Aglis swiped a Wooden Dummy from the Knight Order’s training grounds.
This was a special product provided by the Imperial Palace for the Knight Order; no matter how many times it was cut down, smashed, or broken, it would restore itself to its original state.
It was a new model that had only recently been issued.
“Lastly, I’ll say it once more.”
“A sword can be pointed at enemies, and it can be pointed at rivals, but it must never be pointed at defenseless civilians, like your mother. Do you understand?”
“Understood! Hurry up and teach me, I can’t wait!”
Karin brandished her shimmering white sword.
However, Aglis had already cast Blunting Magic on the blade.
The sword currently could not harm anyone; its original power would only manifest when striking the Wooden Dummy.
“We will start with the fundamentals: slashing and swinging.”
Aglis held a wooden sword as she demonstrated her technique to Karin.
Aglis was known as a once-in-a-millennium swordsmanship genius who had mastered every sword art stored within the Magic Kingdom by the age of 10.
Being able to teach her proud swordsmanship to the Demon King’s daughter gave Aglis a great sense of excitement.
Fala sat on the roof, swinging her legs back and forth.
This time, she hadn’t asked Karin to fly her up; she had climbed up on her own.
Fortunately, Sephine’s roof was quite sturdy.
Combined with Fala’s light weight, there was no immediate danger.
“Hmph, hmph, the sun is out.”
The sun finally deigned to leave the protection of the clouds, hanging high in the sky to offer a sliver of solace to the cold winter day.
Fala basked in the sunlight, feeling quite cozy.
After taking a long detour, the Demon King finally reached Sephine’s house.
Sephine was still at work and wouldn’t be back for quite some time.
Keeping the Disguise Art active for too long made her face feel uncomfortable, so Vi decided to be a little lazy and canceled the Disguise for now.
She had been using it throughout her journey just to avoid being recognized by people on the street.
“Where is everyone?”
She opened the door and found no one inside.
Logically, Aglis should have been here watching the children.
Although asking the Captain of the Royal City Knights to help babysit was a bit of a distraction from her official duties, Aglis seemed to enjoy it.
Since Aglis had no objections, Vi naturally let her continue.
“Fala? Karin? Aglis?”
“In the backyard!” Aglis shouted toward the house.
Vi followed the sound and indeed found a backyard.
She hadn’t realized that Sephine’s small-looking house had such a large backyard.
Many flowers and plants were growing there, though they were currently a bit yellow and withered.
“It’s quite spacious.”
Looking to the left, she saw Aglis still instructing Karin in sword practice.
Aglis wore a serious expression, looking nothing like someone teaching a child who wasn’t even half a year old.
“Learning the sword this early?”
“She requested it herself. She really is a monster.”
Aglis had been observing her for a long time.
An ordinary person couldn’t even draw out 10% of this sword’s power, yet Karin could exert 50% on her very first try.
“You’re joking. This is my daughter, after all.”
Karin heard Vi’s voice and turned around.
Seeing that it was truly her, she immediately dropped the sword.
“My sword!”
Aglis dove to catch it.
She wouldn’t be letting Karin use that sword for practice next time.
“Mommy! Eh? Why does your face look wrong?”
Karin pressed herself against Vi’s front, sniffing her Magic Power signature.
Yes, it was the scent of her Mommy.
However, the face didn’t look like her Mommy’s.
“This is my true appearance. The one before was just a disguise.”
“Disguise? Why?”
“That’s adult business. You children shouldn’t meddle too much.”
“Oh, I see. Then I’m going back to play!”
Karin scurried through the grass, searching everywhere for the sword she had just tossed aside.
“Aglis, where’s Fala?”
“I’m here!” Fala waved to Vi from the roof.
Seeing that her Mommy had arrived, Fala flipped through the air and landed on the ground.
“Mommy!”
Fala hugged Vi tightly, simultaneously absorbing the Magic Power from Vi’s body.
Vi’s mana reserves were immense; no matter how much Fala absorbed, Vi wouldn’t feel any discomfort.
“Mother went to work.”
“I know.”
The Demon King had just seen Sephine at her job.
The work was easy and paid well; it suited the current Sephine quite well.
“Fala is sneaking food! Mean!”
Karin couldn’t find the sword, so she ran back to her Mommy’s side.
However, she noticed Fala secretly absorbing Vi’s Magic Power.
It was always like this; Fala always ate in secret without taking her along.
“Blehh, you were the one playing. What does that have to do with me?”
“Mommy, I want to eat too!”
“Eat? Oh, this.”
Vi certainly knew Fala had been secretly absorbing her mana, but she didn’t know the reason.
Still, since it was her daughter, she assumed the girl had her own reasons.
“But I want to eat real food~”
Karin was also absorbing mana, but the feeling of satiety was never as strong as when she ate actual food.
“Then I’ll go to the kitchen and cook. You two little ones need to get along. Remember to alert me when Mother comes home.”
The last sentence was directed at Fala.
Karin was a bit slow, but Fala’s emotional detection was very sharp, making her a great helper for Vi.
In the kitchen, there were some fresh vegetables.
While Vi wasn’t particularly skilled at cooking, she was a fast learner.
There should be a cookbook on Sephine’s shelf; her collection of books had always been quite comprehensive.
—
Meanwhile, Sephine was thinking about how the children hadn’t eaten yet.
She planned to buy some of those sandwiches Aglis had bought before; Karin seemed to like them quite a bit.
Aglis had mentioned a location earlier, but when Sephine went there, she couldn’t find it.
‘Could she have been lying to me? How did I get tricked again…’
Not only were there no sandwiches being sold in that area, but there were hardly any shops at all.
It was a residential district.
Walking and stopping along the way, Sephine eventually found herself back below the tavern.
The tavern already had a “Closed for Break” sign hanging up, but the cafe next door was still open.
Catherine walked out from inside, a bitter look on her face.
“Gag, that new coffee is terrible.”
Catherine had just tried a sample of the cafe’s new blend, and the taste was subpar.
She probably wouldn’t be buying it again.
“Miss Catherine!” Sephine called out to her.
“Ah, Sephine.”
Catherine saw Sephine and hurriedly rushed over to her.
“Aren’t you at work? I just saw you giving a speech in the tavern.”
“I wouldn’t call it a speech.”
Sephine hadn’t noticed Catherine earlier, and she didn’t know if Catherine had bumped into Vi on her way out.
‘Wait… what if that person really just looks like Vi? Maybe she’s Sister Number Two.’
In another house, Ai’er, who was taking care of her Father, let out a sneeze.
“Are you going to eat? I know a restaurant that tastes pretty good. We can go together,” Catherine invited.