Chapter 34: The Illusory Demon Card and Angelina’s Amusements

Under the brilliant, clear moonlight, I sat atop the highest point of Navareli’s royal city, on the head of an angel statue, letting out a bored yawn.

Gazing out, a shimmering lake encircled the city below, beyond which lay the brightly lit capital district of the Asante Kingdom.

“It’s about time,” I murmured, “time to head back.”

I glanced at the newly purchased portable magical clock in my hand, speaking to myself.

Extending the two pairs of wings from my back, I leaped down, gliding through the cool night air towards my rented home.

“Oh, damn it, I forgot to buy groceries!”

Mid-flight, I suddenly recalled that all the ingredients for dinner had been consumed yesterday, so I swiftly altered my course, heading towards a nearby market.

Discreetly, I landed in a secluded alleyway, peeking my head out from a fork in the path to survey my surroundings.

Excellent; no one had noticed me.

Thus, feigning the casual air of a passerby, I emerged from the alley and made a beeline for the vegetable stall I frequented.

“Boss, I’d like five Wind-Dance Bird eggs, half a jin of Sunrise Cabbage, half a jin of Manzanillo Basil, and one jin of Long-Whiskered Leopard meat.”

Before even reaching the stall, I rattled off the list of ingredients I had already decided upon.

Truth be told, these names were quite peculiar, but I had grown accustomed to them; as long as the food was delicious, nothing else mattered.

“You’re back again?” The stall owner, a plump woman in her fifties who sold both vegetables and meat, greeted me. Having been a regular customer, she recognized me immediately.

“Why are you buying so much this time? Can you finish it all?”

“Of course! There’s another person at home, so how could we not finish it?”

That person, naturally, was Angelina; she had parted ways with me early today due to other tasks, so she should have returned home by now.

“You mean that young girl who was with you last time, right? I think I’ve only seen her once.”

“Haha, yes, she’s often very busy with work, and I’m generally better at household chores anyway.”

Receiving the already packaged ingredients from her, I scratched my head as I explained.

“That’ll be 20 Sira.”

“Ah, alright.”

Hearing the total, I quickly pulled out my wallet, fished out a few coins, and handed them over. The price was quite reasonable; her stall was the most affordable in the area, which was why I frequented it.

“Do come again next time!”

Waving my hand, I turned and hurried towards home. It was truly getting late, and if Angelina was hungry, she would likely start nagging incessantly.

Fortunately, my rented place wasn’t far; there was no need to fly, just a few minutes of running brought me to the bookstore downstairs.

“You’re back?” The landlord uncle greeted me, then settled back at the cash register, engrossed in his book.

Initially, I hadn’t understood, but I later discovered that this landlord uncle was an absolute novel enthusiast. Even most of the books in his store were an eclectic mix of novels, covering themes like adventure, romance, and knights. To be honest, the selection was quite comprehensive, easily comparable to bookstores on Earth; I had even found some ‘indescribable’ books tucked away in a corner.

The first time I entered his bookstore, I had hoped to find some magic-related books downstairs to improve my strength, but I walked in full of hope and left utterly despairing. Seeing me enter, he assumed I was interested in the novels he sold, and he began endlessly recounting how certain authors had ghosted their works, or how others had been swindled out of everything by unscrupulous merchants, instructing me on how to avoid such pitfalls.

Honestly, where would I find the time to read novels? These days, I was exhausted to death from daily tasks, and after dinner, I would simply collapse into bed, leaving no other free time whatsoever.

Looking up at the second-floor window, I saw that the lights were indeed on. I quickly circled around to the back, dashed upstairs, and rushed into my home.

“Angelina, I’m so sorry, I’m late!”

The moment I opened the door, I immediately apologized, not daring to let her know that I had been slacking off atop the royal city and forgotten the time.

However, upon entering the room, she completely ignored me. She didn’t complain about dinner not being ready, as she usually would; instead, she merely sat at the table, intently flipping through a card in her hand.

“What’s that?” I set down the groceries, then walked curiously behind her, peering at the object between her fingers.

It was an exquisitely designed card, with an intricately镂空 border that shimmered with mysterious specks of light. In its center, the image of a six-winged angel was depicted.

“Isn’t this…?” I recognized the item, as every day on my way to the Adventurer’s Guild, I passed by a place that looked like an arcade, and advertisements for these very cards were displayed at its entrance. There weren’t just angel designs, but many other types as well.

I had never understood what these things were for, yet their price was exorbitant, starting at several hundred Sira per card, with the cost varying by rarity.

It felt somewhat akin to the trading cards that elementary school children on Earth used to collect. I found it quite childish; even though these here appeared more ornate, and likely even possessed magical effects, they still couldn’t escape my definition of ‘childish.’

“It’s called an Illusory Demon Card,” Angelina supplied the answer, her first words since I’d returned home.

“Right, that’s the name!” I recalled, those very words were written on the advertisements.

“So, what did you buy this for?”

Seeing how she cherished it, I couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled. Surely she was long past the age for collecting such childish trinkets.

“Do you want to know?” Upon my question, she seemed to suddenly take an interest, flashing a mischievous smile that only further piqued my curiosity.

“Uh-huh,” I nodded eagerly.

“Then watch closely.”

Angelina placed the card on the floor, then infused it with a small amount of light elemental energy…

A sudden, dramatic change occurred: the entire room was instantly enveloped in a strange light, so dazzling that I, who had been intently watching the card, couldn’t open my eyes for a moment.

“What’s happening?”

I cried out, fearing it might explode.

“It’s nothing!”

Angelina, however, had been prepared, turning her head away from the start.

“Look…”

Indeed, after the light subsided, I saw a six-winged angel, utterly identical to the one on the card, suddenly appear before me, leaving me speechless with astonishment for a long moment.

“Is this… a life-sized magical balloon doll?”

The six-winged angel before me was practically indistinguishable from a real one; at first glance, I couldn’t tell the difference, and it initially startled me. However, upon closer inspection, it became clear that it was merely an inanimate object, devoid of any expression or movement, and even lacked warmth to the touch.

“It’s not that simple.”

Angelina stepped back, building suspense, and then I witnessed the six-winged angel actually move. It truly moved, and its movements appeared quite fluid. Although its face remained devoid of expression, like a robot, it was undeniably in motion.

“You’re controlling it?” I immediately realized, turning to ask Angelina.

She nodded, then explained to me.

“Whoever summons it from its card form can control all its actions, including expressions and speech.”

“Flora is an idiot.”

Though the content of its speech annoyed me somewhat, the angel before me had indeed spoken, and then, in response, produced a smile that, to my eyes, appeared a little stiff.

“Isn’t that a bit too overpowered?” I immediately thought of numerous potential uses, such as impersonating real people or genuine angels. Wouldn’t that just throw everything into chaos?

Yet, in reality, I had never seen anyone control such a thing.

“It’s not that simple. You can only control one action at a time, including facial expressions. So… you get it.”

Indeed, as soon as Angelina explained, I immediately understood why this thing couldn’t convincingly wander the streets, passing for real. It was single-threaded! In that regard, it was even inferior to a robot.

“And you can also try out its attack,” Angelina said, commanding the angel to throw a punch at me. Before I could even raise my hands in defense, I was too slow to dodge, and the blow landed directly on my face.

“Huh?” Feeling not the slightest bit of pain, its power was even weaker than a balloon doll’s. I rubbed my face, utterly bewildered, as it continued to unleash a flurry of combination punches at me. They looked quite flashy, but with a gentle backhand slap from me, it simply exploded with a “bang,” dissolving into a puff of smoke and reverting to its card form.

“This is clearly just a magical balloon doll!” I exclaimed, stomping my foot and pointing at the card on the floor.

“No, it’s even worse than a balloon doll! Balloon dolls aren’t this fragile!”

“What more do you want then?” Angelina said with a wry smile, picking up the card from the floor. “Were you hoping it could fight for you like a Stand user? Or be your bodyguard? With just that tiny bit of magic input, it’s already impressive that it can do so much.”

“That’s true,” I conceded, realizing the logic in her words.

“By the way, couldn’t you infuse it with more light elemental energy? Wouldn’t it become stronger then?”

“How could that be? Such a thin card can only withstand so much magic at most. It must have been precisely designed that way; if you force more in, it’ll just burst.”

Angelina handed the card to me, clearly seeing my eagerness to try it.

On the back of the Illusory Demon Card, a series of operating instructions were written, detailing how to control fixed actions, including limbs, expressions, and speech.

Following her previous steps, I also placed the card on the floor and infused it with a bit of light elemental energy. Sure enough, it instantly transformed into the six-winged angel, just as it had before.

I noticed that some light elemental energy seemed to overflow during the infusion; the card only accepted a portion, with the rest dissipating into the air, wasted.

“Angelina, you idiot,” I commanded the angel to say, immediately retaliating with a crude remark.

“You learn quite fast,” Angelina remarked, seeing how quickly I had mastered the control technique. She sat on the bed, looking a little helpless.

“Of course! Who do you think I am?” I boasted, circling the fake six-winged angel with a smug air.

“It is indeed very lifelike, but beyond that, it seems rather useless, quite a dead weight.”

I delivered my final verdict.

“Furthermore, controlling it requires intense focus, preventing you from doing anything else. It has no practical value.”

“Who said it has no practical value?” Hearing my assessment, Angelina immediately took offense, rising to her feet.

“Like this, for example.”

Saying so, she ran a hand over the fake angel’s chest.

“Or like this.”

Then, with another swift motion, she lifted its skirt.

“And like this.”

Wow, that was too much! She actually lay directly on the floor and put her head under its skirt!

“Pffft—”

After a long time, I finally spat out the tea I was drinking, quickly setting the cup back on the table. The series of actions had completely stunned me.

“You bought it just for *that*? Why don’t you just touch yourself then?”

I stared at Angelina, speechless. Wasn’t she an angel herself? It was just a matter of having one less pair of wings.

“That’s different,” Angelina smirked at me with an ‘you know what I mean’ expression. “Calling a mahjong tile and drawing it yourself are miles apart.”

“You have a point.”

It was just a bit perverted.

And seeing her like that, I once again felt a sense of pity; her beautiful face was truly wasted on such antics.

“Ah, wait, can you even compare those? Do you even have a ‘cannon’?”

Realizing what she said, I stomped my foot again in exasperation.

“Besides, isn’t drawing your own tile much better than calling one?”