102 A Rowdy Kid, Zack
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As we were having breakfast, I was wondering if I should tell Aquarina about the egg I saw or not… she might think I was intruding into her soul… then I might end up looking like a creep or something, and that’s not good…
I don’t want her to see me like a creep!
Imagining the cute Aquarina lose all respect and love for me as she looks at me while making a disgusted face… that sight would totally break my heart!
“Ugh… you’re such a degenerate… I don’t want anything to do with you anymore… you’re not my sister… d-don’t talk to me again!”
Imagining her saying that really scares me! No! I won’t tell her! I better just keep this secret until I die! Y-Yeah… that’ll be better.
Well, peering into another person’s soul was also quite the grave offense… so I better never tell her.
Noticing my concerned face as my expression darkened, Aquarina asked me what was on my mind.
“Sylphy? What’s wrong? Is the meat not good?” she asked.
…..
“AH…?! No… Its fantastic!” I hastily replied as I began eating the grilled chunks of meat and bread together while sipping some of the herbal tea.
“All good!” I reaffirmed her.
“O-Okay…” Aquarina could only say as she raised an eyebrow, probably curious why I was acting this way.
As we were eating and chatting, Nepheline came to our room again.
“Aquarina, Sylphy, Zack’s here. Do I let him in?” Nepheline asked.
“No way.” We replied at the same time.
“Geez, don’t be like that! The boy has no parents nor siblings. You’re like his little sisters, you know?!” said Nepheline angrily.
“I don’t like Zack…” Aquarina murmured.
“Well, he’s quite the handful kid…” I added.
“Well, no buts. You’re still going to meet him. It’s good to have a lot of friends in your life. You can’t just be content with just the two of you,” Nepheline told us soon after, resting her hands over her wide hips before shaking her head.
“Come in, dear. The two are still having breakfast. How about you? Did you eat something before coming here?” she asked as Zack entered the tent.
Zack was a boy a year older than us, around 5 years of age. Then again, I’m sure he’ll soon reach 6 years. He’s got a decent and developing musculature since he’s a pure-blooded Amazon unlike Aquarina. His skin was chocolate-colored, glossy, and rather beautiful like every Amazon.
He has short brown hair and a cheeky smile, while his eyes were sharp and golden yellow. Well, he’s mildly cute sometimes, but his cheeky personality kind of ruins it. He’s also always wearing a headband left by his father. Plus, he usually carries his axe with him, his main weapon.
“Don’t worry about it, auntie Nepheline, I already had my fill with some fruits and grains I picked up along the forest,” replied the boy. He lived alone on a little tent, and sustained himself by hunting and gathering. The people here had a market for food and other materials, but he had no money to buy. So, whatever he got from the forest, he just consumed it instead of trading it. I think Nepheline and Shade pitied him and let him become more friendly with us.
“Sigh, alright dork, come sit with us. You’re not going to get through my aunt by just playing it off as a poor little kid,” I said.
“EH?!” Zack got shocked. Indeed, he liked to act like a humble boy but he’s an asshole and annoying idiot 90% of the time. So, I have to be a bit harsh.
“Ahahahah! I see you have good friends already, Zack!” Nepheline could not help but say soon after. Unlike a normal woman, who would try to reprimand me, Nepheline laughed it off and walked away. Then again, with her being a former hero, she was not normal by any means.
Zack looked at me while blushing a bit before sitting down near me.
“Why do you always come to annoy us?!” asked Aquarina angrily.
“I-I just want to hang around with you two! W-What’s so wrong with that?” he replied with a sigh.
“Alright, fine. We’ll go hunt with you… Here, eat something for now… eating grains and some fruit won’t do. You’re still growing up, kid,” I told him.
“D-Don’t call me a kid. I’m clearly older than you, Sylph…” Zack could not help but say.
“You’re a kid compared to Sylph anyways,” Aquarina said in response to his words.
“What did you say, shrimp?” said Zack with a hint of anger.
“Idiot!” Surprisingly, Aquarina replied with a hint of anger as well.
“Aquarina, calm down… and Zack, don’t call her shrimp again or I’ll make sure to leave you like one,” I said.
“…okay.” Eventually, Zack relented. He usually acted way more annoying than this, but recently, he had been growing more mature it seems. I guess it’s mostly because of the incident we had recently… he was probably affected by it when he knew we almost died back then.
Moving that aside, we fed Zack before quickly making our way outside. Today, I had decided to go explore the small forests around the village with Aquarina and Zack, much like the one in my home. In fact, I had a Memory Paper with the map of the surrounding jungles. Sometimes, we would come here to hunt hares and other small beasts, but today… I kind of want to see Aquarina’s progress.
Aquarina held my hand tightly as she walked by my side, naturally ignoring Zack walking behind us. She disliked him because he often took some attention from me. Well, he also used to be quite rude, although he hasn’t been so recently.
“Why are you always holding her hand?” he asked with a bored expression.
“H-Huh? W-What’s wrong with that?” asked Aquarina angrily. For some reason, I only saw her angry when she talked with him.
“It’s kind of weird, actually. You’re friends but you hold hands like lovers,” said Zack in response.
“L-Lovers?!” Aquarina blurted while blushing.
“Ah… I guess it is awkward now that I think about it…” I said, letting go of Aquarina’s hand.
“W-Wait! No…” cried Aquarina after I did that.
“Come on, Aquarina. You’re not a year old anymore…” I told her as I pet her head.
“Ah… y-you’re right…” Aquarina nodded with a light sigh.
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