“ใIllumination Sphereใ”
Jill, having entered the building, chanted a spell.
Then, from the palm of Jillโs hand, a small orb-like object was created.
It emitted light and floated softly, like a feather, toward the ceiling.
The orb illuminated the interior of the building in white, making it seem as though it were daytime only in this space.
“Hey, Jill, could you always use that kind of magic?”
“Uh, yeahโฆ Now that I think about it, this might be the first time Iโve shown you.”
At that moment, Jill wasnโt fully conscious of her actions. She was merely thinking, “Itโs dark, so I need to turn on some lights,” and chose a spell more convenient than the basic ใilluminationใ magic. However, explaining that “somehow a spell I used in a dream worked in real life” would have sounded nonsensical, so she brushed it off casually.
“More importantly, where do you think the suspicious area is? There should be a magical tool that serves as the core of the demon here…”
“If thereโs anything suspicious, itโs probably the counter table, right?”
“Alright, letโs investigate a bit.”
Jill casually placed her hand on the counter table.
As soon as the cool sensation of the wood reached her hand, she immediately pulled it away.
“Oh, there was a magical reaction. Everyone, please stay quiet.”
At Jillโs words, something strange happened.
From beneath the counter table, a black mist-like substance appeared.
“Ah!?”
Carol, about to scream, was silenced by Jillโs raised index finger.
“Itโs alright, itโs harmless. Please stay calm.”
“Y-yes…”
“Thank you. Now, please, speak.”
Without a trace of fear, Jill urged the mist-like entity to speak.
‘Do not move it…’
An eerie voice, indeterminate whether it was male or female, echoed.
“Alright, I wonโt move it.”
‘Do not move it…’
“What is your name?”
‘Do not move it…’
“What is the name of your creator?”
‘Do not move it…’
Jill continued asking various questions.
However, there was no response from the black mist.
It did not attack, nor did it show any intention of saying anything beyond “do not move it.”
Still, Jill began to feel a certain conviction forming.
“Are you Roger Brown?”
The name Jill spoke was that of the deceased owner.
However, even after saying the name, the black mist remained silent.
‘Do not move it…’
“So, thatโs not it either… I need to think more simply…”
“Um, Jill? Are you alright?”
Matthew asked, his voice filled with concern.
But Jill, focused on the task at hand, responded without turning around.
“I’ll ask a few more questions, and if that doesnโt work, weโll reset and start over.”
“Sigh… alright.”
“Okay… ‘I am Roger Brown.'”
‘……’
“No, thatโs wrong. ‘Brown’ was the name he took after becoming a commoner… I should try his name before his fall… ‘I am Roger Andromalius.'”
‘Roger Andromalius. For identity confirmation, please provide your date of birth.’
“Stellar Calendar Year 519, Month of Ice Sky, 13th.”
As soon as Jill gave that date, the black mist changed.
It transformed into a faintly glowing green hue.
‘Security functions are temporarily suspended.’
“Heh heh heh, using his own name and birth date as a password is pretty sloppy for a demon creator. But creating a demon that can respond so clearly is quite impressive.”
Jill smiled triumphantly and gently stroked the green mist.
The mist showed no hostility and remained passive.
At this point, Matthew cautiously asked a question.
“So, Jill… does this mean that all that was needed was a password?”
“Yes, thatโs correct. The magic had a built-in warning function for anyone who didnโt say the password. Iโve read in a book that in such cases, giving your name is the most common approach.”
“I see…”
Matthew, no longer as frightened, moved closer to examine the green mist intently.
“So, this is what it means to lack a soul but have intelligence. He… or Iโm not sure if I should call it ‘he,’ but this demon was only judging whether the password was said or not, without any regard for the personโs appearance or voice.”
“Exactly. It can only perform predetermined actions. More complex constructs might check bloodlines, or distinguish based on general appearance or voice tone. Also, it seems demons like this are programmed to respond to specific phrases, creating the illusion of human behavior.”
“Impressive knowledge.”
Matthew, clearly impressed, let out an admiring sigh.
On the other hand, Carol was completely lost as to what was happening.
“Well then, it seems we can now move or renovate the counter table as needed.”
Jill muttered, clearly satisfied.
However, as if to rain on her parade, the demon suddenly spoke in a monotonous voice.
‘The storage vault is currently locked. A sacrifice is required to unlock it or to disable activity.’
“Huh?”
‘To unlock or disable, a sacrifice is required.’
The mist repeated the same phrase.
“Excuse me, Jill, but… what does this mean?”
“It seems… the function to warn or repel intruders, like a guard dog, has stopped. However, the function to ‘lock’ something is still active… that’s what it sounds like.”
“‘Lock,’ you say… It sounds as if it’s protecting some sort of treasure, doesn’t it?”
“Well, the entity itself said ‘storage vault’… so there’s definitely something here.”
Jill began tapping and patting the counter table, as if searching for something.
Yet, she tilted her head in confusion, as though she had come up empty-handed.
“Hmm, I don’t sense anything unusual, though.”
“Jill, isn’t this counter table too big to move easily? It seems a bit too large.”
“True.”
“If someone were to hide something beneath it, wouldn’t this be the perfect spot?”
“Ah, I see. Like a hidden compartment under the floor…”
Jill casually knocked on the floor beneath the table.
Comparing the sound with other spots on the floor, there was indeed a difference.
There was definitely some kind of space underneath.
The three of them exchanged silent glances and nodded to each other.
‘To unlock or disable, a sacrifice is required.’
“Alright, alright, I get it. Just hold on for a moment, okay?”
Jill casually brushed off the mistโs repeated statement and turned to look at Carol.
“…What should we do?”
“Uh, um… I’ll leave it to you!” Carol replied with an uncertain smile.
“Then, should we proceed with investigating?”
“Leaving it as is and starting renovations could be bad, right…? If itโs something valuable, thatโs an issue, and if itโs something dangerous, that’s even worse…”
“I agree. Let’s continue the investigation, then.”
With that, Jill turned back to the mist and asked,
“When you say ‘a sacrifice is required,’ does it mean anything will do?”
‘I desire a cake of Andromalius.’
“…A cake of Andromalius?”
All three of them tilted their heads in confusion, unable to understand.
โ
None of them had any idea what kind of cake the demon was asking for.
In the end, they decided to leave the scene for the time being.
The next day, Jill decided to visit the restaurant *Rocinante*. She figured that if anyone knew about the magical cake, it would be the owner, Roland.
“The Cake of Andromalius, huh. Well, I do know about it.”
As Jill expected, Roland nodded in acknowledgment. But as he rubbed his bald head, his expression remained somewhat bitter.
“You say you know about it, but you’re making a strange face.”
“Thatโs because all I did was hear about it. As the manager here, I donโt really go to competing shops. I was curious, but Iโve only had it once.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But one thing I can say is that it surpassed expectations. Even Lord Conrad praised it without hesitation.”
“Really, itโs that amazing?”
Jill was genuinely surprised.
It wasnโt just because her uncle, Conrad, had praised it.
Jill knew that Roland himself was incredibly skilled.
For someone of his caliber to compliment another person’s cake, almost as if admitting defeat, was a big deal.
“Yeah… How should I describe that strange cake…?”
“Does it use some kind of special ingredient?”
“Nope. It’s made from a regular *appareil*โa mixture of eggs and milk. Same as custard. You can probably experiment with toppings and flavorings, though.”
“Same as custard?”
“Iโm not explaining this well… Ah, I know! Hey, Mars! Come here for a sec!”
“Coming!” A young boyโs voice, somewhere between a child’s and a teenager’s, responded.
Footsteps thudded down the stairs.
“Hello, Jill!”
The one who came down from the second floor and greeted her politely was Rolandโs son, Mars. He had a kind face similar to his fatherโs, but his lean physique and thick hair were traits Roland clearly didnโt share.
“Mars, do you remember the Cake of Andromalius? You used to love it as a kid and ate quite a lot of it.”
“Rogerโs cake? I remember it, but… I was only three or four years old, right?”
“Just tell them what you remember. What kind of cake was it?”
“Uh, how should I describe it?”
Mars scratched his head awkwardly, clearly trying to recall.
“Ah, sorry for putting you on the spot, Mars.”
“No, itโs fine… The thing is, the taste itself wasnโt anything outlandish. I think it had a sponge layer on top, custard in the middle… and the bottom part was like a firmer custard pudding… or something like that.”
“Ah, so it was a three-layered cake?”
“No, it wasnโt.”
As Jill murmured her thoughts, Mars shook his head.
“Huh?”
“There werenโt any layers. As you ate it, the sponge would gradually turn into custard, and the custard would turn into pudding. There was no boundary between them.”
“…How is that even possible?”
“I donโt know, thatโs the thing. Iโd love to recreate it if I could.”
Mars sighed in resignation, as if giving up.
Jill grew increasingly confused.
“Roland, you said earlier that you’d use an appareil, right? Do you know the recipe?”
“Ah, yes. A long time ago, before he died… Roger taught me a bit when I visited him. He didnโt use any special ingredients. From what I tasted, I didnโt think there was anything rare in it. But as for the temperature, the way it was baked, the specific care that went into it… he didnโt tell me those details.”
Roland said with a somewhat regretful expression.
“Indeed, both the sponge and the pudding arenโt made with any rare ingredients, but still…”
“I thought it was just a sponge cake and pudding baked together with cream in between, but it seems I was wrong. That cake had an oddly seamless texture. Thatโs what gave it its unique mouthfeel.”
“A seamless texture… no borders… this deepens the mystery.”
“I think thereโs some kind of trick to it. Iโd love to see that cake brought to light again. But why are you investigating that cake?”
“Ah, well…”
Jill hesitated to speak. Saying “Iโm offering it to a demon” was hard to explain.
So, Jill decided to give a partial explanation, saying she planned to rent the building where the cafรฉ Andromalius once stood. While skirting around the subject of demons, she explained that the cake was necessary to calm the disturbances caused by the malevolent spirit.
“Jill, I donโt know much about ghosts or spirits… but are you saying that quieting the disturbance will allow him to rest in peace?”
“No… Iโm not sure if heโll find peace. Iโm not an expert on ghosts or souls.”
“Huh?”
Roland looked at Jill with a confused expression.
“However, I think we can at least improve the situation, with the building in its current state and all the bad rumors spreading. I can confidently say that Roger isnโt cursing or resenting anyone after death, and I can prove that.”
Jill didnโt have any particular attachment to the deceased.
She was simply swept along by circumstances, but her curiosity about demons and the allure of the counter table played no small role either. That said, she had no intention of backing out now, just because it was inconvenient.
“Most likely, the cafรฉ owner, Roger, had something he wanted to protect even after his death. I think Iโm probably the only one who can safeguard that and pass it on to his heir. So, Iโm willing to give it a try.”
“I see…”
“Besides, I canโt help but feel sorry for the person who inherited this place. Having to inherit a haunted house… I feel a kind of inexplicable empathy for that.”
“Haha, thatโs something only you, Jill, would feel.”
Roland laughed heartily, and after his laughter subsided, his expression turned serious.
“If thatโs the case, Iโll help you however I can. Roger wasnโt a close friend… but he was my rival.”
“Oh, come to think of it…”
Jill recalled something Carol had told her.
In this area, three establishments once vied for dominance.
The cafรฉ “Andromalius.”
The dining bar “Red Eyebrow.”
And the restaurant “Rocinante.”
“Letโs recreate it. That Andromalius cake.”
“Yes!”