[x] A troubled vampire girl. Its price is "???".

"Haa.... haa.... (cough)... haa... haa..."

I sat myself on the floor to catch my breath. The two flintlock dueling pistols seemed ordinary at first glance, but they felt like they weighed several tons. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move them from their place. Hell, I couldn't even lift them an inch up from the table. I might as well have been trying to lift a boulder with my bare hands.

"Damn! Is it useless, after all!?"

"... of course it is. What did you think would happen?"

Remilia stood nearby with her arms folded. I didn't notice her at all, but it seemed like she had been there for quite some time. How long had she been watching me, I wonder?

"Well, I just thought that if I tried a little harder, then maybe something different would happen."

"How foolish," she said. "If you do the exact same thing again and again, then of course you would end up with the same result."

"But I'm not doing the exact same thing."

"Eh? Do you mean that there's something special with those guns?"

"Not particularly. But I thought that since there are two of them, we could each take one."

"Those are dueling pistols. You do know what they are for, right? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"Huh? O-of course not! I just thought that it would be nice to carry matching weapons."

"... matching weapons?"

"Why not? We're partners in this game, aren't we?"

"P-partners!?"

With a gentle smile, I held out my hand to the vampire. She blinked at me in surprise.

"You aren't alone, Remilia."

And very slowly, she took my hand.