Coming up with an endless stream of ideas was easy.
To organize and turn even a small fraction of them into reality?
Now, that was a whole other question.
It took Konrad the better half of the next day to lay down the foundations for his simulation.
Not like he'd complain, having no strength left to do that—or the time, at the very least.
But he was so engrossed with the complexity of his tasks that he'd even forget to eat.
His legs were shaking—and the justification?
"I kept putting off magic practice until now, and this gives me a lot to figure out," he muttered.
He broke new ground, with many obstacles, and overcoming them was the ultimate reward.
If only he could ask Zoltan's advice—but he was still in Eytjangard and he hadn't heard of him for a long time. The dragon was his next best bet, but she was hiding somewhere to pout.
Maple also said that illusions were way below her.
And Stella could only create real zombies. He'd rather not have her do that ever again.
Eyna knew nothing about magic, and she was busy elsewhere, while Gabrielle was yet to return. His only audience was a bored Lilith, who brought him sustenance to keep him going.
Or rather, she shoved overripe fruit slices down his throat, almost choking him to death.
"Impressive. But it's a huge waste of time, Konny boy," she noted while trying to dislodge a stuck bite. "I don't mind you having hobbies, though, s'long as you have some time for me."
"What do you mean?" Konrad scoffed and coughed, trying his best to stay alive in her care.
She didn't make it easy.
"Well, you're always busy these days, but you've time to build a theme park?!"
That, and a hard slam on his back, finally made him spit that rogue slice of fruit out.
She left him heaving for a while.
Lily didn't hold back, be it about physical touches or ruining his mood.
"No. These won't be boring, old, static illusions," he claimed. "I'll use adamantite coins to project them out, cheating my casting limits. And every observer will see something different."
He only paused to shoot her an annoyed glance.
"I'm not doing this for fun," he clarified, pointing at his latest rune. "I invented spells that'll push my limits. This could be the difference between life and death when fighting Maou Midori."
"Whatever you say." The girl shrugged. Wow. Right in the feels.
"But it's true," Konrad argued. "I had no other way to extend my range until now. And this syntax will help me simplify basic casting structures, and then I can automate—"
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing she didn't care at all.
Why was he even trying to explain it to her anyway?
"I'm kinda lonely, Konny bee," she took her chance to complain. "I can't even blame it on the harem, because I'm still the only one who got some fun times with you. But it's not enough."
Konrad gulped. A mention of their 'fun times' was enough for his blood to rush to his face.
"I-I'd like to point out that I wouldn't be here if you didn't—"
No, that wasn't it. They've been over this.
Sure, he still didn't understand Lily's motivation for ruining his previous life. Or why she came back to him after going that far—but bringing that up again did not help.
"I'm overwhelmed," he confessed.
He took a step back, pointing at the messy runes and half-made artifacts that he had prepared.
"Things refuse to go my way unless I'm working on stuff like this," he muttered. "I know, I wasted one life on work already—but now I don't know how to deal with this one."
"Wow, this got deep fast," Lily noted, raising an eyebrow.
Not the support he had hoped for.
"All I'm saying," Konrad tried again, "is that I'm not in control of anything. I grew up as an orphan. I wanted some semblance of power, but the more I tried, the worse it got."
"But I'm here now, lucky you," the little ginger pouted. "What more would you need?"
He let out a pained laugh.
"Nothing. But I'm still here in this mess now. How do I get out?" Konrad asked. "I wanted to have control over my life, and not to become a plaything of bosses and, well—demonesses."
"Ouch," Lily poked at his side. "You say it like it's my fault, not Gabby's."
"Give me a break," he complained. "You also want me to fight Maou Midori. But first—"
He pointed at the ruins around him. Did he have to say more?
"Defeat the Inquisitor, please the spirits, entertain a king. Raise an army of people who hate each other. Have it all work, and now. I try my best for you, so don't say it's a waste of time."
Lily fluttered her long eyelashes—was that an apology?—but didn't say anything.
Of course, he couldn't read her mind, but everyone could walk in and out of his.
Life was unfair, whether he was a noble now or not.
"My perspective might be a bit too big," she muttered a while later. "I mean, a little rough for a human like you. Do explain how making a horror house will solve our problems, then."
At least she was open to a discussion.
"It was actually your brother's idea," he said, earning a glare right away.
"You mean the blacksmith told you to make a theme park?"
Right.
She still rejected him as a sibling, despite their shared parents, being a greater demon, and all.
"He said I have to force them to work together like their life depended on it," Konrad explained. "But I can't send them into the mines to fight goblins without preparations."
"And so you decided to set up this thing instead," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "I see your point, but you put way too much effort into it, and haven't considered one simple thing."
He was ready to rant about how focusing on the small details actually helped him improve.
How he invented new casting methods. Or kept himself busy so he didn't have to worry about the future. But given how she pointed out an error, his mind went into overdrive.
"What?" he asked without a clue.
"I get that it's fun for you, and sure, it'll work, but—why'd they want to complete your course?"
"Huh? Well, because—"
Why exactly? He never thought of that.
He got far enough to realize how to fake a scary situation, but why would they enter it in the first place? The Blood Moon tribe was loyal to Welf and thankful for him, but the rest?
"That, too, but you're overthinking it again," Lily said, shaking her head as she read his mind.
At least she didn't keep him guessing.
"I know what Welf thinks—he pulled the same with me back in the day. Put our peers in sticky situations and have me save them again and again. To get accepted, and all. It got me exiled."
"Oh," was all Konrad could say. "So this won't work?"
"It will," she said before he scrapped the entire project. "But you need more than a theme park."
Her hand still lingered on his back, but she held it much lower now, squeezing his bottom.
"You gotta think of the motivation first."