"It went very smoothly."
Shade said, gently tossing the flower and watching it dissipate in the wind:
"If you hadn't helped me understand the nature of the Red Moon during the holiday some time ago, I wouldn't have learned this so smoothly either. This Thaumaturgy is quite good, but it's an indiscriminate area-of-effect Thaumaturgy. I wouldn't dare use it at full strength in a densely populated place like Arcadia."
Daniste walked toward him over the ground covered in withered flowers:
"Haven't you recently begun trying to combine different Thaumaturgies? Perhaps you can find another way to cast this one. Or perhaps you could fuse the Life Fire Seed into the 'Corrupt Moon Flower'?"
"It would make this Thaumaturgy even more powerful and broaden its range. I can guess that without trying. The Life Fire Seed's enhancement of Red Moon, life, and flesh-related abilities is simply terrifying. Unfortunately, I don't dare use the Fire Seed Source like the 'Weeper of Blood' and the 'Construct Master' do."
Shade glanced up at the Red Moon in the starry sky, reached out to pet the cat, and decided he ought to be a little more proactive:
"Since I've already learned the Thaumaturgy, Daniste, shouldn't you reward me for my diligence?"
The Sorceress asked with a smile:
"What reward do you want? For me to watch tomorrow's dawn with you?"
Shade decided to phrase it differently:
"All these flowers have withered. What a pity—I had planned to invite you to lie in the sea of flowers and look at the Moon together. Since the flowers are gone, shall we go home and admire the Moon instead?"
The reserved Sorceress laughed. With her hands behind her back, she hesitated for a moment before nodding in acceptance of the invitation. She transformed into her eighteen-year-old appearance and