Chapter 26

“Huh?” The governor’s face twisted, and after a moment of stupefaction, he immediately used his strength to anchor his feet into the ground. Large vibrations shook the clearing as his feet ripped through grass, plowing the ground as if he was a farmer plowing a field.

Many vibrations later, his body finally slowed to a stop. Glaring at his son, he immediately bellowed furiously: “What the hell are you doing, Finn?!”

“Dad, listen!” Finn pleaded, staring at his father imploringly. “That person saved my life!”

“What?” Finn’s father was bewildered.

“Two masked men were trying to kill me, but they were stopped by that black cloaked expert!” Finn explained, gesturing with his hands. “If it weren’t for him, I would be dead.”

The governor furrowed his brows and looked towards Zairen, who was still sitting on the ground. Then, he looked back at his son, and asked somewhat cautiously: “...so… he… this boy wasn’t going to hurt you?”

“Of course not!” Finn exclaimed.

As he said that, however, Finn’s expression suddenly changed, and he realized that his father had said something strange. Furrowing his brows, he asked: “Wait, dad… you said boy?”

The governor gave his son a strange look, and then pointed toward Zairen. “Didn’t you just say that the boy over there saved you?”

Finn eyed his father quizzically, clearly very confused, and then slowly turned around in the direction the governor’s finger was pointing.

In his field of vision, he saw a small black haired boy, who was wearing a long black cloak. He had a childish yet serious face, and was holding a slender sword.

As soon as he saw this person, Finn froze on the spot.

Zairen. That was clearly Zairen.

How could it be Zairen?!

Finn was astounded to the point of speechlessness. As his mind whirled, his mouth began to wordlessly open and close, and for a long period of time, he merely stood in place, gawking at Zairen.

The more he thought about it, the more disbelief he felt.

The little boy he had looked down on this past week was actually the black cloaked expert?!

“Hey Finn.” Zairen suddenly spoke out, interrupting Finn’s thoughts. He slowly dusted himself off and stood up.

“Z… Z-Zairen… “ Finn stuttered like a person who had not spoken for years. “...y...y-you’re…!”

“I hope that after this, you’ll stop bothering Alivia and me.” Zairen suddenly cut in, noncommittally. “And that we can put aside any hostile feelings between us.” He looked at Finn, who was still struggling to speak, and then glanced at the governor, whose brows were still furrowed.

Finn met Zairen’s gaze, and then immediately stared down at the ground. He couldn’t bring himself to face the boy in front of him.

‘Zairen…’ The governor, on the other hand, was currently rubbing his chin, as if thinking very deeply.

Inwardly, however, he was completely shocked. From the moment he had seen Zairen’s youthful face, he had been shaken to the core. So young… And yet so powerful! He looked to be only around seven years old, and yet could practically fight on par with him, an expert who had trained for many decades!

He thought back to the barrier Zairen had constructed in order to block his punch. In such a short period of time, the boy had managed to construct such a solid barrier. What kind of a crazy degree of spirit energy control did it take to achieve that? How strong could this monster be in the future, if he was already this strong at age seven?!

The more he thought about it, the more amazed he was. Where did such a boy even come from? He didn't recall there ever being such a talent in the village!

Such a talent… and Finn had tried to frame him!

“Tch.” The governor was well aware of Finn’s snobbish tendencies, and could guess that in the past, Finn had tried to bully Zairen. Such a powerful person… And his son had been provoking him since day one! He clenched his fist and thought to himself aggrievedly: ‘This damned son… I'm going to have to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.’

Thinking that, he looked back at the black cloaked boy in front of him.

“Zairen, was it?” He bowed slightly, and said in a polite tone: “I’m sorry about attacking you earlier. Thank you very much for saving my son.”

He meant that statement. If Zairen had not rescued his son this day, who knows what could have happened?

Zairen was slightly startled, but then smiled and waved his hand. “It wasn’t much, governor. I only hope that now, we can all get along.”

The governor laughed. “Of course! In fact, I should be repaying you.” He stuck his hand into his pocket, pulled out a small bag, and tossed it over to Zairen. “Here’s just a small token of gratitude for what you’ve done today.”

Zairen caught the small bag, which emitted some minute clinking noises. After staring at it for a few seconds, he looked up and replied: “I really shouldn't take this, sir.”

“In that bag are some spirit stones, which are very helpful for training. I implore you to accept it.” The governor insisted. How could he let Zairen reject this reward? That would be letting himself owe the boy a favor. Besides, he wanted to make a good impression.

Zairen no longer argued. He gave a very slight smile, and then tucked the small bag into his pocket.

Seeing Zairen put the bag away, the governor slightly nodded and then walked over to the still unconscious masked man. With a soft grunt, he hoisted him over his broad shoulders. “I hope you don't mind if I take this guy with me. He has some questions to answer.”

“Of course I don't mind.” Zairen replied, finding that he liked Finn’s father. The man seemed very straightforward and considerate.

The governor clicked his tongue. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Zairen. Feel free to come visit the governor’s mansion any time you want. The savior of my son will always be welcome there.”

“I'll make sure to visit some time.” Zairen laughed. Taking the cue to leave, he immediately bowed, turned around, and proceeded to walk away, in the direction of the village square.

The governor and his son watched as Zairen nonchalantly walked away, his figure quickly fading in the dense greenery of the forest.

While Finn was in disbelief, Finn’s father slightly shook his head, in awe: ‘There are such things in this world. Such a strong little boy, and yet so polite! He’ll certainly grow up to be someone very powerful.’

He turned to his son and chided: “You brat, you'd better not bother that boy any longer. In the future, he’ll be someone we can't offend.”

Finn merely stared wide-eyed at Zairen’s disappearing figure.