Tafel sat in her seat and closed her eyes. A minute later, she opened them. Her horns glowed silver, and a portal appeared by her side. She stood up and retrieved a stone tablet, placing it on the floor. Thirty-six tablets later, there wasn’t much space to walk. Luckily, her room in Vur’s palace was gigantic. When all the tablets were in place, Tafel stood on top of her chair to help her see all the contents at the same time.

The door creaked open, and Tafel turned her head. A small movement caught her eye, and she saw Stella flying into the room. The fairy queen glanced around before landing on the demon’s shoulder. “So, this is where you were hiding,” Stella said.

Tafel rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t hiding,” she said. “I told Vur I was going to study the translation Minerva gave me.”

Stella rubbed her chin and stared at the tablets on the ground. “Weren’t you really interested in learning these spells?” she asked. “Why are you only starting to read these now?”

Tafel scratched her head. “Mostly because of Emile,” she said. “He thought I had an unhealthy obsession with getting stronger because of how hard I was studying, and Minerva was also making the same point. Although she said I wasn’t possessed, I just wanted to make sure, so I tested myself.”

“By buying gifts for everyone you knew—except for me—and putting off learning the spells to show they weren’t controlling your actions?”

“That’s right,” Tafel said and nodded. She crossed her arms over her chest and made a point to look the fairy queen in the eyes. “Vur told me he got you an armadillo from that auction. Don’t act like you didn’t receive a present.”

“I got a present from Vur, but not from you,” Stella said and shook her head. “I know Vur cares about me, but your lack of a gift is making me doubt how much I mean to you.”

“Where’s the gift from you to me?” Tafel asked and raised an eyebrow. “Why is this a one-way thing?”

Stella shrugged. “I’m not the one who went on a gifting spree. No one I care about got a gift from me, but everyone you care about—except for me—got a present.” She clutched her chest and stared at Tafel with teary eyes. Her lips trembled, and after a few seconds, Tafel caved.

“Alright, what do you want?” the demon asked with a dark expression.

The fairy queen’s eyes lit up. “Oh, nothing much,” she said. “Spending time with you is the greatest gift I could ever have. I’ll just sit right here while you learn all these new spells.”

“You’re interested in the Trickster’s Book too, huh?”

Stella nodded. “Who isn’t?”

“Vur, for one,” Tafel said. Then, she shifted her gaze onto the tablet in the top left corner. She pointed at it. “That’s the first page, and it goes in order from there.”

Stella took a seat on Tafel’s shoulder, sitting in a cross-legged position. She propped her elbows up on her knees, and planted her face against her palms. She squinted at the tablet for a while before letting out a sigh. “Learning spells is too difficult as a fairy,” she said and shook her head. “It’s not fair.”

“Well, demons can’t exactly sneeze on people to curse them,” Tafel said, shifting her eyes to look at Stella. “And we can’t turn people into various animals either.”

“I don’t know how to polymorph either,” Stella said and sighed. “Only fairies from Erin’s lineage can do that.”

Tafel shrugged. “My point still stands. Everyone has certain things they’re good at, and no one can learn everything.”

“Except Vur,” Stella said.

Tafel sighed. “Except Vur.” She scratched her head. “I suppose other blue mages could learn everything too.”

Stella snorted. “If a blue mage that wasn’t Vur tried to learn a dragon’s skill, they’d die.”

***

In the middle of the ocean, a massive boat with three sails left white wakes as it cut across the surface of the water. Keith stood next to Danielle, the two resting their elbows against the railing of the ship. Danielle’s face was pale, and sweat beaded on her forehead.

“Alright, there’s no need to be ashamed,” Keith said, his hand patting Danielle’s back. “We all get seasick sometimes. This might be the most stable boat I’ve ever ridden on, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Shut up,” Danielle said and took in a deep breath. “Why do you always talk so much nonsense?”

Keith scratched his head. “Maybe it’s my nerves?” he asked. “Aren’t you afraid of dying? We’re off on a mission to hunt a dragon that destroyed a continent.”

Danielle shrugged. “At least we’re prepared,” she said. “In the end, a dragon is still a living thing. Stab it, and it bleeds. If it bleeds enough, it dies. It’s as simple as that.”

“Yep,” Keith said. “If we get bitten by a dragon, our legs will be severed from our torsos, and if we’re unlucky, we’ll slowly bleed out in agony. If we’re lucky, we’ll be crushed between its massive jaws and given a swift death. It’s as simple as that.”

“If you’re scared, you can jump off this boat,” Danielle said. “I don’t think that woman cares enough about you to fish you out of the water. Even if she wants to, it’s easy to disappear into the ocean.”

“Yeah, easy to disappear into a leviathan’s stomach,” Keith said and snorted. He swallowed and turned his head to the side, facing Danielle. “You know, I’ve never really gotten the chance to tell you this before, but since it seems like we’re going to die, I’ll just say it. I really—”

“Shut up. If you say one more word, I’ll slit your throat,” Danielle said and glared at Keith. “There have been plenty of times where we about to die. This time isn’t any different, so don’t give me none of that we’re going to die nonsense.”

Keith scratched his head. “Is that a rejection?”

“Yes.”

“Well, damn. It looks like I’m dying single.”

“Seriously,” Danielle said and clutched the railing of the boat. “Can you go bother someone else?” Before Keith could reply, a stream of vomit flew out of Danielle’s mouth and splashed into the ocean.