48: Carol of Misfortune / Spilled Water Returns to the Tray, Broken Cup Restores / Devil’s Gateau Magic 11

Ah, I am dreaming.

While I am dreaming, I remember everything.

I know that when I wake up, it will all be lost.

Seven years ago.

A faintly dark yet warm dream of the Kingdom in the Cave.

“Ritchie wasn’t mad at you, you know.”

A voice as if saying, “Come on, now.”

Unhappy with Garment’s attitude, I retorted.

Even though I knew it was really my fault.

“But he *was* mad!”

“His words were just sharp. That’s how he is. He’s also reflecting on saying too much.”

Garment sat next to me, hiding in the corner of the cave.

“Besides, I’m hiding right now. Why did you find me?”

“Sitting in a box isn’t exactly hiding.”

“…Maybe you’re right.”

The wooden box in the corner of the cave’s storage is my favorite spot.

When I want to go somewhere quiet, I always sneak in here.

But if I’m always found, then hiding here doesn’t make much sense.

I climbed out of the box and sat down next to Garment.

“…It’s not like I was trying to waste my magic.”

“You were trying to help Dusk and Dawn, right? They were in the middle of digging.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t have to make the 【Illumination Sphere】 glow in seven colors and spin around. They got so hyped up they started singing and dancing.”

Dusk and Dawn’s job is digging. They slowly dig through the cave, aiming for the surface. Sometimes others help, but it’s mostly the two of them since they know a lot about soil and water. If amateurs mess around, it could cause more cave-ins. Our lives depend on how well they do their job.

This place is an abandoned ruin, buried deep underground. My uncle and his companions were caught in a landslide during the war and fell underground, narrowly escaping into an open space. While we have plenty of food and can use magic to summon water, it’s still limited. We have to escape before our resources run out.

That’s why, when something’s lacking, we make it ourselves. We dig our own paths when they’re invisible. That’s the law of this Cave Kingdom. But what happens when work gets boring or tiresome?

At the very least, I thought it would be nice if we could work with some joy.

“They said, ‘Come to think of it, we haven’t seen a rainbow in about a year’… So I thought it would be good if they felt happy.”

“I see. Yeah, you don’t get to see rainbows in a place like this.”

Garment chuckled.

It didn’t feel like he was laughing at me.

“Aren’t you mad, Garment?”

“Well… in a place like this, ‘fun’ is pretty important.”

“I thought you’d be the first to get angry.”

“If we were outside, I would be. I’d tell you to take it more seriously.”

Saying that, Garment pulled out a ‘pen’.

Garment drew gently in the air.

“Wow…!”

A rainbow appeared before my eyes.

A shimmering arc of seven colors briefly flashed and then faded away.

Garment had likely intended to conserve his magic, but its fleeting nature only emphasized its beauty.

He did it on purpose.

“Making something brightly shine isn’t bad, but it’s better to mimic the quiet beauty of nature like this. You won’t use up much magic, and you can create something even more beautiful.”

“…Are you saying you can create something more beautiful than I can?”

“Of course. I studied art thoroughly. No way am I losing that easily.”

Garment let out a smug laugh through his nose.

“That competitive streak of yours isn’t a good thing.”

“Then you should be more honest, too.”

“Mm…”

I looked up at Garment, dissatisfied.

Garment, imitating my uncle, tried to pat my head.

“My hair will get messy… Huh?”

This wasn’t what I had expected.

He started to fix my disheveled hair.

“Stay still.”

“…Okay.”

This kind of consideration is something my uncle lacks, I thought.

I obediently let Garment do as he pleased.

“…Alright. I’d love to draw you a cape or cloak as well, but let’s hold off for now. Just between us, okay?”

“If you waste magic, you’ll get in trouble, you know?”

I asked, laughing softly.

Garment smiled mischievously.

“Getting scolded every once in a while is just right. Oh, speaking of secrets…”

“A secret?”

“I noticed something while watching Ritchie. When he’s embarrassed, he scratches his chin with his thumb.”

◆

“I’m sorry, Ritchie.”

I entered Ritchie’s study—though it was just a large hall sectioned off with partitions—and the first thing I did was apologize.

“…Lady Jill. I also said too much.”

Ritchie frowned.

To an outsider, it would look like he was *angry*.

But after spending time with Ritchie, I realized he wasn’t really that mad.

“No, it’s my fault. I wasted magic and interrupted their work.”

“Make sure you reflect on that. We can’t afford to waste magic or food while living here.”

“Ugh.”

“Oh, no… I mean, it’s not that I’m upset or anything like that.”

Ritchie began to panic.

He hesitated again, scratching his chin with his thumb.

I see. Now I finally understood. This was just his personality.

He wasn’t good at choosing his words.

“I have a sharp tongue. I caused trouble at my previous job too. My brother had to clean up my mess… It’s embarrassing.”

He wasn’t just embarrassed; he was genuinely starting to feel down.

I hadn’t expected things to go in this direction.

What should I do?

“Oh, excuse me. Anyway, let’s make up.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Despite my worries, Ritchie casually said it, as if nothing had happened.

I felt a little disarmed by his sudden change in attitude.

What does he think of me, who was just on the verge of tears a moment ago?

However, something did catch my attention.

“Ritchie, you have a brother?”

“Yes. My brother runs a café. He’s good at making tea and baking cakes.”

“I love cake too!”

“And it’s a special kind of cake. Even Lord Conrad praised it.”

“Wow… I’d love to try it someday.”

“If we get out of here, I’ll take you. My brother’s cake and tea are second to none, even compared to Lord Conrad’s.”

A small smile appeared on his face.

“You really care about your brother, don’t you?”

“…I’ve always relied on him. He’s a bit eccentric though. When he suddenly said he wanted to open a café, I thought it was crazy, but somehow, he made it a success. Even our annoying relatives had to shut up.”

“I have annoying relatives too. Except for Uncle Conrad, I don’t like any of them.”

“I doubt there are many people with a family as difficult as yours, Lady Jill.”

“It’s true. My father and mother are terrifying, and everyone else is always trying to curry favor, snitch, lie, or drag each other down… and sometimes, it’s worse than that.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“You’ve had a tough time, haven’t you, Lady Jill…”

“That’s why I’m happy to be here. It may be cramped and dark, but we can make it bigger and brighter!”

“Well, hearing that makes me want to work even harder.”

“Yes, please do work hard.”

“Hahaha! Lady Jill, you’re good at flattering people. It makes serving you all the more worthwhile.”

To my surprise, Ritchie laughed.

He covered his mouth and coughed, trying to hold it back.

Even though it felt like he was laughing at me, I was more pleased that I had made Ritchie, who always wore a stern face, laugh.

“Indeed, I am a princess worth serving.”

“Then, as an apology to the princess, let me teach you a little magic. I think even you, Lady Jill, can use it.”

“…Could it be demon magic!?”

Ritchie’s magic was entirely different from what I had known before, and it was incredibly convenient.

For instance, in the morning, when everyone seems like they’re going to oversleep, the magic stone Ritchie possesses rings like a bell.

Or when the air becomes thin while Dusk and Dawn are digging in the cave, there’s a possibility they could faint. In such cases, Ritchie’s magic stone produces a sound like a pot being banged with a ladle.

And then there’s the abacus that Ritchie loves to use. When Ritchie chants a calculation, the beads move without him even touching them, producing the result.

“Yes. But you mustn’t tell anyone else. You can mention to Lord Conrad that you learned it from me, but the details must remain a secret.”

“But is that really okay? It’s Ritchie’s secret, right?”

“…It’s important to keep secrets, but there will come a time when you have to share certain things.”

“Is that so?”

“There will come a day when you will understand such things.”

Ritchie’s expression looked somewhat lonely.

But at that moment, my curiosity about demons outweighed everything else.

“First, let’s start by creating a simple ‘demon’ just for greetings. Once you get the hang of it, you could even make an alarm clock.”

“Yes!”

“But there’s one absolutely necessary thing for anything you do. You need to prepare a jewel that can hold magic. And the person casting the spell must give the demon a name.”

“A name?”

“Yes. Now, please repeat the words after me.”

“Okay.”

Ritchie tightened his cheerful face into a serious one.

His expression was strict.

However, it didn’t seem like he was angry.

He just naturally took on that look.

As I stared at him, I found I wasn’t scared anymore.

“【Demon Creation: Definition】. I give a name and magic power to the soulless intellect, and you are the one who leads the answers. My name is Andromalius. I shall give you a name.”

◆

As the morning mist enveloped the Forest of Temptation, Jill’s consciousness stood at the boundary between dreams and reality.

And she wove words according to the dream.

“Demon creation… de-fi-ni-tion…”

However, as those words were woven, they quickly reached Jill’s ears, pulling her back from the dream into reality. It was about time for morning. To signify that, the morning sun streamed in through the window.

Ah, it’s lonely—I want to linger in that world just a little longer.

Memories rushed away in an instant.

It was always like this when Jill dreamed of the cave.

Today was supposed to be no different.

But suddenly, “The Book of Acacia” conveyed something.

“Synchronizable device detected. Would you like to synchronize with this device?”