Inside the wooden cabin, the flickering firelight danced softly across the walls.
Hovering in the air, the spirit Puck tilted his head as he listened to Rikuto's request.
Oddly enough, he didn't seem particularly interested in the "unusual knowledge" Rikuto had mentioned.
Instead, what caught Puck's attention was the young man's attitude.
"Why are you so eager to learn magic right away?" he asked.
"Isn't it only natural to want power as soon as possible?" Rikuto replied.
"Back when you pointed those ice spikes at me, Mr. Puck, my legs were definitely shaking."
He gave a small shake of his head, speaking with complete honesty.
"Liar. You looked totally calm back then," Puck said, calling him out without hesitation.
"I could tell. Your confidence came from having a backup plan. It's not that I didn't pose a threat."
The little cat spirit flexed his furry paws in mock seriousness.
"That was more of a mutually assured destruction kind of plan," Rikuto said with a calm smile.
After all, he had died once already. Of that, there was no doubt.
And something had come with him when he crossed over—a shattered halo of light.
That halo had been with him since childhood, residing within his body, though its origins remained a mystery.
But it granted him three things: a language, a unique talent… and a means to obliterate everything around him in one final blaze of destruction.
All he had to do was detonate it, and he could take the entire area down with him.
In other words, Rikuto held the equivalent of a nuclear button in his hand.
"You're such a secretive guy," Puck muttered, grumbling. "Still hiding things from us."
He turned his head toward Emilia and said seriously:
"Emilia, this guy's a professional liar. Don't let him trick you."
"Puck! What are you even saying?" Emilia puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed.
"Hehe~ Even angry Emilia is absolutely adorable," Puck chuckled, happily circling above them.
Rikuto seized the moment. "So, Mr. Puck, can you teach me magic now?"
Emilia, who'd been playfully bantering with Puck, paused and turned to Rikuto.
"Why are you so set on learning magic?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.
Before Puck could speak, Emilia had already beaten him to the question.
"Magic is dangerous," she said softly. "If it gets out of control, it can terrify everyone around you."
Her voice dropped with the weight of something personal.
Inside her body, Emilia carried immense magical power.
So vast, in fact, that a loss of control could alter the weather… or accidentally wipe out everyone nearby.
Because of that, Emilia—kind and selfless—had never viewed power as a good thing.
Rikuto met her gaze and shook his head. "Since I don't know the full story, I won't comment on your situation."
"But for me…" he paused.
"…Power is something I must have, whether it's considered good or not."
His tone was firm—earnest.
He didn't yet understand all the rules of this world, but he was certain of one thing: supernatural power changed everything.
"Violence is the meta-rule—the one that overrides all others."
"Without it, no one listens to reason. With it, people will sit down and listen whether they want to or not."
"So, to make sure I'm not crushed by someone else's violence, I need at least the bare minimum to protect myself."
He spoke plainly, without dramatics—just the raw truth.
"But…" Emilia hesitated.
Rikuto interrupted gently: "Just like Mr. Puck earlier."
"If he had any real intent to harm me, there'd be nothing I could do."
"Whether I lived or died, whether he spared me or didn't—everything would be decided by him."
"And frankly, that kind of powerlessness… sucks."
He gave a rueful shake of his head.
"Puck would never hurt anyone like that!" Emilia protested immediately.
She turned to the floating cat spirit.
Puck yawned, paw to mouth. "Weeeell…"
"Who knows?"
The grey kitten twirled playfully through the air.
But truthfully, had he sensed even the slightest malicious intent from Rikuto toward Emilia, things would have ended differently.
In that sense, Rikuto's words weren't wrong at all.
"Rikuto, my boy," Puck said, stretching midair.
"I'm not interested in your fancy knowledge."
"But if you want me to teach you magic… how about chatting more with Emilia instead?"
"You seem pretty good with words. Keep using that."
He flashed Rikuto a feline thumbs-up with his paw—then slowly faded from sight, vanishing into the air.
"…Huh?" Rikuto blinked, watching him disappear.
He turned to Emilia.
"Puck can't manifest at night," she explained.
"If you really want to learn from him, you'll have to wait until morning."
"Got it." Rikuto nodded, glancing around.
"Well then… there's something we need to settle."
"Emilia, where am I sleeping tonight? Am I on the floor?"
Her home was nestled inside a hollowed-out tree—a simple, compact space.
A vanity, a single bed, the fireplace, and a pile of miscellaneous belongings. That was it.
Earlier, Rikuto had already surveyed the room. There wasn't even a spare blanket, let alone a second bed.
So really, sleeping on the floor wasn't even an option.
With his current condition, if he lay directly on the cold ground, uncovered, he might freeze to death by morning.
"You're the patient," Emilia said. "You sleep in the bed."
"I'll just sleep on the floor. I'll be fine."
"…Seriously?" Rikuto stared at her.
He didn't understand. Now that she knew he wasn't one of the frozen spirits, why was she still being so selfless?
Was it just… kindness?
Looking into her violet eyes—so earnest, so full of concern—he thought he had his answer.
Yes. It really was just kindness.
"Emilia, you know you're going to get yourself in trouble one day acting like this, right?"
He said it firmly—like someone warning a reckless friend.
"Why?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
Her eyes were so clear, so free of doubt, they mirrored her heart.
"If I had ill—" Rikuto began.
But he stopped himself.
If he had held malicious intent toward Emilia…
Puck might have already sent him to the afterlife.
"What's wrong?" Emilia tilted her head.
"Nothing," he said quickly, shaking his head.
Then, trying to steer the topic elsewhere, he asked:
"By the way, what's your relationship with Puck? Is he your dad or something?"
"Should I start calling him 'Father-in-Law'?"
Rikuto grinned, teasing.
From Puck's behavior, it was obvious—he doted on Emilia like a father would his daughter.
"Puck's just a spirit I happened to meet," Emilia said quickly, flustered.
"Come on, don't say weird things like that. You'll make him mad."
She puffed out her cheeks again, half-scolding him like a teacher correcting a wayward student.
"He'd really get mad over that?" Rikuto looked skeptical.
He couldn't help but wonder… Everyone else could see it, but somehow Emilia herself hadn't noticed?
He shook his head, brushing the thought aside.
"So back to the question—how are we sleeping tonight?" he asked, returning to the original topic.
"And just to be clear—if you sleep on the floor while I take the bed, I'll lose all self-respect."
"Absolutely not happening."
"…Then… I'll take the bed?" Emilia offered hesitantly.
"I'll give you the blanket, and I'll make the fire burn a little warmer."
"Perfect. Works for me." Rikuto nodded firmly.
Without hesitation, he began helping move the bedding.