Several hours had passed since Arisa and Zeno had been searching the forest for monsters.
Zeno was gradually getting tired.
"So where are these monsters already?! … I'm hungry!"
Suddenly Arisa became quiet and signaled Zeno to stay silent.
Zeno happily said, "Did you finally find our prey?"
Sweat formed on Arisa's forehead, her body started to tremble, and she said,
"This aura… this aura…!!!"
She grabbed Zeno's hand and they quickly retreated.
They exited the forest. Arisa's face had turned pale like a ghost.
Zeno let go of her hand and said,
"Why are we leaving the forest? Didn't we come here to hunt?!"
But Arisa showed no reaction.
Zeno tried everything, but she wouldn't move.
"Fine, you stay here. I'll quickly go hunt something and come back."
Zeno was about to go back into the forest when Arisa grabbed his hand and said,
"Don't go! There's something dangerous in there!!!"
Zeno laughed, pulled his hand away, and ran forward at full speed. The pressure of his steps was so strong that the ground beneath him seemed to explode. The shock of his running was overwhelming.
Zeno ran straight into the forest at high speed when suddenly he saw three glowing eyes in the darkness.
Trees fell one after another. A powerful wave was released, so strong that even Arisa could feel it from outside the forest.
Zeno was standing still…!!!
He went to where he had seen the glowing eyes, but there was nothing there.
Zeno scratched his head and said,
"I'm sure something was here."
He moved forward when suddenly something pulled him toward itself, and in an instant, Zeno disappeared.
Arisa waited for several minutes, but Zeno didn't return.
"What happened? Why isn't he coming back?! … Could it be?! … No, no… nothing will happen to him! … And why am I even worried about him with that body and those long dirty hair! … But what if something really happened to him?!"
Suddenly she felt a terrifying voice behind her:
"So you came here again!!"
Arisa, sweating and trembling, looked behind her. When she saw that person, she froze.
At that moment Zeno appeared, as if he had been talking to someone unseen. He saw that a person had grabbed Arisa's hand and was taking her away.
"Hey, bastard, let her go!"
Zeno rushed forward and kicked the person hard in the back, sending him flying several meters away.
Arisa fell to the ground, her eyes wide and her mouth open.
Zeno grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and said,
"Are you okay?!"
Suddenly a hard slap from Arisa landed on Zeno's face.
"Why did you hit me?!"
Without saying anything, Arisa ran toward the person Zeno had kicked.
She hadn't taken many steps when that person rushed past her at incredible speed, like a storm, heading straight toward Zeno.
He raised his fist…!
Zeno clenched his own fist and punched straight at him…!
BOOOOM!!!
Their fists collided. A massive and powerful shockwave was released, so strong that even the royal castle shook.
Raito, who was inside the castle, felt the tremor, turned his face, smiled slightly, and said,
"It seems that monster has returned… hmm."
When their fists collided, the hood of that person fell back. A well-defined jawline, heterochromatic eyes—one green, one yellow. He was smiling with great excitement, looking directly into Zeno's eyes.
Zeno was also smiling with excitement.
He said,
"You're the first one who's been able to stop my punch…!!!"
Zeno, smiling with enthusiasm, replied,
"Wanna continue?!"
He answered excitedly,
"Why not!!"
They were about to punch again when suddenly…
Arisa's voice was heard and both stopped:
"Enough already!! You're scaring people!!!"
The unknown person smiled joyfully and said,
"Come on, little sister, it was just getting fun."
Zeno's eyes widened.
"Sis… sister?!"
The man calmly said,
"Yeah. I am the first prince and also the future emperor of this land… Itsuki."
Zeno looked confused.
"Prince? Emperor? What are those?!"
Arisa stepped forward and said to Zeno,
"So, did you find something inside the forest?"
Zeno smiled happily, turned toward the forest, and whistled.
Itsuki and Arisa watched carefully when suddenly a relatively large black wolf appeared, with yellow eyes and a blue stone on its forehead.
Itsuki quickly pulled his sister back, trembling, drew his sword, and said,
"Sp… Spirit of the Forest?!"
Zeno turned in surprise and said,
"What's a Spirit of the Forest?! This is my new friend, Black Tail."
Itsuki shouted in fear,
"Step back, you idiot!! It's dangerous! Its power can destroy an entire land!!!"
Zeno's eyes widened. He looked at Black Tail and said,
"That powerful?! … Then it's really useful to us! Ohoooo…"
He went straight up to Black Tail, hugged him, and started petting him.
Black Tail stuck his tongue out and looked like he was smiling.
Seeing that there was no danger coming from the Spirit of the Forest, Itsuki sheathed his sword.
Arisa stood frozen.
"What is happening tonight?! … I'm going crazy!!!"
Hanta Kyoka
"Boss, do you really think that kid can handle it?"
Soma, sitting proudly in Hanta Kyoka, said,
"Of course he can. His power is beyond what you imagine."
Creeeak…
The door opened, and Zeno entered with a big smile.
"I got a hunt!!"
Soma quickly stood up with a smile, but when he saw the Spirit of the Forest, he froze and his smile stopped halfway.
Some people fainted, and others didn't know what to do.
After a moment, Itsuki also entered. Those who were still conscious fainted when they saw him.
When Itsuki saw Soma's half-smiling, mouth-open face, he got angry and shouted,
"Who are you mocking, you bastard?!"
He raised his fist to punch Soma, but Arisa stopped him.
"What are you doing, brother?! He nearly had a heart attack from seeing you and the Spirit of the Forest!!!"
"Brotherrr… brotherrr…!!!!!"
Arisa's words echoed several times in Soma's mind.
"What did she just say?! … Brother?! … He's the crown prince!!! … Then that means Arisa… Arisa is a prin…ceee!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
Soma fainted and fell to the ground.
Next morning, Hanta Kyoka
"Soma?! … Soma…!"
Soma slowly opened his eyes. He saw the staring image of the Spirit of the Forest.
"Spirit… of the Forest?!"
Suddenly a slap hit his face.
He snapped back to reality. In front of him stood a tall woman with a large build and orange hair.
Holding his head, Soma said,
"Who are you?"
The vein on her forehead popped, and she shouted,
"Who am I?! You drank so much you don't even recognize your own wife, you big idiot!"
The blur in Soma's eyes faded, and when he saw his wife, Astra, he stiffened.
"Sorry, ma'am!! … Owww, my head feels like someone smashed it with a hammer."
Astra angrily asked,
"Why didn't you come home last night?!"
Soma's eyes widened as he recalled last night.
"The Spirit! … The Spirit of the Forest! … Where is it?! Where is it?!"
Astra laughed loudly and said,
"The Spirit of the Forest?! Hahaha! Looks like the booze really messed with your head! … Come on, we need to go quickly!"
But Soma was sure he had seen the Spirit of the Forest last night. His wife didn't believe him and said it was just because of drinking too much sake (alcohol).
Gradually Soma started believing that he had hallucinated.
Astra went to the board of new monster hunts.
"Big Fang Wolf, the money is low… hmm… this one is good. Fire-Breathing Dragon, the pay is great!"
She turned back to tell Soma to go hunting, but…
Soma was sitting at a table full of bones.
Astra looked at him, and the vein on her forehead bulged.
"Ughhhh, that was some delicious meat. My stomach is about to burst."
Suddenly a huge shadow loomed over him.
Soma looked up. His wife was standing in front of him, fist raised, eyes blood-red, hair floating.
"We're short on money, and you're stuffing your fat belly with grilled meat?!"
BOOOOM!!!
Soma was sent flying to the ground with a punch to the face.
"This is the money for the food!! … Hurry up and get up! We're going hunting. I found a good target!!!"
Astra threw Soma over her shoulder and quickly left Hanta Kyoka, heading toward their hunt.