◇The Alips Mountains◇
The Alips Mountains lay far to the north of the Magical Kingdom of
Klyrode. Today, Flio's family was there, in the middle of the range.
"It's been far too long since we last visited this place!" Rys said, a look
of pure delight in her eyes as she watched the white snow pile up, her
lupine tail wagging furiously. She wasn't wearing her usual dress, but warm
winter clothing. It looked very cute on her.
"Gare-Gare, look! Snow! Snow!" Wyne, wearing no more clothing than
she usually did, pointed at the snowy mountains, a big grin on her face.
Garyl was grinning too. "Wow! This is amazing! All of this white stuff is
snow?"
Elinàsze, dressed in a cute poncho-like outfit, smiled brightly as she
clung to Flio's arm. "Let's have lots of fun, papa! We came all this way,
after all!"
Flio looked around cheerfully at everyone who had come with him to
the mountains for vacation. As thanks for preventing the Calamity Wyrm
from doing any harm to the land, the Maiden Queen had given them
permission to stay at the royal resort spa in the Alips mountain range. The
Magical Kingdom of Klyrode would pay for all expenses, she'd said,
although the truth was that the Maiden Queen was paying it herself out of
her own personal savings.
The party had just arrived using Teleportation. Everyone was there,
except for Blossom, who was busy managing the farm, Belano, who had a
class to teach, and Tanya and Minilio, who were keeping the Fli-o'-Rys
General Store up and running.
"So this is snow!" cried Rislei, her eyes sparkling as she looked out at
the slope. "This looks kinda fun!" Rislei was part lichsteed. Her horse tail
was out like Rys's was, swishing happily.
As she stood there, her father Sleip sneaked up from behind and lifted
her up in the air. "Ha ha ha!" he laughed, shaking the girl from side to side.
"Just let your papa show you how fun snow can be, my lovely Rislei!"
Byleri watched the two with a smile on her face. "Oh my gosh! Like,
you totally love spoiling Rislei, don't you, Lord Sleip?"
"M-Mama!" Rislei cried. "P-Please don't say that... You're
embarrassing me! Let me down!"
"Like, really?" said Byleri. "But I totally know what you're thinking.
'It's a bit embarrassing, but it's kinda fun,' right? Are you, like, totally sure
you wanna stop?"
Rislei twitched. Mama! she thought. She's always doing that... How can
she read me so well?
In the end, Rislei allowed Sleip to wave her around a little while longer.
Ghozal folded his arms and looked up at the snowy mountains. "The
first time I came here, I thought, 'What's so fun about playing in the cold
and snow?!' But when I tried it, I had a pretty good time!"
The mountains were dotted with a number of lodges. In front of the
buildings was a slope where a crowd of humans and demihumans were
zooming down the mountains with long boards attached to their feet. They
were playing a game called "skiing." Some people were also riding down
the slope on a vehicle known as a "sled," while others were throwing
snowballs at each other. There were far more people here than last time,
perhaps because of the newfound peace between the Magical Kingdom and
the Dark Army. Everywhere they looked, they saw people crying out with
delight.
"And this time," Ghozal went on, "I'm here with my children..."
Balirossa was walking beside him, holding their son Ghoro's hand. She met
her husband's gaze and smiled. Ghozal smiled back, very happy. "Don't
you two think so, Uliminas and Folmina?" He turned the other way to
where his other wife was standing.
But Uliminas and Folmina said not a word. Rather, they seemed to be
completely unable to respond. The pair of them were covered from head to
toe in an extraordinary number of layers of clothing, to the point that they
looked like nothing less than a pair of round snowmen, completely
immobile. Their faces were wrapped up with heavy scarves. Ghozal could
see their mouths moving, but the layers of scarves made their words
inaudible.
"I knew Uliminas couldn't handle the cold..." Ghozal said. "I guess
you're the same, huh, Folmina?"
Folmina nodded.
Uliminas was a hellcat demon. Cold was one of her biggest weak points.
She had dressed this way the last time they'd come here as well. Her
daughter Folmina had inherited her hellcat blood, and like her mother, she
had an elemental weakness to cold.
Uliminas and Folmina were mumbling to each other, apparently able to
understand what the other was saying.
"When it's this snowy, I just wanna curl up under a nice warm
blanket..."
"Me too, mama Uliminas..."
Ghozal smacked Uliminas affably on the shoulder. "Look at you! You
can't even walk wearing that much clothing! Well, let's get you to the spa.
You can warm up inside."
But his smack proved too hard. Uliminas lost her balance and fell
forward, rolling at a high speed down the slope. "Mreow!" she screamed as
she rolled along. "I knew it! It's happening agaaaiiin!"
Ghozal laughed as he watched her roll along. "That's right! You went
rolling last time too! Looks fun!"
Flio noticed what was happening. "No, Ghozal!" he cried, flying quickly
down the slope after the tumbling hellcat. "She's falling! Just like last
time!"
Folmina had been watching the scene play out next to Ghozal. Suddenly,
she gave her father a big push from behind.
"H-Hrm?!" Ghozal cried.
Folmina was still a child, but with both hellcat and demonic royal blood
in her veins, she had a considerable amount of strength. Ghozal, too, went
tumbling down the slope, fast enough that he caught up with Uliminas in no
time.
Folmina watched with delight as Ghozal gathered snow on the slope
until he looked like a snowman himself. "I hate falling, but I love watching
things fall!" she said, joy evident in her tone.
◇Alips Ski Slopes—Health Spa◇
The royal resort spa was a single-story building set a level above the
other ski slopes on the mountain, as if the whole area around it was its own
private slope. It was just like they remembered it from last time—a single
large open room for the whole household to relax in, with a number of
small private rooms around the central one. It was set up for them to have
meals together in the large central room and then go off to the individual
rooms to rest. There was also a veranda with a hot spring on top of a large
indoor bath.
"I-I almost died!" Uliminas, who had been rescued safely by Flio, ran
straight for the fireplace in the central room, desperately trying to warm her
frozen body.
Ghozal and Folmina settled in cheerfully beside her. "You seem like you
enjoyed yourself, Folmina!" said Ghozal, folding his arms and grinning.
"I did!" Folmina grinned back, pressing close to her mother to help
warm her up.
During the incident, Folmina had found the sight of her mother rolling
down the mountain hilarious. "Wow, papa Ghozal!" she had said, "I wanna
see more people roll down the mountain!"
Ghozal couldn't resist his daughter when she was in such high spirits.
"All right, Folmina! Watch this!" he had said, and immediately began
rolling down the slope again and again.
The other people on the mountain stared at him and whispered to each
other. "What is that person doing?"
"You know, I think I saw someone else doing that earlier..."
Ghozal paid them no mind and kept rolling and rolling.
He's so childish sometimes... Uliminas thought as she looked over at her
husband, not moving an inch from the fireplace. She smiled. He's like a big
kid. But he sure is doing his best fur Folmina...
Folmina was pressed close, and by her side was Ghozal, folding his
arms and laughing. Uliminas's teeth chattered from the cold as the fireplace
gradually warmed her body. Then, Sleip, who had just made it inside, came
up to her, his daughter Rislei riding on his shoulders. "Hey, Uliminas! If
you're so cold, why not go in the hot spring? It's right out on the veranda."
Only Uliminas's eyes turned to look at Sleip. "I'll get in the bath if mew
bring the bath here," she said, and pressed even closer to the fireplace.
Hang on... she thought. Didn't something like this happen last time? And
then... Her eyes snapped open. She looked over and saw Ghozal reaching
out for her. Before she knew it, he had grabbed her.
"You can be difficult sometimes, you know," he said, effortlessly
peeling her away from the fireplace with a single arm and picking her up.
"Let's get you in the bath." He began taking off her layers of clothes.
"Mrow! W-Wait! It's cold! It's cold! And why are mew stripping me in
front of everymeown?!"
"You can't take a bath with all these clothes on."
"Rawr! S-Stop!" Uliminas struggled for all she was worth, but it was in
vain. In just a minute, the clothing she had been wearing was on the floor,
leaving her stark naked. Stripping off his own clothing as well, Ghozal
proceeded to the veranda. "N-Now I'll never get meowrried..." she wailed,
her face bright red as she covered her breasts with her hands.
"What are you talking about?" asked Ghozal. "You're already my wife."
He brought her into the hot springs with him. Uliminas immediately sank
down to her shoulders in the water. "Hrm. It's good water. How about it?
Folmina, Ghoro, Balirossa, wanna get in with us?"
"Are hot springs hot...?" asked Folmina.
"Yeah, Folmina. They're super hot," Ghozal answered.
"Then I'm getting in!" Folmina's face lit up and she tossed off her
clothes as she ran into the water.
"If Folmina's getting in, I will too..." Ghoro followed suit, taking off his
clothes.
Balirossa's face turned red as she watched. "W-Well, I mean... I
suppose, I... I mean...!" she stammered in a falsetto, frantically waving her
hands.
Uliminas looked over, slowly lifting her face from the water where it
had been submerged. "We're wives of the same meown, mew know," she
said. "Don't leave me in here alone!" She waved for Balirossa to come
over.
"Th-That's true..." Balirossa admitted. "O-Okay! Just...don't stare at me,
please..." Resigned to her fate and blushing furiously, Balirossa went out on
the veranda and took off her clothes outside before getting in the hot spring.
And so, all of Ghozal's family came to occupy the veranda.
Flio smiled at the sound of Ghozal's family enjoying themselves.
"Sleip," he said. "There's another family bath separate from the outdoors
hot spring. We have the whole building to ourselves today, including the
bath. Would you care to bathe with us?"
Sleip nodded eagerly. "Good idea! Since you asked so nicely, I suppose
we'll have to join you for a bath!"
Rislei turned bright red. "Eeeh?! Me too, papa?"
"Why not, Rislei? It's been a while since I washed your back! Ah ha
ha!"
"N-No thank you. I'm too embarrassed..."
"Don't say that! Come on! Strike while the iron's hot!"
"W-Wait! Papa!"
Sleip headed off towards the bath, carrying Rislei on his shoulders.
Byleri followed along, taking a change of clothes with her.
"Papa, may we go too?" Elinàsze asked, taking Flio's hand.
"Dada! Bath! Bath!" cried Wyne, taking Flio's other hand, but...
"W-Wyne!" Flio scolded her, stopping the girl from taking off her
poncho-style coat. "Don't take off your clothes until we get to the
bathroom!"
"Aww... All right. I'll wait! I'll wait!" Wyne fixed her clothes and once
again took Flio's hand. Rys followed behind, carrying changes of clothing
for everyone.
"Hey, dad," said Garyl. "Can Sybe come in the bath with us?"
"I don't see why not!" Flio responded with a smile. "Sybe's clean, after
all."
"Yay! Come on, Sybe!" Sybe, who was in its unicorn rabbit form,
snuffled happily in Garyl's arms.
And so, Flio's and Sleip's families went to the bath together, leaving
Ghozal and his family in the hot springs.
◇ ◇ ◇
"First again!" Wyne cried, throwing off her clothes the moment she
arrived in the changing area. She dashed straight to the bath and leapt in
with a big splash, sending a spray of water into the air and submerging
herself beneath the surface. Then, with a great "Pfwaaaaah!" she leapt from
the water. Her wings, legs, and arms were all spread out as far as they could
as she rose higher and higher, and then, with another mighty splash, she fell
back into the hot bath. It looked like she was having a blast.
"Me too! Me too!" Garyl ran out after Wyne, only to suddenly grind to a
halt an inch away from the water. "W-Wait! No! I need to rinse myself off
first!" He scooped a bucketful of water from the bath and poured it over his
body.
Wyne came swimming up to Garyl. "You're a good boy, aren't you,
Gare-Gare!"
"Thank you for saying so, big sis Wyne..." Garyl said. "But you were
supposed to rinse yourself off too, you know..."
"Ehe hee!" Wyne stuck out her tongue and gave Garyl a great big hug.
"I'll do it next time!"
Wyne was a dragon who had lost her parents at an early age. Since she
was young, she had spent her life as the young vanguard of the Dark
Army's most elite division. She had grown up never knowing a family until
Flio and Rys had taken her in and raised her as their own child. They loved
her dearly, and she'd become very attached to them. And once Elinàsze and
Garyl were born, she took to doting adoringly on her younger siblings.
"Hey, hey, Gare-Gare!" she said.
"What? What is it, big sis Wyne?"
"Gare-Gare, do you like Eli-Li? Do you like her?"
"Eli-Li?" Garyl asked. "You mean our sister, Elinàsze? Of course! I love
her a lot!"
"Uh-uh! Not her! You know! The lady with the nice long hair who
always has dark circles under her eyes..."
"Dark circles...? Oh! You mean Miss Ellie?!"
The Maiden Queen, who sometimes went by Ellie, worked long and
hard every day and never got enough sleep. As a result, she always had dark
circles under her eyes. She usually covered it up using makeup, but such
means couldn't fool Wyne and Garyl.
"But..." Garyl said, his voice getting higher in pitch as his face turned
bright red. "Wh-Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"Ha ha ha!" Wyne gave a big toothy grin. "I like Eli-Li! You're cute
together! Cute! You should have babies!"
"Wah?! B-Babies!" Garyl's face got even redder. "B-Big sis Wyne, it's
much too soon for that!"
Flio was watching the two from a short distance away. "Garyl's
children..." he said. "He's grown up quite a bit. It might not be all that far
off..."
Rys nuzzled up against her husband in the bath. "And then you will be a
grandpa and I will be a grandma."
"Somehow, I can't imagine it. Being a grandpa and grandma..." Flio
looked over at his wife, his gaze accidentally falling on her shapely breasts
poking out of the bathwater.
"Me neither..." said Rys, smiling and wrapping her arms around Flio's
arm. "But you know, I'm not done having children with my lord husband
either..."
Flio felt Rys's chest pressing against his arm. His cheeks flushed. But
right as things were getting a bit steamy between them, Sleip entered the
bath next to them with a splash.
"Ha ha ha! I can't believe I'm taking a bath with our fearless little
tomboy and her husband! I suppose I really must be getting old..."
"I've told you time and time again... Would you please not talk about
those days?" Rys said, pursing her lips and glaring at Sleip for daring to
ruin the mood.
"Don't be like that, Rys! We have the former Dark One, Mister Ghozal,
and his confederate Uliminas, and of course, me of the Infernal Four here!
Not to mention you, the one they used to call the fifth Infernal... I know
things are complicated, but it must be some kind of mysterious connection
that led to us all coming together again under Mister Flio after we left the
Dark Army. Don't you think so?"
"Well, I suppose I can't refute that..." Rys nodded, and once again
wrapped her arms around her husband. Flio just gave the two his usual
easygoing smile.
Just then, Wyne came swimming up. "Dada! Let me wash your back!"
"Oh, no thank you, Wyne. I can do it myself."
"Come on! Come on! You too, mama!"
"Oh? Me too?"
Wyne grabbed both Flio and Rys by the hand and pulled them out to the
washing area, where the two sat down on wooden stools while Wyne
washed them forcefully with a washcloth in each hand. "Scrub! Scrub!" she
chanted as she washed their backs.
"Oh!" Elinàsze looked up from her conversation with Rislei and hurried
over. "No fair, big sis Wyne! Let me help!"
"I'll wash mama's back!" said Wyne.
"Okay, then I'll wash papa's!" Elinàsze took one of the washcloths from
Wyne and set to washing Flio's back, cheerfully crying, "Scrub! Scrub!" in
time with Wyne. Before long, they were both in the swing of it. Flio smiled
as Elinàsze washed his back.
Rys laughed. "It seems I won't be able to wash your back again this
time, my lord husband."
"Ah well," said Flio. "This isn't so bad."
Then, Garyl came running over. "All right! Then I'll wash dad's hair!"
"W-Wait, Garyl!" Flio protested. "I really would rather do that myself..."
"It's okay! Let me!" Garyl said, massaging a generous portion of
shampoo into Flio's scalp. It was far too much, and before long, Flio's hair
was lost in a sea of bubbles.
Flio cast a defensive spell to prevent the shampoo from getting in his
eyes, grimacing. Come to think of it, didn't this happen last time too...?
Sleip stared at Flio's family as the scene played out and then turned
slowly back to look at Rislei. Until a minute ago, she had been chatting
with Elinàsze in the bath, but now, she was beside her mother Byleri. She
was nearly submerged in the water, as if she were hiding from him.
Sleip drew closer to Rislei. "Riiisleiii... Do you want to wash each
other's backs too?"
"N-No, I don't... I'm much too embarrassed..."
"Come on! All the kids have been taking baths together at the house
recently... I've been lonely! Can't we do this together from time to time?"
He lifted Rislei onto his shoulders and carried her to the washing area.
"F-Fwah?! I-I told you not to pick me up in the bath!" Rislei exclaimed.
"Wh-What are you doing, papa? Put me down! This is so embarrassing!"
Sleip paid no heed to Rislei's pleas, but carried her over to a wooden
stool in the washing area. "Now, Rislei! I will wash your back!"
"S-Stop! I'm telling you! I can wash my own back!"
"Ha ha ha! Don't be like that!"
Rislei felt like she could die of embarrassment as her father grabbed a
washcloth and began happily scrubbing her back.
"Rislei..." Sleip whispered. "Thank you for being born..." The words
made Rislei's face turn even redder.
Papa...! she thought. I can't be mad at him when he says things like
that... She sat there, bright red, as Sleip washed her back. Byleri watched
the two with a smile on her face.
◇ ◇ ◇
That night, after dinner, Flio and the others had fallen asleep in the main
room. Suddenly, Flio's eyes opened. Careful not to wake the others, he
stood and headed outside into the snow. What's this? he thought. Something
with a lot of magic power is moving around in the mountains...
Flio kept his Search spell active at all times, as did Ghozal, Hiya, and
Damalynas.
I don't think it's from this world, whatever it is... It's hiding its presence
very well too...
Flio flew into the sky, casting defensive spells as he did. He was headed
towards a nearby forest when he heard a rattling sound. It was faint, but it
sounded like the clack of bones. Casting Concealment on himself, Flio flew
in the direction of the sound.
"Huh?" he exclaimed. Before his eyes, he saw something very strange.
A skeletonic creature was looking around the forest. It seemed to be
searching for something. That thing looks like a skeleton. I don't think it's
from this world. If anything, it reminds me of Tanya when she was in that
half-human, half-skeleton form...
No sooner had he thought that than Tanya herself appeared, flying up to
him with a look of surprise on her face. "Master Flio...?"
"Tanya? Did you sense something here too?"
"Yes, that is precisely correct..."
"By the way," Flio asked. "Do you know what that is?"
"My memories are still fragmented, thanks to my amnesia..." Tanya
said. "But I think I remember that somehow. That is a skull ape from the
Celestial Plane."
"A skull ape?"
"Yes. They are a type of familiar used by the angels of the Celestial
Plane. Their bodies are made of sturdy bone. They have no minds of their
own, but if you give them orders using the Command spell, they will
execute them with perfect obedience."
"I see..." said Flio. "I wonder what sort of orders this skull ape is
under..."
"Well," said Tanya, "it looks like it's found what it's looking for."
"Hm?" Flio cocked his head, puzzled. While he had been talking with
Tanya, the skull ape had turned its head to look directly at him and began to
move in his direction. "Huh? The skull ape's coming towards us!"
Flio held out his hand and conjured a magic circle. He cast Gravitation,
sending the skull ape falling into the snow. Held in place by Flio's magic, it
lay there unmoving as the snow piled up on top of it.
Tanya clapped her hands. "Splendid, Master Flio!" she said. "Skull apes
may appear to be mere skeletons, but they are much stronger than they look.
Even if their body is torn in half, they will continue to carry out their orders.
They are durable and persistent. It is quite a feat to fully immobilize one
like that."
"Oh? I-Is it?" Flio asked, surprised. He watched as Tanya stepped up to
the skull ape.
"I don't know its objective, but it seems to be after you, Master Flio.
Shall I destroy it?" She held out her arm, conjuring a large scythe. But
before she could swing it, Flio stopped her.
"Tanya, hang on a moment."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I'm just wondering... Is there any way to undo a skull ape's
commands?"
"Undo its commands?"
"Yeah. When I captured the Calamity Wyrm, I got all kinds of materials
from it that let me make weapons and potions I'd struggle to create with
only ingredients from this world. I was wondering if I might be able to use
the skull ape for anything too..."
"I see. I suppose an order might be overwritten if someone else's
consciousness were to enter the skull ape, assuming that it is only under the
influence of an ordinary Command spell..." She shouldered her scythe and
placed her hand on the skull ape's head. "Indeed. It does seem to only be
under the spell Command."
Tanya muttered a short spell, and the skull ape's head began to shine.
After a brief moment, the light went out. Then, letters appeared above the
skull ape, reading "Command Erased," before those, too, vanished. "Now
the skull ape should be immobilized. It should be safe to release your
Gravitation spell."
Flio dispelled his magic. True to Tanya's words, the skull ape continued
to lie immobile where it had fallen. Flio put the skull ape in his Bottomless
Bag. "I wonder, could they cast Command on this thing while they're
somewhere far away?"
"It's not impossible," said Tanya. "But as long as it is within your
Bottomless Bag, magic should have no effect. I don't foresee it being a
problem."
"I see. Well, I'll just have to put up an antimagic field when I'm working
with it. That shouldn't be a problem."
"Yes, that should be sufficient." Tanya nodded.
Flio checked to make sure the skull ape was safely inside his Bottomless
Bag, and then took back to the skies. "All right, Tanya. I'm gonna head
back to the spa."
"Very good, Master Flio." Tanya, too, took flight and left. Before long,
snow had filled in the hole where the skull ape had fallen, until there was no
sign it had ever been there.
◇Meanwhile, on the Alips Mountains◇
A group of women came to a stop amid the trees. "Wh-What is this? I
no longer sense the skull ape!"
"What do you mean, you no longer sense it? Nobody in this world
should be strong enough to destroy a skull ape."
"And yet...it happened just after the Calamity Wyrm's presence,
weakened as it is, began to move..."
The women were taking the form of humans, but they were angels from
the Celestial Plane. Months ago, they had lost track of the Calamity Wyrm
in the middle of transport, and had followed its trail to the world of
Klyrode, only to find no trace of the thing. One of the angels had cast
Command and given her skull ape the order, "Find the Calamity Wyrm."
"We sent out the skull ape, since they can sense much fainter sources of
magic power than we can..."
"But just when it finally detected a promising magic source, this
happens..."
The angels put their heads together, deeply troubled expressions on their
faces.
"W-Well, perhaps we should search the area where the skull ape
vanished?"
"Yes. That may be our last remaining option."
"Maybe we should report to the goddess that the Calamity Wyrm
escaped..."
"Fool! If you do that, all of us will be stripped of our angelhood! We'll
be sent to the underground world Dogorogma!"
"D-Dogorogma..."
"That's why we need to find the Calamity Wyrm no matter what! If we
want to continue being angels of the Celestial Plane, it's our only option."
Their faces pale with fear, the angels set out to search the forest. Never
in their wildest dreams did they imagine that Flio had long since
exterminated the Calamity Wyrm...
◇The Following Morning—Alips Ski Slope◇
Flio and co finished their breakfast and hurried out to the ski slope early
in the morning. "We're going home tonight," Flio said, "so let's enjoy today
to our hearts' content."
"Leave it to me, dada! I'll enjoy it like you won't believe!" Wyne raised
her hand, grinning. She was wearing the usual dress she wore around the
house and nothing else.
Uliminas, who was shivering despite once again being dressed in an
absurd number of layers, glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye.
"Mrow..." she moaned. "It's so cooold... How can mew stand being dressed
in a meowtfit like that...?"
Balirossa walked up to Uliminas, clearly worried. "Ser Uliminas... You
could stay in the room where it's warm if you prefer. You don't have to
force yourself to come out here with us. I can take responsibility for the
children."
"But we came meowll this way... And Folmina's been having fun. I
wanna see her like this, mew know? She's been growing up so fast, after
meowll..."
"I see..." Balirossa nodded. "I believe I understand your feelings very
well."
"What's wrong?" Ghozal asked, walking over with a grin on his face.
"You cold, Uliminas?"
Uliminas hissed and ran behind Balirossa, facing away from Ghozal.
"The last time mew came up to me like that I ended up rolling down the
meowntain! I won't let it happen again!"
"Hrm?" Ghozal said. "But didn't rolling down the mountain help you
warm up?"
"Hissss! No! Stay back!"
Rys watched Ghozal and Uliminas argue with Balirossa awkwardly
stuck in the middle. "Those two..." She sighed. "It looks like they're
quarreling again."
"I guess it just means they're close enough to fight!" Flio said, smirking.
Just then, they heard a cheerful voice calling out to them. "Good
morning, my friends!" It was the Maiden Queen, disguised as "Ellie,"
wearing an ordinary winter coat so nobody would realize who she was.
"Ah! Miss Ellie!" said Flio. "I'm glad you were able to make it!" He
greeted the unexpected guest with a smile. Just last night he had received a
message from the castle saying that Her Majesty the Maiden Queen was
busy with official duties and would be unable to join them.
"It's all thanks to you, Lord Flio," Ellie said.
"Me?"
"Yes! That rainbow-colored potion you gave me eradicated my fatigue
in an instant! I used it last night and managed to finish all of my duties. It's
phenomenally effective, that potion! It has been a long time since I felt so
alive!" Ellie habitually worked herself to the bone and never got enough
sleep. It was rare to see her without dark circles under her eyes. But the
Ellie that stood before them now had smooth, glossy skin, with nary a
discoloration.
Flio winced. So she worked late into the night right after recovering
from her fatigue... he thought. Won't she just exhaust herself again? But the
most he could manage to object was to say, "Well, I just hope you don't
overexert yourself." He gave Ellie a cheerful smile.
"Oh! Ellie!" When Garyl noticed who Flio was talking to, he ran up, a
smile on his face.
"Good morning, Garyl!" said Ellie.
"And good morning to you, Miss Ellie!" Garyl replied, putting on his
best manners. "Will you be joining us today?"
"I am!" she said. "I finished my work early last night. There shouldn't
be any problems with me being here."
"All right!" Garyl cheered, jumping up in the air. "Awesome!"
But even though Garyl was acting like a child, Ellie couldn't take her
eyes off him. G-Garyl really is growing up to be quite manly... she thought,
her face flushing red as she stared. I hadn't noticed the last time I paid Lord
Flio's house a visit, but he's almost as tall as I am now! And quite
masculine too...
"Miss Ellie? Miss Ellie?" Garyl repeated. Ellie returned to herself with a
shock. She hadn't noticed Garyl had been speaking.
"A-Ah!" she cried in a shrill voice.
"Miss Ellie, are you okay? Your face is turning kinda red. Are you
cold?" Garyl pressed his hands against Ellie's cheeks, a maneuver that
brought his face perilously close to hers.
W-Waaah! Ellie thought. G-Garyl's face is right in front of me! The
redness spread from her cheeks to her neck as she stammered out a reply.
"I-I-I-I-I'm quite all right! Y-Yes, I'm perfectly warm!"
"I guess you are..." said Garyl, feeling the temperature of her face.
"Okay! Why don't you come play with everyone?"
"Ah! Yes, I'd love to!"
Garyl took Ellie's hand and pulled her along to where Elinàsze and
Wyne were waiting, waving at the two as they came over.
"Oh, Miss Ellie, please take care not to overexert yourself," said Flio, a
concerned expression on his face. "Our children can be a lot to handle
sometimes..."
"Don't worry!" Ellie said, a bright smile on her face. "I have some
confidence in my stamina, you know."
Is she really going to be okay? Flio worried as he watched her go.
"I wouldn't concern yourself too much, my lord husband," Rys said.
"She has her knights with her, after all." Indeed, as Ellie got dragged off,
she was followed by a group of female knights led by Boralis.
Flio nodded, but somehow, he couldn't shake his anxiety. "I hope you're
right."
◇ ◇ ◇
"Allow me to introduce my daughter," Sleip said, addressing MacTaulo,
who had come along with the Queen. "This is Rislei."
Sleip, formerly of the Dark Army's Infernal Four, and Knight Captain
MacTaulo of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode had clashed with each other
in battle time and time again. Over the course of the war, they had grown to
respect each other's ability. After Sleip quit the Dark Army and came to live
at Flio's house, the two had become friends.
"A pleasure to meet you, Rislei!" said MacTaulo. "My name is
MacTaulo. I'm a friend of your father's."
"Nice to meet you too, Mister MacTaulo." Rislei bowed deeply.
"What a polite girl you are! And you look quite a bit like your mother
Byleri, don't you? Count your lucky stars you didn't take after your father!"
"Ha ha ha! You've got that one right!" Sleip laughed loudly, scooping up
Rislei and nuzzling his cheeks against hers. "I never thought I would be
able to have a child at my age. I'd do anything for my precious Rislei."
"You would, papa?" Rislei said. "If that's so, then I have a request."
"Oh? What is it, Rislei?"
"Could you please refrain from touching me so much? Especially when
there are so many people around." Rislei's cheeks were flushed with
embarrassment.
"Hmmm..." Sleip rubbed his neck. "Well, I know I said anything, but
that one might be a little hard."
"Come now, Sleip!" said MacTaulo. "There's no need for that."
"I can't help it! Rislei is just too cute!" Sleip said, nuzzling Rislei's
cheeks once more. But he cut it a little shorter than usual this time, which
Rislei greatly appreciated.
Half a day later, Wyne found Ellie sitting on the floor clutching her
knees. "Eli-Li?" she asked. "You okay?"
In response, Ellie flopped back onto the snow, panting heavily, her arms
and legs spread wide. She tried to tell Wyne she was okay, but she was
unable to get the words out between ragged breaths. Ellie had joined in a
snowball fight with Garyl, Elinàsze, and Wyne. At first, she had put up a
good fight, but as time went on, her body felt more and more sluggish until
she suddenly found herself unable to take a single step farther.
H-How did this happen...? she thought. I was sure I could handle it...
Just then, Garyl ran up to where Ellie was collapsed in the snow. "Are
you all right, Miss Ellie? Here, I'll take you to the lodge." He picked her up
in his arms, carrying her bridal-style.
W-Wait! What?! Ellie's whole body turned red. "I can walk!" she started
to say, but she was so happy to be in Garyl's arms that she couldn't get the
words out. I s-suppose this isn't so bad, she thought, her body perfectly still
as her mind raced. Sh-Should I wrap my arms around his shoulders? O-Or
would that be too much...?
"Miss Ellie, are you okay?" Garyl asked innocently. He had no idea
what Ellie was thinking. He kept asking if she was okay as he carried her
along, careful not to shake her body too much.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ellie rested for a while at the lodge. She took another dose of Flio's
potion, which had her back on her feet in no time.
"That potion truly is incredible!" she marveled. "Not only is my fatigue
completely gone, but I feel full of energy and power!" She looked at the
freshly emptied bottle in her hand and sidled up to Flio, a serious look on
her face. "Lord Flio, please do tell me when this potion is ready for sale. I
am certain I would like to purchase quite a number of them..."
"Of course," Flio said. "We'll let you know as soon as they're ready.
Although, you know, I still have a few doses from the testing phase."
"Please!" Ellie begged. "I would love to have them!"
Flio reached into his Bottomless Bag and took out enough potions to
give Ellie an entire armful. "Oh, that's right," he said, handing another
potion to Tanya, who was standing beside them. "Tanya, you're always so
hard at work around the house and in the store. You should have one too."
"Such benevolence... You would give such a precious treasure to a
humble maid?" Tanya bowed deeply and accepted the potion. She slipped it
into her shirt, right into her cleavage.
"Er...Tanya?" Flio asked. "Wh-Where did you put that potion?"
"Ah," said Tanya. "This is the entrance to my extradimensional storage.
You see?" She pulled her shirt down, giving Flio a direct look at her chest.
"I-I..." Flio stammered. "Well, that's fine, I suppose...but isn't it
inconvenient to have the entrance in a place like that?"
"How so?" Tanya asked, blinking innocently. She seemed completely
unconcerned with having just shown Flio and Ellie her naked chest. Flio,
though, felt suddenly unsteady on his feet.
◇ ◇ ◇
That evening, the household gathered with their luggage in hand.
"Everyone, make sure you haven't forgotten anything, okay?" said Flio.
"I have everything, papa!" Elinàsze responded.
"Me too!" said Garyl.
"I have everything too, dada!" chimed in Wyne.
They had enjoyed the snowy mountains until the sun had begun to set.
Flio double-checked to make sure everyone was ready to go home and then
turned to look at Ellie, who was standing in the entrance to the lodge.
"Thank you for setting this all up for us," he said.
"It was no problem!" Ellie responded with serious earnestness. "It's no
exaggeration to say that the world was saved because of your actions. Truth
be told, I feel you are owed a rather more spectacular reward than this." Not
only did he defeat the legendary Calamity Wyrm for us, but he used it to
create a truly spectacular potion...
Garyl ran up as Flio and Ellie talked, smiling. "I had a lot of fun today,
Miss Ellie!" he said, holding out his hand.
"I had a lot of fun too, Garyl!" said Ellie, smiling brightly, before
shaking his hand.
Wyne ran up to them and pulled Garyl into a cheerful hug. "Ah ha ha!"
she laughed. "I knew it! Gare-Gare likes Eli-Li! Gare-Gare likes Eli-Li!"
"Stop teasing me!" said Garyl, his cheeks turning red. "Miss Ellie is just
really kind and beautiful, that's all!"
"Eh?" Ellie froze stiff, her hand still extended. She hadn't been
expecting to be praised so suddenly.
"Well, Garyl, Wyne..." Flio said. "Shall we be off?"
"Okay-kay, dada!"
"All right. I'll see you later, Ellie!"
The two stopped messing around and waved goodbye, running after Flio
towards the Teleportation portal he had created.
Ellie, meanwhile, kept repeating Garyl's words to herself in her mind.
I'm...kind and beautiful...? she thought as the portal door closed, leaving
her alone with Boralis, MacTaulo, and the rest of her guards.
◇Meanwhile, with Hero Gold-Hair◇
Somewhere in the Alips Mountains, Dawkson hefted an enormous
snowball with his entire body, hurling it with all his might. "Take that!" he
bellowed.
"As if! I'm not about to lose to you!" Valentine leapt into the air and
landed a flying kick on the snowball Dawkson had worked so hard to make.
It split in two, landing on the ground below and almost hitting Hero Gold-
Hair, who narrowly dodged it.
"Jeez!" Hero Gold-Hair exclaimed. "Valentine, I know it's been a while
since you've visited the mountains and you're excited, but could you hold
back a little?"
"Yeaaah!" Tsuya added. "You could have huuurt us!"
"Sorry! I'll be careful!" said Valentine, not sounding particularly sorry.
"All right, Dawkson! Next, I will ride on this plank of wood. You pull!"
"H-Hey!" Dawkson protested. "How come I gotta do all the hard
work?!"
"Now, now, don't say that! It's been so long since I've been here! I want
to have tons of fun!" Valentine got on her plank of wood, grinning like a
child. She tossed out one of her dark threads for Dawkson to catch.
"Fine, fine..." Dawkson grumbled. "All right, I'll pull. You hold on
tight!"
"Okay!" Valentine replied cheerfully. Dawkson took the thread and
began to run, pulling the makeshift sled along at astonishing speeds. "I've
seen so much of the world with you all, but this is still the best part!"
Valentine cheered. "I love sledding!" Her habitual seductive grin seemed
quite out of place. Ever since they had reached the mountains, Valentine
had been running around and acting like a child.
Valentine had come to the world of Klyrode from the Realm of Evil in
order to destroy it. But after she learned how fun it was to play in the snow,
she'd found she wanted to spend more time enjoying this world and had
sealed off the passage between Klyrode and the Realm of Evil.
I'm glad I chose to live here... Valentine thought, crying out with
childish delight at the sensation of the cold wind on her face.
Hero Gold-Hair smiled as he watched. "She does seem to be having
quite a bit of fun," he said. "I suppose it was worth it to bring her here."
"Yeaaah!" Tsuya agreed. "I'm having fun just waaatching her!"
Just then, Riliangiu approached at a run from the nearby forest. "Hero
Gold-Hair..." she said. "Something's coming towards us."
"Oh?" Hero Gold-Hair looked in the direction Riliangiu had come from
and saw a dire crow flying towards them.
"Huuuh?" Tsuya said, looking up with a curious expression on her face.
"Is there something on that crow's baaack?"
The dire crow continued towards them, flapping its large wings. It
gradually descended, eventually alighting in front of Dawkson.
"Y-You're...Phufun?" Dawkson said, furrowing his brow as a woman
dismounted from the crow and keeled in front of him, her head bowed low.
"Master Yuigarde, the Dark One..." Phufun said. "I have been searching
for you ever since you left. And at last, thanks to my keen intuition, I have
found you..."
"Caw—!" the dire crow objected, pecking Phufun on the back of the
head. "Caw! Caw!" It seemed to be saying, "You would've spent your whole
life looking if I hadn't brought you here!"
"O-Ouch!" said Phufun. "That hurts! Yes, yes, you were the one who led
me to them, but it was my intuition that told me to trust you, you see..."
"Ca-caw! Caw—!" the crow said, pecking her again. "Stop taking credit!
I'm the one who found him!" it seemed to be saying.
"Wh-What are those two doing?" Hero Gold-Hair cocked his head.
"I'm not suuure..." said Tsuya, following suit.
Half an hour later, Phufun pressed her glasses up against the bridge of
her nose and approached Dawkson. "Master," she said. "Please return with
me to the Dark Citadel."
For some time, Dawkson was at a loss for words. Eventually, he pulled
himself to his feet. "All right. I up and left in the middle of everything,
didn't I? Guess I gotta make good."
"Th-Then...?"
"Yeah. I'll come back."
"Th-Thank you so much, Master!" Phufun bowed deep.
Dawkson turned to look at Hero Gold-Hair. "Blondie..." he said.
"Thanks for looking out for me all this time."
"What are you saying?" said Hero Gold-Hair. "You and I are still
companions. This isn't goodbye."
"Blondie..." Dawkson did everything he could not to cry in front of Hero
Gold-Hair. "All right. I guess I'm off."
"Take care!" said Hero Gold-Hair.
And with that brief exchange, Dawkson took to the sky, flying after
Phufun and the dire crow. They raced off at high speed, and before long
they had vanished behind the clouds. Hero Gold-Hair, Tsuya, Valentine, and
Riliangiu watched them go.
"Right," said Hero Gold-Hair. "We should go too."
"I wonder where they're heaaaded..." said Tsuya.
"I don't know," said Hero Gold-Hair. "But I have a bad feeling about
this..."
Hero Gold-Hair took off running in the direction Dawkson had
vanished. The others hurried along after him.