Zero woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. He thought that the elf would already be awake but it didn't happen. Instead, Truen was still asleep on the floor beside his bed. The elf was as still as a rock and Zero decided to check on his treasure before his guardian woke up.
He tiptoed over to the treasure quietly. The treasure was warm to the touch and Zero cuddled it while pressing his freezing toes against the hard surface. Before he knew it, he'd dozed off, huddling with the treasure.
Truen woke up to the sight of Zero hugging the egg on the floor beside him. The elf chuckled and took a picture of the adorable sight. He quickly sent it to the Great Gods who cooed over it in the group chat. Isis sent Truen a private message and the elf raised an eyebrow.
(If you send me exclusive photos of Zero, I will split the profits with you!)
((What kind of profit are we talking about?))
Isis saw the reply and typed rapidly. Truen waited and wondered what the goddess would offer. They had everything they needed already.
(Money, blessings, favours from the gods… anything you want!)
Truen thought for a moment. While it sounded good, it wasn't anything that Zero lacked. Zero was like a rich young master who wasn't short of anything materialistic. On the other hand, he severely lacked exposure. Truen thought long and hard before reaching a conclusion.
((I don't need those. Zero has everything he needs. What is important for him now is establishing contacts. He will require people who can support him wherever he goes.))
It took Isis a while to understand what Truen was getting at. While it was a huge favour, it wasn't beyond Isis' abilities.
(Deal. I require a regular supply of photos after starting a Zero Fan Club. Be sure to take some good shots, the cuter they are the better for business.)
The elf smirked. He had no issues with taking secret pictures. In fact, he had quite a few in his private collection.
((Deal. As for those contacts…))
***
The day started off as per normal after Truen woke his young ward. Zero wiped the drool away with his sleeve and tottered to the toilet to freshen up. Today's agenda was simple. Zero was going to continue his search for the leaf and Truen was going to continue assisting him.
Somewhere after lunch, Zero decided to take a break from his search. There wasn't anything else that could hold Zero's interest now. He'd seen almost everything that could be seen in the forest and the search for Gaia's leaf wasn't going well.
"Would you like to learn some basic magic and combat skills?"
"Magic and combat skills?"
Truen nodded. "To defend yourself in emergency situations when I cannot."
Zero thought about it and nodded. There was nothing else interesting after all. Under Truen's tutelage, Zero changed into his magician robes. Truen secretly took pictures of it and kept a poker face.
"Let's go through the basics first. Magic is the control of energy. You can channel magic to do things like this…"
The lessons with Freya were still fresh in his mind. As Truen demonstrated the different forms of magic, Zero's jaw had fallen wide open.
The display of many different colours intrigued the brunet. In fact, the one thing Zero was most interested in was the ability to fly.
"How do you fly? I want to learn that!"
Truen grinned. Although flying required a very strong sense of control, under Freya's tutelage the elf found an easier method. However, he was going to need some good shots for the secret photoshoot before teaching Zero how to fly. After all, it was a priceless opportunity to catch the cute kid at his clumsiest.