“Ah, calm down Siegfried. I won’t stand for you disrespecting my master.” I was having a hard time trying to figure out if Selka was trying to protect him or defend me.

“I apologize lady Selka.” Siegfried released his discontent. “Forgive my previous actions, Sir?”

“Volatis” I wasn’t much of a talker and anything more than one word to someone that acted in such a manner didn’t warrant an attempt to make friends with.

“Selka must be a handful for you, why not sell her to me?” His face made it seem like there was nothing wrong to ask for her purchase.

I was about fed up with trying to put myself out there to find possible allies. I figured why not humor this guy. “Tell me, what would you do with Selka, were you to successfully buy her from me?”

“I’d free her instantly of course. Miss Selka does not deserve to be shackled to slavery!”

“Oh..., I see.” That was rather unexpected to hear and I turned to Selka.

“What do you have to say, Selka?” I questioned. “Would you like to go with him and be set free?” At this point, if she were to say yes, I would free her immediately. The point of buying all of the slaves was to get motivated individuals that wanted to help out. Not those that constantly sought to leave at any chance they are presented with.

“No way master, you know my stance on matters.” Selka’s eyes went wide, at my question.

“Well, it seems this guy doesn’t, so what should I do?” I wanted to tease her for placing me in this kind of situation.

“I warned you.” Selka fussed. “Shoo get away from us, now!” She did the whole showy and flailing arms to get the guy to leave. Even slapping him on the back until he got the picture. The guy put up his hands to avoid any hits to his face as he was strategically backed out of the building’s entrance. Her commotion had many spectators at this point, watching her return to my side.

“What was that?” I barely held back my laughter from the silliness of her actions.

“I did what you expected of me to do. What, was that not enough?”

“That wasn’t...” There weren't many people that could make me sigh aside from Eris. Selka found a way to add herself to the list.

“If I didn’t, it looked like you would have disfigured his entire face from lack of self-control.” Selka added in with a serious gaze.

“I’m going to let that slide… Listen, I’m no longer going to seek out potential allies. I feel like we’ll have a better chance of letting them come to us.” Eris nodded in agreement like she was waiting for me to come to my own conclusion on the subject.

“Sounds like your first, smart decision so far.” Eris chimed in.

“I’m always accepting helpful feedback, so don’t hold back.” By all means, if she could spot a bad decision before me, then I would love for her to let me know ahead of time.

“We shouldn’t be in the undercity, it will grab more attention than it's worth.” Eris paused. “Though if it helps you master your magic, that is a different story.” Somehow I felt like she was insinuating my magic would go berserk again and through the ordeal of murdering everyone here, mastery would be gained.

“We don’t have much time either way.” I exhaled a sigh. “With Ethan putting us on a short leash, the reforcers coming after you, and possibly me too. I just don’t see a need to worry about how fast we rush things.” I relayed the second half through our rings, wanting to avoid any eavesdroppers.

“You need to get stronger and not rely on anyone else. There’s no hope if you can’t beat the reforcers, Ethan, and whatever else that decides to get in our way.” Eris was homing right onto the core of our massive roadblocks to come.

“Well, the same goes for you. Didn’t you say this was the oldest you have been, in a very long time?” Eris stayed silent as I continued.

“The reason they most likely targeted you as a child was to avoid your body’s mana reserve from growing larger. The longer you manage to survive, the more of a threat you become to the nobles.” It sounded like I was scolding her back and I didn't want it to turn into that.

“I’m aware, and it’s the reason I’ve started trying again." Eris snapped back raising her voice momentarily. "Instead of just waiting for them to kill me like I used to...” I didn’t know how it was in the past but she’s been open to many things since I’ve met her. First the physical training and then the trials. I’ve even caught her head in my ki-training manual on my desk. Consistently aiming to make the most of her growing strength.

“Does that mean what I think you're going to do?” It would be a first if she decided to take the initiative.

“I’m going to compete in these events to help out with points and also as another form of training. Solo, but with the help of my magic.” Eris took a step forward to the kiosk we were next to and began to browse for herself. I joined and watched her navigate the event listings, filtering them to show only the A and B-rank fights. I was excited to see her so motivated. Not only did she seem brighter, emotionally but it was also always cool to see her in action.