The demonic sword lay there on the table, propped up by Cia's tea mug. The large eye above the pommel was gazing outside the large glass door leading out onto the balcony. The skies were still as grey as before, and the wind was howling like a pack of wolves stuck inside the tower walls.

"Well... This is certainly not the sort of sky I wanted to see," the demon complained.

"Would you like us to toss you on the balcony so you can admire it more closely?" Kaili snapped at him, still upset about the idea to remove the sword from the basement.

"Why are you so mean? Just because I'm a demon? That's some terrible prejudice, you know?"

"No, I get that demons can be nice too. But you are literally a demon imprisoned inside a sword by one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Something is fishy about you." She turned to the remaining friends. "And I can't believe nobody agrees with me!"

"Look, young lady, nothing I say will make you believe me, so how about you ask Manuel about me, okay? I know you're afraid of getting into trouble, but I honestly don't think he'd punish you that severely for simply exploring the tower. Besides, he'll find out I'm broken eventually."

"We should probably tell Manuel, yeah," said Airo.

"Maybe, but until then, we keep him right here. No more doing what he wants."

"Yeah, sure, do as the young lady says. Then you might finally believe me."

"And don't call me young lady!" Kaili growled at him and turned the sword around to look him in the eye. "My name's Kaili!"

"Reauden-tarh," a deep gurgling sound left the depths of the demon's throat. Or at least it would, should he have one.

"Did you just burp into my face?" Kaili grabbed the sword by the tip of the remaining blade. Judging by the movements of her arm, she was about to smash the eye against the table.

"No! No no no! That was my name! My name!" the demon yelled out.

"What was it again?" Jin asked.

"Reauden-tarh," he repeated.

"Rudy Tarc?" Cia tried to understand the words.

"Well... close enough. As long as you don't call me the same way Manuel does."

"Ah, you found Roro!" their master's voice came from the top of the stairs. Soon after, a flash of light brought the wizard into being. Golden sparks showered down as he appeared. Under his one arm, he held the Cordicon, while his other carried something akin to a bent and damaged metal helmet.

The children all froze. Whenever their parents caught them doing something they shouldn't, at least there were certain punishments they could count on. Getting grounded was the most frequent one. Confiscation of tools and machinery was then a specific penalty for Cia. Or, for someone like Kaili, there was rarely any punishment whatsoever, other than general consequences. Perks of living alone.

"Sorry, we just kinda wanted to explore and–" Jin tried to explain since the entire thing was mostly his idea.

"And you went where you shouldn't have. To be honest, I'm not angry. After all, people wouldn't love me if I wasn't benevolent, hehe. But alas even I'm not perfect. I should have told you what parts of the tower you should stay away from."

"Or you could've locked them," Jin muttered mostly to himself, but the wizard heard him nonetheless.

"Or that. It's true that I never really suspected anyone would risk robbing me, so I rarely lock my stuff. Guess we've all learned something today." He sat down at one of the tables and put down the objects he was carrying.

"What's with the helmet?" Cia asked.

"A souvenir. Some goblins on Teldor Island decided that they no longer wanted to live underground and wanted to usurp the land for themselves. So I went to pacify the conflict."

"When you say pacify, you mean..." Jin nervously hinted at the topic.

"I mean truly pacify. I didn't hurt anyone. All I did was demonstrate to them that they were vastly outmatched against me. The helmet was part of that demonstration. And that was it. They didn't need more convincing. I prevented a revolution without a single droplet of spilt blood. Now am I the greatest wizard of all time or what?"

Rudy rolled his eye when he heard that. Unfortunately, with such a large eyeball, the expression captured Kaili's attention.

"Did the demon speak the truth? Is he harmless? Was he sealed because of a rebellion?"

"Oh yes, most certainly. He tried to free certain demon workers from contracts they all agreed to. They called it oppression. But instead of freedom or improved working conditions, they wanted to banish all the people they worked for. So I made an example of him."

"See? Told you it was the truth!" Rudy chirped in.

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"As for him being harmless, even that is technically the truth. If sufficient magic is pushed into the sword, the seal will break and he will escape, but I highly doubt any of you would be capable of doing that. So rest easy, apart from some sharpness, he has no way of hurting you."

The speech of magic reminded Jin of their time at the druid's house. "Hey, Manuel?"

"Hmm?"

"Since we've got no work, it's rainy outside, and you're home already, how about you teach us some magic?"

The wizard scratched his chin and stroked his beard. "Hmm... Teach you magic huh?

"Yeah. We... I apparently don't have the talent for it. When we were delivering the package to the bog, I couldn't feel any magic, the druid said."

"I see. Well, don't worry about it, I'm sure we can find some way. Tell me, do you feel anything?"

Jin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His back was as straight as an arrow. There was something there. Something that swirled around his ankles as if he was standing in shallow water.

"Yeah, I think I can feel it."

"Really? Strange, I haven't done anything yet."

"Okay, what about this? Do you feel this?"

"No. I don't feel anything," Jin replied after a while of concentration.

"Hmm... unfortunate. And you?" He turned to the rest of the children, who gave him similar replies.

"Well, if that doesn't work, I have one more suggestion, but I think that would be a bad idea."

"What is it?" Jin eagerly asked and leapt off of his seat.

"Some wizards often awaken their powers when they are put into danger, sometimes even life-threatening, by magic."

"I don't want it that much," the boy whimpered and sat back down.

"Hmm, well, then I suppose there is only one way left," Manuel scratched his beard and his gaze turned to the sword resting on the table. Rudy felt a slight tingle of terror creep up on him. This sort of look was something Manuel would give him before he'd go through something remarkably crazy.

The wizard picked up the sword and walked over to Jin. For a second, he towered over the sitting boy, before he brought the blade down, stabbing the one pointy side that remained into the table, hand enough for the weapon to stick.

"Ow! What is wrong with you?" Rudy yelled at the wizard, who seemed to pay him little attention.

"He's yours now," Manuel said, much to the boy's shock.

"What?" Jin could not wrap his head around what just happened.

"You can't just give out demonic weapons!" Even Airo joined Kaili's side, agreeing that although the creature didn't seem hostile, he wouldn't want to trust it.

"It's not a demonic weapon, it's a demon in a weapon. Big difference. And this is the perfect solution I came up with. Wizards can feel powerful artefacts in their vicinity. Although the weapon is weak, the being inside is not. Spend enough time around it and you will most likely become much more sensitive to magic, and therefore, able to use it."

Jin's eyes lit up like the ley line. "Really? So it's not hopeless?"

"Not at all. But do hold your enthusiasm at bay before I tell you the whole thing. You, my dear friend, are now the caretaker of the blade. If it got into the wrong hands, who knows what might happen, so you need to take care of him. Take him everywhere and make sure he's safe."

The boy looked at the giant demonic eye that squinted at him. Although he liked the thought of becoming a wizard, he was also very much opposed to the idea of having a new roommate.

"Is there no other choice?" he asked.

"Nope," Manuel grabbed the sword and put it into the boy's hand. Red markings began crawling out of the blade and up Jin's arm before they quickly disappeared.

"What was that?" he yelled out and instinctively dropped the sword.

"Oh, you've got to be joking at this point!" Rudy yelled as he found himself on the floor once more.

"Those were binding runes. If you and Roro are too far away from one another, it will move the sword to your side. That way you won't lose him and I will be sure that you're taking care of him. It's a gift and a punishment in one. A brilliant combination, wouldn't you say?"

"A punishment? Why only for me?"

"You were the one who suggested going to the cellar."

The children decided that perhaps it was enough exploration for the day and so they returned to their previous free time activity of trying to decypher the local books and tasting tea. From time to time, the friends approached Jin, asking if he was upset, but the boy's reply was always a shrug. To him, the entire "punishment" still seemed like a fair deal. He knew that becoming a wizard would require some work, and if all he had to do was take care of an old demon in perhaps an even older sword, then that was fine by him.

The rain finally stopped by the time the clock reached five in the afternoon. As soon as the droplets stopped banging against the window, it was as if Rudy had been resurrected. He kept on demanding to go outside with such repetitiveness that it was driving everyone crazy.

"Take me outside. Take me outside. Take me outside. Take me outside," he kept on muttering.

"Please, stop!" Jin growled back.

"I won't. I've spent a whole year simply counting dust to keep myself sane. I can keep asking for a very long time. So? Will you take me out? Will you take me out? Will you take me out?"

"Ugh! Fine! Okay!" Jin eventually agreed. The outside was windy, so he wasn't too keen on going, but what other choice did he have?

"He's almost like a dog," Kaili remarked.

"Dogs are cuddy and nice. He's just sharp and annoying," the boy replied before he headed downstairs.

The wind was howling across the hills. Jin was happy that his hat was more of a helmet. Its weight kept it from getting blown away.

Just as the demon requested, he took him atop the largest hill, not too far from the tower. From there, it was truly possible to see it all—the village, the cliffs, and the bottomless cloud sea beneath.

"So, happy?" the boy asked.

"Oh yes. I know the weather is not really good, but trust me. This is spectacular. I could just stare at this view forever."

Jin sat down and leaned the sword against his leg so it would stay upright. "Well, take it in. We can stay a while."

A moment of quiet enveloped them. Only the rustling of the sea and the whistle of the wind were keeping them company until the demon spoke once again.

"You know he's lying to you, right?"

"Who?"

"Manuel."

"With what?"

"With me. You won't learn to become a wizard just by being near me. Sure, it's a possible effect, but I'm too weak of an artefact for that. Not to mention that the process can take even years."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Why should you believe Manuel?"

Jin gave it a moment of thought. Was he only following the man due to the fame and prestige his name carried?

"Listen, Jin, he's been pulling your leg. He doesn't want you to become an apprentice."

"How do you know that?"

"Because he's always been like that. A wizard doesn't want to make more wizards because then they wouldn't be so rare and therefore seen as such powerful entities. If he wanted to, he could've made you a wizard right away!"

"I can't feel the magic. Even the druid said so."

"And? That's not something you'd require to cast some spells."

"Then what do I require?"

"A sponsor. A source. A patron. There are those called mediums. A medium can channel the power lent to them by someone who can naturally use magic. Manuel could've given you that power, yet he decided not to."

Jin took a moment to think. Was this true? Was the demon actually right about Manuel?