135 Earl

"Um Ms Sylvia, have you seen john anywhere?" Ariel asked 

Master Sylvia shook her head 

"Can you use your shadow spell to find him? Ariel would use hers but he has a habit of concealing his presence" Said Serena 

Master sylvia who heard this, got up and stretched out her hands. Her black bikini went really well with her hair colour, and her beauty was admired by both Serena and Ariel. 

"Possession..." Master Sylvia muttered 

As her eyes became clouded in darkness, she quickly looked around and saw nothing, and then when she looked up, the darkness which clouded her eyes dissipated. 

"John is in the sky, he'll be here in a few seconds." 

"What?" Serena and Ariel simultaneously asked 

They were both confused, but decided to wait 

A few seconds after, john suddenly appeared in front of them. 

"Yo." He said as if it was completely normal 

Serena subconsciously formed a small blue compressed fireball while Ariel nearly unleashed a wind hammer as they jumped back 

When they realised it was john, they let out a sigh of relief before cancelling the spell 

"Oh, it was you... can't you be more careful? There are people around" Serena asked 

"Don't scare us like that..." Ariel added 

"That's my line! And don't worry, I timed it to when everyone's attention would be at some place else, although I spent a long time waiting, as some guys just kept staring at master. So I had to drag their attention away." Explained John 

"Sorry." Said master 

"You don't have to apologise!" John responded 

"Oi john, what's that on your back?" Serena's expression suddenly changed from a friendly one to a confused one. 

"Oh this, it's a girl I found." John replied 

The confused expression on their faces changed into a worried/disappointed look as Serena asked 

"You kidnapped a girl?" Serena asked 

"What? No, she was getting dragged to the bottom of the ocean by a fallen mermaid" 

When they heard this, they made a relieved expression 

"I knew john wasn't the type to do that." Said Ariel 

"Yeah, he may be abnormal, but even he has morals" Said Serena 

"Weren't you two staring at me like I was guilty a few seconds ago?" John asked 

Suddenly, guards which were walking around shouted 

"THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! I REPEAT! THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! IF YOU SEE ANYONE THAT RESEMBLES HER FEATURES REPORT RIGHT AWAY! WE WILL BE SEARCHING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE BEACH!" 

[Holy, he has a strong voice. But did he really have to shout that loud? Was it some sort of amplifying sound magic or is that his normal voice?] John asked in his mind 

[No magic was used.] Zestari replied 

[…] 

"Hey, do you guys think this lost girl, might be the one they're looking for?" John asked 

"Long story short, when I went to get the ball, I saw someone floating around on something, pretty far off shore." John replied 

"How far was that...? Me and Serena didn't see anything." Ariel asked 

"I'm not sure, it did take a while to get there at full speed though." John replied 

"I-I see..." Muttered Ariel, somewhat surprised. 

"John! You're back!" Shouted Nanesia as they ran up to them 

They were pretty fast runners, and got to john and the party in no time. 

"Where did you go?" Tiana asked 

"Ah, I went to save this little girl." John replied 

"Save, what're you talking about?" Zakaragi asked 

As zakaragi took a close look at the girl, his eyes suddenly widened 

"H-Hey! Isn't that the duke's daughter?" He asked while nervous 

The whole groups attention was on him 

"You know her?" John asked 

"Of course, I know her. The duke usually takes her to noble parties or ceremonies" He replied 

"Wait, so zakaragi is a noble?" Serena asked 

"He's the first son of an Earl. Didn't we mention it?" Tiana asked 

"You didn't even introduce me" Zakaragi replied 

"Haha..." Tiana nervously laughed as she looked away 

"Earl? Isn't that rank pretty high up? Does that mean you two are also?" Serena asked 

"Nope, we're both commoners" Tiana replied 

"I thought most nobles hated commoners" Said Ariel 

"That's usually the case, but this guy is always coming to the beach to play with us. Even though we're always telling him not to. Almost as if there's someone who he likes here." Said Nanesia 

Tiana who heard this, made a confused expression. No one seemed to come to mind. Serena and Ariel who saw this did a face palm 

"More importantly, I'd hurry up and take her to them if I were you. At this point, everyone in the beach might be taken in for questioning. I'll go with you, just in case." Said Zakaragi 

He looked nervous so john knew that he'd have to deal with this carefully. 

"Then we'll be back soon" Said Zakaragi, as he lead the way 

"Try not to cause any misunderstandings. But knowing you... you will... I've never fought against a city before but if anything happens..." Serena muttered 

"Then we'll have to try..." Ariel muttered 

Before john could even reply to what he heard, he was pulled away by zakaragi 

------------------------------------------- 

As john and ray approached the guards, they suddenly drew their swords when they saw the girl who was on her back 

"Notify the other guards, and the duchesse, tell her i found her." he said to the guard next to him 

The guard who heard that saluted before running off. 

"Hand over the young lady, if you do not, we will be forced to resort to violence" Said the guard as he pointed his sword at john 

"Hold on, we'll hand her over... Wilma wake up" John slightly shook her while she was on his back to wake her up 

"mm? Just a few more minutes..." Wilma muttered before falling back asleep 

"Wilma, not now, Mr hero needs your help." 

Hearing this, she suddenly woke up 

"Hero needs my help?!" She asked with a confused expression 

She then wiped her face and looked around 

"Oh! It's guards! They came to help hero!" Said wilma 

"Not exactly..." John muttered 

"Young lady wilma, get away from that evil man!" Shouted the guard who seemed to be in command 

The other guards who saw this surrounded john and Zakaragi. 

John put Wilma on the floor and wilma spoke up 

"He's not evil! He saved me!" Wilma shouted 

"Tch, this is why I hate dealing with kids. Take the guy somewhere else and kill him" The guard in command whispered. 

But john heard it as clear as day since he was reinforcing his auditory senses. 

"But sir, what if they're nobles or have a strong backing?" One of the guards whispered back 

"Huh? Are you blind? You think kids that would be alone on the beach would have a backing? Don't you want the promotion and reward for finding the young lady? Do as I say!" The leading guard whispered 

"Understood..." 

The guards started to close in when suddenly, john felt a wave of an attack coming 

[John put up an anti-sound barrier. Now!] Zestari warned him 

[Silentium]