Frilian: This Demon Isn't So Cold

"What are you planning to do?"

When Carlos woke up in the morning, with the gentle breeze blowing through the window, while Sylvia was still rubbing her sleepy eyes, he was already full of energy.

"What? How do I do it?" Sylvia dragged her feet to Carlos's side, which was also the window. She wanted to use the morning breeze to wake herself up a little.

"My junior sister, who is also your master, is currently doing what she's doing at [Frich]. How do you plan to begin here?"

That is, spreading magic in secret.

"Well...we don't have the city lord's help here, so we can only operate in secret." Sylvia said the first half of the sentence seriously, then immediately gave up halfway through, "To be honest, I can't think of any good methods at all."

They say they're going to spread magic in secret, but how exactly will they do it?

Without the city lord's help, Sylvia's mind went blank.

"If you beg me, I'll help you."

"Please, please." Sylvia had no backbone whatsoever, and her voice was soft and seductive.

"...Don't talk like that again." Carlos felt his whole body tremble at those words.

"Huh?" Sylvia seemed to have discovered something amusing; her drowsiness vanished instantly, and she said with a grin, "You can't even handle this?"

So innocent~

"First, we need to find someone with the aptitude for magic. I'll help you with that, since you don't have such precise magical perception." Carlos changed the subject, getting straight to the point. "But after that, you'll have to handle all the professorships. That should be alright, right?"

"No problem." Sylvia nodded in agreement, then steered the conversation back to the previous topic, "Why aren't you answering what I just said? Are you shy?"

"...It's time to have breakfast."

"You just stop answering questions that are difficult to answer? How embarrassing!"

"Sylvia."

"Huh? Ouch—!"

Carlos lowered his hand; he had just tapped her head lightly with his knuckles.

Sylvia looked at Carlos with teary eyes, but she knew that if she continued like this, he would really lose his temper, so she could only follow him out to eat with a pitiful expression.

After breakfast, Sylvia walked beside Carlos as they searched for a possible breakthrough, but mainly relied on the latter.

"It's actually quite simple to see if someone has magical talent; just look at how well they subconsciously control their magic in daily life."

As Carlos spoke, he looked around: the tailor's daughter, the vendor selling handicrafts, the clothing store owner...

Many people possess considerable magical talent, but unfortunately, some of them are too old and probably lack the same hope and energy for the future as younger people, which may affect their speed of learning magic.

Of course, there may be some exceptions, but generally speaking, young people still need to be better nurtured.

Carlos memorized a few people he thought he could fool and decided to find an opportunity to contact them later.

"Mmm." Sylvia nodded, practically jumping as she walked, showing no sign of being out to do anything serious.

"Are you happy?" Carlos looked at her.

Sylvia nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course! Sneaking out to do what you love—that's youth!"

"Really?" Carlos smiled as well. "Ah, youth..."

I feel a little nostalgic, but he must be very young now, right?

After browsing around for a while, Carlos took Sylvie to the tailor shop.

"Welcome, do you need any custom-made clothing?"

As soon as the two entered the shop, the proprietress quickly put down her tools and stood up to greet them.

The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful; both had outstanding qualities and could be described as a perfect match.

Most importantly, they clearly don't lack money.

The atmosphere emanating from people who live frugally and those who have never been troubled by money is different.

Clearly, based on her experience of serving guests for over a decade, the proprietress sensed the latter's aura.

"Just browsing." Carlos nodded to the proprietress, then asked Sylvia, "Do you have the style you're looking for? Go pick one out yourself."

"Am I being kept by you?" Sylvia blinked.

"You just realized that?" Carlos said jokingly, "Keeping a beautiful woman is a dream every man has."

"So, are you also keeping another woman on the side?"

"...I'm with you every day, when do I have time?"

"Oh~" Sylvia said meaningfully, "So, if I stop bothering you, you'll let your guard down?"

"I was just joking," Carlos said with a helpless expression. "I've abandoned such low-level material needs and I'm a person with ideals and ambitions."

Is it a person?

Sylvia caught the word, but didn't say much about it, only asking curiously:

"What are your ideals and aspirations?"

"You already know, so don't ask me again." Carlos waved his hand. "Alright, if you still want me to pay, hurry up and go pick out your clothes."

"Okay," Sylvia replied with a smile, skipping off to find some pretty clothes to try on.

She knew Carlos had other things to do here, and buying clothes was just a side thing.

I also know what the ideal I just mentioned refers to. As for ambition, that's hard to say, or perhaps the two are actually the same?

Sylvia was brainstorming.

"Is this your daughter?" Carlos asked the shopkeeper as Sylvia picked out clothes.

Next to the proprietress, a young girl in her early teens was mending a garment with steady, meticulous movements.

"Hmm, what's wrong, customer?" the proprietress asked, while the young girl also slightly raised her eyes and glanced in their direction.

"Have you thought about what you want to do when you grow up?" Carlos asked.

This guest is very strange.

Hearing this question, the proprietress was even more puzzled, but she still answered, "Perhaps because she was influenced by her surroundings from a young age, she really likes tailoring clothes and has a talent for it. If nothing unexpected happens, she will probably inherit this tailor shop in the future."

As she said this, the proprietress looked very gentle, as if she were recalling something, and at the same time, she was proud of her daughter.

"That's good." Carlos nodded, scratching his head at his poor communication skills, but still forced himself to continue, "But what if I said she also has talent in magic?"

"Magic?" The proprietress was taken aback, taking a few steps back. Of course, she knew magic existed, but...

"But isn't this a tactic used only by demons and monsters?"

"Don't get agitated." Although he was a demon himself, Carlos didn't have any particular feelings. "What you just said is wrong. Humans can also learn magic, and your daughter has considerable talent in magic. It would be a waste if she were to be buried because of the times."

As they spoke, the proprietress's daughter had completely put down the clothes in her hands and turned her attention to this matter.

Carlos glanced at her and then said, "I'm not saying she should give up her job here. Actually, magic can be helpful here, like this."

As he spoke, he casually conjured a thin piece of ice in the air. The next second, the thin ice was cut by an unknown force and fell to the ground in pieces.

"Magic can also be used for the cutting that tailors need, and it can be even more precise and meticulous than handmade techniques." After demonstrating his skills, Carlos forced a smile. "You know, the world is in a bad state right now. Who knows when a full-scale war between demons and humans might break out? It's always a good thing to learn some self-defense techniques."

However, the customer's unprovoked kindness immediately put the proprietress on her guard. "So what do you want from me?"

After witnessing the incredible skill the woman had just displayed, the proprietress knew she was no match for her opponent, but despite this, she still shielded her daughter with her own body.

"To let magic spread among humanity again," Carlos said, looking at her with as much kindness as possible. "That's the reward I want."

Although this was not his dream, it was just Vlamé's.

Nevertheless, he will do his part in this endeavor.

"I've chosen one, but they don't have the size I need here. Can you make one to order?" Sylvia walked over at that moment with a dress in her hand, seemingly unaffected by the strange atmosphere between them.

"Okay, please let me measure the guest's dimensions later." The proprietress replied subconsciously, a habit she had developed over time.

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer." Carlos inquired about the price and then paid.

"The rest is up to you," Carlos whispered to Sylvia before she went in to have her measurements taken.

Sylvia blinked, indicating that she understood.

Inside, Sylvia was being measured by the landlady, who also called her daughter in.

"Um, what's the relationship between the guest and that person outside?"

"He's my senior apprentice, and they're currently progressing towards a romantic relationship," Sylvia said softly, not forgetting to reveal a crucial piece of information: "I started learning magic when I was very young, probably a little younger than your daughter."

"..."

I can let the first half of the sentence go, but she didn't even ask about the second half.

The proprietress paused, then continued to ask:

"Does the guest also use magic?"

"Of course." Sylvia smiled smugly, and with a slight twitch of her little finger, a piece of cloth in the room floated up and slowly drifted to the landlady's daughter. "Although I don't have much talent in this area, thanks to my father's good fortune, I've finally achieved some success."

As she spoke, she sighed, "My master is different from me. She is very talented in magic. To be honest, the reason Carlos said those things to you just now was because of my master's dream."

"dream?"

The proprietress only now realized the man outside the door was named Carlos.

"Hmm." Sylvia turned around at the other's prompting. "Her dream was to create an era where everyone could use magic, which is why we thought of doing something for her first."

After that, a clear, crisp voice rang out.

"Mom, I want to learn magic."

The frog at the bottom of the well never knew the vastness of the sky, but now, a gap has been carved into the originally hard well wall.

The girl held the fabric floating in the air, and her initial confusion turned into determination.

She said again earnestly, "I want to learn magic."