Chapter 181 - Jinx

"Wow, this place seems pretty nice," Drannor said while checking the port city through the windows of the carriage. "I thought I would only smell the fish, but there are all kinds of smells here and they are kind of refreshing."

"What a dumbass…" Zaos muttered under his breath.

Drannor had no idea that the port city wouldn't become that big, relying solely on fishing. In fact, they probably missed all the fishing villages in the distance. The port was only used to transport things between the Sairus Kingdom and Vezar. Most of those were food condiments that were put on his food, but he never saw them separately.

Zaos didn't know much about agriculture, but he was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to produce so many things when one country is divided into so many islands. Regardless, the commerce between countries was bustling thanks to that.

"What are the plans, captain?" Zaos asked.

"I am going to confirm that the Ojala family has arrived, once we find a suitable inn for the princess," Erean said.

That was the first name Zaos had heard that name. Regardless, hopefully, the ship will be ready, and they won't have to stay in the port city even for a day. While the birthday party won't happen sooner, Zaos would do his best to make things proceed as fast as possible, even if he hurries up.

Unfortunately, things weren't going that good that day. All the inns in the port city were filled, and Ameria didn't want to use her status to make the people renting the rooms move out for her. The only places that they found that had free rooms were some pretty noisy inns that had bars on the first floor.

"It is just for a few hours, so we can stay here," Ameria said.

"Yes, ma'am," Erean said. "Just make sure to keep the rooms guarded every single moment. I will use some of my men to keep guard outside near the windows."

Zaos and Drannor nodded. Basically, they would be the ones who would guard the doors on the second floor, while Erean and his men would check things in the port and guard the surroundings of the inn.

"It is kind of weird to see you without a book after so long," Drannor said since he was bored and the silence was awkward.

"… It is kind of weird to see you without your teeth," Zaos said.

"What? But my teeth are right here," Drannor frowned.

"Yeah, but you are going to lose them if I punch your face," Zaos said.

"Always on edge…" Drannor sighed. "If you don't relax even for a second, you will only make Ameria worry and feel guilty about this whole trip."

"I already said that she doesn't have to do anything with the fact that I am here," Zaos said.

"That doesn't change anything," Drannor said. "She needed more capable bodyguards, and you didn't want to come because your mother's health isn't good. That is enough to make her feel bad about it."

Drannor was about to join the groups that rubbed Zaos the wrong way by telling the most annoying truths. It wasn't like Zaos wasn't worried about that, but being grumpy was like a second nature for him now. Considering that he couldn't relax due to the tiredness and his worries, he couldn't improve his mood and change either.

"Let's talk with the captain about this, he might help us solve this problem," Drannor said.

Zaos wasn't that fond of the idea, but he could at least listen to the voice of the experience in the end. In the blink of an eye, several hours passed, and the captain didn't return. Fortunately, not a single problem emerged either. Probably because they grew quite a bit over the last year, and they were of the size of ordinary guards. Now and then, Zaos and Drannor confirmed the safety of Ameria and the maids inside the rooms. After several hours, the captain returned with some bad news.

"It looks like a storm got in the way of some ships over the course of the last few years, some sailors informed us of that," Erean said. "I am assuming that the ship who was supposed to transport us is late because of that."

"What are the chances of the ship getting damaged in that type of storm?" Drannor asked.

"Pretty low, the Vezarrnians know how to build their ships and storms can only cause so much damage in some specific areas, the route that they chose isn't one of them," Erean replied. "Unless they arrive in four days or more, we won't be late for the party. I will inform the princess of that."

Drannor looked at Zaos and shrugged. Their luck wasn't good, but some problems were bound to happen in situations like that. When factors like the sea and storms were put in the equation, things just couldn't be helped.

"I just hope that we won't get the same storm once we enter this ship," Zaos said.

"That is a good way to jinx us…" Drannor said.

Ameria accepted the delay was unavoidable, and after that, Drannor decided to talk with Erean about how to help someone like Zaos to relax a little more. Truth be told, Erean was thinking about doing something since Zaos's behavior obviously affected the princess.

"I know a few ways to help you," Erean said. "Women and alcohol. Since we are working, we can't let you fool around. To be honest, I never even considered that since you look like a very straightforward kid. However, a cup of beer during dinner should relieve some of your stress and it won't mess with your senses."

Although it could be found in most parties, Zaos never even drank wine when he was invited to birthday parties. The reason being was the fact that he wants to keep his awareness fully intact. That being said, he saw his father drinking some wine now and then during dinner. He probably never tried because his father apparently liked and Zaos didn't want to become like him.