Chapter 47

Playing House

"Welcome back dear . Dinner’s ready and waiting . "

"Thanks honey . You know how much I love the meals you make me, especially after a long period of non-stop work . "

"I do dear . Everything's already all set on the dining table . Today, I made rice, miso soup, sashimi, karaage, pepper steak, and ramen . "

"W-wow, you sure went all out . "

That’s one hell of a heavy meal right there…

"I knew you were going to be tired after coming home, so I tried to make enough food to help cheer you up . "

"T-Thanks honey, I appreciate it… Wow, this is delicious . "

"That would be because I made it with love, dear . "

I smiled wryly as I continued to "eat . " Illuna, the person supposedly responsible for cooking up the meal, beamed at me as I did . Of course, she hadn't actually cooked, and the two of us hadn't suddenly started acting like a husband and wife . The whole situation was make believe . It was all just a part of us playing house .

We were currently inside of a small, toy-like building, specifically the kind you'd often see in playgrounds or parks that catered to young children . Though I'd made it out of earth magic, it lacked the bland brown that all my initial creations had shared . Its exterior and interior were both decorated in vivid reds, blues, and greens . It looked pretty damn good, if I did say so myself .

My proficiency in earth magic had increased dramatically . I'd become not only able to affect the colours, but also the texture and overall granularity of my creations . At first, I'd thought that earth magic was only capable of controlling dirt . Evidently, I was wrong . The magic could manipulate minerals and gemstones just as easily . In my previous life, people had crushed stones in order to create colourful dyes . I saw no reason for me not to do the same, so I began using all sorts of ores and gems in order to bring colour to my creations . Fine tuning the colours turned out to be much more difficult a task than I initially anticipated, but I eventually got the hang of it after putting in enough practice .

The whole experience once again reminded me that magic required an open mind . Flexibility was key to preventing mages from getting trapped within rabbit holes . As the Demon Lord of Creativity, I decided I would eventually master many different types of magic to ensure that I remained adaptable .

On a side note, Lefi was right . My max mp had increased, albeit only by the slightest bit . I was confident that I'd eventually raise it high enough to craft myself a castle so long as I continued to practice .

"Um…"

"Yeah, Leila?"

"There is something I would like to confirm . Were you the one that created this structure, my Lord?"

"Yeah . "

I wasn't the only one playing house with Illuna . Leila had joined us as well . She was supposed to be acting as our daughter, but she couldn't help but find herself a bit too distracted to play the game . All her attention was focused on the backdrop I'd made .

"With all due respect, my Lord, you and Lefi are both ridiculous . Your ability to weave complex spells with ease is nothing short of absurd . I fear that I may soon lose sight of the standard the average mage is held to . "

A distant look appeared in her eyes as she spoke .

Now that she mentions it, I don't even know what the average mage is supposed to be able to do .

"I've never seen anyone but Lefi cast magic, so she's pretty much become my standard . Are our abilities really that far outside the norm?"

"Undoubtedly," she said . A momentary pause followed her affirmation . She seemed to be gathering her thoughts . "Would I be correct in assuming that both of you are capable of casting primordial magic? I don't believe I've ever seen either of you chant prior to casting a spell . "

"Yep . "

"I thought so," she nodded . "Primordial magic is effectively treated as a lost art . I highly doubt it has any more than a few dozen practitioners . "

"Really…?"

"Modern spells are entirely chant-based . In fact, they are less akin to true magic than they are magic-based techniques . The current standard is for mages is to chant to create a frame for their spells before weaving their magical energies into it . The spell activates once the mage injects a sufficient amount of mana . "

Leila's explanation was factual and to the point . I almost felt like I was listening to a teacher .

P-Primordial magic is a lost art? Huh . Though, I guess I can see that . Lefi uses it pretty heavily herself, and she's supposedly the strongest living thing there is . It only makes sense for it to be something not everyone can use .

"Wait, you're saying that modern magic is basically centered around the chant, right?"

"Precisely so . "

"That's the exact opposite of what Lefi told me . She said that magic's supposed to be centered around its caster's imagination and that chants are just for additional support . "

"The only individuals capable of casting spells through the method you described are those with a high affinity for magic . The records say that all demons had the ability to cast primordial magic in the distant past, and that our species gradually lost the ability as time progressed . The only modern casters capable of reproducing primordial magic are atavisms . "

"I see . "

I think I get it . Lefi said that demons are just lumps of magical particles that spontaneously come to life . Most of the later generations probably resulted from demons interbreeding with other races because there weren't that many of them . Their magical affinities must've just slowly dropped as the generations passed . In fact, they probably developed chants as a form of technology to make up for their inability to do things that their ancestors could .

My ability to use primordial magic probably stemmed from the way the dungeon created me . It made my body much more like an ancient demon than a modern one .

God damn it dungeon . You have no idea how much I love you right now . I almost want to run up to your core and give it a smooch . But that aside, I'm seriously lacking in my knowledge of how things work here . I should probably go visit a human or demon settlement and stay there a while so I can learn more about this world and its workings . That's probably the best way for me to protect myself from any potential major incidents .

"Geez! Come on you guys! We’re supposed to be in the middle of playing house! Stop getting distracted!" Illuna angrily puffed out her cheeks .

"Right, my bad . Where were we again?"

"We're supposed to be husband and wife, Onii-chan!"

"Oh, yeah . I remember now . Leila was supposed to be our daughter, but she contracted a supposedly incurable illness, so I went out on a journey in order to find a way to save her . I ended up finding it, but she died right before I made it back, right?"

"Yup! Make sure you play properly this time, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I will . "

"Ummm…"

"What's up Leila?"

"Is it really absolutely necessary for my character to die?"

"Yup!"

Sorry, but our little princess' words are final . But don't worry, I'll at least make sure we take good care of your corpse .