Luck is a Charm

"Nope, that's enough practice for today." 

Zen exclaimed loudly as he turned around and started heading for the door to leave the backyard.

He wasn't trying to be lazy but there is practically no reason to practice alone. No opponent nor target means the training would be pointless no matter how great he controls his magic.

Walking back inside the restaurant, Zen was dumbfounded to see Evie and Eleanor calmly sitting in the chair, waiting for him.

"Madam Evie, I was correct in my prediction," Eleanor said happily as she glanced at Evie.

Evie shook her head in disappointment as she retrieved a cup and poured some of her precious brewed tea on it.

"Sigh, if I had known he would never change his behavior then I would have betted a faster time." Evie sighed softly as she handed the cup over to Eleanor.

Eleanor grabbed the cup and started sniffing the aroma of the tea before staring at Zen. 

"Thank you for being predictable and allowing me to be able to enjoy Madam Evie's precious brewed tea," Eleanor said as she started savoring the tea slowly.

Meanwhile, Zen smiled bitterly as he finally figured out the current situation. 

They were betting on how much time he would spend alone in training and Eleanor had predicted that he would give up rather quickly.

Although Eleanor was right on the mark, the truth still hurt a bit for Zen to handle since it only proved he was an unreliable man.

"Did you two really have nothing to do besides playing this kind of game?" Zen asked softly.

"Hoh, he's mad," Eleanor chuckled lightly and stood up as she wrapped her arm around Zen's neck.

"Heh, you can always punish me tonight as revenge," Eleanor whispered softly in his ears before leaving him alone.

Zen wanted to ask Evie about Eleanor but she didn't give him a chance either as she headed upstairs to her office.

'Where's Angela then?' Zen asked inwardly as he looked around for her.

Alas, it seemed like Angela had left the restaurant, leaving him all alone without any goal today.

The day has been too serene and calm which is making Zen feel uncomfortable since he was always busy fighting during the labyrinth incident.

"Hmph, no wonder why I couldn't find you anywhere. You were hiding in your shell!"

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed in the restaurant right when Zen was about to head back upstairs to sleep.

Turning around, Zen was surprised to see her coming straight at him. After all, their last meeting wasn't exactly wonderful.

Heck, he even threatened and slapped her face before so Zen couldn't understand her motive.

"What are you doing here, Daphne Camellia?" Zen asked slowly when he saw her approaching.

Daphne Camellia's eye flickered in anger as she placed her hand around her hips. 

"Did you forget the bet that we made in the auction house?" Daphne Camellia shouted.

Zen rubs his chin slightly as he tries to recall the bet that Daphne Camellia mentions. 

'Did I ever make a bet with her?' Zen pondered inwardly as he has no recollection of betting with Daphne Camellia.

When Daphne Camellia saw his confused expression, she didn't know why but felt angry, almost like she was mad that he always forgot about the words he said to her.

She has been struggling whether or not to meet with him again after Leon Camellia almost got crippled by him but she decided to come in the end.

"The alchemist face-off!" Daphne Camellia exclaimed as she wanted to hide in a corner for doing something like this.

Zen held a disbelief expression as he thought they would never meet again after that incident.

"I thought you wouldn't want to meet me ever again, especially after that slap I did on you," Zen said softly as he stared at her.

Daphne Camellia suddenly felt her face twitch slightly as she recalls the previous incident where his handprint was deep in her cheek. Gritting her teeth, Daphne Camellia stared back at Zen's face.

"So based on your words, can I take it as you admitting yourself as a coward and wanting to back off from the alchemist face-off," Daphne Camellia managed to use all her strength to utter those words.

Zen stumbled slightly as he couldn't expect this unexpected visitor to pop out when he was feeling bored.

Thus, he made an evil grin as he started to walk around Daphne Camellia while acting like a complete scoundrel.

"I have clearly slapped you on the face and not only did you still dare to show yourself, you even dared to challenge me to an alchemist face-off…" Zen said slowly before leaning closer to her ears and whispered.

"Could it be that you fell in love with me after that slap of mine?"

Almost like a volcano erupting with magma flowing everywhere, Daphne Camellia tried to strangle Zen's neck for his cheeky tone.

However, before she could even latch onto Zen, she was caught by him in the waist as Zen directly dashed toward the backdoor and activated the formation.

"Let me go, you shameless scoundrel," Daphne Camellia tried to struggle away from Zen as she was being carried by the waist.

"Keep struggling and I might just spank your round and smooth butt," Zen chuckled softly as he threatened to spank her.

The threat works like a charm as Daphne Camellia stopped struggling and stood still but her face has become bright red from the embarrassment.

"W-Why are you being so cruel to me?" Daphne Camellia started tearing up as she muttered about why he was acting like this toward her.

Zen didn't care about her tears as he decided to spend the day messing with her. It was obvious that Daphne Camellia wasn't well-liked by others hence, she came over to him to waste some time.

"I won't be cruel to you, Daphne Camellia~" Zen mumbled softly as his hand started rubbing her butt.

However, the next moment, Zen placed her on the ground as he kept some distance away from her as he could feel she was about to fire a deadly spell at him.

"A young maiden shouldn't be this impulsive," Zen remarked cheekily as he retrieved a cauldron out.