New Magic

"Haha, I knew it! Of course you can. This is a famous couples' cake shop, you know."

It doesn't say that on your sign...

Cain pressed his lips together, his face reddening as he grumbled inwardly. But when he saw how happily Roxy was choosing desserts, he gave up arguing and smiled faintly.

As long as Roxy's happy.

The shop's sign did say so. Cain just couldn't read it because he didn't know the Beast God Language.

Roxy knew a little, of course. She had recognized the words, but she hadn't said anything.

Roxy picked a relatively cheap little cake from the glass display case. Meanwhile, Cain stood with his lips pressed together and his cheeks pink, enduring the beastfolk shopkeeper's rather intrusive questions.

"You two look young. How long have you been together?"

"You look like adventurers. What rank are you? When are you planning to have a baby? I know where you can find cheaper houses around here."

Cain turned his head away, his face growing redder and redder. He had no idea how to answer.

"This one, please."

As soon as Roxy finished choosing, Cain hurriedly put an Asura Gold Coin in the shopkeeper's hand.

"N-no need for change."

He took Roxy's hand and fled the cake shop.

"You... You're still two silver coins short..." The Dog Beastfolk shopkeeper's mouth twitched.

"Honestly! The night's still young. No need to rush off and find a room..."

The shopkeeper chuckled and shook his head helplessly. Young people these days were so impatient.

"S-sorry, Roxy..." After they had walked for a while, Cain glanced back at Roxy, scratching his cheek. She was blushing a little too.

"It's all right. We did save quite a bit of money this time." Roxy pressed her lips together in a sweet smile and waved the cake in front of Cain.

"Let's eat it when we get back. I bought two."

"Okay."

Late that night, Roxy and Cain lit a candle in Cain's room on the inn's second floor. They sat at the table, eating their little cakes while looking through a magic book and discussing spells. Of course, it was mostly Roxy teaching him: Cain knew how to use magic in a fight, but he didn't understand the theory.

Studying magic could be dull, but Cain found it pleasant with Roxy beside him. He also got to see something wonderful.

Every time Roxy took a bite of cake, her face lit up with adorable delight. Resting his chin on his hand, Cain kept glancing at her lovely smile. Before he knew it, he was smiling too.

Roxy licked her fingers and smacked her lips, savoring the soft, sweet taste. Then her longing gaze drifted to the little cake on a porcelain plate in front of her student.

That was right. Roxy had another reason for coming to tutor Cain tonight: she had her eye on the cream cake he hadn't touched.

"Ahem. Roxy, we're companions, and you're my teacher. If you want it, you can just ask."

Amused by her yearning expression, Cain set down the magic book and pushed his cake toward her.

Roxy pressed her lips together and blinked her big blue eyes, looking at Cain's gentle smile.

"...Th-then I won't say no. I'll definitely treat you next time, though."

Like a kitten guarding its food, Roxy drew the cream cake close to herself—so close that Cain worried the cream might get on her.

Cain flipped through the magic book with a helpless smile and waved a hand.

"I don't really like sweets. You have it."

Roxy blinked and tilted her head slightly. Cain didn't like sweets? How strange. Sweets were precious on the Demon Continent, and they tasted so good.

Still, she thought it only polite to ask what he liked, so she could return the favor someday.

"Hmm, really? What do you like to eat, Cain?"

"Me? Well, I..." Cain thought for a moment. Nothing in particular came to mind, but if he had to choose...

"I like meat. Especially when it's seasoned and grilled until it smells amazing and the juices are sizzling."

Just thinking about it made Cain swallow.

Whenever Cain defeated a monster, he would cut off a piece and try it. It was an old Sword Sanctum tradition: eating the flesh of a powerful monster you had defeated was supposed to grant you strength. Cain didn't believe that. He simply craved meat.

"I see. I'll remember that."

Roxy smiled faintly, spooned some cream cake into her mouth, and cupped her cheek with one hand, looking utterly delighted again.

Cain watched her smile as though he had found something wonderful. Then he looked back at the magic book in his hands and stroked its cover twice.

She really is thoughtful. The book was written in the language of the Central Continent, so Cain could quickly learn the spells' names. It also had illustrations that would help him master them.

"The amount of Magic Power you have is the main factor in a spell's strength. Cain, the reason you can give Frost Nova, an Advanced-class composite spell, the power of an Emperor-class spell is probably that you have an astonishing reserve of Magic Power."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, but don't let it go to your head."

Roxy cleared her throat, straightened her back a little, and raised a finger with a serious expression.

"Your magic has the same weakness as other mages' spells, Cain: plenty of power, but not enough precision."

As Roxy thought about it, though, she wondered whether precision mattered. Cain's Frost Nova seemed to surpass even the Emperor-class spell Absolute Zero in both range and intensity. It covered practically the entire area. There was hardly any need to aim.

"I see... Roxy, I'd like to try an experiment."

"An experiment?" Roxy tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes. If I can't improve my aim in a short time, I want to make up for it another way."

With that, Cain slowly opened his palm and began to try.

Sensing, compressing, shaping—it all happened in one smooth motion. The temperature in the room rose rapidly as a brilliant ball of flame formed in Cain's hand. He compressed it further and further.

[Emperor-class · Purple Demon Flame Bullet]

Cain rested his chin on his hand and nodded slightly at the system prompt telling him he could gain proficiency by casting it. Of course, he had no intention of releasing the spell here.

Roxy stopped eating. She stared blankly at the fiercely burning purple flame in Cain's hand, compressed to the size of a marble. Then she snapped to her senses and hurried to stop him.

"Th-that's too dangerous! Cain, don't let it take shape! Cancel it, quickly!"

Once a spell took shape, it could not be canceled.

Roxy had good reason to be alarmed. With the amount of Magic Power Cain possessed, even a Basic-class spell could do enormous damage to the entire inn.

Cain smiled faintly. He wasn't reckless; he had some confidence in what he was doing. He could feel that he was able to control a spell even after it had taken shape.

That was impossible for almost every other mage. It was an ability the system had given him.

It contradicted what Roxy's magic book said. The book clearly stated that a spell could not be canceled once it had taken shape. Then again, perhaps his spell had not fully formed yet.

With that thought, Cain noticed how frightened Roxy looked. He blinked and quickly made the little purple fireball in his hand disappear.

In any case, Roxy seemed a little angry. She gave Cain a light chop on the head.

"You foolish student! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Please don't cast such dangerous magic around other people. You'll make me worry!"