Zach sat in Alzara's lap for a while, enjoying the warmth and comfiness of being hugged like he was a child again. But talking with Alzara wasn't the only thing he had to do during the trip. He still wasn't sure what she could do or what his contract skill was exactly, but that could wait until he needed to know.
He had already put off something else, which he should have dealt with as soon as it was a problem.
So, he gently escaped Alzara's arms and sat on his own ass again, after which he asked Alzara to switch places with Yanael.
Zach could tell Alzara was reluctant to leave his side, but he could also tell that it would be nice for her to no longer have to bend her neck just to fit inside the carriage.
Without a word, Yanael and Alzara changed seats. Yanael slipped in, and Alzara climbed out.
Yanael sat with her back ramrod straight and her hands on her lap with her gaze lowered.
"Yanael."
"Yes, Master."
"I'm assuming you know why I want to talk with you while I'm putting on a serious face like this."
"Yes, master." Yanael nodded.
"Have you been so hostile to Alzara because you knew she was a desert witch?"
"What is a desert witch, if I may ask?" Yanael tilted her head.
"...I guess not. They're witches who live in the desert. Apparently, they have some bad but not completely unfounded rumors going around, not that I've heard anything."
"I cannot say I have heard any such rumors, either, Master."
"Okay. So, why are you treating her like that? You haven't had any problem with Nora."
"My apologies, Master. My personal feelings shouldn't have any effect on my service and loyalty to you." Yanael bowed her head.
"That's one thing. I'm just curious why you're behaving like this."
"..." Yanael hesitated.
"It's okay. Just say what's on your mind."
"...It's because she keeps putting her grubby hands on you with that sleazy smile. She doesn't respect you. She doesn't deserve to be your familiar."
"I see." Zach nodded understandably. It was a personal issue of Yanael not liking Alzara. Zach squinted. Yanael had been against the idea of him summoning another familiar from the start when he first asked her how to do that.
It wasn't necessarily that it was specifically Alzara who was the problem. Zach moved over and sat next to Yanael. He put his hand on her knee.
"Yanael."
"Yes, Master?" Yanael wondered what Zach was doing but didn't mind it.
"You're number one. No one will take your place. You have nothing to worry about." Zach patted Yanael's knee twice.
"..." Yanael was silent.
Zach was also silent. He had said his piece. If that was enough for Yanael to stop treating Alzara like she carried the plague, great. If it wasn't, he would have to come up with another method.
But he had yet to confirm whether it was enough.
So, for now, Zach continued taking it easy. Time would tell.
The rest of the trip back to the Academy was worryingly peaceful. Yanael and Alzara didn't interact much with each other, even if they interacted with Zach and Nora. But Yanael wasn't openly hostile anymore, and Alzara seemed to have realized that she didn't gain anything from teasing and provoking her more than necessary.
Zach felt like the situation would have been better if they could have gotten closer while fighting monsters. But the monsters that had been like flies to a pile of dung on the way to the Evandiel Duchy were nowhere to be seen.
Without making too much of an assumption, Zach felt like it was related to Alzara.
He remembered what Lexi had said about monsters and their instincts that they themselves weren't even always aware about.
If they could pick up on his glowing that Lexi barely noticed, Zach felt like they could pick up on the threat that Alzara posed. Yanael was also dangerous, but she was better at controlling her presence and the air she gave off. She was at least more willing to do so.
Zach had a feeling that Alzara couldn't be bothered to restrain herself in that way. That also fit better with what she had told him about desert witches.
It was relieving since their journey would be less stressful. But it also meant it would be more boring and with fewer chances to gain levels.
But Zach wasn't going to ask Alzara to suppress herself just because he wanted to kill some monsters or, to be exact, watch her and Yanael kill monsters. Besides, the monsters that were pushed out of the wilderness and close to the roads were weaklings. They didn't give much in the way of levels.
Zach could almost feel that out of the two levels he had gained since the first year ended, the majority of it came from the rat king. He wasn't sure what the deal was, but he had also leveled up a lot thanks to the tiger.
Based on that, it was easy to conclude that the levels he gained were proportional to the strength of the enemies he killed.
Killing a bunch of weaklings was probably better than nothing, but Zach wanted to be able to take deep breaths and relax before the second year of his time at the Academy started.
After precisely two weeks, Zach returned to the Academy two weeks before the second year would start.
It was the first time in his life that he was not later than expected.
It was a horrible feeling. Not only was he on time when he had scheduled for delays, but he was on time for his return to the Academy of all places. The place that was responsible for him almost dying at least a couple of times and for him being declared dead once.
Zach didn't even know why he had to attend the Academy when all they did was hunt monsters in the forest and…—Had they done anything else during the first year? Zach was the only one who had made any kind of progress with the Underworld.
The rest of his class had just been looking without finding and hunting monsters.