The Qualified Maid
A full week had already passed since she brought Little Fool to live with them, and Flamme and Frieren had also grown accustomed to having a demon toddler in a maid outfit added to the household.
As for Li Yan calling her Little Fool, Frieren and Flamme followed Li Yan's lead and called her that as well, though they had secretly observed whether this demon harbored any other thoughts or motives, but no matter how they observed, this demon toddler truly possessed no bad behaviors typical of other demons.
Moreover, although this demon would cry, she would not cry out loud, nor would she shed tears, only using a smile to cover up her own sadness.
"As expected, this demon is very strange."
Flamme and Frieren hid behind the wall and observed the demon toddler Little Fool cleaning the room; even when she accidentally bumped her calf against a wooden stool and got hurt, she did not let out a sound from the pain, merely smiling as she wiped the injured spot with a tissue.
"A demon who knows how to clean and thinks only of being a maid—no matter how you look at it, she feels strange."
Flamme frowned as she watched; even with all her extensive experience, she had never seen a demon like Little Fool.
Frieren nodded in agreement with a look of recognition, and furthermore, as far as she knew, this was also a demon who liked to eat candy, seemingly unpicky about candy of any flavor.
"Little Fool, pour me a cup of water."
Li Yan, who was in the middle of researching the creation of a magical mecha chariot, called out in the direction of Little Fool. He had had enough of the bumping and jolting of carriages, and enough of their slow travel speeds; as a mechanical engineering student from his past life who had a particular fondness for mechanical Gundams, he was exceptionally well-versed in the assembly knowledge of machinery.
"Understood, young master."
Little Fool hurriedly put down the broom in her hand, picked up the cup from the table, poured pure water from the teapot, and trotted over to hand it to Li Yan.
Flamme and Frieren looked at each other in dismay; it seemed that observing this demon toddler would still take a lot of time, and for now, this demon toddler appeared harmless.
Having finished drinking his water, Li Yan fiddled with the mechanical parts in his hand and stared at the assembly blueprint he had drawn, sinking into deep thought. If magic was used as the power source, then the various component materials encasing and conducting the magic would require far more than just simple iron.
Faced with this difficult problem, Li Yan continued to tinker with the Magic Tome. Looking at the various materials suitable for weapon manufacturing, Li Yan conceived the idea of making a magic gun and a magic cannon. Although he had not even solved the problem of magical vehicles yet, the mindset of being several thousand years ahead of this magic era made his heart surge with excitement.
He thought of how, when facing demons in the future, he would not only be able to drive a magical vehicle to run them down and kill them, but he would also be able to hold a magic handgun against their heads and whisper: "Sorry, old man, the times have changed."
Imagination is wonderful, but reality is cruel. Li Yan scratched his messy hair, staring at the few tires on the ground as he tangled with assembly and materials.
The source of power could use a large block of magic crystal, which readily solved the internal energy problem, but the external assembly and internal mechanical principles were profound questions.
The external defense needed to be sturdy—sturdy enough to run down and kill a bunch of demons—and the internal power needed to be sufficient, with the kind of power that could kill a bunch of demons and keep on killing them.
Moreover, the internal space of this magical vehicle had to be large, and it would be even better if it could drive itself autonomously, allowing for car play, sleeping inside the car, and cooking inside the car, with the most important thing being that it was warm in winter and cool in summer.
His wild imagination ran through a thousand thoughts. After struggling with it for a long time, Li Yan resumed tinkering with the reinforcement of the tires; the current research stage was still in its infancy, and the development of the magic chariot was still ongoing.
Flamme strongly agreed with the prospects of this creative concept. Although she held a certain amount of skepticism regarding whether the magic chariot could run down and kill a bunch of demons, she was very satisfied with how convenient it would be for traveling and how much it would improve travel comfort.
"As expected, with A Yan around, mealtime is not just eating, it is a true enjoyment."
At dinnertime, Flamme contentedly ate the oil-spiked prawns, fried chicken wings, braised pork belly, potato beef brisket, braised fish, chicken-too-beautiful fried eggplant in the shape of a basketball, and iron-pot-stewed big goose on the table, a full sense of happiness wrapping around the room.
Frieren did not speak; her mouth was stuffed full of oily big prawns and chicken wings. She no longer even wanted to open her mouth to speak; compared to Li Yan's culinary skills nowadays, Flamme's cooking was far too watery and bland.
"The young master's cooking skills are amazing."
Little Fool offered her daily praise, staring at Li Yan with starry, bright eyes, clearly feeling amazed by Li Yan's skill in making food that was both exceptionally delicious and visually appealing.
Frieren and Flamme were long since unsurprised by Little Fool's reaction. They did not know where this demon toddler had learned so many flattering phrases; she was simply like a real maid.
"If only there were a magic spell that could make all delicious food ready with a single press."
Frieren spat a chicken bone out from her mouth and said slowly, feeling exceptionally excited in her heart about her own daydream, as if she could already imagine herself casting a single spell in the future to satisfy herself with ten dishes and a soup, eating her fill until she grew plump.
Flamme chuckled and lightly tapped the back of Frieren's head, taking a small sip of goose soup. "How could such an omnipotent magic exist? According to the current progress of magic, such magic won't appear even a thousand years from now."
"Hmph, I was just talking."
Frieren rubbed the back of her head, always feeling that her head had been beaten stupid; all the recent magic knowledge she failed to remember was definitely Flamme's fault for always liking to bully her.
"Mm-hm-hm, even though it's impossible a thousand years from now, that's because under the current situation, humans only study attack magic to deal with demons. Once the Demon King is slain, lifestyle support magic will only then be valued."
So Li Yan spoke, exceptionally clear on the application of support magic in times of peace after the Demon King was slain—magic that was extremely unpretentious yet exceptionally practical.
Take his own thieving magic, for example: as long as he harbored an intense desire for the other person's item, the greater the desire value, the greater the success rate of the theft would be.
If not for the fear back then that Grandmaster Serie would beat him to death, his steadfast belief in survival would not have forced him to choose to steal that pair of anklets. If he had stolen that mysterious object, Li Yan worried he wouldn't live to see the sun of tomorrow.
"The young master is much more amazing than magic; magic could never make delicious food like the young master's."
Little Fool said with an earnest expression, once again drawing the gazes of Frieren and Flamme. Although the delicious food Li Yan made was indeed very good in flavor, very spicy, and full of kick, how was it that she, a demon, was even better at flattery than a human?
Li Yan supported his forehead with his hand. He was exceptionally clear on Little Fool's current situation; he had to admit that a demon's ability to imitate and learn was truly formidable—he had no idea how much of this maid knowledge Xiao Wu and Xiao Xue had taught her.