Itsuki and Akeru headed back to the Guild after the strange man walked away. They went to the counter where the woman was waiting.

Woman: Quest Complete! Congra-

Itsuki: We…didn’t kill them; someone else did.

Woman: Oh, we are aware. This happens all the time, but you did most of the damage, so we will give you half credit. Here are your ten gold coins!

She smiled and gave him his reward as he put it in a small coin bag. The two walked to a table, somewhat defeated.

Akeru: What was that about back there…?

Itsuki: I don’t know. Why did he show up-?

Akeru: No, I mean, why do you only know two spells?!

Itsuki: I…I had never trained my magic before. So I thought I would just learn on the job!

Akeru: You imbecile! You can’t just get better at something solely by using the same two spells! We need to get you a spellbook.

Itsuki: B-But they are expensive!

Akeru: You have to spend money to make money, so let’s go, Bronzie!

She stood up and stormed off again. Itsuki sighed and followed her. The festival was still going on, so they hoped to find a stall with cheap beginner books. They, however, did not find any. Then, as they gave up, a man wearing a mask covering his entire head and fur jacket walked up to them. The mask was black with white face paint and a smile painted on it.

Man: My my my my my my my! What do we have here? Customers?

Akeru backed away a bit; she didn’t like this guy. She thought he looked like a creep.

Itsuki: W-we were just looking for a spellbook…s-sir…

Man: A spellbook? What kind, my children?!

Akeru: We were j-just going to find a store elsewhere. Let’s go, Itsuki.

Man: No no no no nooooo! Please come back! I mean no harm, just please at least browse my wares~

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Itsuki: C’mon, Akeru, we can at least look around?

Akeru: Are you kidding? I don’t want to be near this man!

Man: S-So mean…my poor soul aches…

Itsuki shook his head and smiled at the man.

Itsuki: I trust you! Show me your wares!

The man jumped around, ran to his stall, and sat down on a red and white stool. The booth was…very poorly built. It had old wood and looked like a child had made it. Still yet, he had various items on the table before the two. He had a stack of old books that they two looked through, but none were spellbooks.

Akeru: I thought you said you had spellbooks…?

Man: Oh dearie! Are they not?! Foiled once again by the fate of the world!! I bought these from another merchant not long ago!

Itsuki looked on the spine of a book and noticed something…it had the Twilight Witch’s symbol!

Itsuki: T-This belongs to the Twilight-

The man quickly covered his mouth with his white gloves.

Man: S-S-Stop shouting, please!

Akeru: So you are a thief…

Man: I am no thief! How dare you accuse me…I told you I bought these from a merchant; they are the thief! But, bah, I need to stop yelling or get kicked out again!

Itsuki: A-Again?

Akeru: Seriously….? Let’s go, Itsuki. We are wasting our time.

The two turned around as the man ran to block their path.

Man: P-Please wait! I beg you!

Akeru: Listen, you don’t have anything we want. Quit being so pushy!

Man: You want a spellbook, yes? Uhm, let’s see here….!

The man pulled out a small sack and continued to pull out various things. The bag itself had to be magical, as the man kept pulling things out that would make the bag very big or rip it. Eventually, he pulled out a purple book with no writing on the spine.

Man: Here it is! One old spellbook!

Akeru: Is it now? It looks ancient…

Man: I promise you the good Ol Armando guarantee! Oh, I am Armando, of course!

Akeru: Uh…huh…let me see it.

She snagged the book and flipped through the pages. They were… empty; she chucked the book hard at Armando’s head.

Akeru: You fool! This has nothing on it!

Armando: I-It does too! Let me-

He looked through it and gasped; he couldn’t believe it. Itsuki just sighed softly while Akeru was getting very annoyed.

Akeru: Waste of our damn time…

Itsuki snagged the book and looked as confused as them.

Itsuki: I’ll take it…I don’t know what you two are talking about; I see things just fine.

Akeru ran to his side and saw the words were suddenly there. She ran to Armando and started punching him.

Akeru: What’s the big idea!? What did you do to it!?

Armando: Ow ow ow ow ow!!! I did nothing!

Suddenly a man’s voice spoke out.

Man: It’s a unique book. It only shows spells that the one reading could perform, based on their Mage Rank and skill level. There is only one copy of it.

The three turn around as Akeru and Itsuki get white in the face. The man was the same one that saved them earlier. Armando looked at the man and mumbled something.

Itsuki: It’s…you...

Akeru: Who are you?!

Man: It doesn’t matter.

Armando: The book is yours, ten gold.

Itsuki nodded and gave him ten gold, dragging Akeru away from the two. Armando looked at the man.

Armando: What business do you have with me…?

Man: It doesn’t matter, as I said. But, more importantly, what are you doing in this city? It isn’t nice to lie to customers like that, y’know.

The man turned and walked away as Armando let out a small huff. Akeru and Itsuki got back to their inn room as Itsuki sat down and looked at his new spellbook.