I didn’t make my way back to the office until the sun was already rising and it finally put an end to that mess of a day and night. A thousand things should’ve been on my mind, but I had successfully distracted myself from all of it for a few hours and put together a prototype for a new invention I came up with. Excited to present it to the others, I walked on, when I rounded the last corner and ran into Hayla, who was also on her way to the office.

Our eyes met and she put on her usual, neutral expression. However, for a brief moment, I thought to have seen a hint of displeasure on her face.

I forgot about her... Shit, how did I manage that? I asked her to leave us alone for just a moment, while we sorted things out, and then I went on my merry way...

“Good morning,” she said.

“Hey. I’m sorry... I meant to talk to you last night. But there was so much on my mind.”

It’s not actually a lie, but it can’t possibly be a satisfactory excuse...

“I’ll admit, I had hoped that you would come. Were you at least able to resolve things with... the god?”

“Yea, I was... Listen, about the secrecy—”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to tell me.” I was about to deliver another lukewarm explanation, but she interrupted me. “I believe that we will reach a point where you will be able to trust me. Like you did yesterday...”

I was starting to feel seriously bad. And the way she said this with an undertone, but without batting an eye, didn’t make it any easier. As silly as it seemed in retrospect, I was ready to fall in love with her “again” just a few hours prior. I never was big into romance, but I did take it seriously. Even without my memories, I had felt this deep within me. If I got engaged to someone, with a magic contract no less, I just had to assume that it meant something. And of course I had treated her accordingly while we were together.

But my other, seemingly youthful, self also knew something that I hadn’t known before. These magic contracts weren’t broken easily. Maybe you could weasel your way around a clause or two in them, but someone had made sure that they were relatively iron-clad. They were also bound to your mana, and with it, your entire being. They could seriously mess you up, and they would do so even at the attempt to remove them. Someone had really embraced their inner anti-cheat engineer when designing them.

For Hayla, this had been her assumption from the start. It was just my ignorance that made me think I’d be able to nullify our agreement. She was right. Technically, we didn’t need to keep secrets. Sure, you don’t need to tell your partner everything, but the way she kept harping on about it, she did expect us to be open to each other. And to not confide in a life partner at all would seem weird to me as well.

Maybe I should just tell her what’s going on then? At least partially? Like it or not, she will be part of our group for the foreseeable future. Unless I do find a way out of it... Ugh. I’m not getting anywhere like this.

“It’s not necessarily that I distrust you, Hayla. The things we have going on... Some I’d rather not talk about, some are a little personal, and others are a lot to take in. To tell someone about it is to invite them into all that nonsense. And if I can avoid that... Honestly, that’s just easier.”

“If that’s your decision, I will have to accept it...” she said with that same undertone. “But can I ask you a question? It’s not about your secrets.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Yesterday, when you told me you would never agree to marry someone you didn’t like... Was that just your more innocent, memory-less self talking?”

That question was possibly the only one I hadn’t anticipated. Frowning, I averted my gaze in deliberation. After getting closer to her, I didn’t want to deceive her outright, but the truth...

“That’s... complicated,” I said, glancing at her.

“Should it not be a simple matter of yes or no?”

I chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “You would think.”

Why can’t anything ever be easy?

The truth was that I tried to deceive her, but she pulled the rug from right under my feet with the holy marriage. Admitting to that didn’t seem like a good idea though. Another truth was that I wouldn’t want to marry anyone I didn’t feel any affection for. However, that would imply to Hayla that I was smitten with her. I wasn’t happy about it, but a little half-truth was the easiest option.

“Yea, my other self might have overstated that a little,” I said. “Feelings are important, but they didn’t affect my decision in this case.” The words had barely left my mouth when a familiar spike of pain shot through my brain. “Ah! Fuck!”

Holding my head, I waited for the pain to subside, and it did rather quickly. For a second, I thought of Tomar, wondering whether he might’ve still been there after all. The real reason for my discomfort seemed to be a different one, however.

“You shouldn’t lie...” Hayla said.

“Huh?”

Wait. What was that? D-did the contract do that?

Actively trying to deceive your partner was a violation, but I was fairly certain I told a version of the truth that should’ve worked. Shocked, I picked apart what I had said.

“Overstated”... Yes, I wouldn’t rule out other reasons for marriage entirely. “Importance of feelings”... Well, yea. Obviously they can play a part. But that wasn’t it! It wasn’t the reason I agreed! So... I... She...

A smile formed on her lips. Letting her facade slip momentarily, her expression revealed the conclusion she came to. If I denied it, and the system thought it to be false, the opposite had to be true. She would think I had feelings for her. Could it be a bug in the system? A misinterpretation? I felt a connection to her since the day before, but that hadn’t been the case during our negotiations—I was fairly certain of that. And whether my feelings were a little out of whack at that moment shouldn’t have mattered.

I didn’t lie!

“I’m glad though,” she continued as she stepped closer. Standing face to face, she had to look up slightly to meet my eyes. “I enjoy your company. And our married life will be easier if we like each other, don’t you think?”

My mind was overloaded, trying to find an explanation for what was going on here. Flabbergasted, I could do nothing but stare at Hayla as her face reached ever closer.

***

When Berla woke up in the morning, she was holding someone in her arms. As the fog of sleep lifted, however, she realized their frame was a little small for who she expected to find.

Oh, Riala, she thought.

Smiling, she looked around the room, searching for Miles, but there was no-one in the office but the three of them. It was almost as if he hadn’t actually been there last night. Her smile fell and she swallowed hard.

“It wasn’t just a dream... right?” she asked quietly. “He’s still with us?”

“You mean Miles? Of course he is!”

She sighed in relief. What a silly thought.

“Okay,” she said with a chuckle. “Good morning, Hati.”

“Morning!” he said happily.

Figuring that Miles had just stepped out for a moment, she didn’t worry any further. After laying Riala down on the couch carefully, she stretched with a yawn, before her eyes fell on a piece of paper, lying on the table. Written on it were the names of various animals, as well as a bunch of numbers in a tabular format. The little project she started on a whim last night was deeply fascinating to her, and somewhere between passionate explanations about healers, alchemists, and druids, she got new information about animals out of Miles.

At the bottom of the pecking order in this area was the “snake.” Small, slow, and weak, these category ones were almost irrelevant to Fighters. Even if they got you, they could be killed with very little effort. Technically they could strangle you, but nobody in their right mind would stand around and wait for that to happen. Their bite was also poisonous, but a Fighter’s regeneration made short work of that. And while they could be dangerous for normal people, you were unlikely to ever encounter one, unless you ventured deep into the woods. Berla assigned them a preliminary level seven. Stronger and more dangerous than a typical human, but not an actual threat.

Next were “foxes,” who were the only beasts that basically never attacked humans. They looked every bit as intimidating as the others, with their black fur and red eyes, but they usually fled as soon as they laid eyes on you. However, under certain circumstances, they might attack and give inexperienced guards a hard time. Level fourteen.

And then there was the most common beast, of course. Wolves. Rather quick, rather strong, and clever at times. The Fighters who were able to best them without risking their own well-being were considered very capable. As per Grym’s estimation, she put them on one level with kobolds: twenty.

As she started to work out this ranking, however, she understood more and more how imprecise one numerical value was—just as Gallas had said. Not all beasts in one category were always the exact same, and even if two types were the same category or level, that told you nothing about what elevated them to that rank. Following a suggestion from Miles, she started to split the information up into multiple factors, such as strength, agility, and defense, to create a comprehensive list of the threats people were facing.

At the bottom of it all stood just a name: Arax. She was reminded of what was coming next. They only had a few more days until they had to deal with her. Miles had some kind of potential plan, but Berla wanted to prepare as well, for she would not let him walk into danger alone anymore. She knew she couldn’t possibly be a match for that monster, but at the very least, she could serve as a distraction, and maybe even get a few hits in. She could do something, which was far better than just sitting around. Her list in front of her, there was a tiny amount of anticipation welling up inside her as well, however. What would it be like to stand before a category ten? And how would she rank her?

Based on what Tomar and Miles told her about Arax, she was strong, but also fast—really fast—on the level of a category six. Agility having been Berla’s own specialty in the past, she knew how troublesome of an attribute that could be. A bear was a frightening beast, but it couldn’t hurt you if it failed to reach you. Had it not been for an unfortunately grown root, she would still be hopping around on two legs.

To be an actual help though, she wanted to get some additional training in, to prepare for this as best as she could. And even before she could do that, she needed to commission new crutches. Miles and Riala would undoubtedly start their own research and training today, which gave her some time.

She was about to stand up to try and prepare for the day, when the office door opened and Miles stepped inside, wearing a somewhat awkward expression. The moment he laid eyes on Berla, however, it was blown away and replaced by a warm smile.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Berla whispered and returned his smile.

She figured that she had been mistaken—even when Hayla wordlessly walked in right after him, a hint of a grin on her face. Berla’s focus was on Miles, who immediately approached her, fishing for something in his pocket.

“I got something for you,” he said.

Her smile widened. “Oh?” A present?

Leaning to the side to get a better view of his right arm, she waited in anticipation. When he finally pulled something out and held it in front of her, however, she blinked in surprise. On his palm lay a piece of wood, bound with a long string that dangled down from his hand on both sides. She had been a little excited, ready to say “thank you,” at whatever he presented to her. Looking at this item in total confusion though, she had to clear something up first.

“What is that...?”