Frilian: This Demon Isn't So Cold

"Didn't we sleep together before?" Carlos tilted his head, feigning confusion.

Actually, he was very nervous.

Although Carlos had never had such thoughts before, as time went by, the seal in his heart seemed to be opened a little, and sometimes the restlessness inside would become uncontrollable.

It's strange. It's like a girl in your class who you didn't have feelings for before, but after she confesses to you once, even if you rejected her at the time, you can't escape it and you're still in the same environment, so you inevitably start to care about her and observe her daily behavior.

Wow, is this girl really that cute?

Gradually, this concern was unconsciously transformed, evolving into another emotion.

That's pretty much the feeling.

Damn it, I never thought I was one of those people who judge by appearances.

Carlos silently reflected on himself, but no matter how much he thought about it, the girl in front of him blushed more and more as time went on.

"Just that one time! And there haven't been any suitable opportunities since, Master and the others are always around." Sylvia moved closer to him. "C-Is it okay?"

"Not doing anything else?" Carlos confirmed.

"Mmm." Sylvia nodded vigorously again, then whispered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, "Actually, the only reason I came out was to have this kind of alone time with you."

"I can probably guess." Carlos nodded, his mind racing with panic at those words; he felt that was probably the case.

"Shall I come over?" Sylvia asked cautiously.

She was so bold in broad daylight, climbing onto his back so naturally, but now she's reverted to a coy, timid woman's posture.

Carlos couldn't help but laugh when he thought about it.

"What are you laughing at?" Sylvia asked, puzzled by Carlos's inexplicable laughter.

"I've thought of something good." Carlos composed himself.

"What is it?" Sylvia asked.

"You are so cute."

"Gulp..." Sylvia's already rosy cheeks looked even more like they were about to drip water. "You say you're cute, but you don't lay a hand on me."

"I'll definitely do it on your birthday."

"real?"

"real."

"It's a deal." Sylvia smiled, a huge weight lifted from her heart.

Even if they had vaguely reached a consensus before, it would still take a full two years and eight months. During that time, anything could happen, so Sylvia wanted to speed things up.

She doesn't have that much time left to waste; every minute and every second now is a gift from heaven that she needs to cherish.

"Go to sleep early." Carlos took two sleeping bags out of his suitcase.

"We don't have to travel tomorrow." Sylvia crawled in and lay down next to him. "Let's continue the story we didn't finish before. I want to hear it."

"OK."

Carlos did not refuse, and after Sylvia lay down, he began to tell her what had happened afterward.

"When I had essentially won the battle, Mahat saw through my intentions. Although he compromised somewhat in the process, he ultimately forced me to make the deal in a way that left me no choice but to submit."

"What method?" Sylvia asked curiously.

"After all, my real purpose was to steal his magic, so he used a strategy of advancing by retreating, saying something like, 'Even if I die, I will never use the [All Things Turn to Gold] magic in front of you again.' Anyway, the result was that I made that deal with him."

Stealing magic? Sylvia temporarily ignored this intriguing phrase and decided to continue asking questions along the same lines.

"But isn't that strange?" She looked at Carlos's face. "After you learn the [Magic of Turning Everything into Gold], how will Mahat ensure you won't go back on your word? Is it based on your reputation?"

Although she was very confident in his credibility, others might not be so sure.

"First of all, I am of course trustworthy, but do you think demons would believe in such a thing?" Carlos thought about what had happened back then. "Afterwards, we made the deal in front of a contract item that [Sage] Evisi had created."

"【Sage】Evishi? The great sage from the mythical era? He left behind artifacts after all." Sylvia felt her sneaking out this time was truly worthwhile; this news, which only she could hear, filled her with excitement. "Could that contract artifact be used to restrain behavior? Even demons are no exception?"

"That's right." Carlos knew that the girl beside him was shining with excitement. "A contract item that works even on demons, a mandatory one. To be honest, that feeling is really amazing."

He paused, then said, "I can probably guess what you're thinking right now, but there's only one of those items. Once it's used, unless one of the contracting parties dies, it's impossible to make another contract."

"Oh, that's a pity... But in that case, wouldn't it be enough to just kill that demon named Mahat?" Sylvia thought of this. Apart from Carlos, the death of a demon would not make her feel any sadness.

If this tool can be used properly, Sylvia believes it will definitely be of great help to Carlos later.

"I can't say any more."

"Because of the contract?"

"Hmm." Carlos skipped over the topic. "Anyway, I got what I wanted, and Mahat survived. Congratulations!"

"So, the magic you stored in those two villages before was that [All Things Turn to Gold] magic?" Sylvia suddenly realized, because the characteristics of this magic were exactly the same as what Carlos had said.

"Hmm, this magic is quite useful. After I learned it, I experimented on demons and small animals. I first put them into a golden state, and then removed it after 10 days. Guess what happened then?"

"Don't keep me in suspense, I want to hear it, I want to hear it." Sylvia deliberately moved very close to him, and the breath she blew from her pink lips hit Carlos's face without any obstruction.

"Ahem..." Carlos turned his head slightly to make himself feel more at ease. "After I deactivated them, they remained in the same position they were in before they turned to gold. The little rabbit hopped away unharmed, while the demon continued to run away without looking back. He had no memory of what had happened in the past ten days and thought he was still being chased by me."

"Amazing!" Sylvia wasn't afraid; her eyes were filled with nothing but admiration for Carlos.

"Yes, I think it's amazing too." Carlos chuckled for a moment, then sighed. "Unfortunately, although I can use this magic, I still know nothing about the soul."

[The Magic of Turning Everything into Gold] Why can even the passing of souls be frozen? He wanted to figure this out, but he was completely clueless in his subsequent experiments.

"The soul... I need to hurry up and study the goddess's magic."

Sylvia took the holy book out of her sleeping bag and was about to read it.

"Don't watch it so late at night, it's bad for your eyes," Carlos said with a smile, stopping her. "The magic inside isn't something you can decipher overnight. You should get some rest; you'll have more energy to do this kind of thing."

"Okay." Sylvia obediently put away the holy book, then twisted her body and moved over, and they leaned close together under the tree.

"Aren't you going to listen to the story anymore?"

"Let's wait until tomorrow. I want to prepare something fun for each night so I'll be more motivated during the day." Sylvia closed her eyes, focusing her senses on the temperature of the person next to her.

"Well, but I'm not sure if you'll like to hear what happens next."

"I want to hear any story that happens to you."

"Okay." Carlos also closed his eyes, realizing he had just asked a boring question.

The two were surrounded by a [barrier magic] that he had already set up.

Carlos never forgets this when he's spending the night in the wild; he'd rather ensure peace of mind while sleeping than risk revealing his location.

The forest was silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the occasional chirping of insects.

They fell asleep here.