◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
It was evening, and the walls of the Houghtow College of Magic looked
red in the light of the setting sun. The grade school students had already left
for the day, leaving the college for the adult classes. But today, mixed in
among the adult students were the parents and guardians of the grade
schoolers, headed towards the school dormitory.
There was a sign on the school door reading "Parent-Teacher
Conference," and another on the dormitory entrance reading "ParentTeacher Conference Assembly Room," as well as arrows guiding the
guardians.
Among the crowd of parents were Flio and Rys. "Now," said Rys, "we
must listen with our full attention!" She squeezed her fists tight, psyching
herself up. Rys was a gorgeous woman with a well-arranged face, a
generous bosom, and a slender waist. The men around her, and even some
of the women, kept stealing glances. But Rys didn't seem to notice at all.
She had eyes only for Flio.
"Yes, of course," Flio said. "It's only been half a year since they opened
the lower-grades department of the College of Magic, but the teachers have
been doing their best for the kids. They've been trying all sorts of things to
see what works. We should lend them whatever support we can."
"Exactly, my lord husband! I, Rys, will do my utmost to be of use!" Rys
nodded emphatically.
Rys usually went around disguised as a demihuman, but in truth, she
was a lupine demon—feared even among demonkind for their ferocity and
love of combat. The first time she'd met Flio, she had tried to attack him
only to find herself utterly thwarted. She had been trying to kill him; it
would have only been understandable for him to take her life in turn. But
instead, he let her go. Impressed by his strength and kindness, she chose to
live alongside Flio as his wife.
Lupine demons have powerful pack-forming instincts. As the wife of the
leader of a pack, Rys considered her husband's words to be absolute. And
almost as if acting on those same pack instincts, Flio became the head of a
large household. Rys, accordingly, committed herself to looking after
everyone Flio had taken in. As today's conference concerned Garyl and
Elinàsze—the children of Flio, the head of the pack, and herself—she was
even more fired up than usual.
Flio smiled at his wife's behavior. I never imagined I'd be going to a
parent-teacher conference at my own children's school...
Flio was originally from another world. He had been summoned to this
world, directly to Klyrode Castle, as a Hero candidate.
Especially since I never even so much as went on a date in my previous
world... he continued to muse. Although, I suppose I was getting pretty
friendly with Quinn from the Quinn Company. But that was because we
were both merchants! I wouldn't say we were romantically involved or
anything...
Rys grabbed onto her husband's arm. Flio looked over to see his wife
shrouded in a sinister aura of malicium, fixing him with a sharp-eyed look.
"Wh-What's the matter, Rys?" he asked.
"My lord husband..." Rys said, squeezing his arm tighter. "You weren't
thinking of another woman, were you? I just had the sense... Not someone
at the house or the general store... Some other girl..."
Flio grimaced awkwardly. "Oh," he said. "Yeah. I was just remembering
a girl I knew from work, long ago...back before I met you."
"I see..." Rys said. "Well, that isn't a problem, then." Her sinister aura
vanished, and her usual bright smile returned to her face. "I'm not about to
find fault with the relationships you had before you and I met. I am not that
jealous of a woman."
"I-I see!" said Flio. "I'm relieved to hear it. Oh! It sounds like the
conference is starting soon!"
Flio hurried on into the conference room, Rys clinging close to his arm.
◇Houghtow College of Magic—Conference Room◇
"Ahem! Good evening, parents and guardians! Thank you for finding
the time in your busy schedules to join us." The administrator Taclyde, who
was in charge of the meeting, bowed politely to the assembled group. The
other lower-grade teachers were lined up beside him—the offensive magic
teacher Oryou, and the defensive magic teacher Belano, who happened to
be one of Flio's housemates.
Rys, however, would not take her eyes off the teacher sitting next to
Taclyde.
"What's wrong, Rys?" Flio whispered when he noticed.
"Oh..." she said. "That blue-haired teacher sitting next to Belano...I feel
like I've seen her before..." She tilted her head, puzzled, as she kept staring
at the blue-haired woman.
The teacher, on the other hand, knew precisely who Rys was. She had
begun to sweat the moment she noticed her in the room. Wh-What isss
Fenrysss, the former Infernal candidate, doing here?! I-It ssseems she
hasn't seen through my demihuman disguissse yet, but...thisss could be
bad... Her snakelike tongue darted in and out of her mouth with worry.
Her nameplate read: "Nyt: Illusion Magic Teacher."
Nyt was disguised as a demihuman snake person, but in truth, she was
once one of the Infernal Four—this was Yorminyt, the Serpent Princess.
Yorminyt had little love for Yuigarde's violent and despotic disposition, and
when he'd abandoned his throne and vanished, she'd given up on the Dark
Army and left the Dark Citadel. She came to Houghtow City, where she
found employment as a teacher at the College of Magic.
When Rys had used the name "Fenrys" and Nyt had used the name
"Yorminyt," both of them had served in the Dark Army, and of course they
had seen each other many times in and around the Dark Citadel. But
because Nyt's form was disguised by her illusions, even the sharp-eyed Rys
could only vaguely tell that she had seen her somewhere before.
Rys kept staring. Nyt did the best she could to pretend she hadn't
noticed, staring determinedly to the side. And as their peculiar sparring
match went on, Taclyde opened his mouth to resume his opening remarks.
"Well, then!" he said. "To commemorate half a year of our lower-grade
program, we've been thinking of holding a summer camp, for both the
students and their parents! Of course, whether this happens or not is up to
you!"
Belano, who had been sitting near Taclyde, stood up. She picked up her
step stool and began hefting it over towards the blackboard. Then, climbing
onto the stool and standing on her tiptoes to reach the very top of the
blackboard, she wrote the words "Parent-Student Summer Camp." Belano
was a small woman and needed the stool to reach the top of the blackboard.
Even then, she had to stretch her arm as far as she could.
"You can do it!" the parents quietly cheered, encouraging her.
"Hang in there!"
Belano bowed deeply, as if thanking the parents for their support, and
went back to writing on the blackboard.
"Now, the first order of business is to decide where we should go!" said
Taclyde. "I thought perhaps, since it's the first time, we should go to the
nearby Mt. Kino. We could climb to the top and hold the camp at the
summit! But now that we've signed a peace treaty with the Dark Army, it
occurred to me that we could go many more places."
As he spoke, Belano wrote on the blackboard: "Potential Destinations:
Klyrode Castle, Kinosaki Hot Springs, Calgosi Coast..."
Taclyde smirked as Belano expanded the list. "The destinations here
were from a survey we sent out to the students the other day. I suppose
some of them are rather childish! There's no way we could make it to some
of those places and back in a single day..." It took an entire week to get to
Klyrode Castle from Houghtow City, and the Calgosi Coast took nearly two
months for a one-way trip. "But still, we went through all the trouble of the
survey, and these are the children's wishes! But perhaps we'll consider their
opinions and come up with a more realistic destination..." Taclyde looked
around the room.
All over, parents and guardians started voicing their opinions.
"I know it's not very realistic, but I would like to go to the beach..."
"Yes, if it were possible, I would very much like to go."
"I agree. It sounds fun!"
Houghtow City was set far inland in the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode.
The nearest coastline was the Calgosi Coast, far to the south. But it would
take two months to get to Calgosi by carriage, and they would have to pass
through a difficult mountainous region.
The Calgosi Coast was considered part of the Magical Kingdom, but it
was governed separately. It wasn't the kind of trip that an ordinary person
could make on a whim. But many people living in Klyrode made a point of
visiting Calgosi at least once in their life. That was why the parents, as well
as the kids, were so excited for the prospect of visiting the beach.
Taclyde's expression gloomed. I thought something like this might
happen... The children learned about the Calgosi Coast in their geography
lessons, and before I knew it, it was the number one response in the survey.
"Um..." he ventured. "Err... A few of you have mentioned the Calgosi
Coast. It's true, it was the most desired destination among the students...but
I'm terribly sorry, it simply isn't realistic for a one-day summer camp." He
bowed his head gravely.
"I knew it..." one of the parents said.
"And here I got my hopes up..."
All over the room, people were expressing their disappointment. Taclyde
sighed. "Well, that's just how it is. We can't go to the coast, but perhaps we
could go to Bilwan Lake! That's close by..."
"Excuse me?" Flio said, raising his hand.
"Oh! Yes, Mister Flio?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but all you need is a way to get the students,
their guardians, and the teachers to the Calgosi Coast quickly, right?"
"Eh? Well...yes, but... Do you have some sort of plan?"
"Of a sort..." Flio stood up and held out his hand towards the door of the
conference room. A magic circle appeared. It shone with mystic light and
rotated, then slowly moved to the door of the room, where it disappeared.
The door to the conference room shone for a second. "You see," Flio said,
opening the door, "this way we can all go right there..."
Outside of the door should have been the Houghtow College of Magic.
But instead, on the other side, they could see a sandy beach, waves lapping
at the shore.
"Wh-What...?" Taclyde was rendered speechless.
"I connected the door to the Calgosi Coast using the spell
Teleportation," Flio explained. "What do you think? This way, we can get
there no problem. Would that be useful for your summer camp?" If the
children and their guardians wanted to go to the Calgosi Coast, Flio was
simply happy to be of use.
Not only the guardians, but Taclyde and the rest of the faculty stared
wide-eyed out the door, all at a loss for words.
I've never heard of a magic ussser good enough to create a
Teleportation Portal with sssuch long range, even in the Dark Citadel!
thought Nyt, swallowing. Cold sweat ran down her brow. Her snake tongue
darted in and out in a fit of hyperactivity.
"A-Ahem!" Taclyde cleared his throat, returning to his senses before the
rest of the room. "W-Well, then! I suppose with Mister Flio's help, we can
make it to the Calgosi Coast after all! Is everyone in favor?"
His words seemed to break through everyone's shock. The guardians all
started replying at once.
"Sounds great to me!"
"Thank you, Mister Flio!"
"Wow! That Mister Flio sure is a powerful wizard!"
The room burst into applause, graciously directed at Flio himself.
"O-Oh!" said Flio, demurring. "I just wanted to help, that's all..."
"Ah, my lord husband..." Rys said, gazing dreamily at him as she
applauded along with the rest of the room. "You've made everyone so
happy. Oh!" she added, suddenly muttering to herself. "But if we're going
to the beach, I must obtain a new swimsuit! One that my lord husband will
enjoy..."
Some of the surrounding dads heard what she said. Fantasies began
racing through their hearts.
R-Rys in a swimsuit?!
I can't miss that!
I'm going! Even if I have to miss work!
◇ ◇ ◇
As the conference room rang out in yet another round of applause,
Belianna watched from her seat in the back with wide eyes. Belianna was a
current member of the Dark Army and an Infernal candidate. Her half sister
Irystiel was half devil and half human, and was currently receiving an
elementary education at the Houghtow College of Magic disguised as a
demihuman. She was here in a similar disguise to act as her sister's
guardian.
Th-That Flio human! she thought. He's pretty damned incredible to cast
a spell as damned powerful as that... She stared at the portal Flio had
created, muttering in awe as her cheeks became slightly red. She felt
excited in a way she couldn't understand. It was vexing. B-But... Why does
looking at that damned man make my chest and face feel so damned hot?!
The only other time I can remember feeling this way was when I was
looking at the Wolf of Justice...
It was no surprise that Belianna felt that way. For a while, in the days
before the peace treaty between the Dark Army and the Magical Kingdom,
any time the Dark Army sent forces to attack, they would be stymied by a
mysterious man in a blue wolf mask—the Wolf of Justice. She herself had
faced him in combat and been unable to land so much as a single blow on
him. She'd come to respect him for his overwhelming strength, and over
time those emotions transformed into infatuation. She had become a
devoted and loving fan of the Wolf of Justice.
In fact, the Wolf of Justice was none other than Flio himself, but that bit
of information was known to only a select few. Belianna, alas, was not
among them.
As a somewhat over-obsessive fan of the Wolf of Justice, Belianna was
of course quite familiar with his height and weight and overall body shape.
She must have subconsciously recognized that Flio's physique made him a
dead ringer for the Wolf.
Damn it! Calm down! she thought, pressing a hand to her chest in a
desperate effort to control her emotions. Only the Wolf of Justice is worthy
of my love! But every time Flio entered her field of vision, her heart would
start pounding again despite herself, and she was rendered powerless to stop
it. All she could do was avert her eyes.
◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
The day after the parent-teacher conference, the Houghtow College of
Magic was unusually full of excitement.
Garyl was chatting with his classmates before the start of classes for the
day when Salina came running up to him with a big smile on her face. She
was neatly dressed in a miniskirt and tights, and practically bowled their
classmates over as she approached. "Lord Garyl, have you heard the news?
It seems that our destination for the summer camp will be the Calgosi
Coast!"
"Yeah!" said Garyl, grinning back. "My mom and dad told me
yesterday! I can't wait to go to the beach!"
A strange process happened in Salina's brain as she heard those words.
Garyl's words progressively transformed from "I can't wait to go to the
beach," to "I can't wait to go to the beach with you, Salina," to finally, "I
can't wait to see you in a swimsuit, Salina!"
"Excuse me?!" Salina said, jumping in the air and blushing furiously at
the words she imagined Garyl saying to her. "Lord Garyl, you wish to see
me in a swimsuit?!"
Garyl just kept on grinning. "I bet everyone's gonna have loads of fun!"
Salina, however, sidled up to him, her eyes turning heart-shaped as she
brought her face almost close enough to touch his. "As you wish!" she said.
"Your beloved Salina will do everything she can to meet your
expectations!"
Garyl's smile was undisturbed. One of his classmates, the lizardfolk
Reptor, glanced over from the side. Reptor was wearing a somewhat showy
outfit stylized to make him look like a cool adventurer. "Garyl's something
else..." he said, grimacing. "I would have run away long ago..."
"I-I'd cry, I think..." said Leina Raina, a human girl in a blue dress,
currently hiding timidly behind Reptor.
As Salina was in the midst of her rather frenetic attempt to appeal to
Garyl, a girl dressed in a black gothic lolita-style dress pitter-pattered her
way over. She was holding a plush black cat in her hands, which she shoved
in Salina's face.
"I think you're bothering Sir Garyl..." she said, using the cat as a proxy.
She made its mouth move and projected her voice through it like a
ventriloquist. "Perhaps you had better stop."
Salina furrowed her brows, agitated at the interference in her attempt to
woo the man of her dreams. She glared directly at the girl holding the cat—
Irystiel. "Excuse me for a moment, Irystiel," she said. "You are interrupting
my precious rendezvous with Lord Garyl."
Irystiel puffed out her cheeks, determinedly interposing her cat plush
between herself and Salina. "Irystiel thinks you are bothering Sir Garyl!"
the cat declared.
"Nnngh!" Salina grumbled.
"Grrr!" the cat snapped back.
"Hey, get along, you two!" said Garyl, smiling brightly as he clapped
both girls on the shoulders. "Anyway, the teacher's gonna be here soon.
Let's call it here for today, all right?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Garyl!" Salina clapped both hands in front of her mouth
and her fury towards Irystiel seemed to vanish—she gave Garyl a perfectly
proper smile.
"If you say so, Sir Garyl, Irystiel will try to get along with her too..."
Irystiel held the plush up to her own face. She tilted her head towards the
shoulder Garyl had touched, blushing softly.
Just then another boy walked up—Sadjita, who had known Salina since
they were both very small. "Hey Salina!" he demanded. "What's with all
this 'oooh, Lord Garyl and I are of one heart and body, promised to each
other in a previous life' crap or whatever?! I'm the one you're promised to,
remember?!" He jammed his thumb at himself demonstratively. "Our
parents made an agreement! You and I are going to get married as soon as
we're old enough! So c'mon! Stop spending time with Garyl and pay
attention to me!"
Sadjita's clothes marked him out immediately as a child of nobility. He
posed dramatically as he spoke as well. And yet...
"Wait..." Sadjita said. "Huh?!"
A second ago, a number of students, including Salina and Irystiel, had
been gathered around Garyl's desk. But now they were all back in their own
chairs, dutifully facing the blackboard. And there, at the front of the class,
was the offensive magic teacher Oryou, here to begin their lessons. She had
entered the class while Sadjita had been in the middle of his speech.
Everyone else had returned to their desks, but Sadjita had been too busy
posing to notice the teacher walking into the room.
"...Oh." He froze mid-pose next to Garyl's seat.
A sinister smile crossed Oryou's face as her eyes met his. "Sadjita..."
she said. "Care to explain what exactly you're doing? Class is starting, so
get to your seat!" Oryou was from the far east and spoke with an accent that
she didn't bother trying to hide.
"A-Ah! S-Sorry!" Sadjita abandoned his pose and scampered back to his
seat as fast as possible while titters of laughter filled the classroom from
every direction.
When Sadjita was back in his seat, Elinàsze, the class representative,
started the beginning-of-school formalities, calling the class to attention in a
loud voice. "All rise!"
The students stood as one. It looked like another chaotic day of school
for Class A.
◇Houghtow College of Magic—Administrative Office◇
School was out for the day. After the day's closing ceremonies were
over, the lower-grade students made their way out of school, and Oryou and
Taclyde sat down in the administrative office.
"Miss Oryou..." said Taclyde, looking at the stack of papers Oryou—the
head of the lower-grade classes—had brought him. "What should we do?"
"Perhaps we could decide on a set number of guardians to help with the
preliminary inspection, and decide by lottery?"
"That's easy enough to say, but there are dozens of applicants here! It's
like every single parent sent in an application!" Taclyde was starting to
sweat as he glanced over the sheer number of them. "Perhaps we could
discuss with Mister Flio whether or not to increase the number of
participants..."
Taclyde went to leave the room, but Oryou chased after him. "I'll go
with you, in that case. I am in charge of the lower grades, after all."
"Oh? Are you sure that's the only reason? I seem to recall that you like
to make me do this kind of busywork."
"I simply wish to accompany you, as the teacher in charge of the lower
grades," Oryou responded, drawing closer to Taclyde. "And perhaps,
afterwards, we can enjoy a drink together."
"I'm still waiting on my pay this month," said Taclyde. "You're paying
for your own this time."
"How cruel the world is! You should have said it was your treat, even if
it was a lie!"
"Fine, fine! It's my treat, I say, lying."
"Leave out that last part!"
The two teased each other as they made their way out of the school.
Belano watched them go from the hallway with envy in her eyes. I wish
I had a handsome man draped over me like that... she thought, blushing and
puffing out her cheeks. As was usually the case in times like this, Flio's face
came unbidden to her mind. But something was wrong.
H-Huh? Flio's face in Belano's mind looked quite a bit younger than
usual. Huh? Huh?! I-Is that...Minilio?!?!?!
A look of shock passed over Belano's face when she realized. It wasn't
Flio, but Minilio, the magic doll Flio had made, who had appeared in her
mind at that moment.
Huuuuh?! Wh-Why would I think of Minilio's face of all people at a time
like this?! I-I mean, he does look like Lord Flio except younger... And he
looks just like Lord Flio when he uses his magic to make himself look grown
up... And he helps me to my feet when I trip over myself, and he always
heals me with magic when I get all stressed and throw up...
Belano clutched her head in confusion as her cheeks turned redder and
redder.
◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
A few days later, school was out for break. A group of nearly twenty
lower-grade students and their guardians was assembled in front of the
school gates. Each one of them was here to help with the preliminary
inspection for the summer camp they were holding later that day.
Earlier, when Oryou and Taclyde had shown up at the Fli-o'-Rys
General Store to consult with him, Flio had just smiled his usual easygoing
smile and said, "That's fine. I can teleport as many as would like to come."
"But..." Taclyde had protested. "Almost every guardian sent in an
application..."
"Perhaps we should hold the summer camp twice, for two different
groups?" Oryou proposed. In the end, they divided the guardians and
students into ten groups by lot.
Taclyde smirked wryly as he looked over the assembled guardians.
"Hardly anyone wanted to help out when we were going to Mt. Kino, but
the moment we change the destination to the Calgosi Coast it's like this.
Well, ordinarily, it would take a carriage almost half a year to make a round
trip that far. I suppose I understand how they feel..."
Nyt, who was standing beside Taclyde wearing a large pair of
sunglasses, folded her arms. "Hss..." she said. "Ssso, ssstudents in the
Magical Kingdom do thisss sort of thing as well..." As the newest teacher,
she was here assisting Taclyde. "I don't mind helping out if asssked, but..."
Nyt turned her gaze to one spot in the crowd, where Flio, Rys, Garyl,
and Elinàsze were all chatting happily. Wh-Why mussst I be in a group with
Fenrysss? she thought. I've disguisssed myself as a demihuman and found a
job... If my identity were to be revealed now, I might lossse everything... She
turned to face a different direction, but behind her sunglasses, her eyes were
fixated on Rys.
As she was engrossed in her worries, Zarmas walked up to her. Zarmas
had been her aide in the Dark Army. Back then she had used the name
Helzarmas, but she shortened it when she got a job at the Houghtow
College of Magic along with Nyt.
"Lady Nyt," Zarmas reported. "The preparations are complete." She was
carrying three large backpacks on her back and holding four overfull bags
in each hand. And yet, despite the absurd load she was carrying, she seemed
completely unperturbed. Zarmas looked like a dainty and elegant lady, but
her arm and leg strength were unparalleled among Nyt's soldiers. It was
only to be expected, as she was a true champion. Even so...
"H-Hey! Check out that lady teacher!"
"She's carrying that much luggage, and she looks completely fine!"
The parents stared and gasped in surprise at the spectacle.
"Hasss something unsssettled them, Zarmasss?" Nyt asked, glancing at
the crowd.
"Surely it's just your imagination," said Zarmas, flatly.
"I sssee..." Nyt nodded.
"Nonetheless, Lady Nyt," Zarmas went on, "schools in the Magical
Kingdom are quite peculiar, aren't they? A trip to the beach to increase
camaraderie... It doesn't seem at all the most efficacious course of action. In
my experience, camaraderie is best raised by eating and drinking
together...and raising hell, of course."
"Yesss," said Nyt. "I agree." And yet... she thought, a bitter memory
bubbling up in her mind. When Yuigarde had just become Dark One, he had
taken his subordinates on a trip to the hot springs to build camaraderie. But
Yuigarde had made a terrible scene and gotten them all kicked out, banned
from the springs for life.
We were in disguissse at the time, of courssse, so they can't possssibly
enforce it... she thought. But thanksss to that scene Yuigarde made, our
camaraderie wasss lower than ever... She shook her head, trying to rid
herself of the unpleasant memories. "Incidentally, Zarmasss," she said,
turning to face her underling.
"Yes? What is it, Lady Nyt?"
"You sssaid the beach would not be efficacious, no?"
"I did say that. Why?" Zarmas replied.
Nyt glanced over Zarmas's body. She was carrying a veritable mountain
of luggage, but instead of her usual athletic jersey, she was wearing a bikini
under a white parka. "Nonethelessss, you ssseem to be in the ssspirit of
thingsss."
"If you will permit me, Lady Nyt, perhaps you have heard the aphorism,
'when in Klyrode, do as the Klyrodians do.' For that reason, I have put my
personal misgivings aside. Yes, for that reason alone."
"And that'sss the only reassson?"
"Yes. I have no personal interest in the beach at all." Zarmas's face was
unflinching.
"I sssee..." Nyt could think of nothing more to say.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Nyt and Zarmas seem as close as ever," said Rys. She was watching
them from where she stood next to Flio, a smile on her face.
"Speaking of," said Flio, "those two are old friends of yours, aren't
they?"
"Yes, we were colleagues in the Dark Ar— I mean, in my previous
workplace." Although the Dark Army and the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode
were now nominally at peace, cultural exchange between the humans and
demihumans on one side and the demons on the other was still minimal.
That was why Rys, Ghozal, Nyt, and Zarmas all disguised themselves as
demihumans while they lived in the Magical Kingdom, and hid their true
identities as demons.
"Maybe you should go introduce yourself," suggested Flio.
"Ah..." Rys pondered. "But she's been stealing glances at me for a while
now. I think she might not want anyone to know that we know each other..."
Taclyde ran up, interrupting their conversation. "It looks like everyone's
here, Mister Flio," he said. "Ready to get started?"
"Oh!" Flio said. "Yes, one second. Let's use that door over there." Flio
stepped up to the entrance to a nearby storeroom. The students' eyes
sparkled as they watched, whispering to each other.
"I heard that dad guy's gonna take us all to the beach with some kinda
crazy magic!"
"Is there gonna be an angel? Or maybe flowers!"
"Nah! I bet there's gonna be a biiiiig blast of lighting that'll shatter the
whole earth!"
Flio glanced at the gossiping students. Hmm... he thought, grimacing.
What to do...? I don't want to disappoint them...
"Er..." said Taclyde. "You can just do it your usual way."
"Thank you," Flio said, smirking. "That's a relief." He walked up to the
storeroom and held out his arm, chanting a short incantation. A magic circle
appeared and rotated, vanishing into the doorway. "All right, they're
connected!" Flio opened the door, revealing a shoreline stretching as far as
the eyes could see. The students and guardians murmured with excitement.
"Whoa!" a kid exclaimed. "It's connected! Just like that! It was kinda
boring, but it was really amazing!"
"He did it in a second! Like it was easy! It was kinda boring, though,"
said another.
"Holy crap! I've never seen anything that cool in my life! Even if it was
kinda boring..." a third piped in.
Is it just my imagination...? Flio wondered, wincing as the crowd raised
their arms in a big cheer. I feel like everyone keeps saying my spell was
boring...
The group went to go through the storeroom door, which now led to the
Calgosi Coast far to the south, but when Flio looked inside, his eyes
widened in shock. "Huh?!"
On the other side of the door, a giant man with a long white beard and
long white hair was locked in combat with a giant squid monster.
Bang! Bang! Bang! A volley of cannon fire rang out from the pirate
ships surrounding the giant. Meanwhile, an enormous rukh flew through the
skies, accompanied by a woman who seemed to be flying using magic.
They did their best to knock the cannonballs out of the sky, but there were
simply too many. A few of them breached their defenses and scored direct
hits on the giant. Others veered off course, striking the road that ran along
the sea cliff and coming down on the carriages and wagons traveling along
it.
Just then, a dark-skinned girl came running up to the door. "Huh? There
didn't used to be a door here, right?"
Flio smiled when he saw who it was. "Well, if it isn't Rolindeim, from
Junia Van Biel's house!"
"Y-Yes...?" Rolindeim said, startled to hear her name spoken. She
looked, and grinned when she saw Flio. "Wait! You're Lord Flio! Right?"
she said, tackling him affectionately.
Not bothering to remove Rolindeim from himself, Flio stepped through
the portal to the Calgosi Coast. "I'm not sure what exactly is happening," he
said. "But those pirate ships look like they're causing problems with those
cannons of theirs. Should I get rid of them?"
"Y-Yeah," said Rolindeim, dangling from Flio's shoulders. "That'd be
great, right? But there's just too many of them! There's no way!"
"I don't know," said Flio. "I think I can manage." He gave Rolindeim
one of his easygoing smiles and raised his arm in the direction of the pirate
ships, just as they unleashed another volley at the giant. The next second,
the cannonballs vanished into thin air without a trace.
"H-Huh?" Rolindeim's eyes went wide.
A second later, the pirate ships were gone as well.
"Huh?" repeated Rolindeim. "H-Huh?!" Her eyes were already wide,
but they opened even wider.
All that was left on the beach was the white-haired giant and the giant
squid, still locked in combat. But a second later, the squid seemed to realize
that the supporting cannon fire was gone. Then she noticed that the pirate
ships had vanished as well. And after that, she noticed that she was
surrounded, with the rukh on one side and the magic-using girl on the other.
She pulled out a white flag from somewhere and waved it vigorously.
"Surrendering, eh?" the giant bellowed, flexing his muscles. "No match
for the great Polseidon after all, I see! Gah ha ha!" The rukh flew circles
around his head.
"You should have contacted me if the pirates were back!" Flio said. "I
could have driven them away for you easily!"
"What's that, whippersnapper?" said Polseidon.
"What's that, old man?" said the rukh avian Loplanz, still in his rukh
form.
The sorceress, meanwhile, flew up to Flio. "L-Lord Flio..." she stuttered.
"Th-Thank you..." This was Junia Van Biel. It seemed that conversational
skills were still something of a weak point for her.
Flio smiled, as affable as ever. "I'm just glad you're safe," he said.
"Who were those pirates? I get the sense that was a different group from
Eddsarch's men..."
"A-Ah. Y-Yes... They were...d-demons...from the D-Dark Army. They ddon't like th-the idea of peace with the M-Magical K-Kingdom... S-So
they're...rampaging around..."
Taclyde folded his arms and furrowed his brow at the conversation he
overheard. "Demons on a rampage..." He sighed. "Maybe we should rethink
the trip to the Calgosi Coast. The students' safety takes priority, after all..."
"Lady Nyt..." Zarmas said, stepping forward. "Permission to deploy? I
will be back in a few minutes." Not even waiting for an answer, she left her
pile of luggage on a nearby sand dune and ran off at top speed, kicking up
sand left and right. In a second, she was gone. And then, a few minutes
later, she was back, carrying a great pile of people on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry for the delay," Zarmas said. "These are the demons who have
been rampaging along the Calgosi Coast. I believe I have all of them." She
tossed them unceremoniously on the sand. Most of them were bound up
tight with rope, but some of them were just unconscious.
Zarmas dragged one of the demons—a muscular man who looked like
their leader—up by the throat and held him out before Flio and Junia. "Tell
them what you told me," she said, her voice without emotion.
The leader gurgled before answering. "I-I'm really sorry for the trouble
we made..." he said. "I promise to change my ways and work for the good
of the coast. Please! Forgive me!" It seemed like that was all he could
manage. His airflow restricted by Zarmas's strong arms, he lost
consciousness.
Zarmas regarded him coldly. "So he says," she said. "I believe you will
find that I have persuaded the demons who were running rampant along the
coast. They'll be good from now on." She turned to look at Taclyde.
"Administrator Taclyde, I have removed the obstacle standing in the way of
the realization of your summer camp. Is this satisfactory?"
"Huh?" Taclyde said, snapping out of his stunned stupor. "W-Well...I
suppose, as long as the pirates are gone, everything's fine? Yeah..." He
nodded his head many, many times.
"Excellent," said Zarmas. "Then all is well."
Zarmasss... Nyt thought to herself, smirking as she looked over the
scene. You wanted to play in the ocean after all, didn't you...? But how did
you beat up ssso many demonsss ssso quickly?
Flio, meanwhile, was watching Zarmas with an expression of awe. I
used Teleportation to send those demons pretty far away from the coast... he
thought. She brought them all back in just that amount of time...and on
foot? Miss Zarmas must be in incredible shape...
The students seemed to be of a like mind. They were shaking with fear
and whispering to each other.
"Whoa... Miss Zarmas is something else..."
"Do you think she'll do that to us?"
"I-I'm not about to find out! I'll do whatever Miss Zarmas says from
now on!"
"Me too!"
◇ ◇ ◇
Polseidon (back in his human-sized form) and Junia took the demons
Zarmas had rounded up to the dungeon underneath the Van Biel mansion.
"Gah ha ha!" Polseidon laughed as he carried in one unconscious demon
after another. "I'm gonna train you good and proper to be loyal subjects of
Countess Van Biel!"
"Th-Thank you, Polseidon..." said Junia.
"Of course, Countess! Leave it to me!"
Junia left affairs in the prison to Polseidon and came to offer some
words to Flio. "I-I'm s-sorry to make you wait, Lord Flio. M-May I
ask...wh-what b-brings you to the Calgosi Coast t-today? I-It seems like
you've b-brought a lot of p-people I haven't...s-seen before..."
Junia Van Biel suffered from terrible social anxiety. Droplets of nervous
sweat were forming on her brow as she watched the students and their
guardians stroll up and down the beach.
"Well, actually," Flio said, "I'm helping out with a summer camp put on
by my children's school, the Houghtow College of Magic. They wanted to
visit the Calgosi Coast, if it's not too much of an imposition..."
Taclyde, who was standing next to Flio, bowed deeply before the
countess. "I'm terribly sorry to show up so suddenly with such a huge
crowd of people," he said. "My name is Taclyde, administrator at the
Houghtow College of Magic. The children very much wanted to have their
summer camp here. I hope you don't mind?"
The sight of Taclyde—a stranger—bowing to her made Junia freeze up
for a moment. But she took a deep breath, calmed her nerves, and faced him
head-on. "Th-That's no problem at all," she said. "Everyone who lives near
here uses the beach. Even people from central Klyrode come to visit. I want
as many people to enjoy the beach as possible..."
Junia held out her hand. In it was a piece of paper, with the words
"Permission to use Calgosi Coast Beach" written on the top. She took a pen
out of her inner pocket and signed the form before handing it over to
Taclyde.
"M-My estate will cover lodging and food..." she said. "W-We'll arrange
everything. F-For free, of course..."
"What?" Taclyde objected. "That can't be right..."
"O-Oh," said Junia. "N-No, i-it's just free th-this time. W-We'll charge a
f-fee next year... B-But we hope... We hope you'll keep visiting f-for a long
time."
"Oh, I see!" said Taclyde. "So that's how it is!" Taclyde handed the
permission slip and offered Junia his hand. Junia fearfully reached out to
shake it.
Junia Van Biel was engaged and eager to help, and her preliminary
meeting with Taclyde for the summer camp went off without any further
hitches.
◇The Calgosi Coast—Half an Hour Later◇
"I don't accept this... I don't accept this... I don't accept this..." Zarmas
muttered the same words to herself over and over again, as if she was
casting a curse.
A moment ago, she had removed a large beach parasol from the
mountain of luggage she'd brought and planted it in the sand. "Time to get
started on my inspection of the beach!" she declared when Taclyde
suddenly reappeared.
"The meeting's finished!" he said. "It's time to go back for the day!"
Zarmas had been forced to pack the beach parasol back up and follow
the rest of the group to the meeting point, in shock the whole time.
But I wanted to play in the ocean... she thought. She was so dispirited
that she didn't even say anything to Nyt herself.
As Flio conjured a portal back home, he glanced over at the very
depressed-looking Zarmas. "Mister Taclyde..." he said. "I can make the
portal whenever I want, you know. We can let them have some fun first."
"Oh, well, you know..." said Taclyde, wincing and scratching the back
of his head. "I'd love to do that, but this trip really was just supposed to be
for getting things ready for the summer camp. And we decided who was
going to participate by lot. If word got out that we had fun before going
home, the parents and students who didn't get to come might complain..."
Negotiations had gone so smoothly that they ended up spending almost
no time on the beach. There was a fair bit of grumbling, but Zarmas obeyed
in the end and quietly returned to the Houghtow College of Magic. That
seemed to do the trick.
"I'm not gonna complain to Miss Zarmas... She beat up all those
pirates!"
"We'll go home quietly..."
"This isn't the main event, after all!"
◇A Sea Cliff near the Calgosi Coast◇
Not long after Flio returned everyone to the Houghtow College of
Magic, on the sea cliff near where Junia Van Biel had fought the demon
pirates, three sopping wet figures crawled out of the surf.
"Hahh... Hahh... Wh-What in the devil's name just happened...?!" The
Shadow King collapsed on the cliff, dressed in tattered rags that had once
been a luxurious outfit. He was gasping for breath like he had pushed
himself far past his limit swimming through the turbulent waves.
Beside him, Kintsuno the Gold and Gintsuno the Silver, also dressed in
the tattered rags of their dresses, had collapsed on their hands and knees,
gasping for breath as well. "Y-You're...asking us...?!" yipped Kintsuno.
"W-We were just on our way to a grand old time at Calgosi..." said
Gintsuno. "Enjoying fine liquor and luxury dining in our carriage... When
suddenly there was a terrible noise... And our carriage was plummeting
down the cliff..."
Perhaps an explanation is in order. Not long ago, Junia Van Biel and the
demon pirates had been locked in a fierce battle. They had opened fire on
Polseidon in his giant form, and although Loplanz and Junia had done their
best to deflect the cannonballs, some of them had scored hits. But some of
them had also missed wildly, raining down on the road running along the
sea cliff. One of them happened to impact the Shadow King and fox sisters'
carriage.
"At least we escaped with our lives..." the Shadow King said. "But our
possessions...!"
"It's all at the bottom of the sea..." lamented Kintsuno.
"Ahhh!" Gintsuno cried. "Our luxurious vacation, ruined!"
The three gazed wordlessly off at the ocean, but their carriage and
possessions had both been swallowed by the waves. There was nothing to
be seen.
◇The Calgosi Coast—Later◇
The lower-grade students of the Houghtow College of Magic arrived
back at Calgosi Coast, along with their teachers and guardians.
"Welcome to Calgosi Coast! We'll be your hosts today, right? I'm
Rolindeim."
"I'm Polseidon!"
"And I'm Loplanz! The three of us will be showing you around!"
The guests from the Houghtow College of Magic, almost three hundred
in total, were lined up in front of these three. They listened as Rolindeim,
Polseidon, and Loplanz took turns explaining the rules.
In the guardians' line, Rys leaned over to whisper into Flio's ear. "Do
you see Countess Van Biel anywhere, my lord husband?" she asked. "I hope
nothing's the matter..."
"Countess Van Biel is in charge of governing the whole Calgosi region,"
Flio said. "Something might have come up..."
"Yes, I suppose that could be the case..." Rys nodded, seemingly
convinced.
But privately, Flio wasn't so sure. It isn't just that she's too afraid to be
seen by this many strangers...is it?
◇Meanwhile, at the Van Biel Manor◇
In a bedroom on the second story of the Van Biel manor, Junia Van Biel
was under the covers, sheet pulled over her head, her body shaking
furiously.
"Ohhh..." she moaned. "I-I-I c-c-can't! I j-j-just can't! I c-c-can't stand
the thought of h-h-hundreds of s-strangers looking at me..."
◇ ◇ ◇
Rolindeim, Polseidon, and Loplanz led the guests from the Houghtow
College of Magic to a part of the beach that was good for swimming so that
they could enjoy a bit of unscheduled time.
"At last, we get to swim!" Salina cheered. She hurriedly changed into
her swimsuit and stepped out onto the sandy hill, surveying the area. She
had bought a new, white, one-piece swimsuit with an exposed back just for
today.
I'm going to use this swimsuit to beguile my beloved Lord Garyl! she
thought. O, my Lord Garyl... Wherever could you be?
A boy stepped up behind her as she was lost in thought. "L-Lord
Garyl?" Salina said, turning around, a great big smile on her face.
It was Sadjita. "H-Hey, Salina..." he said, smiling shyly. "Th-That
swimsuit looks good on you..."
"Oh. You're not Lord Garyl." Salina's smile vanished. She sighed
dejectedly and went back to surveying the area.
"H-Hey!" Sadjita said, stepping in front of Salina as she turned away. "I
complimented your swimsuit! Are you not gonna thank me?!"
"Please don't bother me," said Salina, masterfully keeping Sadjita out of
her field of vision. "I'm busy searching for Lord Garyl."
"Those two sure are close..." said Reptor, smirking knowingly as he
looked over at Salina and Sadjita.
"Are they?" asked Leina Raina, tilting her head dubiously. "To me, it
looks like they're fighting..."
Irystiel walked along behind Reptor and Leina, wearing a frilly black
swimsuit and clutching the black cat plush she used as a proxy to speak.
"Irystiel thinks they argue so much because they like each other," the cat
said.
"Oh! I see..." said Reptor.
"When you put it that way, I guess it makes sense..." agreed Leina.
Just then, Garyl burst forth from the changing area. "Yeah!" he cheered,
charging off towards the water. "Swimming! Let's go!"
"Ah?! L-Lord Garyl!" Salina's smile reappeared the moment she spotted
him. She ran off in a chase, but she wasn't the only one.
"It's Garyl!"
"Garyl! Come swim with me!"
"Let's swim together, Garyl!"
"Do you want to get something to eat at one of the stalls first?"
A great crowd of girls had finished changing and started milling about
the beach. When they spotted Garyl, they all began to mob around him.
"Oh, no!" cried Salina. "I-I knew there were other girls in my class who
had their eyes on Lord Garyl, but this many?!" The crowd was blocking her
way, preventing her from getting close to Garyl. She stomped her feet in
irritation, but she wasn't about to give up. She took off towards Garyl once
more, running as fast as she could. Then, Elinàsze suddenly appeared,
wearing a light yellow one-piece swimsuit, and Salina nearly collided with
her.
"Now, now, Garyl!" Elinàsze scolded her brother, sighing in
exasperation. "You haven't done your warm-up exercises yet!"
As she spoke, Irystiel, Reptor, and Leina Raina stepped up to her. Those
three (plus Salina) were Garyl's friends in class, but they also got along
well with his sister Elinàsze.
"Let's do our warm-ups together!" Reptor proposed.
"Of course, Reptor!" said Elinàsze. "I'd be happy to!"
"M-May I join?" asked Leina.
"Of course you may! We're friends, aren't we?" said Elinàsze.
"Irystiel would like to do warm-ups with you as well...if that's okay..."
said Irystiel's plush cat.
"Of course she may, Kitty!" said Elinàsze, addressing the cat directly.
Smiling, the four stood in a circle and began chanting together as they
did their exercises: "One, two! One, two!"
As the kids were busy warming up, Flio and Rys, who had finished
using the adults' changing room, stepped up to them.
"I see you're doing your warm-up exercises, Elinàsze," said Flio.
"Oh! Hello, papa! Hello, mama!" Elinàsze stopped what she was doing
and ran up to greet her parents.
"Shall we join them and do some warm-up exercises ourselves?" Flio
asked, turning towards Rys.
Rys smiled and nodded. "I would love to, my lord husband."
The four children and two adults stood in a circle, chanting together as
they stretched in time. "One, two! One, two!"
"And one, and two!" Rys was chanting cheerfully, putting her whole
body into the exercises. She bent forward, exposing her cleavage, and
shook her body, causing her generous bosom to wobble hypnotically. The
parents stared at her, but Rys didn't seem to notice as she moved on to the
next exercise.
I really lucked out, didn't I...? Flio thought, struggling to tear his eyes
away from his wife's chest as he did his own exercises.
Garyl went off to swim, splitting the crowd into two groups: the
children, who followed him to the ocean, and the parents, who lingered
behind for another look at Rys.
◇ ◇ ◇
Their warm-ups complete, Elinàsze, Irystiel, and Leina Raina ran over to
a spot in the sea cliff that had been carved out to use as a water slide.
Seawater gushed out from the top, flowing down the slide back to the sea
below.
"Eeeeee!!!" The three slid down, shrieking with joy. The slide snaked to
the left and right, eliciting an elated cry each time. And at the end, it
dropped them into the ocean with a loud splash and a great spray of water.
"Pwah! This is fun!" Elinàsze exclaimed, a great smile on her face as
she surfaced.
"L-Let's go again! Can we?" Leina asked happily.
"Irystiel would like to go again as well," said Irystiel's plush, held up to
her face, which she had brought swimming with her.
Laughing and smiling, the girls made their way back up to the start. The
water slide was popular—there was a long line leading to the top, overseen
by Rolindeim and Loplanz.
They lined up just as Garyl, Reptor, and Sadjita were using the slide.
"Yahoooo!" cried Garyl.
"Yaaaaahooooo!" cried Reptor.
"Yaaaaaaahhhh?!" shrieked Sadjita.
A crowd of students hurried to look, gathering in places where they
could see Garyl sliding down. Some of the girls even tried to swim up to the
foot of the slide to try to catch Garyl as he came down, but Polseidon put a
quick stop to that.
"Hey, keep away from there! People are gonna come flying off that
thing! It's dangerous!" He interposed his muscular body, stopping the girls
from getting close.
Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash! The three boys reached the end of the
waterfall...but there were four splashes of water.
"Hm?" Polseidon said, looking over his shoulders. "Were there four
splashes just now? I could have sworn only three kids were on the slide..."
Garyl's face emerged from the water, but something was off—Wyne was
draped over his shoulders! "Pfah!!!" She spat out a mouthful of water.
"That was fun, Gare-Gare!"
"Wh-What?! Big sis Wyne?! What are you doing here?!" Garyl seemed
just as surprised as anyone. After all, Wyne was supposed to have been
watching the house.
◇Flio's House—Meanwhile◇
"Wh-What have I done?!" Tanya stood in the living room of Flio's
house, clutching her head in pain.
Flio had asked Tanya to make sure Wyne didn't try to fly after them.
The Calgosi Coast was a considerable distance away, but Wyne was a fastenough flier to reach it in no time at all, so Flio felt it was necessary to take
some precautions.
Wyne had been in the living room eating an entire cake when Tanya had
stepped out of the room for just a second. But when she got back, Wyne
was gone without a trace. Tanya searched every corner of the house, but
there was no sign of her anywhere.
"What have I done...?" she repeated. "I only stepped out long enough to
prepare a magic beast to be cooked! I thought it would be safe! Lord Flio...
I have failed you!"
◇Back at the Calgosi Coast◇
Wyne grinned, her body draped over Garyl's shoulders.
"I thought I felt something heavy on my back halfway down the slide!"
Garyl laughed. "So it was you, sis!" Grinning, he stepped out of the water,
only for a shriek-like sound to erupt from the crowd. "Huh? What's that
about?" Garyl cocked his head. He looked around and noticed that people
were looking at something behind him in horror. Garyl looked over his
shoulder.
"Mm?" said Wyne, holding tight to Garyl's arm as they ran along. Her
body was completely and utterly naked. "What's wrong, Gare-Gare? Let's
go again! Again!"
"B-Big sis Wyne!" Garyl exclaimed. "Wh-Where are your clothes?!"
"Huh? What? Where are they? Hmm..." Wyne folded her arms and
thought. "I have no idea!"
"N-No idea...?"
"Who cares about that! Let's go! Slide! Slide!" Still naked, Wyne ran
along, grinning wildly.
"Wait! B-Big sis! Stop!" Garyl shouted, trying his best to stop his sister.
"Huh?!" Elinàsze, who had been waiting in line, ran over when she saw
what was happening. "Big sis Wyne?! And you're naked?!"
Loplanz heard the commotion and went to see what was wrong. "What's
happening over— Wait! W-Wyne?! Is that you?!" he shouted, running even
faster when he saw who it was.
"Hey, Lo-Lo!" Wyne said, running up to him when she noticed he was
there. They were acquaintances, after all. "Long time no see!"
"Wait! Wyne! Wh-Wh-Why are you naked?! B-Bwahhh!" His face
turned bright red as blood gushed out of his nose at the sight of Wyne naked
in front of him.
Wyne's arrival had thrown the water slide into chaos.
◇The Calgosi Coast—The Road to the Beach◇
It was lunchtime, and the visitors from the Houghtow College of Magic
were gathered along a road lined with food stalls on either side. Students,
guardians, and staff could all eat whatever they wanted for free.
Everywhere you looked, there were long lines made up entirely of people
from the school.
Flio, Rys, Wyne, Garyl, and Elinàsze walked along together double file.
"Wyne," Rys scolded her oldest daughter, "I told you to be a good girl and
wait for us at the house."
"Ah ha ha!" Wyne laughed, taking a big bite from the large serving of
noodles she was eating. "Sorry, mama. But I really wanted to see Gare-Gare
and Eli-Eli!" She was looking around at everyone between bites, happy to
be with her family.
"Oh, I can't stay angry at you when you smile like that..." Rys said. "But
promise me you'll keep your word next time, okay, Wyne?"
"Mmh," Wyne answered, cheeks stuffed full of noodles. "Mmkay."
Flio smiled wryly. "Speaking of promises, Wyne, you know you're not
supposed to talk with your mouth full."
Wyne nodded in response, carefully making sure not to speak. Her smile
was as bright as ever.
Wyne really loves her family... Flio thought, smiling back as he looked at
her face.
"You really surprised me, Wyne, showing up on my back suddenly like
that!" said Garyl, smirking as he ate a large skewer of meat. "And I was
even more surprised when I realized you were naked!"
"Ah ha ha!" Wyne laughed, wrapping her arm around Garyl's shoulder.
"You looked like you were having so much fun! I couldn't help myself!"
"It's not funny, big sis Wyne!" said Elinàsze, brow furrowed in anger as
she ate her grilled fish. "And you mustn't throw your clothes away like that!
You're lucky they got caught in that tree so I could get them for you with
flight magic! If they had ended up in the ocean, we might never have found
them!"
"Ah ha ha!" Wyne laughed, wrapping her other arm around Elinàsze's
shoulder. "Thanks for getting me my clothes back. I love you, Eli-Eli!"
"S-Sis!" Garyl protested. "I'm gonna drop my food!"
"Ah ha ha! I love you too, Gare-Gare! I love you both!"
Garyl and Elinàsze grimaced as Wyne pulled them along. They were the
very image of close siblings.
Flio and Rys watched from behind, smiling. "Wyne really loves her
brother and sister, doesn't she?" mused Flio.
"Yes," said Rys. "She really does."
The family continued down the road, smiles on everyone's face.
◇Houghtow College of Magic—Meanwhile◇
"Excuse me?" The Maiden Queen of Klyrode's eyes shot open when she
stepped inside the Houghtow College of Magic meeting room. She had
come here as part of her inspection of the kingdom, to visit its just-opened
lower-grades division.
In front of her was Waona, who taught summoning for the college's
adult students. She was sitting there, facing the queen, wiping the profuse
sweat from her brow with a handkerchief.
"I-I'm terribly sorry, Your Majesty..." said Waona. "The lower-grade
students are away right now on a one-night camping trip to the Calgosi
Coast with their guardians. By the time we heard you were coming,
everything was already set in stone..."
"Oh, no, you don't need to apologize!" the Queen said, putting a big
fake smile on her face and shaking her head. "I didn't send a message ahead
of time because I wanted to see your undisturbed daily operations!"
A one-night camping trip...she thought. I suppose I won't have an
opportunity to see Garyl, even if I were to stop by Lord Flio's house...
Garyl had once saved the Maiden Queen when she was attacked by a
demon. It left a very gallant impression of the young boy in her mind. In
fact, she had become quite infatuated. Garyl was growing up quickly
because of his mother's demonic blood. He was already starting to look like
a handsome young man.
It would take an entire week for the witches I brought with me to create
a portal all the way to the Calgosi Coast... she thought, determined not to
let her disappointment show on her face as she carried on her conversation
with Waona.
◇Evening on the Calgosi Coast◇
The sun had set halfway past the horizon. A number of people had
gathered to watch, including Nyt, who was sitting under a parasol tucked
away in a corner of the beach.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!" Suddenly, Zarmas appeared over the crest of a
sandy hill, running with ferocious speed.
Nyt sighed, following Zarmas with her eyes as she ran. "I can't believe
thisss wasss why she wanted to go to the beach ssso badly..."
They had been in Calgosi for almost a day, and Zarmas had spent the
time doing nothing but running up and down the beach. On her face was a
look of absolute joy.
Although, now that I think about it, she'sss alwaysss loved running about
like an idiot, Nyt thought, sighing deeply as she remembered some of
Zarmas's antics from their time in the Dark Army.
Zarmas didn't stop running even as the sun vanished from sight.
◇The Calgosi Coast—An Inn, After Dark◇
The summer camp schedule included a magic class, with parents
observing. After dinner, they gathered in the inn's main hall, which had
been set up as a classroom. The guardians sat in the back for an opportunity
to sit in and see how their children were being taught. Class A's lesson was
defensive magic, taught in the middle of the hall.
Belano, the defensive magic teacher, stood in front of the class with a
portable blackboard. The students were sitting in rows, but they were all
quite tired. Some of them had started to nod off, while others were already
sound asleep, heads buried in their arms. Garyl's head wobbled
occasionally while the ever-serious Elinàsze kept smacking her cheeks to
keep herself from falling asleep.
Houghtow City was almost at the very center of the continent. Most of
the students were born and raised there. For almost all of them, and their
guardians as well, it was their first time seeing the ocean. It had been a day
full of excitement, up until dinner, when they finally expended their energy.
They were in no state to be taking classes.
It wasn't only the students either. Plenty of the guardians sitting in the
back had started snoring in their chairs. Flio, for his part, was watching
attentively. But Rys, sitting next to him, was slumped over, fast asleep,
Wyne in her lap. Both of them were snoring contentedly.
They've been running around all day, those two... Flio thought, smiling
his usual easygoing smile. Oh, well. I suppose I'll just have to watch out for
them as well!
◇The Following Morning◇
After the lesson was finished, the students and their guardians spent the
night in the rooms that had been prepared for each family. The next day
when they woke up, they went fishing on a boat Junia had prepared for
them. After that, they had free time until lunch to do as they pleased.
Taclyde looked troubled as he watched the children playing in the sea.
"The after-dinner observation class was a complete failure..." he grumbled.
"Most of the students fell asleep! It was hardly a class at all!" He scratched
his nose as he looked over his notes. But in front of him, the students and
their guardians alike were enjoying the sea with happy smiles on their faces.
"Still," he admitted, "if our goal was to deepen our camaraderie, I
suppose we succeeded. I'll tell the headmaster it was a success." He jotted
down another note or two on the pad of paper in his hands.
After lunch, Flio conjured another portal, and everyone returned to
Houghtow City.
◇Flio's House—That Night◇
"The summer camp was great fun, wasn't it, my lord husband?" Rys
smiled as she sat in front of the mirror on her dresser, brushing her hair.
"It was!" said Flio. "Garyl and Elinàsze enjoyed it a lot! And Wyne, too,
since she ended up coming along."
"That Wyne..." Rys said, smiling with a mix of fondness and
exasperation. "The way Tanya pounced on her the moment she got back..."
"Poor girl," said Flio, smiling wryly. "But she did break a promise, after
all."
Rys finished with her hair and came over to Flio, sitting down on the
side of the bed and pressing up to her husband. "What did you think of my
new swimsuit?" she asked, blushing slightly, looking up at Flio with big
puppy-dog eyes.
The puppy-dog eyes had their intended effect. Flio wrapped his arms
around Rys and held her close. "It looked great on you," he said.
"Absolutely amazing..."
"Thank you, my lord husband. My wonderful, amazing love..." She
closed her eyes. Flio leaned in, kissing her softly. The two lay back on the
bed. With a single twitch of Flio's finger, the bedroom lights went out,
cloaking them in darkness.
◇Meanwhile, in the Children's Room◇
Wyne, Elinàsze, and Garyl shared a single bedroom. There, on the
bottom bunk of the triple-layer bunk bed, the three of them were curled up
together, deep asleep.
The top bunk was supposed to be for Elinàsze, the middle bunk for
Garyl, and the bottom bunk for Wyne, but instead, all three were fast asleep
together on Wyne's bunk.
"Zzz..." Wyne snored, beginning to talk in her sleep. "Beach... Lotsa
fun..."
Garyl and Elinàsze held her tighter, reacting to the noise. And on they
slept, safe and sound.