The reward for the slime quest was 4,000 Szerath, increasing my total savings to 14,459 Sz. After thanking the Guild receptionist, Sakimi and I went off to the nearest magic store. It was time to buy a grimoire.
In the world of Serial Slain, one could only learn a spell by obtaining grimoires from either shops or dungeons. Different grimoires granted people access to different spells, so I had to choose the right one that fit my playstyle. I was considering buying something for holy magic, but it would be helpful if Sakimi could learn some spells too.
When I entered the store, the cashier waved and said, "Welcome."
I greeted her as well, and then I walked over to a certain shelf where I could find all-purpose grimoires. There were dozens of books, each one written by a different author, so it was hard to choose. In the base game, you didn't have this many options. Evidently, the devs made quite the effort to flesh out the world. In fact, every grimoire was filled with detailed writing, and they weren't just decorations.
"If you're looking for a good all-purpose grimoire, you can buy this one," Sakimi said, pulling out a book from across the aisle.
The grimoire's title was "Chariot's Guide to Flashy Magic! Beginner to Advanced." The cover had a pretty woman surrounded by various magical familiars made from arcane essence. I flipped through the pages and nodded my head. Good stuff.
"You should really, really buy it!" Sakimi said. "I've always wanted this book, but my parents said I should only learn the most useful spells!"
Her parents were right, but it seemed that Sakimi already had an adequate education. As the Hierophant, I wouldn't have to struggle with learning difficult magic, so I didn't see much reason to reject flashy spells. I did like fighting with spectacle, after all.
I said to Sakimi, "Sure. I'll get this."
"Yes!"
"There's also one more thing I need to get."
"What is it?"
I grabbed a simple gold ring with a luminescent red stone.
"A catalyst," I said, "so that I can cast my spells without incantations."
I went up to the cashier and handed over the items. The total cost was 400 Sz, leaving me with 14,095 Sz. We quickly finished the transaction, and I left the shop with Sakimi following behind.
When we finally returned to the hotel room, I scanned the grimoire for spells that I could equip.
"Aren't we gonna do anything else?" Sakimi asked.
"You're not tired from fighting all those slimes?"
"No. It was a walk in the park. I want to be challenged!"
"Maybe later," I replied aimlessly, still reading through the book's table of contents.
For a moment, I considered the awkwardness of having a young girl in my room, but I shook the thought away. Now wasn't the time to become a lolicon.
After some searching, I finally arrived at a useful holy spell known as Rejuvenation, which allowed me to heal myself for five percent of my total health per second. While healing, I would be immobilized, but the spell could bring me to full health without using as much mana as a burst heal. I wouldn't necessarily call Rejuvenation a flashy spell, but it did make glitter while you were casting it, so I guess it fitted in with the grimoire's theme.
Now, I had to equip the spell, which was an easy task. I flipped to the section titled Rejuvenation, and I tapped on one of the pages.
A set of text asked, "Would you like to equip this spell?"
I clicked accept.
For my second spell, I equipped Chromius, which allowed me to shoot ranged blasts. The rate of fire was lightning fast like a machine gun, and I could charge my mana to create a larger beam.
After finishing, I got up and prepared to leave.
"Stay here, Sakimi," I said. "I'll have to hunt something real quick."
"What is it?"
"A Rychaff."
It was one of Rivenvalius's most fearsome creatures, known to lurk around places with high populations, preying on people who unwarily approached unprotected rivers or lakes.
"A Rychaff?!" Sakimi exclaimed. "I wanna go too! Why are you making me stay here?"
"It's a dangerous monster."
"That's why I want to go!"
"No. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I won't get hurt!" Sakimi retorted. "I'll be able to handle it."
I gritted my teeth. "I'm not willing to take that risk."
"You won't get anywhere if you don't live dangerously!"
Once again, images of Ayame flashed in my mind. I remembered her soft smile and her determination to fight the demons. She wouldn't hesitate to jump into a fight and stand her ground. Ayame and Sakimi were too similar.
There was no way that I would bring Sakimi with me.
"Why are you like this?" I asked. "Do you have a death wish?"
"Of course not!"
"You had the choice to live a peaceful life, but you still became an adventurer. You don't want to end up like your sister, do you? Or did you already forget? Did you even care about Ayame in the first place? You're acting as if nothing had happened, like everything is all fine! Don't you feel any sadness?"
The girl's eyes were growing moist. My outburst must have struck a chord inside her.
"I didn't forget about her!" Sakimi yelled. "Every day, I feel like I'm living in some wretched dream, thinking that I'd be able to wake up and see Ayame again. But I can't! When you first told me Ayame died, I cried all night, but then I remembered something she told me. She said that I shouldn't cry for the dead because it would only make them sadder in the afterlife. Ayame's mantra was to keep fighting, even when everything seemed lost. The only thing I could do was hide my emotions and move forward. I became an adventurer so that I could accomplish my dream, just like Ayame. She wouldn't have wanted me to stay cooped up in our little house. She would have told me to spread my wings and fly! That's what I'm going to do. I can't change the past, but I can still change the future. So don't underestimate me, Ares! I'm gonna change the world!"
Sakimi's outburst left me speechless. Before I knew it, my glare had weakened under the pressure of the conviction in her eyes.
As much as I hated to admit it, I had no right to control how Sakimi wanted to live her life. I barely knew anything about her and her sister. Who was I to criticize the girl?
I didn't want Sakimi to die, but to her, complacency was death in and of itself.
If Ayame were watching us from Paradise, would she approve of becoming an adventurer? Or would she value Sakimi's safety above all else? In the end, there was no way to know. I could only keep moving forward like Sakimi. There was no point in dwelling in the past.
With a sigh, I said, "Alright. I'll let you come along. And...I'm sorry for everything I said. I care about your safety, and I don't want to see someone else getting hurt because of me."
Sakimi ran up and hugged me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!"
As the two of us stood there in a platonic embrace, I realized what I had been lacking all along: trust. In my old life, I wouldn't ever rely on anybody else, doing everything alone. That way, if I messed up, it was all my fault. I would be the one to shoulder the entire burden.
But it was time for me to have more confidence in other people.
To trust others was painful, but I couldn't do things alone anymore.
I swiped a single tear from my eye and said, "Come on, Sakimi. All this stuff is gonna make me depressed. Let's go hunt a Rychaff."
"Yes, sir!"