"And... That does it!" Rys said as she hung the sheets up to dry on the
rack. "We've had so much more laundry lately." She nodded proudly as she
surveyed her handiwork.
"Mistress Rys!" Tanya shouted, jumping out of a second-floor window.
She swung the mop she had been using to clean the hallway like a scythe
and hefted it over her shoulder as her wings materialized, breaking her fall.
She landed next to Rys. "If there's laundry to be done, please allow me to
take care of it!"
"Thank you, Tanya, but I can handle this much on my own." Rys smiled
at the maid. "Haven't I told you over and over again that you need to rest?
You work every day from dusk until dawn..."
"Thank you for your concern," Tanya answered. "But I am happiest
when I am working."
"That won't do, Tanya! Even my lord husband overexerted his magic
and fell ill the other day! You need to get your rest when you can!" As
Flio's wife, Rys felt like it was her responsibility to look after the wellbeing of everyone living in the house.
"I understand..." said Tanya, albeit reluctantly. "If you insist, Mistress
Rys, I shall rest with all my strength."
"Thank you. I appreciate it," Rys said. Did she say "rest with all her
strength?" she thought. That seems a little off... But she didn't press the
matter.
Just then, a magic circle appeared in front of the doorway to Flio's
house, and a portal emerged. Rys's eyes lit up at the sight. "Oh! My lord
husband!" Putting the laundry basket down, she bolted over to the magic
circle just in time for the door to open and for Flio to step out. "My lord
husband, welcome home!"
"Hello, Rys. It's always a pleasure to have you come and greet me." Flio
gave her one of his usual easygoing smiles. The magic circle vanished and
he stepped out towards the front door.
Rys nuzzled up close beside him. "How did your meeting go?"
"Oh, you know. It was a meeting with the Klyrode army about what to
do about the peace treaty, but the Dark One Dawkson just sent over papers
confirming the treaty's extension. There wasn't much to discuss."
"I see," said Rys. "And that's why you're back so soon, I suppose."
"I suppose," agreed Flio. "Although being a Councilor for the Magical
Kingdom seems to come with a lot of responsibility..."
Flio had originally been summoned to this world as a candidate to be
Hero, but he had been found wanting and sent into exile. Afterwards, the
Maiden Queen had taken the throne. She believed that only Flio was worthy
of the title Hero, but the previous King, her father, had already appointed
someone else. By law, she could not name Flio the new Hero. Still, she had
wanted to give him some acknowledgment for his work from the shadows
bringing peace to the Magical Kingdom. In the end, she had created a
wholly new position to appoint Flio to—Councilor for the Magic Kingdom.
Flio bashfully scratched the back of his head as Rys smiled at him
adoringly. "Say, Rys," he said. "Do you have any plans later today?"
"Today?" Rys asked. "Well, Sybe and I were going to go hunting
together, I believe. Nothing especially urgent."
"In that case, would you like to accompany me while I drive some goods
out east? Remember back when I was making nonurgent deliveries in order
to expand the number of places I can get to with Teleportation? I think I'd
like to get back to that."
"Oh!" Rys nodded eagerly. "So much has happened since then, with the
babies and everything. I had completely forgotten!"
"There's no rush, but I do need to deliver them at some point," Flio said.
"Besides, I like the idea of going on a slow-paced journey with you for a
change." He gave her one of his easygoing smiles. Rys nodded happily.
Sybe, in its unicorn rabbit form, ran up to the pair. It came to a stop
beside them, beginning its transformation into a psychobear.
"You've gotten really good at changing your shape, Sybe," Flio said.
"It's honestly incredible."
"Gworf!" Sybe grunted happily at the praise, rearing up onto two legs
and thumping its chest.
"Well, my lord husband..." said Rys. "Shall we be off?"
"Yeah! Hang on, I left the wagon in my Bottomless Bag..." Flio pulled
out the wagon, which appeared before them, and Sybe ran up, strapping
itself into the harness.
"You seem happy to go on this journey with us too, Sybe!" said Rys.
Sybe nodded. "Gworf!"
"Then let's head out!" Flio said. "I'm all ready." He held up his right
arm and a magic circle appeared, followed by a large portal. This was a
different portal than the one he had used to return from Klyrode Castle—it
was a large double gate that looked like it belonged to a fortress. "All right.
Let's head back to where we got to last time." Flio settled into the driver's
seat and flicked his finger. The door opened wide, revealing the stretch of
road they had reached before they were attacked by the Calamity Wyrm.
The sunlight filtered through the trees as Sybe pulled the wagon along at
a leisurely pace down the road. With its large body, even its casual walking
speed pulled them along at quite a fast clip.
"I'm glad we can travel slowly like this sometimes," Rys said, smiling.
"It's nice."
"Yeah," said Flio, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her
in close. "I think so too."
And the wagon traveled on through the forest.