The Princess And The Lord

[Careful!] Zhao Li Xin outstretched

his arms before Lory in reflex.

Out of nowhere, a pack of Wild Hounds jumped in front of the car causing Lory to hit the brake pedal. Luckily the wild Hounds were just across the road and then ran towards the forest. Lory and Zhao Li Xin stare at where the pack of Wild Hounds disappeared.

[Do Beasts usually appear on public roads?] Zhao Li Xin felt strange because animals' instincts were usually to stay away from human residence unless they were provoked or hungry.

[Not that I know of,] Lory answered while staring in the direction where the Wild Hounds disappeared after that Lory moved the car again while contemplating.

[Usually Beast will live far from the human territory, but I heard that many Beasts started to appear around the human territory, according to some experts this is caused by the decrease in the human population. Humans usually hunt Beasts to obtain materials that indirectly serve to control the Beast's populations, however, since there are not many humans anymore the Beast population increased out of control and they started invading human space,] Lory explained.

[The imbalance between humans and the Beast is understandable cause unlike humans the animals would breed based on their instinct to survive while humans will take more time] Zhao Li Xin pointed out.

[No wonder, Hunters has become a high-demand profession these days] Lory remembered what Maddy said when they met the first time.

[But the hunter's profession is very risky so it doesn't help with the increase in human population sadly, someone has to get rid of all of those Beasts.] Zhao Li Xin understood how problematic the current situation was.

[That is why if there is another war people will not be able to survive, the entire human race would probably be completely annihilated this time] There's a deep worry and sadness in her voice. 

"Not completely..." Zhao Li Xin leaned his head into his fist in a comfortable way as he spoke in Harlandish, "As always, the strong will survive, and when law and order disappear, there will no longer be any compassion left for the weak hence the world will become the ultimate stage for the survival of the fittest..."

Lory looked at the road in front of him in silence, it wasn't hard to imagine what this world was like because he had seen it during the wars of the Dark Ages, where the weak were taken advantage of and abandoned.

There are only a few places that can provide a somewhat peaceful place for weak people to live and L'Markieth is one of those few places but there is still a limit to how far L'Markieth can provide assistance therefore it is difficult to avoid casualties and Lory had seen many people died without able to do anything.

Suddenly a warm hand gently rubbed her head, bringing Lory out of her reverie, "Don't worry, nothing will happen in this world, since we are here we won't let anything bad happen to this world, right?!" His gentle voice calmed Lory and her worries soon disappeared like smoke in the wind.

"We're here!" Lory exclaimed excitedly when she saw the rest stop sign.

She immediately turned the wheel to the parking lot and then looked left and right in search of a public bathroom when Lory found it she parked nearby then rushed out but didn't forget to say: [I'm going to the restroom, wait for me inside the dinner, okay!] Lory then rushed to the bathroom without waiting for Zhao Li Xin's answer.

Zhao shook his head with a smile when he heard Lory cursing while half-running. Zhao shifted his gaze to the area around him and then walked towards the dinner that had glaring yellow neon lights while wearing black leather gloves.

Yes, the Almighty Lord never forgets to wear gloves after he understood that the common greeting in this world is a handshake sometimes even hugging. Zhao Li Xin, who hated skinship with people other than Lory, always reminded himself to never forget to wear gloves to save him from uncomfortable feelings, after all, in this world he couldn't just cut off other people's arms carelessly, right?

When Zhao Li Xin pushed open the glass front door, the doorbell immediately made a melodious sound indicating a customer had arrived. A second later a middle-aged man greeted Zhao Li Xin with a big smile, "Welcome to George's Diner, how can I help you?!"

Zhao Li Xin gave a faint nod and then sat beside the glass window. He glanced briefly at the strange ketchup bottles on the table and then turned his gaze to the paper menu tucked between the ketchup bottles, he looked around and realized there were no waiters or guests it seemed this place was not popular.

The Diner owner was actually stunned when he saw Zhao Li Xin enter the place. The man had an exotic and beautiful face with a pair of dark eyes that could captivate the hearts of both men and women. But what really caught his attention was the man's aura which exuded nobility and an aloofness that could keep anyone a miles away. The Dinner Owner narrowed his curious eyes, he didn't know who this man was but he was sure that this man was no ordinary man.

Meanwhile, Zhao Li Xin ignored the Diner owner's attention to him as he was already used to it that he grew numb to it, instead, Zhao Li Xin was more focused on reading what food was on the menu, unfortunately, there wasn't a single dish on the menu that he recognized, he stared at the picture in the menu that is like noodles but there a brownish red sauce that looks questionable, other than that there also something that looks like a chicken but why there is a strange filling inside and why they put potato as a side dish, and what is this...Pan-cake? is a weird-looking bread but why is there fruit on it and why is there also ice cream on top? Zhao Li Xin put down the menu paper with a long sigh.

Zhao Li Xin could only surrender himself and wait for Lory to choose food for him, even though Zhao Li Xin never cared about what food he ate, the atrocity people do to the food in this world is beyond his comprehension, though he hated to admit it that it scared him quite a bit.

While waiting for Lory Zhao Li Xin swept his eyes to the interior around him which felt strange yet interesting for him then suddenly his eyes caught a drink vending machine in the corner of the diner and there he found his long mortal enemy standing there inciting him for another fight.

Zhao Li Xin's eyes light up, then he strides toward the vending machine, he rubs his chin trying to think of a way to reach his enemy, he examines the vending machine before he finds the instructions attached on the side of the vending machine.

He read the instructions carefully and from there he learned that he needed cash to insert a slot that was easily directed by a small arrow before he could select the desired product. The great Lords who had mastered the most intricate array of formations found that the instructions were not difficult.

Zhao Li Xin reached into his pocket, thank goodness he had some cash this time. He happily took the twenty Rom from his back pocket and followed the instructions. Zhao Li Xin stared at the row of several Poko-pop drinks which were strangely each of them had different colors after a while he chose a bright red Poko-pop that he had never tried before.

Zhao Li Xin proceeded by pressing the screen button which suddenly lit up and made a noisy sound, Zhao Li Xin was a bit nervous then a moment later he heard a plop sound at the bottom of the vending machine. 

Zhao bent his knees and then stared cautiously carefully at the strange square compartment where the sound came from, he hesitated for a second before reaching his hand into the dubious compartment with a tense expression then suddenly he felt the cold tin surface on the tip of his fingers.

Zhao Li Xin stared at the Poko-Pop drink with an evil grin, 'Hello old enemy'

A few minutes later, Lory entered the dinner with a relief expression after successfully doing her business. Lory scanned the dinner to look for her sexy husband. It didn't take long when Lory heard a loud cough coming from the corner of the dinner, Lory stepped in that direction with an uneasy feeling.

As expected she found Zhao Li Xin bent over on his stomach coughing non-stop, in his hand Lory saw a soda drink with a cute picture of Poko-Poko winking its eyes, without explanation Lory knew what was happening, Lory looked at the ceiling with helpless look.

"Can I have fish and chips, mineral water, and chicken soup, please?" Lory said to the Diner owner and then sat down with ease. Not long after Zhao Li Xin walked towards Lory while sniffing his nose and his eyes became watery from too much coughing, even so, he still carrying a Poko-pop drink with him as if implying the fight wasn't over yet! However, what makes Lory even more speechless even after all that Zhao Li Xin is still able to maintain his sexy looks.

'How infuriating'

Lory then suddenly curious to try the drink so she took the drink from Zhao Li Xin's hand, once she took a sip a strong fizzy sensation rushed into her brain and out her nose causing Lory to cough.

"Gosh, this is terrible!" Lory wiped her nose and then checked the label on the drink she saw a red label under a picture of poko-poko that gave an obvious warning 'strong kick'

Lory's mouth twitched as she read the warning that seemed to mock her, Lory didn't understand who would buy this kind of drink, she then glanced at Zhao Li Xin, 'Except him'

[This drink Is not good for your health Li Xin, it will ruin your health] 

Zhao Li Xin pursed his lips [If I can survive cold poison, I will able to survive this!] he was weirdly persistent.

Lory let out a resigned sigh [Why...?]

ZhaoLi Xin looked a bit embarrassed then with a low voice he said: [...The other day I saw a bunch of little kids drink this type of drink with ease—]

[So you don't want to lose?] Lory cuts in.

Zhao Li Xin didn't say anything but his entire expression showed he was upset about it. Of course, the great Lord who always stood at the top as the strongest would definitely feel shaken to see children doing things that he couldn't do with ease, nonetheless, it must hurt his pride greatly! Lory didn't know if she should be sad or laughing.

Lory was rendered speechless, She propped her chin and stared at Zhao Li Xin with a complicated look while Zhao Li Xin pretended he didn't notice her.

All of a sudden, the Diner door was slammed open, "HELP!" three men entered in a panic while hacking one of their friends who was seriously injured. Blood flowed from Proia's chest to the floor, but the other men didn't look any better either, their bodies were covered in bloody scars and scratches all over their bodies.

The Diner owner was just about to deliver the food to Lory's table but then he immediately opened the drawer behind the counter took out a few vials then half ran towards the injured person after that he half forced the unconscious man's mouth to drink the potion.

Not long after, the man's wound slowly closed and the blood stopped even though he was still unconscious. His friends were relieved to see that his wound was much better.

"Bring him in," said the Diner owner.

Without saying more he carried his unconscious friend into the door at the back end of the Dinner while one of them stayed behind then the Dinner owner gave him the same two vials.

The man received it with gratitude, he sat down in a chair and then took a big gulp of the two vials at the same time and gradually the wounds on his body improved even though several large wounds still left clear marks.