The first instinct in his mind was protecting his bag of coins, but it was too late–the girl was simply faster than him.

Again, it was lost from his possession in that brief moment as he looked in front of him–seeing the young girl racing off and glancing back at him with a smirk, presenting the stolen goods in her hand.

“Damn it…!” He yelled out.

Without a moment of hesitation, he broke off in a sprint towards the thief, pushing past the crowd of people that filled the width of the street.

What’s with this girl?! Can’t you rob somebody else?! He thought.

The idea came to him while having to push past the crowd of people that he could call for a guard or whatever police force existed in Elsia, but he realized such a decision might not actually be a great idea.

If I do that, who knows what the response time is?! A kid like me giving a report isn’t going to help, either! Crap! I’ve gotta handle this on my own–again! He thought.

With proper nutrients in his stomach, he had the energy to give chase properly this time, though he was still falling behind as the nimble girl seemed far too experienced at this–she was flipping by people without ever touching them, moving forward as if there wasn’t a sea of people in her path.

Alright, then…let’s even the playing field! He thought.

It took a lot of focus, but he conjured a subtle stream of wind that persisted only around his body, having to concentrate as to not disturb anybody else with this quiet usage of wind. This cloak of tranquil wind amplified his speed just enough to allow him to not lose sight of the girl, keeping up as he was a good three people behind her.

Again, he found himself following the girl into an alleyway, this time one more damp with shadows but more wide._.

The girl stopped as there was a deadend, and it wasn’t exactly feasible to hop up the walls and over the roofs as there were curtains hanging above.

“I shouldn’t expect more goons to pop out, should I?” He asked.

As he stopped, blocking the entrance to the alley, he drew his staff from behind his back, holding it in the grip of his caster glove.

The sapphire-eyed girl smirked, tossing the bag of coins up and catching it before setting it down.

“–?” He watched her.

“I don’t need them,” the girl held a confident smile as the wind tugged on her scarf, “You should’ve just accepted your loss like a man! Now I’m going to have to take this seriously.”

From behind her back, the small-of-stature girl drew a dagger with a red cloth wrapped around its handle, holding it in a reverse grip.

“…Seriously?” He said with a sigh.

“Huh?” The girl blinked.

“I’m not beating up a little girl!” He called out, pointing at her.

An offended look came over the girl’s expression as she barked back, “Hey! Who’s little here?!”

“You! You’re not even big enough for a bra yet!” He yelled.

The girl’s cheeks became as red as roses as she became flustered from his comment, “–You! That’s it! I was going to take it easy on you–but you asked for it!”

He raised his staff, but just as she did–the girl had burst forward with speed that took him by surprise. There was at least a ten meter gap between them just the second prior, but it was already being closed in an instant.

…This speed–I knew she was fast, but this is something else! He thought.

With little time left to react and make a decision, he had to act quickly as that dagger wielded between her lithe fingers was swiping towards his head.

Using stone magic was out of the question as it was too slow to rise, wind would be a risk with how close the dagger was, and fire was out of the question for defense. This left one choice:

Water quickly formed from the moisture spurred into the air, gathering into a flat, circular shape between him and the incoming blade.

“Huh-?” The girl let out.

It was a shield that was hardly immutable, but the nature of water, in its ever present, shapeless form, allowed it to envelop the red-clothed dagger and act almost like a gelatinous mattress.

…It worked! He thought.

After successfully blocking the dagger-strike, he lifted his staff upward, pointing it towards the uncovered abdomen of the girl.

“–“

It was fully open to him: the opportunity to strike back. There were a large number of spells at his disposal, and many that could end the fight–temporarily or forever.

However, what emitted from his staff was–

FWOOSH.

A blast of air rippled the girl’s stomach, knocking her back to the other end of the alleyway, but the girl still managed to flip around and catch herself on her feet.

This attack was–

“Taking it easy…” The girl mumbled.

“–” He stood there quietly, holding his wooden staff up.

“You’re taking it easy on me!” The blonde-haired girl yelled out.

For some reason, the girl who turned to thievery seemed angry at the fact that he used such simple, harmless magic against her.

“…Huh? You’re mad that I’m…taking it easy?” He repeated, raising an eyebrow.

It was definitely confusing, but there was no doubt that the girl was frustrated as she was nearly growling like a dog towards him, gripping her dagger tighter as she was quivering with rage.

“I’m not a kid! So, don’t treat me like one–!” She yelled.

“But, you are a kid!” He yelled in return.

She still held a fluster to her cheeks as she yelled with her golden ponytail swinging behind her, “I am not! I bet I’m older than you!”

“Oh, yeah?!” He challenged.

“Yeah!” She replied, putting her hand on her chest, “My name is Reno! I don’t have a surname or anything fancy like that! I’m fifteen-years-old!”

Fifteen?! I’m just a few weeks shy of that! He thought.

The realization hit him like a brick as his words were caught in his throat. It was unbelievable, but he had realized he was a poor judge of age with his conflicting mind that hardly knew what to settle on for itself.

“…Fifteen?” He muttered in shock.

The girl didn’t seem to realize why he was so taken aback, only seeming more flustered herself, “Y-yeah, what about it?! It’s your turn now!”

He was put on the spot as Reno pointed directly at him. For a minute, he stood there silently, undecided on how he should answer.

…Should I lie?!…Somebody like her would definitely lord a single year difference in age over my head! He thought.

Giving in, he introduced himself, “I’m Emilio Dragonheart! Fourteen-years-old!”

The truth.

Why didn’t he lie? Well, there wasn’t much of a reason for it, besides the sprinkle of a chance that honesty would lean into something other than fighting.

Staring at him for a moment, the blonde-haired thief girl blinked a few times, “…Fourteen?”

“That’s right,” he nodded.

“You’re younger than me and able to use magic like that?!” Reno let out before coughing and correcting herself, “…Anyway, just because you’re a kid doesn’t mean I won’t hold back on you! You’re younger than me, so do the same!”

“What?! You’re still going on about that?! One year! You’re one year older than me!” He contested.