Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Zach looked at the backs of his friends as they started walking east. With Basilia's current state, where not even so much as flies saw the travel worth the destination, getting a carriage on short notice was difficult. And short notice it was.

The students had been too busy with Monolith and their training. They had only decided what to do during their break moments ago. None of them had a carriage ready, much less one ready to go to the East.

But they had Nessa's Millipede.

Zach didn't.

He took a seat on a nearby rock and waited. He glanced at Nora.

Since she was with him, they could probably find their way to the capital without getting too lost. There was still a risk since he had a lot to think about and might wander off without any of the others noticing or thinking about it and just following his lead.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But more than that, Zach didn't want to walk.

He wasn't sore or tired. If anything, he was in excellent condition, thanks to the world essence energy swirling around inside his body. But that only made it all the more exhausting. Zach couldn't even be allowed to be tired or lazy anymore since his body was always bubbling with energy.

Without the world essence energy, he would have had to spend two weeks in bed after the beating he took from Monolith, though it was partly because of the world essence energy that he took that beating. It was the world essence energy awakening from its slumber like a river during spring that coursed through his veins and kept him awake and his body functional.

Apparently, if the others were to be believed, he had exuded an incredible presence and unleashed an unbelievable amount of strength as he held onto Monolith's arm. Zach only vaguely remembered it. He had kind of gotten a little lost in the throes of battle after seeing Yanael's limp body fly out after Monolith's kick and hearing the nasty crack when Monolith headbutted Alzara.

If that hadn't been enough and he had remained lucid enough to see it, Monolith grabbing Soara and slamming her into the ground would have sent him over the edge anyway. Discover hidden stories at empire

Zach sighed as he rested his chin on one hand while turning and inspecting his other hand.

After that happened, he could feel the world essence energy in his body more clearly. He had, to no one's surprise, exceeded Sio's expectations in terms of how quickly he progressed with the world essence energy's awakening.

Sio thought it would take Zach several years to awaken even half of the energy, which would hopefully be enough for it to awaken itself. But at this rate, Zach might only have two years left before the world essence energy fully awakened. He was a few months ahead of the schedule Sio had set.

Zach sighed again. All the suffering and training he had been through just to get a few months ahead of Sio's prognosis…?

At least it wasn't as bad a feeling as the feeling of loss against Monolith.

As the sound of carriage wheels crunching and hooves clomping on the dirt road approached, Zach looked up.

A large but not unnecessarily clumsy and well-adorned but not gaudy carriage drawn by six magnificently sky-blue horses soon stopped in front of Zach after turning around. The door to the carriage that could fit Zach's entire party with relative ease popped open. Derot peaked his head out.

"You coming, or what?" He asked with a tired smile. He had done the best he could so far, but he was reaching his limits. If not outright support, he at least needed someone to share the burden for a few days so that he could rest and come back stronger.

"I said I would." Zach got up and entered the carriage with Nora. His three maids preferred to ride on the outside, but they didn't want to sit next to the coachman, so they sat or stood on the roof.

If it had been just a few weeks shy of a year ago, Derot would have found it stressful to sit in an enclosed space with Zach, partly because of his status and partly because of his personality and the rumors around him. Derot would have only lost from engaging with Zach since it was extremely unlikely he would be able to make any business deals or anything with the youngest son of the Evandiels, at least that would be worth the effort.

But that changed quickly. Setting aside the fact that Zach challenged the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst and returned alive—clearing it or not wasn't relevant—Zach displayed impressive might and ability during the earlier Trials. Without him, the others wouldn't have gotten as far as they did as soon as they did.

Even if not to make a business deal with, it would be nice to have a connection with Zach. That was what Derot had thought back then.

Now, he couldn't be both happier and more miserable about his decision to strike up a conversation with Zach and entertain his proposal. He was working toward a lifelong dream of his and sating a inborn greed for wealth that was part of his heritage as a member of a merchant house.

But it might also be the thing that killed him. It would be his lifelong dream since he would spend the rest of his not-so-long life working to fulfill it. But Derot couldn't complain. If he did, he might as well pack his bags and go back to the South.

Instead, he took the carriage ride with Zach and made full use of the relaxing atmosphere. Less than a year ago, he would have been unable to focus on anything but thoughts about how to make connections with the Evandiels or other great merchants through Zach and his blood or how to deescalate any situations Zach might cause.

Now, for the first time in months, Derot's brain stopped burning through thoughts like newspaper in a housefire.

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