"Ah… tough day. I wanted to check out the store. I suppose I'll do that tomorrow. "

Yūma sighed, raised his head to look at the night sky. All he saw was a sky full of stars, painted in pastel colours.

"It seems they're beautiful in every world," he said with a faint smile.

After a quiet moment, Yūma headed straight to the hotel, too tired to do anything else. He ordered roasted beef with vegetables, ate quietly, and went to bed.

The next morning, Yūma woke up from a sound of knocking that echoed in his head.

"Who's that?" he muttered, annoyed, rubbing his eyes.

Dragging himself to the door, he pulled it open. It was Riko; her posture was uncertain.

"You know what time it is?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Ten in the morning," she replied softly.

He grimaced, "Really?" his tone was dubious.

Riko just nodded.

Did I really sleep for eleven hours?

He sighed, "You need something?"

"May I come in? I would like to talk to you?" she asked nervously.

"Sure."

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"But you know. We decided not to see each other until tomorrow. Do they know you came here?"

"No, it was my decision."

Yūma gestured toward the bed, showing her where to sit. He himself pulled out a chair from the table and sat down, facing her.

Riko sat nervously on the edge of the bed. A faint crack of a wooden bed broke the silence. Her hands folded tightly on her lap.

"I… I wanted to talk about tomorrow."

"What? Yuna wants to cancel the bet?" Yūma asked firmly.

"No, it's not that… I want you to ask if you can cancel the bet," Riko replied, lowering her gaze to the floor. Her voice trembled with anxiety.

"Huh. So, you think I'm weaker than her. That I don't have a chance?"

"No, it's the other way around, actually," she replied quickly, shaking her head from side to side.

"If she decides on something, she won't let it go so easily. I'm scared," she waited for a second, "I'm scared that something will happen to her."

"So, you don't believe in her?"

"No, it's not like that. It ju…" her words were cut off as Yūma interrupted.

"In my opinion, there is an eighty percent chance of her winning. Her skill is better, more suited for close combat than mine."

"What?" Riko gasped, her eyes wide.

"Then… then why did you agree, even though you're at a disadvantage, even though you have less chance of winning?" Riko pressed, her concern for his safety evident in her voice.

Yūma leaned back slightly and answered, his voice calm but confident.

"Because in this life, nothing ever falls into your hands with ease - you must fight to claim it."

Wow! That sounded too theatrical.

Riko looked him straight in the eyes, disbelief written across her face.

"Now, let's get back to you," Yūma said

"Don't you find it concerning that you don't believe in your closest friend. Moreover, you came here without telling her a word. Is that what best friends do?"

"I…" Riko hesitated. She couldn't find the right words to speak.

"I'm just joking," Yūma said with a smile.

"I don't really know anything about that. I mean… I don't have friends after all."

"Sazanami…" Riko whispered, her tone worried.

"And now…" he continued, his tone firm again. "I would like you to leave. I have a lot of things to do today."

Riko stood quietly from the bed and made her way to the door. Without another word, she stepped out, closing it behind her.

"I hope she'll think about my words," Yūma muttered to himself. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.

"All this talk about fighting for what you desire is fine… but I should really cover up my plan till this evening."

Yūma stood up and picked up his pouch."Well, I became richer than I was yesterday. I took that guy's money after all. So, I guess I'll check out the store first."

Yūma left the inn, stepping into the lively streets. On the way to the store, he was reminded of how crowded Parin really was, and it made him uneasy. Merchants shouted the prices across the streets, the sound of horses' hooves against the cobblestone. He wasn't used to that chaos - after all, he had lived in a quiet district of Kyoto.

Eventually, he found the place. The store was located near an outdoor market. People usually refer to it as the Open-Air Market. This one featured stalls selling fresh products, such as meat, fish, cheese, flowers, and baked goods. People arranged their goods on wooden tables, often covered with canvas awnings.

It had a sign with a crystal carved in it above the entrance door. He stepped closer and opened the door. The bell rang, alerting the worker that someone had entered.

"Welcome to Magic Cry… Ahh," the woman shouted suddenly. "Damn it!"

She had stood up too quickly from behind the counter and hit her head against the edge of the table.

"Welcome to Magic Crystal," her tone wasn't as enthusiastic as it was moments ago. She raised her head while rubbing the pain spot with her hand.

But then, her eyes widened. She looked at the boy like she had just seen a ghost.

"Hello again," Yūma said with a slight smile.

It was the same woman that he had saved the day before. It turned out she was also the sister of the guild's receptionist. Yūma couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she looked in the light of the shop. Her blue eyes shone like crystals themselves, and her shiny blond hair matched them perfectly. Her age was around the same as Yūma's.

"It's you," she whispered, her voice trembling. "The man who saved me yesterday…"

Yūma's smile faded slightly. "Did you mention something about yesterday to your sister?"

The woman's hands began to shake. She totally misunderstood the question and thought the worst.

"How do you know about my sister? If anything happens to her, I swear, I'll…"

"Oookay," Yūma interrupted, raising his hands above, as a surrender sign.

"Why do you think I'm some kind of monster. Let me remind you of something. It was me who saved you yesterday, not someone else."

Her breathing had stopped a little, but her eyes were still full of suspicion.

"I asked about your sister," Yūma continued calmly.

"Because she was the one who mentioned this store to me, and that you work here. I'm Yūma. I'm newly registered in the town's guild."

"I'm sorry. I misunderstood everything. It's just… You looked scary yesterday," she admitted with a small smile.

Huh. What type of face did I even make? He thought, his face flinched.

Yūma sighed. "So? Did you mention something to your sister?"

"No. I'll be meeting her this evening, and I was planning to tell her everything. Why?"

"Little request, as a way of thanking me. Don't tell her anything about me. Not how I looked, not what I was wearing. Can you do that?"

"I can… but why?" she asked curiously.

"You saved me. Don't you deserve some recognition in return?"

"Maybe, but I don't want to attract any attention. So please, don't," he asked softly.

"Fine by me," she replied, lowering her head slightly.

"By the way, I'm Anna," she introduced herself. "So… what can I do for you today, Yūma?"

"I need a map of the world. And something capable of tracing magic. Like an item I could give to someone, and it would lead me to their location."

"Ahh… good question," Anna replied, looking around, glancing toward the shelves.

"There is a special ring you can pair with your own, and whenever you need to find someone, it'll guide you straight to them."

"I'll take two, then. And pair them for me, please," Yūma replied without hesitation.

"Great! Give me five minutes, I need to bring them from the storage," she replied. Her tone was full of excitement as she hurried toward the backroom.

While waiting, Yūma decided to look around the store.

The shop was completely different compared to the ones back in his world. If he had to choose one word to describe its design, it would be antique. Wooden shelves were arranged along the walls. Their glass doors were slightly clouded with age. Strange objects were placed together in a chaotic way, like one of those old shops that sold everything from dusty lamps to oversized clocks. Here, you could find anything in any corner.

On one of the shelves, Yūma noticed something that looked similar to a flashlight. But when he picked it up, he realized there was no space for batteries or a switch. He tapped it lightly, and a faint light appeared from the top, almost alive, before fading again.

Just beside it was a small wooden plane toy. Same situation, no space for batteries, no switch. Only a sentence. Throw to fly. Curious, he threw it into the air. Instead of dropping immediately, the toy glided gracefully in a slow arc, as though some invisible rope carried it. It circled once before landing gently on Yūma's palm.

"I'm here!" Anna shouted as she returned from the backroom. In her hands, she carried a folded map and two silver rings.

"That will be two gold coins," she said politely.

Yūma pulled out his pouch of coins, took out two gold coins, and placed them gently into her palm.

"Okay. Thank you very much, I'll be going, " Yūma was about to hold onto the handle.

"Wait!" Anna shouted. She rushed toward him.

"I haven't thanked you properly for what you did yesterday."

She lowered her head and placed her left hand on her chest. "Thank you very much," she said softly, her tone warm.

Yūma smiled lightly and left the store.

As he continued his day in the city, deep inside the forest, Yuna, Subaru, and Riko were preparing for the upcoming duel.

Riko had summoned her wolves, and Yuna was doing her best to remain unseen. She struggled - the wolves' senses of smell and hearing were far beyond the level of ordinary people.

When they finally took a break, Subaru sat down beside Yuna. Before them was the beautiful landscape of Parin.

"How do you feel?" he asked with concern.

"Good… even great, I'd say. Though… a little stressed," Yuna admitted, inhaling slowly.

"Everything will be alright. You can win," Subaru's voice sounded quite confident.

"You really think so? Can I really win against him?" she asked, her gaze directed down to the grass.

"Obviously," Subaru replied with a small grin.

"Remember… you have your greatest fans beside you," he tilted his head toward Riko, who was laughing softly while playing with her wolves. Their tails were wagging crazily.

"Tomorrow, we'll be there. Cheering with all our hearts. No matter what happens, we'll still be your best friends. Remember that."

A gentle smile appeared on Yuna's face, and her eyes softened.

"Thank you," she said quietly.