Walking into the festival he felt a sense of amazement he had never been to a festival before never the less a festival this big, the sense of childishness as the trees blossomed and let down their beautiful petals.

Nevertheless, Notte had to find some way to enjoy himself and nothing gave him a rush like theft! The feeling of being in a huge environment and having so much cover, he had so many targets he had so much to do! No festival ride could ever compare to something like this.

After taking in the sight for a bit Notte began to prepare his thieving tools, his magic. He had never played around with it so this festival seemed like the perfect time to try, better now than never, i mean in the end he just wanted enough money to get something to eat and find a place to stay.

He walked to a close by alleyway and started to decide what he wanted his magic to do, "Well I guess first things first I need something to well... steal?" He thought about what would be the best tool and eventually came to the conclusion the best tool was the hand, he needed to create an extension of his hand, if he could pull off something like that it would be a good start.

He knew the that his magic was based on Darkness so a tribute the that he would say the words "Ombra" which was a something his ancestors used to call Darkness.

Shouting "OMBRA OMBRA OMBRA" At the top of lung he tried his best to produce something but nothing seemed to be happening until suddenly when he flicked his wrist a web-like entity flew out, without him realising the web pulled him towards the wall he aimed at, seems to act like a grappling hook or a spider web.

"Haha guess i can do magic..." He said as a spark lit in his soul.

Equipped with this new skill he set out to rob his first victim, walking in a more crowded section of the festival he started off with a simple pickpocket he stole someone's wallet from someone's back pocket. I mean that felt pretty good honestly. Who knows that guy was probably a killer he was probably gonna use that money to buy a knife to kill a baby. So I just saved a babies life!

His next victim looked around 5ft, black hair, red kimono didn't even seem much of anything so he selected her to be his next victim, he wanted another to do another pickpocket so he came close to the lady and stuck his hand in her purse slyly to try to steal some cash! , if this worked he would probably have enough cash for today.

If there was one thing Esperia enjoyed a lot about the festival, then it was the fact the festival had such a pleasant and excitable mood. However, in her opinion, the most pleasant part of the festival was the fact she had the companionship of her fiance. Speaking of her, she was actually on her way to meet up with Fia. She had even prepared her kimono again, humming happily as she walked along the street, enjoying the sights of all the vendor stalls. She had even prepared some gifts for Fia, ones she had stashed in the purse, yet as a hand slipped into the small bag a tall figure appeared behind her. the weathered butler had raised a hand toward the thief's neck at a incredible fast pace, attempting to pull him up by the nape of his neck while his remaining hand tried to grasp a hold of the pickpocket's arm, squeezing it firmly as he remarked coldly in a tone low enough only the thief could hear him. "You must be quite a fool to try to steal from a Demon Lord..."

Yet Esperia merely turned around, a brief look of bewilderment in her eyes before she turned toward the stranger, extending a hand toward the man before turning the palm of her hand upwards, seemingly waiting for him to hand her the purse he tried to steal.

"You might want to return my purse, else Sebastian might crush your neck~"

Without realising the lady seemed to have notice Notte trying to steal her purse he knew he had fucked up at the time but he didn't really expect her to do something this drastic getting quickly grabbed by the neck by what it seemed to be a butler that appeared out of nowhere and started to strangle him extremely hard, staring straight into the sky he started to struggle and tried to escape to no success the only weapon he had was his words.

"You must be quite a fool to try to steal from a Demon Lord..."

Chuckling a bit he let out a little speech that he would probably regret. "Hah-ha- De-mon lord? my grandma could probably beat her up... Without you, she's probably nothing!" He felt the grip getting tighter.

"You might want to return my purse, else Sebastian might crush your neck~"

"Haha as I said nothing." He said as he placed the purse on the waiter's hand.

Notte while being a thief was an honourable person if a person needed a butler to defend themselves they're probably too weak to steal from in the first place.

"All I really wanted was just something to eat I know stealing is bad but what else am i supposed to do, just ask this guy to let me go... I'll go steal someone else's wallet..."

Oh boy, if there was one thing Sebastian disliked, then it was disrespect toward his master. Although Esperia smiled calmly toward the man, Sebastian was clearly less pleased by his remark. "While I am aware that foolishness is a part of human nature, I will not tolerate any further disrespect toward Master Asmodeus and her vessel."

The hand that held Notte's wrist started to tighten its grip even harder, leading Esperia to sigh softly as the purse landed back on the palm of her hand. "Unhand him Sebastian~" The command was accompanied by the butler releasing his hold on the thief while Esperia hummed softly. "There are plenty of ways to earn money, but walking the path of thievery is just making you encroach upon a disaster. Someday you might stumble onto someone who will be less inclined to let you go without a punishment."

Turning toward Sebastian she asked in her usual cheerful tone. "What is the usual punishment for theft in the abyss?" Upon which the demonic butler explained calmly. "Well, if you get caught it usually depends on the victim. At best you get your hands cutt off, at worst? You'll be killed." Yet Esperia merely paused for a moment, seemingly quite amused at the current situation.

Being surprised that the insult actually worked he took a deep breath as he fell to the ground finally noticing the butler he seemed quite a man, a kind of aura an evil aura kind of being memorised by this he quickly looked away and focused on the girl, "Nah I don't think I can get a job I move around too much and I doubt I would be hired"

After hearing the girls speech on stealing he exclaimed "Yeah but I doubt I'll be unlucky enough to meet someone like you"

After hearing the punishment for stealing his stomach dropped and decided to do what he does best bull shit his way out of it, he then pulled out a coin, "Hey you seem like a fun girl giggling over there how about a little bet? It's quite simple if you win you get to chop off my hands and if I win you let me go and pay for my lunch!"

Hoping she'll accept he laid out the rules as he pulled out 3 matchboxes and placed them on the floor he shooked one to show to show that the matchbox with the matches was the one in the middle, "All I'm gonna do is switch the positions of the matchbox and all you gotta do is guess with one is the matchbox with the matches in it"

When he said that he mixed up the matchboxes as fast and as hard as he could Notte made it seem that the matchbox with the matches in them was in the middle but in reality, the matchbox he started with was on the left.

He smiled as he said "Take your pick!"
Confident his trick would work.

"Good point, someone with sticky figures might have a tough chance on getting hired..." Esperia hummed in agreement, yet hearing his words she tilted her head lightly to the side in confusion. "There are people in this world who are a lot more scary than me~" No kidding there, yet it was the part that followed that made her feel a bit curious, especially when he stated the rules.

"Fine~ I'll take your bet." Esperia answered in amusement, watching as he started his trick. The movement of his hands was pretty swift and nimble, and yet unlike Notte she had the guidance of a certain being. In her mind the ethereal image of the demon lord of lust manifested, pointing at the left matchbox with a grin, just because she wanted to see how the thief would react if his bet backfired.

"This one~ the one on the left." Her lips curved into a smile as she awaited the result of their bet, her hands folded behind her back while she added with a smile. "So do you have a name? Mine is Esperia~" At least she was kind enough to give her name, to someone who was about to have his hands chopped off!

Delighted that the lady took his bet he smiled, after doing the whole shebang she picked the one on the left, Notte's face sank to the ground he didn't expect her to actually guess where it was but after that was over he gave a little smile, "Damn guess you have some good eyes... " He said as he picked up the box on the left and opened it up to show the matches.

That wasn't there! he chuckled to himself "Dont worry yourself you were doomed from when you accepted the bet" He said as he pulled a matchbox from his sleeve, see this was an old bar trick, all the boxes were empty but when Notte shaked the box with his left hand it gave the illusion that there were matches in the box, he was a thief did she really expect him to play clean, Notte had grown up without magic his whole life he had to find way to outsmart people with his wits and lies and illusions rather than powerful magic, he had delveloped a tendency to slither his way out of things in this life.

"Well yeah obviously I have a name it's Notte use it well, and nice to meet you Esperia, what's the butler's name? " He said as he stood up and smiled and extended his hand to shake both people "I'm new to this place know any nice places to eat? I'm honestly starving! " He said as he gave a childish smirk to both Esperia and the Butler.

How curious, or perhaps it was merely a scheme? The Demon Lord of Lust chuckled softly as she lowered a hand toward the box as Notte opened it to reveal the empty matchbox, but at the same time a smooth swoosh of her hand scooped the box upwards and revealed... that there was a match between the box and Notte's hand?! "Oh really? You should know better than to trick a demon lord~" Yet her smile didn't fade as she raised herself upwards and smiled, shaking the man's hand as she hummed softly. "But you entertained me~ And that deserves a reward." A soft snicker followed as she gestured toward a nearby vendor stand.

"They got some great ramen over there~ want to have some? I'll treat you to the first bowl~" Meanwhile the butler nodded his head curtly in approval while Esperia hummed as she motioned for Notte to follow, slipping a hand into his own to guide him toward the stall. "Also I wasn't kidding~ I am the vessel for the Demon Lord of Lust~ Oh and Sebastian is a demon by the way, even if he looks like an old geezer~"

Hearing those words seemingly earned a chuckle from the butler.

Notte felt pretty proud of himself while he did get caught in the end he felt good that he tricked an apparent demon lord which was quite an accomplishment.

"Well I'm happy that I get free food and I'm happy to have entertained you" but when he heard the word Ramen his eyes lit up "Ooo I've never tried that but I've heard great things about it!"

Walking towards the stall he smelt the enchanting smells of ramen drew him closer, keeping modest he ordered the smallest bowl they had and slurped it all up, Esperia then mentioned the demon thing again, "yeah don't worry I believe you I felt something off also I'm pretty much immune to the surprise of this kinda stuff" pointing to the 2 vampire bite marks he had on his neck.

Seeing the demon chuckle made Notte laugh a bit he didn't know demons could laugh, "while I'm not surprised that you guys are demon's I didn't really expect you to look like that"

After finishing his bowl he wanted to ask the girl a question, "Hey so basically I was wondering you're pretty strong but I know someone stronger than you so I was wondering if you could teach me to be strong enough to kill you so I can eventually kill this other person!" He said with a smile "In return I don't really have anything but if you can offer me something to do I'm sure I could do it!"

A hand raised to her chin, seemingly pondering about the matter for a bit. "Well, most demons in Earthland tend to look human, and I'm human myself, it's the Demon Lord inside me that is a demon~" A soft chuckle followed as she shook her head for a moment before listening to Notte's inquiry. "Hmm~ I'm not sure, I am not really that combative, Sebastian is pretty tough, he isn't even expressing his true power right now."

A hand raised to her chin as she pondered for a bit longer. "Although, I think that I know a few strong people who might be able to help you train a bit." But she soon clarified a bit further. "Asmodeus her powers are less 'combat-inclined', she is more of a manipulator and trickster." A short nod followed as she turned her focus back toward the ramen, savoring the flavor of it.

However, after a moment she inquied with a hint of curiosity. "But you must had gotten yourself in quite a mess if you found someone willing to try to kill you, although I can't say that I haven't been there either." She laughed sheepishly as she recalled her encounter with the Lycan pack...

Not really knowing who Asmodeus was he brushed the name away for a bit until he got a bit more information, "Ohh so the Demon is in you I see... Oh wait, Asmodeus huh a trickster I think I would do good as one of those maybe thieving isn't my thing, but looking at your summoning skills I'm probably not even worth your time unless you dare to take another one of my weird ass bets haha... I'll talk about this later but the rules are simple; I mean they should be for someone like you right?" Notte chuckled a bit before hearing the part that she mentioned about what kinda mess he had got into.

"Nah not really the guy I'm after is my dad there's are two things you should know about him, he has pink hair and he's a vampire luckily I didn't inherit any of the vampire stuff but as you can see" he pointed at his own hair.

"From what I've heard from my mother he's a cold-hearted killer I bet he could give your friend over there a run for his money haha... I doubt I wanna be like him but I know I probably could, the reason I wanna get stronger is what if he isn't the guy I've thought of for years and he doesn't actually care and just kills me? yeah, I'm not really gonna take that risk so you know just in case I gotta be able to kill him" He shrugged as he opened a bottle of Soda.

"Anyways about this bet, I guess you can see that i LOVE making bets, but the rules are simple, be one of my three mentors and after 2 winters pass i'll be able to land a punch on Sebastian and if i don't you i don't really know you can choose! Obviously, you can decline this offer but I would be surprised if a demon god would decline such a small request..." He said this quite casually as he doubted that the lady that he just met would take such a task.

It was amusing how confident Notte was, not that she entirely disliked such confidence. Enjoying the meal she mused softly at his statement. "It's not that simple Notte, disregarding the fact that a Demon Lord is a powerful entity, most usually struggle to even retain their sense of being. Like the demon constantly tries to take over and devour your very identity, till nothing remains. That is why a Take-Over mage demands an incredible amount of willpower."

Yet hearing Notte declare his next bet Esperia giggled softly as she shook her head lightly in return. "I'm not certain if I'm the best person to ask for that. I tend to travel around a lot with my Fiance, and we plan to get married after the festival, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to stick around one place. Although Sebastian could help you with martial arts as long as we remain within Orchidia."

Looking at Sebastian the girl's gaze made the butler make a lsight bow of his upper-body, a hand pressed against his chest as he spoke politely. "It would be my honor Young Master. I am certain he will at the very least be able to master the basics if he is earnest in his desire to learn."

Seeing how the girl was laughing he felt good that she would say yes but alas she broke his heart with a bandage, she gave him a solid reason why she herself couldn't train him, I mean holding a real demon without a question must be pretty hard but Notte wouldn't go without a fight he was just about to go in and start begging on his knees Esperia mentioned that her Butler would help him on his way.

Walking up to the butler he smugly said "I'll learn more the basics I'll be able to land a touch on you" He chuckled, Notte started to look around for somewhere to actually to go to train, all he saw as far as he could see was people, flowers and food, this was no place to do some training, he was about to ask if the butler if he could go with him to a place quieter but he remembered that Esperia said she was doing stuff at the moment and maybe this wasnt the best time.

"Hey Esperia sorry for the inconvenience but maybe right now isn't the best time for this training maybe I can find you another time and your little butler friend, well my friend I wish you goodbye, I wish you have a good time with your lover and an even better honey moon" He chuckled as he waved goodbye and ran away, putting his hand in his pocket he pulled out 5 bucks that he didn't give back, he felt kinda bad and returned to give back the money "also I'll try to steal less" he said embarrassingly he didn't really like to admit he was wrong but he tried his best.

[Exit]

Esperia couldn't help but let our a soft giggle at how confident Notte sounded about his desired bet with Sebastian. However, the fact remained that for all intents and purposes she wouldn't be able to train him. After all, she would only stay in Orchidia for a while, and after that would resume traveling with her fiance, so one could say she had her priorities. Fortunately this seemed to be something the young man understood, because he asked for a raincheck on the training and soon wishes her a goodbye, adding to that that he hoped she would have a good time with her lover and a even greater honeymoon. "I'm sure I'll have an amazing time with Fia~" The girl snickered briefly.

Still, she raised an eyebrow in confusion at the sight of Notte withdrawing a collection of jewels from his pocket, revealing that he had in fact still possessed some stolen money on it. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she waved a hand lightly toward the thief "Take care Notte~ Make sure not to try that again around my fiance~" Still, after he left she turned her gaze back at the bowl of food and mused softly. "What a peculiar guy..."