she was forced to fight and participate in the back yard schemes dying in no less than two years of marrying over. Someone was able to persuade the Marchioness into thinking that she made him wear a green hat, and...lets just say she wasn't left with a body in the end.

I lend out a hand to help her out, but she doesn't take it and instead supports herself up. I coolly draw my hand back, 'suit yourself' I think.

On the way back no other words of communication was voiced out. It was silent all the way there until we made it out the forest. Then, the curses of the teacher insulting children of royal standing flittered over and my lips twitched.

"Good you two are back." The teacher says. I see her gaze linger on Akiko's face for a bit but she doesn't comment on her puffy eyes and instead attacks me. "What took you so long? Do you think you have the luxury of strolling through the forest while everyone else waits on you? Run around this field until I say you can stop Melia. And Akiko you're gonna join her since you think that this class isn't important enough to attend, however you're going to run on the outside of Melia since you're the cause of this mess."

I who am impervious to blades and spears won't even put this punishment in my eyes. I've had worse.. If this teacher thinks she can break me so easily, she had better think again.