I began to hear a noise that lasted for just a split second. Slowly, I woke up and found myself in a dark place with a centimeter full of water on the ground.

As my eyes fully opened, the blur began to fade away. "Ah!" I shouted as I awakened completely, as the water would not drip down my head or anywhere around my body.

I touched my entire torso, arms, and face. "Oh my god, oh my god," I repeated, recalling how the ninja had stabbed me. "I’m… dead," I said as I put my hands back down. "No…" I clenched my fists. I messed up my second chance. That is… really it… I sighed. "Well… show yourself, Maria," I said as I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I found an opened scroll in front of me, glowing with a reddish-orange outline. Confused, I read what was written on it: "Name?" I glanced around, then called out, "Okay, Maria, if you’re going to take me to hell, it would be nice to see you in your physical form! Your voice would be comforting before I go!" I shouted into the darkness.

Silence met my words, and I looked back at the scroll in the distance. "Hm…" I hummed as I got up.

I looked down as I heard the sound of water after I got up. What the? Water? I didn’t even notice that, but why doesn’t it feel… well… not wet? I looked back at the opened scroll and walked to it.

As I got a little closer and grabbed it with my left hand. "Does Satan need my name or something?" Suddenly, a quill appeared in my right hand. "Ah!" I exclaimed, startled by its sudden arrival.

"Uhh," I said while looking back at the scroll. Well, here we go, I guess. Hope hell won’t be as bad as I would think it is. Shit, I’m hoping it wouldn’t make me think my old life was heaven. As I was about to sign it, I paused to ponder. "Wait, should I put my name in my first world or second?"

I continued to think, "How about…" Finally, I signed it, and it read, ‘Ichitami Takigashi/Tenshin Trius.’ I stepped back and thought, "Yeah, that looks stupid, but hey, I wasn’t sure."

The name I signed on the scroll would begin to glow orange. Suddenly, I began to hear whispers of a woman, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying; it felt like I was hearing multiple whispers at once, and the whispering was so loud. "W-What the hell!?" I exclaimed, confused about what was happening.

I looked back at the scroll as it turned to glowing orange particles, and they flew right into my body. "Ah!" I shouted in fear as I touched my chest, wondering if I was okay or had any changes.

I looked around once more and shouted, "Maria! What is happening?!" A hand would randomly fly through my chest without it bleeding or making a hole. I would freak out more and try to remove the hand away. "What the hell is this, what the hell is this, what the hell is this!? Stop!" I would randomly feel my heart stop beating. Everything started to turn dark again, and I couldn’t see my own body or move. It was quiet.

I then heard a familiar whisper of a woman. She whispered, "Wake..."

***

A day had passed, and morning had arrived. I was shirtless, and I heard the sound of birds chirping. As I slowly opened my eyes, I noticed a faint glare of light coming from the open balcony outside. I sat up, looking surprised. I smiled slightly and murmured, "Thank God… it was all just a dream." With a sigh of relief, I took a moment to look around.

Just then, the door opened, and one of the demi-human maids entered. She seemed a bit surprised and said, "Oh, Master Tenshin, give me a moment to get Lord Terits." With that, she turned around and left the room.

I watched her leave and glanced over at the balcony for a few seconds. Then, I smelled my left arm. "Why do I smell like blood?" I shrugged it off, lay back down on the bed, and took a deep breath as I stared up at the ceiling. "Man, I feel sore, and that dream was… weird."

I sat up again and noticed Terits coming into the room. "Morning, Lord Terits." Why is he here anyway? Oh no, I’m not getting fired, am I?

"Hello, Tenshin. It’s good to see that you’re alive," he said, pulling a chair from my desk and sitting down to face me.

I raised an eyebrow. Alive? "It’s good to see you too?" I said with confusion as I tilted my head.

"No thank you after saving your life?"

"Huh?"

He chuckled. "I’m just kidding, though, I did help after paying a few advanced-class healers. I must admit, I thought I would have to write a letter to your father informing him that you had died, especially after seeing your bruise that wasn’t going away," He said casually.

"Bruise?" I would look at him while thinking for a few seconds, and my eyes went wide. Wait, bruise…? I looked under my blanket and noticed my whole right arm looked bruised up to my shoulder. It was just all over the right side of my body. "Oh my god… that was all real…" I murmured. OH MY GOD, I ACTUALLY NEARLY DIED!

"So I see a lot of this is a bit to process."

I quickly looked up at Terits. "W-Wait, you don’t know what happened last night, do you?"

"Oh, of course I do. Someone was kidnaping Rias, correct?"

I stared at him in silence, my stomach sinking. "Listen, Desha tried her best, Lord Terits. Please don’t fire her. She doesn’t deserve it. I–"

Terits tilted his head, looking at me with confusion. "Fire? You think Desha would be dismissed from her position as Rias’s bodyguard?" he interrupted.

"Huh?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Desha is far more remarkable than anyone else in the city. No one here can match her skills as a king-class swordsman."

I looked at him, unsure of how to respond. "...O-Oh, Okay then."

He smirked. "You’re an interesting one, Tenshin. I really like that about you. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but now seems like the perfect time."

I shook my hands nervously and forced a smile. "No, I didn’t really do much. I was almost dying on the ground. If I had to guess, I think Desha did all the work."

Terits looked at me with a confused expression. "Really? It doesn’t sound like that from what Rias, Miss Vieta, and Desha have all said. They talked about great things you’ve done that night."

"No, seriously, I—"

"He’s right," Desha said as she walked into the room with her arms crossed.

"Huh?" I said with confusion as I looked up at her.

Terits looked back at Desha and said, "Ah, Desha, a good time to have you here."

Desha nodded as she looked at Terits and then looked back at me. "Listen, kid, Don’t lie. You did something back there, and I’m not sure what it was, but it was hard to see from the bushes and trees in the way. But if you're so sure you haven’t done anything, I want you to answer me this."

I would feel a little nervous. "Uh… go on, I guess," I said.

"I want to know if you are really just a saint-class mage. After seeing the damage you caused, I would think otherwise. You completely disintegrated the enemy. No trace but a pool of flesh and blood in seconds."

I looked at Desha right into her eyes and realized she was serious. I looked down and thought to myself. A pool of flesh and blood? No, I couldn’t have done that much… unless...I would begin to have a recent memory of what happened right after I killed that guy, and it was me being covered in blood, just standing up with confusion. My heart would begin to beat faster. I… killed someone…? I would start having another memory from a while ago when I first used that destructive light magic in the house I lived in back at Leafale when I fainted and half my body was bruised.

No, there’s no way I did. There must be another explanation. took a deep breath to calm myself. "I don't know what I did; things still feel… blank, I guess."

"You guess?" Desha asked, starting to sound suspicious.

I looked up at Tenshi, a hint of seriousness on my face. "Listen, I was out for a while, okay? I really don’t know."

Desha stared at me for a few seconds before looking away. "All right then, if you say so." With that, she began to leave the room, but before she could, she stopped right at the door. "One last thing. As a thank you for the help and for keeping your word on what I told you to keep secret, if you need anything that requires my help, then I’ll do anything you ask. You probably won’t, though." I watched as she left the room.

"Excuse me," a man said as he moved past Desha as he had two small plates that carried cups of tea.

Terits would look over at the man. "Please set the tea here, Charles."

"Of course, sir," He said as he walked over to us and set the tea on top of my bedside drawer. I would watch as he started to walk away from the room.

"So, Tenshin," Terits said. "Now that we are officially alone, I have one important thing to tell you, and that is not to spread any info that you were the one who killed that man."

I looked at him with a casual smile. "I don’t think you would have to worry about that; I don’t really think I killed him anyway." Hopefully.

"Well, just no involvement in it in general." He grabs his warm tea and drinks it.

"But I do have one thing to say, and this is coming out of curiosity: why wouldn’t I be able to tell anyone about this anyway? I mean, I kind of understand, but I also want to talk about why they abducted Vieta as well."

Terits set his cup of tea back down. "See, the main reason is that you are connected to us, and trust me, we get a coup every now and then. Answering your second question, Vieta is connected to us or to nobles in general. Rias, who is my daughter, and Vieta, who is a maid here."

I pondered this for a moment. "I guess that explains why that ninja-looking guy kidnapped her too."

Terits glanced at me, his expression becoming more worried and serious. "...You say he looked like a ninja? Like a masked individual with a katana?"

I looked over at him and nodded.

"...Did he have any markings on his face or anywhere else on his body?"

I was surprised at how suddenly Terits’s emotions changed. Hang on, why is he like this all of a sudden? "Well, he was pretty covered up, so I'm not sure."

Terits seemed to think for a moment. "Well, I suppose not knowing gives us fewer concerns…" he murmured.

I tilted my head. "Sorry?"

Terits glanced back at me with a smile. "Nothing, sorry." He got up from the chair and walked toward the door, pausing there. "The nurse said you're supposed to stay in bed for the day, so I suggest you take a break from tutoring my daughter. Just remember, the official story is that Desha handled the situation alone." Terits turned his head to look at me. "Understood, Tenshin?"

I nodded.

"Good." With that, he walked away.

As I was alone, I would lay back down and look at the ceiling, remembering what happened when I was fighting that man, but there was nothing I remembered about me killing him. So, apparently, I killed him. That sounds stupid, and that guy had speed almost as fast as or maybe faster than Taren, but after he stabbed me, all I can remember is a pool of blood. The bruises. I lifted my right hand and looked at it. "I used it again, didn’t I?" I would start getting memories back to when I used light magic for the first time years ago. One day, I’ll get to that Hildros guy. I have a lot of questions about what this power or magic really is. I clenched my fist as I said, "I want to learn how to master it."

I turned around and looked at my ring. "Thank god it didn’t break," I said as I smiled with relief. I would pull the blanket closer to me and get comfortable. I’ll get home alive and still have a friend and a family to see and a father to punch. I yawned. Definitely need more sleep ever since that.

***

A minute passed, and Vieta was walking through the castle halls when she noticed Charles about to walk past her. "Excuse me, Master Charles," Vieta said, stepping forward to face him.

Charles looked at her with a warm expression. "Yes, my dear. Is there anything you need?"

Vieta nodded. "I would like to make a request."

Charles smiled gently. "Of course, my dear. What is your request?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor by telling someone something for me... if that would be alright."

Charles would start looking intrigued.

***

As the hours went by, it was now nighttime, and I was currently wide awake, staring up at the ceiling. "Ah, this is so boring..." I murmured. I sat up on the edge of the bed, rubbed my eyes, and yawned. Maybe I should work on my own story one day. All these books around here suck. I would get up from the bed and look through the closet, and I would put on a white shirt that was in there.

I started to open the door and walked out of the room. Everything was dark, but the outside light would shine through each window.

***

A few minutes passed by, and I left the restroom after taking a piss. I started walking through the halls to get to my room. A light novel about a wonderful isekai adventure of a slow life going through epic battles, trauma, a slice of life, and a harem of horny chicks. Finally, a good story I could actually like. I could even be rich if I plan on selling it, I said to myself as I grinned. "Definitely would make up for a few series I couldn’t finish back in my world."

As I was getting closer to my room, I noticed someone outside my door. What is that guy doing here? I said to myself while looking intrigued. I stood right in front of him and looked directly at him. "Um...Hi?"

The man looked down at me, and I realized it was Charles. "Hello, Master Tenshin. I’m not sure if I introduced myself to you yet, but I am the butler of Lord Terits, Charles. It is a pleasure to meet you."

I pointed at him as I snapped my finger. "Oh, right. You're the one who came in earlier today." I would put my hand back down. "But I think it's a little late for introductions," I replied with an awkward smile.

"Please, I will be quick just give me five or so minutes, and I will be out of your sight for the rest of the night."

I would sigh. I’m way too tired and beaten up for this. I looked back up at him with a small smile. "All right, no problem at all, but maybe in my room because it is a little colder out in the halls."

***

A minute passed by, and I was sitting on the edge of my bed while the oil lamp was on, and Charles was standing near the door in my room as he faced me. "So, what was it that you need, Mr. Charles?"

"I have an offer to make with you, something simple that I hope you don’t refuse."

"And that would be?"

Charles paused for a moment as we continued to look at each other. "I’m sure you have seen the maid in training. Vieta Rossawy is what the little lady goes by; she is the short one with green hair."

I nodded. "I know her, but what offer did you want to talk about?"

"Is it okay if I tell you a little bit about her? I know this may sound quite the silly thing to talk about this late at night, but please."

I smiled. Oooo, a little bit of Vieta lore, I'm down. "Go ahead then."

"Very well." Charles would clear his throat. "So, as you may know, you have probably seen Vieta as much more of a quiet type; she expresses little emotion, she’s nervous, you know? But there is a reason for all of that. See, she barely even knows who she is herself, meaning not even I know much of her origin."

"Barely know much about her? I don’t think I’m following; I thought you were her father or something," I said, tilting my head in confusion.

"No, no," he replied, shaking his head. "I am merely her caretaker. Years ago, I found her in the forest outside the city gates, with bruises and cuts, barely clinging to life. I decided to help the poor girl by taking her to an infirmary. She kept talking about how her parents were gone and mentioned a man. It was possible that she didn’t fully understand what she was saying herself, but it was clear that someone had killed her parents and had tried to do the same to her."

I looked at him in shock.

"The poor girl can barely speak, yet she still offered to be a maid because she wanted to be useful. She has never been very talkative around others, but ever since you saved her during that situation with Lady Rias, she has become quite fond of you, as I can see from a distance. Now, about the offer."

I would look at him, still completely stunned …Huh!?

"I apologize; I realize I have put a lot on your shoulders. Forgive me." He bowed his head.

"No! It's all right. Please continue," I insisted.

He nodded. "All she wanted me to ask you if she can please be your personal maid. You can ask for anything, and she’ll do whatever she can."

I would continue to look at him with a stunned facial expression and quickly shake my head. "Sorry, just…"

"Please, she would really appreciate it," he insisted. "But if it really is a bother, I wouldn’t mind telling her."

I quickly shook my hands. "No, no, no, it’s not like that at all it’s just…" I would look down and think and look back at him. "Look, maybe she does want to be my personal maid, but I still know what you are trying to do, and I really don’t think I can do it."

I looked back down. "I’m really not as smart as you think I am. I’m just some boy that has gone through a lot of mental crap myself. I know I am just eight, but you haven’t seen the stuff I’ve gone through." I looked back up at him. "I’m not perfect enough to make her feel better; as a matter of fact, I could somehow make it worse."

Charles shook his head. "Nonsense, it’s a miracle to see her show a slight more of emotion for once. You are reaching it, Master Tenshin. I know you can make her see more light."

I would look back down and think. God damn it, this guy is making me feel guilty. Maybe I should actually try; maybe this can help me boost my chances of getting to heaven. Shit, who am I to think I can make her feel better? I really can’t. I mean, I’m the one who made Lumi get trapped in her shell from facing her fears of swords… but I’m also the first ever friend she trusted. The most connected to, so… I smirked. Fine. I looked back up at him. "Then I promise I’ll do what I can, Charles, but I’m not an expert."

Charles smiled faintly and bowed his head. "Thank you very much, Master Tenshin. I’ll make sure to inform her.

I apologize for keeping you waiting. Goodnight, and I’ll take my leave now." He stood up from the chair, walked to the door, and closed it behind him.

I lay back on the bed with a sigh. Man, that really was a hell of a ton to take in. There's so much I know about Vieta now, but man, her backstory is intense. I thought Lumi had it worse, but shit, she must’ve gone through hell. I would turn around half a circle so I could lay my head on the pillow. "Only been a few days, yet so much has happened. I don’t think mother, father, or Aunt Seris would believe this. Wow."

I would turn off the oil lamp and put the blanket over me. Two goals now. Teach Rias to get my money and make Vieta more happy I guess. All right then. I would turn over and try to fall asleep. "Just a few years…" I murmur before drifting off to sleep.

***

It was the next day, and in the morning, I slowly started to open my eyes. I noticed something in front of me and felt something on my right cheek and noticed something was on my right but I couldn’t see since my vision got blurry after waking up. Huh…? I squinted my eyes to get rid of the blur, and I noticed it was Rias poking the right side of my body, which was still bruised.

She looked up into my eyes and noticed me awake. "Huh?" I questioned.

"Ahh!" She screamed and slapped me across the face and backed away.

"Ow!" I would rub my cheek and look back at her. "What was that for?"

"It's not my fault you scared me like that!" She shouted at me while looking mad.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Sorry." I would use healing magic on my cheek.

She crossed her arms and said, "Hmph." Without looking away, she continued, "You know, you really scared me back there."

I looked up at her with surprise. "You were… scared that I was going to die?"

"D-Don’t make it sound like that!" She exclaimed with embarrassment. "It just would be weird if you died, I guess. And…" She would have her head down and look back up at me. "Just call me Rias…" She said softly while looking away but quickly back at me. "B-Because you calling me Lady Rias is just weird!" She exclaimed again.

I would look at her with more surprise but then with a smile. "Thank you for the permission, Lady— I mean Rias."

"You’re welcome, and when is that stupid bruise going to go away? You look ridiculous like that," She said while raising an eyebrow.

I smiled. Wow, she really is gaining more of a connection to me. Did really doing all of that make her have a bit more… respect?

"Quit looking at me like that and answer me!"

I decided to stop using healing magic. "Yeah, the bruise…" I glanced at my right hand. Last time, it took about… I looked back up at Rias. "Just a few weeks, so you're going to have to get used to me looking like this for a bit, eheh," I said, scratching my head.

"But how did it even happen? That guy had a sword; did he stop using it and start punching you on the other side of your body or something? It doesn’t make sense."

"It just happened, all right? And what are you doing up so early?"

"Oh, and weren’t you supposed to come to my room and teach me today?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"O-Oh, right." I would sit on the edge of the bed and sniff the air. "Hey, hang on, what's that smell?" I would look over to my right and notice a plate of food.

Rias would look over at the plate. "Oh yeah, that maid came in here and left you some food."

I looked back at Rias. "Was it Vieta by chance?"

She looked back at me. "Oh, right, that’s her name."

I looked back at the food and smiled. Oh sweet, the lovely Vieta sent me my breakfast in bed. She shouldn’t have. I grabbed the plate of food and looked at it, my smile fading as I noticed something was off. "Something here looks a little… misplaced…" I poked the food with my spoon.

"Hm?" Rias replied, glancing at my plate before looking back at me. "Oh, yeah, I was hungry, so I ate a little," she said casually.

I looked up at Rias in shock, with a hint of frustration. "Rias! Why can't you wait?!"

"Shut up! I was hungry! Isn’t this what you mean by sharing is caring?"

"That’s not—" Before I could finish my sentence, I would facepalm and put my hand back down. "Never mind, I’ll meet you in your room as soon as I’m done, all right?" I would look back down at my food.

"Okay. But I have one more thing I need to say."

I looked back up at her. "Go on."

Rias would open her mouth, but nothing would come out, and she would look away a few times.

I waited as I squinted my eyes. "Are you going to say it?"

"Don’t rush me!" She shouted as she slapped me.

"Ow!" I yelped as she slapped me. At this point, this is just abuse.

Rias continued to think but shrugged her shoulders. "I forgot." I looked at her with a poker face. "Okay, I’m going to go now."

I would watch her walk away. "All right… Hey, if you see Desha, is it fine if you tell her to come into my room?"

"I don’t need to do what you tell me." She would close the door behind her, and I would sigh as she left.

Jeez, she went from being a tsundere to just having more sass, but once I start teaching her again, she will probably rage and beat the shit out of me again. I started eating and randomly looked up to my right as I noticed my sword on the sword hook.

I would swallow my food. "Wait, that was there this whole time?" So that is what I thought I was missing. Well, thank you to whoever it was. I would focus back on my food and continue eating. Still, it feels like I’m missing something else.

***

Twenty minutes had gone by, and I was sitting in front of Rias as she was doing her work. I had a new vest that looked exactly the same as before it got destroyed. I was biting a pencil as I was in my own head while watching her work.

Missing… missing… ah, what was it, for goodness' sake? I shook my head, and I was back to being focused on what Rias was doing. I could see that she had gotten something wrong. "Uh, Rias, you know that is meant to be, uh—" Before I could finish, I saw Rias push the chair back, clench her hands on the table, stood up, and put her pencil down as she looked down.

"Shut up, just shut up…" she said quietly, her anger evident in her voice. "If I get this wrong one more time..." She muttered with a very angered tone.

I backed up as far as I could without moving the chair, my hands clenched in my lap in case I had to defend myself. "O-Oh, come on, that's why I'm trying to help," I said with a nervous tone.

She sat back down and grabbed the pencil again as she moved back up, and I sighed with relief and continued pondering until I snapped my fingers and realized what it was. Oh yeah, it was—

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Before I could continue, Rias would get back up from the chair, break her pencil with her bare hand, and punch me right in the face. "Ah!" I yelped as I flew right back onto the wall. Yup, still the same! At least I remember! I rubbed my head and looked up at her as she stood right in front of me with anger on her face. IT WAS TO ASK DESHA FOR SOME HELP! Rias would punch me right in the face again.

***

It was the middle of the afternoon, and I was in one of the solar rooms of the castle which was the same room I first met Terits. I sat on one couch while Desha was on the one in front of me while eating biscuits. I was explaining the whole story about how tough Rias is while healing my cheek.

Desha paused for a moment, crumbs falling onto her breast as she said flatly, "Yeah, I’ve got nothing."

I stared at her in shock. "That’s it? You’re her bodyguard, and you’re telling me you have no ideas on making her more calm? You’ve been with her more than I have."

"I don’t know what to tell you. Yes, I’ve been her bodyguard, but she’s always treated me kindly, just like she has with her Aunt." She took another bite of her biscuit. I stared at her with a frown in silence. "What?" She asked as she swallowed her biscuit.

I sigh and would ponder. I would get an idea and look up at Desha. "You said you would do anything, one of anything. This is what I ask for, so please try harder and think of something."

Desha would look at me as she took another bite of her biscuit and swallowed. "...All right."

We would both start thinking, and I would look up at her. "Maybe you can help her a bit on what to do? Because me giving her a hint still makes her frustrated."

"I’ll be frank with you. I’m just as dumb as her."

"Come on, just a few hints of something."

"No, I’m serious. After I was kicked from my tribe, I never learned basic mathematics or spelling or anything else. The only good knowledge I have is on swords and survival, and that’s all."

"Really? That's a lot of interesting stuff… but not the point," I said as I looked at Desha, contemplating another idea about the strike. Wait a minute, what if…

"What’s the matter?" she asked, holding up another biscuit.

"What if we can use those stories as inspiration! Fake inspiration. Think about it: you sit with Rias and I, and once Rias starts looking like she’ll go all tsundere crazy on me, you can tell her a story about how you survived something. You could say you learned how to survive or achieve something by studying."

"I'm not sure what a tsundere is, and I never used studying to survive out there," she replied, taking a bite of the biscuit.

I shook my head and then stopped. "No, no, I said fake inspiration. And tsundere, as in violent. The fake inspiration would be a lie to use on her to feel inspired to do more studying. This is the only thing I have in mind, so that’s the plan."

She swallowed the biscuit and said, "All right then," She said casually.

***

Half an hour had passed, and I found myself back in Rias’s room, sitting across from Desha, who was in the other seat. Rias was currently trying to write answers to some questions I had given her.

"Ugh! Damn it, that can’t be it!" she exclaimed, using the back of her pen to erase her answer.

I gulped with anxiety and glanced over at Desha. She had her eyes closed and arms crossed, leaning back in her chair as if she were asleep.

"I’m bored now; I’m going to go outside," Rias announced as she pushed her chair back.

"W-Wait!" I exclaimed, causing Rias to turn back and look at me, curious about what I would say next. I quickly turned my attention to Desha and poked her arm, whispering, "Desha, go with the plan…"

Desha opened her eyes as if she had been awake all along. She sat up straight and looked over at Rias. "Lady Rias, would it be all right if I told you a story about my adventures before I met you?"

Rias's face lit up with a big smile. "Ooo, I love stories!" she said enthusiastically, instantly sitting back down and focusing on Desha.

I gave Desha a thumbs-up and a wink, and she met my gaze and would look back ahead of herself as she closed her eyes again.

"All right, so a couple of decades ago, I remember I would be a lost cub just out in the forest, cold winters, and had to hunt my prey and eat vegetables to survive, even stealing. I remember I came across a city and didn’t know the people’s language, so I learned the language as hard as possible. I started to find some coins off the ground and wanted to use them to buy stuff, but unfortunately, I didn’t know the worth of most of them, and there were a bunch of people who scammed me to pay more. So, unfortunately, I had to learn that too, and once I did, I would start buying stuff like food and so on without worrying about being scammed."

Rias nodded as she listened carefully.

"You know, I remember I used to have been like you a bit, thinking that my parents would help me get through life, but crazy that little did I know I was kicked out. I’m not saying that will happen to you, but you never know what will happen. You’re lucky that you have a whole rich family to help you get this knowledge."

Rias looked at Desha with shock, but he quickly shook her head and said, "No, no way father or mother would do that," She said as she looked back down at her work

"I don’t know Rias," I said. Actually, have I ever met her mother yet? I quickly shook off that thought. "People lie about a lot of things or can be cruel. My own father sent me here so I can make money for myself but with the cost of him not warning me. Now, I can’t go back to my two baby sisters and friend. How sad."

Desha looked over at me. "Sounds like Taren."

I looked over at Desha. "Wait, if I’m correct, you were also in the same party as my Father, right? I remember he told stories about it himself, Aunt Seris, and Mother. There were a few others he mentioned, and I’m wondering, were you the demi-human in his party?"

She nodded. "Taren, Ria, Seris, me, and a few others. It was a big party of six or seven; I’m not sure. I remember a couple of years later, after many things happened, I was helpless and hungry, and I saw a beast and killed it with ease, which made me accidentally save them. I ate it, and they took me in as their party member, and we all started making money through guild missions. Your dad was one perverted man but had a heart of determination to save the ones he cared about."

Rias listened to the story while also worrying about what I had said earlier. She turned to Desha with a puzzled expression. "Wait, if you knew more about math and other things, couldn't you use that knowledge to earn more money?"

Oh, dang it! We forgot about the plan, I said to myself with a shocked facial expression of realization.

Desha met Rias's gaze, realizing the implications of her statement. "Oh, right, I was… mistakenly gambling all that money, and I lost each bet, so I ended up losing it all."

"Oh," Rias said, and I would sigh with relief.

"Quite an interesting story," Vieta said as she was behind Desha.

I looked up at Vieta. "Vieta?! What are you doing here?"

Vieta looked down at me as she had a plate of biscuits. "I came down here to see if this is yours or someone else’s. Lord Terits said it wasn’t his, so I came down here."

Desha looked up at Vieta. "Oh yeah, that’s mine." Vieta looked at Desha as she grabbed the small plate of biscuits from her and took a bite out of one.

Vieta would look back at me. "And as I ran into Lord Terits, he told me to tell you that he would like to see you."

I would say, "He wants me to meet with him, huh?" I would smile. "Well, thank you very much, my loyal personal maid. I’ll make my way." I would move the seat back and stand up.

Rias looked over at me with a confused look as she stood up from the seat and put her hands on the table. "Personal maid?"

I looked down at Rias. "Oh yeah, Vieta wanted to become my personal maid, and so I accepted."

Vieta’s face would turn a little red as she kept her mild facial expression. "It’s not much of a bother, Master Tenshi, but will you please not address that too much?"

I looked back at Vieta. Aw damn, I did the opposite of what I was doing. Embarrassing her. "Eheh, sorry about that," I said as I scratched the back of my head. I looked back at Rias. "So you can just take a small break then till I’m back, okay?"

"All right then, fine." She would sit back down on the seat and cross her arms as she closed her eyes.

I looked back at Vieta "All right, lead the way."

"Of course," She said.

***

A couple of minutes went by, and Vieta was leading me through the halls. She looked back at me and slowed down to get beside me, and I watched her in confusion as she did. "Master Tenshin, would you mind if I ask a question out of curiosity?" She asked as she continued to look ahead.

I turned to her. "No, I don’t mind. What is it?"

She would look down at my right arm. "Your bruise… I thought a nurse would’ve taken care of them."

I scratched the back of my head and said, "Well… it's a certain type of bruise that can’t go away through healing magic, but it isn’t anything to be concerned about. This happened once before, so really, I’m fine, and it will be gone eventually." I looked straight ahead.

She turned to face me. "Happened before…?" Then she looked back in front of her. "Please know that I’ll do anything I can for you. You need only ask."

I smiled. "Oh, come on! I don’t really need much. I’m glad you can be my personal maid and all, but I also think of you as a friend."

She would face me. "A friend?"

I would look at her with a hint of disappointment. "Oh, come on, don’t tell me you're another person who doesn’t know what friends mean."

She shook her head. "I understand what it means. I just never heard someone ask me that, but if that's really what you suggest, then I’ll go with it."

"No, no, no, you have to like it too."

"...Then, Of course, I’ll gladly be your friend then," she said with a hint of embarrassment.

I smiled. "Good. Guess I get to be the lucky first friend," I said with a thumbs-up. "Right, V?" I asked while putting my hand down.

"V?" she said with confusion.

"Yeah, like short for Vieta. V. What, do you not like it?"

"N-No, of course I do," she said as she looked back ahead of herself.

***

A few minutes passed by, and I would be sitting on the couch in the same solar room I was in earlier. Terits was on the one in front of me, and Vieta went back to doing her own thing.

Charles would be pouring tea into the cups on the table, one for me and the other for Terits. Charles would walk away and leave through the door.

"You needed me here for something?" I asked.

He took a sip of his tea, then set the cup down and said, "Yes, I'm just wondering how the lessons with Rias are going so far."

"Uhh… I guess she's more relaxed about learning."

"And how so?"

"Well, she's still beating me up here and there, but she's definitely calmer with Desha's help. I just had to tell Rias a few little lies to get her to do the work, and yeah."

Terits smirked. "Excellent. It's wonderful that you've made such progress in under a week; it's almost as if you've handled situations like this before."

I chuckled nervously, glancing away from him. "W-Well…" I looked back at him. "I do have baby sisters at home that I helped out a bit." Oh God, what am I saying? They are babies, for goodness' sake.

He chuckled. "And I am sure Vieta is one lovely maid to you?" He would take another sip and put it back down. "Not a demi-human, but if it suffices, it suffices."

I would look at him with a hint of surprise. "Wait, you know about that?"

He nodded. "Of course I do. Charles was the one who asked my permission before asking. I thought with your Trius blood you would want one of my demi-human maids instead, but I am not stopping you from picking her."

Jeez, what is his obsession with demi-humans? So we are known for liking them? I would remember most other times I talked about demi-humans and thought back to Lumi. Oh… Yeah... I looked behind Terits and noticed a maid opening the door, and I would look at her cat ears and breasts with a smirk. Oh yeah, I get his point now. I would notice a woman walking through the room with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a blue dress. Ooo, Whos she? She looks gorgeous.

Terits looked over me as he also noticed. "Ah, Salina, it's nice to see you here with us."

"Good morning, Terits," she said, standing while facing us.

Terits turned and gestured his hand to me in an introducing manner. "I’m sure I told you that there was going to be another tutor for Rias. This is Taren’s son, Tenshin."

I looked back at Terits and quickly back at Salina. Oh, right, proper greeting to a noble. I stood up and bowed more correctly. "Eh, uh, greetings." God, that was overly formal. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Tenshin Trius." Okay, that was better.

She would stay quiet and look directly at me with an unsurprised look for a few seconds and back at Terits. "That is all I wanted to say. Goodbye now, darling." She would walk away.

I would stay in the bowing position and continue looking down at the ground with embarrassment.

"Goodbye now," he said, and she would now be out of the room. He would look back at me.

I would lift myself back up and sigh. "I made a bad first impression, did I?"

Terits would make a small chuckle. "You did the bowing correctly; don’t worry. I am sure she was just weirded out about the bruises."

I would look at my right hand. "Oh yeah, forgot about that." I would look back up at the door as I noticed someone else coming in it would be another woman with brown hair and green eyes with a brown-colored dress.

"Terits! I would like to immediately know who was the savior of my niece!" The woman shouted.

Terits looked like he was going to answer back, but I interrupted and said, 'Oh, hello, miss; it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Tenshin Trius." Nailed that one!

She would turn around and notice me. "A Trius, hm? Lift your head up."

I stood up straight and looked directly at her.

She would inspect me from my foot to head. "My, what happened to you? You look like you fell on a pile of mud on the other side of your body. No, you look like you have one big birthmark, actually."

I would look at her with a fake smile. Wow, thank you, I said to myself sarcastically.

"Well…" Terits murmured. "This is Taren's son; he came all the way down here to tutor Rias."

"And saved her. These bruises are from the pain and effort it took to protect her from that swordsman." I nodded with pride as Terits looked at me with visible worry.

"Ah yes, so it was exactly what Rias said. It wasn’t that demi-human this whole time. But I must say, you seem quite polite to be Taren's son."

"I'm sorry, but who are you, though?" I asked.

Terits would say, "This is your aunt, my sister, and your father's sister. This is Talinae Yanery Trius, and she takes my place in case my wife and I go off somewhere or get randomly killed."

Oh, really. Well, I must say, she has a pretty big… personality, I said to myself as I looked directly at her big chest and back at her eyes.

"Now answer me this," she said. "Ask me how come the demi-human is the one who is said to be the savior of my niece. Answer me truthfully," She said with a threatening-looking tone.

Jeez, she looks almost like Rias. "Well, actually, I—" I would instantly realize something. Oh, wait. Oooh no, how stupid am I? Terits told me to keep it a secret. "I-I was meant to say I was caught too and beaten up—"

"I know what my niece said and what you just said. Now tell me the truth."

Aw shit, I am so sorry, Terits. I took a deep breath. "Lord Terits told me to keep it a secret."

"Thank you for telling me." She would walk over to Terits and slap him across the face. "How come you would keep my niece's savior a secret and give all the credit to her bodyguard, huh?!"

Terits would quickly look back at her. "W-Well, Tenshin is a Trius, correct? So if that info is out there, then his life would also be in danger," he said casually with only a hint of stuttering.

She would glare at him for a few seconds and look away. "Fine, I’ll allow it since it is for the safety of the boy," she said as she walked over to sit down on the couch I was sitting on.

"That’s…" I murmured as I looked at her. Never mind, but jeez, she seems a bit… intimidating. Well, guess I know where Rias got her attitude from, I said to myself as she was being poured a cup of tea when Charles came into the room, and she took a sip and set it back down.

She looked over at me. "Tenshin, be a good boy and come here to listen to my request."

I would have a small fluster. God, that really hit me hard! I quickly shook my head to focus on the subject. "Y-Yes, ma’am!" I exclaimed and walked a little closer to her as I went on one knee and looked right up at her.

She would sip her tea again and continue to look ahead of herself. "My sweet Rias would like to learn that magic stuff she apparently says is too hard, and I suppose you know some, so how about you teach her some, will you?"

"I would, but I was only paid to teach her basic studying…" I murmured with nervousness as she heard it.

"Terits, increase the boy's pay," she said without looking at him and continuing to enjoy her tea.

Terits would look at her with a hint of shock. "Talinae, I don’t really think Rias really needs magic, though." Talinae would give a death stare to Terits, and he would sigh. "All right… then I suppose ten silver and five mini silver a year should suffice."

I looked at both of them with a hint of surprise. Wow, really? So the man above her is seriously going to take her orders? Damn!

"So, Tenshin," she said as she looked back at me. "I suppose it isn’t a problem now?"

"No, I guess not, but would it be too much to ask for one last request."

"Go on."

"Well, I was wondering if it would be a bother for Rias to ask me herself since she isn’t much up there with that stuff, if that makes sense."

She would put her tea back down and look at me with a hint of anger. "Are you calling my Rias stupid?!"

I would put my head down, hoping she wouldn’t hit me. "N-No! Not at all, miss, I mean Lady Talinae! I mean, if Rias is gonna grow to be an adult and be a proper noble, she should stand up for herself and start asking things on her own, right? O-Or not," I said as my legs shivered.

Talinae continued to glare at me but slowly calmed down and said, "Understandable. Rias should grow to be a fine woman, even with manners. Very well." Talinae looked over at the opened door as she saw Vieta walking by. "You there! The one with the green hair!" Talinae shouted as Vieta stopped and turned to her. "I want you to go get my sweet Rias up here now."

I gave Vieta a thumbs-up and a wink, and Vieta turned over to see me do that. She looked back over to Talinae. "Of course then, Lady Talinae," She said. Vieta walked off to head over to Rias’s room.

As Vieta was walking through the halls for a couple minutes, she thought back to when I saved her and Rias and also thought back to the conversation we had today. I like Master Tenshi, but he is… strange. She said to herself.

***

A few minutes later, Rias came rushing through the door as Desha followed. Vieta stood behind the opened doors. "Yes, Aunt Tali?! Did you tell him? Did you tell him?!" Rias exclaimed with excitement as she faced Talinae.

Talinae would set her cup of tea down and face her. "Rias, please be a dear and ask him your wish yourself."

Rias would look at her with confusion. "Ask him myself? But I asked you to do it."

Desha would walk over to lean against a wall.

"Rias, you're a growing young lady, and if you are going to be a proper woman, you must have manners and bravery. Ask him." She would continue sipping her tea.

I looked over at Talinae with a poker face. You’re one to talk to. I would turn to Rias with a regular facial expression.

Rias looked like she didn’t want to do it, but she forced herself to walk over to me and stood right in front of me. "Teach me magic, Tenshi!" she exclaimed without looking at me.

Uh, excuse me? no please?

Talinae looked over at Rias and said, "Rias, show more manners—act like a good, noble girl."

Rias grunted in annoyance before fully turning to face me. "Please, teach me."

I smiled and replied, "All right then—"

Terits interrupted, saying, "Ah, no, no, no, Rias. You need to show more than that; do what I taught you."

I glanced at him in surprise. "Wait, no, I think that—"

"Yes, Rias," Talinae added. "Don’t pretend you don’t know how to do it. It's very simple, so do it, or he won't teach you anything."

I looked at them, feeling confused and slightly shocked. What are they making her try to do? A bow? To be honest, I think a thank you is enough, but I don’t want to keep disagreeing with someone scary like her.

"F-Fine," Rias stuttered.

With that, Rias slowly knelt down, her eyes tightly shut in embarrassment.

I looked at her with confusion, and Vieta outside the door would also look with curiosity.

I looked at her with confusion as she slowly knelt down and stopped as she reached down as far as she could. Is she… bowing? I think she is going a bit too low for a bow.

Terits sipped some of his tea as he watched. "Yes, now with your hands."

Rias quietly whined, making a buzzing sound. She put her hand touching the floor and made almost a V shape with her arms, and the position she was in looked familiar. "W-Will you pwease teach me how to use myagic… meow…" Her voice would crack at the end. To me, it looked like she was posing as a cat.

I looked at her with frozen shock, and so did Vieta outside the door. …What!? I exclaimed in my thoughts.

Rias looked back down with pure embarrassment and continued to make her quiet whining noises.

Talinae stood up and clapped her hands as she turned to her. "Bravo, Rias, you did just as the demi-humans would do it!"

Terits clapped silently. "Very well done on the position, just a little more confidence next time, but you did that well."

Desha opened her eyes and looked over at me. "This is actually a way a demi-human would beg or ask for something. I don’t really do it anymore, but it was something back in my pack. If I were you, I would accept her offer." Desha would go back to relaxing on the wall.

Talinae would look over at me. "So, you will teach my sweet niece now, correct?"

I continued to look at them with frozen shock till I exclaimed, "...All I wanted was a please!"

***

Several minutes passed, and Rias, Desha, Vieta, and I found ourselves back in Rias's room. The atmosphere was quiet; Rias was looking down, Desha was relaxing back on the chair, and Vieta stood behind me a bit to my left.

I can’t tell if that was racist or actually true. I mean, I know Lumi doesn’t go all like that, I said to myself.

"That was quite interesting," Vieta remarked.

"Hey, Rias, it wasn't that bad," I said. "I've been through worse; it was just a silly little pose. Honestly, we all forgot about it. I was just hoping for a thank you. I thought the whole situation was unnecessary." I tried to reassure her.

"Agreed," Vieta said as she nodded.

Rias clenched her fist in embarrassment and anger, still looking down. "So… teach me already," she said.

I looked at her in surprise. "Oh, right, that. Sure, but maybe after you finish studying—"

She lifted her face and interrupted me, shouting, "I said teach me already! I did all that stupid stuff, so teach me now!"

I gulped. "O-Okay, but we should do it outside. Just promise we'll finish the rest of the work tonight."

Rias nodded. "Okay, but I really wanna punch you right now."

I sighed with relief. And thank god you’re not.

Rias looked over to Desha as an idea sparked in her head. "Desha, I have one favor to ask."

Desha looked over at her, wondering what she wanted.

***

Several minutes passed, and all Rias wanted was to learn swordsmanship from Desha. So, Desha, Vieta, Rias, and I all headed to the castle courtyard. One of the ways Rias wanted to learn was by going all out against me with wooden swords, and like me, she wore leather armor.

Jesus Christ, this isn’t what I wanted at all! Without a doubt, this is her way of taking her anger out on me! I thought to myself.

"Ha, ah, ha!" Rias exclaimed with each slash as I continued to block her attacks and back away.

"Ah! Rias, chill!" I exclaimed.

"Keep pushing, Rias!" Desha shouted. "And Tenshin, try giving a few hits of your own! Remember to keep moving to avoid becoming an easy target." She shouted as she looked over at me.

As she spoke, I would quickly dodge Rias and run behind her for a swing, but she would quickly block.

"Hehe," she said as she grinned.

I would quickly back up. Damn, did she train before?!

"Remember," Desha said. "Stay far enough to strike but close enough to evade!"

Vieta would continue to look with a hint of amazement as she saw the two of us go at it.

"Haa!" Rias shouted as we clashed.

"Remember to avoid wide swings that leave you exposed. Aim for key targets such as torso, arms, or legs."

As Desha continued, I quickly looked down at Rias’s ribs, and I ducked as I stopped the clash. Her swing would go over my head, and I would hit her ribs with the wooden sword, which made her fall back.

I would sigh with relief. "Oh god, I thought I would definitely lose." I really did it; I won against a tsundere! I looked back to Vieta and Desha with a smile and thumbs-up.

Desha facepalmed while Vieta glanced at me, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Tenshin," Desha said, "One of the most important rules is to never call off a fight, thinking you've won, before ensuring that your opponent has either given up or is down!"

"Oh, right," I replied. I turned to look behind me, and before I knew it, Rias struck me with the sword at my neck, causing me to fall back. "Gah!" I yelled as I hit the ground, but I quickly got back up.

Rias would come at me again as she yelled, "Haa!" I would quickly block, but she would use the opportunity to hit my ribs instead.

Vieta would look up at Desha as I would get beaten up. "Are you sure this is safe?" Vieta asked with a hint of worry for me.

Desha would look back down at her. "Of course it is. Once this is all over, Tenshin can use some healing on himself."

Vieta would look back at the fight, and I would be getting destroyed. "I guess that would be a good point."

"Haa!" Rias shouted as she took one more hit on my nuts.

I fell back down while holding my crotch in pain. "Low blow…" I whispered in pain

***

A couple of minutes passed, and I was currently lying down on the ground, panting as I used healing magic on my crotch.

"Are you all right, Master Tenshi?" Vieta asked as she looked down at me.

"Yeah… yeah… I’m all right…" I said breathlessly as I held up a thumb-up.

Rias would swing her sword in the air as she said, "You’re so weak; you really missed the most important rule?"

As Rias stopped and looked down at me, I would sit up and look up at her as I said, "You know I could’ve beaten you, right? I just missed that step, so what?"

"Still missed." She would stick her tongue out and back in. "Maybe you could’ve beaten me if you didn’t get so scared to."

I looked at Rias with annoyance. Tyrant… One little tsundere piece of shit.

Desha would look over at her and say, "Actually, Lady Rias, it is natural for a mage to feel like this. They are more far combat than close; besides, if he kept training as a swordsman, he would’ve beaten you with such ease." Desha would look down at me as I listened. "I can see it in him."

"Really?" Rias would look away and cross her arms. "Pft, I beg to differ." She would look back down at me. "So you seriously can’t help it? That’s stupid."

I would smile with a hint of embarrassment. "Some PTSD from how hard my father too, I guess."

"I honestly found your skills quite impressive," Vieta said

I looked up at her while scratching the back of my head. "Aw, thanks, V."

Rias would look back down at Tenshi as she raised an eyebrow. "V? Whos V?"

I looked back up at Rias. "Oh, it's what I usually call her now."

Rias looked up at Vieta as she continued to raise an eyebrow. "Isn’t that maid's name Vieta?"

"Nickname," I said as Rias looked back down at me. "Like a shorter term for her name."

Rias thought to herself for a moment and looked away. "Huh, cool, I guess."

I was unsure what to say back to Rias and just looked right back to the ground. Desha would look at us and break the silence by saying, "All right, that should be all for today. I say we keep this way of training up, but whatever is up to you, Lady Rias."

Rias would look back at Desha. "Guess he won’t have to complain about me hurting him this way, so fine," Rias said with a grin.

I looked at Rias with a poker face.

"And Tenshin," Desha said

I looked up at Desha. "Yes?"

"Here are some things you need to work on. Next time, finish off your opponent or wait until they have surrendered. Second, you need to fix your shaking legs because it looked like you were about to fall over."

"Oh, all right, I understand," I replied as I got up.

Rias smiled with pride and did a hair flip. "You have a long way to go, Tenshi."

Desha turned to Rias. "You also made some mistakes, Lady Rias."

"Huh?!" Rias exclaimed in shock as she looked at Desha.

I smirked as I looked at Rias. Cocky over here really thought. I would look back at Desha with a normal facial expression as she spoke

"You were getting too cocky, which led you to be overly aggressive in close combat. This gave Tenshi the chance to exploit your more open spot at the right moment. Next time, try to maintain a bit more distance."

Rias would throw her sword onto the ground and stomp. "Damn it!"

I looked up at Rias with surprise. "You seem more interested in learning sword than learning magic."

Rias would cross her arms. "I just don’t like failing."

And still barely caring about studying…

Rias would turn herself to me. "So, you going to teach me magic now?"

I would slowly start taking the leather armor off. "Let's do that tomorrow. I want to have a good rest of the night later, so I’d rather continue to study you now."

"Fine, fine, I’ll allow it," she said with a hint of annoyance.

I continued to take off my armor. Great, at least she isn’t giving me pain on it, so this means I am going to be a tutor of magic for her. Let's hope I have enough of Larah’s wisdom to teach her.

***

Many hours passed by, and it was finally night. Vieta went off to take a break and relax in her room, and Desha continued helping me with Rias during the rest of her studies, I would now be heading to my room, looking a little exhausted.

"Today was something, but at least Rias is slowly starting to listen more for once."

"Master Tenshi."

I heard, and I looked up to notice Vieta outside my room door. Vieta? I wonder what she wants. "Yeah, Vieta? Whatsup?" I asked as I walked over to stand right in front of her.

"I hope you don’t mind me asking a request. It’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up, and now I see the opportunity to tell you," she said, looking nervous.

I tried to think about what it could be and ended up feeling a little flushed. N-No, is she… is she asking me out?! Oh my god, the opportunity is here! I might get a girlfriend! I thought to myself. I took a moment to calm down. Wait, no, Lumi—ah dang it, okay, I need to think: do I want Lumi, the cute and sweet cat fox elf girl that I’ve always dreamed of, or the cute and shy Vieta? This is hard!

Vieta looked at me, confused, as I was lost in thought. "Uh, Master Tenshi? May I ask?"

I sighed and looked at her. "Listen, Vieta, I need more time to think about your offer. I feel honored, but I also have someone else to consider, and besides, don’t you think this is moving too fast?"

Vieta tilted her head in confusion. "Too fast? I see… so I guess Rias is the only exception. Sorry, I guess that makes sense. Never mind then; forgive me." Vieta looked down, feeling ashamed.

I tilted my head in confusion and waved my hands. "Rias!? W-Wait, timeout! What were you going to say?"

Vieta looked back up. "Well… I was going to ask if you could… teach me magic," She said as she twiddled her fingers. "But yeah, you're right. Why would you teach me if you don’t get anything out of it?"

I looked at her, feeling embarrassed by my assumption. Oh my god, I’m so stupid! What was I thinking!? I said to myself, scratching my head out of embarrassment. "N-No, sorry, I was thinking of something. You know, just feeling exhausted, ahaha… Of course, I’ll teach you magic, I promise, V."

Vieta’s mouth would open with a hint of shock. "Really? Wow, I thought you didn’t—"

I would interrupt her as I shook my head and said, "No, no, I was just exhausted, okay? I’ll be glad to teach you, all right? I promise. I just need to get some rest, all right?"

Vieta would have a small smile, and she would nod. "All right, I apologize, Master Tenshi. I’ll leave now. Thank you so much." I would smile and wave at her as she walked away. I sighed with relief as I entered my room, closed the door, and I banged my head lightly on it. Man, that was embarrassing. If I went a little further into detail, that would’ve been a scar of embarrassment right there.

I would go over to my bed, but as I looked over to my desk, I would notice something, so I would walk over to it and notice my wand kit was still there. I was shocked.

Oh, mother of shit, that's what I forgot! I would walk over to my bed and fall face-first on it. I would turn around and sit on the edge. "Dang it, of course, I forgot to build my wand," I said with annoyance. "Wait a minute… Do I even know how to build one?" I would get up and walk over to the wand kit I would look at all these things I need to put together and I would sigh.

Vieta would still be behind the door, and she would hear what I was saying. She would eventually walk away.

I would walk back to my bed, take my vest of,f and throw it off on the other side of the bed. I took off my shoes and sat at the edge of my bed. I looked at the ring on my finger and thought about Larah. "Really wish I could see that face again, master." I looked back ahead of myself.

An idea sparked in my mind, but I quickly shook my head and put it back inside. "No, I should do that tomorrow; I’m too tired." I rolled over on the bed and pulled the blankets over myself. I shut my eyes and tried to sleep, but I opened them again when I remembered the moment I had misunderstood what Vieta was saying earlier. But did I really… hesitate? I would think back to my promise to Lumi, but I shook that thought off and tried to get some rest.