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The call ended.
The dull beep beep beep followed.
Shiho Miyano let out a long sigh.
It wasn't that she didn't want to explain—it's that she didn't know how to.
Blurting out the truth would just make her sister worry more.
After all—
What happened today was way too out of this world.
Even for her...
It felt almost like a dream.
She had no idea how much time had passed when a wave of mouthwatering smells wafted in.
"Come on, food's ready."
Shiho walked into the dining room and stared at the feast laid out on the table. She blinked, surprised. "Wait... Master, you actually know how to cook?"
Mapo tofu, braised pork ribs, sweet and sour spinach...
Did her master secretly go train in the East or something?
"It's been a while since I last cooked. Try it."
She took the chopsticks from Edgar and picked up a piece of rib, gently biting into it.
Her eyes lit up.
"It's good, right?"
"Mmm! It's amazing!"
"Great, now pay up for your meal."
"Huh?"
Shiho's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself. "Wait, you're charging me?!"
Edgar answered righteously, "Isn't it perfectly normal for a familiar to financially support their master?"
"…Heh."
Shiho gave him a deadpan look but still obediently pulled out her small wallet.
She had no choice.
Edgar was her master, after all. He basically had the final say on everything.
Grumbling under her breath, Shiho shoved her frustration into her appetite and began to dig in with fury.
Edgar flipped open the wallet and looked at the thick stack of cash inside.
He nodded in satisfaction.
His familiar was kind of loaded.
After stuffing themselves full—
Shiho finally remembered what she'd wanted to ask. "Hey Master, when are you gonna start teaching me some demon abilities?"
Being able to fly was cool and all, but seriously, wasn't that way too lame for a demon?
"Relax. Even if you didn't bring it up, I was already planning to teach you."
Edgar raised his hand and gave a slight wave toward the table. A glowing purple magic circle appeared in the air.
The next moment—
A magical tome materialized on the table.
Shiho's eyes sparkled with excitement.
That's… a real magic book?
She was finally going to learn magic!
"This book has all the basic magic knowledge. Read through it on your own first, and if anything's confusing, you can ask me."
Whatever Edgar was saying had already faded into white noise.
Shiho flipped open the book, totally absorbed in the sea of magical knowledge.
Edgar watched quietly, then casually pulled an ice-cold Coke from the fridge and took a sip.
Buzz.
A short while later—
Shiho held the book in one hand and lifted her other arm.
With a bright flash, a deep red magic circle glowed on the floor beneath her.
"I did it!"
She was glowing with excitement.
As she shifted her hand slightly, the light of the magic circle shimmered and danced in response.
"So this is the power of the Magical Heart..."
Edgar watched her with admiration.
She was already manipulating these basic spells after just one look?
Time passed.
By now, Shiho had already learned almost half the spells in the book.
She was still fired up.
But then...
As she flipped another page, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she collapsed straight onto the couch.
Her slippers slid off with the motion, revealing toes pale as jade curled up against the floor.
Her legs, under the soft light, looked smooth and sculpted like polished ivory.
Seeing this, Edgar put down his Coke and spoke seriously:
"What's this? My familiar finally awakened and is trying to seduce her master?"
"Is your brain made of nothing but dirty thoughts?" Shiho groaned, curling up slightly.
"I just... don't know why... my body suddenly feels so tired..."
Edgar chuckled, "That's perfectly normal."
"You just used a ton of magic. Your mana's probably completely drained."
"If you knew that, then what the hell was all that talk about seduction for?!"
"Well, if that's how you interpreted it, I'm not gonna stop you."
Shiho looked like she was about to cry. Her master clearly had the sense of humor of a 12-year-old troll.
"Alright, Master, so... do demons have a way to restore mana?"
"Super easy—I just need to recharge you."
Recharge...?
How exactly does that work?
Shiho looked up, trying to figure out what he meant—
And then she saw Edgar's handsome face getting closer and closer.
Wait, what?
Why do you need to get that close to recharge mana?
Something about this feels very, very wrong.
"Mmm—?!"
Her eyes flew wide open.
This... this feels so weird...
But.
Her mana really was coming back. Fast.
A moment later—
Edgar released her shoulders.
Gulp.
Shiho swallowed hard, her entire body overtaken by the strangest sensation.
"You… You're sure that was mana recharging?"
Her voice trembled, and she slumped helplessly onto the couch, cheeks flushed bright red.
"Of course," Edgar replied with a straight face. "That's how demon masters restore their familiar's mana."
Technically, he wasn't lying.
That was recharging.
But...
Something did feel a little off.
He looked at Shiho, whose whole vibe was... definitely strange.
That wasn't how it was with Fia back then...
Oh, right—he had only awakened as a Progenitor Demon after that.
Which meant—
He'd seriously underestimated how strong his own magic was.
"Whoa, my mana actually increased a bit…"
"But... something still feels wrong! Master, do something! Did you screw up the mana recharge steps or something?!"
Edgar looked a bit awkward.
Could he really tell her the truth—that there wasn't anything wrong with the process?
That her current state was entirely because of his Progenitor Demon status?
To be honest, he kind of felt like the victim here.
He genuinely hadn't expected this kind of side effect!
He looked at Shiho, who was squirming uncontrollably now.
He was faced with two options:
Option one: Be a beast.
Option two: Be worse than a beast.
After a moment of inner struggle, Edgar's eyes hardened with resolve.
Since he was the reason this all happened—
Then it was only right that he take responsibility.
"Don't worry, I've got it. I'll take care of everything."
"Really?"
Shiho's eyes lit up with relief.
"..."
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