Life can often be delusional. To live is to suffer, after all. My mother made sure I understood that. All living beings have limits imposed by nature; thinking that everything is possible is a huge misconception. The world is just not that accommodating...

That is a reality well-known to me, being an anomaly. Others have it easy, peacefully collecting their spells without having to listen to a demon or figure out the required price to learn new spells.

But it does not have to be misunderstood; I'm content enough with myself. My mother taught me well; my strength and agility alone have close to no rival at all, even though my strength is being put in a difficult spot lately. How Crimson is able to be physically stronger than me is a mystery, but I believe her mana manipulation bullshit is part of the answer, if not the whole answer.

Still, it was quite unfair... Were I to understand how to acquire new spells efficiently, I could easily reach their level. But what can I do about it?

Nothing... Those who have teeth have no bread, and those who have bread have no teeth. it's unironically true...

So, should I've just accepted the fact that my third spell was stubborn and moved on...?

No.

I simply couldn't accept that...

...

"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!"

Of course, my demon also reappeared, and I was shouting at it. Had anyone passed by, they would surely think I was crazy.

"What more do you want from me?!" I angrily asked, the pain in my head only intensifying.

The demon stood still, as usual.

"Why can't I use the third spell?! Do you want more blood?! Does more blood need to be shed?!"

Only for a moment, the demon seemed to have slowly shaken its head.

"So you can understand me! Answer me! What do you want?!"

The demon remained still for a long moment, before slowly raising its arm. It lifted one of its claws and gradually pointed it at my chest, pressing against my heart.

"Huh... w-what?"

That was a bit too much. I could feel myself going pale, a cold realization washing over me.

"You want... my life...?"

The demon slowly lowered its arm, returning to its standard position. I let out a nervous laugh, feeling a chill run down my spine.

"No... no thanks. I'll pass," I said as I shook my head, clutching my chest.

Sure, I already inexplicably resurrected. But let's not challenge luck. I may be somewhat crazy, but to the point of basically killing myself just because some demon asked me to? ... Yeah, no. I'm good.

In about twelve hours, the demon would have disappeared as usual... I'll just ignore it.

And so, pretending nothing happened, I returned inside the city's walls. It didn't take long for me to get sleepy; this demon really drained my energy with its presence... It was clearer than ever.

"Let's call this a day..."

... The following day, to distract myself and avoid thinking about the demon, I hung out with Elizabeth, Joey, and Selena. Even Crimson joined, though she didn't seem enthusiastic about it. I'm sure she came along to show she was serious about her commitment to me. Still, it was amusing to see how much she despised being there.

"I believe I can beat you now with my new spell!" Selena said to Crimson.

"You would be dead before you had the chance to cast it," Crimson replied, her hands in her pockets, unamused, uninterested.

"Wanna try?" Selena challenged.

"No," Crimson replied flatly.

"I bet you're just afraid," Selena continued.

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"I thought Crimson was prohibited from battling other members?" Elizabeth interjected.

"Oh, you're right!" Selena exclaimed. "Well, then let's do something else! I can still show you I'm stronger now!"

"What's the point if you're not even using the spell you're so proud of?" Crimson reasoned.

"I wanna win! Come on, let's find something!" she urged.

"No..." Crimson kept refusing.

"What should we do? Hmm... Joey, gimme some ideas!" Selena asked, turning to him.

"Huh?! Me? Uh..." Joey waved his hands, looking around nervously. "What about a race to that shop?" he stammered, pointing at a pastry shop in the distance.

"Oh! Good idea! I may not look like it, but I'm actually pretty athletic!" Selena said, stretching.

Crimson sighed. "Fine, let's end this quickly..."

Selena and Crimson got into positions, Crimson yawning just at the thought of it, while Selena brimmed with enthusiasm.

"Joey, do the countdown," Selena said.

"Alright," he agreed. "Three, two, one... go!"

As the race began, Crimson moved her orb behind her legs, sat on it, and flew away with it.

"Aha!" Selena exclaimed at Crimson quickly moved toward the winning point. "That bitch! That's cheating! Wait for me!" she then ran after her, waving her arms in protest as she tried to catch up.

We just watched the bizarre scene.

"They sure are energetic," Joey remarked, smiling at the scene.

"Should we go after them?" I asked.

"They're already pretty far. What do you two want to do?" he asked.

I'm pretty sure Crimson used the race as an excuse to get away...

"I'm fine with whatever, I have no plans," I replied.

"Would you... like to keep me company while I look for some more gemstones around the market?" Elizabeth asked Joey, seemingly embarrassed, slightly blushing for some reason.

"Fine by me, what about you, Argenta?" Joey turned toward me.

I nodded in agreement, and we slowly made our way to the market.

Selena reached for us, while Crimson really took off...

I sighed. That girl has no rules...

Anyway, as we wandered through the bustling market streets, at some point, I decided to part ways; the others waved me goodbye. I had to check something...

I roamed the market alone, without a specific purpose or interest in buying anything, but there was something that kept nagging at me...

"Hmm, so I was right," I thought to myself as I walked aimlessly.

Somebody was following me.

"Whoever they are... they're skilled enough to stay hidden but not skilled enough to mask their bloodlust."

I paused at a stall, pretending to be interested in the goods while my mind was elsewhere.

"We're in broad daylight, they wouldn't try anything. Are they waiting for me to head back to my guild, to find out where I live? Are they trying to learn my habits?"

I moved away from the stall, acting as if nothing caught my interest enough to buy.

"Can't tell, but it's annoying... Perhaps if I move to a more secluded spot they'll reveal themselves..."

Intending to lure my stalker out, I moved through the city, heading towards an emptier area. Despite that, they kept the distance, continuing to make it difficult to locate them...

"Coward... I'll just head back to the guild, then. They won't be stupid enough to follow me inside..."

I redirected myself to the guild; soon, the others should've come back, with Joey preparing a tasty lunch for everybody. So, I waited for them. In the meantime, I entertained myself playing with Rosemary; she now had a little collar with a bell attached, which would notify everyone of her every little movement. After a while, as expected, they returned; without Crimson, of course.

"Outside the door there was this letter for you, Argenta," Joey said, approaching me with an envelope in hand.

"Oh? Let me see," I took the envelope. It was indeed addressed to me, but the sender was anonymous.

I opened it, inside it: a threatening letter... Surely from the stalker that was following me earlier. It instructed me to meet at a certain location outside the city at night. Were I not to comply, the city's serial killer would've been revealed to everyone; that being me.

That was weird, though... I'm sure nobody witnessed me committing any of those crimes. But well, how could I refuse such a lovely invitation?

"What's the letter about?" Joey asked curiously.

"It seems that the news of me being in this guild reached the priest! He congratulated me on it," I smoothly lied.

"Really? That's very nice of him. I wonder how he's been lately," Joey said as he took the essentials to cook.

"I'll head to my room to write a reply. Cook something delicious for me," I said, stepping away.

"Will do. And say hello to him for me!" he shouted after me.

Naturally, I went to my room to hide the letter, making sure no one would ever see it...

... That night, not having much of a choice, I ventured to the designated location of my stalker. I even had to wait for the person to show up!

I sighed. At least, a nice chilly breeze was caressing my skin nicely as I waited. But seriously... who writes a threatening letter and then makes the receiver wait?

After a while, the soft crunch of footsteps on the grass behind me reached my ears.

"Finally!" I exclaimed as I turned around to face the figure behind me. "First you stalk me, then you write me a threatening letter, and now you keep me waiting... Don't you know it's impolite to keep a lady waiting?" I chided, shaking my head.

Before me stood a man; he didn't look much older than me. And it didn't seem like he appreciated my humor... his expression was serious, his eyes dark, his gaze intense and focused. He had a codex and was carrying a small bag.

"So? What do you want?" I asked him afterward. "Surely, you didn't summon me here just to have a chat."

"No, indeed," he replied, his voice pretty deep. Then, he fell silent...

I tilted my head. "... And?"

The man facepalmed, looking in disbelief and with anger. "It's just incredible..." he muttered under his breath with a trembling voice. "To think she could create such a creature... But I shouldn't be surprised. The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree."

I furrowed my brow, this guy was making me perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me ask you a question," he said, reaching for something inside his little bag. "Did you, by any chance, lose this some time ago?"

What slowly emerged from that little bag filled my eyes with a glow of hope I thought I could never experience. My eyes widened in astonishment at the wonderful sight, filling me with immense joy.

"My dagger!"