I drew a blank at a one-in-seven chance.
Correction.
As a master of confectionery, I have always been able to discern the taste of mint chocolate in any ice cream or whipped cream. However, as [Red Sol Phoenix], the Demon King’s advance guard for killing the protagonist, eliminating Angels, and bringing down Heaven, I’ve picked the optimal lineup.
Of course, either way, the best would not be [Fenrir of the Wind] but [Azure Flame]. But if I want to summon Changyeom, it would be a matter of building up enough faith, so it’s not really an issue.
If there is a problem, it’s figuring out how to handle this mint-choco-loving Fenrir.
The answer is simple.
“Come in.”
I grabbed Kim Fenrir and placed her within my core.
“Nyah! This is tyranny…!”
“Once practice is over, I’ll make mint chocolate for you myself.”
“Oh, well.”
Kim Fenrir initially resisted but soon settled comfortably within my core.
[No issues, Nyah?]
“Are you really going to keep speaking like that, even while possessing me?”
[It’s my identity; it’s not something I can just drop, Nyah.]
Despite merging with my mana, Fenrir had no intention of dropping her quirks.
Honestly, it’s hard to even call it a quirk. It’s more like the avatars that virtual streamers use—similar to how some Hell Dukes choose their human forms.
For instance, she could embody a saint, a devotee, the last empress of an empire, or just someone with exceptional beauty that reflects her taste.
So, judging Kim Fenrir’s style feels a bit pointless.
Her cat-like speech and third-person mannerisms?
They are Fenrir’s way of maintaining a level of humanity.
In other words—
[Mint chocolate allows me to think and act from a more human perspective!]
It’s a coping mechanism that lets divine entities view the world more humanly.
The same goes for the other Hell Dukes.
One might be obsessed with strawberries, another with blueberries, and yet another with vanilla. It’s not necessarily wrong.
In the end, the blame falls on Heaven and the Goddess.
[So, you’ve called me out sooner than expected. What’s the plan, dealing with some wind-attribute folks?]
“At least one person I can definitely help.”
[Ah, the rabbitfolk girl?]
Ludmila Lionheart.
A beastfolk hybrid, she holds significant meaning for Fenrir.
It’s not just compatibility; it’s the continuity of the beastfolk lineage that matters.
[Nyahaha, I didn’t expect my miracle to still linger on Earth. Heaven must love furries, Nyah!]
“While I won’t deny it, if you phrase it like that, it sounds weird.”
[What’s weird? They’d still be extinct if Heaven didn’t like the thought of crawling under 2-meter-tall muscular wolf-men and giving in as females!]
“…”
[If you find even 1% error in my words, go ahead and refute me, Nyah.]
“I said it sounds weird, not that I disagreed.”
No denial.
The fact is, most angels are drawn to beastfolk, especially women with rabbit ears like Ludmila or those with cat ears and tails.
The blessing bestowed on beastfolk, enabling “human-beast hybrids,” is a miracle attributed to Fenrir herself—a gift she bestowed upon the Earthly beings.
It’s called the [Miracle of Pasiphae].
[Did you know? The first beastfolk was actually the Minotaur.]
“I’ve heard that story before in the Demon World, but I’d rather not think about it.”
[But it was true love, Nyah. Well, more like an NTR?]
One thing I’ve learned while spending time in the Demon World and chatting with the seven Dukes of Hell is that even they have come to know some modern stories from my world.
– We left out “games” and kept our knowledge vague enough to pass off as something else.
We decided to hide the ‘game’ part as much as possible.
When sharing some memories or modern artifacts and culture with other dukes, we would exclude the Bread Academy elements as much as possible and talk about other things.
Hence—
[In your world, Pasiphae had an affair with a bull, but in ours, the king allowed it as a sort of NTR.]
Or so the Bread Academy lore goes.
“Putting it like that makes it seem like the Heavenly beings were justified in oppressing the Demon kin.”
[All we did was grant the earnest wishes of believers through mana, Nyah.]
Mana has always been capable of miracles beyond modern medicine, making such wonders possible.
[So, about Ludmila, the beastfolk descendant… What will you do?]
“She’s not an adult yet.”
[Oh? And when she becomes one?]
“I’ll plant one on each side for ten months.”
Not yet.
It’s not time.
For now, I’ll just keep making her “whine” a little.
[Alright. So what’s the plan now?]
“First, I’ll use your power to create a ‘Wind Clone’.”
[A Wind Clone?]
“Yes. I’m currently trapped in the old school building.”
I told Kim Fenrir everything that had happened since my encounter with Yunia on the magic train.
“…So, I plan to create a split spirit using your mana’s properties, and send it to the Academy. A spirit form made of wind.”
[It may get through Esdinas Academy’s magic barrier, but it would take a lot of mana to maintain an incorporeal clone.]
Thump.
My heart and core pulse with anticipation.
[This is ‘my technique’, so only ‘my type of mana’ will work. That means you’d need a high concentration of pure wind mana. Do you have enough mana to spare for that right now?]
“Not at the moment.”
I placed my hand over my heart and channeled my energy inward.
When I closed my eyes, an image of a disk appeared in my mind.
The disk, precisely divided into eight sections, each shimmering with a distinct color, except for one section, which was empty and nearly colorless, a void.
The green segment, representing wind mana, was balanced with the others, but there was no surplus to draw on freely without disrupting the balance and causing the void section to expand, risking my physical form.
In other words—
[Without a large supply of wind-type cores, creating a wind clone would be difficult, Nyah.]
Without extra mana, I couldn’t gather information or move around the Academy while stuck in the old school building.
“Then I’ll just have to find more wind mana.”
[How? From where? There’s someone here who could…but would they agree?]
“Ludmila Lionheart.”
She has a substantial reserve of wind-attribute mana.
[How do you plan to get it? By Mana Drain?]
Mana isn’t something easily given to another; to draw it would mean resorting to the much-debated “forced mana drain”, a method used on women.
“It’s something similar.”
But, I have my own way.
“Everyone believes I’m spending a private, meditative day in my room—and that’s exactly what I’ll appear to be doing.”
Why did Red Sol Phoenix spend an entire Sunday alone during the second week of March?
Anyone curious enough to step into my room Sunday evening would know the reason at a glance.
This is the chance.
While everyone assumes I’m enjoying some “me-time” in my room, I’ll sneak into their rooms using my clone.
“Alright, it’s time to go and collect.”
[Dream-hunting?]
“Exactly.”
In the incubus style.
“Through dreams filled with ‘cutesy’ moments, I can absorb mana undetected.”
[Hmm. But won’t using mana now put a strain on you?]
“Let’s share the load. Kim Fenrir, I propose a deal.”
I lay flat on the bed.
“I’ll get you three pints of mint-choco tomorrow if you help me access Ludmila’s Kyun-Kyun dream.”
[Hehehe. For that, anytime.]
I closed my eyes, relaxing.
As soon as my body of mana entered ‘sleep,’ I stirred.
Whirl.
I rose as a being of wind.
Technically, I’d become a spirit of wind, with a ghostly form.
[Since you’re in true spirit form, be cautious not to be seen, Nyah.]
[Of course. But…]
Being outside my demonic core made this a high-stakes move.
[I’m going for Kyun-Kyun, I’ll take the risk.]
I just went through the door and went outside.
I passed through the door and headed straight toward Ludmila’s room.
Squelch, Squelch.
[…Seems she’s already in the mood.]
Perfect.
Everything’s lined up.
