Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 253: Mybella

Chapter 253: Mybella

"Is it that bad?" Arthur couldn’t help but ask after a few minutes of silence with Alex still in deep thought.

Alex glanced at him, slightly peeved at the interruption.

"What?... How was I to know that you are incapable of not lying." Arthur remarked, causing Alex’s eyebrows to twitch a little.

Massaging his temples, Alex replied. "I still need more information. Is there anything else that could help me?"

"Figure out a way to get to the king. If it’s the same person I left in charge after I banished myself, then all you have to do is prove your strength and get him to offer you a pledge willingly. Defeat him in combat and the proxy would be easy picking. As I said, Aragon has long since waited for an opportunity to stop the constant killings. If you offer them this, they will surely aid you."

"Hah, thanks. I need to go now." Alex said as he got to his feet.

"Is that all?"

Shaking his head, Alex replied. "Not yet but I didn’t expect your people to be so... troublesome."

"That and you can’t seem to stop lying."

"..." Rolling his eyes in silence, Alex intoned calmly. "I’ll reach out to you so I hope you don’t leave immediately."

"Hah, I’ll think about it." Arthur sighed as he got to his feet as well. "Isn’t Nadia with you?... I’d think she’d at least want to check on this old man."

"She’ll come, don’t worry."

"Alright, I’ll be leaving now." Picking up his cane and radio, Arthur turned and sauntered away leaving Alex to ponder for a little longer.

Noticing Arthur taking his leave, Ana quickly approached and inquired. "How did it go?"

"You ask even though you eavesdropped throughout," Alex replied as he reached out with his right hand and flicked her forehead.

Holding her temple with a pout, Ana defended. "False accusations!... I did no such thing."

"Yeah, sure."

Glancing at Arthur’s retreating back, Alex let out a tired sigh. "Let’s go back for now. This mission isn’t like I expected."

Still pouting, Ana exerted her will on the aether, and the next, the duo disappeared in a flash of black and white.

***

Evernight, with its new occupants, no longer looked as wild as it did before.

If it were a wild forest island with large expanses of unexplored land before, at this time, the first signs of a settlement had already begun to take shape.

A few buildings had already been built with a grand hall at the center.

Perhaps due to the new occupants, or because the island was now being explored, signs of intelligent fauna had begun to sprout up at different locations.

Alex made his way toward one of the buildings with Ana following closely behind, admiring the scenery Evernight afforded its guests.

Once inside, they found themselves in what looked a lot like an alchemical lab with Victoria currently at work.

The duo stood aside, unwilling to disturb the latter’s work.

She seemed to be studying a flower with a black stalk and white petals, no doubt from the abundance of what could be found on the island.

A few minutes passed in silence with Alex watching Victoria work while realizing just how dedicated she was when it came to research.

He’d long since understood that Victoria had a scientist mindset.

What she found, she always had the desire to test its limits and find out what it’s capable of.

After finding out that she was once an alchemist who ended up getting turned by a Spirit Lineage Vampire, her actions made more sense.

Which was why he’d given her such an important task.

Finally, Victoria stopped her work and shifted her attention to the door only to be shocked by Alex and Ana’s presence.

"Welcome Master." She immediately greeted with a curt bow.

Alex waved his hand, still not used to the tag. "Did you find anything?"

"Can I be honest, master?"

"Go ahead."

"It... it’s an unbelievable piece." Victoria said, her reverent voice taking on a more excited tone as she picked up the flower. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined there to be something so miraculous."

"Oh?"

"It possesses such immense vitality, making it an incredible ingredient for various medicines and potions. I do not lie when I say that it might even be able to reverse the effects of aging and much more."

"So it’s valuable?"

"No, master. It’s priceless. Such a flower would be sought after by every powerful person in Eventide yet it grows like common grass in your world."

Taking a moment to calm her raging emotions, Victoria dropped to her knees and regarded Alex with increased fervor. "Master, you truly are the chosen one."

"..." An awkward silence settled upon the hall with Ana alternating her gaze between Alex and Victoria.

Coughing awkwardly, Alex finally broke the silence. "So it can be sold, correct?"

"We still need to work on how to extract the nectar and also on its specific usage before doing so." Victoria quickly replied.

"Good. For now, focus on the flowers. We can check out the rocks afterward." Alex said with a satisfied nod.

He turned to leave with Ana only for Victoria to call out to him.

"Yes?"

"Master, I doubt this miracle piece has a name yet. Wouldn’t you want to name it?"

"Is it necessary?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, how about..." Alex trailed off as his gaze fell to the flower in Victoria’s hand.

Perhaps due to it being so commonplace in Evernight, he’d not seen it properly but now, looking at it... it did look quite pretty.

He wondered if Isabella would like such a flower.

Recalling her love for flora, Alex decided on a name. "Let’s call it... Mybella."

"A wonderful name, master," Victoria remarked.

Ana noticed the melancholic smile playing on Alex’s lips as he spoke but chose not to say anything, instead shifting her attention to the weird vampire that seemed to have a few screws loose up there.

Nodding thoughtfully, Alex turned to leave. "Carry on with your work."