Having Alviona declare her intent in the schools of magic that she wanted to pursue as her foundation, Mira, Solomon, and Janine, fell into thought. No one would ever announce to be willing to learn everything that the world had to offer. It was too absurd, overambitious and somewhat useless because the pressure on the user would be overwhelming.

Furthermore, Elemental school of magic already offered too many branches of magic, and while there existed people who used several elements together or even all of them, focusing down on one and then utilizing the other as a backup was the most efficient option. Usually, the teachers would educate students how to use basics of every element and let them figure out what suited their tastes, after which they would begin the specialization. On the other hand, having a Divine secondary was not a bad idea.

Explaining this to Alviona, Mira asked again if she was confident in her decision, to which the child nodded with determined eyes.

“In that case, let us find you an institution that teaches Elemental Schools of Magic as its best, but also has access to a vast library with books on every other field. How about it?” said Mira with a smile, walking up to the receptionist again. Fortunately, she did not have to wait in line this time around.

“May I please have a list?” (Mira)

“Certainly! Are you looking for the magical institutions related to only our kingdom, or are you looking for the entire list of the mainland?” (Receptionist)

“Actually, I am looking for a particular place of education. I have a list of criteria that must be met,” said Mira, looking at Alviona, taking her figure into consideration, and looking back at the receptionist, seeing that she had her hands in a steeple, she stated her criteria:

“First, the institution must be the one that houses instructors with experience in their fields.

Second, it must have a library with an excessive amount of literature, scrolls, and articles on our schools of magic.

Third, it must be potent at teaching Elemental magic.

Fourth, it must not be too far into the continent.

Lastly, it must be willing to accept pupils of demon races.”

Hearing Mira saying “Demon,” Alviona tilted her head. “But I am not a demon?” she whispered in confusion. Solomon, whose ears were sharp on picking up what his mistress said, touched Alviona’s shoulder with his left hand, catching her attention.

“Mistress, you are not one; however, you will be referred to as one. In this world, we call demons those individuals that have tails and/or horns growing out of their body, but are not hostile like monsters and have a high intellect like humans, dwarves, orcs, and elves.”

All right. I understand. Thank you very much, Mr. Solomon replied Alviona cheerfully, to which the man chuckled and patted her on the shoulder.

“Well then. It seems that we are in luck,” said Mira, turning around to meet her party, her face slightly twisted, with an eerie smile expressing horror and frustration. Looking at her, Alviona was a little bit scared and decided to hide behind Solomon’s figure.

“Is. Is something wrong?!” asked Janine, chill running down her spine, growing uneasy due to this horrid sight in front of her.

“Hahahahaha!” laughed Mira, her voice resembling a wail of a banshee, causing people who were leaving to hurry up and those entering to immediately go back the way they came from. The guards patrolling the building were also alerted, causing some to even rush downstairs and check out if a monster of some sorts had invaded the guild, only to find a woman who was grinding her teeth, with an expression resembling that of a maniac. Not willing to have anything to do with her, the guards backtracked to their positions as if they never paid attention in the first place.

*Cough*

“Excuse me madame, but you are scaring our clients,” said the receptionist, who apparently begged Mira to leave the guild. Fortunately, Solomon was wise enough to lift Mira by the waist and carry her outside. Just what exactly had happened?

Exiting the building, Mira came back to her senses but did not talk much about her condition prior. “All right people. Now we have to go to the central district and find merchants guild and a smithery. I would like to purchase some clothing and gear for Alviona, otherwise wearing Anita’s clothing looks ridiculous on her. They are too big!”

The company walked for one hour before reaching the town square. It was too lively. People rushing in and out of the crowded areas, merchants shouting out the prices of different wares to attract customers, caravans being loaded or unpacked by the workers hired by merchants. In the midst of this chaos was a curious girl, who wanted to explore every inch of the market. Mira, understanding the delight in the child’s eyes, made sure to hold her hand as tightly as possible so that she would not get lost.

Alviona approached many stands, asking what was it that the merchants were selling when looking at fruit, vegetables, and fish. Ah, this is too interesting! That thing is called a potato. This thing is an apple that was inside my pie… *Stomach Growl* She stopped, looking at the stand with various baskets on it, containing some form of blue-colored items inside. Curious as to what it was, she extended her hands and grabbed it.

“Oi! Hello, there young missy! That basket would be twenty copper please,” said the man behind the stand, grinning and extending his hand. Alviona, not knowing what that meant, just stared in return.

“What is this?” she asked, plunging her hand in and removing some pieces and moving them to her mouth, eating it with a gentle *Nomm*.

“Hey! You have to pay for that! Fifty coppers!” yelled the man, scaring the child in the process, forcing her to hide behind Mira’s back, only to realize that the garments she would clutch were no longer there. Confused, she decided to look for her grandmother, but as she was about to make her wings appear and extend them, she remembered what Mira had asked her to do before entering the city. Unable to figure out what to do, Alviona ran away.

“THIEF! THIEF! Chase her! Get her!” screamed the man, but Alviona kept running. Some pedestrians attempted to catch her, but she quickly dodged them and kept running, not looking back even for a second. After zig-zagging through the alleyways, the pursuers were no longer seen or heard, allowing her to finally stop and look around.

“Scary. That guy was scary, and I have no idea why he was yelling at me,” muttered Alviona. Looking around, she found herself in a shady alley, surrounded by narrow, tall houses that did not allow much sunlight to penetrate through. Mr. Solomon, I am completely lost. Can you please find me? Asked Alviona to Solomon mentally.

Solomon, who was still in the market, walked around with Janine. Since the distance between him and his mistress was not so long, and she was still in the vicinity, he did not focus on his link for he knew that Alviona was with Mira. The moment he heard the mental order from her, he immediately came to a halt.

“What is wrong?” asked Janine, puzzled by the sudden stop of the companion.

The man did not respond but instead looked for Mira, who, as he noticed, was walking towards them with a horrified face.

“She is all right. I will go bring my mistress back,” said Solomon, before Mira could even start telling her story, moving past them and running at his full speed. Both girls were looking at the man’s disappearing figure. How quickly was he running?!

Meanwhile, Alviona was getting adventurous, checking out different alleyways and moving around a little. At some point, she heard some sounds. Thinking that it was Solomon or Anita and Janine, she decided to head towards it.

A man dressed in full leather armor, with visible grey undergarments, was tightly clutching the girl's hands, whispering words in her ears. He then proceeded to remove a knife from his belt and passed it over to the girl, who accepted it without hesitation.

“Good girl. Now, what should I make you do? Oh! How about a play? You belong to me right now, you want to obey me right?” asked the man with a smile.

“Yes, I obey you,” replied the girl with a grin. Turning dagger around so that the tip faced her.

“Good. Good. Now, how about you cut your left wrist a little?” asked the man, to which the girl responded by lightly sliding the knife over her wrist, blood slowly dropping on the ground. Meanwhile, the man moved his head closer to the girl’s face, sniffing her hair and licking her neck. “Now, how about you start cutting your eye out? Perhaps the left one, no the right one?!”

Alviona who was watching this did not understand what to make of it and decided to ignore the two, moving past them to explore more areas. The man noticing her presence stopped his actions and turned towards her. Seeing how beautiful the girl in front of him was, he slightly moved away from the woman.

“Hey there, little missy. What are you doing in such place? Are you lost” he asked the child who was carrying a basket filled with fruit in her hands. Seeing that the girl just nodded, he licked his lips, taking the dagger away from the woman whose hands were moving towards her eyes, trembling, and awaiting his next command. Tying his previous victim's hands and feet, and gagging her mouth so that she would not create a ruckus, he turned towards the child.

“Well then, do you perhaps need some guidance? Or, do you want to play a little?” he asked while slowly approaching his prey, closing the distance so that if she attempted to run, he would be on her.

However, it did not seem like Alviona was going to run anywhere. She just watched the man’s actions, confused by his odd behavior. It appeared that he was moving his lips, casting [Confusion] and [Mind Control]. As his spell activated, a tickling sensation filled Alviona’s body, after which information echoed inside of her head – { Report: A trespasser attempted to dominate you. Based on his memories, the man is sentenced to experience his worst nightmares. Due to the severity of his offense and crime history, after the effect ends, a counter-attack will be launched allowing you to dominate him for 15 seconds. The counter is non-blockable.}

As the message faded away, the man in front of Alviona began screaming, begging for someone to end his life. It appeared that the woman he had cast his psychic abilities on came to her senses, for her body started twitching, her eyes widening, and tears welling up and dropping. The poor soul was clearly in panic and shock, unable to understand how she ended up in such condition or why was her wrist aching and bleeding.

The man was still wailing in pain. After a few minutes, Alviona decided that playing with the man would make him happy, after all, was that not what he had asked for before falling into this state? She thought of what game to play and then recalled what his words were. Finally able to find a solution, she gently smiled, the person in front of her being mesmerized by her sight and forgetting about his own mind attacking him.

“Okay, good sir. I will play with you. Since I do not know what type of games you like, I will repeat the same one that you just did with that woman over there. You seemed to have enjoyed it, and I do not want you to be sad,” said Alviona with the warmest smile existing in the world. She then fell into thought and after a few seconds, told the man to cut his left wrist and cut out his eyes. The man complied without any hesitation.