After subduing Tentacle Lilith.
Having accomplished the feat of defeating an A-rank magic beast, we returned straight to the forward base.
Why not take down another A-rank beast, you ask?
‘We can’t recklessly disrupt the ecosystem.’
Demonic beasts have their own ecosystems, just as wild animals have their territories.
Similarly, magic beasts have their unique domains.
Due to the turmoil caused by the Black Storm Wolves led by the Wolf Boy, part of the environment in the Demonic Land had been twisted.
On top of that, Tentacle Lilith, who had long established dominance as the local ruler, was destroyed.
Whether it died because its ego shattered after touching a male’s private parts or was struck down by Turbulence, even the angelic core it had been collecting was completely obliterated.
In other words, Tentacle Lilith’s domain is now vacant.
So, how should this area be managed?
Left to nature, some magical beast will eventually claim the area.
However, this would merely result in an existing magic beast expanding its territory, which would conflict with the expectations people have for the Demonic Land.
Thus, planting something new in the forest of Tentacle Trees seemed like the best course of action.
Although the angelic energy that formed the core of the tentacle trees had been completely destroyed, Tentacle Lilith’s body remained in place.
Shrunken, with the ground sunken and misshapen, its corpse covered a vast area, large enough to form a forest in the Demonic Land.
In other words, it could serve as fertilizer.
By taking special measures on Tentacle Lilith’s remains, its pseudo-roots could be repurposed as nutrients for growth.
The plan?
Plant something.
Not ordinary plants, but a species that increases mana when consumed.
[How about a mint chocolate tree?]
‘Stop saying nonsense?’
[Haaaang!! Mint chocolate fruit!! Filled with mint ice cream and coated with chocolate, producing mana seeds!!]
‘What kind of nonsense is that again?’
Ignoring Kim Fenrir, who was spouting strange ideas, I focused on creating mana bread at the table.
It wasn’t quite mana bread.
The principle was the same, but its form was much smaller compared to traditional mana bread.
You could call it mana candy.
As Kim Fenrir mentioned, these were “mana seeds”.
For the older generation, they might resemble candies sold at stationery shops. For the MZ generation, they could look like imported candies displayed in self-service ice cream shops.
The ‘memory materials’ I create with mana aren’t limited to bread.
While most of my stored tastes are bread or dessert-related, it’s entirely possible to create small snacks that children would enjoy.
And for this snack, I only needed to take one additional step.
Knock, Knock.
The sound of knocking echoed.
Perfect timing.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Yunia carefully opened the door and entered, holding a potted plant.
What she brought—something with a long stem about 30cm tall and bearing clusters of fruits—was…
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“…Cherry tomatoes?”
Not strawberries, but cherry tomatoes.
“Cherry tomatoes?”
Yunia tilted her head as she pointed to the plant in her hands.
“I brought the strawberries you asked for, though?”
“Wait a second. Did I mix up the words, or do the terms differ from where I’m from?”
“…So in Phoenix’s homeland, these strawberries are called cherry tomatoes?”
“…”
My head spun for a moment.
My grand plan to create large strawberry core fields centered around the Marquisate of Ludvecia encountered a sudden obstacle.
“Can I try one?”
“Of course.”
After Yunia set the pot down in front of me, I picked a cherry tomato and brought it to my mouth.
“Ahhh.”
Following Yunia’s instructions, I opened my mouth and ate the cherry tomato. In the process, Yunia accidentally pushed her fingers a bit deeper into my mouth than expected, causing me to briefly bite down on one knuckle, but I quickly pulled back by tilting my head away.
“How is it?”
Yunia asked, plucking another cherry tomato and popping it into her own mouth.
Crunch.
“…”
A strange aroma and sweetness burst in my mouth.
The unique juice and flavor with almost no sourness—this is strawberry.
The appearance is that of a cherry tomato, but the taste and texture unmistakably scream strawberry.
Something completely unlike the strawberries I know is delivering the same flavor as a strawberry.
‘Fenrir, is this really a strawberry?’
[Hmm… It seems completely different from the strawberries of the Demon World.]
Fenrir seemed unsettled.
Even beyond my memories, the strawberry-like cherry tomato in front of me was entirely different from the strawberries Fenrir knew before her banishment to the Demon World.
And above all, the red fruit on top of the classic strawberry cake from the Bread Academy world doesn’t look like this at all.
What I—and even Changyeom, as well as everyone in the Demon World—know as strawberries are triangular-shaped fruits with tiny seed-like dots stuck on their surface.
This thing, thinly covered with grape-like skin, is nothing like that.
‘It tastes like a strawberry, though.’
I picked another strawberry—or rather, cherry tomato—and popped it into my mouth.
‘But where are the seeds?’
Many think the dots on a strawberry’s surface are seeds. They certainly look like seeds, but in truth, they are the fruit.
Each tiny dot is a fruit, and we eat the flesh surrounding dozens of those fruits. It’s not even technically a fruit.
That’s what a strawberry is.
Even when I bit it in half and checked the inside, this mysterious thing—looking exactly like a cherry tomato—was still somehow considered a strawberry.
“…”
I reached out and touched the leaves of the cherry tomato.
“Oh my, are you giving the plant a massage too?”
Just like I performed mana massages on Yunia and others, I sent mana into the leaves of the cherry tomato.
I’m no expert on strawberry farms or molecular structures, but at least I know Demon World strawberries inside out.
After spending 10 years as a sl*ve under the Archdukes of Hell, making strawberry desserts daily, I know the differences between strawberries and cherry tomatoes better than anyone.
That’s how I realized.
This is a strawberry.
‘Seems like it’s been selectively bred or something.’
[Is this why mint chocolate doesn’t exist in this world?!]
‘Probably.’
A strawberry that isn’t a strawberry.
Even in the original Bread Academy world, the strawberries once present had apparently undergone some genetic change.
In the rightful place of strawberries, cherry tomatoes had transformed to take their form.
“…This is ridiculous.”
“Phoenix?”
“There’s no point in debating which fruit to plant to grow a mana-imbued plant.”
I ate another cherry tomato.
Sure enough, it’s a strawberry.
It may look like a cherry tomato, but it’s actually a strawberry.
Which means—what you see isn’t always the full truth.
This realization struck me as both a player and someone with Demon World knowledge: I can’t rely solely on my preconceptions. Sometimes, I need to face the reality in front of me.
“Wait.”
I paused.
“Miss Yunia, when we ate food at the terminal at the Academy, remember?”
“Yes.”
“…Didn’t we have strawberries then?”
“…No?”
Yunia tilted her head as she answered.
“We had strawberry lattes, and there were lots of desserts made with strawberries. But wait…”
“Hold on.”
Before Yunia could furrow her brow in confusion, I grabbed her arm.
“????”
She looked bewildered.
Not because I pulled her into an embrace, but because of the confusion I was experiencing. Her eyes darted around in search of clarity.
“W-what’s going on…?”
“Calm down.”
If you tell someone not to think of an elephant, they can’t help but think of an elephant.
“Look at me.”
So instead, I distracted her.
“During this training session, is there anything in particular you want to do?”
“During the training…?”
Yunia’s eyes wavered briefly, but she soon closed them and looked up at me intently.
“I want to fully understand this ‘confusion’.”
Yunia responded with a calm expression.
“Where the boundary changes, what this phenomenon truly is, which side is real, and which is false.”
* * *
[Meanwhile, at Esdinas Academy]
“Hmm, Mmm, Hmm~”
Somewhere within the Academy, which was currently in the midst of practical training week, a female student hummed a tune while strolling through the inner garden.
She had long black hair that flowed down to her waist and golden eyes.
One noticeable trait was the sizable mana pockets she carried, so large they seemed on the verge of bursting, even for a first-year student in uniform.
A striking beauty, she drew attention from passersby as she glanced around at those nearby before suddenly leaping forward.
“Sister!”
“Kyaa?!”
The black-haired student dashed toward a senior student ahead of her and hugged her from behind.
“Heehee!”
“You… again!”
Without hesitation, she began to fiddle with the senior’s mana pockets, opening and closing her hands over them.
The senior sighed deeply and shook her head.
“I really don’t know what to say. If you keep doing this to others, you’re going to get in serious trouble, you know?”
“That’s why I only do it to you, big sis!”
“Ha… [Lily].”
“Yes? Why?”
“Are you… not wearing it?”
“…Heehee.”
The black-haired girl, Lily, leaned in close to the senior’s ear and whispered softly.
“Do you want to check for yourself, Sister?”
“Later. For now, how’s your practical training going?”
“I’m not feeling well, so I arranged to replace it with a written report.”
“Is that so? I thought you’d be eager to go to the Old School Building.”
“Me? Oh, come on, why would I go there?”
Lily replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“That’s a mixed dormitory, isn’t it? I prefer staying in the girls’ dorm.”
“…If you get kicked out later, don’t blame me.”
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.”
Lily gave a mischievous smile.
“I’m not a bad freshman who breaks the rules, after all!”
