Chapter 62

Even after that, Lateia continued harvesting the fruit until her basket was full.

“There, I think this should be enough~♪”

Finally, a vine creeping up from behind her—

“And snip♪”

She simply extended her arm and cut it with the shears without even looking back.

Her skill was beyond professional.

“Mama… you don’t happen to have a past as an assassin or something, do you…? No secrets from your daughter, okay…?”

“Nothing like that. I told you, I just took dance lessons.”

“No, no, no, no! You don’t acquire technique like that just from dancing!”

I had to agree with Angelica. Something was off… At the very least, she was definitely not just an ordinary housewife!

“Lateia, by the way, what kind of dance was it…?”

“Ah~ I believe it was what they call a sword dance~. You know, dancing while holding knives and such~.”

The mystery was partially solved!

“Now that you mention it, I heard there were cases in the past where it was used for assassinations~. Of course, I never did anything like that~. After all, seeing blood is scary, isn’t it?”

Lateia spoke in her usual easygoing tone.

However, as her shears glinted in the moonlight, it was a bit chilling.

“Hey, Demon King… how strong is Mama by adventurer standards?”

Angelica whispered the question to me.

“To be able to toy with the security plants of the Demon King’s castle… she has incredible reflexes. She might not have the offensive power to make it as a professional adventurer, but she could probably crush a party of rookies…”

A piece of the puzzle as to why Angelica was able to become a female Hero had been revealed.

I suppose effort alone isn’t everything for humans… She certainly inherited some raw talent…

“Here, you two, they’re especially delicious when they’re freshly picked~♪”

Lateia held out the fruit from the “Binding Trees.”

Since she was currently wielding a pair of shears—a deadly weapon—there was an air about her that made it hard to refuse. Not that I suspected for a second that my wife would stab me!

When I bit into it, the juice truly burst in my mouth.

“A pleasant tartness, and an even greater sweetness… these would be delicious as juice, too!”

“They look dark and creepy, but they’re actually great! Planting them was the right call!”

“Right~? I think I’ll go around and distribute some to the neighbors, too~♪”

There was a risk that the local environment might change because of this invasive species, but since it produced delicious fruit, I suppose it was fine.

However, while I was distracted by Lateia’s hidden secret, there was something I needed to do as the head of the household.

“Lateia, could you first take the fruits that are starting to block the path out of the estate?”

“Oka~y♪”

Holding her shears, Lateia performed her harvesting task as if she were dancing.

Her expression never changed; it was filled with affection.

Because there was a blade involved, it had a different kind of scariness to it…

In a matter of minutes, every fruit in that area had been picked clean.

I couldn’t help but feel that the trees themselves looked a bit dejected. They probably thought, “We went to all the trouble of growing these, and you took them all.”

But listen, harvesting the fruit was a mercy. I’m going to thin you out a bit.

I thrust my right hand forward.

I began to mutter an incantation.

To prevent accidental activation, this particular magic has only existed in incantation form since ancient times.

The minimum power would be enough. Just enough to clear a width for one or two people to pass through.

—BOOOM.

With a sound that rattled my eardrums, the sections of branches that had grown overgrown and blocked the path exploded.

Twigs and leaves scattered everywhere.

I used explosion magic to force the path open.

If I used fire magic, it might spread and wipe out the trees entirely, or worse, catch the house on fire. To destroy a narrow range, this was the optimal solution.

“Phew… With this, we shouldn’t have any blocked paths for a while. Given how fast these things grow, I might need to blast them again eventually, though…”

I used to leave all the greenery maintenance to the gardeners, but this kind of thing is actually quite a lot of work.

“Wow, Garto, that was so cool~.”

As long as I have those words from Lateia, I can fight forever. It’s a blessing to have someone by your side who praises you. It really gets me motivated.

“If the ‘Binding Trees’ get overgrown again, please let me know early. I’ll blow them to bits.”

Lateia clutched her basket and headed back into the house.

Well then, I should head back too.

However, I felt a firm tug on my arm.

There was no one else who would be pulling on me besides Angelica, but I thought it was a rare reaction for her. She wasn’t exactly the type to initiate physical contact.

When I looked at Angelica, her eyes were sparkling.

What is this? She’s acting like she just met a celebrity she admires…!

Granted, I am the Demon King, so I am a celebrity, but we see each other every day, so it can’t be that. Then what on earth is it?

“Hey, hey! How do you use that explosion magic from just now?”

Angelica asked with pure innocence.

“What do you mean ‘how’? You just chant and channel magic into your hand. The chant is in Ancient Demonic, so it might be a bit difficult for you. Also, it’s apparently not recommended for humans to use. Something about it being ‘too demonic.’”

There are spells used commonly by both humans and demons, and there are those used only by one or the other. It’s not that you absolutely can’t use them if you aren’t a demon; it’s more that they’re considered taboo for humans, or at the very least, frowned upon.

Perhaps because blowing things up has a bad reputation among humans, mages tend not to learn those spells.

Since she’s friends with the mage Selene, I assumed Angelica already knew all of that, but—

“Listen, I want to learn that explosion magic too!”

Angelica made the request herself.

“Teach me magic as part of my special training! Teach me, teach me!”

“You’re remarkably enthusiastic when it comes to magic…”

Angelica nodded vigorously.

“I mean, blowing things up is just so cool!”