After standing back on my feet, the red-eyed albino pointed her wooden stick to a direction that lead deeper into the forest.

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []” she said.

Before I could answer, she began pulling me as if I was a lost kid at a festival. Her grip was tight. Given how fast she was walking, perhaps she had a skill that allowed her to see in the dark.

I tried to not look down.

“Where are we going?” I asked. “Hey, don’t just ignore me.”

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

She sounded embarrassed.

“Well, thank you for rescuing us today,” I said. “Although if those were your traps, you have to be more careful picking where you put them.”

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

Just as she said that, a status screen appeared on my screen. Similar to the one that I had received after talking to Elvin for a while.

[Demonian Skill + 1]

Demonian!?

“Are you a demon?” I asked. Not that I cared. If anything, it sounded cool. She looked back at me for a second and then quickly turned away.

Perhaps we can understand each other now. There is only one way to find out.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” I said, expecting a vivid response.

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

But she responded coldly.

“You are the most lovely person that I have ever met,”

“00^^00^[]”

“If I could choose anyone in the world, I would choose you.”

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

“Since the moment we met, I fell for you.”

The albino girl suddenly froze in place. She did not say a word, but I knew what she felt. As her hands were soaked in sweat.

When she turned around, I tried to relieve the tension, but I stumbled over my words.

This only made my cheeks burn hotter than her’s. Out of reflex, she covered her face and ran away.

“Hey, wait!”

I could not see in the dark. It was hard to keep myself from tripping on tree roots.

When I finally managed to catch up to her, both of us had calmed down. No more words were exchanged between us until reached a hut inside the forest.

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

Given how she said it, I had a hunch it meant to be quiet. She knocked until the hut’s door opened, revealing a red-haired witch that towered over us both.

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []??”

The Witch’s Demonian sounded soft and elegant compared to the hard Demonian of the albino girl.

It seemed they were arguing about something. They looked back at me for a second and the witch laughed. In response, the albino girl blushed.

Then The Witch stared directly at me. I for whatever reason could not keep my eyes away from her pointy hat.

“Henrietta wants you to stay here for the night,” The Witch said. “furthermore, she wants to apologize for what happened today.”

“She really said all of that?”

It did not sound like the rude person that I know. But at last, I had learned her name.

“I conveyed her message, accurate to her heart. You can’t really blame that poor creature for not being able to communicate as eloquently as you and me.”

“That sounds mean.”

“Pardon my words. My subtlety has fallen a bit out of use. After all, outside of Eden, no one has spoken Common in thousands of years,” The Witch said.

Her smile seemed more smug than sincere. It was likely was a half-truth.

Henrietta, with her characteristic red eyes, just stared at the two of us, clearly looking upset that she could not be part of the conversation.

The only one who did not seem to care about anything at all was Elvin. He just stood there like a prop in the background. Occasionally moving his tail.

“00^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 []”

Henrietta said. Then slowly walked off.

“What did she say?” I asked.

“That she will be back for you tomorrow,” The Witch responded. “Now, are you just going to stand there? Believe me when I tell you that Henrietta is the last person that I expected to show up asking for a favor. Don't let that go to waste by standing there. Come in.”

***********************

The interior of the hut had nothing to do with the shady outside. For the interior was almost exclusively decorated by expensive furniture sporting red velvet and candle lights that smelled like lavender.

The walls and floors were no exception to the eccentricity of the witch. For they sported a dark wood of the upper most quality. It was, in fact, a surprise that marble was nowhere to be seen.

What the house lacked in marble, the witch made up for with porcelain.

The enormous living room had seven tables, all with expensive looking sets of high quality china.

“Would you like to have some tea?” The Witch asked.

I politely nodded.

“Come, sit over here,” The Witch said.

It was hard to say no. When I sat down, the witch pulled the teapot and then began pouring tea on my cup. Somehow she had heated the tea on the spot.

“So tell me, what is your relationship with Henrietta?” The Witch asked.

“Relationship? we just recently met so I don’t know how to answer your question.”

The Witch laughed.

“Well, she took the time to save you. Demons are not known for doing that. They are a race that is incapable of being selfless. A Demon having a friend or lover is unheard of. Their kind see everything as a transaction. It Is in their nature.”

“I do not think that is true. She seems more than capable of having a friend. The two of you seem to get along, after all. She did ask you for a favor,” I said.

The Witch took a sip from her tea.

“My relationship with Henrietta is merely a professional one.”

“Then why did you take me in?”

The witch smiled even more.

“Henrietta merely exchanged a favor for another.”

“But why would she do that?”

“That is a trade secret. If I were to tell you, poor Henrietta would be so embarrassed that she might not show herself again. However, what I can tell you is that she made a miscalculation.”

“How so.”

“Her magical eyes are not as good as mine. You see, or else she would have swallowed her pride and taken you home. You, my dear guest, are clearly an adult and yet you are a level one.”

My heart pounded hard. Had I been found out?

“Oh, am I?” I responded. Then giggled. “I must be really clumsy then.”

“Well, do try not to choke on the cookies,” The Witch said. Then snapped her fingers.

A plate filled with cookies appeared in front of me.

“I have some for your pet too,” The Witch continued, snapping her fingers again.

I felt bad for devouring the cookies. Even Elvin ate them orderly. But unlike him, I understood the severity of the witch’s discovery.

“Well, hypothetically, if I was a level one. What does that mean? Why would that benefit you?”

The witch smiled. “Hypothetically, it would mean that your skill set is pure. Which would allow you to have the highest skill level in anything that you wish to set your mind on. Magic, Alchemy, Craftsmanship, etc.”

“Oh, that sounds pretty good,” I responded.

“Yes, but a person like that would lack the necessary level to resist a command spell. Like, Hypothetically; GO TO YOUR ROOM, TAKE A BATH, GO TO BED, COME BACK HERE IN THE MORNING.”

*************************

A dream raced trough my mind. I had been reincarnated, met a bunch of weird people and then fallen into a trap. But the dream quickly escaped me as I woke up to the smell of lavender. My body reeked like it. For some reason, I was wearing a nightgown that I did not recall owning, and my feet felt really light. No, my feet were not covered by anything at all.

The sound of porcelain grabbed my attention. It seems I was not alone. Some well dressed woman sat directly in front of me, she was enjoying some tea.

“Good morning,” she said. “Now that we are done talking about the hypothetical. How about we try an experiment before we have breakfast? We should still have plenty of time before Henrietta shows up.”

It was The Witch. She used her magic to slide an empty flask all the way into my hands.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked.

“What else? I will teach you how to brew a basic potion. If you do it correctly, your skill points will go up.”

“And if I do not?”

“The flask will break and you might end with a nasty cut.”