9 A Cute Stalker

A few days later,

"Are you sure you are going to be fine on your own? The other day-"

"Yes, mother. I am fine. It's just something happened, so I ended up making a mess inside the house." Zed insisted.

The moment he realized that he is also an Artist on top of being a Mage made him excited to the point that he forgot to be aware of his surroundings.

"It was her, I am sure of it. But what does she want with me this time? Don't tell me she wants some free snacks again." Zed asked himself after seeing Natasha lurking outside their house, when he learned that he is an Artist.

Out of surprise, he immediately wants to get rid of the flames covering his arms but unfortunately, he doesn't know how to do it and ended up causing a mess inside their house as everything he touches burns in flames.

"If it weren't for the water-based spell that I used, I would have been caught. Thank god, Rondila arrived and talked to them."

*Rondila, the name of the physician that took care of Zed's injuries.*

"Are you sure? Our house will not be a mess again, right?" Zed gave his father a serious look and nod his head. "I promise, father. I will be mindful of my actions and be responsible." His father looks at him sternly, but then pats his back. "What are you looking all serious for? I was just messing with you. Mess? That's just how boys are. I would be more concerned if the house is tidy, without a speck of dust." He said enthusiastically.

"Somehow, I feel like I have avoided their suspicions." He told himself as he waves goodbye to his parents going to their workplace.

*For those who don't understand the paragraph above, his father meant that if the house is too tidy, it only means one thing, yes. He would suspect Zed to be feminine.*

"Break a leg, Zed. I meant, go wild. Men should do what they want!" his father reminded as his mother grabbed him by his ear. "Don't go encouraging him to do something. What if he does something bad because you encouraged him to do so?"

Zed smiles at his parent's bickering from the distance and closes the door. "Looks like I need a place to train myself. But, where?"

Without getting any good ideas about a good training place, Zed walked up to the stable and finds his friends sitting on the bench talking to themselves.

"They are still bothered by what happened." Corn said while standing behind him. "Yeah. Thought as much. I would be bothered for a good amount of time after witnessing something like that as well." Zed agreed.

"Looks like you are enjoying yourself after old man Yshka gave you a few months of rest, huh?"

"What are you talking about? Old man Yshka just did that because I would not be useful if I was not in tip-top shape." Zed argued, "I don't think that's it at all. You see, there has not been much work these past few weeks. I don't mean, there's no work at all, it's just it has become little, we are not that busy like before." Zed understands what Corn is saying and nods his head.

"Old man Yshka is caring at times. So I understand what you're trying to say." Zed grabbed Corn's shoulder and smiled. "This smile! I feel something ominous is going to happen!" Corn said to himself after seeing the look on Zed's face.

"Is there somewhere we can talk, alone?"

"Talk? Can't we just talk here?" "Dude, I would not be asking about it if this is something that we can talk about it here." Corn scratch his head for a moment and then remembered the old stable that no one uses anymore. "Private, you say. Then I know just the place." Corn then leads the way.

STEP! STEP! STEP! STEP!

"Where in the world are they going?" the person muttered while hiding beside the building.

Zed and Corn reached the old stable and find out that it is old but, occasionally cleaned. "This seems to be a good place to talk," Zed mumbled. "So what do you want to tell me, to even go so far as to come here-"

Corn felt a sudden chill when he saw Zed's serious expression. Cold sweat run down his face as he awaits what Zed wants to say.

"Corn. Do you remember that day when I told you that I want to be strong to protect the ones that are important to me?" Corn nods his head, he remembers that day clearly, because it was the same day that something strange happened to him.

"I think that might come true more easily than I thought." Corn's eyes widened as he watched Zed's arm slowly getting covered by flames. It is something that he did not expect to see, at a single glance, Corn knew that Zed is an Artist right away.

"I don't know how, but this suddenly happened the other day. I don't know how it happened but, fortunately enough, I can control it now." Zed spent the last few days, after he realized that he is an Artist, controlling the flames raging out of his skin. And somehow, he is not able to control everything that catches in fire upon a touch.

"Is this what you want to tell me?" Corn asked and to his surprise, Zed lifted his shirt. "What are you doing- what if your flames burn-!"

Corn's eyes hook once more after seeing that Zed's flames disappeared. "I knew it," Zed muttered. "I have a feeling that something is strange around you earlier, and to think that this is it."

Zed saw the marks on Corn's neck and realized that something must have happened to him, but the feeling that he got just by walking close to Corn bothered him so much that he cannot but lift his clothes.

"What are you doing?!" Corn immediately pulls his shirt down and again, the flames on Zed's arms reappeared. "What in the?-" "It seems that you are not aware of your art." Zed said confidently, "Based on how the flames behaved the moment I get close to you and disappeared the moment I touch you, your art must be, Anti-magic." Corn just looks at Zed blankly after confidently saying that he is not aware of his arts.

"What are you talking about? I don't think that is my art at all." those words surprised Zed, Corn then takes off his shirt and what Zed saw surprised him. "I don't know what happened to me, but when you told me those words earlier about the day you vowed to be strong enough to protect everyone you care for, I cannot just forget that day as well. Since it is the same day that my arts."

Corn clenched his hands and almost immediately, Zed knew something changed in Corn. "What is this-! So that's what those marks are, huh? Corn, you bastard. To think that you are hiding something like this from me."

Zed smiles as he looks at the marks appearing close to Corn's neck, they are the marks that appear and light up every time an Artist use their arts. "I tried hurting myself with everything that I can use, but nothing seems to work. I guess I am what you say I am, but I know for sure, I cannot be hurt."

Zed could not believe his eyes and congratulated Corn. "Now that you revealed something important to me, I guess I also have to reveal something of the same level," Zed takes out his knife and stabs his hand, piercing it through the other side.

"What in the world are you doing-?!"

"Minor heal." Corn's eyes widen once again after seeing something that he had not seen before, "Don't tell me,"

"Yes, my dear friend. I am a Mage and an Artist at the same time." Zed says with a huge smile on his face, but all of a sudden, their excitement completely dissipated when Natasha broke a part of the old stable's wall for leaning too much.

"Ah- eh. Hello?" she muttered meekly.