"Run!" My voice is a lot more confident than I am on the inside. The man was easy, a common thug. But this woman... I can feel the pressure from her, and that tilted head, that lazy smile... She knows she's better than me.

But I'm not backing down. As if to mock me, she starts moving to chase Lettie and Karen.

WhsshKRK! The wall next to her cracks with the force of my spell, and she stops herself as rapidly as she started to move. A simple wind blade, but simple is good. Simple is quick. I don't actually want to fight her. But I want her to know that I'm going to. I want her to know that she doesn't dare go after them until she's dealt with m-

Where is sh- NNH! I push myself away with the wind, but the blow to my side still hurts. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have been down for sure.

But she hasn't taken that opportunity to run away. Instead, she looks at me, licking her lips.

Wait, is that... Blood? Did I do that?

"Huh. First time in a while a little kitten actually hit me. That's good. Real nice. It makes me want to enjoy beating the shit out of you."

Whsshwhshwhsh. A lifted foot, a pulled in arm, a light twist, and she avoids all three of my attacks. But she's not moving forward. She's not attacking. Why isn't she attacking?

Looking past me, she suddenly sours up, her face twisting in disgust. "You led her here?" It's answered by a laugh, and I pale. That voice. I've only heard it once, but I know it. I don't even dare turn around. And I don't dare look away. The flow of mana has cut off, as neatly as turning a tap.

She doesn't even look at me as she walks by. That woman. The demon. She doesn't look at either of us until she leans against the nearby wall, one foot lightly on the unconscious thug. And crossing her arms, she chuckles. "Did you enjoy this little playtime, sweetlings?"

Playtime? She thinks of this as-

"Tch." The thief, she looks disgusted, angry... Disappointed. And I realise. No. That's not what she means at all. I don't blame her. To this woman, this was nothing more than an entertainment, something she set up. From start to finish, she'd arranged this outcome, and my face is burning.

I'm ashamed.

I'm worried.

I'm angry. I'm trying so hard to draw mana right now. I'm not doing it because I think I'll win. I'm not doing it because I want to run away.

I want to do it because I want. To punch. This scheming. Bitch.

How dare she. How dare she try to hurt my friends. How dare she show up so nonchalantly, be so amused, rub it in our faces? My palms are beginning to bleed, but I don't relax them. I'm feeling weak, but I'm still trying to draw from nothing. How dare she look at me, with that smug expression.

I'm going to kill you.

I'm going to kill you.

I'm-

"Tch." Again, that scornful sound, and I'm startled out of everything. The thief, she's already turned her back, already walking away. But you can hear the same emotions I had in her voice.

"Watch your back, whoever you are. I don't like people ruining my fun. I don't like people interrupting me when I'm teaching someone a lesson." Her voice turns dangerously soft as she walks around a corner and vanishes.

"And I don't like being used."

I feel empty. I feel like something's missing, I... Look back.

That's what was missing. She's gone too. I should be going back, but I flop down on a crate. My legs aren't working, and my mind is racing. I should be calling for the guard, or restraining the thug over there. But the guard will arrive soon, and the thug isn't important.

Why? Why did any of this happen? The kidnapping I could vaguely understand, even if it was something doomed to failure, but even for someone that dangerous, this was too big. The Duke is a powerful man, and her head would have been on a pike within a week no matter how skilled she was if Lettie had been hurt. But did she even care? Why not?

And the demon. Even the most unintelligent of demons has a motive. But nothing makes sense. She wasn't trying to rescue Lettie, or take her for herself, or kill her. She wasn't trying to help that thief, or frame her. And my help only made the rescue quicker. She wasn't even trying to kill me, otherwise she would have let the thief carry on.

And yet, she led us all together so easily, and let us part as easily.

I can hear the guards coming, faintly. The rush has gone, and my palms are aching, but... Faintly. I'm about to pass out.

Nobody won here. This was pointless. Was it pointless? It was pointless.

And that doesn't make sense...