Magic Crystal Insects

The faint, sweet scent of Luna’s honey cookies mingled with the uniquely warm aura of a succubus still lingered at the tip of Vivian’s nose.

She took a deep breath, savoring the lingering fragrance, then turned back to the lengthy report on crop-rotation for the new wastelands.

The nib had barely touched the paper when an unusual smell drifted in through the open window and shattered her focus.

It wasn’t the familiar burnt aroma from Lucia’s kitchen or the everyday smoke of the city.

It was something peculiar—a slightly astringent, powdery scent unique to mana-crystal veins, mixed with the fresh green smell of crushed grass, a hint of indescribable energy-sweetness, and… several panicked teenage shouts?

“Gru?”

Curiosity piqued, Vivian leaned out the window.

She spotted the boy Gru clutching a thick stack of densely written data sheets, face pale, sprinting toward Evernight Academy as if his life depended on it.

The calm maturity that usually belied his age had vanished completely.

Behind him, two younger academy students in uniform struggled together to carry a heavy clay jar.

Terror was written across their faces, as though they held something incredibly dangerous.

The jar’s mouth was covered with cloth, yet something inside rustled and squirmed.

“Lord Demon Lord! It’s terrible! Something huge happened!”

The moment Gru spotted Vivian at the window, he scrambled up the wall like it was flat ground and burst into the office, gasping for air.

He shouted without even bowing.

“Calm down, Gru.”

Vivian rose, voice steady, trying to soothe the boy.

“What happened? Speak slowly.”

“It’s… it’s the experimental plot behind the academy!”

Gru was practically jumping with anxiety.

He slammed the data sheets onto the desk corner and pointed frantically outside.

“The moonlight beans we planted for the growth comparison experiment…”

“We don’t know what happened, but this morning we found strange vein-like patterns on them—like mana-crystal deposits!”

“They’re glowing!”

He took a ragged breath, fear intensifying.

“And… and this!”

He gestured for the younger students to set the jar down and carefully lifted the cloth.

A tiny insect no bigger than a fingernail crawled out slowly.

Its carapace shimmered with an otherworldly sheen, as though made of minuscule mana-crystal fragments.

Even more astonishing, wherever it crawled, the grass beneath briefly flared with soft, transient light before fading again.

The sight felt oddly familiar to Vivian.

She crouched down, uncertain.

“Is this… a mana-crystal beetle? Where did it come from?”

Her fingertip hovered above the insect, sensing faint mana flow.

“We don’t know where it came from!”

Gru stomped in frustration at her calm demeanor.

“Lord Demon Lord, that’s not the point!”

“What are we going to do about the beans? They’re all glowing now and crawling with these bugs!”

“Everyone’s terrified! They think it’s a curse…”

“Alright, alright, don’t panic. It’s not a curse.”

“Just a common pest infestation—at worst, an uncommon one.”

Vivian sighed inwardly.

‘I just solved one crisis, and now mana-crystal beetles invade?’

‘Why does building this Demon Lord territory feel even more grueling than cramming for the civil service exam in my previous life???’

Then something clicked.

She turned to Gru.

“Never mind. Go fetch Thomas and anyone skilled with lab equipment.”

“And bring Luna back. Tell her I’m giving her half a day off tomorrow.”

“We’re going to meet these mana-crystal beetles.”

“Yes, Lord Demon Lord!”

Gru saluted and bolted off like the wind.

About half an hour later, the experimental field was packed with people.

Thomas and his assistants fumbled to set up a bulky, humming magical energy detector.

He cautiously moved the probe toward a glowing bean pod.

Numbers on the crystal panel immediately began leaping.

Luna crouched among the curious but frightened students, softly comforting a little demon girl whose eyes were red from tears.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”

“Look how tiny it is—smaller than your thumb!”

“It can’t possibly eat demons, right?”

“L-Luna-sensei… are you sure it doesn’t eat demons?”

A horn-braided demon girl asked in terror.

“Of course not!”

Luna declared firmly, though she immediately second-guessed her own analogy.

Before she could rephrase, Thomas let out an excited shout.

“Lord Demon Lord! Come quick! This is incredible!”

He pointed at the stabilized, sky-high readings, voice trembling with excitement.

“The pods these bugs have crawled over—or even lightly nibbled—have seeds that weigh thirty percent more on average than the untouched ones!”

“More importantly, their mana density has surged nearly fivefold!”

“These bugs aren’t harming the plants—they’re nourishing them!”

Vivian hurried over.

The numbers were indeed astronomical.

The invading mana-crystal beetles weren’t damaging the pods.

They were feeding them.

This didn’t look like a disaster.

It looked like a bizarre symbiotic relationship.

Like bees and flowers—the beetles transferred absorbed terrestrial energy or some special substance to the crops, triggering beneficial mutations.

A bold idea flashed through Vivian’s mind like lightning.

She always believed: if something exists, there’s a reason; waste can be reused.

If these beetles had such miraculous effects, why not turn harm into benefit?

“Thomas, can you and the lab team research a beetle-nest controller?”

“Keep the mana-crystal beetles contained in the experimental field.”

“They can absorb stray vein energy from the soil for the crops while staying put and not wandering into other fields.”

Thomas instantly understood, eyes lighting up.

“No problem! It’s simple—just modify a mana-crystal controller and add an energy barrier.”

“They’ll move freely inside the designated zone!”

“Luna.”

Vivian turned to the little succubus.

“This is a perfect hands-on teaching case.”

She gestured at the pods and beetles.

“Turn fear into curiosity.”

“Your task is to guide the students to observe and record the interaction between the beetles and the moonlight beans.”

“It’s a hundred times more vivid than dry lectures about mana growth factors—and the best way to dispel their fear.”

“Got it!”

Luna never refused Vivian.

She clapped to gather the students.

“Everyone, listen up! Today we’re having a special mana-crystal beetle observation class!”

“Whoever discovers the beetle’s secret first gets a honey cookie from Teacher!”

Heavy rewards breed brave souls—especially curious little demons.

At the promise of cookies and seeing the adults so calm, fear quickly turned to excitement and competition.

The children crowded the field edge, chattering, some boldly pulling out notebooks to sketch and take notes.

Vivian was about to breathe a sigh of relief when rapid footsteps sounded behind her.

A certain oversized harpy rushed over, cheeks flushed with the thrill of success.

“Vivian! Finally found you! Quick, try the bread I baked today!”

“I strictly followed the mana-crystal oven temperature curve you gave me!”

“This time it is absolutely, absolutely not burnt!”

She proudly offered a loaf from her basket—fluffy, golden, fragrant with wheat and a faint holy glow.

Given Lucia’s glorious kitchen history, Vivian took a skeptical bite.

The texture was indeed soft.

Then an explosive spiciness detonated on her tongue, shooting straight to her sinuses.

She coughed violently, eyes watering.

“Lucia! Did you… mix up the blaze-petal powder jar with the sweet mushroom powder again?!”

Vivian chugged cold water to douse the fire, staring helplessly at the innocent-looking culprit.

“Ah?”

Lucia broke off a piece and tasted it herself.

Her face instantly turned beet red with mortification.

“I-I’m sorry! They were both pale yellow… I thought…”

Vivian was speechless.

Lucia’s demon cuisine skills still needed work.

Meanwhile, the academy’s experimental plot had officially become the “Mana-Crystal Beetle Breeding Base.”

Thomas and the lab team were terrifyingly efficient.

In just a day and a half, they produced a working prototype beetle-nest controller.

Several metal pillars engraved with complex runes were buried around the field.

Pale blue energy barriers, nearly invisible, rose.

The beetles moved freely inside but were gently bounced back if they tried to cross the boundary.

Under the beetles’ “nourishment,” the pods grew sturdier day by day, their magical glow steadier and brighter.

This added one more item to Vivian’s workload—Gru now arrived daily with fresh stacks of data.

“Lord Demon Lord! Latest results! The experimental moonlight bean yield is over fifty percent higher than the control group!”

“The pods’ mana storage resilience has also significantly improved!”

“Should we consider introducing a controlled number of beetles into dedicated breeding fields next, to develop stable mana-veined crystal wheat?”

“The idea is viable, but proceed with extreme caution.”

Vivian warned.

“Yes! I’ll strictly control beetle population density and regularly monitor soil mana levels and swarm activity.”

“Remember—symbiosis is not neglect. We must retain control to prevent overbreeding and a real infestation that drains the land.”

“Understood!”

Gru noted everything down seriously.

That evening, golden sunset light spilled over the jewel-like, radiant bean pods in the test field.

For once, Vivian sat idly on a stone bench by the field, slowly enjoying perfectly sweet honey cookies from Luna.

Lucia sat quietly beside her, silver hair dancing in the breeze.

“Vivian…”

Lucia spoke softly, a mix of anticipation and nerves.

“Trust me one more time…”

“I baked another batch this afternoon.”

“I labeled every single jar and triple-checked!”

“No mistakes this time! Will you… try it?”

“Really?”

Vivian raised a brow at Lucia’s hopeful yet fearful expression.

Her heart softened.

She took the perfectly ordinary-looking, purely wheat-scented bread and bit in.

Soft, sweet, carrying the scent of sunshine and fields.

The temperature was perfect.

She had actually succeeded!

“Not bad at all. There’s hope for you yet.”

Vivian praised sincerely.

“From now on, the kitchen can be yours…”

“On the condition that you never touch blast-flame mushrooms, blaze-petal powder, or any suspiciously colored dust ever again!”

Lucia’s cheeks flushed.

She muttered, “I know… it wasn’t on purpose…”

In the distance, Thomas and Gru fine-tuned the nest controller.

A group of young students, led by Luna, carefully brushed diluted, nearly harmless low-purity mana-crystal powder onto the pods—officially “feeding the bugs.”

The impromptu class was lively and orderly.

“Oh, right.”

Watching the harmonious scene, Vivian suddenly remembered something and called out.

“Gru! For the next round of data, add one more item.”

“Monitor the mana residue and composition in the beetles’ droppings, and their specific effect on soil fertility!”

“Who knows—these little guys’ waste might be an excellent natural mana fertilizer!”

Gru blinked, then grinned in realization.

“Got it, Lord Demon Lord! Sampling starts tomorrow!”

Amid everyone’s busy work, the sun slowly sank below the horizon.

Yet the mana-crystal bean pods in the field glowed with an even softer, brighter light of their own.