Lilliwood-san looked like she was about to start explaining what happened after she left Kuro’s home to become independent... but then, a thoughtful expression crossed her face, followed by a soft smile.
It was the look of someone who had just hit upon a brilliant idea.
"I could simply tell you the story, but since we’re here, let’s try something a bit more interesting. This table is quite large, so I’ll move closer."
"U-Uh, okay?"
While I tilted my head in confusion, Lilliwood-san stood up and took a seat right next to me. We weren't pressed together, but she was close enough that I could have reached out and touched her.
Then, Lilliwood-san gracefully extended her hand toward me.
"Kaito-san, please take my hand."
"Your hand? Um, like this—wait!?"
Doing as I was told, I grasped her hand. In an instant, the world shifted.
We stood in what looked like an open meadow. It was raw, unbridled nature, far removed from anything manicured or tended.
"I believe Lilie has performed a similar feat before, but by resonating with your Sympathy Magic, I am able to share not just the emotions in my mana, but the visuals as well. In a sense, I am showing you my past... though technically, it’s more of a reconstruction based on my memories."
"Lilliwood-san... you can do this too?"
"I can mimic the effects of your Sympathy Magic. Achieving the same level of exceptional Magic Power Adaptation as you is difficult, but something of this scale is quite simple."
As expected of one of the Summits of the Demon Realm, she was capable of all sorts of incredible things. Come to think of it, I recalled her mentioning once before that she could do something similar to Sympathy Magic.
This meant the scenery before me was the Demon Realm as it looked in the distant past, pulled straight from Lilliwood-san’s memories. Honestly, it was hard to tell much just from a field of grass... or so I thought, until I spotted a familiar figure up ahead. Wait, was that...?
"...Is that you, Lilliwood-san?"
"Yes, that is me in the past."
Looking where she pointed, I saw Lilliwood-san holding a massive staff made from a tree trunk, carefully inspecting the tiny flowers blooming in the grass.
The past... if this was shortly after she left Kuro's side, we were talking about nearly twenty thousand years ago. Yet, her appearance was almost identical to how she looked now.
Perhaps her leafy hair was a bit shorter? If there was a difference, it was only by that much.
"After I left Kuromueina's care, the first thing I did—much like the other Six Kings, I imagine—was begin gathering subordinates."
"Were you looking for Spirits?"
"To be more precise, I was 'attempting to create new Spirits'."
"Wait, you can create Spirits?"
"Yes. I searched for flowers and trees rich in magic power and infused them with my own mana. Spirits manifest in plants that possess vast stores of magic, but plants capable of holding that much power naturally are quite rare. Consequently, the total number of Spirits in existence back then was very small."
As she spoke, Lilliwood-san pointed toward her past self. I watched as the younger version of her poured magic into a single blossom.
"Of course, infusing them with my power didn't guarantee a Spirit would manifest, but it made the probability much higher than it happening spontaneously."
"Ah, so that’s why you call your subordinates 'Kin'."
"Precisely. Although, there are naturally occurring Spirits among them, as well as members of other races... I simply refer to them all as my Kin out of habit."
"...It’s a very slow, patient process, isn't it? You’d just infuse them with magic, wait for them to be born, and then head to the next spot?"
"Yes. In fact, it took quite some time before my first Kin finally emerged."
Since Spirits didn't just pop out the moment she finished, it must have required a tremendous amount of patience. Still, I could understand why she’d go to such lengths. She probably wanted companions of her own kind, especially right after striking out on her own. More than anything, I imagine she was looking for subordinates she could truly rely on.
"...By the way, changing the subject, your past self looks almost exactly like you do now."
"That’s true. Spirits only gain a physical form after they’ve acquired sufficient power, so our appearances rarely change from that starting point. However... perhaps because my main body continued to grow, my chest did get a little larger."
"..."
I see. Right. Looking at them now, both the past Lilliwood-san and the current Lilliwood-san appeared to be remarkably well-endowed, but if I actually compared them... No, stop right there, Kaito Miyama.
Comparing the bust size of someone's past and present selves just because they’re the same person is the most pathetic thing a man can do. Stay calm. Get a grip.
I’d known this since the hot springs—Lilliwood-san identified strongly as a tree, so she was just naturally indifferent to these kinds of things. That’s why she could make such dangerously unguarded comments.
That was exactly why I had to be the one to maintain my composure and act like a gentleman. Don't look at her chest. Just endure...
"...I knew it. You are conscious of me."
I was so busy being hyper-aware of her and desperately trying to act normal after her casual bombshell that I completely missed the words Lilliwood-san whispered under her breath.
Serious-senpai: "I’m genuinely impressed that you spent an entire chapter just to reach the conclusion that 'my chest got bigger than it used to be'..."