Zero to Hero (Prequel/prototype)

Chapter 45. Goodbye from Vespera

"Happy birthday Ken. What do you want as a present?" Alice asked as Ken opened his eyes with the sun peaking through the blinds.

"You know what I want."Replied simply while hugging the vampire girl closely.

"Too bad. Get strong and break it yourself."

"I was thinking about what you said a few days ago. Other than helping with your hands, I can only think of one other way."

"I am not doing it, not even on your birthday. When you get home go ask Genesis to do it."

"You are the one who brought it up and got me curious!"

"Well, get incurious and forget about it. Go focus on your studying and get stronger like you said you would instead of thinking about doing things with girls."

"If you two lovebirds are already awake, can you stop flirting so we can head home and get back before it's dark please."

"Ava! Learn to knock and give us some privacy!"

Ignoring her sister, Ava wished Ken a happy birthday and the trio got ready and headed down to the dining hall so Ken could get breakfast before they took their journey back home.

"Good morning Ken! This is my friend Mia. Thank you for having us Ava!" Candace greeted the trio happily as they left the hotel.

"Those pups are so cute! I will give you one as a birthday present Ken." Ava said happily while holding up the fluffy wolf puppies.

"Happy Birthday Ken! Did you just turn 17?"

"Thanks Candace. Yep, turned 17 today. But honestly, after 15 and the selection, it really doesn't matter much."

With two additional people and three cute wolf puppies in the carriage, the trip back to Vespera started much better for Ava than the journey here.

"So how did the two of you get permission to enter Darrumburgh? We barely got in thanks to a schoolmate and they only let us stay for five days!" Ken complained.

"Well, our village is still part of the Darrumburgh territory so we are citizens and my village elder requested permission for us to be here for the selection so we could have stayed for an entire month if we wanted to."

"VINCENT!" Ken shouted as the carriage reached the gate and Ken spotted his new friend.

Hearing his name called once again but this time no longer from an unfamiliar voice, Vincent happily rushed over to say goodbye to the group.

"I hope you all have a safe trip home."

"Thanks again Vincent. I hope you crack the code this year and make some headway towards holy level!" Ken replied happily.

After filling out some paperwork, the group of five plus the butler said their final goodbye to Vincent and to the capital city of Darrumburgh.

"I think he is a good fit for you Ava. Vincent is handsome, strong and sure, he isn't a noble or royal but from the little interactions we have had, I think he is a great guy. Besides, he is so focused on getting stronger, he's not wasting his time dealing with needless drama like I am."

"I am a married woman, Ken. As much as my so-called husband is not in my life, I don't think someone with a future as bright as Vincent would want to be in some sort of a secret relationship with someone like me." Knowing Ava is in a tough situation, Ken decided to drop the subject but gathering from what she said, he could infer that she is at least slightly interested in Vincent.

"What sort of needless drama are you going through Ken?" Candace asked curiously.

"None of your business. Stop talking to him. You are only here to sell those dogs so stop trying to talk to my man." Alice replied harshly.