Orange strands gleamed softly beneath the gentle lamplight.
He Xi sat on the sofa, looking at the small lock of hair in his hand.
...Even all the hair on her body was the same color.
Tap, tap, tap—
Bruce, awakened by the commotion in the living room, padded over to He Xi on little steps.
"Oohwoof~" He yawned groggily, then smacked his lips. "He Xi, are we going out for a late-night snack?"
He Xi, who was adjusting his casting gesture, had no intention of paying attention to this gluttonous dog.
He rapidly recited a spell laced with strange syllables in his mind, his right hand hidden behind his back as he secretly pointed toward the corner behind him.
Bruce's usual food bowl was there.
Several fine orange tips drifted from his fingertips and flew toward the blurry shadow inside the bowl.
The translucent phantom of magical power swiftly took on color and became lifelike.
"Late-night snack? I already bought it."
Seeing He Xi look toward his bowl, the dog immediately perked up.
When he spotted the piece of brown roast meat in the bowl, gleaming with an enticing color, Bruce lunged for it at once.
The visual temptation was so strong that neither his nose nor his brain had time to react.
Unlike that afternoon, he hadn't known in advance that He Xi had used magic.
But the moment he reached the bowl and opened his mouth, doubt arose along with the absent scent of meat.
He didn't stop the motion of opening his jaws to tear into it. Or rather, he was planning to crush this damned illusion in one bite and vent his embarrassment and anger at having been deceived.
As his suspicion of the thing before him grew, the phantom began to twist as well.
Just