Chapter 76

Vorbuk's eyes slowly opened to the light of day shining through the window. It had taken a full night of rest to allow his mana to completely recharge. A simple moment of peace overcame him as he felt a huge weight was no longer suffocating him. Had he known sooner that mana depletion would be so uncomfortable he might have put more thought into allowing himself to run so low in the past.

"You're awake?" A soft voice called out to him from across the room. From the sound of it the young girl had stayed up all night to keep watch for him. The princess had been cautious in case the skeleton monsters tried to break into the place they were resting.

Vorbuk felt a bit confused over what the princess wanted from him. Helping him into the house was already enough to pay him back for what he had done for her. There was no reason for her to push herself for his sake.

Did she not understand he knew her kingdom was a threat to him? Or was she just stupid?

"What do you want from me? You had no reason to do any of this. What is your intention being in Cista?" Vorbuk asked her as he shifted back into his human form.

He hated wasting his form on talking to her. The thought of wasting mana to talk to the princess made his head hurt.

"I have none?" She smiled brightly while answering as if she had no care in the world.

Vorbuk felt speechless for a moment at the way she responded.

"Huh? You're the princess of the Kingdom of Theapan.. I only know one royal family member who just casually wanders around... your saying your just wandering around too?" Vorbuk's face twitched slightly as he tried to consider her words.

Are the royal families just... abandoning thrones these days?! The princes and princesses can just wander off as they please.. without anyone caring?! He thought to himself. The way things were turning out for him made him want to fate.

Where's my sword... I want to knock myself unconscious again.. or am I still dreaming? Vorbuk struggled internally.

"My father does not care about me. It does not matter if I leave Theapan Kingdom.." Her eyes glossed over as if she was imagining something painful.

"What do you mean?" He asked her without hesitation.

The princess glanced over at him and smiled faintly. There was a hidden meaning behind her silence that Vorbuk understood well. It was her own way of asking him to not pry further into the matter because it simply hurt for her to think about it. Sure enough he could tell there was something that caused her a lot of pain when she thought of home.

"Just know that I am not a threat to you.. I simply don't want to be involved with my father's matters when it comes to the kingdom of Theapan. I could no longer live there so I left while I could." A bright smile covered her face quickly as if to mask the pain in her heart.

"Very well.. but if I find out your lying.." He spoke slowly as he still kept his defense up against her. Knowing where she was from he could not let his guard down too easily in front of her until he knew for certain she was not a threat to him and the others.

The only reason he was able to easily accept her words was that she had yet to actually show intent to harm him.

Standing up Vorbuk quickly went for the door to leave. It did not take him long before he was already heading down the street in search of more Skeleton monsters. Hearing the sound of her following him from behind his expression darkened. Pausing to stand in the middle of the street.

"What do you think you are doing?" His voice was heavy and annoyed.

"Following you. What if you faint again?" Her voice was soft and warm like honey.

"Go. Away." He growled at her. Wanting to reunite with the crown prince as soon as possible he could only consider her a hindrance to his plan if she got in his way while he fought. The more time that was wasted on her the more it would put Leo at risk if he got caught alone by the man behind the attacks.

"I'm alright. I wont get in your way. Besides.. you don't trust me yet, right? Just consider it an easier way to find out if I'm innocent, right?" She quickly suggested so that Vorbuk would have no reason to push her away.

He wanted to decline her but given her words it made it impossible for him to reject her company as he went forward.

To refrain from admitting defeat to Princess Isis he gripped his sword and shot towards a few skeleton monsters up ahead. They were trying to break their way into a building after some survivors in the outskirts of Cista. His skills with the sword were not perfect but it was clearly visible to anyone who knew Vorbuk was not a human raised on swordsmanship that he was a quick learner and able to find his own ways to wield the blade. Not much effort was required for him to quickly plunder his way through any skeleton monster that got in his way.

"You almost wouldn't be able to tell his real form is simply meant to be a companion when he's out there like that.." The princess whispered under his breath as she watched the scene of Vorbuk cutting down the monsters in front of her.

Vorbuk was not unaware that he was being watched by the girl. He could feel her gaze burning into his every move as he fought. The thought of it made him feel uncomfortable.

What is her intention? He wondered as he tried to understand why she was so set on following him around.

"Why are you following me?" He asked her after a while of fighting. No longer able to stand her silently watching his every move.

"I'm simply curious~ You're different from others.. it's interesting.. A companion beast.. yet you act as if you've always been human." Her words came out causing alarms to go off in Vorbuk's head.

Without a second thought in mind a rush of adrenaline took him over. His entire body shattering into a gust of black smoke that rushed at her. The sword that was once in his hand clanged loudly as it slammed against the solid ground.

As his smoke reformed in front of Princess Isis his hands were already on her shoulders and slamming her into the ground. Her hair, ears, and tail flowing about the wind as they tumbled to the ground. Vorbuk towering over her as he lowered himself to her ear.

"Stop trying to get close to me. I have no interest in you. If you keep speaking nonsense I will remove you. I don't trust you. I don't want to be close to you." He coldly whispered in her ear in hope that she would finally be scared off from following him around.

"Vorbuk? What are you doing out in the open like that??" A familiar voice called out to him from behind.

Prince Leo? He thought as he turned and saw the prince standing there watching him with a confused expression on his face.

Vorbuk's expression paled at the awkward situation that he had caught himself in. The prince had clearly misunderstood something here!