Flio decided to go for a walk after his meal. He'd been eavesdropping
on conversations at the inn when he heard about a guild for adventurers,
and figured he might as well check it out. In Flio's original world, these
guilds were places where registered adventurers would take posted jobs
calling for monster hunters or caravan guards or the like, and receive
payment. Newly arrived as he was, Flio had no connections in this world,
and it seemed to him that the rewards for posted jobs at a place like that
would be the best way to make money quickly.
He had scarcely begun to make his way through the city when a small
window appeared in front of him, giving him directions:
Continue ahead to reach the Klyrode Castle Town Adventurers'
Association.
This was the effect of one of his passive skills: Guidance. With its help,
Flio could navigate easily through this completely unknown city.
As he was walking, Flio felt a presence behind him. "Hm?" He looked
out of the corner of his eye and saw a child dressed in rags carefully
drawing closer to him, looking intently at his possessions like a thief. The
child reached out his hand to grab Flio's Bottomless Bag, but his hand was
deflected by a magic barrier. A number of Flio's passive spells activated at
once.
"Wh-What?" the child blurted out in surprise. The next instant, a rope
appeared at the child's feet and rose up, tying his legs together. Tightly
bound, he lost his balance and fell.
Flio turned to get a good look at the would-be thief. He was painfully
thin, and his clothing was in tatters. It was easy to assume that he'd only
turned to theft out of hunger and desperation. The boy was trying to say
something, but the ropes had moved up his body, pulling tighter and
gagging him. Flio couldn't make out his words.
"Hey, that's—" a voice called out.
"What in the world?!"
A crowd was starting to form around them, drawn by the sight of a
fallen child wrapped up in ropes. Flio frantically looked around. Not
wanting to get involved in any kind of trouble, he took a gold coin from his
bag and stuck it through a gap in the rope binding. Then, he leaned close to
the child's ear. "Don't do that again, okay?" he whispered, stepping away
and releasing the spell.
Disoriented at being suddenly free, the child darted away into the crowd.
Flio watched him go until he was completely out of sight, and then stepped
into the crowd himself, using magic to conceal his presence. Before long,
he reached the guild.
The guild was a fairly large two-story building. The first floor held the
reception area as well as a food hall and weapon shops. On the second floor,
there were rooms for adventurers to stay overnight.
First things first, I need to register myself as an adventurer. With that in
mind, Flio walked up to a counter he saw marked by a sign hanging from
the ceiling that said "Adventurer Reception." A red-haired elf was sitting
behind the desk. She smiled as Flio approached.
"Good afternoon," she said. "How can I help you? Are you here to
register as an adventurer? Or are you looking for a job?"
"I want a job, please," said Flio. "Do I need to register first?"
"Yes," she said, still smiling. "That's how our organization works."
"I've never done this before. Would you mind giving me a simple
overview?"
"Of course! I'm here to help." Flio smiled politely at her words. "Now
then," she continued, beginning to explain.
According to the receptionist, the first step for an aspiring adventurer
would be to register themselves with the guild. They would take jobs and
earn merit, rising in rank in proportion to their achievements. Higher-ranked
adventurers could undertake more difficult jobs that promised greater
rewards.
It was possible to take jobs from the guild without registering as an
adventurer, but registered adventurers were eligible for provision funds to
pay for any gear deemed necessary for the job as payment up front, and if
they happened to be injured while undergoing a mission, they could receive
healing free of charge from the guild's witches. It was no surprise that most
adventurers chose to register. However, if a registered adventurer
abandoned a job partway through or failed to complete it in the allotted
time, they would be obligated to pay a penalty fee for the breach of
contract.
There were also certain jobs listed as "unranked." These jobs were
considered exceptionally difficult. There was no penalty for abandoning an
unranked job, but also no payment upfront and no free healing if an
adventurer was wounded in their attempt, no matter how serious the injury.
For the most part, they were hardly considered worth it. On the other hand,
many of them offered immense rewards if a party could pull it off (although
there were some cases where the client simply wasn't able to provide an
appropriate reward for the difficulty, or lacked adequate information
concerning the request). You could rise in rank very quickly by succeeding
on unranked jobs, but you'd be courting death if you made it a habit.
After listening carefully to the explanation, Flio finalized his registration
and was given a small, silver pendant tied with a braided cord. "Your
adventurer profile and all of your information is magically recorded inside,"
the elf said. "You can check it using magic. When you accept or complete a
job, be sure to bring it here so that we can record your achievements."
Flio brought the plate in front of his eyes. A letter was projected on the
surface of either side. "What does this 'E' mean?" he asked.
"That's your rank. Adventurers' ranks go from E at the lowest, to S at
the highest. Everyone starts at rank E."
"I see. And I'll gain ranks as I take jobs?"
"Yes, exactly."
"All right," said Flio, putting the pendant around his neck. "In that case
I'll just have to do my best to make this thing into an 'S'!"
The woman smiled at him. "I look forward to seeing you in action! Now,
I just need one silver as a registration fee." She held out her right hand.
"Can I pay with this?" asked Flio, taking a gold coin out of his bag and
handing it to her.
"Yes, of course." The elf took his coin with a smile, then gave Flio his
change back in silver.
Paid and registered, Flio walked quickly to the board where jobs on
offer were displayed, but he ended up stopping short of the board itself.
Before him, standing by the board, was a lone, young girl. She seemed to be
approaching adventurers who came to see what jobs were available and
pleading with them about something. "Hm?" Flio wondered aloud. "What's
going on with that girl?"
It struck Flio as suspicious, so he decided to try to listen in. He focused
on his hearing and several of his skills activated—now he could hear her
more clearly.
"Excuse me, sir," she said, again and again to different adventurers.
"Would you please escort me to the Delaveza Forest?" A client could have
their request displayed on the board as a proper job for a set fee, but this girl
seemed to lack the money and could only work outside the rank system and
approach adventurers individually. The Delaveza Forest was rumored to be
an abode of demons, but the girl could only offer a few coppers as payment
with no provision funds upfront. It was very poor conditions for a job, and
most of the adventurers simply ignored her.
One of them took pity. "It's a twenty-day ride," the adventurer said. "I'll
do it if you can at least pay for a cart, and food for the trip." But it seemed
like the girl lacked money even for that, and they, too, walked away.
Flio watched from a short distance. The Delaveza Forest... he thought. I
was just there. I could make the trip in no time using Teleportation. It looks
like she's in some real trouble... He walked up to the girl.
"Excuse me, miss, would you like me to take you?" he said.
The girl jumped in surprise and turned around to look at Flio. It seemed
like she had been on the verge of giving up. She looked him over and said,
"Um, I can't offer much of a reward. Is that okay?"
Flio smiled calmly. "I mean, if all you need is someone to bring you
there, it won't take any time at all with my Teleportation skill. I'll gladly do
it for free."
The adventurers around him started to whisper. "Wait, wait, did he say
he can cast Teleportation? That kid?"
"It's gotta be a lie... Not even a good one, at that," said another.
"As if an E-Rank adventurer could cast Teleportation."
Flio swore internally as he heard the adventurers whispering around
him. He had been able to cast the spell so easily before that he had assumed
it was a basic spell in this world, one that anyone who had even the slightest
bit of magic could cast. He had no idea that he would cause such a
commotion just by saying the name. Flio made a troubled expression and
scratched the back of his head.
A lady-knight walked up to Flio, standing between himself and the girl
and staring him straight in the face. "You say you can cast the spell
Teleportation? Forgive my rudeness, but you look nothing like the kind of
elite magic user it would take to use such a high-rank spell," she scoffed.
"What are you scheming? If you mean to abuse her or sell her off..." She
fixed Flio with a sneer of open contempt through the eyehole of her helmet.
A number of women were standing behind her—her party, most likely—
glaring at Flio with the selfsame expression.
Flio faced the knight and her party in turn, giving them his best smile.
This is what I get for speaking too freely I guess... Now everyone thinks I'm
a creep. I've probably scared the girl too... Now what?
He thought furiously behind his fake smile, until he finally hit on an
idea. "Oh, I know," he said to the knight. "Why don't you all come with
me? I'd be happy to share the reward with you."
The knight went to discuss the matter with her companions. They
huddled together for a while, speaking in murmurs. Flio could have easily
listened in on their conversation with his eavesdropping skills, but he
thought better of it. I don't want to give them another reason to be
suspicious of me...
Finally, the four of them concluded their discussion and the knight
stepped forward. She faced Flio directly and said, "We'll take you up on
your offer. However, we will respond to any threatening movements in
kind, so don't even think about it." She was plainly dead serious.
Their discussions concluded, all six of them including Flio, the knight,
and the young girl left the Adventurers' Association behind them. Flio
wanted to go somewhere where nobody could watch him use Teleportation,
so they turned the corner to a back alley.
"This is as good a place as any," said the knight. She was being a little
forceful now that they were out of sight. "Go on, cast your spell."
Flio glanced at the knight's party, who had formed a circle around the
girl to protect her. Honestly, this seems like a bit too much caution, he
thought, inwardly annoyed. He turned to the group. "Okay. I'm gonna cast
the spell. Gather around me, please."
The knight's party gathered around him dubiously. After Flio was sure
they were all in range, he began to focus. He followed the instructions that
appeared on the windows, and at once, they vanished from the street.
◇The Delaveza Forest◇
"Well, this is a surprise." The knight looked like she couldn't believe her
eyes. The Delaveza Forest was spread out before them. The girl and the rest
of the knight's party were no less astonished, glancing around the place in
disbelief.
After she regained her wits, the knight approached Flio and lowered her
head. "Sir Flio, was it? I apologize for my behavior earlier. I was wrong to
suspect you."
One of her party came forward—she seemed to be a witch. "I've never
seen anyone use Teleportation over such a long distance," she said. "You're
a Grand Magus, then? A top-tier Grand Magus?" She looked bewildered
more than anything.
Flio was as taken aback by her words as she was by his spell. "N-No,"
he said, desperately trying to explain, "I'm just a novice adventurer who
happens to know a bit of magic..." Unsurprisingly, the witch seemed
completely unconvinced. She continued to stare at him, puzzled.
As Flio and the witch were having their exchange, the girl anxiously
rushed off towards the forest. Flio managed to escape the conversation and
chased after her. The witch made to follow, but the knight stopped her in
her tracks. She carefully watched the two of them.
Flio called out to her. "Miss, what's the matter?" She turned around.
"This forest, it..." she began, looking between Flio and the wooded area.
"It... It's all gone. There's no malicium anywhere. It used to be thick here,
I'm sure of it..."
"Oh, that malicium," said Flio. She must have been talking about the
malicium that he himself purged from the forest not long ago. Before his
eyes, another window appeared, the type with the flashing red border. A
warning.
Caution: It may be dangerous to relay your use of Purification to a
demon.
After making sure of the window's message, Flio began looking
fervently around the area. All he could see, though, was the young girl, the
lady knight, and her party.
I don't see any demons...
Flio was standing there confused, when another window appeared:
Young Client: Demon (Lupine) disguised by magic to appear human.
Flio's eyes went wide, and he felt his pulse quicken. Meanwhile, the
knight's party, who had been observing the two from a distance, began to
advance on the girl. The knight drew her sword, as did one of her
companions, a woman wearing heavy cavalry armor. The archer in the party
kept her distance, readying her bow, and the witch began to chant,
extending her arm in the girl's direction. It was clear that they were
readying themselves for battle. The knight, their leader, came within
striking range and stopped.
"Now. Isn't it time you showed us your true form, little girl?" she
commanded, her sword at the ready.
"You wanted to go here?" said the archer, keeping her bow trained.
"With all the Dark One's minions running around? Did you think we're
stupid?"
The party had the girl surrounded, their eyes trained on her like hawks,
waiting for her to make a move. "I'm terribly sorry to involve you in this,
Sir Adventurer," said the knight, not taking her eyes off the girl as she
addressed Flio. "We received a report at the castle about a 'suspicious little
girl.' This girl has been coming to the Adventurers' Association for several
days now looking for someone to bring her here. Our original plan was to
go along with her, and reveal her true form by force once we were on the
road, but we arrived at the guild just as you spoke to her. We cast aspersions
on you as a way to involve ourselves. I'm truly sorry."
As the knight spoke, her brawny companion in the heavy armor—the
person nearest to Flio—took two, three steps towards him. "We were
thinking of letting you know what was up when we were on the road," she
said. "We didn't expect you to actually cast Teleportation. Sorry for that."
She brought her hands together in front of her face in a gesture of apology.
"Well then," said the knight, addressing the cornered girl, "answer me!"
There was a strange fire in the girl's eyes as she glanced at the knight,
the corners of her mouth twisting into a sneer. "Hmpf. So, a knight from the
castle then. And it sounds like you think you have me trapped." As she
spoke, her shape began to change. Her mouth split open. Hair grew all over
her body. Ears sprouted from her head and her nails became sharp claws.
She had become an enormous wolf.
The knight and her party stepped back, awed by the wolf's imposing
presence. Fear was written on their faces. The archer froze in place, too
frightened to move, unable even to fire her bow. The wolf's eyes darted
around at the knight's party. "Well? Is that what you think? That you have
me, the great Fenrys, sister of Fengaryl of the Dark One's Infernal Four,
caught in a trap?!"
Fenrys bared her fangs as malicium filled the air around her. The
knight's party was in a state of panic. "We were expecting something in the
league of a scout... She's in the same class as the Infernal Four!" The knight
shrunk before the wolf's majesty, unable to move even a muscle.
The heavy-armored fighter drew close to the knight, looking desperate
and afraid. "We need to get out of here," she said. "We're no match for this
thing!" However, as she spoke she noticed the beast move right in front of
her, and she too found herself awestruck, frozen in place. The mage and the
archer had already collapsed to the ground, completely immobile. The
whole party was helpless. Fenrys regarded them with a haughty grin.
As for Flio, he was standing there watching this all unfold. Whatever
aura Fenrys had didn't seem to affect him—he felt completely fine. "Well,
well," said Fenrys, her surprise registering on her face, "at least you seem to
have some spine." She grinned again, as arrogant as before. "Wait here a
moment. I'll see to you once I've finished them off." She lowered herself
down, preparing to attack.
This looks pretty bad, Flio thought. He spun to look at Fenrys's target,
the immobilized knight. Can I cast Teleportation and have it only affect
them? Flio began to focus.
"Now, perish!" Fenrys shouted as she leapt into the air. The knight
squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for death. But just at the last moment, Flio
completed navigating the windows.
"Send the knight and her party back to city!" Flio shouted. As he said
the words, the knight and her party vanished instantly. Fenrys was a second
too late, her jaws biting fruitlessly at the empty space where the knight had
been.
"Where did she...?" Fenrys quickly glanced around the area,
dumbfounded. But the knight and her party were nowhere to be seen.
"Don't tell me... You did this?" she said, turning to look at Flio. "You're
tougher than you look. And I brought you here thinking you'd be prey for
my brother and his minions..." She licked her lips, readying herself to attack
again, this time targeting Flio.
"No way," Flio muttered. "I don't feel like dying quite yet." He was
glancing between Fenrys and his window display as he spoke. He selected a
spell.
"Eh?!" Fenrys felt an unbelievable weight pressing on her body, forcing
her to the ground. The pressure was too strong to resist. She fell down to
her knees, front paws splayed out. Wh-What is this? She tried to speak, but
the literal gravity of the situation forbade her from even opening her mouth.
She tried to muster her strength, to get to her feet, but it was completely
impossible. She was stuck down on her knees, unable to move a muscle.
Wh-What magic is this? Even I can't fight it...
In the Dark Army, Fenrys was known for her overwhelming magic
power and her unbreachable magic resistance, both of which she had been
blessed with since birth. But even she was overwhelmed by this spell, her
whole body immobilized. She stared in open shock, struck by the reality of
her situation. N-No... She tried to cast the spell Low Gravity, desperately
chanting its invocation in her mind—but her spell broke and shattered,
making a hollow sound like glass breaking.
Clink!
No way!
Shocked and afraid, Fenrys began casting any spell she could think of,
one after another in rapid succession. Short Range Teleportation! Meteoric
Leap! Positional Exchange! But every time, as soon as she finished each
mental incantation, the spell broke with the same hollow sound.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Th-This can't be happening... Frightened though she was, Fenrys
stubbornly kept trying to use magic. The spells she was attempting,
however, were very powerful, and before long she had completely
exhausted her magic power.
Impossible! Human magic shouldn't be able to do this!
Her face went pale. She was drained of magic, and this whole time her
whole body was still being forced down by that unimaginable weight.
Is there no way out of this?
Her consciousness beginning to fade, Fenrys thought as hard as she
could, but not a single even slightly useful idea came to mind. She couldn't
move her body, her magic power was completely dry, and her mind was
starting to feel cloudy. She had tried everything. It was hopeless.
With the last of her strength, Fenrys turned to look at Flio. "I surrender,"
she muttered. "Go ahead and kill me." She quietly closed her eyes.
Suddenly, the force that had been pushing her down vanished. "H-Huh?"
Fenrys had thought she would be killed for sure. Finding herself
unexpectedly alive, she opened her eyes, bewildered. What she saw was
Flio, kneeling down and extending his right arm towards her.
Fenrys transformed, changing her shape from the great wolf to that of a
woman. This was not the form of the little girl she had used at the
Adventurers' Association, but a beautiful and dignified lady with long,
silvery hair—this was the humanoid form she could naturally adopt as a
demon.
"I can't kill someone who's surrendered," said Flio, "and I don't
especially enjoy fighting, anyway." He took off his cloak as he spoke and
put it on Fenrys. Her clothes had been torn when she had changed into a
wolf, and Flio wasted no time in covering her up.
Fenrys glanced up at Flio, frowning. "Aren't... Aren't you humans at
war with demons? You know I'm an enemy soldier, right? Why would you
spare me?"
"I may be a human, but I'm not from this world," said Flio, smiling
wryly. "It honestly doesn't matter to me what kind of person you are,
human or demon. I just don't want to kill someone who's surrendered.
That's all." His face settled into a calm smile.
Flio's words only served to baffle Fenrys further. "How naive," she said,
laughing sarcastically. "Far, far too naive." But despite herself, she was
smiling. She no longer had any strength to oppose him.
There had been a window that kept stubbornly appearing in Flio's vision
for a little while now, advising him to use a Subjugation spell to bind
Fenrys to his service. Maybe I am naive, Flio thought. But I just can't do
something like that to someone at my mercy. He set the window's display
setting to "off."
◇ ◇ ◇
"I...suppose I should thank you." Fenrys bowed slightly. She was
wearing a set of adventurer's clothing she had gotten from Flio.
"There's really no need," Flio responded happily. "Those are just clothes
I got from the castle. All I did was adjust them." As he said, Fenrys was
wearing an outfit that had been in Flio's Bottomless Bag. Originally an
inferior item, Flio had improved it and fitted it to Fenrys's proportions with
magic. It looks pretty good on her, thankfully, he thought.
"Incidentally," Flio said, addressing Fenrys with a smile, "you're free to
go wherever you like, as long as you promise to stop attacking humans."
Fenrys smiled bitterly. "You really are naive. No... I suppose the proper
word is 'kind.'" She went down on one knee. "You spared my life, when
you would have been justified to kill me and take my pelt. From this day
forward, I, Fenrys, swear to never attack a human without just cause." Flio
nodded, satisfied. She continued: "Furthermore, I hereby declare you as my
master. I will repay this debt to you with my life." She bowed deeply.
"W-Wait!" Flio said, flabbergasted. "You don't owe me that kind of
debt!" As he tried frantically to think of what he should say, Fenrys lowered
her head, looking up at him.
"You reject me? Master... It is our law as lupines that we dedicate our
life to the person we deem our master. If I can't do that, then...I would have
to die." She grabbed hold of Flio's arm, looking at him with forlorn,
pleading eyes.
"N-No," said Flio, unable to hide his distress. "I... I can't..."
Fenrys pressed herself even closer. "You can use me as a pack mule or a
slave," she begged. "It doesn't matter what you do with me, Master. Just,
please... Please let me be by your side."
Flio shook his head. "I don't need a pack mule or a slave!" he
responded, frantic. "I don't want someone serving me like that!"
His mind was racing. This isn't good... I don't think I can change her
mind. But I'm alone in this world, exiled with nowhere to go. I don't know
what I'm doing, or how I'm going to make a living. Can I really take her
with me?
Flio couldn't bring himself to agree. Surmising that this was the way of
it, Fenrys turned her right arm into a wolf's. "Master, if you have truly
made up your mind not to take me..." She brought her sharp claws to her
own throat. "Then this is where I die."
Her right hand began to move, but Flio rushed to grab it. "I..." he said.
"Master?"
"I get it. You win. You can come with me. Just please don't do that
again." His shoulders were trembling.
Seeing him like this, Fenrys was at a loss for words. He really cares that
much about me? She returned her arm to its human form, staring at her new
master.
◇ ◇ ◇
A while later, the two had finally calmed down. They were sitting
together on a nearby boulder, Flio behind Fenrys, lost in thought. I guess
she managed to force herself on me. But if she's going to be coming along,
how should I refer to her? Flio had had enough bad experiences with
speciesism in his home world—he didn't like the idea of treating Fenrys as
a slave or a pack mule. What would be the best way to bring Fenrys along
without alarming people?
As he was thinking, Flio glanced at the side of Fenrys's face.
"Is there something you need, Master?" she said, smiling when she
noticed that he was looking at her.
At the sight of Fenrys's smile, Flio had an idea. "Fenrys," he began, "if
you're okay with it..." He looked into her eyes, suddenly speaking very
slowly and deliberately. "Would you...travel with me under the guise of a
married couple?"
Fenrys went still.
"Ah, no," Flio said, worried that she had misunderstood, "I don't mean
you have to be my wife for real, just... If that's what we told people, we
might be able to travel without raising suspicion..."
As he was speaking, Fenrys suddenly wrapped her arms around him,
hugging him tightly. "Of course I'll be your wife!" she said, her cheeks
turning red as she wrapped her arms joyfully around him. "I'll be your wife
for real! I get to be the wife of someone as strong as Master? Someone as
kind as Master?!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! F-Fenrys! Wait a minute!" Flio
peeled Fenrys off of him, and looked into her eyes. "I'm not from this
world," he said. "I was one of the Hero candidates they summoned...but I
was deemed a failure and thrown away. I can't go back to my home world.
I'm completely alone. I don't have anywhere to go, and I don't know what I
should do next. You can't... You can't marry someone like me."
Fenrys took his hand. "I don't care," she said, looking straight at him. "I
promised I would be your wife. I want to be your wife. Wherever you come
from, I'm not going to change my mind." She smiled. "I swear my eternal
loyalty to you. For the rest of my life, I swear to stay by your side. So,
please let me be with you, Master—I mean, Husband."
For a little while, Flio just stared at her smile. Then he clasped her hand
in his. "Really? You really want this?"
"I do," she said, nodding giddily.
Flio embraced Fenrys, holding her softly in his arms. Fenrys happily
returned his affection.
◇ ◇ ◇
Having pledged to work together as husband and wife, the two of them
decided to spend the night camping in the forest. Flio considered returning
to the city, but it occurred to him that the knight he had sent back with
Teleportation would be there with her party. He thought it would be better
to wait until the heat died down.
After walking a while in the forest, the two came upon a clearing
suitable for a campsite and settled in. "Well, shall we spend the night here?"
asked Flio.
"Very well, my beloved."
The two of them spread a cloth over the ground, gathered dry sticks for
firewood, and began preparing the clearing for a campsite. It was sunset
before they knew it. They ate some of the rations from Flio's Bottomless
Bag for dinner and sat close together on a fallen log by the campfire.
"My husband," said Fenrys, turning her gaze towards Flio, "if I may, I
would like to service you tonight. As your wife." She removed the clothes
she was wearing and tossed them aside. Now naked, she nuzzled up to him.
"W-Wait, Fenrys... I, I haven't had a bath today and..."
Fenrys interrupted him with a kiss. As her lips met his, she began to cast
spells of passion on him, one after another—spells like Attract, Lust,
Aphrodisiac...
You who would be my husband... Be my partner in both body and spirit.
She stroked and caressed his body as she kissed him, her magic taking
effect. Then, pulling back from the kiss, she ran her tongue down his body,
teasing...
Clink! Suddenly, the hollow sound of a spell breaking rang out, and her
aphrodisiac magic vanished. Fenrys opened her eyes in surprise. "This...
My lord, did you...?"
"I don't... I don't have much experience," he said, interrupting her.
"But..." He kissed her on the lips. Fenrys's body shook with pleasure at the
touch. His tongue was inside her mouth, toying with hers. For Fenrys it was
like an electric shock—she felt like she was melting just from a single kiss.
She could feel Flio's own passion magic flowing into her body. It was
incomparable to the spells she had cast earlier. She was absolutely
overwhelmed. "N-No, I... W-Wait..." Her face was bright red. She couldn't
resist this.
Flio quietly cast a spell and began to glow, his face and body
transforming.
"What... What is this form?"
"This is my real body," he said, gently embracing her. "I had kept it
hidden until now because I was worried that people from the castle might
be after me. But... I thought I should be like this for our first time."
Fenrys swooned and blacked out in his arms.
When Flio had reached Level 2, he had mastered every skill and every
spell that existed in the world. As it turned out, skills related to seduction or
pleasure were no exception. The more he wanted to make love with Fenrys,
the more his unrivaled skills of foreplay began to manifest, and the more his
peerless sexual magic took effect.
Flio, however, was not aware in the slightest.
That night, with Flio as her partner, Fenrys would lose consciousness
many, many more times.
◇The Following Morning◇
Fenrys was lying on her side, Flio using her arm as a pillow. Slowly, she
opened her eyes. Her body felt heavy, and her mind was still foggy from
sleep.
Flio noticed that her eyes had opened slightly. "Good morning, Fenrys,"
he said.
Fenrys looked up at the face she had seen so many times last night under
the bright moon, holding her, kissing her...
"My husband..." She clung to his chest, her breath hot. My body... My
heart... They are both yours.
Resting against her husband's chest, Fenrys once again closed her eyes.
◇ ◇ ◇
Fenrys finally awoke in the late morning. She and Flio straightened up
their clothes, and Flio turned back into his disguised form.
"All right," he said. "What do you say we head to the city and get
something to eat?"
"Oh, sure! I'll gladly accompany you!"
The matter settled, Flio casted Teleportation, taking them back to the
castle town. They arrived to find a noisy tumultuous crowd in the streets.
Taking stock of their surroundings, they realized the townsfolk were
rushing towards the castle gates. There, before the crowd, a truly impressive
number of knights stood in formation, prepared to set out.
"Wow," said someone, "that is a huge detachment of knights. What's
up?"
"It sounds like they found one of the Dark One's followers in the
Delaveza Forest."
"So all those knights are off to slay a demon?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard!"
Flio smiled wryly as he overheard the conversation. They're talking
about Fenrys, aren't they? he thought. He turned to look at Fenrys, clinging
to his arm. "Shall we leave them to it and find somewhere to eat?"
The two of them were about to hurry away from the scene when Flio
heard a familiar voice calling to him from a corner of the formation of
knights. "Are you... Could you possibly be Sir Flio?"
Flio's body went stiff. Th-That voice... Slowly, he turned his head to
look. There, in the army, he spotted the knight and her companions from
yesterday—the ones he had sent back to the city with Teleportation. They
must have been part of the force being dispatched. When they spotted Flio,
they darted out of formation, running up to him in joy.
"I knew it," the knight said, clasping Flio's hand tight with tears
streaming down her cheeks, "I knew that someone like you would be able
to get away from that monster. I'm so relieved to see that you're safe..." Her
whole party was standing behind her—the heavy soldier, the witch, and the
archer—crying their eyes out every bit as much as she was. For a while,
they just stood there, glad to see Flio alive.
Eventually, the knight's eyes happened on the person hiding behind Flio
—on Fenrys. "Tell me, Sir Flio," she said, tilting her head to the side, "who
is this woman? I don't recall seeing her with you yesterday."
Flio felt a pang of anxiety at her words. I hope this doesn't go badly...
Fenrys was not the small girl she had been when the knight's party had
encountered her, but a young woman. And when they had faced off against
her, she had transformed from a little girl directly into a full lupine. This
form was one they had not seen before. It seemed they were unaware that
she was the demon from yesterday.
After turning it over in his mind a few times, Flio faced the knight.
"She's with me," he said, smiling. "She was waiting at an inn in town when
we met yesterday." Behind his smiling face, Flio was rushing through
magic windows in his mind, bringing his spells into effect, one after
another. Bluff. Concealment. Suggestion... Any spell he could find that
would help prevent her from noticing...
Between his disarming smile and the absolute deluge of magic he was
subjecting the knight's party to, their dubious expressions relaxed. "I see,"
said the knight, now smiling, "I'm sorry. I hope I haven't given any
offense." She bowed her head, and Flio inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fenrys tugged at his sleeve. "My lord," she whispered, "why didn't you
introduce me as your wife? That was quite untoward." She puffed out her
cheeks in a pout.
"You're right," he apologized quietly. "I'll tell them next time. I
promise."
"B-By the way," he said, turning back to address the knight. "What is
this army? You're with them?"
The knight turned to look back at the host of knights. "Oh, the army.
We're being dispatched to the Delaveza Forest. The Dark Army has been
stationed there for some time, threatening our kingdom. Now that we've
learned that a demon from the forest has been coming to the castle town
itself, King Klyrode has deemed that the matter can no longer be ignored.
So, this army is..."
It seemed she had more to say, but just then, the crowd in front of the
castle let out a great shout of joy.
"The Hero! The Hero has come!"
"He looks so commanding!"
"The Golden-Haired Hero! Save us, O Hero! Save our kingdom!"
As they continued their exclamations, the knight turned back to Flio.
"Yes, that. The Hero is going to lead us." She nodded her head.
Flio looked towards the back of the host. There, riding on a white horse
and wearing a suit of ornate armor, the golden-haired knight was slowly
advancing as the crowd parted before him.
Oh, it's that guy.
It was the knight Flio had met before. The knight who had been
summoned at almost the same time as him. There was no mistaking that
golden hair. He was the hero who had gotten high ability scores from the
very start—the hero worshipped by the crowd, celebrated at the Feast of the
Hero's Advent that had lasted several entire days.
Well, I've changed my form with magic... He probably won't recognize
me.
While Banaza had been exiled, the Golden-Haired Hero was being
lauded by the people as the savior of the kingdom. Seeing the difference in
their fortunes, complicated emotions sprung up in Flio's heart.
The knight turned back to him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Sir Flio, would
you be willing to join us? If we say you're one of my retainers, surely
nobody will take issue. Your magic would be a tremendous boon to our
cause. You'll be compensated too, of course."
Flio, however, made an apologetic face. "I'm honored that you think so
highly of my abilities," he said. "But I'm afraid I used up almost all of my
magic power in the fight against that demon... I won't be of much use to
anyone until I recover." He bowed in apology, but the knight rushed to
console him.
"Oh, oh no, there's no need to apologize like that," she said. "I'm the
one who owes you an apology, for inviting you so casually without making
sure you were in good condition. Yes, after all, you were just in a battle
with that horrible demon..." She nodded her head, flustered.
The knight and Flio spoke for a while longer, after which she returned to
her unit. "When I return from this mission, allow me to thank you properly
for yesterday!" She waved him goodbye. After she had left, Flio sighed in
relief and exasperation.
It probably doesn't need to be said, but the story Flio had told her about
having used up his magic was, of course, a total lie. If he stood out in the
hero's forces and things went badly, it was possible they would discover he
was still alive. He decided he had better not accompany the army, and came
up with a lie on the spur of the moment.
As the knight left, Fenrys squeezed his arm tight. "What's wrong?" he
asked, concerned.
"I... I don't know, really," she said, casting her eyes downwards. "It's
just, when I saw you chatting so casually with that woman, I
felt...miserable, in the pit of my chest..."
"I understand," said Flio, gazing at her and giving her one of his smiles.
"I'll take care not to make you feel that way again."
As the Golden-Haired Hero led his army to sally forth, Flio made his
way towards the town center, Fenrys firmly attached.
◇ ◇ ◇
Within five short days, the force the Golden-Haired Hero had led to
sortie from the castle was utterly defeated and forced to withdraw without
even encountering the Dark Army when they came under attack by a horde
of psychobears—ferocious monsters known to attack humans.
There were many such dangers to the north of Klyrode Castle, even
aside from the army stationed at the Citadel of the Dark One. It was not at
all a place suitable for human habitation. This was why the Hero had gone
south from the castle to train for his quest against the Dark One, where he
only fought smaller groups of relatively weak monsters. He had finally been
dispatched on his long-awaited mission to the Delaveza Forest, but on the
road they had come under attack by a huge number of wild psychobears—
maybe a thousand, even—and the Golden-Haired Hero panicked.
"Hero! Wh-What do we do?!"
"Golden-Haired One, command us!"
The soldiers waited for the Hero's orders as they desperately fought
back while on the verge of being overrun by the psychobears, but he refused
to take charge. "I-I'm not supposed to die like this!" he cried, already
fleeing back towards Klyrode Castle. He was the first to break ranks.
The knights put up the best fight they could, but without their
commander it wasn't long before they were destroyed. Of the ten thousand
who set forth from Klyrode Castle, only three thousand were to return.
When he heard the news, King Klyrode's face went white. If it was
known to the populace, he reasoned, that the man he himself had
acknowledged as Hero had failed so utterly, it was not impossible that he
might be held responsible. Therefore, he needed to suppress this. He
ordered all records of the campaign for the Delaveza Forest to be expunged
to conceal the fact that an army had even set out. He even forced the
survivors of the massacre to sign contracts stating that they would not
disclose what had happened to anyone under any circumstances.
In the midst of the cover up, he secretly called the Golden-Haired Hero
to the castle.
◇Klyrode Castle—Throne Room◇
"Well, Hero, what is the meaning of this? You set out to strike at the
Dark Army, only for your forces to be destroyed by common monsters?!"
King Klyrode sat on his throne, crossing his arms and fixing the GoldenHaired Hero with a look of discontent.
"By your leave, Your Majesty, and speaking frankly," the Hero said,
taking a step forward and meeting the king's smoldering eyes, "what is the
matter with your soldiers? They fell to pieces at just the sight of the
monsters! By the time I could do anything, the army was already basically
destroyed. There was just no way I could have rescued all of them on my
own, no matter what I did!"
For a while the king just stared back at him, and then he let out a great
sigh. "Which is to say, that you claim the fault lies with my army."
"Yes, exactly! It's not my fault at all! In fact, you should be thanking me
that as many soldiers made it out alive as there were!" His piece said, the
Golden-Haired Hero turned his back to the king and stormed out of the
throne room.
King Klyrode continued to sit, just watching the door the Hero had left
through. At length, one of the aides to his side stepped forward. "Your
Majesty, permission to report on the observations of the Hero's activity?"
"Please."
The aide leaned in to whisper in the king's ear. "That Golden-Haired
Hero... During his training this past month, he would only ever challenge
opponents he was sure to defeat. If anything posed even the smallest threat,
he would run. And then he would go on tangents, blaming anyone else for
his behavior, speaking rather unlike a Hero..."
The king knit his brow at the man's words. "Then why," he said, "did
you not recommend he be placed in the dead center of the forces and have
someone fit for command take the lead?"
"This also came up several times during his training," the man said.
"Many people tried to offer him advice, but he would always say, 'This is
just how I do things,' and refuse to alter his behavior in the slightest. So the
report says."
The king sighed even more loudly than before, and shook his head. "We
had no choice but to name him the official Hero, under the circumstances,
but now that we have, we can't accuse him of failure... All we can do is
hope he hurries up and gains enough levels to defeat the Dark One."
Saying this, he let out one final heavy, frustrated breath.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Golden-Haired Hero walked through the halls of Klyrode Castle,
fuming. His demeanor was calm, but inwardly he was full of impatience
and rage. Why is this happening?! he thought.
He called up a window, displaying his ability scores:
Lv: 91
Strength: 999
Defense: 999
Speed: 999
Magic: 999
HP: 999
Skills: Pre-Mastery
His level had risen considerably, but his other abilities hadn't grown in
the slightest from what they were when he was Level 1. I've been training
hard for an entire month, he thought, clicking his tongue as he continued
down the corridor, so why won't my abilities go up? As I am, I can handle
humans or weaker monsters, but it's way too dangerous to take on anything
stronger! I knew I should have refused to lead that army...
A woman who seemed to be an attendant rushed up to him as he walked
through the castle. "My Lord Hero!"
"Tsuya," he said, glum. "Sorry to keep you."
"No, no, it's fine," she said, following behind him as he walked. "It's
part of my duties, you know."
The two of them were joined by a group of strong-looking knights who
surrounded them as guards. With their protection, the Golden-Haired Hero
departed Klyrode Castle.
◇ ◇ ◇
Flio and Fenrys returned to The Jewel's Blessing and spent the next two
days hardly leaving their room. They would come downstairs to the
restaurant for mealtimes, but after eating they would return straightaway to
their room, firmly attached to each other, and stay there for the rest of the
day.
The innkeeper watched as the two ascended the stairs, grinning in
amusement. "Nice going, VIP," she said.
"'Nice going'?" asked the dog demihuman waitress, a puzzled look on
her face. "What are they doing in that room all day, Bao?"
The innkeeper snickered knowingly. "Bafuna," she said, "what do you
think a man and a woman do alone in a room together?"
The dog girl—Bafuna—went red. "What? U-Um, you don't mean..."
The innkeeper kept grinning as she watched Bafuna study her feet,
fidgeting nervously.
The two lay together in their bed, Fenrys embracing Flio, naked beneath
the covers. She was resting her head on his arm, eyes closed and breath hot
as Flio gently stroked her hair.
"My husband," she cooed, "I've never been this happy before in my
life..."
Flio gave her a hug. "Still," he said, "it's about time we start thinking
about what comes next."
"'What comes next'?"
"Yeah. Things like, where are we going to live, how are we going to
make money..."
"I'll go anywhere as long as it's with you," said Fenrys. As she spoke,
she wrapped her arms around Flio's shoulders. "But we can worry about
that later."
Flio could tell what Fenrys wanted. Once again, he held her close.
◇Some Days Later◇
Having eaten their first meal of the day, Fenrys and Flio decided to head
outside to walk around town a little.
"Are you ready to talk about it?" asked Flio.
"You mean, talk about what comes next?"
"We need to find a place where we can live an easy life together, and to
do that we need to find work."
"An easy life together..." Fenrys repeated Flio's words, letting out a little
bit of a laugh. "I'd never have considered such a thing before."
Flio smiled back at her. "Well, I'm going to do some reconnaissance.
Shall we try the Adventurers' Association first?"
Fenrys nodded, and the two of them walked along the crowded city
streets, heading in the direction of the guild.
◇Adventurers' Association◇
They found the Association noisy with adventurers huddled together and
whispering. They seemed worried about something.
"Hey, did you hear?" said one among the crowd.
"Oh, that rumor about the Hero's forces getting crushed?" said another.
"The Dark Army got them, huh?"
"I heard they couldn't handle some wild psychobears."
"No way. You're kidding?"
They continued on like this, talking mostly about the Hero's defeat.
"That's hardly a surprise, with him in command," said Fenrys, just loud
enough that only Flio could hear.
"You think so?"
"I do. The Golden-Haired Hero is fairly strong for a human, I suppose,
but I don't think he would fare well against a demon. All I could sense in
him was pride and vanity—not a trace of bravery, leadership, or
intelligence." She glanced up at her husband. "If you had led them, no
psychobear would have stood a chance. You would have annihilated them
in the blink of an eye."
Flio smiled coolly. "I'm glad you think so," he said, "but if he couldn't
do it, I don't see how I would fare any better."
"What are you saying?!" Fenrys shouted. "His strength is nothing
compared to yours! Even I, Fen—"
Flio interrupted her, pressing his index finger to his lips. "We're in
public, Rys," he said, smiling.
After cutting her ties with the Dark Army to follow Flio, Fenrys had
decided to start going by "Rys" as a precaution. Even if none of the Dark
One's servants were nearby, it wasn't impossible that some humans would
know her by name. However, she still hadn't grown accustomed to the
pseudonym, and almost referred to herself as Fenrys before Flio stopped
her.
Embarrassed by her near slipup, Rys covered her mouth with her hand.
"M-My apologies!"
"It's no big deal," said Flio. "Just act natural, okay?" He smiled.
The two of them made their way to the registration counter to register
Rys as an adventurer.
"Humans have such interesting ways of managing information, don't
they?" mused Rys, holding her new silver pendant before her eyes,
examining it curiously.
"I have one too," said Flio, taking it off his neck and showing it to her.
"Here!"
"So we have matching pendants," Rys murmured, putting her own
around her neck. Matching pendants with my husband... Her cheeks flushed
at the thought.
They were about to head to the board to see what jobs were available
when the bell at the center of the guild suddenly rang out. A rabbit woman
was behind the counter, ringing the bell and speaking with a loud voice that
filled the entire guild. Almost every adventurer must have been able to hear
her words. "Emergency request! A large herd of psychobears has been
found to the north of the city! It appears that they are heading in our
direction. All adventurers, please lend your aid against the monsters! While
this is in effect, the reward for killing a psychobear will be increased to ten
times the usual bounty."
The adventurers gathered in the guild began to chatter.
"Hey, you think that request is..."
"Yeah, it's gotta be the monsters that wiped out the Hero's forces,
right?"
"I bet. I've never heard of large herds of psychobears in this part of the
world."
"Ten times the bounty is good, but... Those things defeated an army!"
"I might go, but I'm gonna want a large party."
As the adventurers gossiped noisily, the rabbit woman continued. "This
request is rank-free. Adventurers of any rank may participate. However, as
this is considered an unranked request, insurance or provision funds are not
available. The high reward is meant to compensate for this."
"Wait, it's unranked?!" whined one of the noisy adventurers.
"No insurance means they won't heal us if we get injured, right? Right?"
"That's just unreasonable."
"But...you can't just ignore that bounty."
The adventurers kept talking about this and that. Some of them, drawn
by the reward, began to gather into parties, but the majority of the crowd
showed no signs of moving. Their talk turned again to the topic of the
Golden-Haired Hero.
"Isn't this sort of thing what the Hero is for, anyway?"
"Where is the Hero? What is he doing?"
"I heard that as soon as he got back, he set off for the south again."
"So he's running away? Not from the Dark One, but just some
monsters?"
Flio headed out of the building as he listened to the adventurers'
conversation, Rys following along. When they were outside, he turned to
her. "It sounds like well-paying work," he said. "What do you think? Wanna
go hunting?"
"I can handle psychobears on my own," she said. "You should find
somewhere to eat and wait for me to return, my lord." She looked like she
really was about to dart off, but Flio stopped her, putting a hand on her
shoulder.
"Hey, there's still a lot of magic I want to try out, you know? And I
would feel bad about sending my wife off to fight on her own."
"Y-Your wife?!" Startled by that unexpected turn of phrase, Rys blushed
furiously and froze in place. Flio was puzzled.
"Should I not call you that?"
Suddenly coming back to her senses, Rys urgently shook her head. "No!
You should! It's... It's just that it's such an honor... I mean, such a joy..."
Her face was as red as a boiled lobster.
"I'm happy to hear that," said Flio. "Then, are you ready to go?"
"Y-Yes, my husband!"
The pair nodded to each other and set off again down the street, this time
heading to a weapon shop.
"I don't need a weapon to defeat the likes of a psychobear, my
husband," said Rys, confused. "I'm quite strong without one." Flio smiled
at her with his usual calm expression.
"I know you don't need it," he said. "But people might think it strange if
we set out unarmed to hunt monsters."
"The humans would find that strange?" Rys glanced at the merchandise,
a mysterious look on her face. It didn't take her long to make a selection: a
shortsword, on the small side. As a lupine, she had absolute confidence in
her speed. Flio already had a staff in the style a magic-user might use, but
he also bought a new longsword, which he strapped to his back. His plan
was to use magic to fight, but he wanted to make a display of being armed.
By strapping it to his back, he could do so while keeping his hands free.
"And, um, this is just a trinket, but..." He handed Rys a ring that he had
purchased along with the longsword. It was enchanted with a few minor
skills related to speed.
"I don't think skills on this level will make much of a difference," said
Rys, eyeing the ring suspiciously, but Flio took her left hand in his.
"Among humans, it's customary for husbands and wives to wear rings
on their left hands," he said. "As a symbol of their bond." As he spoke, he
slipped the ring on her finger. Rys looked, and saw that Flio was wearing an
identical ring himself.
"A symbol of our bond... Our...marriage?" Rys held up her hand,
blushing deep as she gazed at the ring Flio had given her. There was no
such custom among demons, and hearing the meaning of the gesture made
her flush with bewildered joy.
"Do you not like it?" Flio asked, noticing the shocked look on her face.
"You can take it off if you prefer..." But Rys quickly turned her head up to
look at him.
"What?! No, never! I-I want to keep it on!" Her voice was quite a bit
louder than she had intended, loud enough that the other customers in the
store looked curiously in their direction. Rys held up both of her hands to
cover her bright red face, hiding from the gazes of the people around her.
Wh-What is wrong with me, she thought, casting her gaze down, still
hiding her face in her hands. I'm getting flustered so easily...
Flio wrapped an arm gently around her. "My apologies for the surprise,"
he said. Keeping his head down, he led Rys out of the store.
◇ ◇ ◇
With their new weapons in hand, Flio and Rys headed for the north with
a mind to take on the emergency request from the guild. There was an
incredible array of armed guards standing watch at the north gate, readying
themselves for the psychobears to attack.
"Excuse me," said Flio, approaching. "May I get through here?"
A number of guards moved to block their way. "Didn't you hear? The
area past the gate is full of psychobears right now."
Flio smiled calmly at the guard obstructing him. "We know," he said.
"We were just heading out to go psychobear hunting." The guard gave him
a look, and sighed.
"Maybe you're after the money, but between you and me, you had better
give it up. The two of you would just be going to your death. If you really
insist on hunting psychobears, at least find some more adventurers to go
with you."
One of the guards was laughing. "What morons," he said, voice full of
scorn. "Where do idiots like that keep coming from? Where do they get off
thinking they can take on monsters like that?"
Rys clicked her tongue and lowered her stance, ready to strike the man
down where he stood, but Flio put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in
her ear. "Rys, leave it. It's fine."
"But my lord..."
"It's fine. We haven't proven ourselves as adventurers yet."
"But..."
"Leave it."
At her husband's repeated words, Rys slowly and reluctantly stood
down. Looking her over to make sure she wasn't about to attack anyone,
Flio turned his attention back towards the guard.
"My understanding was that the psychobear extermination request was
rank-free. We should be allowed to join, correct?" He held up his pendant,
showing it to the guard, signifying to him that he was an adventurer with
the Association.
"Well, yes, that's true, but..." The guard's expression darkened as he
looked at Flio's pendant.
The guard captain walked up to them as they had their exchange,
looking the pair over. "If they want to go, let them," he said. "We gave them
a warning. Whatever happens is on their heads."
"If you say so, Captain." The guard who had been cautioning Flio
stepped back. After making sure everything was in order, the guard captain
turned towards Flio.
"Nothing more to say, I suppose. Do your best out there. Maybe you'll
get lucky and take down a psychobear between the two of you."
The guards opened the gate, and Flio walked through, Rys following
along. He turned to smile at the captain. "Thank you, sir," he said. "We'll
see what we can do. Maybe we will take one down." The gate closed behind
them.
"Are those two going to be okay?" a guard muttered idly to himself.
The captain smiled grimly at his words. "Of course not," he said. "The
psychobears are going to eat them alive. If they're lucky they might make it
back, but I'll be shocked if they return unharmed."
"What a pity," said another. "And such a good-looking woman too... He
could have at least left her behind for us." A few of the guards snickered
crudely at the remark, but the captain furrowed his brow, annoyed.
"Enough chatter," he said, commanding the guards in a loud voice. "Get
back to your positions. There's no telling when the psychobears are coming,
so stay on your guard!"
The guards obeyed, and returned to their stations.
◇ ◇ ◇
It wasn't long after leaving the city that Flio and Rys encountered a
group of psychobears.
"Looks like we've found their vanguard."
"My husband," said Rys, readying herself to attack, "If I may..."
Flio held up his right hand to stop her. "Would you mind letting me have
these ones?" he said, stepping forward. "I want to get a sense of how
powerful my magic is."
"If that is your will." Rys didn't seem quite satisfied being denied a
chance to fight, but she obediently stepped back.
"Now," began Flio, facing the psychobears, "Let's start by seeing what
happens when I use this much force." He extended his right arm towards his
target and cast the spell Gravitation.
The psychobears could tell something was off. They began to wander
aimlessly, confused, making noises like "Grawoowl?!" and "Graah!"
"Not much of an effect," said Flio, watching closely. "Now, let's see
what happens when I use this much." He increased the power of his spell.
The next moment, the psychobears collapsed at once to the ground and the
sick sound of bones snapping filled the air. The squashed psychobears
looked for all the world like fur rugs spread out over the ground. Naturally,
they died instantly.
Flio looked disappointed at what he saw. "That's too much force," he
said. "This is pretty hard to get right." He scratched the side of his head
with his right hand.
Beside him, Rys was staring at the dead psychobears with evident awe.
A psychobear's bones are as hard as steel, and he flattened them like it was
nothing.
"Now," said Flio, "we have to get the trophies back to the city
somehow..." He thought for a while before remembering. "That's right! I
forgot I had a Bottomless Bag." He placed his hand on one of the dead
psychobears, willing it into the bag...but nothing happened. The corpse
remained where it was on the ground. "Hm? Why didn't it work?" Flio tried
again, with the same result.
"My lord," said Rys, "it may be that the Bottomless Bag has certain
restrictions. It may not be possible to place the corpse of an animal inside."
"Oh?" said Flio, looking at the bag. "They have settings like that?" He
sounded impressed. "So that means we need to think of another way to
transport the psychobears."
Flio looked once more at his bag, double-checking its contents for
something he could use to carry a body. He saw that there was a cart among
the agricultural tools he'd been given, and quickly brought it out. It was
fairly big, as it was meant to be used for farming. "This will do, I think,"
said Flio, loading it up with the psychobears' remains. As he finished up, he
moved towards the front of the cart, meaning to pull it by its metal fixture,
but Rys had gotten there first, ready and eager.
"I will take on this duty," she said. "I insist."
"W-Wait, I can't make my wife do something like that..." Flio started,
but no matter what he said, Rys continued to assert that she be allowed to
pull. Eventually, he yielded, and Rys took to her job with zeal. She pulled
happily, simply glad to be of use.
◇ ◇ ◇
A little farther, right before a thick forest, the two came upon a house.
Behind the house was a cultivated field, but whatever had grown there
before seemed to have been set upon by the psychobears. It was a miserable
sight.
The house itself, by contrast, seemed surprisingly unscathed. The
interior was in a bit of disarray, but it seemed less the work of monsters, and
more the traces of the residents fleeing in a hurry. "What's this?" said Rys.
"We might be able to use this house," Flio mused. "Hopefully the
owners won't mind."
"Use it?"
"Rather than hoping we run into groups of psychobears like before, it
might be more efficient to use this house as a base and patrol the area
around it."
"I see," said Rys. "I understand your reasoning." The two cleaned up a
little of the mess, and set out to hunt.
It wasn't long before they found a pair of psychobears. The monsters
detected their presence and charged, letting out a terrible roar.
"My lord," said Rys, "please allow me to handle it this time." Not
waiting for an answer, she got into a fighting stance, transforming just her
fingertips into wolf claws. She kicked powerfully at the ground and leapt
into the fray, diving within the reach of a psychobear. She was much too
fast for the monsters to follow. "Hah!" She rent the beast's neck with her
claws, slashing it open with a single strike. The psychobear fell to the
ground with a dull thud. Its partner received similar treatment. The whole
fight was over in a matter of seconds.
The two continued easily dispatching any psychobears they came upon
—Rys with her claws and her incredible speed, and Flio using mostly the
spell Gravitation, although he branched out into experimenting with spells
like Magic Cannon and Ripper. Before the day was even halfway over, they
had felled almost twenty psychobears between them.
"Our stamina is fine," said Flio glancing at the cart, "but..." The cart was
loaded with a veritable pile of psychobear remains, so much so that it was
creaking ominously. I think the cart's about at its limit. Flio cast Reinforce
to strengthen the cart, and turned to his wife. "Rys," he said, "the cart's full,
and it's starting to get late. Shall we return to the house?"
"If that is your will," said Rys, stepping to his side.
Suddenly sensing something, Flio turned to look at the forest. "Hm?"
"A psychobear..." said Rys. She, too, could feel its presence. "It seems to
be alone." She readied herself as the psychobear appeared from the woods.
For a little while it idly looked around the area, until it spotted Flio and Rys.
Baring its claws, it charged forward. Rys walked calmly towards it,
transforming her fingertips back into claws. "Come, then," she said,
casually lowering herself into a fighting stance. She was overflowing with
killing intent.
And then, something strange happened.
The psychobear, hurtling towards them, roaring, fangs bared, came to a
sudden halt in front of Rys and simply keeled over backwards.
"What was that?" asked Flio, thoroughly puzzled.
"I...don't know..." Tilting her head in confusion, Rys stared at the fallen
psychobear. The two walked up to it. Its arms and legs were splayed out to
the side, as if it was trying to show that it had been defeated.
"Maybe it realized it's no match for you, Rys," said Flio.
"That's...admirable, in a way?" The two looked at each other, then
laughed. "What should we do with it? We certainly can't just leave it here."
Flio folded his arms in thought, when the bear suddenly clambered up to
its knees. It faced them, and began to prostrate itself, again and again. Flio
couldn't help himself from smiling at the sight. "Any interest in a pet?" he
proposed, turning towards Rys. The psychobear made a noise. It sounded
happy. Rys, too, found herself grinning in amusement.
Flio cast Subjugation, binding the psychobear to him on the spot.
Otherwise, there was a risk that the monster would turn aggressive and start
attacking people. An iron collar appeared around its neck—the symbol of
its bondage. Like this, it would be perfectly safe accompanying them into
the city, but Flio was still concerned. A large bear like that would obviously
stand out on the city streets. It was very likely that someone would
misunderstand the situation and report it to the guards.
Eventually, Flio thought of a solution: "Why don't we give it something
to wear?" He took all of the outfits from his bag and combined and
transformed them using magic to create a set of psychobear-sized overalls.
He handed them to his new pet, who happily put them on. Dressed like that,
it completely lacked the menacing aura of a psychobear. It looked like it
could be some sort of bear-type demihuman. "Walking around shouldn't be
a problem like this." The psychobear cheerfully nodded.
"We should give it a name, shouldn't we?" Rys folded her arms. Flio
also hummed and hawed in thought.
"Well, since it's a psychobear," he said, "how about something like
Sybe?" He looked back and forth between Rys and the bear.
"An excellent name," said Rys. "You truly are brilliant, my beloved."
Sybe jumped up happily.
Flio and Rys returned to the house they were using as a base, bringing
their new pet along. Rys had made to pull the overfull wagon, but Sybe
moved in front of her, seeming to say, "Leave it to me." Rys let Sybe pull
the wagon, which it did happily all the way to the house.
"It's getting late," said Flio. "Let's stay the night here and head back to
the city tomorrow morning."
"Then, allow me to prepare something for us to eat," said Rys, heading
into the kitchen.
While she was busy, Flio cast spells of sealing and preservation on the
wagon. That way, the corpses threatening to spill over its sides would
remain fresh the following day, and their bloody stench wouldn't stink up
the whole house. Next, he created a magic wall around the perimeters to
keep out any of the area's roaming psychobears that might happen upon the
house in the night.
He had just finished the wall when he heard Rys calling from inside the
house. "Dinner is ready, my lord!"
"Okay!" he called back, "I'll be right there!" He and Sybe (who had
been following him around) went back to the house for dinner.
As Flio came up to the kitchen table, what he saw made him tense up
unconsciously.
"What is the matter, my lord?" Rys looked curiously at her husband as
she took her seat. Before them was a platter loaded up with enormous slabs
of raw meat.
"Rys..." uttered Flio, visibly nervous. "What in the world?"
"This is the fruit of our hunt—fresh psychobear meat. Is something
wrong?" She looked up at him, genuinely confused.
Flio forced a smile as he looked back at Rys. "Yes... Yes, I see..." he
said. "Um, speaking personally, I prefer my meat...cooked?"
"You do? Then...shall I cook it for you?"
"Yes, please. I'd very much appreciate it."
Rys picked up one of the slabs of meat and brought it back to the
kitchen. "It seems like a waste, though," she muttered as she seared it in a
frying pan. "Such fresh meat really should be eaten raw..."
That piece is too big to cook like that... Flio thought, still forcing a
smile. Most of it is still going to be uncooked...
Behind him, Sybe was devouring one of the slabs of psychobear meat
like it was the best thing it had ever tasted. If it knew that this was
cannibalism, it didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest.
◇The Following Morning◇
Flio roused from sleep and stretched mightily in bed. Rys, lying beside
him, slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning, my beloved," she said, draping her body over his and
kissing him tenderly. The two lay like that for a little while, cuddling naked
in the light of the morning sun as it filtered in through a gap in the curtains.
After Flio had finished putting on his clothes, he cast the curtains open.
"Good weather today too," he said. Then, "Hm?"
"Is something the matter, my husband?" Rys walked up beside him, still
in her undergarments. She followed his gaze outside, and saw a number of
psychobears wandering around outside Flio's barrier, staring at the house.
"I wonder if those were the ones who ruined the garden," Flio mused.
"Maybe they've got a taste for fresh produce."
"I can take care of them, my lord," said Rys, making for the door
without bothering to put on proper clothes, but Flio called after her to stop.
"Wait, Rys, there's no need," he said, pointing out the window with his
right hand. Suddenly, the wandering psychobears fell at once to the ground,
perfectly still.
"Was that Gravitation?"
"It was. I've gotten a pretty good handle on that spell thanks to
yesterday's practice," said Flio. He had used just enough force to kill the
monsters, without flattening them into psychobear pancakes.
Rys smiled. "Well then, I suppose I should prepare our breakfast," she
said, and began towards the kitchen.
"Rys," said Flio, "tell me, what are you planning on making?"
"Oh, more psychobear meat. The same as last night. Why?"
Flio once again forced a smile as he spoke. "Why don't I cook this
time," he said. "You just get dressed and wait. Okay?"
"Indeed?" said Rys, a curious expression on her face. "Very well..." She
did as she was told and retrieved her clothing from where she had left it at
the foot of the bed. While she was busy, Flio prepared a meal with
astonishing speed. When Rys returned to the kitchen, she found the table set
with a great number of plates and bowls filled with all kinds of food: rice,
vegetable stew, a fresh salad, and psychobear meat cut thin and fried with
vegetables.
"And this is for Sybe," said Flio, treating their pet to a heaping plate of
psychobear meat. This wasn't anything like the raw meat Rys had served
last night—it was cut into thin strips and skillfully fried. Sybe began to
greedily devour its food, clearly even happier with it than it had been with
the meat last night.
Flio made sure Sybe was eating its meal without complaint, and then he
turned to his wife. "Shall we dig in as well?" He sat down in the seat in
front of Rys, but Rys herself was frozen stiff.
"My... My lord husband..." she said, stunned. "This meal... How...?"
"Mm? Oh, the vegetables are from the garden in the back. It's in a sorry
state but there was still a lot there that was edible. And I found the rice in
the pantry and decided to cook it up. What's wrong?"
As Flio spoke, Rys began to panic. Born and raised a soldier in the Dark
Army, Rys had been thoroughly schooled in swordplay and martial arts, but
nobody had ever taught her how to cook. There were only two recipes she
knew: meat (raw), and meat (cooked).
Rice? she thought, her eyes darting all over the table. This fluffy white
stuff is made from rice? And this soup... How did he make the water taste
like vegetables? Even the meat seems like it's been flavored somehow... It
tastes much better than when I do it... Rys took a bite of Flio's cooking, and
then another, deep in thought. If I'm going to cook for my husband, I'll need
to cook food like this...
Beads of nervous sweat ran across her brow as she enjoyed the meal.