Gift

As night fell, Roxy packed her belongings. It was clear she would soon be leaving here to set out on her journey.

Roa watched her petite, slender figure. Honestly, he didn't want Roxy to leave, but leaving was inevitable.

Even so, he had no reason to ask her to stay.

Her blue hair drifted down to her waist in the breeze from the window.

Roxy was undeniably cute, and Roa liked girls like her.

Roxy fiddled with her mage's robe, adjusting the brim of her mage's hat.

In the quiet of the night, the two sat in silence.

Suddenly, Roa asked, "Do you really have to leave?"

Roxy's eyes dimmed slightly. "There's nothing else I can teach you."

Roa sighed, a hint of confusion crossing his youthful face. He looked at the girl in her white nightgown and smiled.

Roxy was slender. She didn't have an especially voluptuous figure, but her petite, delicate body had its own charm.

Roa gazed out the window at the bright moon, its pale light spilling across the sky.

After this parting, he had no idea how long it would be before they met again.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

People in ancient times had always been sad when saying goodbye, and he was no exception. Especially in an age without mobile phones, the world was so vast that as long as they didn't travel, there was no problem—but once they went their separate ways, meeting again would be little more than a pipe dream.

The Magic Seed. He had to give Roxy the Magic Seed.

It could supply magic power, but within a certain range, it could also pinpoint their locations. That way, if Roa ever wanted to find her, they wouldn't end up in some contrived situation where they were nearby but passed each other by.

At that thought, Roa took a deep breath. His vast, surging magic power began to stir, drawing in great quantities of wind, fire, water, and earth elements. It surged like a rising tide.

Feeling the magic around her suddenly run wild, Roxy stared at the boy in disbelief.

"Roa, what are you doing?" she asked.

The amount of magic power was already greater than her entire reserves.

Roa simply smiled.

His dark magic took on a tangible form, threads of it winding together as he devoured the wind, fire, water, and earth elements in the air, replenishing the energy he lost while forming the Magic Seed.

The threads gathered in the center of Roa's right hand, giving off an intensely ominous aura.

"That magic feels so wicked." Roxy furrowed her brow. Come to think of it, Roa's magic had always been strange.

Before long, an ominous-looking Magic Seed appeared.

It was dark and deep, shimmering with black light. The moment it appeared, a chilly wind swept through the room.

Roxy strongly suspected it was no good.

And she wasn't wrong. The thing's main purpose was to control people.

The idea came from a web novel he'd read in his previous life, Dao Heart Seed Demon. What he'd created was a simplified version. The Magic Seed had two straightforward functions: first, it supplied magic power by converting the target's magic into power of the same origin as his own; second, it controlled the person it was implanted in.

Of course, the Magic Seed could be removed. The requirements were rather strict, but it wasn't impossible.

Noticing Roxy's unease, Roa deliberately tried to scare her. He flashed a sinister grin, hoping to make it so eerie that it sent chills down her spine. But on his little-boy face, it came across differently.

It was creepy, all right, but somehow it still didn't quite work.

His lips curled up and his eyes narrowed slightly, but he was so adorable that his expression shifted from sinister to something else entirely.

After all, no one could resist someone cute.

Roa's smile made Roxy's heart skip a beat. She hurriedly suppressed the urge to pick him up, even as her body seemed ready to move on its own.

To Roa, this meant Roxy was afraid of him.

The boy felt an immense sense of accomplishment. It seemed he could use that expression to play the villain and scare people in the future.

Roxy had no idea what bizarre thoughts were going through the boy's head. She took deep breaths, repeatedly reminding herself that the person in front of her was a boy.

At last, Roxy managed to suppress her impulse.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Roa explained what the Magic Seed did. "The Magic Seed will convert Master Roxy's magic into magic of the same origin as mine. Your magic power will surge, but at the same time, your life will be in my hands. If I want to, I can kill you in an instant. So, you understand, right?"

Roxy fell silent, thinking it over. She remembered the boy's adorable smile from just moments ago and suddenly understood: had that been his sinister grin?

It had been so cute that she hadn't noticed. Instead, it had stirred other thoughts in her heart.

At that thought, Roxy glanced at Roa, who was looking rather pleased with himself.

It seemed this guy had misunderstood something.

Roxy looked at Roa's cute smile. His silky blond hair slid down his cheek to his pale neck, and his golden eyes shone with excitement. The usually cool, detached little boy had completely let his guard down. Roxy couldn't help but twitch her lips at the sight.

So his usual aloofness had been an act. It was obvious from his excited expression that this was the first time he'd done something like this.

Unfortunately, Roa was so absurdly adorable that the scene had shifted from sleazy and sinister to silly and endearing.

It was like an oily blond man leaning over to whisper, "Madam, you wouldn't want your husband to find out, would you?"

Now imagine the same whisper, only coming from a little boy.

It was inexplicably funny.

Though the scene was comical, Roxy couldn't let Roa keep using this trick to give people special treatment—no, to threaten them. She stepped forward and gave the young boy a hard flick on the forehead. "Oh, so you've been plotting against me this whole time."

Roa winced and sheepishly waved his hands. Roxy looked at the Magic Seed in his right hand and fell into thought.

The ominous Magic Seed still wound around Roa's right hand.

After thinking for a moment, Roxy asked, "Can the Magic Seed really increase my magic power?"

Roa nodded. "Of course."

Roxy asked again, "And does it work the way you said?"

She meant giving someone else control over her life.

Roa nodded again. "I'm not exaggerating. That's really how it works..."

Roxy cut him off with a wave of her hand and met the boy's eyes with her clear gaze.

"I trust you. You're a kind boy."

That was what Roxy said.

Roa pouted. She made him sound so noble. She was obviously inexperienced and didn't know how cruel people could be. Today, he, Roa, would teach her a lesson. He'd lock her in a basement with only one oil lamp, then cuddle with Roxy every day.