Chapter 72: Blood Boiling

"What? Are you serious?"

I thought Bob had turned into an egg a long time ago. At least that was what it seemed like. But if he knew Canada, then it couldn’t have been that long ago.

"Before I ended up in that rift where you found me, I belonged to someone else, and that person lived in Canada! I remember that word. I was found there a long time ago, before it even became a country."

So he really had turned into an egg a long time ago. I had it right. Someone else had found Bob before, and maybe because they couldn’t get the egg to hatch, they got frustrated, and Bob somehow ended up in that vampire’s treasure room.

"But you don’t know anything else? I’d be totally in the dark looking for any info about you there."

"Yeah, pretty much. But go anyway, I think it’s worth it."

If I was already thinking of doing the quest just to avoid being stuck somewhere doing nothing, why not use the chance to find out something about Bob and his origins? Maybe it was worth considering.

I spent the night inside my pocket dimension. I felt more comfortable and safe in there than in the room Zoen had set aside for me.

During the evening, though, around 9 PM, someone opened my bedroom door to call me for dinner. Since I could hear everything happening outside, I quickly slipped out of the pocket dimension.

"Zeph, my good friend," I said. "Coming to call me for dinner. How thoughtful."

He looked a little annoyed. I already knew why. Zeph tossed the bag full of crystals onto my bed.

"I spent a lot of time putting crystals in that. And why the hell is my dad paying you so much just for helping me? You won’t even be able to absorb 10,000 crystals anytime soon."

Ten thousand crystals. I had to hold back a laugh. In my hands, those 10,000 would turn into 100,000. I was practically drooling just thinking about it.

"Dinner’s ready, just head downstairs and eat," Zeph said, walking off right after.

I walked over to the bed and grabbed the bag of crystals, stashing it in my pocket dimension. It was the safest place to keep that kind of wealth.

After that, I headed downstairs to the dining table. There were more people there this time.

Besides Zoen, Zack, and Zeph, there was a woman. She was a little older than Zeph, and a little younger than Zack. I figured right away that she was their sister.

And damn, she was gorgeous. She had delicate features, blue eyes, and hair that was a mix of blonde and silver, totally different from the yellowish blonde the rest of her family had.

"Please, sit down," Zoen pointed to one of the chairs. It was right next to his daughter.

I don’t know why, but I had to say something as soon as I sat down.

"Would you be Zeph’s sister?" I asked, turning to face her. "Does your name start with a Z too?"

Everyone had a Z name for some reason, so I assumed she would too. And yeah, I was right, but the question came off a bit mocking, which made me regret it right away.

"Yes, my name is Zaya," she replied. "Is there a problem? Do you find our family’s names funny?"

The last thing I wanted was to make dinner awkward.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious. My bad."

Zack, who was the one I got along with best, started laughing to break the ice.

"Relax, guys, he was just making a comment. And let’s be honest, anyone would say something like that. Even I wonder sometimes why we all have names starting with the same letter..."

Zoen cleared his throat and raised his wine glass in the air.

"Let’s make a toast to our new friend. A new ally to our family who rescued my son during hard times, and we will never forget that."

Everyone raised a wine glass to toast. Even Zeph, who didn’t like me all that much, and Zaya, who didn’t get a good first impression thanks to my comment...

I raised mine too and toasted. I still didn’t completely buy this whole friendship thing, but who knew? Maybe it really was genuine. With how many untrustworthy people I had been running into, it was normal to feel that way.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the dinner and the wine. Everything was delicious, since the quality was flawless. That was what you got in the mansions of filthy rich families.

My day was going great. I managed to get back with that idiot Zeph without either of us dying in the process, got 10,000 crystals, and even picked up an interesting quest in the neighboring country where MAYBE I could find something related to Bob. A very big maybe.

It was hard for anything to shake me right then. I think even if all those vampires showed up attacking the mansion, I wouldn’t be fazed. My mind was at total peace.

In the end, though, something happened that really set me off...

The front door of the mansion opened, and someone walked in. He was a blond guy, just like pretty much the rest of the family, and I already knew him.

The second I saw him, my blood began to boil, and I clenched my fist in anger. I caught Zeph looking at me. He could tell something was off, but didn’t say a word.

I had to take a deep breath and keep from losing my mind right then. I wanted to stand up and beat the guy to death, but doing that would only cause me trouble, and I’d definitely die right after at Zoen’s hands.

"Look who’s here," Zoen said, smiling. "Didn’t you mention that everyone in the family has names starting with the letter Z? Well, this is my nephew, Mike. So not quite everyone."

Mike... That same son of a bitch who led the team into the first rift I ever explored, the same guy who left me to die.

The moment he saw me, his face filled with pure shock. It was obvious he had no idea I had survived that.

Zoen noticed his expression.

"You all right, nephew?" Zoen asked.

Mike let out an awkward laugh. "It’s nothing, I was just surprised to see someone new here at the mansion. You don’t usually have many guests over."

"Ah, yes, yes. This is Vincent, a new family friend. Please, take a seat. You got here at the perfect time. We just started dinner a little while ago."

"Let me tell you how I met Vincent, a very promising young man..."

The mood of my evening was completely ruined. Honestly, nothing was going to make it better. Staring at that piece of shit Mike’s face was making me angry and disgusted at the same time.

I did my best to hide what I was feeling. The last thing I wanted was Zoen or the others asking questions I didn’t want to answer.

Deep down, though, I was already thinking of a way to get revenge on that bastard. There was zero chance I’d forgive him. I just needed to find a way to kill him and make it look like it wasn’t me, or else Zoen, an S-rank hunter, would come and finish me off...

"I’m heading back to my room," I said, getting up from the table in the middle of dinner. "I’m tired, so I’ll take my leave early, if you don’t mind."

I said it politely, but even if Zoen didn’t let me leave the table early, I was going anyway. I wasn’t tired at all. I just didn’t want to keep looking at Mike’s face for much longer.

Nobody seemed to think my behavior was weird. Well, actually, Zeph had noticed something off, but he kept quiet. Since I had crossed several cities during an invasion while dragging that idiot Zeph along with me, Zoen completely believed I was just tired.

"Of course," Zoen said. "We can talk about that again tomorrow. And please, make yourself at home."

I nodded and went back to my room. This time, though, I didn’t step into my pocket dimension.

Something inside told me someone was going to show up at my room to talk. I was positive it would be Mike, without a doubt, but no. Mike wasn’t the one who showed up.

The second there was a knock at the door, I went to answer it, ready to curse him out and even throw hands if needed, but the person I saw was Zaya.

She spoke in a sweet voice. "Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you about something."

What the hell did she want to talk about? Could it still be about what I said regarding her name during dinner? If that was it, damn, she was the type of person who couldn’t take a joke or let anything slide.

"Sure, come in," I said, stepping aside to let her through.

Zaya walked over to my bed and sat down, crossing her legs. She was wearing a skirt, so I had to do my best not to look and seem like a creep.

I sat down next to her, waiting to see what she had to say.