After their meal, Flio, Rys, and Sybe stepped out into the woods. Flio
felled a tree with magic and shaped it into a large cart—much bigger than
the one they had been using. They transferred the trophies from yesterday
and the psychobears Flio had finished off just this morning onto the new
cart. There were almost forty bodies to move, but thanks to Flio's magic the
work went fast.
Like before, Sybe went to the front of the cart, seemingly insisting on
being the one to pull it. It flexed its muscles for them, posing like a
bodybuilder. Flio and Rys both grinned at the sight. "Well then, Sybe," said
Flio, "take us to the city!" Sybe let out a happy roar.
The cart had been magically reinforced to hold the mountain of corpses
without any issue. Normally, when slaying a beast or monster, it's enough to
bring its right ear back for proof of the deed. Psychobears, however, were
not only considered a delicacy for their meat; their hard bones could be
used as materials for armor or weapons, and their pelts made good coldweather gear suited for northern climates. Because they were valued so
highly, adventurers could claim a higher bounty if they returned with the
undamaged body.
The guards couldn't believe their eyes when Flio's party reached the city
gates. "You got how many psychobears? In one night? Just the two of
you?!" The guard captain who had seen them off yesterday was there,
regarding the mountain of psychobears piled up on their cart with wide
eyes, completely bewildered. The others could only stare as the cart passed
into the city.
At the Adventurers' Association, a crowd gathered around Flio's cart.
"That's...an incredible amount of psychobears."
"I'm pretty good with magic," said Flio, smiling calmly at the cat-type
demihuman girl who came out of the building to confirm his kills. "And my
wife is a strong sword fighter."
"We'll assess the value of these materials for you, so would you please
hand me your pendants?" She looked between Flio, Rys, and Sybe.
"Oh, Sybe is our pet, not an adventurer," said Flio. "I have it under
Subjugation, so there's no danger of it attacking people." As he spoke, he
removed his silver pendant from around his neck and handed it over. Rys
did the same.
"In that case, could I ask you to register your pet? A beast that size isn't
supposed to be in the city without an official record of its owner, just in
case something happens." The girl handed Flio a piece of paper, labeled
"Pet Owner Registration Form." The bottom half of the page was a list of
notices and guidelines, such as: "In the event of an incident involving a
registered pet that results in the injury of a citizen, the pet may be executed
with no right of appeal," and "Owners are liable for any damages caused by
a pet registered under their name." Flio filled out the various fields on the
form's top half, signing his name at the bottom in the field where it said "I
accept all terms."
Just to be safe, Flio wrote "bear" in the field for "pet species." It seemed
like entering "psychobear" might prove unwise.
"That's all for your registration," said the cat girl. "I'll add Sybe's
information to your pendant's data." She took the form and the pendants to
the back of the reception area. It seemed like it would take a while to assess
their kills, so Flio, Rys, and Sybe took a seat.
While they were waiting, a different cat girl came by, carrying a teapot
on a tray. "You must be terribly strong," she said, smiling as she set out
cups of tea for them. "I had no idea there were people out there who could
take down so many psychobears."
"Oh," said Flio, smiling wryly, "we just got lucky." He took the cup of
tea in his hands and continued. "But I wanted to ask... There's an
unoccupied house right before the forest to the north. You wouldn't know
what happened to the people who lived there, would you?"
"Everyone in that area evacuated when the psychobears came, I think,"
she said.
Flio thought for a little while before turning his attention back towards
the girl. "We had the idea of using the house as a base for hunting
psychobears in the north. Would that be allowed?"
"I'll have to check," she said. "There have been a lot of monster
incursions recently. It would be a big help to have strong adventurers like
you making a base up there." She hurried back behind the counter.
Flio finished his tea and sat chatting with Rys as he waited for the girl to
return. It didn't take long at all before she came rushing back. With her was
an old demihuman man, another cat-type. He seemed to be her superior.
"That's them," she said, introducing them to him. "Mister Flio and his
party, the ones I was telling you about."
"Mister Flio," the man said, bowing. "My name is Leolith. I am the head
of accounting for the Adventurers' Association. Mimew here tells me you
were asking after an abandoned house. We just finished checking with the
town hall; it seems that the house's former residents themselves have
already declared it abandoned. We took the liberty of claiming the house for
the Association, and registered your names as its current occupants. Please
use it as you see fit. The Association will handle all of the fees and
paperwork. All we ask is that you keep up your splendid performance."
Leolith and his subordinate Mimew both bowed deeply.
"There's no need for all that," said Flio. "I can at least pay the fee for
you." But Leolith shook his head.
"No no no, I insist. We're more than happy to help the ones who hunted
so many psychobears for us. Please allow us to do you this small favor."
They argued back and forth like this for a while, but in the end Flio yielded
to Leolith's generosity and accepted the free house.
That matter dealt with, Leolith signaled to the Association staff waiting
behind him, who placed two large bags on the table in front of Flio. Leolith
smiled, indicating the bags in turn. "In that bag is your bounty. The guild
recognizes your extermination of thirty-nine psychobears. Ordinarily,
slaying an A-Rank monster would earn you 10 gold per head, but due to the
special extermination request, the bounty for psychobears has been
increased tenfold to 100 gold each, totaling 3,900 gold. In addition, you are
owed a bonus for returning the carcasses intact. Your bonus comes out to
780 gold. I trust everything is in order?"
The Adventurers' Association divided monsters by rank, and paid
bounties on this basis. A-Rank bounties included psychobears and cyclopes,
and were worth ten gold. B-Rank included the likes of dark spiders and
lizardmen, and paid one gold. C-Rank bounties, such as evil worms and
vampire bats, were five silver, and slimes and goblins were D-Rank
bounties, paying a single silver coin. Of course, monsters that had earned
A-Rank or B-Rank bounties were considered difficult opponents. Usually it
was very large parties, or several parties working together, who attempted
them.
Flio and Rys, by contrast, had brought back 39 A-Rank bounties by
themselves. The staff and the assembled adventurers at the Association
were watching them with amazement. When they heard the size of the
bounty for the defeated psychobears, the adventurers began to stir.
"They killed how many bears?!"
"That's the biggest bounty I've ever seen..."
They gathered around Flio's party, all gossiping loudly about them.
This might get annoying if we stay for much longer... thought Flio. He
gave Rys a look and stood up. "A pleasure doing business," he said,
thanking Leolith and his subordinates, and left the Adventurers'
Association behind him. Rys followed closely behind, understanding from
his look that he wanted to leave in a hurry.
"Waoor!" Further behind, Sybe ran after them, swinging its large body.
The Association was abuzz with noisy conversations. Leolith and his
group were staring at the door Flio's party had left from. "I've heard that
the Golden-Haired Hero has gone to the Southern Stronghold and cut off all
contact with us," said Leolith, shaking his head and sighing deeply. "If only
they had his job. That Flio would make a much better Hero."
After taking their leave of the Adventurers' Association, Flio and Rys
departed the city straightaway, their pet Sybe pulling the empty cart behind
them. It wasn't long until they arrived at their house—their new official
residence. Their first task was to put the place in order. The previous
residents had fled in a hurry when the psychobears came, leaving the
interior in disarray. They had done some minor cleaning when they stayed
overnight the previous day, but Flio was ready to do some serious tidying
up. He used magic to deep clean all the rooms at once, and sorted the
kitchenware and utensils, throwing away any he deemed unusable. Any
garments that had been left behind, he put in his Bottomless Bag. It wasn't
long before the place looked completely transformed—sparkling,
immaculate, and pristine.
"Okay," said Flio. "This will do for the time being." Rys looked up from
where she had been crouching and wiping the floor with a rag, and gave
him a smile. "Now we just need to do something for Sybe." He glanced out
the window at the psychobear, who was hard at work scrubbing the exterior
walls.
Flio went into the forest, felling trees and shaping them with magic.
Next, he destroyed a section of the wall. He attached the wood, joining it to
the wall itself to extend the floor plan, enlarging their living room. With the
leftover wood, he built a pen in one corner.
"What do you think, Sybe?" he asked, bringing Sybe inside to see its
new living area. "I laid some straw out on the floor here for you." At Flio's
urging, Sybe slowly entered the pen. At first it wandered around, sniffing
curiously at everything, but before long it made a happy cry of approval.
Flio and Rys joyously watched on as Sybe giddily paced in and out of the
pen over and over.
"All right," said Flio. "Sybe can sleep down here, and we can take one
of the rooms upstairs. Though... Even if we each take a separate bedroom,
there'll still be one left," he mused. "That just means there's room for our
little family to grow bigger."
"Bigger?" echoed Rys, blinking. "Who are you thinking of inviting?"
"That's not quite what I mean," said Flio, smiling sweetly as he placed a
hand on Rys's belly. "Just...if we ever want to have a baby..."
Her face went bright red.
◇The Following Morning◇
The three left early in the morning to go hunting. Sybe followed behind
Flio and Rys, making cheerful growls as it pulled the cart.
"I don't believe there are any psychobears left near the house," mused
Rys.
"We hunted a lot around here yesterday, didn't we? All right, then let's
try deeper in the forest this time."
Flio led his companions into the woods. The people of the city avoided
these woods, regarding them as dangerous. Sure enough, Flio and co. had
hardly set foot inside when they came upon groups of monsters.
Psychobears aside, there were many A-Rank monsters who'd made their
homes here—monsters like the salamanders and cyclopes that came out to
attack them as soon as they took note of their presence. But even this level
of monster was no threat to Flio and Rys. They had made short work of the
psychobears yesterday, after all. They slew them one after another, and
Sybe heaved their enemies' remains onto the cart.
Rys looked dissatisfied as she ripped open a cyclops's windpipe. "Prey
this weak makes for a poor warm-up," she said. Behind her, Flio was
casually taking down yet another.
The cart was full up before noon, so they headed back to the city with
Sybe pulling the cart as always.
◇The Adventurers' Association◇
"Wha?! You brought us this many today too?!" Mimew's eyes went
wide as she stared at the mountain of monster remains presented before her.
The adventurers inside the building, too, thronged onto the street and
gathered around to look.
"Those two go psychobear hunting again?" questioned one.
"Outta this world..." another marveled in awe.
"Is that a salamander? Didn't one of those things drive off a troop of
knights just last year?"
"They took it down on their own?!"
As people gossiped noisily around them, the guild staff took the cart for
assessment.
As soon as the cart was out of sight, Rys turned to address her husband.
"Excuse me, my lord," she began. "May I be permitted to wander the city,
at least until they have finished their assessment?"
"Of course you can," said Flio. "Would you like to go together?" She
shook her head. "I..." she started, trailing off. "There is...a private matter I
must deal with. I do not wish to trouble you with this."
"Hmm..." Flio frowned. "All right. I'll wait here with Sybe, then."
Rys bowed deeply. "My beloved husband," she said, "thank you for
indulging my selfish request." Alone, she turned to leave.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Here it is," Rys muttered to herself, staring at the building in front of
her. "The place Mimew told me about. To think I would be made to endure
such shame... But, it is all for the sake of my husband..."
Rys stepped foot inside the Mileno School for the Culinary Arts.
◇ ◇ ◇
Flio was relaxing in the Adventurers' Association with Sybe as he
waited for Rys to return when Leolith appeared with a number of guild
staff. "Mister Flio," he started, "my apologies for the wait." He handed over
another bag. "Psychobears still give a ten-times bounty, of course.
Furthermore, one of the monsters you brought us was wanted by the
kingdom. Its prize of one thousand gold has also been added to your
reward."
"'Wanted by the kingdom'?" Flio repeated.
"Indeed. This salamander dealt a great deal of damage to the kingdom's
knights a year ago."
"Oh," Flio said, mildly surprised, "I see." He recalled testing out the
spell Windcutter on a giant salamander, slicing it into eight pieces with a
single blow. Really? That salamander was supposed to be dangerous?
Rys arrived right as Flio finished collecting his earnings. "Welcome
back, Rys! Your timing was perfect. I was just—" but Flio was suddenly
taken aback. "Rys! What happened to you?!" Something had ripped and
torn her clothing. There were smudges on her face, cuts all over her arms
and cheeks. "Don't tell me—you were attacked? Was there a monster?!"
"A-Ah, I," she sputtered. "N-No, it wasn't a monster." Worried, Flio
quickly tended to Rys using recovery magic.
Rys cast her eyes downward. I never imagined that cooking was such a
formidable endeavor...
◇One Month Later◇
The family of three had settled into a daily routine. In the morning they
would hunt, and then they would bring their full cart back to the
Adventurers' Association for a reward, then idle around the city for a while
before returning to their house.
Sybe was a very personable psychobear, and before long it had become
an object of adoration for the local children. One would see Sybe pulling its
cart behind Flio and Rys and cry out, "It's Sybe!" summoning more
children from all over to come gather around them. Sybe was always happy
to let them ride on its back.
◇ ◇ ◇
"My lord... Once again, I must take my leave." Rys faced Flio and
bowed, and then turned to set out towards the city streets.
For the past month, she had been diligently attending daily classes at the
Mileno School for the Culinary Arts, studying the very basics of cooking
while Flio waited for the Adventurers' Association to complete their
assessment.
The school was full of young women; Rys was among them, peeling
vegetables with a deadly serious look on her face. Mileno, the teacher, came
over to her and beamed proudly. "You've improved quite a lot, Miss Rys,"
she said. "I can hardly recognize the girl who couldn't peel a potalpo
without breaking it into little bits."
"O-Oh! Thank you, Miss!" said Rys, bowing deeply. This is more fun
than learning to use a sword was, she mused to herself, a smile creeping
onto her face as she returned to her practice. I wonder why?
◇The Adventurers' Association◇
Her lessons finished for the day, Rys returned to the guild.
"Hello, Rys! Welcome back. I just finished collecting our earnings," said
Flio, holding up a bag for her to see. "Shall we find somewhere to eat
before heading home?"
"Forgive my forwardness, my lord, but may I prepare supper for us
today?"
"You want...to cook?"
"I do. Is that acceptable?"
"All right," Flio answered. "Then let's buy the ingredients you need and
head home."
Rys cheerfully nodded her head, happy to have permission. Eventually,
the two would come to settle on a system where Flio and Rys would trade
off cooking duties from day to day, but that's a story for another time.
◇ ◇ ◇
A few days later, Flio and Rys were on their way home from their
regular trip to the Adventurers' Association when they suddenly heard
sounds of battle nearby. Flio turned his head. "I think it's coming from over
there."
Flio and Rys moved quietly towards the sounds, and came upon a knight
and her party fighting against two psychobears and losing badly. They were
putting up a valiant effort, but the monsters were far too strong for them.
Together there were four: a knight, a heavy soldier, an archer, and a witch.
The two in back—the archer and the witch—seemed to lack combat
experience. They were standing around panicked and confused, unsure how
to support their comrades. The psychobears would charge through and
attack those two if they were given any chance, so the knight and heavy
soldier were exclusively focusing on defense, and were unable to
counterattack effectively. Wait, thought Flio. That knight... He felt like he
recognized her from somewhere. Then it hit him. That's the group that
attacked Rys back when I first met her!
Rys seemed to have noticed as well. She was glancing at the party with a
subtly hostile expression. "I see no need to involve ourselves in this," she
said. "Let's leave these people and go home, my love."
Flio mulled over Rys's words. There was no doubt in his mind that if
they left, the knight and her party would be destroyed. "I mean," he said,
feeling guilty, "they're people I know, at least a little bit..." Hidden in the
shadow of a tree, Flio began to chant and invoked the spell Lightning. It
struck with a loud thunderclap.
"What was that?! What's going on?!" Startled by the sound, the knight
began looking all around her.
"Hey..." said the heavy soldier, pointing. "Hey Balirossa, look..." Before
her, the two psychobears who had been attacking them were lying collapsed
on the ground, charred black.
"What in the world...?" The knight, Balirossa, stared at the dead
psychobears, uncomprehending.
"W-Well, whatever that was... At least we're saved, right?" the archer
uttered, speaking slowly. Beside her, the witch wordlessly fainted.
Flio gave a quick check to make sure that none of the knight's party
were injured, then quietly left.
"My lord, you are much too kind," pouted Rys.
Flio grimaced. "Oh, please don't be like that... Look, let's just go home
and enjoy your delicious cooking."
"Okay..." said Rys. "I'll do my best." The two of them hurried home,
engaged in a somewhat awkward conversation.
When they arrived, they found two psychobears burnt to a crisp outside
the house. "That trap is incredible, isn't it?" admired Flio. Lately, he had
been supplementing the magic barrier around the house with a trap spell. If
anyone were to draw near, the barrier would activate first, preventing them
from entering. And if it was a monster who activated the barrier, it would
immediately be struck with a Lightning spell. Flio, Rys, and Sybe, of
course, were designated as exceptions by the barrier, and could approach
freely. Flio began moving towards the dead psychobears to clean up, but
Sybe got there first. It ran forward with a "rawhr!" and began loading them
onto the cart. "Thanks for the help, Sybe," said Flio, patting the psychobear
on its head. Sybe rumbled happily, almost like a cat purring.
While Sybe was bringing the loaded cart to the back of the house, Flio
and Rys brought the ingredients for cooking and other items they had
purchased in town inside. They were in the middle of their preparations
when Flio's detection spells picked something up. "Hm?" Focusing, Flio
sensed a number of humans approaching the house. Flio gasped in surprise
when he saw who it was: that presence could only belong to the knight he
had just saved and her party. He went outside, tilting his head in curiosity.
Why are they coming here? What do they want?
◇ ◇ ◇
A look of surprise came over the knight's party as they caught sight of
Flio standing outside the house. "You... S-Sir Flio?!"
Flio regarded them with his usual cool smile. "What brings you all
here?" he said. "This is a dangerous place to wander about, with all the
monsters." He opened a section of the barrier, allowing the knight and her
party to come in.
"It's...a shameful matter, I'm afraid," said the knight, stiffening up as she
faced Flio. "I would very much prefer if you didn't repeat this to anyone."
Nonetheless, she began to explain her situation. "Perhaps you've heard,
but some time ago the Hero's army met a group of psychobears in battle
and was destroyed. The Golden-Haired Hero was terribly angry—he shut
himself in the Southern Stronghold, and still refuses to come out. It seems
he sent a letter to His Majesty, saying, 'Although my abilities are
phenomenal, the soldiers meant to support me are altogether useless. I
refuse to attack the Dark One until they are of a high enough level to be
useful as my right arm.' His Majesty summoned all of his knights and
commanded us to 'train until we can at least handle a psychobear,' as he put
it." She hung her head and sighed deeply. Her party nodded their heads
affirmatively.
"The plan was for the highest-level knights to take priority in training.
They could do it faster, you know?" said the heavy soldier, folding her
arms. "But they all begged to be taken off training, saying they were needed
to 'secure the castle.' Even a high-level knight is gonna have trouble with a
psychobear. I guess in their minds, falling in battle against the Dark One is
one thing, but they don't want to die training against some monster..." She
inclined her head forward.
The archer, standing next to her, continued the story, gesturing with both
hands. "And then? Thanks to the Hero's army losing to the psychobears?
Lots of people started thinking stuff like, 'Wow, the Golden-Haired Hero's
pretty weak,' right? So like, people are saying they don't wanna throw away
their lives for a Hero like that." She hung her shoulders.
Next, the witch picked up the thread, stepping forward and facing Flio.
"And that's why weaklings like us are out here..." All four of them sighed at
once.
"Among all the knights and their companies, we are the freshest batch,"
said the knight, looking Flio head-on despite her humiliation. "Of course,
we haven't been neglecting our training, but even so, as we currently stand
we could not defeat even a single psychobear between the four of us. Not
long ago we had the bad luck to encounter two of the beasts. There was
absolutely nothing we could do against them, but just as we were on the
verge of annihilation, they were suddenly struck by lightning." She pursed
her lips, as did her companions.
It looks like they haven't realized that the lightning bolt was my spell...
Flio thought, looking over the knight's party. He resolved to keep quiet
about it.
"By the way, Sir Flio," said the knight after she'd spoken a bit more,
"what brings you to this forest?"
"Oh, this house was abandoned by its former occupants, so we bought it
for ourselves." Flio smiled coolly, turning to face his house. "My
companion—no, I mean, my wife and I have been living here with our pet
bear, hunting monsters to cover our living expenses. We've been here for an
entire month, come to think of it..."
The knight's eyes went wide. "E-Excuse me? Y-Your...wife? Sir Flio!
You're... You're married?!" She sounded betrayed, like this was some
personal affront. The heavy soldier prodded her on the side and she seemed
to return to her senses.
What's wrong with me being married? Flio glanced at the knight,
confused. He had no idea what had caused her to behave that way, so he
simply kept forcing a smile. The knight seemed like she was still in shock,
so the heavy soldier spoke in her stead. "We actually came here because we
thought there was an abandoned house in the area. We were done in pretty
bad by those psychobears, and we thought it'd be a good place to rest. I
mean, I don't fancy camping with all the monsters about." Saying this, she
craned her neck towards Flio. "Hey, Flio, I get that I'm being super
impertinent, but can we stay here for a bit? We'll be happy even just staying
in the shed. Don't wanna be a bother to you or your wife."
Flio hemmed and hawed for a moment, and said, "It's all right with me,
but wouldn't you rather I send you back to the city with Teleportation?" But
at his words, the party's expressions seemed to darken.
"Oh, yeah, that would be great!" said the archer. "But we're not
supposed to go back until we've gotten results, y'know?" She sat down
heavily.
Next to her, the knight nodded. She seemed to have finally calmed
down. "Our orders from the castle were to return having improved...or not
return at all. If we can't at the very least defeat a psychobear between the
four of us, we will not be allowed back." She sighed.
At this point, Rys stepped out of the house, smiling. "I suppose then that
the two of us had best sleep in the living room tonight, my beloved," she
said.
"Really? You're fine with it?"
"Of course I am. It wouldn't do for us to ignore people in need," she
responded, and gave another smile. "If my husband says it is all right, then
as his wife, I must abide by those words. Yes—as his wife." She put an
unnatural amount of emphasis on the word wife as she spoke.
Rys must be happy that I introduced her properly as my wife this time!
thought Flio, gazing at her. Last time he had chanced upon the knight's
party among the Hero's forces, he had simply said, "She's with me." He
recalled that this had upset Rys rather badly.
Flio and Rys showed the knight and her party into their house. They
entered, politely thanking the couple.
But as they stepped into the living room, they stopped in their tracks,
staring wide-eyed at Sybe. "What?!" exclaimed the knight. Sybe was sitting
in a corner of the room, wearing overalls and playing with a ball. The party
cowered before it, knees shaking in fear. "Is that...a psychobear?!"
"No... What's one of them doing here?"
The knight and the heavy soldier rushed to draw their blades, but Flio
stepped in front of them, standing beside Sybe with a casual smile. "There's
no need to worry," he said. "This psychobear is our pet. Its name is Sybe."
He affably clapped Sybe on the shoulder. Sybe struck a pose, flexing with
both arms, and then lay down on its side like it did for the children in the
city.
"Your...pet." The knight's party sat down feebly, afraid to move, cold
smiles on their faces.
"Aha ha... W-Well, I guess it's kinda cute."
Rys served the party tea, and they gradually seemed to calm down. One
by one, they introduced themselves.
"My name is Balirossa," said the knight. "My family... Well, you could
call them nobility, but in truth that would be in naught but name. Fallen
nobility, if you will. As the eldest daughter, I have devoted myself to
chivalry, in hopes that I may one day restore our fortunes."
"And my name's Blossom," said the heavy soldier. "You can probably
guess, but I'm a heavy armor knight. Don't take me lightly for being a
woman! I built up these muscles working on my family's farm. I got to
know Balirossa when we were classmates at the knights' academy, and
we've been together ever since."
The archer spoke next. "Oh, um, I'm Byleri? I'm, like, an archer? I was
a stable hand at the castle, but I'm pretty skilled, right, so they asked me to
go with the army? At some point they gave me a bow to use... Anyway,
I'm, like, totally a newbie. Um. Nice to meet you!"
"Belano..." said the witch, bowing politely. "I'm a witch..."
After they made their introductions, Flio saw to the party's wounds,
healing them with magic. "By the way, Belano," he said, "You use magic,
don't you? Do you not know any healing magic?"
"I-I'm a defensive magic specialist," she replied, embarrassed. "That's
the only kind of magic I can do..."
I hope that wasn't rude to ask... Flio pondered. He faked the best smile
he could, and addressed the whole party. "Regardless, you've had a rough
day, haven't you? How about we all have some dinner? Get some rest."
Blossom raised her right hand to speak. "Actually, there was something I
wanted to say... We don't want to be any bother to you two, so we'll be fine
sleeping out... Huh?" Her eyes drifted towards the window, when she saw
something that made her recoil in shock. Outside, there were two
psychobears charging towards the house. But as they drew near, they
seemed to reach some sort of barrier, unable to come any closer. The next
instant, a lightning bolt struck with terrible violence: Flio's magic trap. It hit
the two psychobears, charring them black where they stood. Slowly, they
fell to the ground.
"F-Flio," said Blossom, slowly, "Does that...happen a lot?"
"It does," Flio responded, matter-of-factly. "Usually when we wake up
there are five or six of them out there, caught by the trap."
It took a moment for Blossom to respond. "L-Like I was saying... We'll
be fine sleeping in just the very edge of your living room, but would you
mind if we stay indoors?" She bowed several times, fervently entreating
them.
After dinner, Flio turned towards Balirossa's party. "All right, let's get
your beds ready," he said, moving in the direction of the window.
"Sir Flio, are you truly going to let us sleep in your bed?" said Balirossa,
"We will be happy to sleep on the floor so long as we have cushions..." But
as she was speaking, Flio faced the forest and cast a spell. Tree after tree
fell, but they never hit the ground. They danced through the air, moving
towards Flio's house. With each movement of his hands, a tree would split
into usable wood, assembling itself in no time at all until they had become
four wooden bed frames. Flio brought them inside with magic, and set them
right next to Sybe's pen. Rys knew her husband well enough to anticipate
that he would make beds for their guests, and had already gone to the back
room to retrieve four padded cushions. As Flio set the bed frames down, she
placed the cushions on top as mattresses. Balirossa's party, meanwhile, was
stunned silent by the spectacle of beds being created by magic before their
eyes.
"These beds are for you," said Flio. "Rys and I will be sleeping upstairs.
Don't hesitate to knock if you need anything!"
The four women thanked Flio and tucked themselves into bed as he and
Rys went upstairs to sleep. They were extremely tired from their ordeals,
and Blossom, Byleri, and Belano were asleep and snoring as soon as they
got into bed. Only Balirossa lay awake, a huge grin on her face, her eyes
gleaming.
To be reunited with Sir Flio like this... It must be the will of the gods. He
uses such powerful magic like it's nothing! If I could make him part of my
household, it might not be so impossible to reverse my family's fortunes.
Him being married is an unforeseen setback...but I also have the option of
bringing him into my family as a mage retainer. It doesn't matter how
precisely, as long as I can bring him into the fold. I'll stop at nothing!
Still grinning, she pulled the covers up over her head and started
giggling relentlessly underneath.
Inside its pen, Sybe tilted its head as if to say, "What's that about?"
◇The Following Morning◇
When Flio came downstairs in the morning, Balirossa, who had been
cleaning the floor, grinned widely and walked up to him. "Good morning,
Sir Flio! I'm sorry to bother you so early, but I have a request..."
"You do? What do you need?" Flio looked inquisitively at the knight.
Balirossa smiled amiably at Flio. "I was wondering if you might see fit
to instruct the four of us in the ways of combat?"
"You want...instruction?"
"Yes. It brings me great shame to say it, but we simply lack the strength
we need. As things stand, we will never become strong enough to slay
monsters. We could seek instruction at the castle, but we were told not to
return until we had grown stronger on our own..." Balirossa's eyes were
glimmering as she spoke. She drew closer to Flio. "Under the
circumstances, we would deeply appreciate your instruction. We would
even welcome any harsh discipline you could contrive if it could train us to
be stronger." She bowed deeply. The other three ran forward and bowed
alongside her.
"I understand, but... Well, we have to do our morning hunt..." Flio
folded his arms in thought, when Rys walked up to him in high spirits.
"Is there any problem with bringing them along, my lord? They can
assist us! Perhaps it can serve as practical exercises for them." Rys had been
inordinately cheerful ever since Flio had introduced her as his wife the day
before. Even now, she was grinning as she spoke.
"We'll do our best not to get in your way," said Blossom, bowing again.
"Please, we need your help."
"Well, if Rys wants to bring you along, I'm not going to contradict her,"
said Flio. And so, he reluctantly found himself accepting their request.
◇Some Time Later◇
Flio and Rys, as well as Balirossa's party of four, set out for their usual
hunting spot of late deep in the forest to the north, with Sybe following
behind them pulling the cart. It was difficult to navigate with everyone
together, so they decided to split up. Flio took Balirossa and Blossom while
Rys took Byleri and Belano to carry out their hunt separately.
◇The Adventurers' Association—Midday◇
"Today's a little on the small side, isn't it?" Mimew was craning her
neck looking over Sybe's cart. On most days their trophies would be piled
higher than Sybe's head, but today there were hardly any.
"There were some...special circumstances we had to deal with today,"
said Flio, straining to keep a smile on his face.
"I see... I suppose even you have days like that." Mimew was assessing
their kills as she spoke.
Flio and Rys decided to grab a late lunch at a restaurant in town after
they were done with the guild. They left Sybe, happily chewing on a chunk
of meat, outside with the cart. Before long, a crowd had started to gather,
chattering happily and looking at Sybe.
"Flio and Sybe are so cute, aren't they?"
"Look, it's really enjoying its meat!"
"Sybe always cheers me up."
Sybe, it seemed, was gradually becoming the city's idol.
The mood inside the restaurant was much less cheerful. Rys sighed
heavily where she sat facing Flio. "Those two... I had no idea they would be
so miserable at this," she said, and sighed again.
"Was it really that bad?"
"'Bad' hardly begins to cover it," Rys said, and began to relate the
events of the morning's training.
She started with Byleri. First, when they encountered a psychobear,
Byleri hid in the shadow of a tree and loosed an arrow at the monster, but
the arrow just bounced off its hide and fell harmlessly to the ground. The
psychobear hadn't even noticed that it was hit—it just kept walking. That
was how weak her shots were. The psychobear had simply wandered off,
unaware that it had ever been under attack.
Byleri was only equipped with a normal shortbow, so it was no surprise
that her arrows lacked the power to pierce a psychobear's thick skin. At
first, Rys had assumed that she must be planning on enchanting the arrow to
give it enough force to hurt a psychobear, but as she watched, Byleri simply
fired a normal arrow with her normal shortbow to absolutely no effect.
"Is there a reason you aren't enchanting your weapon?" Rys asked.
Byleri looked surprised at the question. "I-I, um, can't use any magic?"
she said. Rys went white.
"Without an enchantment, that bow isn't going to do anything," Rys
said, and handed the girl a crossbow she had brought along. But Byleri was
unable to even lift the weapon.
"Um... Miss? This is, like, too heavy?"
As for Belano, Rys had asked her what kind of spells she could cast, and
the witch began to count them off on her fingers. "Defense-boosting
spells... Status recovery spells... Barrier spells..." At first Rys had thought
that it was a fairly impressive number, but as Belano continued to list them
off, she gradually began to feel a sense of unease.
"Belano, defensive magic is all well and good, but could you tell me
what attack spells you know?" Belano went silent, and seemed to freeze in
place.
She stood there for a while, frozen, until finally she said a single word:
"None." Rys once again went white.
Belano told her that she could use defensive magic on par with an ARank spellcaster, but no matter how hard she tried she hadn't been able to
master a single offensive spell. Moreover, the amount of magic power in
her body was uncommonly low, and she could only cast a few simple spells
before running out. "It sucks," she said, looking like she was about to
vomit. "This whole situation sucks..."
Rys sighed deeply as she finished her story.
"It sounds like you had a rough time," Flio said. "But you know...
Balirossa and Blossom were something else." He smiled bitterly as he
launched into his account.
Balirossa was as skilled with a sword as one might expect from a fighter
of noble birth, but she would insist on announcing herself to the
psychobears, wasting time with preliminary remarks like, "Come! I shall be
your opponent!" Moreover, every time she would swing her sword, she
would go into unnecessary poses, like she was doing some fanciful sword
form. Her skills were not suited to a serious battle with life and death on the
line, but stage-fights and martial arts exhibitions.
Psychobears would attack her while she was still announcing herself,
and she would be forced to flee, shouting, "Wait! C-Coward! This is not
chivalrous conduct!" Even when she was lucky enough to finish her entire
introduction and strike the psychobear with her sword, her stage-fighting
techniques were unable to scratch its hide.
Blossom, meanwhile, fought using a greatsword befitting a heavy
soldier that was the length of her body, and attacked the enemy directly
using her entire body to deliver a strike with fairly impressive destructive
power. However, her habit was to strike downwards using the momentum
of her blade, a technique that had absolutely atrocious accuracy.
Psychobears were faster than they looked, and had no trouble avoiding her
attacks. In fact, over the course of the entire day, she had not landed a single
hit. In fact, many times her foes would attack her while she was cutting
through empty air, and she would be forced to drop her sword and flee,
shouting, "Wha?! Idiot! Wait until I'm ready to attack again, you coward!"
Flio and Rys both had to devote their efforts to saving their charges from
getting themselves killed, and as a result fell behind their usual pace. When
they finished relaying their stories to each other, both heaved powerful
sighs.
"This is going to be more difficult than we thought, isn't it?" said Flio,
but Rys shook her head.
"It's not that it's difficult, my lord," she said, sighing again. "It's clear
that they have no potential at all. If I had known, I would never have urged
you to take them on..."
◇Flio's House◇
Flio, Rys, and Sybe returned home once more. When they had left for
the city Balirossa and her party were passed out in their beds, exhausted
from fighting the psychobears, but when they opened the door, they were
greeted by a grinning Balirossa wiping the floor clean with a rag. "Welcome
home, sir! Welcome home, madam!" she said, interrupting her cleaning to
welcome them properly before she got back to work. "I hope you will allow
us to do at least this much to repay you for your kindness."
Blossom was in the garden behind the house (which Flio and Rys had
never bothered putting in order from being ransacked by psychobears),
tilling the soil. She was swinging the hoe like an expert, preparing the earth
for cultivation. "I come from a farming family, remember?" she said,
smiling. "This kind of work is my specialty!"
Byleri was outside too. It seemed like she had been helping Blossom
with her work, but when Flio and Rys checked on her, she was resting under
a tree, exhausted from the heavy labor. She must have really been trying to
put some muscle into it.
Belano was poring over the grimoire she carried in her own Bottomless
Bag, diligently reading every chapter on offensive magic and repeating
various exercises.
Flio and Rys glanced at each other. It seemed like the four were doing
their best to make themselves useful or else training to compensate for their
weaknesses. "I suppose there's no harm in taking a few more people along
on our hunts," said Flio.
"I suppose not," said Rys. "They really are doing their best...such as it
is."
And so, Flio and Rys resolved to look after Balirossa's party for some
time longer.
◇ ◇ ◇
Flio and Rys continued to bring Balirossa, Blossom, Byleri, and Belano
along on their daily hunts. As the days wore on, they began to encounter
gradually fewer psychobears and had more opportunities to fight other
monsters, especially cyclopes. Balirossa's party did their best, but they still
were no match for the monsters, and Flio and Rys would be forced to clean
up after them every time without fail.
"Still, you've gotten quite a bit better from how you were at the start,"
said Flio.
"Truly?" said Balirossa, beaming gleefully at the praise, "I-It gives me
great pleasure to hear that."
"However," said Rys, "that is only speaking comparatively. Don't forget
that not one of you has been able to fell even a single monster."
The four redoubled their efforts, spurred on by both the criticism and
praise.
◇Klyrode Castle◇
"Oh?" King Klyrode raised an eyebrow at his aide's report. "And they
work for the Adventurers' Association in this city, you say?"
"Indeed," said the aide. "It seems that they live by a forest known to be
inhabited by monsters, where they hunt dozens of A-rank bounties a day."
The king made a throaty noise as he turned the information over in his
head. Then, he lifted his gaze towards the aide and said, "Very well. Send a
message to the Adventurers' Association. Have it known that I would like
to employ these adventurers as mercenaries under the direct employ of the
kingdom. They will work as the Hero's subordinates in the interests of
Klyrode."
"Understood, Your Majesty. Your will be done." The aide bowed once
and hurried out of the room.
The king watched the aide leave, let out a deep sigh, and then turned his
head to look out the window. In the distance past the castle walls, he could
see a fortress nestled in a mountain pass. Even now, the Golden-Haired
Hero was shut up in that fortress, refusing to emerge. Perhaps now the Hero
will be willing to resume his duties.
Ever since his forces had been destroyed by a horde of psychobears, the
Hero had refused to step a single foot outside. King Klyrode had sent
message after message urging him to do battle against the Dark One, even
humbling himself in supplication, but the Golden-Haired Hero simply
would not listen, even refusing to meet with the King.
"I will not," the Hero had proclaimed. "Not until you give me an army
made up of soldiers that can take on some psychobears." The king was
trying to fulfill the Hero's conditions, but neither the knights nor the guards
had yet sent him a message that they were ready. And so, as a final resort,
the king at last entertained the idea of employing mercenary monster
hunters for his army.
◇The Southern Stronghold◇
"My Lord Heroooo! Perhaps you've had enough to drink."
"I don't want to hear it! Tsuya, didn't the king order you to see to my
needs? Then do as I say!" The Golden-Haired Hero passed the cup he was
holding to his attendant Tsuya who was sitting next to him. She reluctantly
filled it up with alcohol. All around them were an array of plates of food,
bottles of liquor, and an incredible amount of fresh fruit. The Hero laughed
uproariously. "Tsuya, you should eat some too. The king gave us all these
gifts to try to get me to go fight the Dark One! There's no reason to hold
back!"
"Oh..." said Tsuya, clearly distressed. "You...don't say." Once more she
refilled the Hero's cup. The Golden-Haired Hero had been living an
extravagant life holed up in the fortress. He had been sending demand after
demand to the king: for liquor, for food, sometimes even for women—
anything he could think of to make his life comfortable.
King Klyrode had no desire to allow the Hero to continue his indulgent
lifestyle, but was afraid of the repercussions of crossing the man he himself
had appointed as the official Hero. Some in the castle were of the opinion
that they should strip the Golden-Haired Hero of his title and give it to a
newly summoned Hero Candidate, but the king was afraid that if they did
so, the people would hold him responsible for appointing the Golden Haired Hero in the first place. Therefore, he kept silent and acquiesced to
the Hero's demands, reasoning that he could do nothing but wait for him to
set out on his quest.
◇Klyrode Castle—The Following Day◇
"Your Majesty," the aide said, "We've received a reply from the
Adventurers' Association..."
King Klyrode sprung up from his throne in excitement, grinning
expectantly... "Oh ho! Already? Then, when are those adventurers coming
to the castle? Hm?" But the aide hesitated. He looked like he had
swallowed a bug. "Hm?" said King Klyrode, again, his smile undaunted.
"Do they want money upfront? That's no matter. I hereby give permission
to pay them however much they ask."
The aide, however, seemed to have broken out in a cold sweat. Slowly,
he opened his mouth to speak. "W-Well... Actually, the adventurers in
question seem to have...refused."
"They what?!" The king was incredulous.
"I-It seems that they were 'not interested.'"
"How... How can that be? They're nothing but adventurers! They could
earn far more money, and far more fame in our employ! How could they not
be interested..." King Klyrode grumbled, then sat for a while in silence.
◇ ◇ ◇
Flio and Rys were on their way home, having received their regular
payment from the guild. "Was it truly wise to refuse the offer from the
castle, my beloved?" asked Rys.
"Oh," said Flio. "That." He smiled coolly. "Remember how I was driven
from the castle as a failure? I might have used magic to change my
appearance, but even so, I'd rather not go back there if I can help it."
Rys folded her arms and shook her head. "I don't understand what's
wrong with the people at the castle," she scoffed, disbelieving. "To deem
you a failure..."
"But that blond guy they made the Hero... He had really incredible
ability scores. I couldn't have beaten him in a million years."
"You mean when you were Level 1? As you are now, my love, you
could defeat even the God of the Underworld, let alone the Dark One."
"Hey, hold on, Rys," Flio said, laughing. "I think you're giving me a
little too much credit!"
Rys gazed lovingly at her husband. My beloved, she thought, for all your
strength you remain modest, never boastful... Truly I have married a
wonderful man.
"What's the matter, Rys?" Flio said, noticing that she was staring at his
face.
"Nothing!" said Rys, drawing closer. "Nothing at all!" The two of them
continued home, Rys clinging affectionately to Flio's arm.