“I’m sorry if I’m not how you expect me to be,” Vi said apologetically, giving him a deep bow. “I’m Vivian Azurelane, but everyone calls me Vi. At your service.”

“It’s, uh, it’s fine,” he said quickly. His mind reeled as he struggled to come to terms with this discovery. “I didn’t mean to—call you that.”

He shot a look at Morgan. “But who’s my partner?”

Morgan’s smile merely widened. “Be a gentleman and shake her hand, yeah?”

Enrique hesitated, then took Vi’s hand. He noted she was very tall and light-skinned, in contrast to his tanned skin. She looked to be in her mid- or late-twenties.

The moment they touched, the strangest feeling flowed through him. Vi felt at once familiar, knowable, like a long-forgotten friend. He felt as if he had missed her for a long time, without knowing it, and now that he reconnected with her, something felt right.

Vi, on the other hand, felt an intimately familiar warmth spreading inside her chest, and joy which exploded like fireworks. It’s been a while, she thought. Another one. It was a haunted feeling. Outwardly she didn’t react at all, except a small smile on her face as she gazed into his brown eyes.

Enrique blinked for a couple seconds, trying to force the feeling away. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He made a guess. “You’re my partner too?”

“Yep!” Vi’s smile turned cheerful.

Morgan grinned broadly. “She’s your spirit partner. And the Hero you were looking for. And the owner of the cafe.” That must have been why she had been laughing.

The witch took out her phone and glanced at the screen. “Oh, stars and skies. I need to get going.”

“Lots of patients?” Vi guessed.

“Do you even need to ask? Use your Eye!” Morgan laughed.

Enrique cocked his head. “Patients?” Eye?

“I’m a therapist,” Morgan explained.

When Enrique’s eyebrows went up and didn’t come down, she waved her arms in protest. “Really! I’m a licensed professional! Check my profile.”

“Profile?” He looked even more befuddled.

Vi silently reached into her pocket and pulled out a black rectangular phone. She handed it to him.

Enrique took it and tapped it on, his brows furrowed. A screen lit up and he was surprised to see several apps.

“Point it at her,” Vi instructed in a helpful manner.

Enrique uncertainly held the phone up at Morgan like he was taking a picture. Immediately a new screen appeared on the device.

On the top was “Morgan Fieldspring” and “Registered Anima”. Filling the rest of the screen was a menu consisting of several square and rounded buttons like “Biography” in green, “Accounts” in yellow, “Role” in blue, “Titles” in dark green, and “Stats” in red in the middle. He tapped “Role”. Another screen with black text popped up.

Roles: Adventurer. Therapist. Healer

Below that was some other information.

Partner: (None assigned)

Rank: 80,793

“It says you’re also a healer,” he told Morgan.

Morgan suddenly sounded a little brusque. “That’s family tradition. I don’t care for it.”

Enrique made no comment. Curious, he tapped “Stats” in red.

Another screen with black words and numbers popped up.

Abilities: Teleportation, Spellcasting, Foretelling, Fire element augmentation, Fire element manipulation, Healing, Barrier.

Battle mage:

Proficient in various offensive and defensive spells.

Martial artist:

Proficient in three forms of unarmed combat.

Intelligence: 6, Attack: 7, Defense: 5, Speed: 6, Agility: 6, Magical Attack: 7…

“What do you think? Pretty good, right?” Morgan sounded proud.

“What’s the scale?” he wondered.

“Ten’s the highest,” she told him smugly.

“Oh. Sure. You’re definitely above average.”

“I’m way above average.” She adjusted her wide-brimmed, conical hat and turned to leave. “All right, you two take care. I’ll see you around. Don’t forget your next appointment, Vi.”

“Okay.” Vi waved her good-bye, smiling as Morgan walked off.

“Excuse me. Can I have that back?” The fox woman plucked the phone from Enrique with a tail and put it away. She turned to him, peering at him with eyes filled with care. “I bet you’re tired. You can rest at my home. Is that okay?”

He shrugged. “Sure. You’re going to train me to be a Hero, right?

“Ahahaha! No.” Her blunt reply seemed strange, especially as Vi smiled brightly while saying it.

“Okay…” I figured it wouldn’t be easy. “What do I have to do to have you train me? Like I said, I’m willing to listen to whatever favor or price you might name.”

Vi internally sighed to herself. Hero. Some days I hope I never hear that word again.

“I'll need to think about that. May I hold your hand?” she asked courteously.

He eyed her skeptically. I guess it wouldn’t hurt.

“I won’t hurt you,” she said gently.

Enrique held out his hand and she took it. This appeared to please her immensely.

The two set off down a cobbled stone path. They passed several Anima-human pairs as they walked down a street of little stores.

“If you’re okay with it, can you tell me about yourself? How about your friends and family? I’d really like to know you,” she told him happily.

“You first,” he said testily.

“Of course. I’m an only child. My mom and dad were killed a very long time ago. They were the king and queen’s personal advisors. As for friends, I was very close to my partner. Nowadays, I guess Morgan thinks she’s close to me. I’m also close with Her Majesty. I run a cafe and for me, the Kingdom’s not only my home, but my family! Your turn.”

Enrique digested the information. If she’s close to the king and queen, that relationship could be good for me. “My parents died when I was eight. House fire.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said sympathetically. “That must have been hard.”

I don’t need your pity. “My older brother and I lived with each other. He and I were leaders of a gang. We called ourselves the Red Dragons.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Oh, that’s a good name,” she commented. “It sounds scary and cool. Dragons terrify me.”

He wondered if this was true. It was, but he didn’t know it.

They passed through a busy plaza, with streams of Anima and humans bustling past them or stopping by little pop-up snack stalls. The stall owners handed out treats in boxes or fried on sticks. He smelled sugar and salt. The commotion of the crowd making conversation or calling to each other filled his ears. With the throng surrounding them, he felt somewhat glad Vi had decided to hold hands, or he would have gotten lost.

“But then José got shot,” Enrique continued. “My brother, I mean. The gang split up. I took Jackson and Maria and Joacquim and Alex and a few others with me. They were smaller than I was. I tried to take care of them. Kept them away from the other groups like the Black Wolves.”

“That’s very mature of you, taking care of others. Especially other children. Who are the Black Wolves?” Somehow she was able to hear him.

“A**holes. Henricks is their leader. He helped get José—” He stopped. He didn’t want to talk further.

Vi seemed to have gotten the point. She led them out of the bustling plaza and to a quiet street dotted with green trees.

“Enrique’s a long name. You should have a nickname.” Vi made the remark lightly, as if making small talk.

He frowned. Who cares? I don’t need a nickname.

I care. I like nicknames. “How about Enri? Or Ree-Kay? Ree-ree? Rico? Or maybe just ‘E’.”

What’s her problem? “Those are terrible. Just call me Enrique.”

“Okay! No problem.”

They entered a small residential area. The roads were empty and had little green street signs at the corners. Acorn Road, Maple Drive, Pine Way. A couple white-walled houses sat next to each other with red and blue roofs.

“Here we are.” Vi walked to one of the houses, which looked quite unremarkable. It was almost identical to all the others and had a blue roof, windows, and a brown door.

She opened it and let him in first. “Come in, please. I’ll make you some tea.” The inside was plain but tidy, with tables, chairs, a sofa, and a fireplace. She took out her phone and placed it on a table. “You can play some games if you’re bored.” She entered a nearby room and he saw her filling up water in a kettle, in what he guessed was a kitchen. There was a stove and a fridge.

He set his dagger on the table. Enrique used the opportunity to point the phone at Vi. As he expected, another menu screen with buttons popped up.

Vivian Azurelane

Registered Anima

He tapped the blue rounded “Role”.

Roles: Waitress. Maid

Partner: Enrique Dominguez

Rank: 120,455

He gazed at the screen, slightly baffled. Huh? She’s not an adventurer? It doesn’t say she’s a Hero, either.

He tapped the red “Stats” button.

Abilities: All-Seeing Eye, Soul Paralyzation, Power Transfer, Extremespeed, Healing.

Swordsmanship:

Mastery in swords, including short swords and knives. Exceptionally skilled in long blades.

Sniper:

Mastery in multiple types of projectile weapons. Exceptionally skilled at long-range shooting.

Martial artist:

Mastery in all forms of unarmed combat.

Elemental mage:

Mastery in all forms of elemental magic.

Alchemist:

Mastery in potion-making and similar arts.

Intelligence: 5, Attack: 5, Defense: 5, Speed: 5, Agility: 5, Magical Attack: 5…

Enrique stared at the screen. Wait, what? Her abilities look fine, but those stats, and her rank…she’s weaker than Morgan? Was that witch messing with me?

Vi returned with two cups of brown tea, humming to herself. She also had a box wrapped between two tails. He hastily put the phone down.

“Is something wrong?” Vi placed the drinks down and sat in front of him.

“You don’t seem that strong,” he said flatly. “Didn’t you help win a war or something?”

Vi looked out a window, as if in thought. “The Five Kingdoms War? I’m not certain what Morgan told you, but she may have exaggerated. She wasn’t around back then. I’ve always felt Aurelius should have gotten all the credit.”

Are you kidding me? Exaggerated? He looked mad. “Then you’re not the best Hero? Or is that profile wrong somehow?”

“The System’s usually accurate. It was made to defend the Kingdom.” She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

The boy looked uncertain. Technically, she was telling the truth.

Maybe it’s wrong to mislead him. But I don’t want to think about Ari today. It’s been ten years.

She placed the box she was carrying on the table. “I have a present for you!” Her face brightened.

“What is it?” He stared at it. Suspiciously, of course. He reminded her of her old partner. From the first day, always questioning everything.

That had been a useful trait for finding flaws in the System, and after that mistakes by beings in the world at large. The System had its uses, but it was never meant to be perfect.

Vi opened the lid of the box. She pulled out a pair of blue-black pistols.

“Ta-da! They’re matching! One for me and one for you.” She gave him one.

He eyed it. The weapon was sleek and polished, and despite its small size had a significant heft to it. The top was a metallic aqua, and the rest was the color of midnight. Judging by the ornate silver letters engraved on it, it looked expensive. V&E. “That’s…nice of you.”

“Forget about training.” Vi waved a tail dismissively in the air and took a sip of tea. “A gun’s good enough for self-defense, don’t you think?”

Enrique looked very annoyed. That’s what she’s up to? Why’s she so against training me to be a Hero?

She peered into his eyes. “You seem like you’ve had a very bad past. Maybe people hurt you and betrayed you. I hope you feel safe here. I’m only here to help. Do you understand?”

“Why do you act like you care about me?”

Vi put the other handgun back in the box. He noticed she had also put her sword away.

Hm…that’s definitely not something a former warrior would do. She’s totally unarmed. I could shoot her.

“You won’t,” she said shortly.

He nearly jumped out of his chair in shock. “What the heck?”

“Are you okay?” Vi looked concerned. “You looked like you were deciding whether to shoot me.” She spoke mildly, as if teenagers regularly held guns to her face on a daily basis.

“I’m—fine.” Don’t be stupid, Enrique. She’s picking up on your body language.

Trying to distract himself, he took a long gulp of some tea.

“Oh! Haha! Be careful!” Vi laughed.

Immediately, his body felt mildly sluggish and his mind wanted to drift away to nothingness. He felt his eyes trying to close on their own. With a mental struggle, he forced himself to focus. He stared at the cup.

“What did you do?” He made an attempt to lift his gun, but found himself slumped over with his head on the table.

Aw, so cute. Vi sipped her own tea. “I was about to warn you. This drink helps you relax. Do you like it?”

“What the f***? Are you crazy?”

Ah…what am I doing? I thought it would be good if he wasn’t so tense. He’s even less likely to trust me now. Vi’s expression turned remorseful. “I’m sorry. I’ll show you to your room. You can sleep there.”

She walked over and wrapped her long, fluffy black tails around him, gently lifting him up. She was surprisingly strong. “Follow me, okay?”

He didn’t have much of a choice. He was doing his best not to nod off. They walked until he saw two more rooms beside each other.

“This is my room,” she told him, motioning to the one on the left. “If you ever need anything, please come here anytime.”

He spotted a bed, as well as a strange, enormous black rack on the room’s back wall. It had slots filled with many round silver discs, like library shelves. To the right of the rack was a black box with a slit on it.

“What’s that? A music collection?” He stared at the rack of discs.

Vi followed his eyes. “No, those are my Sessions. They’re very personal and important to me.”

She said nothing else of it and led him into the other room. “I’m sorry again I didn’t tell you about the tea. Here’s your room. I hope you like it!” She smiled brightly.

It wasn’t bad, he decided. There was a lamp, closet, neat bed with folded blankets and pillows, mirror on the side wall, laundry basket, trash can, desk and chair. He flopped onto the bed and tried to summon his remaining strength.

“Okay, listen.” He glared at her with as much disapproval as he could muster, though by now he had an almost irresistible urge to sink into a satisfying slumber. “I don’t like you. I don’t want anything to do with you. Either you train me and make me strong, or I leave and find someone else.”

“What? You—you don’t like me?” Vi appeared extremely hurt. She didn’t speak for a while. She placed his gun on the desk. Then she draped an admittedly comfy blanket over him and adjusted the pillow under his head.

“Just go find your other partner,” he said irritably, stifling a yawn. “That Aurelius, or whoever. What happened to him, anyways? How can someone supposedly that powerful suddenly disappear?”

Vi was silent for a time. “How about this? I’ll give you two tests. They will measure your heroic attributes. If you do well, I may consider training you.”

She smiled kindly. “I want you to be happy, after all.”

“What kind of…test…” He felt himself drifting off.

Vi watched him sleep and let out a long sigh. Sleep well. I really missed this. He looks so sweet.

She couldn’t restrain herself any longer and settled down beside him. “I hope you’ll forgive me,” she murmured as she pulled him into a quiet hug.

She felt a sudden urge to cry as she held him close. “I’ll protect you,” she whispered. “For as long as I can. I promise.”

But I can’t change destiny, can I? I can only slow you down.

90 percent chance he fails and gets angry at me, but oh well. She placed her phone on his desk. “Let’s begin the first test.”