Vald woke up in the middle of the street. His body ached all over as if he hadn't just been asleep, but then he noticed where he was. He checked his watch and saw that it was four in the morning. He gasped and sat up, planning to run to the nearest bus stop and getting a ride home. Instead he was shocked by another discovery.

He was covered in blood and less than a foot away were two dead bodies. He was completely confused. How did he get here? Why was he here? What happened? Did he do this?

The last question scared him the most. There had been three murders in the past few days and the police had no clues. But how could it be him? He didn't have any reason to kill people, and had no memories of the events. He shook his head. No there was no way he could be at fault.

He tried to stand up but something clattered to the ground off of his lap. It was the sword that he still hadn't returned. It was sheathed but its mere presence was confusing. On top of that he noticed that his clothes were torn and his arms bruised. Could it be that he was attacked with the men but was spared?

Vald groaned. His head hurt and made it hard to try and figure things out. He finally stood up and grabbed the weird sword. He decided to find his way home and sleep on it.

Somehow he found his way home. Where he had woken up wasn't far from his house which was troubling but its closeness was convenient. He hardly wanted to have to get onto a bus or into a cab the way he was. He would most likely be labeled as a murderer without a second thought. Once inside his house he locked the door and collapsed onto his bed. He just wanted to sleep in hope that his head, and everything else, would stop aching.

The next time he opened his eyes he was in a small cabin. He was sitting down with an oddly clothed man with long hair. He seemed familiar to Vald but his head hurt even in his dream and it was hard to remember where he had seen this man before.

"You must be tired from your journey. Why don't you relax?" the man asked politely. He handed Vald a glass of wine but Vald's focus was on the strange bottle it was in.

"Whoa…" Vald gasped. "What is that thing…?"

The man stared at him blankly as he set down the bottle and then asked, "What this? It's just ordinary wine. It's a treat." He murmured the last sentence as if he thought Vald was rude for asking.

"So that's what it is…" Vald said, still confused. He muttered to himself, "The bottle's got a strange face…"

The man replied, "It's a bottle that'll speed up the wine process. I got this from a previous request." With a smirk he said, "My policy is to charge a gift equal to the level of the curse. It'll be difficult to break your curse, so the payment'll be high. I wonder if you can afford it." He laughed evilly at the last sentence.

"What would you like?" Vald asked in a determined tone. "I don't have much money on my but if we go back to my kingdom…"

The man cut him off. "I don't need money. I'm only interested in rare items that are hard to find." Vald gave the strange bottle a weird look as he continued, "For example… that demon sword at your waist. Actually it's emitting an ominous aura."

Vald glanced down at the sword. "This? …I was cursed while using it to cut down monsters. This demon-sword was made by several sorcerers in my kingdom hundreds of years ago. It's been passed down in the royal family, so I cannot give it to you. Although the negative demonic elements enables it to destroy any enemy… In exchange it curses the wielder. I cannot return to my kingdom until the curse is lifted. That sure is…"

The man was staring at a weird animal running around the cottage and did not appear to be paying the slightest interest in what Vald was saying. "…Uh are you listening?" he asked grumpily.

"Are you… strong?" the man asked. Vald gave him a questioning look. "There happens to be a few things I'm interested in, but they're in some dangerous areas. If you accompany my then I might listen to your requests."

Vald stood up eagerly with a smile. "Really? I'm confident in my sword skills!"

"But I'll only break your curse afterwards."

"That's fine. Thanks!"

"Then we'll depart early tomorrow. Gather your energy today. And from now on, I'll call you Vald, and you shall call me Halvir-sama."

"Sure, got it Havi."

The man gave him a look and then pointed at the sword saying, "…If you die then that sword is mine."

Vald didn't say anything but thought, This guy never changes.