◇Houghtow City—Fli-o'-Rys General Store◇
The world of Klyrode was situated in a vast plane of existence known as
the Median Plane. The Median Plane was home to many other spherical
worlds that drifted closer together and farther apart from time to time. And
at its very center was a world whose energy was especially vast. This was
the Celestial Plane, the world in charge of overseeing all other worlds in the
Median.
In some worlds, the Celestial Plane was known by that very name. In
others, it was known as Heaven. But everyone in every world was at least
vaguely aware of its existence.
Hiya finished reading the book in their hands and looked over at Flio.
"Exalted One, are you aware of the composition of this world?"
"I am," Flio said. "I borrowed that book to study from a while ago."
"Then forgive my presumptuousness, Exalted One, but there is
something I must say."
"Oh? What is it, Hiya?" Flio, who had been preparing to open the store
for the day, stopped what he was doing and turned to face the djinn.
"It concerns the Celestial Plane," Hiya said. "I have heard that the gods
who reside there observe residents of other worlds that they deem to be a
sufficient threat and sometimes even act to eliminate them."
"Are you saying they consider me a threat?" Flio grimaced. "It's true
that I've gotten pretty good at magic since coming to this world, but I still
have a lot to learn compared to you and Mister Ghozal. I know the two of
you think very highly of me, but I'm really nothing special..."
"N-No, Exalted One. It is no mere flattery when I say that you are many
leagues ahead of myself or Mister Ghozal. But that aside, I would like you
to refrain from acting in such a way that will cause the gods to deem you a
threat."
"Acting in such a way that will cause them to deem me a threat..." Flio
repeated. "Do I really know any spells that could threaten the gods?"
"You do!" Hiya said with rare forcefulness, stepping closer. It was rare
for them to drop their soft-spoken demeanor.
Flio took a step back, staggered by Hiya's sudden intensity. "W-Well, if
you say so, Hiya, I believe you..." He nodded.
"Exalted One, do you remember when we faced each other as enemies?"
"Enemies?" Flio said. "Oh, you mean when you attacked us in the
middle of the city."
"Precisely. I attacked you with the spell Sever, but your wife protected
you and was cut down in your place. Without a doubt, she suffered a mortal
blow..." Hiya sighed. "Ahh... Recalling that day sickens me now. Why did I
perform such a heinous act? Truly, I am worthy of nothing but death..."
They seemed to have somehow veered into self-hatred. They held their
head in their hands and moaned pitiably. Then, Hiya reached for their own
halo, moving to stab themself in the throat.
"Hiya, wait!" Flio hastily extended his arm, conjuring a magic circle that
appeared around Hiya's hand, stopping it still. "I also went too far that day!
I owe you an apology too!"
Their hand immobilized by Flio's magic circle, Hiya seemed to return to
themself. "...Ah?! Wh-What was I—?!"
Flio breathed a sigh of relief. "Honestly..." he said. "You had me worried
I'd need to use time magic again to bring you back to life!" Smirking, he
lowered his hand.
"Precisely!" said Hiya.
"What?"
"Magic that controls the flow of time is the thing the Celestial Plane
fears above all else. I beg of you... Please take care not to use your time
magic again." Hiya bowed very deep.
"O-Okay," Flio said. Hiya wasn't acting their usual self, after all. Flio's
expression became serious. "I won't use time magic again."
◇The Celestial Plane—Central Management Tower◇
In the very center of the Celestial Plane was a great tower that rose high
above the rest. This was the Central Management Tower, where the highest
goddesses, elite even among the residents of that world, performed the bulk
of their duties in observing, overseeing, and protecting the other worlds of
the Median Plane, all to maintain order and balance.
The tower was partitioned into many sections, each used by various
goddesses in their duties. In one such room, two goddesses in togas were
looking between each other and the overseer crystal before them. Reflected
in the crystal was an image of Hiya bowing before Flio.
"This man is the dangerous being you spoke of in the world of Klyrode,
Celbua?" one of them asked.
"Yes, Lady Zofina. Please, observe."
The goddess Celbua touched her hand to the crystal, and the image
vanished, replaced by a new scene from the city streets. This was a
recording of the day that Hiya and Flio had done battle. Hiya cast Sever.
Rys ran between them and her husband, taking the blow for Flio and being
cut cleanly in half. But then in the next second, a magical voice rang out:
"Reversing time." The scene returned to before Hiya had cast their spell.
Rys's body was unharmed.
"Is that...time magic?"
"Yes. The spell that man cast disrupted the temporal axis of Klyrode,
nearly causing it to collide with another world."
"I see..." Zofina folded her arms. "Then this is a grave matter for both
the world of Klyrode and its nearby neighbors as well. It may even have an
effect here on the Celestial Plane."
"That's not all," Celbua said. "Look..." She touched the crystal again
and the image changed, this time to a different place entirely—Flio's battle
with Speelion, a djinn from the Realm of Evil. Speelion struck Flio with a
magic attack, and a second later Flio countered using the magic of the
Realm of Evil himself, handily overpowering Speelion.
"So this man Flio learned the magic of the Realm of Evil, which is not
present in Klyrode, simply from being exposed to the djinn's magic..."
"So it seems. And now he has mastered every skill and every spell that
exists not only in the world of Klyrode, but the Realm of Evil as well. In
addition, by sheer coincidence, he is currently cohabiting with the
Archmage of Midnight, from whom he mastered the dark arts."
Zofina took a deep breath. "Why does this man have such great power?
Certainly, the goddesses in the blessings department grant their blessings to
those who are moved between worlds to ensure their survival at their
destination. But I have never heard of such a person being granted the
blessing of Transcendence, which is only held by very few, even on the
Celestial Plane..."
"I thought it was strange as well," said Celbua. "So I looked into the
matter. It seems that the man named Flio received blessings meant for two."
"Two?! H-How did something like that happen?!"
"It seems that when Flio was summoned from Paluma, his original
world, to the world of Klyrode, another individual was caught up in the
spell and transported to Paluma in his stead. This is only a theory, but
perhaps the blessings meant for both those individuals were given to Flio
alone by mistake. The two blessings fused within Flio, becoming something
greater."
"That does make sense, I suppose..." Zofina said, knitting her eyebrows.
"Although it's more likely in the case of fusion that one blessing would
simply overwrite the other, or even become lower in rank. I suppose this
Flio was simply lucky. But luck or not, the result was a man with an ability
considered rare even among celestials." She sighed. "But what of the other
individual who didn't receive a blessing? Won't it be difficult for them,
alone in another world with no special ability? Don't tell me they died..."
"According to my follow-up investigation, the man in question was the
manager of a store in his original world. In Paluma, he married a witch and
is currently running a new store together with his wife."
"I see," Zofina smirked. "He must be quite the catch..."
"As long as he's doing well, we can continue to simply observe him. But
the real problem is Flio."
"Yes... If he uses his time magic again, it might disrupt the temporal axis
not only of Klyrode but of the whole Median Plane..."
"Indeed. Perhaps we should send a disciple to keep an eye on him."
"I agree. I will have one of my disciples dispatched immediately."
"Very well," Celbua said. "Thank you for your assistance." Zofina
nodded and left the room.
Zofina sighed deeply as she walked through the corridor. Honestly... she
thought. I wish the goddesses of the blessings department would do their
jobs properly. It's a waste of time for management to be running around
playing cleanup for them.
"But that aside," she said. "The world of Paluma has quite a number of
delicious and delectable foods, if I recall. It's been a while since I've snuck
off somewhere. Perhaps it will help me clear my mind..." Zofina rounded a
corner and disappeared from sight.
◇Houghtow City—In the Sky◇
It was a beautiful day in Houghtow City. And in the sky, above the
clouds, there was a woman wearing a maid outfit, complete with an apron,
with a great pair of wings growing from her back. She was clearly not an
ordinary human.
"What is Lady Celbua thinking...?" she said to nobody in particular.
"Sending me, Tanyalite, her most capable disciple, on an observation
mission of all things! This sort of work is meant for novices! If it hadn't
been a request from the goddess herself, I would have refused and cut
communications on the spot! I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart
don't want to be here..."
Tanyalite sighed deeply and turned her gaze down towards Houghtow
City, which looked tiny so far beneath her. Her field of vision zoomed in
further and further, and in no time, it focused on a particular house. "Mmhmm..." she said, bored. "So that's where this troublemaker of ours lives.
Flio, was it? I suppose I should use my Mind Manipulation spell to infiltrate
their house as a member of their— Huh?!"
Her eyes went wide. The man she was watching, who she supposed
must be Flio, looked straight up—right at where she was in the clouds. His
eyes met hers. "I-Impossible!" she said. "I'm above the clouds! I should be
too high up for him to see! And furthermore, I've cast the spell Void
Presence on myself! How could someone on the surface look me straight in
the eyes?!"
She tore her gaze away, blinking her eyes rapidly. She swallowed. And
then, after steeling herself, she turned her gaze back towards Flio. But all
she could see was pure white.
"Wh-What is this?" Troubled, she returned her eyes to their usual
magnification, when...
"Skreeeeeeeeee!" an ear-piercing shriek filled the sky.
"...What?" Tanyalite said.
Next, she heard the voice of a young girl. "Big sis Wyne, you're so
fast!"
"Ah ha ha!" the first voice laughed. "Come on, Eli-Eli! Come on! More,
more! Faster, faster! Let's go higher and higher!"
Suddenly, something flying upwards at tremendous speeds struck
Tanyalite square on the jaw. It was a girl.
"Fgwah?!"
"Eeeeek!!!"
Tanyalite and the girl, Wyne, both cried out at once.
"B-Big sis Wyne!" Another girl—this one was Elinàsze—flew up at an
alarming speed herself.
The two had been flying upwards as fast as they could as practice for
Elinàsze's flight magic when they ran into Tanyalite. Wyne was very aware
of her surroundings and could detect the presence of magic beasts in the sky
from a great distance away, but Tanyalite had been concealing her presence
with magic and had gone unnoticed. The impact knocked both Wyne and
Tanyalite unconscious. They began to fall earthwards.
"Oh, no! I have to save big sis Wyne and that strange lady!" Elinàsze
dove after them as fast as she could, but she still wasn't used to flying. The
pair accelerated out of her reach.
◇A While Earlier◇
"Papa, look!" Elinàsze cried happily. Her body was floating in midair. "I
can cast Fly now!"
Flio gave his daughter a great big smile.
Garyl looked up at her enviously. "Whoa! That's amazing, sis! I can't do
that at all!"
"Hee hee!" Elinàsze giggled, smiling kindly down at her younger
brother. "I'm sure you can do it too, Garyl! You just have to practice!"
"Yeah?" Garyl grinned, pumping his fists. "Then I'm gonna ask Mister
Ghozal to help me with my magic!"
"Garyl..." Flio said, smiling wryly, "I can teach you how to use magic,
you know."
"I wanna learn your magic too, dad!" Garyl said. "But first, I wanna
learn all of Ghozal's spells! Ghozal's spells are like...kablam! Kapow!
They're super awesome!" He waved his arms all around, rhapsodizing
about the magic Ghozal had shown him the other day. His eyes were
practically shining.
Ghozal had recently begun training Garyl. They had started with
fistfighting, but by now, Ghozal had taught him how to use a sword and a
spear as well, and had even begun teaching the boy combat magic.
Ah, yes, Flio thought. Garyl is most interested in magic for the flair. I
suppose I can leave this to Mister Ghozal. Although I can cast all of those
spells as well...
Flio kept smiling despite his complicated emotions as Elinàsze lazily
drifted closer. "I want papa to teach me!" she said. "I want to learn more
and more!" She smiled happily.
"Ah," Flio said, breathing a sigh of relief. "If you're happy with me, I'll
be glad to teach you more."
Unlike Garyl, Elinàsze had been learning magic from Flio. Sometimes
Hiya or Damalynas, who specialized in magic, would give her lessons as
well, but if Flio was home, he always accompanied them.
Flio smiled one of his easygoing smiles while Elinàsze floated on,
beaming widely. Hee hee! she thought. I made papa happy! Making papa
happy makes me happy! I love my papa!
Elinàsze was a consummate daddy's girl.
As Elinàsze and Flio beamed at each other, Wyne came running out
from the front entrance right up to them. "Wow, Eli-Eli! You're flying!
You're flying!" she cried happily. "Hey, we should race! Let's see who can
make it to the top of the clouds first!"
She crossed her arms in front of her and then spread them wide. As she
did, a pair of dragon wings manifested on her back. The dress she wore was
handmade and designed with a large opening on the back so that her wings
could appear without ripping the fabric. Thanks to Wyne's long,
voluminous hair, even a large enough gap to fit her wings through wasn't
particularly noticeable most of the time.
Wyne beat her wings and ascended into the sky. She petted Elinàsze on
the head, and with a cry of "Ready...go!" she took off at top speed straight
upwards.
"All right!" Elinàsze cried, chasing after her with her magic. "I won't
lose to you, big sis Wyne!" Elinàsze hadn't had time to master her Fly spell,
but she nonetheless was quite fast as she flew after Wyne.
"Jeez!" Garyl said. "Big sis Wyne and big sis Elinàsze are amazing! I
just can't seem to wrap my head around flight magic..."
"You're very talented yourself, Garyl," Flio reassured him. "If you do
your best, I'm sure you'll be able to fly with them someday."
"You think so?" Garyl grinned and nodded. "I guess I gotta do my best,
then!"
Flio patted Garyl on the head and looked up at his two daughters.
"Wyne's holding back," he said, "but it's incredible that Elinàsze can fly so
well right after learning the magic."
In the blink of an eye, the two were already far enough away that they
looked like tiny specks, so Flio cast the spell Magnify. Suddenly, he could
see the two clearly, as if they were right in front of his eyes. Only... "Hm?"
Flio creased his eyebrows. That Wyne... She didn't wear her underwear
again. The dress Rys had made for her was fairly loose-fitting. When
viewed from behind, it was quite obvious that she was wearing nothing at
all underneath.
"I understand not wearing a bra, since it gets in the way of her wings..."
Flio grumbled, careful not to look up her skirt. "But I've told her over and
over again to make sure she's wearing something underneath! She'll take
off the dress in a second too, if you give her the opportunity... I really need
to speak with her again about it. She's a girl, after all..."
Wyne had once been the strongest fighter of the Dark Army's legendary
legion of dragons. She was very young and still thought like a child, but her
battle power was easily on par with the Infernal Four. For that reason, she
and the rest of the dragons were treated as a special unit. But Flio adopted
Wyne, and now she lived as part of his family. That was why she called Flio
"dada" and his wife Rys "mama." She wasn't related to them by blood, but
they doted on her just the same. And when Garyl and Elinàsze were born,
she doted on them as her adorable little siblings.
It was obvious that if Wyne had been flying all out, she could have
easily left Elinàsze in the dust. But she was good at controlling her speed
and was careful to ascend about as fast as her sister, the two laughing
together as they rose high in the sky.
Flio smiled as he watched. But then he noticed something higher up in
the sky. "Hm?" he said. "Is there someone else flying above them...?" He
couldn't see them, but he could sense a presence. He raised his arm and
began casting spells and invoking skills: Detect Concealment.
Identification. True Sight. Thousand Eyes. Before long, he could see a
woman flying in the sky.
His eyes went wide. "A woman...wearing a maid uniform?" he said.
"She has wings, I see...but what is she doing so high up in the sky?!"
He looked closer and saw that the woman was looking down at him with
an expression just as shocked as his. The two stared at each other from far
away, Flio on the ground and the maid in the sky. And then, a second later,
Wyne, who had been flying upwards incredibly fast, rammed straight into
her, hitting her square on the jaw.
The maid had been concealing both her form and her presence with
magic. Wyne must have had no idea she was there. Otherwise, she would
have at least decelerated. And as a dragonewt, Wyne's head was quite
tough.
"Fgwah?!" the maid shouted. The impact must have knocked her
unconscious—she was plummeting towards the ground.
Wyne didn't get out much better. She hadn't been ready for such a
strong impact to her skull. "Eeeeek!!!" she screamed, losing consciousness
herself. And both she and the maid tumbled downwards.
◇And Now...◇
The two girls plummeted from the sky—Wyne and Tanyalite, the angel
in a maid outfit. Elinàsze flew after them as fast as she could, but given her
inexperience with flight magic, she couldn't seem to gain any ground.
"Elinàsze's flying as best as she can..." Flio observed. "But she's not
gonna make it in time." He held out his arm and chanted a spell. A magic
circle appeared in front of his hand and slowly began to rotate. "Mh!" Flio
exhaled, and the circle shone brightly. Tanyalite and Wyne both stopped
their descent and hung silently in midair.
Gravity magic was one of Flio's specialties. He would typically use it to
pin magic beasts or other foes to the ground. He could crush them flat too,
if the situation demanded it. In this case, however, he was using the spell
Antigravity to stop Tanyalite and Wyne from falling to their deaths.
He sighed with relief. "Looks like it worked." Carefully managing the
force of his Antigravity spell, he gently lowered the two to the ground.
"Wow, dad..." Garyl gasped. He seemed deeply impressed with his
father as he watched him guide the two down from the sky.
"Would you mind catching Wyne for me, Garyl?" Flio asked. "I'll take
care of the new woman in the maid outfit."
"Okay, got it!" Garyl did as he was told and ran underneath Wyne. Flio,
meanwhile, took his position beneath Tanyalite. The two fell out of the air,
poised to land flat on their backs, but they were caught safely by Flio and
Garyl.
"Nnnh..." Wyne mumbled in her sleep. "Meat..." She wrapped her arms
around Garyl's shoulders and took a big chomp of his cheek.
"H-Hey!" Garyl cried. "That's my cheek, Wyne! It isn't for eating!"
"Nom, nom... So soft and nice... Nom, nom, nom..."
"S-Stop!" Garyl screamed. "I told you not to eat me!!!" But Wyne
showed no signs of stopping. "Big sis Wyne... Stoooop..."
Elinàsze smirked knowingly at the scene as she landed next to her father.
"Honestly," she said. "What a troublesome child."
Flio wore a smirk identical to his daughter's. He watched Garyl and
Wyne carry on their shoving match for a bit before turning his attention
back towards the woman in his arms. "But who is this woman, I wonder..."
he said. "She can use some pretty impressive magic; she was pretty high up
in the sky, after all. But I don't think she's an avian demihuman..."
Tanyalite gave no answer—she was fast unconscious.
◇ ◇ ◇
Flio carried Tanyalite to the guest bedroom and laid her down to rest.
Ghozal, Uliminas, and Hiya were there, listening to him explain the
situation.
"...And that about covers it!" Flio finished, turning his eyes back
towards the still-unconscious Tanyalite.
Ghozal looked at the girl and folded his arms. "Hrm. I couldn't sense her
presence at all. I don't think I've ever seen someone who can hide it so
well. What about you, Uliminas?" He glanced at the hellcat standing next to
him.
Uliminas folded her arms as well and cocked her head, puzzled.
"Mew..." She sighed. "I'm purretty good at seeing through spells like Void
Purresence..." she said. "But I couldn't sense her at all either..."
"Indeed..." Hiya said, looking over at Ghozal and Uliminas. "Even
Mister Ghozal, the strongest Dark One in history, and his confederate and
head of intelligence, Miss Uliminas, were unable to detect her, such is her
skill at concealment. And yet the Exalted One could see through her magic
easily. Truly, he is the one worthy of my eternal loyalty." Facing Flio, they
knelt and bowed their head.
Flustered, Flio placed his hands on Hiya's shoulders. "N-No! It's
just...you know. Ghozal and Uliminas were inside getting ready for work!
Of course they didn't notice her. If they had been outside with me, it would
have been a different story. I really wish you wouldn't keep blowing
everything out of proportion, Hiya..." With a sheepish smile, he pulled Hiya
to their feet.
Just then, the door to the room opened, and Rys stepped inside. "Wyne is
awake, my lord husband," she said. "She's with Garyl and Elinàsze."
"I see. Thank goodness." Flio breathed a sigh of relief. "I healed the
lump on her head with magic, but I was worried when she didn't come to
right away..."
"There's nothing to worry about. That big lump healed without even
leaving a trace. The moment Wyne opened her eyes, she looked around and
said, 'Where'd the meat go?'" Rys giggled. "Garyl's cheek must have been
quite nice to chew on!"
"Ah ha ha," Flio laughed. "Poor Garyl! But I'm glad she's okay."
"Hrm..." Ghozal said as Flio and Rys carried on their happy
conversation. "Perhaps this woman will be opening her eyes soon as well..."
"Maybe!" said Uliminas. "Flio healed her jaw with his meowgic, and
she doesn't seem to have any other injuries."
Flio turned back to look at Tanyalite on the bed. This time, he noticed
something. "Hm?" Her jaw was glowing with a faint green light. That's
right around where she broke her jaw... Flio thought. I thought I had
already healed it... He reached out and touched Tanyalite's glowing jaw.
Suddenly, a window appeared:
All Celestial Magic and Skills Mastered
C-Celestial?! Flio's eyes went wide. Like the Celestial Plane from the
book Hiya was reading?! Let me think... And so he did. Because of my
blessing, if I come into contact with a spell, I learn not just that spell, but
all of the spells from the world it was from. Or at least, that's what Mister
Ghozal and Hiya told me. So that green light was a spell from the Celestial
Plane? Why would this woman be affected by magic like that?!
Flio had guessed right. That spell was Regeneration, a type of magic
used in the Celestial Plane. Flio's spell had healed Tanyalite's wound, but
not completely. All goddesses and their disciples had this spell active at all
times in case they were ever injured. Over time, it would automatically heal
any damage that was sustained. The light enveloping Tanyalite's jaw was
proof that the magic was taking effect, healing the lingering effects of the
blow. And now that Flio had touched it, his ability Epiphany taught him
every spell and skill available on the Celestial Plane—an ability only held
by those who had the blessing of Transcendence.
Flio, who had never in his wildest dreams expected that to happen,
stared at the window with a troubled look on his face.
"Mew know..." Uliminas said, shocking him out of his thoughts. "We've
still gotta get to work..."
Flio closed the window and turned around. "Already?"
"Hrm," said Ghozal. "If we want to open the store with Greanyl's group,
Balirossa, and the rest who went ahead, we should get going ourselves."
"I suppose," Flio said. "But details aside, I don't want to just leave this
woman alone. It's sort of our fault she got injured..." He looked over at
Tanyalite, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, still plainly troubled.
Rys stepped up to her husband's side. "There's nothing to worry about,
my lord husband," she said. "I will stay here and look after her."
"But Rys," Flio protested. "You already have so much work you need to
do around the house..."
"I told you—there's nothing to worry about!" Rys said, smiling
cheerfully. "I can look after her while doing my chores!"
"If I may be so bold," Hiya said, "perhaps I can remain here and help so
that the Exalted One can see to his tasks at the Fli-o'-Rys General Store
without worry. I shall have my beloved training partner Damalynas assist at
the store in my stead."
"R-Really?" Flio said. "Well, if you're here too, Hiya..."
"Yes, yes," said Rys, smiling happily as she physically pushed Flio out
of the room. "And now that that's settled, you all should hurry up and get to
work!"
"O-Okay!" said Flio. "Look after her while we're gone! I'm counting on
both of you!"
"Thank you for your trust, Exalted One. Your humble servant Hiya will
do everything in their power to assist your wife in her tasks." Hiya bowed
deeply to Flio as he was forced from the room.
Sped along by his wife, Flio cast Teleportation, conjuring a portal—by
all appearances an ordinary door. On the other side was the Fli-o'-Rys
General Store. Rys saw the three off with a smile as the portal vanished.
"Now then," Rys said. "Time to get on with my housework—while
looking after this woman, of course!" She looked over at the bed where
Tanyalite had been lying, and then her eyes went wide. "Oh...?" Tanyalite
was awake, sitting upright in bed, staring straight ahead at the wall with a
blank expression on her face. "Um, are you awake?"
Tanyalite slowly turned her head to look over at Rys. "Excuse me," she
said. "Might I ask your name?"
"Of course!" Rys answered her. "I am Rys, the wife of Lord Flio!"
"Lord Flio..." Tanyalite echoed back. "Lord Flio..."
"Um..." Rys peered at the troubled expression on Tanyalite's face. "Is
something the matter?"
"Perhaps, O wife of the Exalted One," Hiya said, "this woman has
suffered temporary memory loss from her impact with Mistress Wyne."
"Goodness, how dreadful! But what is one supposed to do about
something like this? Should we try hitting her on the back of her head?"
Rys cocked a punch, only for her attack to be stopped by Hiya's magic.
"W-Wait, O wife of the Exalted One! Such an action might simply cause
her to lose memory again! We don't want to exacerbate her condition!"
"Ah, I suppose you're right," Rys said. "I wouldn't want to do anything
dangerous. Then I suppose I'll simply kick her in the back..." So saying,
Rys lifted up her leg, preparing to bring her heel down on her patient.
"W-Wife of the Exalted One!" Hiya stopped her kick just as they had
stopped her punch before. "That too would be quite dangerous! Your
humble servant begs of you, please! Calm yourself!" A bead of sweat
formed on Hiya's brow as they focused their power on restraining Rys.
Meanwhile, Tanyalite, who had been muttering to herself, finally spoke
up. "That's it! I remember!" she said, and she sprung to her feet.
"Oh!" said Rys. "Your memory is back?"
"Yes!" Tanyalite said. "And thank you for your assistance. I am..."
◇Houghtow City—Fli-o'-Rys General Store◇
It had been an entire month since Tanyalite and Wyne's midair collision.
"Excuse me, Mister Flio?" said a customer, getting Flio's attention.
"About this item..."
"Ah!" said Flio, who was in the middle of a conversation with another
customer. "C-Could you excuse me for just a moment, please?"
Fli-o'-Rys was busy with customers every day, and today was no
exception. As always, Flio was the center of attention.
"Excuse me, sir," an apron-clad Rys said, running up. "Perhaps I can
assist you with that?"
"Ah, the owner's wife! Thank you!" The customer turned from Flio to
show the item he was holding to Rys. "I was wondering if you had
something like this, but with a shorter, heftier blade."
"I believe I have just the thing!" Rys said. "Wait here for just a
moment." Rys gave the customer a smile and ran off towards the storeroom
behind the register.
The Fli-o'-Rys General Store was as busy as ever, but with Rys assisting
customers on the shop floor, the queue was moving much faster. It no
longer extended all the way outside the shop.
Thank the gods for Tanya, Flio thought as he watched Rys go.
◇Meanwhile—Flio's House◇
"I suppose I had best get started..." Tanyalite sighed as she stepped over
the threshold of the living room, a mop in one hand and a broom in the
other. And then she dashed forward, cleaning the room faster than the eye
could see. In no time at all, the ceiling was scrubbed clean, the table
polished, the magic lanterns sparkling, and the floor pristine. Rys had been
fast, but Tanyalite was even faster. In the blink of an eye, the living room
was set in order. The last thing on the agenda was a fresh layer of straw for
Sybe's pen.
"Now, let's move to the next room." Tanyalite dashed up the stairs. As
she went, she scrubbed all the walls and all the ceilings along the staircase
clean. On the second floor, she started with the hallway, cleaning the floors
and the walls in order. Then, she went inside everyone's individual rooms to
see to the cleaning there as well. The third floor she finished in much the
same manner as the second.
"And now to air out the mattresses!" Tanyalite returned the mop and
broom to her own room and picked up her mattress, leaping out the window
with it. "Hup!" Despite the height of the fall, she landed easily and hung the
mattress up on a rack she had prepared.
With that done, Tanyalite leapt up with a "Hah!" She landed back on the
third story of Flio's house, coming in through the same window she had just
vacated. Her own window closed, and without any noticeable delay at all,
she flung open the next one over. "Hup!" Tanyalite leapt from the second
window, carrying a second mattress. She hung it up on the drying rack and
jumped back inside. Then, she moved on to the next room.
Once she had finished gathering the mattresses on the third floor,
Tanyalite gave the second-story bedrooms the same treatment.
Down on the ranch, Byleri was watching in awe of Tanyalite's
handiwork as she brought the horses their hay. "Like, wow..." she said.
"Miss Tanya's like, totally amazing..."
The instant she let those words slip from her mouth, the demon horses
stopped what they were doing and all ran up behind her at once. These were
Sleip's former subordinates—demon horses who could assume human
form.
"Boss! You shouldn't even think of such things!" one of the horses said.
"Only Miss Tanya can do that!" said another.
"Please, don't do anything that will give Lord Sleip cause to worry
about you!" They were all quite desperate to convince Byleri not to act on
whatever she was thinking about.
"Aww..." Byleri said. "But like, I wonder... Maybe I could do it if I, like,
tried really hard?"
"No! You mustn't!"
"We're begging you! Please! No!"
"You'll give Lord Sleip a heart attack!"
"But..." Byleri protested.
"No buts!"
"You seriously mustn't!"
"Please, think of Lord Sleip!"
By now, Tanyalite had finished hanging up all the mattresses and was
currently running off towards the bath she was using to launder the sheets.
"And now, the laundry!"
A month prior, Rys and Hiya had exchanged glances as Tanyalite
recovered her memories. "I am Tanyalite," she said. "You may refer to me
as 'Tanya' if my full name is difficult to say. I have been sent here to serve
as Lord Flio's maid."
Tanya's mission, of course, was to infiltrate Flio's house and watch him
to make sure he didn't use any dangerous magic. But after her shocking
impact with Wyne and her subsequent memory loss, she had gotten it
confused in her head, and now thought her mission was to serve as Flio's
maid.
Hiya had been suspicious at first. "That woman... Could she perhaps be
a disciple of the gods of the Celestial Plane, come here to observe the
Exalted One?" But Tanyalite's innocence was undeniable. After a week,
Hiya had come around, even going so far as to speak her praises.
"Tanya does excellent work for the Exalted One," they said. "I must
improve as well if I am not to lose to her."
◇Celestial Plane—Central Management Tower◇
In a room in the Central Management Tower, high above the Celestial
Plane, two goddesses glanced between each other and the image reflected in
the observation crystal.
"It seems that Tanyalite has succeeded in infiltrating Flio's household."
"Indeed, Lady Zofina. Anyone who saw her work would think her to be
nothing more than a loyal maid. Even the djinn who commands the origin
of light and darkness, who was suspicious of her initially, has been taken in
by her performance."
"Yes," said Zofina. "As long as she can keep it up, the observation
should proceed without any issues." She and Celbua nodded. But then...
"Hm?" both said at once. Tanyalite's image in the crystal looked straight
up at them. Still carrying the basket full of laundry under one of her arms,
she raised the other, and... Bwooon... The crystal went dark.
"What?!" Zofina exclaimed. "What is going on, Celbua?!"
"I-I have no idea! This has never happened before!" The two kept
pouring magic energy into the crystal, but no matter what they did, they
couldn't get it to turn back on.
◇Houghtow City—In Front of Flio's House◇
Laundry under her arm, Tanyalite looked up at the sky, holding her arm
out in front of her. "I haven't the faintest idea who was trying to spy on
Lord Flio's house..." she said. "But I, Tanya, will not permit it!" Gradually,
she lowered her arm. "Oh, no! I've been wasting time! I must hurry and
hang the laundry up to dry! And when that's finished, I must go hunting for
tonight's dinner..."
She ran off towards the drying racks, as busy as always.
◇That Evening—Fli-o'-Rys General Store◇
Rys took off her apron. "Now," she said. "I believe it is time for me to
go home and prepare dinner. Tanya should have the ingredients ready for
me by now."
"Thank you, Rys," said Flio. "You were a big help as always."
Rys smiled happily. "I know of no greater joy than to be of use to my
lord husband," she said.
"About that portal, then..." Flio started.
"Oh, there's no need! I can run home on my own from here quite
easily!" Still beaming, Rys bolted out the door, weaving between the
customers in the shop while running at top speed for the city streets. She
was so fast that the customers didn't even notice her passing.
Flio smirked as he watched. It's incredible how fast she can run...
Flio's house was outside of the Houghtow City gates. For that reason,
they had to pass through the checkpoint in order to reach their home. By
now, the gate guards recognized the members of Flio's household on sight.
"Keep up the good work, men," Rys said.
"You too, Missus," the gate guard said, waving her through. "Have a
pleasant evening."
There was a group of nearly ten guards gathered outside the gate.
"Hm?" one said, cocking his head in confusion.
"What's wrong?" asked another. "Did something happen?"
"No..." said the first. "I just thought I heard a voice."
"A voice?"
"Yeah... A woman's voice saying, 'Keep up the good work...'"
"Well, I don't see a woman here!" The guards looked around and
laughed. Indeed, there were no women anywhere nearby—not even a child.
Of course, the voice had been Rys's. The guards recognized her on sight,
of course, but she was hardly going to omit the pleasantries. She had been
zooming along home when she thought, I'm trying to teach Garyl and
Elinàsze the importance of a proper greeting! I should greet these men
properly myself! So she stopped for just a second, told the guard at the
checkpoint to keep up the good work, and zoomed off. She had been
standing still for so little time and moving so fast that the guards outside
never even noticed her there.
I hope they don't start any more rumors about strange voices... Flio
thought, smirking wryly to himself.
Up walked Ghozal. "We've handed over the last of the shipments to
Greanyl, Mister Flio."
"Oh, Mister Ghozal!" Flio said. "Thank you for your help!"
"Not at all! I should be thanking you!" Ghozal grinned and smacked
Flio on the shoulder. "You're the one who found our Silent Listeners jobs
when they didn't have anywhere else to go after leaving the Dark Army!"
Flio smiled one of his usual easygoing smiles. "Well, thanks to Greanyl
and the rest of her team, we can do business all over the land! I'm every bit
as grateful to them."
"Then I suppose the feeling is mutual," said Ghozal.
"Yes! That's my hope, anyway." Flio and Ghozal smiled at each other.
"By the way..." Ghozal said. "That Tanya lady who's been helping out at
the house lately... Do you have any idea who could've sent her?"
Tanyalite had told them herself that she was sent to be Flio's maid. But
by whom? When Flio had asked, she had said that it "wasn't important" and
refused to give any better of an answer. But she worked hard, and the
members of the household had gradually let their guards down towards her.
But Ghozal had never let go of the question of where she'd come from.
"Well," Flio said. "I've looked into it a bit. Nobody in Klyrode Castle or
the Dark Army seems to have heard of her..."
Ghozal folded his arms and lowered his voice so that the customers in
the shop couldn't hear. "Hrm. Between Uliminas and myself, we know
pretty much everything about demons. I can't imagine we'd have simply
never heard of someone so powerful..."
"That's true," Flio said, still smiling. "But, well, we've looked into the
matter a bit. Perhaps we should leave it there? Tanya's proved herself to be
an invaluable member of the household this past month."
"I can't deny that..." Ghozal said. "Well, all right. If that's what you
think, Mister Flio, then that's what we'll do." He smacked Flio on the
shoulder again and headed off to the storeroom to get it in order.
That's Mister Flio for you, Ghozal thought. If he's decided he believes in
someone, he'll believe in them until the end. He even treats a former Dark
One like me as his best friend... Ghozal couldn't keep from grinning as he
walked.
Flio watched Ghozal go and turned back to look at the rest of the store.
"Okay!" he said. "It's almost time to close. I can do this."
◇Near Houghtow City—The Highway◇
After receiving the merchandise for shipment from Ghozal, Greanyl
departed from the store ahead of the rest. She passed through the city gates
and continued down the highway in her horse-drawn wagon.
Greanyl looked puzzled as she sat in the driver's seat. "I thought
Boundicca was pulling my cart today," she said. "I didn't expect to see you,
Lord Dalc Horst."
"O-Oh..." Dalc Horst said, pulling the wagon in his horse form.
"Boundicca isn't feeling well today. I'm her replacement."
That only seemed to confuse Greanyl more. "That's strange," she said.
"I didn't hear anything about Boundicca being ill..."
"A-Ah!" Dalc Horst hastily explained. "I-It came on quite suddenly, you
see! She fell ill all at once! B-But more importantly, I'll take you on to
Sojieya, so you can get some rest if it pleases you..."
"No, no," said Greanyl. "I would never sleep and leave you to pull the
cart by yourself! Besides, I'm a shadow demon. I can go for an entire week
without sleep if need be."
"Yes..." said Dalc Horst. "Yes, I suppose that's true..."
"Hm?" Greanyl cocked her head, looking over Dalc Horst. How
peculiar... Lord Dalc Horst is usually so well-spoken. What has got him so
flustered and incoherent? Don't tell me he was worried that I'd get bored on
the road! Us shadow demons can go an entire month without speaking a
word if need be...
Indeed, Dalc Horst tried several more times to start a conversation with
Greanyl. But each time, she would only give the briefest possible response.
And the wagon continued down the highway...
◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇
It was night. The Fli-o'-Rys General Store had closed up shop for the
day, and Flio and his companions had returned to the house to enjoy dinner
together as always. Lately, the conversations had generally started with
Garyl and Elinàsze talking about their day at school. Afterwards, everyone
would carry on talking about whatever they pleased. It was an indispensable
period of recovery for the whole household.
After dinner, everyone took their turns bathing. The baths at Flio's house
were divided into men's and women's baths. And now that Flio and Rys had
kids, Ghozal had married Uliminas and Balirossa, and Sleip and Byleri
were a well-known couple, Flio had built a larger bath for families to use
together regardless of gender. Flio's family took the first bath, then
Ghozal's family, and then Sleip and Byleri. Meanwhile, for those who were
bathing alone, they went in this order: Blossom, then Belano, and finally
Tanyalite.
The baths, incidentally, were furnished with a water elemental magic
gem of Flio's creation that produced hot water twenty-four hours a day, as
well as magic gems enchanted to alleviate physical and mental fatigue and
to restore magic power. In total, there were more than twenty magic gems
providing all sorts of beneficial effects. That was why Ghozal, Uliminas,
and Balirossa visited so often for a second bath late in the night after their
nightly activities, and Hiya and Damalynas came to take a soak at erratic
times whenever they pleased.
"I suppose it's time for us to take our bath, then," Flio said, leading his
family onward to the bath.
"Yay! Bath! Bath!" Wyne cheered, tackle-hugging Flio with a great big
smile on her face. "Big bath with everyone!"
"I, too, love taking baths with my family!" rhapsodized Elinàsze,
smiling happily as she held Flio's hand.
"Yeah!" said Garyl, following along behind, smiling just as happily as
his sister. "Together's the best way to bathe!"
Rys regarded her family with a fond smile. "I'm so happy that we can
bathe together like this." She drew close to whisper in Flio's ear. "By the
way, my lord husband...is there any news concerning you-know-what?"
"Ahh," Flio said, smirking knowingly at the words. "That. I'm still
looking into it, but it's proving to be quite difficult..."
Rys folded her arms. "I see..." she muttered to herself. "It's difficult to
recreate the water from the fertility bath, even with my lord husband's
magic... I suppose it must simply have to do with the land itself..."
Flio, meanwhile, was bright red. The water composition isn't that far off
from the fertility bath, actually... he thought. It probably wouldn't take that
much more effort to get it right. But...our children use this bath too! What
am I thinking?!
The family of five took off their clothes in the changing area and got in
the bath. This area had originally been split off into a men's and women's
bath, but now it was a single bath as big as a swimming pool, easily large
enough to fit all of them.
Wyne was the first to dart for the bath. "Yay! Bath! Bath! I call dibs!"
Garyl was right behind. "You're not beating me this time, big sis!" he
said.
"Garyl! Big sis Wyne!" Elinàsze said, hot on their tails. "Wait! You're
supposed to rinse yourself off before getting in the tub!"
"Oh, right! That's right!"
"Oops! Sorry..."
The two stopped, turned on the spot, and headed for the rinsing area, but
their race wasn't exactly over.
"All right, Gare-Gare! Last one there's a rotten egg!"
"I'm gonna beat you, big sis Wyne!"
"Honestly..." Elinàsze said as she watched the two run off. "Big sis
Wyne always wants to race. And Garyl takes her up on it every time..." But
as long as they were rinsing themselves off, there was nothing more to be
said.
Flio watched his children's antics with his usual easygoing smile. "Now
then. Shall we rinse ourselves off and get in the bath as well?"
"Yes, my lord husband." He and Rys sat down on two stools in the
rinsing area.
"Shall I wash your back?"
"Oh, that's all right, Rys," Flio said. "I can do that much on my own."
"My lord husband..." Rys said. "I wasn't the one who said that..."
"What? Then who...?!" Flio and Rys's eyes met, and then they turned in
sync to look behind them.
There was Tanyalite, wearing naught but a bath towel. She had a
washcloth in her hand, as if she were poised to start washing Flio's back at
any second.
"T-Tanya?!" Flio said, hastily hiding his groin from sight. "Wh-WhWhat are you doing in here?!"
"Yes, Master," Tanya said. "According to the Maid's Handbook I
obtained the other day, a proper housemaid is not to be averse to the duty of
washing her master's body. I thought I should put those words into practice
as soon as possible. Have I done something to offend?"
"You haven't offended me..." Flio said. "But Tanya... This house is like a
big family. You don't need to act like you're waiting on some nobleman."
"Thank you, Tanya!" Rys said as she hastily removed the maid from the
bath. "I believe we'll refrain for the time being!"
Wyne smiled happily at Tanya. "Awww!" she said. "But she's already
here! I wanna get in the bath with Tan-Tan! I wanna!"
"Truly, Young Mistress?" said Tanya.
"That seems like a separate matter entirely..."
"I don't mind Tanya being here!" Garyl volunteered.
"You too, Young Master?" Tanya replied.
"None of that matters in the slightest!" Rys shouted. "My lord husband
is in here!"
The bath was plunged into chaos. At some point, Flio succeeded in
hiding his crotch with a towel. "How 'bout this," he said. "I'll get out first,
and the rest of you can spend some time bathing with Tanya."
Flio chanted a short spell and vanished from sight.
"Ah..." Tanya reached out, dumbfounded. "Master..."
Wyne grabbed her from behind. "Bath! Bath! I wanna get in the bath
with Tan-Tan!"
"N-No!" Tanya protested as Wyne dragged her by the arm towards the
hot water. "I'm here to wash my Master's back! Where— Aah!!!" Pulling
Tanya along, Wyne dove straight into the bath. To think the Young Mistress
would do something so brash! Tanya thought, eyes wide open in
astonishment as she sank into the tub. Although I suppose she often behaves
in altogether unexpected ways... Wyne, for her part, was grinning happily.
Tanya couldn't help but grin back. The unexpected can be fun sometimes...
On the Celestial Plane, Tanya was known as the Iron-Mask Angel, for it
was said that she was never seen to so much as smile.
◇Blossom Acres—Goblin Shack◇
Blossom Acres was the large farm managed by Blossom outside of
Flio's house. In one corner there stood a shack, built for the goblins who
worked on the farm. There was Maunty, with his wife and children, and
Hokh'hokton, who was still single and had his own separate room.
"Hmm?" Hokh'hokton said, dumbfounded. "If it isn't Lord Flio! A-And
half-naked, I see! What brings you to my room at this late hour?"
Indeed, Flio was standing before him wearing nothing but a towel to
hide his shame.
When Tanyalite's arrival turned the bath into a scene of chaos, Flio had
meant to teleport to his room to regain control over the situation. But
because he was in a rush, he'd made a mistake and ended up in
Hokh'hokton's room instead.
"Ah!" Flio said, blushing furiously. "I-I'm terribly sorry, Hokh'hokton!
I'm leaving! Aha ha..." He chanted a short spell again and was gone.
"N-Now what could that have been about, I wonder?" Hokh'hokton
folded his arms and muttered to himself. "Don't tell me Lord Flio has taken
a...sexual interest in me?! B-But even so, I really do prefer women..."
Outside, the moon shone brightly.
◇A Backstreet Somewhere◇
On a backstreet in a city somewhere far from Klyrode Castle, there was
a great tower made of stone. In one dimly lit room, a very plump elderly
man sat in an extravagant armchair. "Zanzibar's rebellion lost?" he said.
The woman he was addressing yipped as she approached him. "So it
seems." She had on a golden cheongsam with a slit cut all the way up to the
waist. "He thought he'd have an easy time of it with the Dark One Yuigarde
missing, but then the Wolf of Justice showed up and turned everything
topsy-turvy..."
Another woman stepped out of the darkness, wearing a silver
cheongsam of the same cut. She stepped up to the man's other side. This
was the Shadow King, the former King of the Magical Kingdom of
Klyrode, and these women—the demon fox sisters Kintsuno the Gold and
Gintsuno the Silver, who had once been vassals of the Dark One—were his
minions.
The Shadow King had been developing his black-market organization
even when he was the reigning monarch, while the demon fox sisters spent
their time serving the Dark One plundering and doing crooked business.
But when the Shadow King's illicit dealings were brought to light, he was
forced to abdicate the throne, while the demon fox sisters were ousted from
power when they failed in their attempt to seize the throne during the chaos
of Yuigarde's ascension. The three were old acquaintances from their time
in the black market and joined forces upon their respective expulsions. This
tower was one of the secret bases of their organization.
Gintsuno's eyes lit up as she stood next to the Shadow King. "It took a
bit of digging to find this out," she said, smirking. "But it seems that the
price of the Wolf of Justice's assistance was for the Dark Regent Calsi'im to
sign a peace treaty with the Klyrode army."
"Well, no matter," the Shadow King said. "We made a tidy sum off
Zanzibar as it is. This works out well for us."
"Indeed!" yipped Kintsuno. "And we helped ourselves to the treasure
hidden in Zanzibar's villas before the Dark Army could get its hands on it!"
Kintsuno was quite right. They had sheltered Zanzibar and his rebellion
when Yuigarde's army had come looking for them, but only in exchange for
a truly exorbitant fee. Zanzibar had sent messengers out to his hidden villas
to procure treasures to pay their rates, not knowing that the Shadow King's
underlings had tailed them. They didn't just track down all of those villas
and plunder them for all they were worth; they found a map one of
Zanzibar's minions had left behind that led them to the rest of his villas too.
And then, they had stolen every last bit of hidden treasure.
"We have enough to live the high life for years!" Kintsuno yipped.
"Quite!" the Shadow King cheered. "One needs a good celebration now
and again to invigorate the spirit!"
"I'll drink to that!" yipped Kintsuno.
"To celebration!" Gintsuno yipped.
The Shadow King nodded, satisfied, as the foxes' happy voices filled the
room.