She leaned onto me, her eyes closed, a small smile on her face. Hundreds of years alive, and I was the first person she could touch without killing instantly. It was a stupid moment, a moment of apathy, that had led to me inadvertently giving her something she had wanted for so long.

Like me, she wasn't too interested in sexual intimacy, she had already contributed and would have never been considered unless she had already had a child, and that was fine by me. She allowed me to touch her, to run my fingers through her hair, and though it did carry some explicit connotations, I did not take advantage of her lone vulnerability, nor did I do anything without her explicit permission.

We just sat in silence, existing together in a world that didn't really make a lot of sense, and that was fine, as much of a help I was to her, giving her someone she could relax around, her presence, her not prying into my emotions, just simply existing with no expectations for me to do anything specific, it was a relief. It was only when there was frantic pounding on the door that I realized it was daytime, and we had fallen asleep. She raised her head and blinked.

"I guess they got worried." I remarked.

"It is understandable." She said as she stood up. She stretched and helped me to stand. "You have a precious gift, and though I would love nothing more than for you to remain, you have a short life to live, and to drag such a short reprieve beyond what was given would be unfair to you." She kissed my forehead. "Thank you."

"If I ever feel lonely, or I have you in my thoughts, I'll come by, even if it's just to visit." I said. "Sometimes, just having someone who doesn't pry too much helps."

She nodded and I went to the door. I opened it and saw Nash outside.

"Oh, thank the Gods." He said. "Cier was concerned you'd rushed off and done something stupid."

"No." I said. "I just followed a song." I replied.

He looked me over. "As naked as you are?" He asked. "You're barely decent."

"I'll get dressed." I said as I stepped out and closed the door. "Besides, I have some important information for Lady Lissana."

For the first time in a long time, I dressed myself. I still felt exhausted, but I felt like I could exist like a normal human being. Nash brought me to Lissana's room, where she looked surprised that I was up and about.

"You are recovered?" She asked.

"Only a little." I said. "I came to tell you, I visited your ancestor the night prior, well, it was more that I was drawn by her song again, and... Well, I learned that she cannot kill me by touch alone."

"I do not know if I should be relieved or troubled." She remarked. "Did you attempt to have her kill you?"

"It was a low point, but it passed." I replied. "I just wanted you to know, as we spent the night together." I paused a moment. "Platonically." I added quickly. "Y'know, hugs and stuff, nothing-"

"I understand." She said. "I mean no offense, but you do not seem the type who would so boldly take a woman."

"Thank you." I replied.

"A Human who doesn't take offense to being told such." Nash remarked. "I wonder what new wonders will reveal themselves?"

Lissana nodded. "Cier has told me everything of what has happened, from the slaying of the Faith Vampire to the defeat and inevitable destruction of the Avarice Fiend. Indeed, when you had vanished in the night, he feared the worst."

"I understand why." I replied. "But he doesn't have to worry, after all, I'm wearing clothes right now."

Nash shot me a look. "Your state of dress aside, there is something that must be discussed with you."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nash believes it is pertinent that you register as an Adventurer." Lissana said. "Not only will it serve as legal identification within all nations that recognize the authority of the Guild, but it will give you access to resources that you do not need to request from me or my staff."

I nodded. "Which means, I would become less dependent on you overall, which would eventually pave the way for my inevitable departure from this household." I replied.

She nodded. "Do not fear, I am not throwing you out to the streets, after all, I still intend on removing the curse on you, but there may come a time when I cannot keep you here, indeed, without further reason..."

"You have your status to consider." I said. "And having a mooch like me around would be damaging to your reputation in the long term, and it would cause people to question what value you see in me."

She nodded. "The last thing I want is for you to be caught up in a potentially dangerous situation. On that note, there is one potentially dangerous situation that I am in that I will need your help with."

"That being?" I asked.

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"Lady Vitria Oren is suffering from a particularly bad wasting curse, as she has a high resistance to healing magics, she cannot be healed by conventional mages and Priests." She said. "You, however, are capable of overcoming resistance to magic, in spite of your magic being extremely weak. Though she does not have long to live, I would at least like to enlist your aid in trying to heal her, and if it is impossible, then bringing her to my ancestor so she may pass without pain."

I nodded. "I have no problem with helping out." I said. "Can you describe this curse for me?"

"It began when a monster attacked her." Lissana said. "Because she is resistant to healing magics, the area where she was attacked, her eyes, had to be treated with magicless medicine. Though the wounds healed in time, her eyes were stricken blind, and the flesh around them started to rot." She closed her eyes. "It started with a reddening of the skin, with scale-like growths. The flesh then grew progressively darker, to the point that it seemed merely touching it would cause bruising. Her current state has been maintained with regular applications of healing salves, but the curse progresses."

"Are you sure it's a curse?" I asked.

"We can think of nothing that would suggest it is a disease." She replied.

"How long do we have?" I asked.

"One month." She replied.

"I'm going to request a few things." I said. "First things first, I have a schematic on my phone that I am going to show Beatrice, it's for a device known as a microscope. I want it built as close to the schematics as possible. After this, I am going to need to know about these salves, how they're made, and the manner by which they're applied. I am also going to need to see this Lady Oren as soon as the microscope is complete, I need to determine whether or not this is a curse or a disease."

"I can see what I can do." She said. "But the healers who create the salves are notoriously secretive, they are more likely to show you only the herbs they use and not how they make it."

"That's fine." I said. "As far as determining whether or not it's a disease, I will need a small sample of blood from the infected area."

"Blood?" She asked.

"Will that be an issue?" I asked.

"Yes, blood can be a powerful component in sympathetic magics and cannot be given, or taken, lightly." She said.

"Then I'll have people watching me closely so they can't think I'm doing anything magic related with it." I replied. "One of the major causes of disease are infinitesimally small creatures known as pathogens, if this is a disease, I will be able to see these pathogens with a microscope."

"And what will you do when you see them?" Nash asked.

"I don't know." I said. "I'm not a doctor, nor am I medically trained. If I can somehow cast a spell that explicitly removes disease, while also penetrating her resistance, I could at least cure her of the disease."

"That is reliant on you learning to use magic to begin with." Lissana pointed out.

"Yeah. I have the ability to cast one spell like a Priest could, I think it's because Bahamut was happy about me killing the Vampire, if I could apply a penetrative effect to it..."

"Focus on one thing at a time." Nash said. "First things first, we should get you to the Adventurer's Guild Hall and have you registered."

I nodded. "So, will I be expected to stomp some giant rats in a cave somewhere?" I asked.

"This is only to provide you with a temporary identification, even if you never actively pursue missions for the Guild, the license they give will serve as identification until you either officially immigrate into the country or you do enough work to be recognized as an Adventurer. This is simply a faster method." Nash said. "But, getting you a halfway decent weapon and armor will help for those instances when you need to travel or defend yourself."

I nodded. The incident with the Avarice Fiend was as much a result of poor defensibility as well as shitty luck. It would have been better to just hoof it back, and arguably, there would have likely been less problems on the road back.

"Alright." I said. "A short sword and shield would be a good starting point, and I recall reading that a gambeson works relatively well as armor."

"A what?" He asked.

"Thick cloth armor." I said.

"Magic tends to make such armor inefficient." He said. "At least, without heavy enchantment. You would be better off with Felvore leather armor. By itself it is more resistant to damage unenchanted than padded cloth armor by virtue of carrying some of the Felvore's magic essence already."

"It would be wise to continue this conversation on the way to the Guild Hall." Lissana said.

Nash bowed his head and I nodded. We left the room, passed by Cier, who sighed before shaking his head and walking off to do something that was more important than talking to me, and I walked to the manor's entrance.

"When it comes to surviving in this world, you should focus first and foremost on mitigating magical damage." Nash said. "While you and your equipment are protected for the most part from pure magical attacks, you have to keep in mind the sheer amount of magical items in the world. A bolt that can be launched at nigh impossible speeds can easily penetrate even the thickest of cloth or metal armor if it has no magical protection to it whatsoever. Not to mention, there are plenty of mundane dangers that even you could not protect against."

"Would there happen to be a handy reference guide somewhere?" I asked.

"Damage is classified into three groups, though there may be more." He said. "Mundane, magical, and spiritual. Mundane attacks are those without magic whatsoever, it rarely works except in specific cases. Such as having little protection. While padded cloth armor would be perfect for most mundane damage, it does not hold enchantments well without either an obvious weak spot or chance for the enchantment to go horribly awry."

I nodded. "I remember seeing a larger amount of cloth items that were cursed than other kinds, and most tended to be accidental in nature." I remarked.

"Thus Felvore leather. Not only does it carry an innate protection against magical damage, but can be more easily enchanted. It is relatively cheap unenchanted and enchanting it can be relatively cheap provided you have the right materials." He patted his own leather armor. "It also does not need to cover the whole body, passively protecting against mundane and magical attacks, though the effect is somewhat diminished. The trick is to find out how much is necessary and how much is superfluous. With that, the rest can be more mundane protection, or protection against specific elements."

"What about spiritual?" I asked.

He tapped the holy sigil I wore. "You already have that covered, and I can surmise you lasted as long as you did against the Avarice Fiend because of that. Fiends are the other exception, they are highly susceptible to mundane attacks, often having an exploitable weakness. If they were capable of making their own armor, they would be unstoppable."

"Like when I carried a shield when I rescued Cier from bandits." I remarked.

"I'm sorry, you what?" He asked.

"He didn't tell you about the bandit camp?" I asked.

His expression took a dangerous turn. "Explain." He said. That would explain Cier's not telling him about what happened.

I told Nash about how I'd reached a point where I couldn't stop myself, so rather than fight it to the bitter end, I at least gave myself a chance through the Contract. He listened intently, the end of his tail lashing violently, he didn't take his eyes off me the entire time.

"Never if you can help it make a Contract with a Fiend." He enunciated carefully.

"The difference was between letting it take me regardless or giving myself an out. I figured, worst case scenario, I'd free Cier and he could take advantage of the weak spot. Don't forget, we were in a shitty situation regardless."

He nodded. "I just want you to understand." He said.

"I do." I replied. 'Why does everyone fucking hate me?!' My voice echoed through my mind and my gut clenched. I followed Nash to the manor entrance and we stepped outside. I touched my sternum, I could feel where it had scarred from Cier shattering the crystal. I grasped my shirt, I felt hollow. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and suddenly found myself being hugged.

I opened my eyes in surprise. "It takes strength to weep openly." He said. "So, why do you hide your emotions?"

"Because, for the first time in my life, I actually felt happy." I replied. "At least, I think I was."

"Were you so enthralled by the Fiend's will?" He asked.

"I could have stopped it any time I wanted." I replied. "Such was the Contract, and yet, I didn't want it to end. It was because I had that control that Cier could do what he did."

"Was it so truly worth dying?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said. "It was."

I expected him to chastise me, but instead he pulled away enough to look me in the eyes. "Then fortify yourself so that you will never need it again." He said. "Few things are worth eternity, remember this."

I nodded, and we walked toward the city...